Shay actually felt her eye twitch. “Later.” Much, much later if she had her way about it.
“Shay, I want us married before the babe arrives. I think your parents would like to be there.”
She glared at him. “After the way my mother behaved at Kiesha’s wedding, you can say that to me with a straight face?”
“Shay…” he chided. She hunched her shoulders.
“All right, all right. I’ll do it. And when she descends on us like a plague of locusts, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She glanced around the interior. “The construction slump doesn’t seem to be affecting you,” Shay said to change the subject. The thought of confessing all to her parents caused her stomach to churn.
“No, business is good. Hold on, let me check on a few things while I’m here. My office is through there.” He pointed to an open doorway, then walked over to a man at a desk and began asking questions.
There was a receptionist at the front desk giving Shayla a curious look. Shay guessed she didn’t see Rory come in with too many women who were so obviously not a client.
She entered his office and spent time looking at all the plaques on the wall and pictures of projects his firm had completed. When he came in, she motioned to the walls and said, “So you do both commercial and residential construction?”
“Mostly residential, but I have taken on a few commercial projects, as well as remodels and renovations. We basically do it all and at a reasonable price. Caleb, my business partner and project foreman, has been handling things for me while I’ve been home working with you,” he said as he settled into his chair and then booted up the computer.
“So he’s your second in more than just the pack?”
“Yes.” Rory scanned through his e-mails, firing off responses to a few and filing others in folders.
Shay sat on his desk and waited until he’d finished, watching him work. He loved his job, and it showed in the focus that he gave to each task. Word spread that the head boss was on-site, and there was a steady stream of visitors to the office asking about this and that. Shay sat, absorbing it all, enjoying seeing the business side of her mate.
An hour later they left and made a trip to a nearby hardware store for locks.
“You know changing the locks won’t stop any shifter really determined to get in,” he said.
“Of course, just like all the locked doors and windows in the world won’t keep out a really determined burglar. But it will slow them down and hopefully give warning that they’re coming in,” she said.
He grunted, seeming satisfied with her answer.
Chapter Thirteen
Back at the house, Shay played assistant while Rory changed out all the locks, top and bottom.
“These doors are all steel with reinforced frames,” he told her. “The windows are double paned and meet hurricane standards. Like I said, it won’t keep anyone determined to get inside out, but it will take time and a hell of a lot of effort.”
He glanced up at her. “The alpha’s house is always built capable of withstanding a siege because in times of crisis, the pack runs here. Our pantries are always stocked full of food, and there’s a locked storage room in the basement full of emergency supplies.”
Shay nodded her understanding and glanced around. “That’s why this house is so big?”
“In my grandfather’s day, when most of the additions to the original cabin were made, the alpha pair, beta pair, and the elders lived in this house. Even when I was a boy, the beta pair lived here until as healer, it was determined that Laurie Bell and her mate needed their own residence. The pack built them a house not too far from here.”
Shay’s gaze swung back to Rory in surprise. “Laurie Bell was married to your father’s beta? His second in command?”
“Yes, although my father wasn’t big on sharing his authority, he did have a second,” he confirmed.
There was something there, something on the edge of her mind, but Shay couldn’t bring it into focus. Something Rory had said… “Did your father choose his own beta?”
“No, his position was established by pack ranking, although they were good friends, having grown up together. Actually Quintin—that’s his name—and Laurie Bell were all around the same age as my father. At one time, I’m told, Da was expected to mate with Laurie Bell.”
Shock rocked Shay back on her heels. “Laurie Bell’s wolf is that strong?” she asked, remembering what he’d said about alphas and their mates.
Rory paused with the screwdriver in his hand. “I never really thought about it. Healers fall outside of the hierarchy, but her father was my grandfather’s beta and her mother, our healer, so yes, I guess she would be.”
“Didn’t you say your father’s beta was one of the men who’d challenged you for the position of alpha?”
A shadow crossed his face. “Yes.”
“And,” Shay searched the threads of her memory, trying to pull it all together, “that Ashley was the daughter of your father’s beta?”
“Yes.” He went back to his screwing, using a little more force than necessary.
“So that means Ashley is Laurie Bell’s daughter?”
“Uh-huh. What of it?” he asked absently, his focus once more on his task.
“I’m just wondering why she didn’t say anything or make an introduction.” Shay thought hard. Had she even seen Ashley at the howl? She had to have been there. Attendance was mandatory, but she’d met so many new faces. Shay honestly couldn’t remember if she’d seen her.
Rory paused in thought. “Laurie Bell doesn’t like to mention it, but she’s displeased with Ashley. She wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps, but Ashley doesn’t have the aptitude for healing like her mother and grandmother before her.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Shay knew all about disappointed mothers, with her mother constantly nagging her to marry and give her grandchildren. Another thought occurred. “What would have happened if Quintin hadn’t challenged you? Would he have remained your second?”
Rory shrugged. “It’s possible but highly doubtful. With the rise of a new alpha, everyone’s position within the hierarchy has to be reestablished. Quintin might have been able to hold on to it. More likely he would have lost his position and, by virtue of age and experience, become one of the pack elders.”
What would it do to a woman, Shay wondered, to expect to be alpha-fem and have her position taken by a lowly omega? Laurie Bell seemed to have adjusted well to her change in status. Of course, Shay supposed the position of healer was powerful in its own right.
Thinking about mothers and daughters and following in one’s footsteps, Shay asked, “Laurie Bell ever make any noises about you and Ashley?”
“Me and Ashley what?” Rory asked blankly.
Shay rolled her eyes. “You and Ashley mating?”
Stunned amazement and a hint of distaste came through their bond. “Shay, Ashley’s a child. I’ll never see her as anything but.”
Okay, that was certainly clear enough. Best leave that subject alone. Still trying to figure out all the intrapack dynamics, she asked instead, “If Laurie Bell and your father were supposed to mate, how’d he end up with your mother?”
“I honestly have no clue.” He stood, the last lock in place. He gave the door and lock a few tests with the key. “It’s near time for dinner. What do you have a taste for?”
Without hesitation, Shay stated, “Pizza with the works.”
“You want to order in or eat out?”
“Let’s go out. I’m not used to spending this much time inside of one place.” In truth she was beginning to go a bit stir-crazy. Rory made a nice distraction, but even he couldn’t keep the walls from closing in.