by K. S. Martin
***
Lettie sat on the bed with her back propped against the iron headboard. His laptop rested on her naked thighs and she sipped coffee. Jordan cracked one eye open. He hadn’t slept that well in years. His mate was amazing. She had her bottom teeth clamped down on her top lip. She looked like she was doing her impression of a bulldog but he knew better. Lettie was deep in thought and was on the verge of working out all of the problems in their world. He smiled but she didn’t see him. She was tapping keys on the computer. He hated that damned contraption. Every time he used it, his problems multiplied and Jordan did not need any more problems. Besides being on probation, he still had the packs debt to work out plus his own personal finances sucked for the first time since he was fifteen, it was all too much. The first step was complete though, he had Lettie back, and she was always smart enough for both of them. Step two; present this stroke of genius to the pack. They were going back to work any way that you looked at it because if they didn’t they were all going to be living in tents in the woods. Some of them may not mind that but Jordan was partial to a mattress. Step three; was to carry out her plan once the pack accepted it. He took a deep breath and sighed.
“Give me a minute and I’ll show you what I’ve worked out.” She said without looking at him.
“I will wait patiently if you let me hold that coffee cup.” She smiled and reached over to the night table for his waiting cup. “Yep, brilliant.” Lettie laughed. Jordan sat up beside her and looked down at the screen. There were way too many numbers there to make sense to him. He sipped his coffee and closed his eyes, even her coffee was better than his was. You put grounds and water in a machine for God’s sake what did she do that was different? He would watch her sometime and figure it out.
“Okay, here.” Lettie turned the laptop to show him. They sipped coffee while she explained and pointed at the numbers on the screen. She was still explaining it to him while she scrambled eggs twenty minutes later. By the time she started to load the dishwasher, Jordan understood her plan in depth and step by step. He was right before when he told her that she was brilliant. This would work. They would pull themselves out of financial hardship and would have a sustainable income. Once the developers bought the land from the pack and the profits divided among the pack, they would be safe again. The members would stay on as well paid workers. The land closest to pack land would stay undeveloped as well as the land closest to the store. They would develop that later with pack money into high-end rental units that the pack would control and run. It was intricate and it was genius. The pack must agree and Mister Thompson must agree but he didn’t think there would be a problem with either.
Chapter Nine
“I don’t know Jordan. I’ve gone along with many things over the years but this is…I’m not sure if I am ready to retire. If your people need jobs, I can offer jobs but I don’t know if I’m ready to let the store go.” Lettie sipped the soda from the bottle. Jordan was tense and she felt it. What would they do if this didn’t work out? He would have to start the heating company that he mentioned. She didn’t want him to be unhappy for her sake or the pack’s sake. Jordan had come in here expecting this to be a breeze. ‘What do you say to letting me buy the store so you can retire.’ He should’ve known better. He must approach this with kid gloves. This man had run the store his whole life and it was like his child. You don’t just breeze in and take a man’s child away.
“Mister Thompson,” Lettie said softly, “what is it that you are hanging on to?” She asked gently. “You keep telling me that you want to retire and move to Florida. I thought this would help you and us.” He rubbed his balding head with a wrinkled arthritic hand. “You should enjoy your life.”
“I don’t think that Mister Thompson is holding onto anything. I think Mister Thompson isn’t ready for change. Am I right?” His lips pressed together and Mister Thompson nodded. “It’s okay. We understand.” Jordan said. “We’ll find another way.”
“Another way?” Mister Thompson asked. Jordan nodded.
“The last alpha lost all of the money and he convinced me to challenge him for alpha. I fell for it and inherited an empty bank account and houses in foreclosure. We hoped to borrow against our land to buy the store so we would have an income. Lettie had money saved and that kept us out of foreclosure but I don’t know what we will do next winter. It all seemed perfect when Lettie came up with it. Everyone would get what they wanted, you could retire and move to Florida and we would have the store.
“I still have the house and the land behind the store. So if I sold you the store, I’m here in the house without a job.” Jordan pulled a face and sat back to study him. Jordan hadn’t mentioned the house or the land yet. Sometimes it was best to let someone think he had the upper hand. He thought.
“So if you could sell the house and the land with the store, then you could retire?” Mister Thompson’s eyes cleared and he sat up straighter. His chin came up and his chest swelled. “Gee, that’s a lot, I don’t know.” Jordan stammered.
“I think it’s the only way that I could do it Jordan. I would have to sell the land, house and store together. I want to sell the store to someone who would care for it as much as I have. Someone like Lettie would appreciate it.” Jordan smiled at her. “That would be a condition too. She would have to be the manager as long as your pack owned it.”
“She was our pick too Sir.” Jordan clasped his hands lightly on the table in front of him.
“Are you together.” Lettie smiled and nodded then showed Mister Thompson the mark. Jordan pulled his collar aside proudly showing the mark that she’d made on him. Mister Thompson’s eyes twinkled.
“Now how long is this for this time?” He chuckled.
“This is it.” Jordan’s eyes flashed at his mate. “No more of this on again off again bullshit. We have made a fresh start, let go of our past and we are going to act like grownups. Lettie needs security and stability.”
“I know she does. She reminds me so much of Missus Thompson, God rest her soul. I think of Lettie as a daughter. I’m so proud of the person that she has grown into, of how brave and independent she is. I know that usually wolves are dependent on their packs. My wife was so frightened to leave her pack and come to live with me. Luckily, she loved me just a speck more than she loved the pack.” He smiled fondly lost in the memory. “She wanted to retire to Florida someday. She wanted to sit on a porch and look at the ocean.” He sighed. “It won’t be the same without her. I would be all alone there. At least here, I have my employees to talk to me. I don’t think that I want to sell Jordan. Thank you for the offer but I think that I’ll keep it a little while longer.” Jordan nodded in defeat and squeezed Lettie’s hand.
“We’ll find another way sweetheart.” She grimaced and dropped her head. “It’ll be okay. There’s always the other business that we discussed.” Lettie bit her lip and stood. “Are you going to stay here and work or do you need a ride home?”
“I’m going to stay. I want to finish resetting the cleaning aisle. Is that okay Sir?” He nodded. Jordan stood and shook Mister Thompson’s hand.
“If you ever decide to sell Sir keep us in mind.” Jordan said. Mister Thompson nodded and went back into his office.
Jordan went home disappointed and deflated. “Damn it!” He hissed pulling his dress shirt off and pulling his tee shirt on. He would take his aggressions out on the firewood. He and Lettie spent only a few minutes convincing the pack that this would work. They’d thought that the pack would be hardest to sell the idea to, that Mister Thompson would be easy since he wanted to retire. Jordan scoffed. Convincing the pack took ten minutes. He’d been in Thompson’s office for nearly an hour and got nowhere. What now? Thwack! The logs flew. He would have to break the bad news to them. This alpha business was harder than it looked and Jordan felt like he was failing at it, miserably.
Lettie finished the cleaning aisle, ordered stock, and filled the candy displays at the registers. It was a nice dream while
it lasted. She shrugged and shook it off. What bothered her most were the pups. Jordan wanted them and she wanted to give them to him. She wanted them too if she were honest with herself. Maybe if she’d gotten pregnant when they were young, everything would’ve been different. The money would still be theirs, they would be raising teenagers by now, and Jordan wouldn’t be the alpha. He’d done that for her. He thought that she needed it to be secure. She blew out a shaky breath. Now they couldn’t take care of themselves let alone pups. Lettie sniffled the tears back and went back to the gum and candy bars willing herself not to think about it. Her shoulders shook with it though. No pups. She missed her window. All of this time wasted, fighting Jordan, all wasted and stupid. She should’ve given him pups the first time he asked. She stifled the sob with her fist and headed to the storeroom. It was the most private place to have her breakdown.
“Lettie?” Mister Thompson found her like he always did. He had radar for tears. Lettie dabbed her face and sniffled loudly. “I’m sorry that I can’t sell you the store dear.” She nodded and tried to smile.
“It wasn’t that, well that was in there but…oh, I’m sorry Mister Thompson. This isn’t your problem. I’ve finished everything. I’ll just go home. Good night Sir.” Lettie tried to ease passed him.
“Please Lettie.” He put his hand gently on her arm to stop her. “We’re still friends aren’t we? Maybe I can help.” She shook her head. “Lettie. Please?”
“I just realized how much time I’ve wasted and how much I’m going to miss out on because I was too careful.” She sniffled again. “It’s just poor Lettie day, that’s all Sir.”
“What are you missing out on dear?” He looked at her quizzically. Drawing a trembling breath, the words fell from her lips.
“Children. I didn’t want them when I was young but I was saving up for them because I knew that I would want them one day. Jordan wanted them from the moment we mated. Then when I told him no, he got it in his head that he needed to be alpha so that we could start our family. When he got that into his head, it started a series of events that led to our mutual rejection. Once he got the alpha position, we weren’t together and the pack needed money. He spent the money I’d saved for pups on the pack and now that we’re together, there’s no money left for pups. I wasted my youth being overly cautious and now I can’t bring a child into the world not knowing if I can feed it. Like I said Sir, it’s just poor Lettie day. I’m going to head home Sir. Shall I come back for an extra shift tomorrow?” Lettie nibbled her lip. “I can use the overtime.”
“I need a cashier if you are willing to pull a shift I’d be grateful.” His wrinkled face creased with his smile and concern.
“I’ll see you in the morning Sir.” Lettie hurried out of the back door of the store and shifted into her wolf. She could call Jordan but she needed to clear her head, and a run would help with that.
***
“How did it go Jordan? Are we rolling in the dough again?” Mark asked grinning as he walked around to the back of Jordan’s house. Jordan turned from his fire wood. “Shit.” Mark murmured. “What now?”
“Now we all go back to work. I have an idea about a heating and air company. You, Terry, Lucas, and I will all be pitching in. Everyone else will be going to work at the grocery store or finding a job somewhere. We need to pool our resources so that we can keep the human’s from foreclosing on any of the houses and so we can all have electricity this time next year.” Mark nodded. Jordan’s voice had gone from neighborly to alpha by the end of his speech. “I will have a pack meeting tonight at seven, let everyone know please.” Mark nodded and left. Thwack! Jordan swung at the log on the stump in front of him. Where was Lettie? He looked at his watch. It was starting to get dark. He was getting hungry and she would be too. He needed to hold her and make it all go away for them both. Jordan went inside to start dinner.
“Jordan.” She said when she came into the kitchen. He turned to face her. She’d been crying. Damn. He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. He rested his chin on top of her head. “What are we going to do?” She murmured against his chest. He squeezed her tighter.
“I’m calling a pack meeting at seven and I am going to tell them that they need to get back to work. We need to come together and earn a living. I’m recruiting Terry, Mark and Lucas into the heating thing and everyone else is to go work at Thompsons or where ever they can get work. Loafing around time is over. Meanwhile, I want a cold frame garden constructed and we are going to plant anything tolerant to the temperatures. We have to find a way to cut all expenses and feed ourselves so that we survive this. There’s been no money coming in for too long.” She nodded. “Are you with me?”
“Always.” She looked up at him. His eyes were full of concern.
“I want you in the front row at the meeting and you are to sit there from now on. I also want your mark visible. We need to show them a united front.” She nodded and stepped out of his arms to throw the spaghetti into the water. “Pasta is cheap.” He said. Lettie stirred the sauce, the meatless sauce. This wouldn’t last. Wolves needed meat. She went to the fridge and found the leftover meatloaf from two nights ago. She broke it up into the sauce. “Thank you sweetheart, I wasn’t looking forward to eating that till now.” Lettie smiled brightly.
“We’ll be okay Jordan. Remember that I am a whiz at this. Mom taught me well.” He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. “I love you.” She sniffled.
“Hey, what’s this? You just said that we’ll be okay and now you’re crying, again I suspect.” Jordan kissed her tears away.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I lost it at work too. I just can’t believe how stupid we’ve been and how much time we wasted. Most of all I can’t believe how I blew our chance to have a family. It’s my fault Jordan. I’m so sorry.” She broke down then and he wrapped her in his arms again and held her until it stopped.
“We’ll be okay, Lettie.” She chuckled.
“Are you throwing my words in my face?” She grinned up at him.
“No. I think we will be. We need to pull it together and keep our heads down but we’ll be okay.” He gave her a squeeze and let her go so he could set the table for dinner. Suddenly, he was starving.
***
Summerville November Emergency Pack Meeting
“Summerville Pack!” Jordan stood tall at the front of the room. “As you all have probably heard by now, the plan to buy Thompson’s grocery store did not work out.” The crowd murmured and Jordan put his hands up to quiet them. “It seems that Mister Thompson was not as ready to retire as he previously said. I did tell him that the offer stands if he ever changes his mind. Meanwhile, we need to get back to work if we want to survive the next few winters. Those of us who are qualified will be going back into the HVAC slash plumbing business. Those of you who are not qualified for that will be finding jobs elsewhere, everyone is expected to find gainful employment if you do not already have a job. The vacation is over.” Jordan’s eyes flashed in challenge, heads bowed. “Our evenings will be spent digging the biggest cold frame garden anyone has ever seen. In the sunny field behind Terry’s place, we are going to dig down, build up the sides, and cover it in plastic. Every penny that we can save is another day that we survive. Got it?” More than a few of them looked frightened. “I see that it is finally dawning on everyone how dire of straights that we are in. We have mortgages to pay, utilities and we have to eat. I want game brought in, plenty of it. We have not hunted for food in years and it’s time we got back to it. Anyone with a fishing pole and a free minute is down at the river. Anyone else is out in the woods bringing in deer, ducks, geese, squirrels, or anything else you can find. We are going to survive the old-fashioned way, the way that our grandparents did. Understand? No more lazy wolves, no more chips, and beer.” Jordan’s pack felt the command in his voice. As submissive wolves, they were compliant to their alpha. The room filled with ‘yes Sirs.’ Lettie bowed her head in submission. “Lettie.” Jordan
pulled her to her feet. “Mister Thompson said that he would offer jobs to the pack. What positions are open at the store?” Lettie hated talking to crowds. It wasn’t in her nature to be extroverted. Her body trembled and he pulled her into his side then wrapped his strong arm around her to give her courage. She took a breath and calmed. Jordan looked down at her with adoration. His mate was so beautiful.
“Well, I know there are a few cashier spots, some stocking positions, we haven’t had a full time girl in cosmetics for over a year. There is a place in the meat department, one in the deli and one in the bakery. I think that’s all. Oh and there’s a spot for a janitor, me and Mister Thompson have been taking turns sweeping and mopping.” Jordan grimaced. She was working too hard. His mate was working every open position in the store while most of these wolves watched television all day. This stops now! He roared in his head. He let her sit back down in her metal chair on the front row and smiled softly at her.
“If you don’t have a job, stand up.” Jordan snarled at them and most of them stood. “See Lettie and she will fill you in on how to apply at the store. If you are qualified to do repairs and installs on furnaces, air conditioners or if you are a licensed plumber, you will see me. If neither of those options appeals to you, you are either on garden or game duty. I don’t care which you choose but you will be doing one of them or you won’t be staying in this pack. There are also plenty of downed trees out back to split. I have about four cords of firewood but that is not enough for all of us to last the winter and I am looking for volunteers. We will be using woodstoves this year, no electric or gas furnaces, no unnecessary expenses.”
