“What’s all this laughing I hear? Is somebody having fun without me?” he teased as he came up the hallway.
“Doddy! Look! It’s cown!” Cristie said, happily pointing to her plate.
Riley walked over and looked at her place, and sure enough, there were clown pancakes on her plate. There was a bowl of whipped cream, a squeeze bottle of honey and a plate of fresh sliced cherries and bananas on the table as well.
“What are you doing?” he asked Cristie.
“I make cown,” she said, splashing whipped cream on top of her pancake and adding cherries and bananas to its face.
“Morning, Riley. Have a seat, and you can make your own clown,” Richie said, chuckling.
“Can I have some coffee with it?” Riley asked, sitting down.
“Coming right up,” Richie answered.
“Good morning, Alpha,” Libby said brightly.
“Morning, Libby. Riley is fine, no need to call me Alpha. But thank you just the same.”
Riley dragged his fingertip through the mountain of whipped cream Cristie was building on top of her pancake and smeared a spot of it on the tip of her nose. “Sorry I overslept. Had trouble falling asleep last night.”
“Not a problem. We’re having breakfast and handling things,” Richie said, grinning at Cristie.
“I thought I’d come early so that you two could get started with whatever you need to do,” Libby said, smiling at Richie as he put her own plate full of pancakes in front of her.
“There’s milk or juice in the fridge, Libby. Or you can have chocolate milk like Cristie, if you prefer,” Richie said to her.
“Thanks, Richie,” she said, rising from her seat to get the gallon of milk from the fridge.
“Juice or milk, Riley?” she asked from the refrigerator.
“Milk, please, but just a splash for my coffee.”
Richie served his own plate, and they had a leisurely breakfast, laughing and getting to know one another.
“You grow up around here?” Riley asked Libby.
“Yeah, I did. My parents had me late in life, and I’m an only child. They’ve both retired and moved to warmer weather, but I chose to stay. Thought I had a reason to stay behind, so I went full time at the grocery store and stuck around here.”
“That reason wouldn’t have anything to do with that surly Tiger shifter that insisted on following you home last night, would it?” Riley asked.
Libby didn’t look up from her plate, but a sad smile curved her lips. “He wasn’t always so surly. And maybe he was the reason, once, a long time ago, but not so much anymore.” She looked up at the men at the table with her and forced a smile, “Excuse me, for just a moment,” she said, heading off toward the downstairs bathroom.
Cristie chose that moment to fling a sliced cherry across the small table at Richie. It plopped right in the middle of Richie’s plate, and Cristie dissolved into peals of laughter.
“Like Remi,” she said. Then she flung one at Riley, who caught it and gobbled it up, laughing at her.
“Yes, just like Remi. You better not fling carrots though!” Riley said, tickling her and laughing at her squeals.
“Who’s Remi?” Richie asked.
“The last clan we belonged to, before we decided to strike out on our own. He was one of the member’s little boy. She and Remi were friends in daycare before our friends adopted him. They were close.”
“Unca Dan Remi doddy,” Cristie said.
“He sure is,” Riley said, mussing Cristie’s hair.
“You know, Cristie kept telling me that Uncle Dan was the black Dragon and Aunt Lilah was the blue. It’s sweet that she named them after your family. She must really miss them,” Richie said.
Riley grinned.
“What are you grinning about?” Richie asked.
“They are the Dragons,” Riley said, taking a huge bite of the pancakes on his plate, chewing while he waited for Richie to respond.
“Those Dragons out there? No, those are blowup Dragons.”
“Yep. But Delilah and Daniel are real. Delilah is blue and silver when in her Dragon form, and Daniel is black and red.”
“You’re not kidding,” Richie said.
“Nope.”
“Seriously? You have family that are Dragons.”
“Yep. Family of the heart, but still family.”
“Holy shit,” Richie said, mind blown. “You come from a clan of Dragons?”
“Oh, no. The Alpha is a Grizzly. He’s got Bears, Wolves, Lions and Dragons under him. There were even humans in his clan. It’s kind of a mix-matched kind of thing.”
Richie sat back and was watching him, spellbound.
“It’s the reason I want my Pride to include anyone who wants to belong. Doesn’t matter who you were born, your heart makes you family. I want to have that kind of Pride. The kind that welcomes anyone who needs a home, a place to be who they are, and is valued for only that.”
Richie’s face split into a huge grin, “This is going to be amazing, Alpha. I am thankful you’ve allowed me to be a part of it,” Richie said, his heart in his voice.
“We’ll see. It’s just us so far,” Riley said.
“I’d call that a hell of a start,” Richie said, still grinning, tucking back into his own pancakes.
Libby was walking back toward the kitchen when she heard Riley and Richie talking about the clan he’d belonged to before coming here. She heard him say humans belonged to that clan. She felt her pulse quicken a little. She’d like a place to belong. If he’d offer her a spot in his Pride, she’d certainly take it. She’d stayed behind when her parents left, to wait for Travis to come home, but now, after he’d come back, she was alone. She was thankful she’d been there when Scotty needed her after his parents died, but he didn’t need her anymore. Travis was back. She was tired of being lonely.
“So, what are you guys gonna do today while Cristie and I make ornaments for the Christmas tree?” she asked, retaking her seat.
“Gonna clean out the store, take inventory of what’s still inside and what we need there. I think so anyway,” Richie said.
“That’s it,” Riley agreed. “Hey, pass that bacon over here.”
“Here you go, Alpha,” Libby said, handing it to him, her eyes full of meaning.
He didn’t correct her this time. He got the feeling she was trying to tell him something. He wasn’t quite sure what, but there was a world of emotion behind her eyes.
“Eat up!” he said. “I slept late. We got some catching up to do to not lose the day,” Riley said.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
The beep-beep-beep of the utility truck as it maneuvered into place and then raised the cherry-picker into the air over by the store drew Cristie’s undivided attention. She stood on the couch, watching through the windows as the men repaired the light on the pole. Richie had called them about the light being out, and since it was a county-owned pole, they had come out to fix it. But the one over by Riley’s house they couldn’t touch because it was privately owned. And it was still in Amos’ name. Still another thing Riley had to take care of. Riley and Richie were both out there talking with them and watching the light repair operation.
“Come on, baby,” Libby said, “let’s finish these ornaments. Then we can let them dry, so they’ll be ready to decorate the tree tonight.”
“’Kay,” Cristie said, sliding down to her bottom to sit on the couch instead of standing on it. Libby had spread out newspapers on the coffee table and put all their supplies across them. She’d bought foam sheets and bubble paints, small candy tins which she then put holes in with an old ice pick. Then filled each with a different color glitter. She’d also bought large sequins and craft jewels with sticky backs that could be easily stuck to each ornament. “Okay, this one is finished, pick out some sparkles and stick them to the ornaments, then choose a color and sprinkle some glitter on it.”
“Red!” Cristie said, reaching for the glitter.
Libby laughed when
a couple of hours later Riley walked in and said while laughing, “Oh, my God! Looks like a glitter bomb went off in here!”
“Red, Doddy!” Cristie said, excitedly pointing to their glitter cans.
“Is that your favorite?” he asked.
“Yes!” she said, sprinkling more on the small child-sized hand-shaped cut-out Libby had just finished spreading glue on.
Libby sat back and looked around the area surrounding the coffee table. “In retrospect, maybe the glitter wasn’t such a good idea. Sorry.”
“She’s happy. That’s all I care about,” Riley answered, smiling at his daughter now trying to put silver sequins in the middle of the red glittered hand-ornament.
“I’ll clean it all up before I go,” Libby said.
“That’s fine. Hey, I came in to let you know that I’m heading into town. Got a few things to take care of. You mind staying a bit longer with Cristie?”
“Nope. Don’t mind at all. I blocked out the whole day to just stick around here.”
“Thanks, Libby. I appreciate it. You got my number if you need me?”
“No, I don’t. Hold up, let me get my phone.” Libby reached for her purse, pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. She waited for Riley to recite his number then added it. “Got it.”
“Good, now, what’s yours?” Riley asked. He added her number to his phone then lifted Cristie to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll see ya’ll in a bit. Richie is over at the store still working to get it cleaned up if you need something.”
“Alright, we’re fine. Take your time.”
Riley drove into town and parked his truck near the building supply. He took his time walking the few blocks in the small town, going to the Power Co-op changing the utilities over to his name. Then he went to the court house to find out how to go about getting a building permit to add an addition onto the store to enlarge the restaurant side of it. Having taken care of all the business he had yet to address since his arrival in town, he headed back to the building supply to see about ordering one of those big cypress play sets with swings, slides, the climbing wall and a little fort on top for Cristie. Just before he stepped into the store, he heard a commotion behind him and turned to see what was happening. About a block up, across from the court house, one of the small town police cars was pulled to the side of the street, and its occupant was shouting at a very large, very dirty man. Riley had noticed the man earlier from a distance and was surprised that even in this small town there were homeless.
“I’ve asked you three times, boy. You gonna answer me or not?”
“Got nothing to say to you. I did nothing wrong,” the very deep-voiced man responded.
“I asked everybody; ain’t nobody helping you. You obviously don’t have a job. You got to be eating somehow, which means either you stealing or you hunting. Since I don’t remember you getting a hunting license, either way you managing to eat, it’s illegal.”
The man’s voice got a little louder, a little more threatening, “I did nothing wrong!”
Riley was not at all happy with the treatment of this man, and the voice that spoke beside him wasn’t either.
“They need to leave him alone. He ain’t done nothing.”
Riley didn’t look at him — he wasn’t surprised by his presence. He’d heard Scotty approach. “Who is he?”
“Drifter. Been hanging around here for a few months. But he ain’t never bothered nobody. I tried to be nice to him a time or two, but he’s not much for talking. He ain’t rude, just quiet. They harass him every time they see him.”
“You know his name?” Riley asked.
“Naw. But he’s like us.”
Riley’s head snapped toward Scotty, “You sure?”
Scotty nodded, “Oh, yeah.”
Just then a second police car joined the first. This policeman Riley recognized from earlier when he’d gone into the courthouse to apply for a building permit. This officer had been in the office speaking with the secretary when Riley had walked in. They’d introduced themselves and exchanged a few pleasantries before the officer had taken his leave and left Riley to his business. Only now, this officer was getting out to add to the harassment. “Thought I told you to move on last time I saw you in town? Maybe a couple nights in jail will convince you to move on,” the second policeman said.
“This is bullshit,” Riley mumbled as he started jogging over toward the two small-town cops.
The drifter had turned slightly, angling himself to be able to keep an eye on both the cops at once.
Riley called out as he got closer, “Hey! What’s the problem?”
“Don’t concern you, Mr. Colter. You need to move along,” one of the cops answered.
“Actually, it does. Is there a problem?” Riley asked, throwing a bit more of his Alpha behind it. He knew the cops were not shifters, but the feeling of a pissed-off Alpha still made most humans anxious.
“He’s been told to leave our town several times. No way he’s surviving on his own without a job unless he’s stealing or hunting. Both are illegal,” the first cop said, grinding his teeth in reaction to the anxiety he was now feeling as a result of Riley’s alpha powers being thrown into the mix.
“He’s not done anything illegal. In fact, he’s on his way to my place. He works for me. You got a problem with him, you need to let me know. Otherwise, stop harassing him,” Riley said, standing strong just in front of the drifter, feet planted, hands loose at his sides, back ramrod straight.
“You’re new around here, Mr. Colter. You should be careful who you align yourself with,” the officer said.
“I am. But I know harassing a man without proof or probable cause is illegal. Even here,” Riley responded.
“This is a small town. We do things a little different here. We watch out for our own. We aren’t harassing anybody, just being a little more cautious than they are in most other places. Proactive rather than reactive.”
Riley nodded, “I understand. And honestly, I’m thankful for it. But in this instance, you’re off target. This man works for me. I can vouch for him.”
“He’s been here longer than you’ve been,” the officer said.
“Yes, he has. And I hired him the moment I met him and spoke with him enough to realize he’s former military. Trained, done and seen things you only see in movies. The man bleeds red, white and blue, and you want to fault him for drifting across the country, seeing first hand the places and way of life he’s sacrificed for.”
The officer Riley had met earlier shuffled his feet, looking down before looking back up at Riley, “He’s never told us that. If he had, we’d have likely taken it easier on him.”
“Well, now you know. And when you see him in town, he’s probably running errands for me. Leave him alone.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Colter. Now that we know you’ve taken personal responsibility for him and his actions, we aren’t quite as worried. Knowing we can come to you when something goes wrong.”
“Glad you understand, Officer Posey. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have things to tend to,” Riley answered, his glare one of steel as he stared right back at the officer. “Ya’ll have a good day now,” Riley said, before turning to the shifter behind him, “Just throw your stuff in the back of my truck. We’ll be just a few minutes longer.” Riley pointed to his truck, and the shifter glanced at it, then back to him. Riley thought the male was going to refuse at first — he looked back at the officers still standing there, then at Riley, before walking toward the truck and dropping his duffle into the bed of the truck. He stood, watching Riley, waiting to see what would happen next.
Chapter 11
Riley walked the few steps to his truck, then called across the street, “Scotty?!”
“Yes, sir?” Scotty called back, still standing in front of the building supply, watching.
“Ya’ll got those cypress swing sets with the forts on top and the slides and all?”
“Yes, sir. But we gotta order them. Only displays in
stock.”
“Order me the biggest one for Cristie. I’ll be in later to pay for it.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Riley. I’ll take care of it.”
Then Riley opened the door to his truck and got in. He fired it up and waited, but the male didn’t get in right away. Riley put the truck in gear, “You coming or not?” he called out of the window.
The door opened and the male got in. They drove a few feet before he finally spoke, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Riley smirked, “Yeah, I did. That was bullshit.”
“Nothing new,” the male responded.
“And, you’re welcome,” Riley snapped.
The male looked at Riley for a few moments before saying, “Thank you.” Then, “How’d you know I was military?”
Riley snorted, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it’s usually a duck. You reek of military. Besides, the tatts on your forearms kinda give it away.”
“I could be a serial killer. Not all military are good people.”
“Yeah, and I could whip your ass. But I won’t. Not yet anyway,” Riley stated, while still looking straight ahead.
The male regarded him, “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“And I meant it, by the way,” Riley said.
“You meant what?”
“You reek. You need a damn bath. And soon.”
The man laughed, long and hard. “True enough,” he said, still laughing, “True enough.”
They rode in silence for a while before the male said, “So your name is Riley?”
“Yeah, it is. What’s yours?”
The male seemed to consider for a moment before answering. “I’m Lucas.”
“Good to meet you, Lucas,” Riley said.
A bit longer and Lucas said, “You know, if your idea is to drive me out of town and get me on my way, I’ll probably just come back. You know, since you wanted me to go so badly.”
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