Page 13 of Matched By the Dragon

“He’s just having a day,” Slyvin shrugged. “Everyone has them. We’ll manage. If not, I’ll call Bennie to drive out and give us a hand. I think we can get them in, though. Don’t worry I brought moving blankets so we don’t scratch up those nice floors.”

I grinned because it was Slyvin and the others from the temple that redid the floors of the house while I was in the hospital. They were old to begin with but after Raziel put my parents out of everyone’s misery they were covered in bear mush. So, now I had new floors.

“Only have a few more in the truck, but I don’t think they’ll fit on the porch. Where are we taking them?” the old tiger asked.

Durin shot him a sheepish grin.

“You didn’t give him a head’s up, did you?” he asked.

“We had a rough morning,” I said quickly. “Besides, if he’s going to live here he needs his stuff. The room they should go into isn’t cleared out yet, but they can go in the hall for now. That way they’re close by but not in the way.”

“Will we be able to get the stuff out if they’re in the hall?” Durin asked.

“Yeah, it’s not furniture or anything. A lot of personal things of my parents.”

“You’re not like putting me in their bedroom, are you?” Durin blinked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It was my sire’s office, but I had them take the furniture out. The desk in the room I use for record keeping and stuff and the bookshelves are in the library where they belong. It always bothered me that he had part of his set in the office. You don’t have to take that room. I mean others are empty but it’s close to me and the kids and…”

“Should I give you two some time to discuss this?” Slyvin asked.

“No,” Durin said. “That room is fine.”

“Just fine?” I asked.

“I’ll be at the truck, pretending to do something,” Slyvin said.

“I didn’t mean fine like that,” Durin said before Slyvin was even gone. “I meant it as it works. Their bedroom would’ve been a creepy option. An office I can deal with.”

“The Temple of Juda came to cleanse the whole house before we came home. If that makes you feel better.”

“It does actually,” he nodded.

“Well, it’s the living room where they d-i-e-d and it’s the basement where they k-i-l-l-e-d Jac and b-u-r-i-e-d him.”

Durin’s eyes darkened and I wondered if he was fighting off the urge to hug me. Was I projecting my wish for a hug onto him? Maybe. Probably. He was still in love with Liza. Instead of hugging me, he reached out and squeezed my shoulder. Baby Resin promptly nipped at the skin on the back of his hand. We both laughed and Slyvin came back over.

“Idea,” the tiger shifter announced. “Instead of leaving the boxes in the hallway for you to stub your toes on, what if Durin and I moved the boxes from the office to one of the empty rooms. Then you’d still be able to go through them at your own pace.”

“That’s so much extra work for you two,” I frowned.

“I appreciate the worry, but I wouldn’t have offered if I minded,” Slyvin grinned. “And since it’s his stuff, his offer is automatic.” He nodded in Durin’s direction.

I glanced at my mate.

“I don’t mind. I want to do whatever makes it easiest for you,” he shrugged.

“Okay. Let’s do it that way,” I nodded.

“You sit back and relax. We’ll move the stuff. You can oversee if you want, but unless there’s something you want to move personally, we can do the heavy lifting. It’s not an old-fashioned thing either,” Slyvin said as if he read my mind. “You hang out with the cubs. Keeping them from biting boxes and ankles is a job all its own.”

“Thanks, Slyvin,” I smiled at him.

Chapter 4

Durin

The Hemlock Wolf Pack, Star’s Territory