Angus nodded, and handed him a key. Not a key card, but an honest to god old-fashioned brass room key, complete with a curlique kind of decoration at the top.
“It’s room number four, just up the stairs and to the left. Breakfast is served every day from six-thirty until nine, in the dining room.” He indicated the doorway to the lounge, from which Liam gathered the lounge must extend into a dining room toward the back of the inn. “My wife, Renee, is in charge of the kitchen. There’s also hot and cold beverages as well as baked goods available in the dining room around the clock.”
“The website said you had a laundry?”
“Yes, in the basement. There’s a vending machine with laundry soap and softener, but if you’ll be here more than a few days, I strongly suggest picking some up from the supermarket.”
Liam laughed, nodding. “Understood.”
“Martin will be along with your luggage. Enjoy your stay, Liam.”
“Thank you.”
Adjusting the strap of his laptop bag on his shoulder, Liam turned to the stairs. They were steep, not surprisingly, but the wood highly polished and a soft blue carpet runner cushioned his steps. The way was well-lit with sconces set in the walls. He arrived on a wide landing, the door to his room directly to the left.
Unlocking his door and opening it, he stepped inside, pausing to check out the room. It was surprisingly spacious, although that may have been the cool colors, light trim, and the light pouring in through the double balcony doors. A ceiling fan was centered above a high queen-sized bed, and a small fireplace, clearly converted to gas, was opposite. A wardrobe stood in one corner, as well as a small desk and chair, with outlets for electric cable as well as a charging station.
A door off to the right opened to a small half-bath consisting simply of a toilet and pedestal sink. He knew from the website that most rooms had a half-bath, with a shared full bath with tub and shower on each floor. However, the half-bath was stocked with thick, soft towels and washcloths, what looked like some really nice fancy soap he probably wasn’t going to appreciate nearly enough, and contained as well a small, high table that would hold his shaving kit. Just outside the bathroom door, in the bedroom, was a vanity and stool, which made sense for women to have a place to apply makeup with only the pedestal sink in the bathroom.
The bed was high off the floor, the mattress deep and comfortable; memory foam, Liam guessed. Nice. The floor was a pleasing chestnut red boards, like the stairs, highly polished, with a deep pile rug beside the bed and a couple other throw rugs scattered about. Overall, he was impressed; he’d been in some pretty high quality hotels that weren’t as nice as this.
A knock on his door turned out to be Martin, with his luggage, as promised.
“I know you said just the suitcases, but I thought I should bring this up as well?” He held up Liam’s shaving kit.
“Good man,” Liam approved, reaching for his wallet. He peeled off some bills and handed them to the boy, who turned bright red.
“Th-thank you, Sir. Liam, I mean.” He backed out of the room, as if he were in the presence of royalty. The door closed behind him, and Liam was left to have his laugh in peace.
First things first. He opened his laptop bag, and got the laptop set up on the desk, along with his headset. The wi-fi password was on a small card on the desk, so he booted it up and got connected. An Alexa Show was next, which served various functions, not the least of which was to wake him up in the morning.
That done, he shot off an email to Maroulla, confirming his arrival at the inn. She responded promptly, asking him to check in with the Moroccan refugees, although they’d been informed of his arrival.
Yeah, the Morocco ladies. Now that was some messed up situation. The shifter community around the world had been rocked by the news of a conclave of caracal shifter males holding the women in captivity as essentially sex slaves, to ensure the “purity” of the caracal line. Which was just bullshit. With the assistance of the Djinn, and a rescue team of shifters coming from around the world, the women had been freed, the men captured, and the compound satisfactorily razed to rubble. A group of the women and their children had chosen to come here, to the Hudson Valley, and were staying in this bed and breakfast while the shifter community worked to help them assimilate into a life of freedom. Some of the men had been killed in the shoot-out at the compound, and the rest had been captured and were now residing in the shifter Sanctuary in Ohio, a kind of prison for shifters, that included natural habitats for their Changed form. All shifters needed to be able to Change and spend time in their Other form… even criminals.
A knock at the door had him turning in his chair, closing the lid of his laptop before he rose, going to open the door. It was Martin again, this time bearing a tray with an assortment of cookies and pastries, as well as a steaming cup. Seeing his eyebrows raise in surprise, the young man shuffled his feet, his Adam’s apple bobbing awkwardly.
“It’s from Miz Renee. She says you’re practically family, seeing as you’re friends with Katerina and Troy and them. She said to tell you welcome and to make yourself at home.”
“I see.” He took the tray from Martin. “Give Renee my thanks.”
“Will do, Sir. Liam.”
Martin pulled the door shut, and Liam heard his footsteps retreating. Shaking his head in bemusement, he placed the tray on the desk beside his laptop, leaning over to sniff appreciatively at the sharp scent of coffee arising from the cup. Caffeine was never a bad thing. There were also packets of sugar and little cups of creamer. Nice, and it certainly achieved their goal, since he felt quite at home. Come to think of it, home had never come with room service; he’d always had to make his own coffee. He could live like this real easy. And would for awhile, since he’d be staying for at least the near future, until he found a place that fit his needs.
Reopening his laptop, he sipped the coffee, and took a bite of a blueberry danish. He paused, his brows raising. Wow! If Renee had made these herself, she a future before her as a baker if she ever left the hotel industry. Maybe he’d just plan to stay here awhile, rather than go for an interim apartment while he searched for the right kind of house to purchase.
Chapter3
A drizzlingrain sleeted down as he neared the city, and Liam switched on the windshield wipers. Of course, if he had to be called to come into New York City, it would be on a cold, rainy day. He also hadn’t been planning on coming back to the city again so soon, just days after he’d left for the Hudson Valley. But this morning he’d received an interesting call for help. Last year he’d chosen to do clinical rotations in the zoo while he’d been studying for his DVM. According to the person he’d spoken to this morning, the zoo’s usual vet had been down with the flu… no surprise, in this weather… so they’d called him in to come when an emergency arose. The question was, why callhim? It had been months ago that he’d done his rotation, and there were other, fully licensed, veterinarians they could have called.
A sick leopard, the woman he’d spoken to had said. At least, they assumed it was sick. Liam growled in his throat. The animal hadn’t been eating for days, apparently, and they only now got around to noticing? He pulled into the employee parking lot and parked, grabbing his bag from the back seat before heading into the zoo.
“She’s a shy one,” the keeper who met him said apologetically, as he led the way into the private corridors behind the large cat enclosures. “She stays back in the rocks, out of sight of everyone, including us. If you ask me,” he continued in a stronger voice, the faint note of apology gone, “which no one has, I think she’s depressed.”
Liam stopped in surprise, really looking at the man before him. He was a young Hispanic man, perhaps in his early twenties, lean and wiry. The gaze that held his was steady, almost defiant, as if he expected his opinion to be discounted.
“We’ll see,” was all Liam replied as the young man… Ramon, the name tag on his beige overalls read… gestured to a caged area separated from the main leopard enclosure.
