Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“And we will,” said Nick. “That doesn’t mean we need to do anything with the land.”
Roni shook her head. “That’s not good business sense.”
He arched a brow at his sister. “It’s not?”
“I agree with Roni,” said Shaya. “All that land could pay for itself if there were businesses there providing us with income.”
Nick scowled. “It would be too complicated, too many businesses, too much to think about. We don’t know anything about running businesses anyway.”
Kent shyly raised a hand. “I do. I mean, I owned a salon in Arizona. I’d just love to open another one.”
Nick spluttered. “Well, the rest of us haven’t. We haven’t even worked among humans.”
“I have. I worked in Kent’s salon,” Shaya reminded him.
“Not for long,” Nick ground out. “The only real person here who has worked among humans is Harley. She worked at clubs. Anyway, owning lots of businesses . . . it would be too much hassle.”
Ally tapped her fingers on the table. “What you’re saying is that it would be simpler to just run one business.”
“Yes,” replied Nick. “If we branch out, it would be best to start with one business. Something that wouldn’t need my supervision. Something small.”
“Like a salon,” suggested Kent.
Ally shook her head. “It would take time to build a client base. And you would have to hire people outside the pack, since you and Shaya are the only ones here who are qualified to work at a salon.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” said Shaya. “I’d love to be out in public—”
“No,” stated Nick, clearly panicked about the latter, being so overprotective.
Shaya huffed at her mate. “You said it yourself: it would have to be something that wouldn’t require your direct supervision. A salon wouldn’t create any hassle for you.”
“A club would be less hassle, though,” said Roni. “That wouldn’t require his supervision either.”
Nick latched onto that like it was a lifeline. “Yeah, a club would be simpler. It wouldn’t be something that requires Shaya to be out in public.” He turned to Harley. “You’d know how to run it, right?”
Harley shrugged. “Sure.” God, these females were good. They had Nick thinking the whole thing was his idea.
Nick nodded, satisfied, clearly feeling like he was back in control of the matter. “There. Simple. If we branch out, we start with a club.”
Shaya frowned. “But my idea—”
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
Her shoulders fell. “There’s no way at all I can change your mind?”
“Not on this.”
Shaya released a long, suffering sigh. “I guess we could look into local clubs, see if any are for sale.”
Roni nodded, patting Shaya’s back soothingly. “Yeah. A salon could come later.”
When Nick bristled, Ally raised a hand at Roni. “Let’s not push Nick any further.” He grunted in approval.
“Shaya, look!” called out Cassidy. “Watch me skip!”
“I’m coming!” Shaya walked out, followed by Ally and Roni.
“I want to see the pups skipping,” Harley told Jesse.
His arm flexed around her. “You promise you won’t disappear up a tree?”
Harley rolled her eyes. “Promise.” She accepted his kiss and then slid out the patio door. The three adult females were on the porch, watching the pups attempt to skip and fail. “You girls are sheer goddesses.”
Shaya grinned. “Ain’t we, though?”
“Can I just say I’m so glad you returned Jesse’s claim,” Ally said to Harley. “You and Jesse might not be true mates, but you were meant for each other.”
Harley’s nose wrinkled. “That makes no sense.”
Ally elaborated. “The Jesse he was as a child—he was meant for the little girl who died. The Jesse he is now—he was meant for you.”
Her cat liked that idea, and Harley would like to think it was true.
“Dude, you’re not watching,” Cassidy complained to Shaya.
Blinking in surprise, Shaya chuckled. “Little girls don’t say ‘dude.’ I’m glad Willow didn’t hear you say it; she’d repeat it constantly.”
Cassidy waved a hand. “Nah, she’s too busy singing while she tries to skip.”
Harley frowned. “That sounds more like chanting than singing.” They all quieted and strove to listen to the pup . . . and Harley had to bite back a smile when she realized Willow was chanting “redrum” over and over.
Shaya gasped, wide-eyed. “Who let her watch The Shining?”
Eli looked at Jesse in mock disgust, but he was wearing a ghost of a smile. “You’re sickeningly happy right now, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” replied Jesse.
“It’s making me nauseous.”
“We’re all falling, one by one.” Bracken sighed. “First Nick. Then Derren. Now Jesse.”
Nick folded his arms. “Let’s just hope the next one who finds their mate doesn’t do it for a while. I don’t think I can cope with any more new members in one year.” His mouth twisted, and he was silent for a moment. “I was totally manipulated by my mate just now, wasn’t I?”
Derren’s mouth kicked up into a smile. “Yeah. The others were obviously in on it, but Shaya was clearly the ringleader.”