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“Yes, Dad. Everything looks great.”
There was silence on the other end, and I held my breath for what was to come. I should have at least done a cursory look before answering his call or given him some details besides “everything looks great” to placate him.
“You haven’t paid attention to the order, have you?” His voice had gone low, and I hoped Mom was nearby to help when his mood turned down.
“Dad, I—”
“You and Lira are paid to do one thing—sell my art. It’s what our family lives for. We travel and paint, and then we sell those paintings to make more money to travel and paint.”
I could hear the sadness in his tone and cringed. “We’ve hardly traveled as a family lately, though. And you didn’t want to sell these paintings.” That was a weak excuse. As soon as I said it, I realized my mistake. How could I go that low to defend myself?
I heard Dad grumble a bit before he repeated, “One thing, Millie. It’s not much to ask, seeing how I pay for everything for you two.”
Before he could continue, I cut in with, “I just got here. And it really does look fantastic, Dad.”
“Just make sure it’s up to our standards, okay? Your mom insists that they not come home.”
His response cut off the words I was going to say. What did Dad think I was doing? Jet-setting off and partying? That would be his other daughter. Lira always left me hanging, and yet I always got the blame.
Seething, I looked around the gallery and noticed Lillian had left. And now that I thought about it, she had said something about opening the doors when Dad had called. Even she knew to not be around when Dad was on the phone. I rolled my eyes. I would sell his paintings, and he wouldn’t be able to say anything else about it.
“Millie.” Mom’s voice came over the line, and I allowed myself to close my eyes for a second and reset.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Did the new painting arrive today?”
“Yes, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
“I found it in the very back of the closet. Don’t know why your father hid it away. It’s fantastical and so unlike any he’s done before. Can you make sure it’s in the very back, away from all the other bright and colorful ones he’s done? I don’t want to confuse the buyers right off the bat.”
“Yes, Mom. It’s already in the very back. It will be fine where it is; we sold a painting back there last week.”
“Oh, excellent! That’s fantastic to hear. Okay, well, I need to go calm your father down. Maybe I’ll send him to the ocean to paint some family scenes. That always calms him down. I’ll talk to you later, sweetheart.”
She hung up without waiting for a response, and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing they wouldn’t call for the rest of the week. Hopefully, Lira would be back by then.
Jacob
I swungthe hammer and brought it down on the nail with as much force as possible, which almost cracked the wood. I groaned and gripped the hammer tighter.I need to control my strength. At this rate, I’m going to make Luc’s whole house come falling down.
Luc’s house was almost done. Thank goodness Brandon had also found his mate so we could start on his house next, because I needed to continue doing something physical after this one was finished. The calling for a mate was getting stronger by the day. My wolf had been clawing at me. He had been trying to get my attention ever since Brandon realized he had been stupid and not chased after Becca.
At first, I thought that he wanted me to run more in my wolf form. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do; changing into an animal just seemed too primitive, so I tried to stay human as much as possible. I was like Gregory the Goat. I liked the human world, the comforts of a bed, quilts, and home cooked meals. I didn’t want to be a wolf. But boy, would my family grate on me if they ever found out I didn’t like to transform.
I was a good son. I listened to my alpha, and I wanted to keep it that way. But these days, my parents were nagging me more and more about finding a mate. Which was why I hadn’t yet told them about what I was experiencing, because it was already bad enough. They would find various ways to ask me if I had felt the pull of the mate bond, while at the same time warning me that if I waited too long and ignored it, my wolf might go dormant.
All I told them was that I didn’t feel any different from normal, to which began a lecture of me staying human for too long, and that I needed to let my wolf out for longer periods of time and more frequently. It was always the same lecture. I could give it myself now.
I swung the hammer again on the next set of nails. We were building a big porch on the back of Luc and Jill’s house. There was also a balcony planned on the second floor, leading from the master bedroom. The house had enough space for them to have at least five pups.
I swung again and this time managed to leave my thumb in the way. “Yowzers!” I danced around the balcony, hopping on one foot and then the other, hoping the action would somehow alleviate the pain.
“That was the dumbest thing I’ve seen all day,” a familiar voice called out.
I looked up to see Brandon and growled at him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“If you’d shift more often, your senses would be heightened.”
