They ran and explored, keeping wide of the cabins, encountering some birds and small game. Eventually they hunted and rested, and it was early afternoon before they made it back to the cabin. When they’d gathered their things and closed up the cabin, he decided it would be nice to come back for their anniversary. By the time they were reaching the outskirts of Alicante, it was nearly dusk.
“If you feel like it, I can show you some land I scoped out and thought might be good for a house,” Cindy said, her fingers idly playing with his where they rested on her thigh. “It’s on the way back to the house. I wasn’t sold on it, want to look around some more, but it will catch you up to where I am on the search. Or we can go look another day.”
“Build a brand-new house?” he asked. “I’ve never done that. Kind of like building the new pack? From the ground up?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it like that. I just hadn’t seen much that I liked for long-term, when I was looking for a place to move into. Do you think it would be too much work? Contractors and house plans and all of that?”
He glanced over, saw her thoughtful frown. “A lot of work, sure. But probably not too much. Could be kind of fun.”
“There would be a lot of lists,” she warned him, her frown turning into a grin. “Lots and lots of lists.”
“I think I can handle that.” He followed her directions and pulled the car over. When he got out, he drew in a deep breath, considering. She grabbed his hand and tugged him along, pointing out the boundaries, the possible views, depending on where the house went up, her enthusiasm contagious. He could see it, could feel it, could imagine making a home that was totally theirs. Putting his arms around her, he held her tight as he saw their future stretching out before them, the rightness of it all settling deep into his bones.
Cindy hugged him just as tightly, then turned in his arms to look at the view that could be theirs. “Ideally, I’d like to be closer to the pack house, if that becomes permanent.”
“And something a little less flat,” he added. “Like you said, this is good, workable, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more options. It gives me ideas about what could be.”
When they got back to the car, he asked her where she wanted to go first. “Home? Adam and Myra’s? My parents’? A restaurant for dinner?”
“Your parents. Then I’ll call my parents. Then we’ll take yours out to dinner.”
“Will you want to go see your parents? Your brother?”
“At some point. And it’s possible they’ll want to come out here. It’s hard to say.”
“Then we’ll play it by ear.”
His mom cried when she hugged Cindy, and his dad sounded a little choked up as he congratulated them both. Her parents said the right things, though her mother was clearly reserving judgment until they met, and her father hadn’t been terribly impressed when told Jonas was currently working as a bartender.
When they’d settled in at the restaurant and ordered their food, Cindy asked his parents if they’d made a decision on the new pack.
“We’re definitely interested. And Myra and Adam seem receptive, although I suppose we won’t really know until we officially petition to join.” His mom frowned at the uncertainty. “Cindy, do you know if they’ll be making decisions right away, or if they’re waiting to see how many people request to join?”
“I don’t think they plan on waiting. While there’s some filling-of-slots type of decisions, as far as hierarchy and security, for the most part they’re more interested in finding the right fit for both sides. They don’t feel the need to start off big, but there’s also no reason to keep real small, if there are plenty of people who do want to join.”
“That’s good,” his dad said. “I think that’s good. And smart.”
His mom nodded approvingly.
“Have you guys given more thought to what you would want to do if you move here?” he asked.
“A bit, but your mom and I don’t feel the need to rush into a decision. We can take our time, get ourselves settled, then see what appeals. By then, with the pack getting settled as well, different opportunities might occur to us that we wouldn’t even see right now.”
“Also smart,” Cindy said, as the waiter brought their plates.
“Tell us about what you do, dear.”
Cindy spent the meal stealing bites between answering questions about her work. A lifestyle blog was not something his parents understood without lots of explanation, but she was patient and amusing, telling them examples of the kinds of articles she posted. He interjected enough to make sure she had time to actually eat her food.
They skipped dessert and headed to the pack house, after dropping his parents off. Cindy drove so that he could call Zach and Hillary and give them the news. The alpha pair was very excited for him. Though sad to hear that he would be moving, they completely understood.
As soon as they reached the front porch, the door flew open and Myra pulled Cindy into the house with a squeal and wrapped her up in a hug.
Adam was holding a bottle of champagne. “Congratulations,” he said, popping the cork and moving to the glasses that had been set on a nearby table.
“Tell me you’re staying,” Myra blurted out. “I’m happy for you either way, but I’ll be extra, super happy if you tell me you’re staying.”
Adam cleared his throat. “But no pressure. You need to do what’s best for you as a couple.”
