by V. A. Dold
“Natural born shifters have always been the superior species. Humans are nothing but a filthy disease upon the earth,” Lucinda snarled, her eyes beginning to look a bit wild.
“I suggest you curb those opinions in public and leash that nasty tongue of yours before I cut it out.”
Lucinda threw her head back and laughed. “Try it.”
“You don’t want to test me, sister-in-law.” Emma’s warning glowed in her eyes.
“NEVER call me that!” Lucinda screeched as she leapt at Emma.
Emma was ready for her attack and held her palm out flat toward Lucinda. Instantly, the woman slammed into an invisible wall. Then she twitched a finger at her assailant, forcing her to her knees.
Lucinda’s eyes were rolling like a mad dog. Drool running from the edge of her lips. “Let me go, bitch.”
“Oh, you did not just call me that,” Emma growled and lifted her flattened palm toward Lucinda again, doing a hard pushing motion that threw Lucinda into the brick wall behind her. Lucinda slumped, out cold. With a sigh, Emma pulled out her phone and called Isaac to come and get his sister-in-law. She watched over her until Isaac arrived and, after explaining to him what had happened, she kissed him and returned to the spa.
The sun was getting low in the sky, and the men were still trying to piece together the changing table. It was standing upright again, but Cade was positive pieces from the crib had ended up being used by mistake. It didn’t look right and didn’t sit level.
“Are you ready to give up?” Stefan asked hopefully.
Thomas squinted at the instructions and then at the table and back again. “Not yet. Simon, could you remove the last three pieces we attached? I think that’s where we went wrong.”
“Stefan, while they try to figure that out, let’s pull the dresser pieces together over here in this open space.” Cade indicated an area along the wall.
Stefan heaved a sigh and joined Cade at the mangled pile of wood and hardware in the center of the room.
“Isn’t Anna due home soon? I’m pretty sure El said she would be back at the ranch for dinner. Maybe we should clean this up and hide it until tomorrow?” Stefan whispered to his older brother.
Cade looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. Anna was going to walk through the door any minute. “Thomas, we need to call it a day and clean this up before your mother gets home. We’ve done all we can today.”
Thomas frowned at the changing table once more before glancing at Cade. “All right. I hate to leave a job half done, though. How about we meet for coffee in the morning and finish this?”
“Okay, I can do that.” Cade turned to Simon and Stefan. “Either of you available tomorrow?”
Simon shrugged. “I’ll have to check with Rose to see if she made plans.
“Not me. I’m helping El at the ranch.”
“I guess that leaves you and me, Thomas.”
Thomas grinned at his uncles. “We don’t need those two lunkheads anyway.”
“Watch it, squirt,” Stefan mock growled.
The men had half of the mess cleaned up and hidden in the garage when Anna walked in and stopped in her tracks.
Chapter Five
“What did you do now?” Anna growled low in her throat and her fangs extended as she eyed the mess on the nursery floor.
“Aw, hell,” Cade murmured to himself. “Mon amour, how was your day at the spa?” he asked loud enough for her to hear, trying to change the subject.
“Don’t mon amour me, Cade Le Beau. You better tell me what you’re up to, and you’d better be quick about it.”
Simon cleared his throat nervously. “I better get home to Rose.” Quietly, he slipped passed a very angry, red-faced Anna.
Stefan hesitated as he tried to think of a plausible excuse. Nothing came to mind. “I should get home, too.” He hurriedly followed Simon to safety.
“I’ll leave you to this.” Thomas attempted to escape with his uncles.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Anna snarled as she grabbed him by the ear. “In the living room, both of you.”
“Geez, Mom, that hurts,” Thomas whined as his mother pulled him by the ear to the living room and dumped him on the couch.
Cade quietly followed, his head hanging low like a whipped pup.
Anna growled through clenched teeth with her arms crossed and toe-tapping an irritated rhythm. “Explain.”
“I wanted to make up for the painting disaster by getting the nursery furniture,” Cade mumbled almost inaudibly.
“Yeah, the guys were putting together the crib and stuff while I was installing the new security system.”
“The new what!” Anna screeched.
“Cade wanted one of those video baby monitors so you could see and hear the baby. But those can be hacked and pose a major security risk, so I installed a new system,” Thomas announced with a proud smile.
She pointed at Cade. “I’ll get back to the furniture in a minute.” Then she turned her fury on Thomas. “You had better explain this system, in detail.”
“I have cameras to cover the interior of the house that are monitored from the main security office and a separate camera in the nursery that you and Cade will monitor on your tablet or smartphone.”
“Are you telling me you put cameras all over my house?” Anna’s screech was becoming shriller by the second as she scanned the room for cameras. “Hell, to the no! Remove that immediately!” she demanded, pointing at the camera near the ceiling.
“Mom, my baby sister is going to be the queen someday and will be a prime target for abduction. We need to protect her,” Thomas argued.
“You can protect her from the exterior of the home. Get these out of here before you leave tonight.”
“Well, at least use the nursery camera,” Thomas whined like a child being denied a new toy. “It will work just like a high-end baby monitor, but is on a secure network and can’t be hacked.”
Anna thought about that for a minute and then said, “That’s the first thing you’ve said so far that makes sense. Leave the one in the nursery but get started taking the rest down.”
Thomas harrumphed as he left the room to undo all his hard work, leaving Cade alone with his still angry mate.
“I’m sorry, cher. It looks like I screwed up again. I’m only trying to help and be involved. Is that really so bad?” Cade’s expression was so downtrodden it broke her heart.
“No, it’s not a bad thing. You just need to go about being involved ‘with’ me and not ‘for’ me. Do you understand? I need to be consulted and given the option of doing these things with you.”
Cade nodded as he listened to her. She was making a valid point. He had gone about it completely wrong. Then his lips twitched, and he chuckled. “We really made a mess of putting the furniture together. Three extremely smart men and we were helpless.”
“How bad is it?”
“Bad. The changing table, dresser, and crib pieces are all mixed together now.”
“How did that happen?”
Cade snarled at the pile of parts. “The instructions were hard to follow, and Stefan’s changing table fell over onto Simon’s dresser, which then smashed my crib.”
Anna covered her mouth to hide her giggle.
“It’s not funny. Now all the pieces are one big pile, and it’s an impossible mess.”
“Oh, babe, you’re so wrong. It’s hilarious. I wish I had seen it.” Anna laughed until she had tears in her eyes.
Even Cade began to smile as his tension lifted.
“I don’t know if we will ever get them assembled. I may have to throw everything out.”
“No! Don’t do that. Rose and I have put furniture kits together before, and El might be able to help, too. Simon and Rose could use a set at the long-stay apartments for the charity.”
“Thomas is meeting me for coffee in the morning to work on the furniture. Would you and the ladies like some help?”
/> “That would be great. We can pair each of you up with one of us and work as teams. See, we can do these things together.” Anna grinned as Cade leaned forward for a kiss.
Thomas walked into the living room carrying an armload of cameras. “I got them all from that end of the house. If you two are done necking, I could use Cade’s help with the rest.”
“Sure, I can help.” Cade gave Anna one last kiss as he stood to leave.
“I’ll see what we have for dinner while you men finish up. Would you like to stay and eat with us, Thomas?”
“That would be awesome,” he yelled from the master bedroom.
Eight o’clock the next morning, Thomas knocked on their door.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Anna teased her oldest son.
“Coffee, please,” Thomas growled, his normal morning scowl plastered on his face.
“Sure, it’s in the kitchen, help yourself. I swear you are the surliest person I know.” She giggled as he trudged to the kitchen ignoring her.
Without another word, Thomas poured himself a huge cup with cream and sugar. Then he leaned against the counter next to the pot, sipping his drink like he was guarding a national treasure.
Cade walked into the kitchen with damp hair and grinned at his stepson’s expression. “Good morning, Thomas.”
He got a caveman grunt in response as Thomas took another sip.
Cade placed frying pans on the stove. “Would either of you like eggs and bacon?”
“I would love some, please,” Anna whispered against his back as she hugged him from behind.
“Yeah,” Thomas grunted.
“Good morning!” Rose cheerfully called as she came in the front door.
Thomas snorted at her exuberance, which made Cade and Anna laugh. There was no one grouchier in the morning than Thomas James.
“Hey, handsome,” Rose greeted his supreme surliness with a ruffle to his hair and a kiss on the cheek.
“Cut that out!” he snapped as he leaned away from her.
“You are so much fun in the morning, sweetums,” Rose continued to tease.
Thomas refilled his cup and left the kitchen grumbling about calling him when breakfast was ready.
Cade grinned as he handed her a cup. “Good morning, Rose.”
“Good morning. Are you ready for a day of furniture making?”
“Sure am. I’m counting on you ladies to understand those confounded instructions.”
“I’m sure we’ll do fine,” Anna assured him.
It took most of the day, and help from Simon when he stopped by, but the furniture was assembled and loaded in the SUV. Simon and Rose had a young family arriving in the morning with a new baby, and they needed a crib.
Two weeks later
Emma fluttered around the house double-checking the decorations for the baby shower. Everything needed to be perfect. The sound of a car door caught her attention. Peering out her front window, she saw the caterer Rose hired had arrived. Excellent! He was right on time. She had tossed and turned all night with nightmares of late deliveries and ugly party favors.
The cake had been ordered from her favorite bakery. Fifteen minutes ago, the delivery driver had called to verify directions, so she knew that was on its way, too. The only thing left was the pianist. Sure, having a musician was a little over the top, but this was a baby shower for the future King and Queen. Over the top was standard procedure. The pack members expected a huge celebration and wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Emma was ecstatic when Isaac decided to retake his rightful place as the shifter King. She had missed throwing parties and meetings of all sizes. There were so many responsibilities she had enjoyed as the Queen of the shifters, and the assistance she had been able to give to her people had always been satisfying. She missed all those things.
Opening the front door, she welcomed the deliveryman and placed a heavy book on the floor to hold it open for him. Based on the order Rose had placed, it would take several trips to bring everything in. It was easier to prop the door open than stand there the entire time.
“Good morning, Mrs. Le Beau,” Fred, the deliveryman said as he tipped his hat. “It’s been much too long since I’ve seen your beautiful face.”
“Good morning, Fred. Please call me Emma. How is your grandmother doing these days?”
“I’m sorry to say she’s been feeling poorly of late. I’m told she did much better after she came to you years ago. And that the ointment you gave her was like a miracle. Of course, she used it up over the years. You wouldn’t happen to have another jar of it, would you? I’ll pay whatever it costs to ease her suffering.”
“Yes, I have some made up in the backroom. Let me get that for you while you bring in the food.”
Emma hurried to her alchemist room where she mixed and stored her herbs, ointments, oils, and other tools of healing. Looking at the last two jars, she tapped her chin and grinned to herself. She had been thinking about reinstating the healers’ circle in the community. She really missed meeting the local people and offering her services to those who needed help.
Many of the bayou residents preferred to use local healers instead of driving to town for modern doctors. She would talk with Isaac after the party and see if he thought it was safe enough for her and the ladies to begin taking requests from the humans or if she needed to wait until the unidentified threat to the family was removed.
By the time she returned to the dining room where Fred was setting up the platters, he had already brought in three gorgeous displays. Not only did this caterer make the most delicious food, but it was beautiful to look at as well.
Fred walked in with a fourth platter and smiled broadly when he saw the jars of ointment in her hands. “I can’t thank you enough for helping my grandmother. I love her dearly, and it pains me to see her suffering. What do I owe you for those?”
“Not a penny. I adore your grandmother as well, and I’m sorry I didn’t know of her suffering sooner. I would never have allowed that to happen if I had known. Give her these and when she runs out come back for more.”
“I would love to say thank you and accept your generous offer, but she would box my ears. I need to give you something for them. If you won’t let me pay, may I at least bring you things from my garden? Or maybe I could bring you fresh crawfish and gator?”
“I’ll tell you what, I use many herbs and plants that are only found in the bayou. I’ll make a list and if you come across any of them, harvest what you can. I will take them in exchange for the ointment.”
“I’d be honored to assist you in any way. Thank you again for the medicine. Are you going to offer your healing services again? Is that why you need the herbs and plants? Please say you’ll be our local healer again. We need you and the other ladies very badly.”
“I’m thinking about it, but I have to speak to my husband first.”
“I hope he says yes. Many of the people in the remote areas need the healers to return.” He glanced at the table and frowned–somehow while he had been getting the last of the delivery, Emma had rearranged the entire table. But he would never say a word about it to this amazing woman. She could organize her table anyway she pleased.
“Please, thank Beverly for this incredible spread. She has outdone herself again,” Emma said as she handed the jars to Fred and walked him to the door. “And please give your grandmother my regards as well.”
“I’ll tell Beverly you are pleased. Thank you again, Miss Emma, and I will say hello to my grandmother, too.”
Fred drove down the driveway as the bakery van pulled in. Behind the van was a fancy black sedan, which Emma was sure belonged to the pianist. Everything was arriving like clockwork, and once the cake was in place and she showed the pianist to the baby grand piano, she would change into her party dress.
“Do I really have to go to this?” Cade whined as he buttoned his dress shirt. “Aren’t baby showers a woman’s thing?”
> “Stop being a baby. Your mother wanted a men and women’s party, so that’s what we’re having. Besides, you’re going to receive a lot of cool daddy stuff from the men, while I get the pretty baby outfits from the ladies.”
“What cool daddy stuff could they possibly give me?”
“I imagine you’ll get yard toys, and maybe some sporting items. Girls play sports, too, you know.”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought of that. This might not be so bad.”
Anna giggled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Atta boy, now you’re getting into the spirit.”
Cade was humming to himself when a terrifying, man-gelding thought struck. “Tell me I won’t have to play any stupid shower games.”
Anna held her stomach as she laughed at his pale, pained expression. “I promise, I won’t let your mother do that to you.”
Cade let out a huge breath and pulled Anna into his arms, “Thank, Goddess. Have I told you how incredible you are and how much I adore you?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, you told me about an hour ago.”
“Well, I’m telling you again. I love you so damn much, cher.”
“I love you, too, babe.”
“I guess I can’t put this off any, longer,” Cade muttered. “We better get over there before mom sends a search party looking for us.”
“Let me slip my shoes on, and I’ll be ready.”
It was only a short walk across the yard to reach Emma and Isaac’s house. They could already hear the party in full swing, and there were a lot of cars in the driveway.
“Your mother told me this was family only.” Anna scowled at all the vehicles. “Why are all these people here?”
“I take it she failed to explain the term ‘family’ extends to ALL the shifters in the pack.”
Anna pulled him to a stop. Horror etched on her face. “Tell me you’re pulling my leg.”
“I’m sorry, cher. I wish I were.” He pulled her closer and kissed her until she was breathless. “I’ll stay close if you want me to.”
“I’ll be fine. I just need a minute to wrap my head around a shower of this magnitude. Honestly, I should have known better than to let your mother plan a party. It’s my own fault that I have, what, over a hundred people waiting for me?”
