by K. S. Martin
“We will be with Kelly’s permission of course.” She nods and slips into his side and lays her hand on his chest as if she’s been doing it all of her life. I smile sentimentally. It’s just so perfect.
I stiffen my backbone and stand up straight then give them my sternest alpha look. I feel official. “Earl. Your intentions toward my sister seem honorable but I want your word that they are. I want your word that you will take care of Kelly and her unborn pup. That you will always look out for their welfare, that you will put their needs and feelings above your own. You will treat her pup as if it is your own, that you will never do that pup harm even though he is from an alpha. Do I have it? Do I have your word as an honorable man, on your honor as a member of the East View pack and as a wolf?” I lift my chin and stare him straight in the eyes. I am alpha, I do not back down from lesser wolves, and it doesn’t matter that they are six and a half feet tall and nearly as wide. It doesn’t matter that he could smash me like a bug or that he has a gigantic gun strapped to his side. My sister and my sister’s child are at stake here.
“Ma’am, I will do everything within my power to give your sister the very best and to make her feel like my queen. She will always come first and so will all of her pups. If she will do me the honor of mating me, I will take care of her, she will always come first.” He smiles softly down at Kelly and she’s lost in his gaze.
“Okay then. Have at it.” I giggle and let myself out. The song from childhood, Kelly and Earl sitting in a tree… floats through my mind.
“Hey you.” Jackson comes up beside me as I’m walking home. “What have you been up to?” He can tell I’m happy.
“I just approved Kelly and Earl living together and mating. I probably should’ve left that to you, huh?” I let my eyes slide over his chest and belly.
“Nope. She’s your sister, and she’s your problem. Oh by the way, that applies to Autumn when she gets here too.” Jackson laughs loudly when I make a face. Crap. That rule sucks. I hear a ringing and look around. Jackson pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and my brows furrow. He has a new phone and not only did I not know that he had one but I don’t have the number. “Don’t give me that face, it’s borrowed. Jake had a spare that he took away from his daughter before she went back to college. Apparently, she likes to surf the net and run up the bill. He lent it to me until we get ours. We need to get the landline turned on and the cable too.”
“We don’t have TV? What will we do?” I give him a horrified face. Jackson loves TV. “We might have to spend time together.” He smirks at me.
“Sounds good, let’s go spend some time together now.” He waggles his eyebrows and I giggle until I look up and see my father standing beside his truck staring us down. How did he get here so fast? I look at my watch it has only been five and a half hours or so.
“Break any land speed records dad?” I really shouldn’t smart off to him but it was too tempting. It’s been five and a half hours; it’s a wonder that you are alive. Do you know that?” He smirks.
“It’s been six hours and twenty minutes Summer, math was never your best subject. Where is Kelly?” His eyes flash.
“I’ll never tell. Kelly is busy with her new mate.” I smirk stupidly. He might smack me for that.
“Her union has to be approved by her alpha. Since Frank is dead, her mating is up to me.” My head is already shaking in defiance.
“No, her mating is up to the female alpha of her new pack, the pack that she is a member of, the pack that she wanted to be in and the pack that will protect her, her mate and her pup. Her alpha female has not only approved her living with him, her new union was approved.” He snarls at me. “Dad, is this really about Kelly, or is it more about saving face? You’ve lost control of all of your daughters and you think that hauling Kelly back home will let you save face with the pack. Kelly was always a good girl. She did whatever you asked. She went with Frank and let him beat her for God’s sake, because you wanted her to. Can’t you let her be happy? Can’t you let all of us be happy? Ever since Mom died, it’s like you’ve been mad at us, you’ve taken it out on us and Dad, we’re sick of it.” I growl at him. I just growled at my father, my alpha father, my alpha father who can beat the crap right out of me. He stands there ramrod straight. Jackson has said nothing but I hear a low rumble coming from him. He’s ready to defend me. I love him so much right now. Dad takes a breath and sucks his teeth. He knows that I’m right and he’s deciding what to say to turn it around so he’s right. “Don’t try it Dad. We all love you but we are grown ups, we are people. We have the right to be happy. You are our alpha. As our alpha, you should be happy that your pack members, daughters or not, are prepared enough and educated enough to strike out on their own.” I see Shirley walking silently up behind him.
“You should be proud of Summer. She’s come here, alone and she’s not only made it on her own but she’s the alpha of a pack that she joined just a few days ago. You’ve raised a strong and smart wolf Brandt.” Brandt? She just called my dad by his first name! No female did that unless she was brave. “I think she has done so well. She’s brought a dying pack back to life. The members are so happy and so looking forward to her and Jackson’s leadership. They have already arranged for new members.”
“They haven’t arranged for new members, they are stealing members from my pack. Half of the damned young people are asking for permission to leave. So she has done nothing but trade your pack’s problem and shifted it onto my pack.”
“Perhaps there’s a reason that they all want to leave.” Shirley says softly gazing up at him. “Perhaps, they’ve been controlled harshly for so long that their spirits ache for some freedom.” Oh, shit. Shirley is human and she is walking a slippery slope, I may have to defend her if she takes this much farther with my dad. He looks like he’s about to go nuclear. “You have to govern your pack Brandt, not rule it. Wolves are free creatures and they need to express themselves. Today’s young wolves aren’t the same as they were in our day. They have computers and cell phones. They can reach out and connect in milliseconds. They can come together faster than ever. It’s our duty to let it flourish, let it develop and see where it takes us. The wolves in your pack are only doing what we would’ve done when we were young. They want to try something new because they feel confined living as they are. It will only be good for the race to see that through.”
“What the hell do you know? You aren’t wolf.” His eyes are full of fire.
“No, I’m not, but my husband was and all of my relatives are. I may not be wolf, but I have been caring for and protecting them for a lifetime.” She says calmly. I have to hand it to Shirley; she is handling him like a professional alpha tamer. “Summer and Jackson have an opportunity to really do something here. And aren’t you the best of all the alphas, you raised two, that are a team and are the youngest ruling alphas in over one hundred years.” He perked up at that. She’d hit a nerve. “Your daughter has broken a record. You must be one hell of an alpha and one hell of a father, and to think you did it all by yourself.” He’s suddenly gotten taller.
“Well, I’ve been trying to train them all of their lives, I guess some of it got through.” He looks us over. “Maybe they were paying attention.” I smile at him and wink at Shirley who grins. “Jackson, show me where I will be staying. I want to visit with my daughters before I go back.” Jackson nods and gets Dad’s duffle out of the truck. We follow him up the stairs and inside of the house.
“Oh let me, I miss this house.” Shirley says. “Follow me.” She takes us down a hall and through a door that I haven’t used yet. We end up in the wing with the four bedrooms. “These are guest quarters and this,” she opens the door, “is the nicest of the rooms. You should have the best room Brandt.” Then my dad does something that I’ve never seen him do. He checks her out. My dad just checked Shirley out and she looks like she approves of him doing it. Eww. Too much information, I do not need to witness this.
“Since you are here, will
you show us the house? I found the master bedroom and unpacked our clothes but it’s a big house.” She is still looking at my dad but she nods and turns to face me. Her cheeks are rosy. Well, well, well. Shirley and Dad sitting in a tree…I have to stifle my giggle. Jackson gives me a look and I paste a serious look on my face. Shirley takes my arm and leads me away. We explore the guest rooms, the meeting room, and the main house. She tells me that early on the pack members did in fact live in the main house until they could start building the other houses like Earl’s family house. She shows me the dining room table that has several leaves to expand it to seat eighteen. I don’t think we will need that many leaves unless Kelly wants to cook for that many. I sure can’t and nobody would want to eat it anyway. Shirley shows me the walk in pantry, I hadn’t found it yet and the walk in freezer. It’s too bad I’m not a chef. This kitchen is a dream for someone who can cook. Shirley stares wistfully around the kitchen.
“You need to go to the store Summer. There is nothing to eat in here. You will be expected to cook for the pack for meetings and such.” I make a face. “You can’t cook?” I shake my head. “Oh dear.”
“I mean we won’t starve but I’m no chef. Kelly can cook. “She is a whiz in the kitchen. She can do it.” Shirley shook her head. “She can teach me?” Shirley nods.
“And she can help you. You should always have enough food on hand to feed your pack. That’s why the pantry and freezer are so large. You should also be prepared to store any game that your pack brings in for them if they don’t have the space.” I nod. I’m soaking this in because Shirley had this job before me. My dad never stored anything for anyone and we never fed the pack either. New pack, new rules, I guess. “Come, I want to show you the office. It’s very important for you and Jackson to be in charge of your finances. The pack operates three businesses. The cabinet business that Gregory runs, several wolves work for him, and they do beautiful work. There is a condominium building that we own and operate. Newton is the superintendent but from time to time everyone has pitched in if something needed done, like painting or small repairs.”
“What’s the third?” So far, I am not going to be any help, I can’t build cabinets. Shirley smiles.
“The East View Book Nook is owned by the pack. I run it and I am paid a salary.” I’m still wondering how it stays in business, there are so few customers.
“I know it doesn’t seem like much but we do an excellent internet business. You haven’t learned that part yet but I will start teaching you soon. You will have to learn to do the store’s books and the pack’s books.” Crap. This I do know. Dad has been teaching Autumn and I this for years because he hates to do it. I’m not a fan and Autumn has the attention span of a gnat. She knows how to do it but she can’t sit still long enough to get it done.
“Dad taught us book keeping. I know how to do taxes too but I don’t know about doing them for a business.” Shirley winks.
“That’s what accountants are for dear. Just keep the books. I can show you both sets since I did them for so long. Here we are.” Wow. I’m in love. Dad’s idea of an office is a plastic sweater box with a calculator, ledger, and pencil that he brings to the kitchen table. This though is beautiful. The bookkeeping may not be so bad if I can sit in this room. The desk is old wood that’s glossy, a tilting leather chair, loaded bookcases, and a computer with a huge screen. I’m in love with this room. The carpet is emerald green and the paneling on the walls matches the wood in the shelves and desk. “All of the furniture and paneling in this room was made by Greg and his group. I whisper a ‘wow.’ Shirley pats my hand. “This was my favorite room too.” She seats me in the leather chair and it conforms to my body. It has to be the most comfortable chair that I’ve ever sat in. Shirley opens a drawer and pulls out a camera then snaps a picture of me. I can imagine the look on my face because I’m examining the woodwork on the desk and I’m sure it is a look of complete awe. “For posterity.”
“Look at you.” My dad grins proudly coming in and I grin back.
“Hey, I didn’t know that this room was here.” Jackson came in and looked around. The awed expression on his face probably resembled mine. The gravity of all of this was beginning to sink in. We are responsible for all of this. These people will depend on us to lead them, to take care of them and to manage their finances. What were they thinking? I don’t even manage my own finances. I deposit and withdraw. I bite my lip. This was too big for us. Jackson and I are children for pity’s sake. “Whoa, what are you thinking Summer? You look like you are about to bolt.” Jackson came around the desk and hauled me to my feet. “It’s okay. It will be okay. We are going to handle this. You dad is a phone call away. He and I have been talking and he thinks we’ve bitten off a lot but he thinks we can do it. He has offered to give advice and help if needed, we are allied and he’s there if we need him.” I look up at my dad. His craggy face is softer than I’ve ever seen it. He gives me a nod.
“You can do this sweetheart.” I think that is the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten from my dad. He thinks that I can do this. He has faith that I can handle this, that Jackson can handle this. “You’ve been preparing for this for your whole life. You two did it a lot faster than I expected, yes, and I always thought you two would lead our pack but no matter. You are the alphas of the East View pack now and you must behave as alphas. That means you are in charge, right or wrong, it all falls on you. Shirley and I will explain your responsibilities in depth and if you have questions later, you have our numbers.” Who was this man? I don’t know him. I turn and rush into his arms and he hugs me. “I’m very proud of you Summer. I don’t like the way that you went about it and I’m not sure that I approve of you deciding whom to mate but I am proud. You did choose your mate well, I should’ve seen that a long time ago, but it didn’t seem like that kind of relationship to me. I suppose that I don’t know everything after all. Sometimes part of being a parent is giving your kids room to screw up.” I laugh. “Now I am starved. I want to take you out to dinner, Shirley you will join us. Also, Summer tell your sister and her new mate to come. I want to meet him.” I nod and look at Jackson. He’s busy with the computer. I know he’s wondering if the internet works yet.
“I’m not sure if, um…”
“I’ll take care of it.” Jackson volunteers and hurries from the room. The internet is still off. I smirk. Once it’s on, I may never see him again.
Shirley takes us out to the porch and tells us about some of the pack members. Evelyn walks by with her dog and waves at us. I didn’t know that she lived here but it seems that she does. She goes to a little pink house with white shutters that has a white picket fence around it. It’s cute. Dad is studying Shirley. He likes her. It doesn’t matter that he’s always thought that humans weren’t good enough. This one seemed to be good enough. I smile but turn my head away so he can’t see my grin. They’ve moved away from me and are murmuring softly. I grab my broom and do some more sweeping. I see Jackson, Kelly, and Earl headed this way. I wave at them and put the broom back against the house. I go down to meet them.
“Dad has a thing for Shirley.” I tell Kelly who blushes then I see it. Earl’s mark. “Oh Kelly! Already?” I hear a chuckle behind me. “Did we interrupt?” Kelly shakes her head.
“Yes you did, but it is okay. I wanted to spend the evening with my new mate but I want to meet her father too. Since he’s here and we have the rest of our lives we will put our evening on hold for a few hours.” Earl says. Jackson is not happy about this. I think he is uncomfortable with interrupting them.
“Earl and I are mated and that’s all that matters.” Kelly said. “Daddy can’t make me leave. I knew that he would show up here and try to take me back so I hurried Earl. He wanted to have this whole romantic evening but I wanted to stay more.”
“Oh Kelly. That sucks. That’s twice your mating has been subpar.” I feel bad. I knew when Dad said that he wanted to see her that they may be…busy but I didn’t say anything.”
“It wasn’t subpar, it was beautiful.” She glanced back at Earl and flushed again. “Daddy can see that I am mated to a strong and wonderful wolf. He can go home and leave me to live my life.” I nod. If she is happy then I am happy.
Chapter 9
“I feel so bad about interrupting Kelly.” Jackson said as he pulled his clothes off when we returned to the house after a great dinner. Everyone was happy and had a good time, even my dad with his two freshly mated, without permission, daughters.
“They’re okay with it Jackson. Earl wanted to meet dad and Kel wanted to show dad that she’s good. It worked out. I think Dad will be coming back often too.” One of his eyebrows rose. “He’s sweet on Shirley.”
“No shit?” I shook my head and put our dirty clothes in the laundry basket I found earlier. “Good. He needs a woman to keep him sane and content.” I made a face. “You brought it up.” He laughed. “Now come here.” I go to him and let him wrap me in his arms.
“Jackson?” He made a humming sound. “I don’t want to with Dad in the house. Is that okay?” He gave me a squeeze and nodded but he still held onto me. “What do you think he thought of Earl?”
“I think your Dad likes him just fine. Earl did a good job of convincing him that he would take care of Kelly and I think that he liked seeing her happy. It doesn’t really matter now because they have mated. When is Autumn coming?”
“Tomorrow, she and her posse should be here by dinner. We need to hit the grocery store first thing tomorrow.” I say. Jackson leads me to the bed and we climb in. I’ve made it with fresh linens that I found in one of the closets. He covers us and nuzzles my neck. “We need to turn the cable and internet on too.” He kisses my cheek. “Jackson.” He pulls me close and turns me so my back is to his front.
“I know. I just wanted to kiss my mate okay?” His body curves possessively around mine and he is so warm and comfortable that I fall asleep quickly.