Wyatt: The Stanton Pack—Paranormal Cougar Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “No. Not at all. I think it’s a good idea. I haven’t said anything to anyone, but I think they’re lonely. When they were over the other night, they seemed desperate to help around the house. Mom even asked if she could dust. You know that’s not like them. All of us are working. Even our wives. I can see both of them here helping out. Dad has always been physical when it came to working hard. He’d love every minute of it. I noticed when we pulled in that Sidney has the makings of a garden off to the side of the house. I’m sure you know gardening is a passion of Mom’s.”

  “I do. When the man came out to till up the garden for Sidney, Mom asked her if she could make it a little bigger, so that she could put a few things in it when she was here. That night we talked about it, and Sid and I think it would be good for them to hang around up here for the week, then come down there on the weekend. Or whenever they get sick of us.”

  He and Julian were joined by Christian and Colton. Julian told them what they’d been talking about.

  “Mom would love to come here and work in the yard with Sid.” Wyatt was surprised that his brothers had their parents all moved in and having jobs. He said that to Levi when he came out on the deck. “That’s not what we meant. But I have to tell you, bro. They’ve been kind of mopey until about a week before they left. I’ve never seen Mom so excited about traveling. Not even for the cruise her and Dad took did she get this excited.”

  “I want them to come and stay, simply because they’ve really enjoyed this week with us. And as I said, Dad has been hinting a great deal.” He showed them the barn and what had been done to it as they continued to talk. “Dad said he thought that we should get us a couple of cows and have fresh milk. Sid wants some chickens, but I don’t think for eating. I really don’t think she could do that.”

  They paused outside of the barn and looked where Julian was pointing. There, at the rise of one of the many hills, were ten of their wild horses. The color from the trees made their coats seem brighter in the sunlight. They were just eating some of the grass there and not paying any attention to them at all. None of them teased Levi when he started taking pictures. It was quite a sight to see.

  By the time food was ready to be taken to the tables, the rest of the family had shown up, from in-laws to people that had come to mean a great deal to the family. It was a time of gathering, and Wyatt had never been so happy in his life to know that his and Sid’s home brought them all together.

  Helping bring the food out was a great deal more fun than he would imagine that anyone else would have had. They were bragging about how much they were going to eat of certain things they brought out. Brayden had been so happy that there were several kinds of pies, and even the tea, which Mom had made for the event, was as good as they ever had at home. Looking around, Wyatt was glad that they’d had the dishwasher installed when they had.

  Dad stood up when they were all seated. The kids, all of them, from babies to teenagers, were there as well. With the size of their dining room or even the deck, Wyatt had decided that if he could, they’d have everyone in the same room so that it was more festive. Christmas, he thought, was going to be impressive, because they would all have to be inside the house.

  “I’d like to say something. I’m proud of all of you. I don’t just mean our sons, but all of you children. Lucy and I are very blessed to have had sons that found someone special to balance them. Then for them together to find a way to bring even more people to our family. This is— Well, this is the proudest Thanksgiving I’ve ever witnessed. And I’m sure that they’ll get better as the years go on.” Everyone agreed with Dad. Then he turned to Wyatt. “Thank you, Wyatt and Sid, for opening your home to all of us. And for allowing these old people to come and stay for a time. If your offer of us living here with you is open, we’ve talked it over, and we’d love to have this as our main house, right along with you two.”

  Sid told them that if they had a home, so did the two of them. Everyone clapped. Dad and Mom both were so touched by all the support that they had to leave the table for a moment to gather themselves. No one, not even the in-laws, thought it was a terrible idea for them to move in with them. Dad said he’d talk to him later about what they could work out, but Wyatt didn’t care so long as they were as happy as they’d made him and Sid.

  There was plenty of food, and everyone ate as much as they wanted. Brayden complained about not having room for pie, but everyone knew that he’d have room for it, especially after Sid told him that there was homemade ice cream.

  “What I’d like to know is, how the hell did you fix all this food by yourself?” Dane laughed when Mom said she had helped. “I’m sure you did a little more than help, Lucy. This food is fantastic. I mean, this is restaurant quality stuff here.”

  “I only made a couple of things that Sid didn’t know how to make like I do. That girl there, she cooked every single thing but the mac and cheese and the gravy. Since we’ve been here, Sid has made us some pretty wonderful food.”

  Dane asked when she’d learned how to cook. Mom hugged Sid and told her to tell them.

  “I’ve been learning online, believe it or not. It’s been fun. I didn’t start out cooking this kind of food but worked my way up to it. We ate a great many nasty meals when we first moved into the house.” Wyatt, wisely, said nothing. “He’s quiet now, but not so much when he had to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches four nights in a row. But I stuck with it, and I think I’m getting pretty good at it. Next summer, I’m going to try my hand at making jellies and jams.”

  “I really didn’t get mad, but when a couple of squirrels chased me back into the house, Sid started to get serious about cooking. I think she’s having a blast too. I know that I have.” Brayden asked what she had cooked him. “Everything here, with the exception of the turkey, I’ve had already. She said she wasn’t going to serve you anything that I didn’t approve of. I have to tell you guys, it’s been good that I have to work hard out of doors, or I’d have had to be rolled around in a wagon.”

  “You must have passed every class, Sid. This was fantastic. And since you told us to bring containers to take leftovers home, I’m going to take you up on that.” Colton told Hailey that she should have brought more containers. “I was hoping that she had some extra.”

  After the meal was done and the leftovers, of which there weren’t a great deal, were divided up, he and his brothers did the dishes. Along with Sid learning to cook, she also had taught herself to clean as she went, so there were very few pots and pans to clean up. Colton asked Wyatt what his plans were for the land while they worked.

  “For the most part, we’ve decided to let the horses breed as they have been. We’re going to bring the orchard back, I hope. We’ve gotten us a motorized cart to drive around the fields, and we’ve discovered a great deal. In addition to the ponds here, we have a creek that runs through the meadow about twenty minutes south of here. Next summer, we’re going to see about having a few of the outbuildings electrified. It’s just the barn right now.” Each of his brothers said they’d come up to help when he wanted them to. “That’s great. We’re setting up each of the bedrooms on this level for you guys to come whenever you want. There are ten bedrooms on the extension from the main house that has an inside and an outside entrance now. We thought that when we purchased it, the auctioneer had messed up. But the ten bedrooms that had been added, he didn’t count the five that were already here in the big house. We want to have a contractor cut them down to three. We may or may not do that. But we have the bedroom that must have been put on first because it’s huge. The other rooms, they’re very small rooms. We have a list about a mile long of things that we want to get fixed in the winter months. Anytime you guys want to show up, that would be great. We could use the help. But it’s about the most fun I’ve had since I got out of college. We’re learning something new every day.”

  “I’m all for you having Christmas here too. I don’t
want to impose, but it’s really wonderful here. I’m not saying I want to live out here all the time—it is sort of out in the middle of nowhere—but it’s so quiet here. Not to mention, even the air smells better. You really lucked out, little brother.”

  He hugged Christian when he said that. It did feel good to have them all there.

  ~*~

  Sid rubbed her baby and leaned her head back on the couch. There was no place she’d rather be than right where she was. All the families that had come prepared to stay were enjoying themselves in their rooms. Sid had to laugh when it took them almost two hours to figure out which room they wanted. It would be theirs for as long as they wanted, they’d told them, so they were making sure that they got the one that they wanted.

  Wyatt joined her in the living room. There wasn’t a television yet—she wasn’t even sure that they would get one for now. But they had a huge fireplace, books galore, as well as a music system that they both loved to listen to.

  “How’s my little momma?” Sid told him that she was doing just fine. “I’m so glad that Mom and Dad are going to be here. Aren’t you?”

  “Oh, yes. I’m loving having your mom with me all the time. And when she’s not around, I’m all right with that too. We have enough to do that we don’t get in each other’s way. Tomorrow she wants to go into town to do some shopping. I don’t know what she thinks she’s going to find. There is one store there, and I think they sell hunting clothing and very little else in the way of apparel.” They both laughed. “Before I forget, Mr. Colby called. He’s coming out tomorrow morning to see if he can get the last of the wood out of the pasture. I told him he didn’t have to do that, but he said that you and he had struck a bargain. That you told him he could have the rest of the wood out there.”

  “I forgot to tell you. He and his family only heat with wood. I know that we have more than enough, considering that we have a furnace if we want to use it. Mr. Colby told me about five times when we were working out there that we were lucky to have so many acres to get wood from. I looked into it, and they’re having a hard time of it.” She asked him what he’d done. “I don’t know what you mean. They’re down on their luck, and I gave him some wood, that’s all.”

  “But that’s not all, is it? You did something else. Not that I mind. You have a good heart.” He thanked her. “What did you do to help that poor man out, and his family, Wyatt Stanton?”

  “I paid their back taxes.” She nodded and asked what else. “You’re a suspicious little thing, aren’t you? Okay. I let them have the other tractor in the barn. The one that runs, but we’re not to depend on it, Brayden said when he fixed the newer one.”

  “Will it help them out?” Wyatt told her that Mr. Colby only needed to plow up their garden, and they’d have vegetables for the winter months. “You have a kind heart. What else did you find out about them? Don’t think I didn’t see Dane hand you that thick file when she got here. And from now on, don’t keep me in the dark. I’ll hurt you if you do.”

  “I just couldn’t not help him out.” She kissed him on the mouth. “I promise to keep you in the loop from now on. And the paperwork that she gave me was about the property here. I should have thought of this before we purchased it, but I wanted to make sure that the deed was up to date. We need a place to store things like that. We don’t have a close bank here, and I’d hate to not be able to get these when we need them.”

  “We need to purchase a safe. I mean a huge one, too. I’ve heard of people getting a safe and realized that too large is better than too small on that.” Wyatt told her that they should put some cash in it for emergencies that might come up. “I agree. Lord knows what we’ll do if we can ever get a pizza delivered out here.”

  They snuggled up on the couch, and she pulled the lap blanket over the both of them. It was a wonderful day and only made better because they were together. Sid was sure that for as long as she lived, which apparently was forever, they’d still be on the couch holding each other nightly.

  She was up early the next morning. She and Wyatt had been getting up before the sun every morning since they’d gotten here. She had bacon in the oven and tea water on before anyone else came into the kitchen with her. The men had moved all the tables and chairs in last night.

  “That was by far the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a very long time.” Brayden kissed her on the cheek as he filled his mug with water. “The baby slept well, too, in that baby bed. Where on earth did you find that thing? It has to be a hundred years old.”

  “There are some bedrooms on the second floor that we’re still sorting through, and it was in a closet. I checked the specs on it. Believe it or not, the slats aren’t too far apart for the baby to get his head stuck in.” He said that it was gorgeous. “I think so too. We bought a new mattress, of course, but the bed only needed to be cleaned up. There are other things up there that we’re still looking to see if we want to keep or not.”

  “I’m betting that the trunks were here too.” Sid nodded at Dane. “I just looked inside of them. Sorry for being nosy, but that is a wonderful place to have extra blankets. It certainly gets chilly up here when the sun goes down, huh?”

  “It’s not been too terribly cold yet, but we have a heater in our room. I should have thought that you’d need one.” Dane told her it was perfect. She also said not to worry about it. “We’re still getting things fixed up. I have never had so much fun just doing things in a house before.”

  The rest of the family came in, and it wasn’t until she was working on figuring out how everyone wanted their eggs or did they want pancakes that they asked where Wyatt was. He’d been gone so much out in the fields daily that she’d forgotten they might not know that.

  “He’s with Mr. Colby, our neighbor that lives down the way. He and his family are in a hard way, and Wyatt is helping him gather the wood up from the trees.” All five of the men stood up and said they’d help. “I’m sure that your dad and Wyatt have it. We didn’t invite you up here to work.”

  “We’re family.”

  Sid rolled her eyes as they got their coats on and headed out the door. She counted to five before they came back and asked her where they were.

  “Just head north. You’ll either find them or get lost, but it’s doubtful that you will. Take the tractor—Mr. Colby might not be able to take all the wood home with him unless he wants to make several trips.”

  When they were gone, Sid pulled the bacon from the oven and put it on a platter. She was getting really good at being a housewife, she thought.

  “They’ll be gone most of the morning, won’t they?” Sid told Tess that Wyatt hadn’t eaten either, so maybe not. Lucy sat down with them as they sat at the large kitchen table. “You both looked very suited to this style of living. I mean, like you’ve been plucked right out of the eighteen hundreds.”

  “Thanks. There is so much here that we’re dealing with.” Hailey asked her what kind of stuff. “Well, it’s not bad, really, but the rooms upstairs have to be gone through. From what we were told, the couple that lived here hadn’t been up the stairs in a very long time, so that part of the house was shut off. They had a couple of boys, I guess, but they went to the city, Wyatt was told, and never returned.”

  “Let’s go.” She looked at Ray and asked her what she meant. “We have a couple of hours at least until they return. We might as well make short work of at least one of the rooms. And you never know, we might find a few treasures that you don’t want, like a couple more of those trunks.”

  They were headed to the stairs when Sid showed them where the cleaning closet was that she was using to store extra stuff. So far, it was just linens, but there were cleaning supplies and brooms as well.

  “I think there are about four more trunks if you really want them. I mean, there are more, but the ones in here are clean. There are a couple of dozen in the barn that needs some serious cleaning. I’m going t
o do the same thing I did with your bedrooms and put one in each of the rooms. They’re perfect for storing blankets and pillows.” Dane said she’d take one of the dirty ones. “They’re covered in bird shit, Dane. Just take one of them from here.”

  “No. I’m not going to take a nice one so that you have to clean up a dirty one. I’m capable of cleaning some shit off a trunk.” The others said that they’d take a dirty one too. Sid was glad for it. Something less she’d have to do. “They’re not too bad. I can see a couple of single beds in here.”

  The rooms were filled with things like rolled-up rugs and dismantled furniture. Not broken—nothing had been broken that they’d found. But it looked as if when the previous owners were finished with it or didn’t need it anymore, they would just take it apart and store it with blankets over it.

  “If we really want to help out, I suggest we do this in teams. We can divide up into pairs, and that way, we can start on three rooms instead of just one. Sid, you will be running from room to room to check out whatever we might find.” Everyone seemed to like that idea except for her. Dane just overrode her about it. “I don’t care if you like it or not. You’re five months pregnant, fed us a spectacular meal yesterday, and we’re going to help you.”

  After about ten minutes, Sid realized that Dane had had a good idea. Every time they unearthed something, she’d go and look it over. Most of the things she knew what it was, but there were a couple of pieces that stumped even Lucy.

  They had moved all the furniture that she didn’t want to keep to one side of each room. Nothing was wrong with it, but she had no use for the three small kids’ desks or the board games that had pieces lost or broken. Nor did she want the treadle sewing machine. She was learning how to sew, but she’d bet she’d get nowhere with that thing in a quick hurry.