Page 31 of The Alpha Option
In the off moments, he connected via satellite to his company and set up for an extended leave. He had people in place so things could keep running even while he was gone. Exactly how a good business should run.
He willingly traded the boardroom for a hammer and nails and couldn’t be happier. It was honest work, rewarding work.
Work to make Cassidy happy.
It was amazing to see changes happen quickly in some circumstances. They had a bunch of things on order for the renovations inside the house, but the outside work was something he enjoyed. Cool enough in the morning and evening that he could start early and finish late.
Just before lunch on day three of his self-imposed fast from Cassidy, Stephanie marched up and thrust forward a large glass of lemonade. “Since you refuse to come to the house, I’ve been commanded to keep you hydrated.”
Jace glanced involuntarily toward the lodge. “Thanks.”
“You really don’t have to avoid us. Or her. Cassidy told me about the whole ‘runs with wolves’ thing. It sounded incredible.” Steph folded her arms over her chest and waited as Jace tipped back the glass and drained it in one go. When his gaze met hers again, she spoke softly, as if encouraging secret sharing. “Are you keeping away from her because that’s uncomfortable? To do that connection thing?”
“I’m avoiding her because what I’d like to do involves naked time with Cassidy, not home repair.” He slapped his mouth shut the way he should’ve before the words escaped.
Stephanie grinned. “See? Iknewyou could come right out and say it. I also know Cassidy would not be opposed to naked time. Just don’t do it in the kitchen. I’m still traumatized by Marvin.”
She took the empty glass from him and twirled away, marching off with a jaunty whistle.
Jace shook his head. He’d thought Blue was one of a kind, but obviously, he and Stephanie were two peas in a pod.
A day later, Jace pounded in the final nails on the rear roof repair for Cabin 7. Marvin pulled out a lawn chair and strategically arranged it so he could watch the entire event. “You missed a spot.”
Jace kept hammering with his right hand as he lifted his left and flipped the bird at the moose shifter.
Marvin sipped his beer and grinned. “You do good work, for a wolf.”
“Considering I’ve never seen you work, I don’t know that you have any concept of what the word means.”
“I have worked in the past. Manual labour, even. Can’t recommend it.” Marvin lifted the longneck again and tilted his head to the side. “This place going to get full up with visitors?”
“At some point. That’s the plan.”
Marvin sighed. “Well, paradise can’t stay paradise forever. You tell that mini-Amazon that when she needs some help, I’ll pitch in.”
“Really?” Jace was shocked enough to stop his task. “What are you going to do? Serve hors d’oeuvres?”
“Childcare.” Marvin glared at Jace from under his bushy eyebrows. “And before you think something terrible, I have been vetted by the RCMP and have the paperwork to prove I have no criminal record. Plus, I’m certified as an early childhood development instructor.”
Marvin sniffed then leaned back in his chair. He tilted his hat down to cover his face and proceeded to ignore Jace.
Just proved it was nearly impossible to read someone based on appearances.
Jace cleaned up his tools and headed for the cabin he and Blue had appropriated. He didn’t bother to shower but went straight to the fridge, pulled out another iced tea, and tipped it back.
He settled in the chair on the porch to stretch his legs and close his eyes for a couple of minutes. Getting up early and staying up late was a great distraction but tiring. Combined with the hard physical labour, Jace had lost any boardroom flab he’d gained living in the mostly human world.
Not to mention his nightly runs through the trees, although during those, he admitted his wolf seemed a little too eager to hunt.
If I can’t sink my teeth into Cassidy, I need something else tasty on a nightly basis.
“You’re a mess.” The porch boards creaked slightly as Blue took the stairs and crossed to sit in the chair at Jace’s side.
“If you can’t say something nice…” Jace began.
His cousin snickered, raising his water glass in the air in a mock toast. “My mom was royally pissed when you changed the end of that saying from Disney approved to wonderfully vulgar.”
“Hey, ‘eat shit and die’ is notthatvulgar,” Jace protested.
