Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
“Move where?” I ask.
“We can build like Linc’s doing. There’s a vacant building lot three houses from your parents. Or there are two houses for sale here on this street. Linc’s mother’s old place is one of them. There are a few other places up for grabs too since a couple betas are goin’ with Brody.”
“Where’d Julia go?”
Julia is Linc’s mom.
“Florida.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“How did I not know about this?”
“Guessin’ you’ve been a little distracted, Bay.”
“Maybe a little,” I muse.
Smiling, he goes on. “There’s a little holiday settlement started up a few years ago with a bunch of other retired shifters. A whack of retired alphas. That’s a big house if you want that one. There’s also the Dougherty farm right at the end of this street. Not yet for sale, but I was out there a few weeks back fixing their roof and it’s getting to be too much now that Jacob is getting up there in years. The place is a lot of work. They’re thinking about selling the farmhouse and half the land, just keeping part of it where they’ll hire Savage Construction to build them something smaller, all on one level. Also heard Matt and Lauren’s house will be going up for sale soon. They’re joining the Moonshine Springs pack so Matt can be one of Brody’s betas. Heard you saying you loved their house once.”
“What do you want to do?” I ask.
“I want you to pick where you want to live, Bay. Pick where we’ll raise our family. Somewhere you’ll be happy.” He kisses my hand.
“You said you’d build me a reading nook upstairs.”
“I did.”
“With a rolling ladder.”
His shoulders shake with silent laughter. “Can build that for you anywhere. Can build you the house of your dreams if you want.”
“I imagined it up there,” I tell him.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”
“There’s lots of room here. Many great memories,” I say.
“Didn’t know if you’d want a clean slate.”
I shake my head. “Nope. This house is part of our story. I love this house.”
“Then it’s settled,” he says with a big smile.
“You like it here? Because if you want a fresh start–”
“Love it here,” he tells me.
“Well… good. But we’re throwing that ugly-old beer-stained couch in the trash.”
He laughs. “Or I’ll make a man cave in my garage and put it there.”
“As long as I don’t have to smell it on a daily basis.”
“Done,” he says, then goes on, “So, this is home. Good.”
He moves the burgers to the hamburger buns he already defrosted and toasted. “I’ll change anything you want. New furniture, too. Whatever you want, you tell me.”
“All I need is a place to sleep, shower, and of course… a reading nook,” I tell him.
“I’ll start on that tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to start on it tomorrow, Jase.”
“Your new chair is coming tomorrow.”
“Then you can start on my reading nook tomorrow,” I say with enthusiasm.
He laughs. ‘Yes, ma’am.”
“I guess I should learn to cook,” I inform.
He laughs harder. “That’s not necessary.”
“I really should learn,” I state, sliding the patio door back open so we can go inside with the burgers.
“I take it I gotta be your test subject?” he asks, looking horrified.
I pout.
He sets the plate of meat on the table before he wraps me up in his arms, kissing me while chuckling.
“You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood tonight or I might be tempted to cook something right now!” I threaten.
He laughs harder and kisses me some more. Feeling Jase laugh against my mouth is pretty awesome.
“That’s it! I’m making dinner tomorrow night!”
“Oh shit,” he mutters. “Wait. You can’t. My parents sent over a mountain of food. Freezer is full enough, we don’t have to cook for at least two weeks.”
“Then… you’ll have a two-week reprieve,” I tell him.
“Didn’t I hear your mother say she’s looking for us for the following two weeks?”
I roll my eyes. He laughs again and then takes my hand to walk me in to the dining room. I sit.
“Open your presents while you eat,” he tells me, then fetches the mead.
I look around. Our house. I’m so glad he brought me here to make things official. I’ve spent countless hours here, particularly when Grey lived here, fantasizing about living here with Jase, raising a family.
Home. The place where my mate will build me a reading nook, where I’ll hang out in my big, soft, pink reading chair. The place where we can look out the window to see who’s out by the bonfire at Roxy’s. We can walk there to have meals, drinks, or to dance on the dancefloor in less than five minutes.
It’s walking distance to my parents’ place. To Grey and Stacy’s. And it’s not much of a walk to the library, either.
And that’s a good thing, because my car certainly needs to go in the shop.