It’s hard enough when we’re huddled under one roof not to get all apprehensive about what’s out there and when they’ll strike next. But with everyone going about their daily routine, I think I’m going to start having palpitations.
“Sleep,” Tara said.
Gale snorted, rolling his eyes.
It’s an ongoing joke between them. Taranis likes to pretend he sleeps all day, but neither of them do.
“Going to head to the wildlife reserve on the Big Island and take some pics. Got a new apparel shipment from one of my sponsors,” Tem said.
I bit my lip. Out of everyone’s jobs, I was most concerned with Tem’s. It took him everywhere. Alone.
Perhaps I wasn’t the only one concerned, though. Gale tossed the cloth into the sink when he’d finished wiping the counters clean and looked at Tem. “Want some company? You had plans for me anyway, yeah?”
Tem nodded while taking a sip of his water. Based on the amused smile, I was pretty sure he thought the same thing I was. Gale didn’t want him going alone where him getting abducted with no one there to witness it was a real possibility at this point.
I sighed in relief anyway.
“Me, too,” Tara said. I looked up to find him holding Hadley against him. A comfortable, relaxed embrace as they looked at us all. It made me smile.
“Alright,” Tem said, shrugging. “I don’t mind the company at all.”
“What about you, Had?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Icouldwork. Or I could hang out with my family.” She paused, and I knew she didn’t want to do either. Her family was still here, though we didn’t see much of them until the evenings when we came home and they’d kicked Gale and Tara out of the kitchen so they could cook. Otherwise, they were using the kitchen in the basement that has the deep freezer.
“Want to come to work with me?” I asked.
Hadley looked at me, her eyes lighting up. “Really? I can do that?”
I nodded, shrugging. “We’re already teaming up for safety. I’ll just tell them it was ‘bring your wife to work day’ and they didn’t get the memo.”
“You’re not going to get into trouble though, are you?” she asked.
“No.” I chuckled. “Not at all. Trust me, no one will care at all that you’re there.”
Her smile was beautiful. “Yeah, I’d love to come with you.”
For the first time in weeks, my smile was wide. It felt normal and good to have my smile back. I haven’t felt it since the mountain.
We left a little while later after Hadley stopped by the basement suites to tell her parents she was heading out to work with me and not to worry that she was gone. Then we climbed into my car and drove the short distance to my usual site.
I was teaming up with Miller today. There were plenty of AMs on roster for the two-a-shift diagram, but we were bouncing all over the place depending on who was willing to take more shifts and who wanted to keep their normal location, etc.
“Hey, Wolfy,” I said when we walked in. Miller grinned, getting to his feet and wrapping me in a hug. We were close with the Nashs, Lev being one of my best friends. But they were all like siblings. Or, I don’t know, something better than siblings. You know, people you choose to be close with because you click.
“Hey, sweetheart. How you doing?” he asked, pulling Hadley in for a hug. She laughed as she fell into him, grinning at me as he wrapped her in his big arms.
“Good,” Hadley said, smiling. “You?”
“Good, baby girl. Wolves are all good.” He winked at her before rounding the desk to take a seat again. He had a whole breakfast spread out, and he dug in.
“The wolves eat like eight times a day,” I told Hadley. “High metabolism or some shit.”
Miller nodded. “Yep. The wolf in me has a stupid amount of energy. I have to eat a horse a day to keep him fed and my strength up or I’m basically a kitten.”
“He even purrs,” I said.
He winked at us. “Sure do, sweetheart. Sure do.”
