Rory smiled intimately at her, his pleasure in her desire to spend more time with him visible.
Another thought struck. “Does she cook for you as well?”
Rory shook his head. “Not for me. For some of the others, yes. I prefer to do my own.”
“Me too. Okay,” she told Caleb. “Tuesdays and Fridays and if we need to readjust because of her class schedule, let me know.”
“Consider it done,” Caleb said.
“These changes may cause problems within the pack. They’ve gotten used to being able to come to you whenever needed,” MacDougal said without any of the nastiness he’d displayed earlier.
“They’ll adjust. These aren’t the first changes I’ve made, and it’s doubtful they’ll be the last,” Rory told him.
“Have you confirmed that there’s a threat, or are you simply being cautious?” Caleb asked.
Shay casually wrapped her arm around Rory’s shoulders and dug her nails into the back of his neck. She did not want him sharing Conor’s warning with these men. Yes, they were his second and third. Caleb, she believed, had Rory’s best interest at heart. Or it could all be an elaborate act. Since she didn’t know, she preferred to retain the element of surprise.
“My mate’s pregnant. That’s reason enough,” Rory answered and nudged Shay, indicating he was ready to stand. When she moved, he stood, indicating the meeting was over.
Both men grunted in understanding and rose to leave. A solemn MacDougal exited the room first.
“How’s the pregnancy coming?” Caleb asked Shay as they walked to the door.
“Good.”
Caleb smiled. “You have any sisters or female cousins?”
“No sisters. One cousin, Kiesha—”
“Who’s mated to the Raven pack’s alpha,” Rory interjected.
Caleb’s smile turned rueful. “Oh well. Shake the family tree, will you? And if any more like you fall out, let me know.”
Rory laughed. “Don’t hold your breath. My Shay’s one of a kind.”
They spent the next weekend out in the surrounding area. First Rory took Shay on a tour of his town. Well, he referred to it as a town, but it was more like an outlying area containing a few businesses, a post office, gas stations, and the like. The town butted up against the North Carolina/Tennessee border, near the top of a mountain, bordered by a state park on one side and a Native American reservation in the valley on the other.
“All this land and these businesses belong to the pack,” he told her.
“This is a lot of territory. How did the pack manage to own all of this?” Shay asked, taking in the raw, and for the most part, undeveloped land that went on for miles.
“Most of the pack land was either purchased or bartered for by my great-grandfather with the Cherokee Nation when he first immigrated. The tribe took one look at him and his men and knew exactly what they were. In exchange for land and wives, the pack provided protection. It’s one of the reasons this tribe wasn’t forced west with the others and managed to hold on to their land.”
Shay studied him carefully. She’d noticed the heavy influence of Native American blood when Rory had introduced her to the pack. It made sense. “Do you still have close ties to the tribe?”
He shook his head. “Not so much anymore. The growing need to keep what we are a secret damaged that relationship. Although some of the pack still have relatives on the reservation.”
Next he took her by all the pack-owned businesses so that she could get a feel for their physical operation. She’d already been introduced to their computer systems. The Sparrowhawks owned three campgrounds. The largest campsite catered to those who wanted to pitch their tents and rough it in a secure location but still have access to restrooms. The second, smaller location was an RV campsite completed with hookups, showers, and restrooms. The third contained a twenty-room, lodge-style hotel and a series of small wood cabins ranging from one-room efficiencies to two-bedroom cabins that slept six comfortably. There were picnic tables and grills spread throughout, and both the RV campsite and lodge had outdoor pools to attract summer campers.
“We’re considering building some time-share condos. Those do well in this area. But the question is where. We don’t want to crowd the land, and while tourism brings in money to support the pack, we don’t want too many people around,” he told her as they were leaving the lodge’s restaurant after having a delicious lunch.
In addition to the restaurant in the lodge, the pack also owned a pancake house that was open for breakfast and lunch, and three general stores that sold everything from camping supplies to tourist souvenirs situated near each campsite.
“This is a nice little setup you have and, from the looks of it, prosperous as well,” Shay commented.
“It wasn’t always this way. We had the land, but it was going to waste. We opened the first campground a year after I became alpha. Two years later we opened the third. It took four years to get the lodge up and running but each is doing well, and we’ve managed to pay back most of the money we borrowed for start-up,” Rory said.
“I recognized a lot of pack members working as employees,” Shay said as Rory headed the truck toward his construction business.
“As part owners, pack gets preference when it comes to hiring, but we don’t discriminate. We have a few of the outlying townspeople working for us as well. Not many folks want to work for minimum wage, and some of our businesses are seasonal. Those who need steady, higher paying employment drive over into Fort Knox or hit the tourist traps in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg.”
“Speaking of tourist traps, I’ll probably have to visit one to shop. I’m going to need some larger clothing soon,” Shay said, looking down at her ever-expanding bump.
Rory reached out and laid a possessive hand over her stomach. “We’ll drive into Fort Knox tomorrow and do some shopping at the mall. How are you feeling?”
She’d started out the morning with a bit of nausea. “Better. Lunch helped.”
“When’s your follow-up with Carol?”
“In two more weeks.”
“You sure you won’t let Laurie Bell take a look at you?”
Shay sighed. “I’m drinking the tea, and while I won’t deny that it helps, I’m still more comfortable going to an actual doctor’s office to be seen. Speaking of which, per our contract, you owe me some form of transportation.”
“I don’t want you riding over to Refuge without me.” He brought the truck to a stop in front of a building with a sign proclaiming: McFelan Construction.
“Be reasonable. You can’t keep me tethered to the house. I have friends and family in Refuge. You think I’m going to be this close to Kiesha and not visit her?”
Rory turned to her with one hand still resting on the steering wheel. “No, I don’t. All I’m asking is that you don’t go without me.”
“Fine, but I still need a ride.”
“You can have this one. I’ll drive one of the company trucks.”
Shay glanced around the truck and scrunched her nose. “This will do for now until I can make arrangements to have mine brought from Florida.”
“Unless it’s an SUV or a four-wheel drive, don’t bother. Anything else is not worth having on these mountainous roads, especially in the winter when there’s snow on the ground.” Rory climbed out of the truck and came around to hold the door open for Shay.
“Then I guess I’m going car shopping, which I hate,” she muttered.
Rory kept his truck well maintained and fairly clean, but it was obviously a work truck. The full-size pickup was difficult for someone of her height and stature to climb in and out of. She could only imagine the difficulty she’d have later in her pregnancy.
“I’ve introduced you to the pack and to Kian. When are you going to tell your parents about us?” Rory asked out of the blue, holding the door to his office building open for her to enter.