“Bah,” Josiah said disgustedly, “you fucked up again. They probably spotted your men and realized it was a trap. Shit! You can’t do anything right. I’m getting sick and tired of you failing me. Maybe it’s time I look for a new second…someone who can do the job.”
Rudy was getting fed up with taking the blame. “You’re wrong! My men were so well concealed,youwouldn’t have been able to find them…if you had bothered to check. Your fucking nephews never came! Not them, not enforcers…nobody! It’s as if they knew what you were planning.” Rudy held his hand up to stop Josiah, “And no, I don’t have a fucking leak. So maybe you should look elsewhere for how those assholes are always avoiding every fucking trap we set.”
Taken aback at the ferocity of Rudy’s response, Josiah snapped his mouth shut as he considered the possibility of someone in his own house. He’d have to look into this. Waving toward the door, he said, “Go, check your menagain for leaks…especially those who knew the punk with the Vice-Chair as a father.”
~/~/~/~/~
Almost running from the dining room, Logan thought breakfast would never end but it had, and now he was escaping to his studio. He made a mental note to talk to Cody about what he’d done to upset Dylon because it had to be something that provoked those dirty looks from him throughout breakfast. Filing that thought away for later, his mind shifted—Kieran would be there shortly, and the thought sent a charge through his body. All day Kieran would be his—all day to look at, talk to and enjoy that sassy mouth. No one had ever made him laugh like his pink-loving twink did and he wanted more of it, all the time.Ohhh, I wonder if he’d like to work with me permanently? Maybe I should ask Cody first? Mmmm, no, my brother made it clear the boys were making their own decisions. But what if Kieran doesn’t want to? Oh fuck!Reaching his studio, Logan immediately set up the conference table for them to work on the new plans for Cody’s boys’ home. Making extra copies so Kieran could make changes if he wanted to, he spread them out along with freshly sharpened pencils.
Standing back, he looked to see if he had missed anything.Coffee!Grabbing two Blackwood Pack mugs and the pot of hot coffee, Logan set them off to the side and added some pink paper napkins left over from some long-forgotten party. Satisfied, he looked through some of his furniture catalogues and paint chips, marking the ones he thought would give the home the feeling he was aiming for.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran was eager to see Logan, but he had something to do first—find out about the dance club. Logan hadworked for most of the afternoon yesterday, but the plans would not have included a dance club because he forgot to mention it. Shifting from foot to foot, Kieran was standing off to the side waiting for Cody to finish with the twins. Seeing an opportunity when Miss L took Jessica from Cody, he said, “Yo, Cody.”
Turning around, Cody replied, “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to know if I can do my dance club in the home because I want to tell Logan about it today.”
Cody studied Kieran and then said, “Pretty snazzy top you have on today. I love it.” Smiling, Cody continued, “Yes you can have the dance club, but Jackson wants it in a different place because he wants the boys to interact with the pack as much as possible. So, you might as well tell Logan, so he can help you get started. Jackson said he’ll be paying for the renovations, so get me a plan.”
Kieran’s eyes sparkled with joy as he bounced up and down on his toes. “Well to begin, I have to measure the room so where is it going to be?”
“Jackson will email Logan, letting him know where it will be and the budget for it.”
“Perfecto! I gotta run, Logan is waiting for me. Toot-a-loo!” Kieran gave a wave as he rushed towards the stairs eager to see what Logan had drawn.
Cody chuckled as he turned back to his twins. “Hey, babe, let’s go see Colton and Ian. We can tell them we agree on the locations for the nurseries and I want to ask Ian to recommend a therapist we can hire for the boys—present and future.”
~/~/~/~/~
Standing outside, Kieran gathered his thoughts before taking a deep breath and letting it out. He wasn’t surewhy he was nervous since as Fated Mates, Logan would want him no matter what, but he wanted more.So here goes.Lifting his hand to knock, he suddenly found himself looking at Logan.
“Good, you’re here,” Logan said, opening the door wider so Kieran could enter. “Everything is set up, so we can get started right away. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of my plan. I mean, after all you provided the inspiration.”
Kieran walked over to the conference table and sat in one of the two chairs while Logan sat next to him. Shivering at the closeness of his mate, he realized this day might be more difficult than he thought because Logan’s scent was pushing his wolf and spirit to the edge. Concentrating on calming them down, he didn’t hear Logan’s first comments and was forced to ask him to repeat them.
“These are copies for us to go through and make notes or draw on. Once we are in agreement, I’ll transfer everything to a master set and then present it to Cody and Dylon for approval. Any questions?”
Shaking his head, no, Kieran chewed on his lower lip, studying the drawing slowly, going through it and writing down notes along with making small sketches and jotting down questions he had about particular items. And as he proceeded, he began to understand the mind of his mate—and what a glorious mind it was. Logan’s design was everything he could have hoped for plus more and Kieran knew the boys who were rejected by their parents would never feel they weren’t worth anything because his mate had designed a home that was truly a home.
Logan gazed at Kieran’s face, seeking out any nuances he could find there, eager yet fearful of what he would find. His leg was twitching as he watched Kieranexamine his plans and with everything he wrote, Logan’s nervousness rose. He grabbed his stress ball and started squeezing it, to have something to do. He wanted Kieran’s approval badly—though he didn’t understand the need for it—but he waited silently for him to finish so he could find out what he thought. Just when he felt he couldn’t take anymore, Kieran put down his pencil and looked up at Logan, his face radiating happiness.
“It is fucking brilliant! You are a genius! I love it and I know every boy whose parents are assholes will think they’ve hit the jackpot when they see their new home. And it is a home…a fucking, gorgeous, fabulous home…where they will be loved, and they will learn how to love again.” Jumping up, he wrapped his arms around Logan, hugging him tight and whispered, “Thank you, you have made me so happy.”
Surprised at first, but then, as he felt the love from Kieran radiate throughout his body, Logan felt the first crack in the wall he’d built up during his childhood, teen years, and in the aftermath of the massacre. Slowly lifting his arms, he returned the hug, feeling closer to Kieran than to any other, even his twin, and so he tightened his arms and rested his cheek against the light he held, never wanting him to leave.
Chapter 18
Colton saw Dylon and Cody, twins in arms, walking toward him, and grinned—it was as if he were seeing himself holding his own pup. His smile faded as he remembered their upcoming trip—the trip that had seemed like a great idea until he learned Ian was pregnant. And now Colton was worried. Of what, he couldn’t put his finger on, but he knew the nagging feeling that something was amiss. and it wouldn’t disappear until the trip to Scotland was over with Ian safely back home.
Reaching out to take Jessica from Cody, he wondered for the millionth time if they would have a girl pup. According to the Scottish Wolf Shifter history Ian read to him, it wasn’t a common occurrence, but it did happen; the other fact was that multiple births were very common in the royal line. And that did freak him out, but he kept that to himself these days, or at least tried to. “Oh my, sweet Jessica, you have gained more weight! Well done!” Colton said, as he cuddled his niece. Giving her a kiss on the nose, he looked at Cody. “I take it she’s finishing her bottles…what about solids?”
“Dakota has been making her and Jake some pureed vegetables and fruit which both of them seem to like so they get that at lunch and dinner. They are sleeping through the night also,” reported Dylon.
“Excellent,” Colton said as he played with Jessica and then looked at Cody. “So what did you think of the nursery idea?”
“We have no problem with it but Dylon had an idea…how about if Logan puts in a child-sized door linking the two rooms so the cousins can visit each other…kinda like the secret club we had as kids?”
