The Carpenter’s Dilemma (Family Secrets Book 2)

by Noah Harris

  “And the ‘hearing the trees’ thing?” Dean asked, frown deepening, “Or, how about the fact that I’m healing so much faster than I have any business doing.”

  That brought another shrug from Mikael, “Maybe you’ve got a little bit of werewolf in you? Wouldn’t be the first time that someone who thought they were fully human has shown signs of being part werewolf. Sometimes we get Kin who wander across our path without ever having known what was going on with them until they had it explained. Same thing with werewolves who weren’t originally part of a pack.”

  “Well, I’m no werewolf,” Dean sighed, “I think I would have turned by now, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah,” Mikael drew out with a grin, “I’d say you’re well past puberty. Very well past.”

  Dean squinted up at the man, “I can’t tell if you’re calling me well developed and sexy, or if you just called me old.”

  Mikael snorted, “You’re like, what, a year or two older than me? I’m hardly calling you old.”

  Dean continued to squint up at the man until Mikael gave in with a small laugh, leaning forward to wrap his arms around him. Dean squirmed as the man plucked him out of his seat with an ease that was both unnerving and arousing, and before he knew it he’d been pulled onto Mikael’s lap. He wriggled a bit against the manhandling, but only for the sake of his pride. Truly, he didn’t mind being nestled in the man’s lap like this, feeling safe and comfortable. Plus he knew that after Mikael was done being sweet, there was a good chance he would end up in an entirely different position on the man’s lap.

  “You worry . . . ,” Mikael began to tell him, planting a series of kisses on Dean’s neck, “far too much, you know that?”

  “It’s a valid worry,” Dean protested feebly, considerably less anxious now, and still held against the other man.

  “Who cares if you’re a weird human?” Mikael asked, with a huff, “You’ve said yourself that you have always been different from other people. And so what if the pack thinks you’re strange, they think every human is strange. It’s probably a good thing that you’ve thrown off some of their ideas anyway.”

  “Oh yeah?” Dean asked, a little wryly.

  “Yeah,” he stated simply, nuzzling Dean, “I mean, look at what it did for me. Your way of thinking changed me and here I am, actually standing up to my dad for the first time ever, and for real this time. I’m truly acting like the heir I’ve always wanted to be. It just took you shaking things up for me to see it. I don’t want to take his place and become who he is. You were right, he has been forcing me to stick to his way of things, and those ways don’t always fit with the times. He may not like it, but that’s how it goes, and if I eventually have to fight to be able to do things my way, then that’s how it goes.”

  “It just took one weirdo to make you see that, huh?” Dean tried to keep his wry tone, but he couldn’t help the warmth he felt in his chest at the idea.

  “Hey,” Mikael said to him, tone serious, “stop. You’re not a weirdo, and even if you are, it doesn’t matter to me. You’re the man I’m in love with, and I have every intention of keeping you with me for the rest of our lives.”

  The warmth spread to Dean’s face, and he knew full well that he was blushing under Mikael’s still new acceptance of him, and of their relationship. Giving in willingly, Dean turned his head, catching the other man’s mouth with his own. The soft noise that came from Mikael at the contact sent a shiver through Dean. He secretly loved that Mikael always showed how much he needed this. It was almost always a small gesture, the way his hands found their way to Dean’s skin, or even the smallest of noises when they kissed. Yet it was those little moments that strengthened his resolve all the more.

  “You better love me,” Dean said against his lips, “I got my ass kicked for you.”

  Mikael snorted, “Don’t remind me.”

  Dean nodded, glancing out to the field, “And by the way, what vegetables do werewolves even eat? Because I’m telling you right now, I’m not giving them my milk, damn it. I like my fresh milk!”

  Mikael shook his head, “You’ve got plenty that you can give. Like I keep reminding you, we’re humans too, or at least, half of us are. We can live off of vegetables just fine, have you not seen me inhale your fancy asparagus?”

  “It’s not fancy that I use butter, garlic, and some salt,” Dean told the man, shaking his head, “Honestly. What do you guys even eat out there if some asparagus is fancy to you?”

  Mikael sighed, “We just stick a deer on the spit and eat it off the bone. We’re simple folk, Dean.”

  Dean swatted him, “Don’t be a shit. You can make cheesecake a little too well for me to believe that deer on a spit is your main source of food.”

  “Fine, but it is true that we’re not usually the best with food that’s doesn’t grow wild around here,” he admitted, “so I’m sure you could make people happy by showing them some new foods and ways to cook it. Kinda goes with the whole ‘bringing the pack into this century’ thing I talked about. Even something like showing them some more modern ways of making food might help a bit.”

  “New ways to cook,” Dean began, glancing back toward the house, “yet the keeper of the old stories. Bit of a contradiction there.”

  “Still haven’t read them, huh?” Mikael asked.

  Dean shook his head, “No. I know it’s going to be a huge investment of time on my part, even to get started. I’ll have to dig everything out, then figure out some sort of order to read in. I figure I’ll probably have to read them often enough to get as close to memorizing them as I’m supposed to, plus make sure they remain well cared for. It’s a lot of work that I’ve just been, well . . . too lazy to want to deal with right now.”

  “You have time. Mom likes you, and she wants you around. She’ll make sure that dad doesn’t go too crazy about the whole thing. The pack will be happy with whatever you can provide. Between that and mom, you’ll be pretty set. Dad will just drag the whole thing out as long as he can.”

  “I guess that’s something to worry about later,” Dean hummed, watching the sun make its way down the horizon, content just as he was. “The hard part’s over with, right?”

  Mikael laughed at that, “Didn’t you say something like that before we even went out there in the first place?”

  Dean inclined his head to acknowledge the man’s point, “Alright, you got me there. Fine, the worst of this is over then. I’m sure we have even more shit coming our way, since apparently my life is destined to be just one big upset after another.”

  “Maybe you just live in interesting times?” Mikael observed, his fingers slipping beneath Dean’s shirt to play at his hips.

  “Yeah, but I think I prefer the times in between the interesting times. The periods where I can just enjoy what I have, and relax. Relaxing is pretty amazing nowadays,” Dean sighed wistfully.

  “Well,” Mikael began, sounding thoughtful, “why don’t you throw that casserole you made in the oven then? Then we can turn on a movie or something, work up an even bigger appetite on some random piece of furniture, then eat and spend the rest of the night relaxing. All the while pretending that more interesting times aren’t heading our way.”

  Dean smiled as he stood with Mikael’s fingers still lingering on him. Now that was a plan he could live with.

  Notes from the author

  Beloved reader, I hope you have enjoyed reading The Carpenters Dilemma! I’m already working on part three, and I promise not to make you wait for long. Although the story may be over, there are still things left to do! Please read below and follow the next two steps.

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