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“I noticed that you’ve been tanning. I never would have thought that one of us could tan. You must be careful that you don’t get in too much sun. I’d hate for anything to happen to the two of you.” He said they were extra careful and having fun. “Sometimes fun will be all you need for the sun to get the better of you. I just worry about the two of you, that’s all.”

“Thank you. That means a great deal to me and to Katlynne. But I promise you, we’re careful.” They changed the subject then, and he was glad for it. Rutger loved Brew, but there were times that he was too much of a worrywart and would get on someone’s nerves. Today was different. He was easy to distract. “What do you know of the newest business coming into town? I heard they were making sheets for specialized beds. I don’t even know what that would mean. Do you?”

“Deep pocket sheets for the corners. Also longer twin sheets that are used in dorms. Though I’m not sure why they’re longer. Anyway. Not that I knew either, but I asked, and they told me. When they’re running to full capacity, they’ll have about three hundred employees for all three shifts. No weekends thus far, but that’s still a lot of people being employed.” Rutger agreed with him. “There is a lot of construction going on around Zanesville too. There must be twenty-five new houses going up on that plat of land that sat empty for so long. I loved that old house that sat there too.”

“I remember that house. It’s been empty for a long time, and I hated that. Someone should have torn it down long before they finally got around to it.” He said they’d been hoping that someone would buy the land and do something with the house. “There were about seventy-five acres around that part, and now it’s going to be a lot of two-story houses. I noticed that people are already living in some of them.”

“Yes, thankfully they won’t be sitting for long without people living in them.” They talked about how the school district for the housing development was going to get money from new taxes, and that was fine for them both. Rutger thought perhaps a lot of people would be happy moving into the neighborhood where the houses were all different. “I’ve noticed that as well. It’s wonderful that they made them all look like different homes.”

The two of them talked for another hour. Rutger didn’t want to go home because Katlynne wasn’t there, and since Cally Lily was visiting the hospital to see what sort of things they needed in the way of development was going on, he was alone in the house as well. The two of them enjoyed hanging out together.

“I’m to understand that Sirous and Tabby are going to have a baby. Old Sirous having a child blows my mind. He’s been so set in his ways for so long that I’m surprised to see the new him when he comes around. I love what Tabby has done for him too. She’s made him into a different man altogether.” Brew said that he couldn’t believe himself being a father. It was like he’d been given a second chance and he was going to take it. “I can’t wait for Katlynne to get with child. To have her breeding with the others will be like we’ve cornered the market on vampires having a family. I’m excited to see you as a father. I bet you have the most fun.”

“You’re the one that wanted a mate before any of the rest of us. You’ve always been on the lookout for her to come along. I nearly lost everything when I decided that Cally Lily was too human for me.” He shook his head in embarrassment. “I nearly lost it all when I treated her so poorly. I’ve been telling her I’m sorry daily since then and that I love her. I hope you tell Katie that you love her daily too.”

“I do. I can’t believe how much we have in common. It’s like we were…I was going to say made for each other, and that’s exactly it. We were made for each other, and that’s why we’re so much in love.” Brew accused him of being sappy. “Perhaps. But at least my mate didn’t want to stake me when I first met her. You’re lucky that she didn’t kill you the first time she met you.”

“You’re so right.” They laughed and changed the subject yet again. This time it was how Brew’s mother was going to go on a trip soon and how much he was going to miss her. “She told me that she wants to see the world again now that everything is all grown up and finished. I don’t think that she’s going to like it all that much. It’s all grown up with people all over the place. I’m betting that she goes on another cruise so that she can be alone most of the time. They have those trips for cruises that have no children on them. I think she’ll like that even more.”

The two of them talked about anything and everything while they were together. They even talked about the other men in the kiss and how the other two would be getting their mates soon enough. Kenneth was the most kind with his ways, and he thought that his mate would be a really sweet girl. While Yosef, on the other hand, would need someone to kick him in the ass on occasion so that he’d not be sitting around doing nothing. Yosef wasn’t lazy, but he was a man who had seen a great deal and would want to relax more than most.

Kenneth was the one who was generous with his money too. He would be found in other countries building homes for the poor and standing in food lines serving food to the needy. Since he’d been a doctor a few times in his life, Yosef would be found in the hospitals around the world treating people who would otherwise die without the help of a doctor. They were good men, and he loved them.

Going home when the sun was setting, he found himself wondering about the holidays. It was still summer now, but he could really look forward to fall. The leaves crunching under his booted foot was something that he looked forward to daily. Also, the snow on rooftops, too. He so loved the Christmas season as well and thought that with having a mate this year it would be better than even when he was a child.

His childhood hadn’t been all that good. When he’d been just a toddler, he’d had trouble with his parents. They were set in their ways, much like he’d been when he’d met Katlynne, but he’d changed with her, and his parents hadn’t when he’d been born. He had a sister too that had been older than him, and he only knew that she’d died because he’d felt it through their links. He’d not had anything to do with her in decades.

When he got home, he was delighted to see Katlynne there. She said that she’d had a good day at work and had been able to get about a dozen trees planted for the new subdivision that was going up. He was proud of her and told her that.

“I’m proud of me too. To have all this money and still need to work is something that I never thought of happening. I love working.” He said that he did as well and then told her what he and Brew had talked about. “He’s been king for such a short amount of time, but it seems like forever. He’s that good at it.”

“Yes, he is. And he’s so approachable too. I like that in him. Of course I’ve known him since he was a child, but he does seem like he’s getting things handled. I love him like a brother. All the men around here, I love them like brothers.” She kissed him on the nose, and he had to laugh. “What was that for? Not that I mind, but why on my nose?”

“Because I love you. That’s all.” While she was having dinner, he drank a glass of wine. Having had a couple of glasses at Brew’s home, he wasn’t as thirsty as he’d been before. Watching her eat was such a treat for him that he never tired of it. It’s not that she did anything different when she ate; it was just a simple pleasure of watching her enjoy her food.

After she finished eating, they went to the living room. It was their favorite spot in the house to relax and hang out with one another. Once she was getting tired, she didn’t stay up as late as he did. He walked her to their bedroom and got into bed with her. When she was asleep, he would watch her resting for hours.

It was nearly four in the morning when he went back to his office. He’d been only working on his and Kaitlynne’s money since meeting her, and he was taking chances like it was his money. Not that he wasn’t showing a profit. He was doing quite well for himself and her. Even the little shops that he had invested in were doing well now, and he was showing a lot of profit. He couldn’t wait until the end of the year to see what sort of yearly profits he’d been making and would be thrilled if they were half as much as he thought they would be.

Chapter 6

Katie watched the man who was sitting in the truck not far from where she was working. He acted like he hadn’t a care in the world, but she could almost feel his interest in her. As she finished up the last bush that needed to be planted, she decided that she was going to go home with the others and not leave herself alone to be caught. What he wanted of her, she didn’t know, but as soon as he got out of the truck and started toward her, she felt a kind of fear that had her reaching out for someone to help her. It just happened to be Rutger.

“Does he have a gun? Is he human?” She said she didn’t know how to tell since he was so far away. “Just don’t talk to him unless you feel like it’s safe. I’m on my way to you.”

“Please hurry. I don’t like this feeling of being out in the open.” She looked around for one of the other workers and saw that Jimmy was coming toward her. Katlynne didn’t know how to make him come any closer, so she turned her body to greet him. When he was close enough, she called out to him a greeting and smiled. “Hello, Jimmy. Are you finished for the day?”

“I have three more bushes to plant, then I’m headed home. I just came by to see if you’d gotten yours planted.” He usually would wait on someone to come and help him before the end of the day, and normally she’d tell him no. But today she was ready to do any kind of help he needed for just being lazy. She told him that she’d be glad to help him. “Great. I’ll wait for you to come over. I’m on the far side of the house now.”

“I’ll come with you. Now I mean.” He seemed startled. When he looked over her shoulder, she glanced behind her as well. The man was less than two feet from her. “Hello? Can we help you?”

“I was hoping to talk to Katlynne here. She and I have some things to go over.” Katie told him that she had nothing to do with the business that she was only a worker. “I know that. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible. I have work to do.” He looked at the last hole where she’d put the bush. The bushes would flower in the fall and hold onto their scents until late winter. She loved the smell of holly bushes in the winter. “I’m going to help my friend. We have plenty of work to do.”

The long sleek car pulled up not five yards from where she was. Looking around to see if Jimmy was still with her, it occurred to her that she was a vampire and had magic. No one got out of the limo, and that worried her as well. Taking several steps back from the stranger, she nearly knocked Jimmy over. He dropped his shovel and rake that he had in his hand, and she barely held onto her own tools.

“We want to talk to you. It’s about Rutger Smith. You’re his mate, aren’t you?” She didn’t answer him, and that sort of pissed him off. “All you have to do is get into the car, and we’ll have a long talk. It won’t take but a few minutes.”