Chapter 299 Chapter 299
Gia watched him walk into the bush. She hadn’t thought of the possibility of some animal scaring things off the land when the traps were empty. There was so much to learn about living like this and she wanted to learn. Granted, she’d never be good at chopping wood, but the rest of it intrigued her. She looked at the pile he’d split while she was out running around. The least she could do was pile it. She needed to feel like she was contributing.
Going over, she bent down to fill her arm with the firewood. She’d grown up with thermostats and if you were hungry, just opening the fridge and looking inside. Stacking the wood onto the pile, she looked at his little home. This way was so much more peaceful. Okay, she missed the internet and movies, but things like that were distractions from her life when she wasn’t happy.
Picking up more, she checked to see if he was coming back yet, he’d looked tense after talking to Jesse, so a good run was always the best fix for that. Tense. She shook her head and then went to pick up more. The last few days would have been the most relaxing in her life if she hadn’t been on edge the whole time. Deacon Parrish was her mate and at first, she thought he knew that now she was wondering if that was just his way and not avoidance at all.
On autopilot now, she went over and started a new row of wood in front of the other two. She knew without a doubt that he was hers, her little fox knew that he was and was now her own internal nag as a result.
She paused halfway back to the pile; can someone be your mate but you’re not theirs? Was that even possible? Biting her lip, she looked over at her phone and wondered if Walker would know. She laughed out loud because that conversation would go well. He may be her ally in the family, but he was still an older brother.
This was going to drive her mad. She had to do something though. Two days of placing herself close to him for one reason or another wasn’t yielding any results. She didn’t know what she expected, but him suddenly having an epiphany and saying ‘Oh cool, we’re mates’ was never going to happen. Grabbing more wood, she snarled at it, too bad she wasn’t one of those types of females that threw themself at a male. How did they even do that? It was degrading. Worse still what if he denied her? That would be mortifying.
Placing the wood in the new row with a little more oomph than was really necessary, she stopped and looked around. She loved it here. This calm space was what her life had been missing. The mix of adrenalin working with the team and then coming home to this was a perfect combination.
A phone ringing had her spinning around and looking at the run packs. She rushed over and opened hers, it wasn’t hers. Biting her lip, she grabbed Deacon’s. Missing a call right now wasn’t good, it was also why one of them always had to stay with the phones. She took his out and answered it without looking at the screen. “Hello?”
“Gia? It’s Calum.”
“Hi. Deacon is out trying to figure out why there’s no small game in the area.” She said it quickly waning to explain why she answered Deacon’s phone.
“That’s not uncommon at this time of year, they’re moving to find shelter before winter.”
She hadn’t thought of that. There was too much she just didn’t know. “Would Deacon know that?”
“I’d imagine he would, we had that issue a few years back. He’s probably gone to lay a trail to keep them from leaving the land altogether.”
“A trail?”
“Yes, leaving his scent all over the property line. I’ve used that method a few times.”
It was a smart thing she never would have thought of in a million years. “Oh, that’s smart.”
“I was just checking in with him to see how he’s doing.”
“Quiet and broody.” She said out loud before she thought it through.
Calum chuckled, “that sounds about normal. How are you doing?”
“I’m good. I love it here. It’s going to be sad when I have to go back to my other life.”
“I see.”
She frowned, that was an odd answer. “Deacon seems really agitated today, any idea when we’re going to be called back? I think he’s missing his job.”
Calum chuckled again, “I’m sure that’s it. We’re hoping we’ll have things put together in the next day or so.”
Gia looked around. Another day here, then what? “How is Terah doing? You’re there where she is right?”
“Physically she’s recovering. It’s going to be a long while before she settles in though.”
“She’s never been anywhere else, has she?”
“No.” His tone was colder, “she was born into servitude.”
Gia’s heart ached for her. “I’m so glad we found her.”
“There will be more like her. I will let you go. Tell Deacon I called and for him to stop running.”
She frowned. “Okay.” Did she ask what that meant? It was probably something that only the two of them would understand.
“Keep the phones handy, Gia. Bye.”
The line went quiet. She looked at it. That was interesting. Putting it back in his pack, she zipped it back up.
Turning around, she surveyed how much wood was left. She should finish that and then check to see if the sheets were dry.
Washing by hand was more enjoyable than she imagined. It wasn’t thrilling or anything, but there was something peaceful and simplistic about it.
Turning full circle, she looked around the area. Was it the man, her mate that was making her discover this side she didn’t know she had or was it this slice of serenity where he lived? She was sure, suspected it was a combination of the two.
Going back over to the woodpile, she knelt. Her entire life had been on public display, and she’d hated it. Maybe all she needed were callouses, blisters and no electricity to feel peace. Filling her arm with the wood, she stood up. Of course, if she could figure out how to get her mate to be her mate, things would settle inside her and she’d feel less like a ping pong ball with tension, highs, and lows of emotion and her animal irritating her like no one ever had before.