This was the reason he’d called Amber and no one else. This was the reason that she’d dropped everything and come to help her brother.
Trust. He’d warned her not to trust strangers with his family. But since meeting her dragon shifter that might just change for Amber.
Chapter Seven – Kelos
“How is Shawn? I bet his head is sore after last night.” Joey met Kelos as he got out of his truck and headed toward the office where Mac would give them their jobs for the day.
“I don’t know.” Kelos looked blank for a moment. “Should I know?”
“I thought you might have spoken to him this morning.” Joey cocked his head and looked at his friend. “Are you okay? You look as if you were the one drinking last night.”
“I’m fine.” He ran a hand through his hair, his breath ragged. Shawn knew Kelos had met his mate, so it was only a matter of time until Joey and the rest of the world knew, too. It wasn’t as if it was a secret.
Or perhaps it should be a secret since Amber’s whole reason for being in Bear Creek was to keep her brother’s family safe.
“Kelos, is there something you aren’t telling me?” Joey asked. His eyes widened. “You didn’t do anything to him, did you?”
“To him? Like what?” Kelos asked in confusion.
“Oh, you know, like fly him to the top of the highest peak and leave him there.” Joey leveled his gaze at Kelos. “You threatened Shawn last night when he made a joke.” His forehead wrinkled. “Something about three dragons walk into a bar…”
“No.” Kelos chuckled. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“Then what’s got you all…” Joey leaned forward and stared at Kelos critically. “What is up with you?” His eyes widened. “Did you stumble across some other dragon’s treasure in the dead of night and claim it as your own?”
“No.” Kelos laughed. “A dragon would not do that to another dragon. At least, this one wouldn’t.” Kelos had been without his hoard for years after another dragon had taken his treasure for safekeeping. It had taken him years to track it down and get it back. It was one reason why Kelos was so obsessive about his treasure.
“Then what’s got you so preoccupied?” Joey asked as they reached Mac’s office where Hex and Beck were waiting. Fresh from their weddings and subsequent honeymoons, the three Winter brothers were looking like finding your mate was a recipe for good health.
“You’re preoccupied?” Mac asked as he got up from his desk, a piece of paper with the list of the day’s jobs in his hand.
“Have you found more treasure?” Hex asked.
“There’s no treasure greater than a mate about to give birth to your first child,” Mac reminded his youngest brother.
“Yeah, I’m not nervous at all,” Hex wiped his hands down his thighs. “I get sweaty palms just thinking about Martha going into labor.”
“It’ll be fine,” Joey told him.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine. It’s not like you have to do the pushing,” Beck joked. His brother didn’t find it funny.
“I hate the thought of Martha being in pain,” Hex confessed.
“Just focus on the baby you guys are going to get at the end of it,” Kelos told Hex.
“How do you know so much about babies?” Mac asked as he leaned against his desk.
“I’ve seen my fair share born,” Kelos told them. “But I don’t imagine it’s the same as watching your own child take its first breath.”
“I hope we all get to experience that one day,” Joey said wistfully before his mouth dropped at the corners and he nodded at the list. “So, what do you have for us?”
“I need a couple of you to go into town. The museum needs a couple of trees cut back. The branches are overhanging the roof.” He looked up at the four men in front of him. “I figured Kelos and Hex.”
“Sure,” Hex nodded at Kelos.
“We’ll get loaded up.” Kelos slipped out of the office.
“You still didn’t tell us what the problem is.” Joey leaned out of the office door as Kelos and Hex strode toward the storeroom.
“I met my mate.” Kelos smothered a smile as Joey slipped and nearly fell flat on his face outside of Mac’s office. As he reached out his hand to steady himself, Mac and Beck appeared behind him.
“You did what?” Joey spluttered.
“I met my mate. She’s an old friend of Shawn’s who has come to visit.” He didn’t say anymore as he continued on his way to the storeroom.
Hex was frozen to the spot for a moment before he turned around and ran after Kelos. “Is that true or are you just messing with them?”
“It’s true,” Kelos told his friend. “I met her late last night. I still feel as if I need to pinch myself to check that I’m not dreaming.”
“That’s how it feels when you meet your mate.” Hex shook his head in disbelief. “I was beginning to think you might have to wait another couple of hundred years or something. Then there she was, at Shawn’s of all places.”
“Yes, if I hadn’t offered to drive last night, I might never have met her.” Kelos took down a chainsaw from where it hung on the wall. “Fate.”
“Fate.” Hex placed his hand on Kelos’s shoulder. “I’m so happy for you, Kelos. You deserve to find happiness. And if you need a hand fixing your house up, let me know. I know you said you wanted to take your time, but things have changed.”
“Thanks.” Kelos nodded. “I haven’t had time to process the implications yet.”
“No wonder you’re walking around as if you found treasure. In so many ways you have.” Hex chuckled. “I can’t wait to tell Martha.”
“Thanks, Hex.” Kelos loaded the gear into the back of the work truck and then climbed into the passenger seat while Hex shut the back of the truck and joined him, jumping into the driver’s seat and inserting the key in the ignition.
“So, what’s the story with your mate?” Hex asked.
“Story? What story?” Kelos asked a little too quickly.
Hex’s eyes narrowed but he switched his attention to the trail leaving from the sawmill to the road. “Why has she come to visit Shawn? I heard from Joey you got home late last night, and Shawn obviously wasn’t expecting a visitor, or he might not have gotten himself quite so drunk.”
“He did have a lot to drink.” Kelos rolled down the window and leaned his elbow on the door, inhaling the fresh air, letting the smell of damp earth and wildflowers wash over him. Spring was reclaiming the world around them, waking the flora and fauna from its winter sleep.
“Is she in trouble?” Hex asked quietly. “If she is, you know you can count on me and Martha to help out. We owe you.”
“You need to focus on your wife and baby,” Kelos told his friend firmly.
“So, she is in trouble.” Hex’s jaw tightened. “Anything you need, you know we are all there for you.”
“Amber isn’t the one in trouble,” Kelos confided. “It’s her sister-in-law. Well, her brother. There’s some big court case and he’s supposed to testify. He did a deal to keep his family safe. Witness protection, the whole works. But someone leaked their whereabouts. Amber got a call from her brother and she promised to keep them safe.”
“And what better place to keep them safe than in the mountains.” Hex nodded. “So, they’re staying with Shawn.”
“No, they are at my house.” Kelos smiled as Hex jerked his head around in surprise.
“They’re at your cabin?” Hex looked shocked.
“Yeah. It seemed like the safest place. If anyone traces Amber to Shawn’s place, then they will find it empty. There’s no previous connection between me and Amber, or any other member of her family. So, they should be safe.”
“And what does Amber think of your home?” Hex asked cautiously.
“Amber likes it. Her sister-in-law, Margie, not so much.” He shrugged. “My mate can see what it will be like when the work is finished.”
“Does that mean you are going to part with any of your gold or je
wels to make that work go any faster?” Hex knew how much Kelos treasured his dragon hoard.
“Nope.” Kelos shook his head as they turned onto the main road that threaded its way through town. The museum was located just off the main street and Hex parked the truck in the parking lot next to the old building.
“You know, the museum might be interested in some of the treasure. You could get paid and they could get some new items to display,” Hex suggested.
“I like my treasure right where it is,” Kelos told Hex. “And I want to do the work on the cabin myself, too. I enjoy it. I like taking it apart and putting it back together. It’s fun.”
“Okay, I understand. I love the house we built after Martha and I got married. Designing it ourselves and then doing the work…it makes it special. It makes it ours.” He glanced sideways at Kelos. “But I could not have done it without help. So, if help is what you need, then just holler.”
“I will.” He nodded and then opened the truck door and slid out, his feet hitting the asphalt before he stretched, rocking his neck from side to side. “Let’s get to work.”
“Hard night?” Hex asked as he opened the back of the truck and they began taking out their gear.
“Very.” Kelos chuckled. “I slept on the floor in front of the hearth.”
“You gave up your bed for your mate and she didn’t ask you to join her?” Hex teased.
“My mate slept on the sofa so Margie and the kids could have the bed.” He curled his fingers around the chainsaw and lifted it out of the back of the truck. “Okay, let’s get this done. I’m hoping I might get to leave early today.”
“Mac would have given you the day off if you wanted it,” Hex told him as they headed around the side of the museum. As they walked, the large, ornate wooden doors that led into the museum swung open. “Here comes George.”
Kelos narrowed his eyes and watched the guy run down the stone steps and head their way. George lifted his hand and waved to them and Hex stopped walking and waited for the museum employee to catch up with them.
“Hi. Mac said you were on your way. I thought I’d come out and double-check that you know where you’re going.” George eyed Kelos curiously. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“No, I don’t think we have.” Kelos didn’t add anything more to the conversation.
“George here knows about dragons,” Hex informed his friend.
“Does he?” Kelos did not invite any further comment on that fact.
“So, the trees,” Hex said to George. “I presume the museum wants them cut back so that they pose no threat to the museum building.”
“That’s right,” George replied. “They are overhanging the lower roof. If they fall down, they will cause irreparable damage. Some of the artifacts on display there are thousands of years old and irreplaceable.”
“George might be describing you, Kelos,” Hex said lightly. “Thousands of years old and irreplaceable.”
Kelos grunted in reply.
“Do all dragons lack a sense of humor?” Hex asked no one in particular.
“Funny,” Kelos answered, his earlier good mood gone. Was George here to see if he could get Kelos to part with any of his treasure?
“I would love to take a look at your treasure some time,” George told the dragon shifter.
“It is not for sale,” Kelos scowled.
“Oh, I know. A dragon and his treasure never like to be parted. I’d just like to take a rummage. See if there are any local artifacts that might shed light on certain parts of the history of the town. It’s a hobby of mine. Nothing more.”
Kelos was aware of Hex watching him. With a grunt he said, “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I ask,” George replied. “I’m trying to build up a clearer picture of shifters in the area. How long they have been here. What life was like long ago.”
“Hard,” Kelos replied bluntly. Then he looked at the clear blue sky above them. “Yet, in some ways it was easier, too.”
“It must have been quite something to soar about the mountains without having to worry about hitting an airplane.” Hex followed his gaze toward the mountains. “The sense of freedom…”
“I learned a long time ago that dwelling in the past, pining for the way things were and not accepting the ways things are does you no good.” Kelos swung an axe over his shoulder and indicated the trees that needed attention. “Shall we get to…”
“Kelos?” Hex asked with concern as the dragon shifter swung around to stare back toward the main road. “Are you all right?”
“She’s here.” He took a couple of steps forward and then hesitated, realizing he was supposed to be at work.
“Who is here?” George asked, intrigued by Kelos’s actions.
“Meet Bear Creek’s latest mated shifter.” Hex inclined his head toward Kelos and grinned. “He’s experiencing the first flush of love. You recall what that’s like, don’t you, George?”
George chuckled. “I do.” He glanced sideways at Hex. “Are you sure he should be working in his condition?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should call Mac and tell him Kelos needs a day off.” Hex stepped toward Kelos and raised his hand, about to place it on his friend’s shoulder.
“I’m okay to work.” Kelos swung around sharply and Hex stepped backward, nearly tripping over his own feet.
“If you’re sure.” Hex’s eyes narrowed. “I want us both to be safe when we’re working.”
“I have my emotions completely under control,” Kelos told him. “Amber said she was going to the grocery store.” He cast a glance over his shoulder. “If she needs me, she’d call.”
“You don’t want to smother her.” George nodded approvingly. “That is the hardest thing to conquer, the need to be there for your mate no matter what. I suspect your mate is strong and knows how to look after herself.”
Hex locked eyes with Kelos, but he shrugged off his friend’s concern. “You’re right. My mate does know how to look after herself.”
It was Margie and the children that needed his protection more. Perhaps she was in town searching for him. His hand tightened around the axe. Were the people who were searching for Margie and her kids here in Bear Creek? Had they found them?
His senses sought out his mate and located her at the grocery store. He let out a sigh of relief. Amber was no doubt simply buying cereal and other provisions for her family.
As he switched his attention back to work, he kept part of his focus on his mate. If anything changed, if a threat materialized, he would drop everything and go to her aid. Even if that meant revealing his dragon.
Dangerous thoughts, his dragon replied.
We live in dangerous times, Kelos told his other side.
His other side did not argue.
Chapter Eight – Amber
“How was town?” Margie asked as Amber hauled the groceries she’d bought around to the kitchen. “Full of wolves and bears?”
Amber chuckled. “No, only Cougar Ridge is open about their shifter population. The rest of the towns around here are pretty normal.”
“Normal?” Margie squeaked. “They can turn into animals.” She didn’t hide her mild distaste from Amber.
“I do not have a problem with that.” Amber smiled to herself, but Margie didn’t miss a thing.
“You like him.” Margie inclined her head in no general directions. “Our host. Kelos. You like him.”
“What’s not to like?” Amber teased. “Have you seen his muscles? And he has the cutest smile.” Although hidden beneath that smile was an unfathomable strength and wisdom.
“He’s quite the catch.” Margie glanced around the room. “But you need more than muscles and a cute smile to live.”
“No, you don’t.” Amber began to unpack the groceries while Margie sipped her coffee.
“Come on, do you really want to live in a place like this?” Margie asked.
“Yeah, I do.” Amber inhaled deeply, breathing in th
e scents of the forest as they wafted in through the open kitchen door. “I love it here.”
“The place needs a lot of work.” Margie curled her bottom lip. “And it only has one bathroom.”
Amber laughed as she opened the fridge and placed the milk and yogurt she’d bought, along with some fresh fruit and vegetables, inside. “I’ve lived in houses with no bathroom.”
Margie looked at her sister-in-law as if she were from another planet. “I think a hotel would be better.”
“Margie, this is the safest place for you and the kids right now. No one will be looking for us here.” Amber filled the kettle and put it on the stove. “Tea?”
“I’m okay with coffee, thanks.” Margie held up her coffee mug as proof.
“Is that the kids up?” Amber looked up at the ceiling.
“I hope they don’t fall through,” Margie muttered. “We might be safer here from whoever is after us, but are we really safe?” She arched her eyebrows in question, but Amber refused to take the bait. Margie had made her opinion quite clear, but Amber was adamant that Kelos’s house was the safest place for them. For now at least.
“Can we go outside?” Lauren bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, with Elliot close behind her.
“I don’t think so,” Margie replied quickly, eyeing up the view through the kitchen door with worry. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
“We’ll stay in the yard surrounding the house,” Lauren assured her mom.
“The doctor is coming to see Elliot so we can get his asthma inhaler. You know your brother has to be careful.” Margie placed her coffee cup down on the counter and went to her youngest child, putting a protective arm around him.
“We’ll just be outside. It’s not as if we are going to go running off.” Although the glint in Lauren’s eye might say she’d planned otherwise.
“Why don’t you eat first?” Margie suggested.
Elliot looked at his older sister before dutifully sitting down in the chair Margie pulled out for him. “I am hungry.”
Lauren rolled her eyes, took a longing look at the green grass and ancient trees just begging to be climbed, and sat down next to her brother. Amber watched the exchange but didn’t voice her opinion. Margie was their mother and she knew best.
Kelos: Spring (Shifter Seasons Book 4) Page 6
