Maia had just finished her last batch of bacon and started on the first of the pancakes she planned to make when she heard Cristie’s voice coming from above her. “Mai?!” her worried little voice called.
“Down here in the kitchen, Cristie,” Maia answered.
She turned off the flame on the stove top and hurried to the staircase to keep an eye on Cristie as she came down. Cristie was very agile and could easily navigate the steps with no problem, but she still followed her doddy’s instructions though he was not on hand, and slid down on her bottom, step by step, rather than walk down them.
Maia smiled watching her come down the stairs toward her. “Very good girl. Always be careful on the stairs.”
Cristie reached the bottom stair and reached her arms up for Maia to pick her up, her eyes dancing and a grin in place, “Bacon?”
“Yes, I made us lots of bacon. And I’m making pancakes, too. You hungry?”
“Yes! Hurry!” Cristie answered, in a rush to get some food.
Maia took Cristie into the kitchen and placed her in her chair on top of the phone books. “Gonna have to get you a real booster seat.” Maia got Cristie’s chair scooted in and handed her a piece of bacon, “Give me just a minute, and I’ll have some pancakes for you. Okay?”
Cristie nodded as she crunched away on her bacon, watching as Maia turned on the flame and poured the pancake batter as the bacon grease started sizzling again.
They were singing songs and saying their ABC’s while Maia steadily built a pile of pancakes on the platter next to the stove. In the middle of the Old McDonald song, Cristie suddenly said, “Libs!”
Maia turned to find a pretty girl, a bit older than herself standing there.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hi. You must be Libby,” Maia said, smiling but feeling like an intruder in what was at the moment her home.
The girl smiled, “That’s me. And you are?”
“Maia. I’m Riley’s, uh, er, um — I know Riley,” she finished.
The girl smiled and nodded. “I was coming over to watch Cristie this morning, but I guess I’m not needed.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t stay. I just got here yesterday. My father drove me out. Decided it was time,” Maia said, chuckling. “It was unexpected, and it caught Riley off guard, so that’s probably why he forgot to call you. Why don’t you stay? We can get acquainted since it looks like I’m going to be here for at least a little while.”
Libby smiled, though it was strained, “I don’t want to intrude…”
“You’re not. Seriously, there’s a lot of testosterone floating around this house. I could use another female to talk to.”
Libby didn’t answer, but smiled sweetly and looked around the kitchen before looking back over her shoulder toward the front of the house.
Maia didn’t want to make the girl think she wasn’t needed here, and like her dad, she went by her gut most of the time. Her gut told her she liked this girl. “Libby?”
Libby turned back to Maia.
Maia said, “I’m Riley’s Mate. But I’m out of my element here. We’ve had some rough times, are still having some rough times, and quite frankly, I’m not sure it can be fixed. But I’m here, and I could really use a friend about now. I’d like it if you’d stay.”
Libby visibly relaxed, “Well, if you’re sure I won’t be in the way.”
“Not at all. Have a seat, I’ve made more than enough. Besides, you’re part of Riley’s Pride, that makes you belong here more than I do at this point.”
The girls spent the better part of an hour talking and laughing, becoming more and more at ease around each other. When suddenly, the front door opened, and they could hear rushed footsteps coming their way.
Riley, Lucas and Richie had been working since just after dawn. They had almost gotten the addition to the diner finished and closed in. Then they planned to run electrical wiring in that area, finish the sheet rocking, then the floor. Lucas took a quick break to walk over to the store side and grab a bottle of water where they had stored some in an ice chest for convenience while they worked.
“Hmpf, this should be interesting,” he called out.
“What should be interesting?” Riley called back.
“Looks like Libby’s over at the house. Her jeep is parked outside the gate.”
“Aw, shit! I forgot to tell Maia that Libby was coming this morning,” Riley said, hurrying into the store to see for himself.
“Is that a problem?” Richie asked, joining them.
“I’m not sure. Maia’s got her Dad’s attitude, and I’m not sure where her head is at the moment.”
“Best you get over there, then,” Lucas said, chuckling, “Go control our Reigna before she runs off our first female Pride mate.”
“Nah, she wouldn’t do that,” Riley said. He thought about it for a minute, “Probably wouldn’t do that. Fuck,” he said, while wasting no time running the short distance from the store to the house. He didn’t pause — he opened the front door and rushed down the hallway to the kitchen.
Libby sat up, going on alert. Maia squinched up her nose, sniffing the air and shook her head at Libby, letting her know there was no reason for worry. She tapped her nose and mouthed, “Riley.” She knew it was Riley coming down the hallway toward the kitchen.
Then he was there, “Hey! I thought I’d come make sure ya’ll were doing alright. Everybody okay?”
Cristie said excitedly, “Doddy!” as she waved a piece of bacon in the air at him.
“Hey, baby. You having a good breakfast?”
“Yes, look, Mai and Libs!” she said, smiling.
“I see that. Mai and Libs,” he answered, nervously.
“We’re fine, Riley. Having a nice visit,” Maia said.
“Oh, good. I mean, of course you are. I knew you’d like each other. Glad you’re making friends.”
Maia simply smiled at Riley, not taking her eyes off him, fully aware he thought she was going to be rude to Libby.
“Is there a problem, Riley?” Maia asked, baiting him.
“No, of course not. Just didn’t know if ya’ll were okay or not.”
Maia nodded, “You told me about Libby. No need to worry. In fact, I was about to ask her to take us to town. There are a few things I’d like to do.”
Riley’s eyebrows lifted, he wasn’t very secure about allowing Maia to go to town without him. She may decide to run from him since Maverik had just delivered her and left her here.
“I’ll take Cristie with us, of course, if you don’t mind, that is,” Maia said, a teasing quality to her voice. She knew full well Riley was on edge, not knowing what to expect from her.
Riley actually took a deep breath. He knew she loved Cristie and that she’d never do anything to hurt Cristie, nor to take her away from him. So, if she was willing to take Cristie with her, she truly just wanted to go to town, she was not planning to make a break for it. Riley smiled, “Do you mind, Libby?”
“Not at all. I have the whole day off, and now that Maia’s here, I really don’t have any plans.”
Riley realized that Libby had gone part time at work planning to take care of Cristie, and now Maia was there.
“It’s only going to be a short time before we’ll have everything ready at the store and just after that the diner. We’re going to need somebody to work the store. And we’re going to need someone to coordinate all the utilities and mobile homes being established across the road. And it’ll need some landscaping, trees and flowers and such. We need a large security fence between this house and the store, so it’ll be obvious this is a private residence and completely separate from the public area. Same for the mobile home park. It needs to be apparent it’s private housing, not an overnight stop.” He looked between Maia and Libby, “There’s more than enough for everyone to do.”
Libby lit up, “Thank you, Alpha. I really appreciate that.”
Riley nodded, smiling at Libby. “Guess I’ll get back to work. Here
, Maia,” he said, handing her not only some cash, but his credit card as well, “I’ve opened accounts at the building supply store and the department store in town. If you need anything, or want anything from either place, just charge it. If from somewhere else, use the cards or the cash.”
“You don’t have to, Daddy left me some money,” Maia said.
Riley had already started walking out of the room; he stopped and turned back to her, “I want to.” He looked at Cristie sitting in her place, before back at Maia, “I’m really happy you’re here, Maia. You have no idea what a difference it makes in my life. In our lives. Let me take care of you. Get whatever you want. And if you feel like looking into anything we may need for here or across the road, feel free. It’s your home, Maia. This,” he looked around the room, lifting one hand to wave it around, “this was always for you. Make it like you want it.” He smiled at her sweetly, and without waiting for her reply, left to go back to the store. Maia’s heart pitter-patted at Riley’s sincerity. She stood watching after him.
Maia turned back to Libby, “Give me a minute to get Cristie ready?”
“Absolutely,” Libby agreed.
Libby watched her Alpha leave them to head back over to the store, and Maia take Cristie upstairs to get her changed and ready to go out. She may only be human, but it didn’t take any super sensory powers to tell that these two were hurting. They both were in a bad place where the other was concerned, and whatever the issue, it would not be an overnight fix. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Sometimes instinct and need took over and acted where common sense failed.
Chapter 22
Libby drove herself, Maia, and Cristie to town. Every time Maia would exclaim about the scenery, she’d slow down a bit, so Maia could admire whatever had caught her eye a little longer. As they entered town, she started pointing out things — the police station, the building supply, the grocery store, the local department store. A dress shop they called a boutique though it sure was anything but upscale. She pointed out the local elementary school and explained the high school was on the outskirts of town. She showed her the beauty parlor where they did hair and mani/pedi’s. Maia was particularly pleased with the old turn of the century buildings that were still in use. “I love these buildings. Look! That one still has mercantile in the brickwork across the top. What is it now?”
“It’s Doctor Johnson’s office. And that one that says hotel, that one’s apartments now. Most of them are efficiencies, but in a town this small, there aren’t many options if you want to move out of your parents’ house. That big one at the end of the street is the court house. That’s where the permit office is. I’m not sure if we need a permit for a fence or not, but we can find out.”
“Sounds like a plan, let’s go there first.”
Libby pulled in and waited while Maia reached for Cristie.
Twenty minutes later they walked down the street, Maia carrying Cristie, “Well, at least we don’t need a permit for the fence.”
“True,” Libby held the folder with the documentation stating that since they were outside the city limits, a permit wasn’t necessary for the fence. The mobile home park, as it was going to be a place for several individual family homes, was in need of permits before the electricity, septic tanks, and water wells could be installed. All of which Riley had already done, which was a good thing, since the electricity trucks had already been there since early morning.
“Anything in particular you wanted to get?” Libby asked.
“Why don’t we talk to the people in the department store, see if they can tell us where they order from. Maybe get a head start on the things needed to stock the store.”
“Okay. Cooper’s, here we come.”
Maia spoke to the manager at Cooper’s and not only did he tell her where he bought supplies for the store, but he gave her one of the catalogs he used for ordering and also gave her the name of the guy a few towns over that handled all their signage for the store, so Maia could have some signs made. Then they spent the afternoon shopping. Maia picked up some Christmas gifts, wrapping paper, and name tags. Libby kept Cristie sidetracked while Maia chose some Christmas gifts for her and hid them under other items already in their shopping cart. Then when Libby wasn’t looking, she also picked up a sweater and a bracelet she’d seen Libby fingering when she didn’t realize she was being watched. Maia smiled, thinking of the girl opening the gift and being surprised that Maia had noticed her interest in the items. She chose a gift for Richie and some items for Lucas, too. Christmas was less than two weeks away, and she wanted to be sure that everyone had something under the tree. She chose a few things for Riley as well.
Maia was strolling through the rather impressive jewelry department at Cooper’s looking at everything they had in the display cases.
“You looking for anything in particular?” Libby asked, walking back over to Maia, pushing a second shopping cart with Cristie in it.
“No, I just love sparklies. I know they’re not necessary, but I just love jewelry.”
“Me, too,” Libby confided. She walked around to the other side of the square shaped display counter, where the jewelry clerk was waiting on another customer. “Oh!” Libby exclaimed.
“Something wrong?” Maia asked.
“No, I just wanted to show you the bracelet I saw earlier, but just that quick it’s already been sold.”
“Aw, well, maybe they’ll get another,” Maia said, turning away so Libby wouldn’t see her secret smile. She’d already bought it for her.
“Maybe,” Libby agreed.
“Why don’t we go get this paid for and then head over to the building supply. I was thinking to look at some plants for the mobile home park. They have some, right?” Maia asked.
“They do. And they can order whatever you may like that isn’t there.”
“Perfect.”
They paid for everything, taking turns keeping Cristie occupied so she wouldn’t see her own Christmas toys as they stashed them under other items in the shopping cart. When Libby was showing Cristie the cars outside through the window up front, Maia slipped the sweater and bracelet for Libby to the cashier and had her bag them quickly so Libby wouldn’t see. They put everything in the back of Libby’s jeep, and got in to drive over to the building supply. Maia sat in the passenger seat chewing her lip, after having buckled Cristie into her car seat.
“You know what? Let me run back in real quick, if that’s okay?” Maia asked.
“Sure, we’ll wait right here. Take your time.”
Ten minutes later Maia was back, jogging to the jeep with a small bag in her hand. She got in the jeep and stuffed the bag down into her purse. “Okay, let’s go.”
Maia walked into the building supply with Cristie on her hip. She took her time walking around looking at all they had. Like any small town building supply store, they also had home-made country style decorations. Wreaths, bird feeders, hand-painted mailboxes and things of that nature displayed on the walls everywhere she looked. Ceramic milk pitchers and pickling jars, rough hewn wooden crates and baskets sat on shelves beside baskets of nails and screws. Tools of every kind, gallons of paint and aluminum siding. Anything you could think of for home or barn repair and even home decoration was right here.
Maia looked up at a male voice calling out to Libby, “Libs! Hey! What cha looking for?”
“Hey, Scotty. Just shopping, killing a little time today and showing Maia around.”
Scotty looked at Maia with huge puppy dog eyes, “Hi,” he grinned, holding his hand out for Maia to shake, “I’m Scotty.”
“Hi Scotty,” Maia smiled right back at him. “I’m Maia.”
Cristie hugged Maia and laid her head on Maia’s shoulder.
“Oh, you met Cristie already?” Scotty asked.
“Oh, yeah, we go way back. That’s my sweet girl, huh?” Maia said, snuggling Cristie close.
Cristie giggled and nodded.
“Maia is Riley’s Mate, Scotty. She’s just arrived
yesterday,” Libby explained.
Scotty’s whole countenance changed to one of total submission, “I’m sorry Ms. Maia, I didn’t realize you were Alpha’s Mate. If there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’m your man and I’ll take care of you right away. Well, I’m not your man, but I’ll take care of you. But, only in a good way, like the way Riley would want.”
Maia was grinning, watching Scotty stumble over his words, but made no move to stop him.
Finally, he realized she was smiling at him and said, “I’ll just stop now, you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do. And please, it’s just Maia, not Ms. Maia. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Maia looked at Libby and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. This kid kept treating her like a Ma’am, and she was most certainly not a Ma’am.
“We need some plants for the mobile home park across from our house. I was thinking maybe some Sweet Olives and some Gardenias. They’re both evergreen and won’t lose their leaves in the cold. Indian Hawthorne as well and Red Tip Photinias. They get pretty big and full and can be used to frame in around the outside of the property. We could leave enough room for a backyard to the trailers then plant these to make a living wall kind of. What do you think?” Maia asked Libby.
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“I think it would look really nice, while keeping the feel of the country rather than a lot of cement and chain link.”
“Good, then that’s our plan,” Maia said. Then, she looked at Scotty, “Oh, and Riley wants something to separate our home from the parking lot of the store and diner, to make it apparent that it’s private property, a private home, and keep people from parking near it or venturing over.”
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