Page 104 of Shifters Unifying
Olivia smiled. “Oh, you mean, the raccoon duo?”
“Those are the ones.” I turned to Sophia. “You can stay there, Ms. Carter. It should be freshened and ready for you now. I’m sure Jasper won’t mind carrying your bags.”
“Not in the slightest, ma’am,” he said. “If I provided the fish, could ye find it in yer heart to make me more of that delicious ceviche, ma’am?”
Sophia beamed at the fox shifter. “Why, I’d love to, young man.”
Fuck me.The asshole had already won Emma’s mother over. Over my dead body. “I’ll escort you to your quarters,” I said. “You can let me know if there’s anything amiss.”
Jasper grabbed the suitcase, and the four of us exited the manor, cutting across the well-kept lawn toward a small cabinabout one hundred yards from the manor house. Still too close for Emma’s orgasms, but Sophia was going to find out the truth of things soon enough.
“Should I move my car?”
“I’ll take care of it, Sophia,” Olivia quipped.
Sophia retrieved her keys from her pocket and handed them to my beta. “Valet service and everything? Much fancier than most of the places I usually stay.” The woman startled, and I followed her gaze to a group of naked shifters, making their way across the grounds.
“I’ll never get used to that,” she muttered. “It’s going to be like staying at a nudist colony, isn’t it?”
I didn’t answer.
“We do have some extra visitors right now,” Olivia offered. Phil waved to us, a piece of paper in his hands, and Olivia hurried off. “I’ll be right back.”
When I opened the door to the small log cabin, I gestured for Sophia to go in ahead of me. The interior had been freshly cleaned, and the bed had been neatly made. A small kitchenette took up one end, and the sleeping area took up the other. In the small bathroom, a refurbished copper tub glimmered in the light from the frosted glass window.
“Since we don’t typically lock our doors, we don’t issue keys, but I can find them, if you’d like.”
Sophia shook her head, taking her bag from Jasper and placing it on the bed. “No need. When in Rome…”
“You might be interested to know that we reclaimed this cabin from one of the job sites in Willow Creek and reconstructed it here with the updates you see. We like to retain as much history as we can. The copper tub came out of a barn project we did near New Port Orleans.”
“Very nice,” she murmured. “I’m sure I’ll be comfortable here.”
“If you like, I can have a few supplies delivered so you can make small meals. Otherwise, food, you can get from the manor house.”
“I’ll bring fish,” Jasper said. “One of the raccoons is an avid fisherwoman.”
“If it’s alright with you, may I wander around the grounds freely? I might bump into Emma, since she’s not been answering her cell phone, and it’s going straight to voicemail now.”
“That’s… fine. Just know that the gym is currently off limits and housing an overflow of shifters for the upcoming event we’re prepping for.” At least that last part wasn’t a lie. Any meeting with Acheron or his accomplices was definitely an event, and I didn’t want Sophia to become frightened by the injured shifters housed inside.
“I’ll stay out of the gym,” she said. “Tell me. Did I see Dr. Wise here?”
“You know her?”
“She’s an archivist from Willow Creek, and we’re both members of the Widows and Widower Support Group in town. We meet for dinners once a month… ever since Emma’s father passed.”
My stomach twisted. Sophia had said it before… Emma was all she had, but not once had I considered what Emma truly meant to this woman.
“I’ll let her know you’re here,” I said softly. “In the meantime, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
For the first time, her expression softened, and her eyes turned glassy with unshed tears as she studied me. “You must be very special, Logan Blackwood. My Emma wouldn’t give up everything she’d earned for just anybody.”
“She’s more special than all of us.”
“Aye, that she is,” Jasper added. “Would ye like me to show ye around?”
“That would be nice,” she said. “Thank you.”
