Page 102 of Down Knot Out
Kyle’s mouth pulls into a frown. “Yep. Taxi’s back up and running fine. Even had the mechanic do another inspection this morning. No one’s messed with it again.”
I drop the letter opener back into the cup on my desk. “That’s good. I have some resumes already for a marine technician. Just need to find the right fit for our island.”
Kyle takes off his scally cap to run a tanned hand over his bald head. “Work might be too slow for people who don’t understand island life.”
“Yeah, that’s always the concern.” There are a lot of other factors to consider beyond whether the person we hire knows their way around a boat engine.
Kyle loves his downtime so he can go fishing, but someone else might get bored fast. And that leads to lazy work, or worse, quitting. Ideally, we’ll find someone who wants to pick up side jobs in addition to upkeep on the boats on the island, like Kyle does with maintaining the paths.
I let out a long sigh. “It might be a long road to find the right fit.”
Kyle purses his lips. “I might have someone who will work.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Yeah? And why are you only bringing this up now?”
“Well, he’s an unbonded Alpha.” He slides his cap back on. “And things aren’t settled yet with your Omega.”
“Uh-huh.” I straighten and cross my arms over my chest. “And?”
Because his secondary gender can’t be the only reason. Emily’s an unbonded Alpha, too, and we have no problem with her being around Chloe.
“He finished school last spring, so he’s young.” Kyle rubs his nose. “And he’d need a place to stay until he gets on his feet.”
I purse my lips as I consider it. While it’s not a hardship right now to put him up, things will change once the Resort starts getting busy. And we can’t afford to give him one of the cabins, which would mean bringing him into the Homestead. Which in turn means bringing an unbonded Alpha around Chloe.
But hopefully, that won’t be an issue once her Heat comes.
Alternatively, we could put him up at the hotel in Pinecrest. We pay for it anyway, so why not useit more often? Should we just buy a condo in Pinecrest instead?
“I’ll have to run some numbers.” I turn back to my desk to add it to my ever-growing to-do list. “Have him send over his resume.”
“Will do.” Kyle spins on his heel and heads for the stairs.
My pen pauses on the notepad. “Hey, what’s your relation to the guy?”
Kyle pauses with one hand on the railing. “He’s my cousin.”
I frown. “Why doesn’t he have anywhere to stay, then? Your family’s local.”
“My aunt’s pack wants to start courting, and they don’t want another Alpha muddying the waters.” He scowls. “If you ask me, it’s a bit messed up, considering Jared is her kid, but he’s an adult, and they put him through college, so they’ve done their duty, according to them.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Thatismessed up.” Though, it’s not unheard of in smaller packs. “We’ll figure something out, okay? We take care of family here.”
Relief sweeps over his face, and his shoulders relax. “I appreciate it. I understand I’m not pack?—”
“You’refamily,” I cut in firmly. “And you’re part of Misty Pines.”
He clears his throat and taps the handrail. “I’ll tell him to send his information your way.”
As he leaves, I fall into my chair. Even if Kyle’s cousin doesn’t work out for the marine technician job, we can’t let him become homeless. I open my laptop to start searching for housing options, but then the box on my desk draws my attention.
Right, first things first.
I drop it onto the floor and tear open the package. Inside, soft lavender-gray wool spills over my fingers, patterned with fine leaf work.
My breath catches. In person, it looks even more like the blanket Chloe clung to at Emily’s cottage. I lift the blanket, feeling the weight of quality craftsmanship in my hands. Up close, I can see the deeper purple fibers threaded through the gray base. I run my fingers along the edges where the weave forms a natural fringe and imagine Chloe doing the same.
Feeling silly but determined, I wrap it around my shoulders to start saturating it in my pheromones. My focus drifts toward the far wall where we carved out Chloe’s writing space. The nameplate Quinn painted hangs beside the door. She’s not in there, now, but I can picture long days of sharing this space with her, working on our own things, but still sharing space.
