Page 24 of Refuge

“How did you end up here?” Cole continued to work as he listened.

Alex stopped and looked around the enclosure with a big grin. “Heard stories about this place. I was hungry and needed a place to stay for a few hours. I found this place. Thought I’d blend in. The door was open to this enclosure, so I walked in, pretty much collapsed in that corner, and fell asleep, hoping I could steal some food after sleeping a few hours and then be on my way.”

“Obviously that didn’t happen.” Cole grinned and glanced at Alex.

“Nope, sure didn’t.” Alex shook his head. “I woke up to a little blonde lady who was in the enclosure with me talking to me, trying to gain my trust and get me to eat. I panicked when I saw the enclosure locked up tight. Larry was outside the enclosure, gun by his side, so I got a little aggressive. I mean, I wouldn’t have hurt Gemma or anything, but I wanted out.”

“Did you shift?” Cole had stopped working to listen to the story.

“Hell no. She thought I was a wolf-dog, which really kinda hurt my pride, but I forgive her now.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Humans, ya know. Anyway, she kept getting closer and closer, so I showed my teeth and did the most aggressive growl I had, trying to scare the small crazy woman away. I mean seriously, most humans would take off running, but not her. The next thing I know, this big son of a bitch was climbing the fence like it wasn’t even there and jumping in front of me.”

“Eric.” It wasn’t a question because Cole knew exactly who it was.

“Yep. We did the whole stare down thing, and I freaked. I went to the enclosure door to try to break my way out. I guess he thought I was going for Gemma and caught me in mid-fucking-air.”

Cole had leaned up against the fence, arms crossed, listening intently. It was pretty cool hearing about his brother’s time here before they came. They had been nonstop since they’d arrived, so the brothers hadn’t really had time to talk much.

“Gemma was screaming ‘don’t hurt him,’ and I thought she was talking to me, but in fact, she was telling him not to hurt me. It was amazing actually.” Alex shook his head as if still trying to understand it. “Anyway, Eric pulled alpha, scared the shit out of me, and I caved like a little pussy.”

“Eric can have that effect on some.” Cole chuckled again, really liking this kid. “So what about your pack?”

“Don’t have one.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Once my dad died, I just roamed. Some packs accepted me for a while, and others ran me off before I could step foot on their turf.”

“You think you’ll stay here long?” Cole pushed off the enclosure and started working again. “I know Gemma can use all the help she can get.”

“Can’t say, really.” Alex handed him a board. “But for now, I’m content.”

Cole understood that. Shifters were a restless bunch and the need to escape hit them all. Seeing Eric heading their way with Kile and Gemma, he stopped.

“What’s up?” Cole asked when Eric came inside the enclosure.

“Just got back from town.” Eric handed him a pamphlet. “Instead of housing, we’re looking into these.”

Cole thumbed through the pamphlet thoughtfully. “Trailers?”

“It’s a hell of a lot cheaper, you can get new or used, and they can be moved onto the property faster than building houses,” Kile answered. “It’s what I’m doing.”

“What do you think?” Eric asked Cole.

“I think it’s a good solution.” Cole handed them back to Eric. He wasn’t making any decision until talking to Leeza. Whatever he did was going to be with her and they’d make the decision together. “You taking a vote?”

“Yeah, tonight.” Eric nodded. “Gemma wants to throw a barbecue as a thanks to everyone for all the work that’s been done already.”

“Sounds good.” Cole glanced at his watch again and cursed. Fuck! Seriously, was this day ever going to end?

Chapter 13

Leeza and Sherry had finished with the horses hours ago. Not only did they bathe and brush them, but they did also in fact have to clean horse shit. Sherry wasn’t really happy about that, but Leeza did most of the smelly work. Now they were each feeding calves with a bottle. Upon arriving, a very nice man named Charlie Aims instructed them on what they needed to do. She hadn’t seen Lance all day, which she was fine with and she knew Cole would be ecstatic about. Charlie went on and put Sherry to work with her stating that Lance would be fine with it, but he would check to make sure.

“They’re so cute.” Sherry grinned at the sloppy calf who was going to town on the bottle.

Leeza agreed. “Adorable.”

The day had dragged because her mind kept going to Cole, wondering what he was doing and if he was having a good day. She really enjoyed her tasks, but she missed the wolves, missed Ari. But mostly, she missed Cole, which surprised her. Maybe she didn’t want to be as independent as she thought. Not that missing someone had anything to do with her independence, but having someone to come home to, spend time with and well… dammit, her thoughts and emotions were all over the place. She needed this job.

Lunch had been catered with sandwiches, salads, chips, and drinks, which was amazing. From what she understood from Charlie, this was an everyday occurrence and something their boss supplied. She and Sherry had stayed to themselves while the others from their pack mingled, but they were all male. She and Sherry seemed to be the only females employed, at least outside on the ranch.

“So, you like working here so far?” Leeza really wanted to see if Sherry shared her thoughts.

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