Chapter 262
Kasen skirted the pool and hot tub to the far side. Lifting the fake half barrel with flowers his mother had the landscapers put along the back, he felt around the damp ground. Not finding anything, he tipped a couple garden gnomes to the side and looked under those. Still nothing, but his shoes were now covered in mud and mulch. For fuck’s sake!
He wiped his hands on his pants and pulled his phone from his back pocket. Thank god he had that. Pushing the speed dial for his beta, he sighed.
“Ed's Taxidermy, you snuff 'em, we stuff 'em!”
What? “Spike?”
“Oh, hey, alphaman. How’s your date? Wait, why are you calling me?”
He growled. “I locked us outside the damn front door. And the spare key isn’t under the barrel where it used to be. Do you know where it is?”
“Hmmm,” came across the line. “Did you look under the gnomes?”
Kasen huffed a snarl and almost destroyed the phone in his hand. “Yes. Got my damn shoes all muddy.”
“Did you check behind the screen on the porch window?”
“No.” At the window, he saw something that looked like gray metal wedged toward the bottom. “Hold on. I see something.” He pried the corner of the screen back and pushed his hand through. The frame for the window cover was quite rigid and didn’t bend that well. His forearm scraped along pointy extrusions.
More than halfway to the key, his arm refused to move forward. With a hard shove, he heard the sleeve of his shirt rip, and continue ripping with every inch toward the goal. When his fingers finally reached the target, they pulled up a deformed nail.
“Spike, it’s a fucking nail,” he barked.
“Is it twisted?” Spike’s tone was curious. He frowned. “Yes, how do you know?”
“Ah, I wondered where I’d put that. Sometimes the shed door jams. You need a nail to pry it open.” There. He heard the humor in Spike’s voice and once again wanted to slap him upside the head.
“Dammit, Spike.”
“Hey, don’t yell at me. I’m trying to help.” Yes, he knew that. It was the situation he was pissed about.
“Where else would it be?” Quiet carried over the line while he rolled up his sleeves to hide the six-inch tear up the forearm.
“Try the outdoor kitchen. Look on the lower shelf under the grill.” The space where the grill sat was small and jammed into a corner. The shelf was dark in the shadows, but he felt around. Squatted on his heels, he found a metal scrub brush, oven glove, several dead roaches, and a shed snake’s skin.
Disgusted, he yanked his hand out and leaned to the side against the wall to stand. On his way up, the back pocket of his pants caught on something and tore half off.
“Oh,” Spike started, “careful when you stand, there’s a water spigot sticking out of the wall.”
Pissed beyond belief, Kasen yanked on the pocket, tearing the hole more, letting his boxers peek out the side. “Thanks for the warning. Couldn’t you have said it earlier?”
“I can only do so much not being there. I can come by and open the front door if you want with my key.”
His first instinct was mine. Nobody was going to see or touch his mate. “No, I got it.”
“It won’t take much, really. I’m out and about.” He could hear Spike’s grin over the line.
Kasen realized how stupid he’d look with his beta showing up to let them in. There was no way to save face then. She’d laugh at him then go home. That couldn’t happen.
“I’m good, man. Thanks. I’ll call you later.” He pushed the end call button and looked around. Fuck. He glanced up at the second story. If he could climb to the guestroom window, he could get in. On the upper floor, she’d never see the broken glass that indicated he had to break into his own house.
The climb should be easy. He just needed to get onto the porch roof, shimmy up the drain pipe a couple feet, then reach over and grab the sill. Plus, a garden trellis was attached to the house with colorful flowers growing all over it. He’d try the trellis first, but it wasn’t nearly strong enough to hold his weight.
With his wolf’s help, he should make the porch roof easily. He would get a short running start, then leap. All was fine until his last step.
His muddy shoe slipped in the grass, so his push to leap was only half-assed. But he did go up, partially.
His upper body slammed onto the roof while his legs dangled. His fingers scratched at the shingles, digging for a hold. Stabilized enough, he hiked up a leg to throw it onto the top. When swinging up, his knee banged against the gutter clip, tearing a big rip from his thigh to his calf. No problems with the second leg. Fuck a duck. He’d have to change before he opened the front door. His shoes and shirt, too.
A voice carried to his super sharp ears. “Kasen? Is everything okay.”
Oh, shit. She couldn’t come around to the back now.
“Everything is fine, sweetheart. I’ll be back around in a second. Sit tight.” Damn, he needed to hurry up. Instead of shimmying up the drain pipe and leaning to the side, he’d just jump off the side of the roof for the sill, after he wiped his shoes off. He was a quick learner. No mistake twice in a row.
Then he realized shingles didn’t do a great job of wiping away sticky shit. He’d have to wipe it on his shirt or pants. Or he could just take off the shoe on his jumping foot. He was getting a new pair anyway when he changed.
Shoe and sock sitting to the side, he took two steps back to launch himself up. The jump was smooth, the distance was perfect. His fingers gripped onto the windowsill just as he intended. What he didn’t take into consideration was momentum.
After he latched onto the sill, his body hit the wall harder than he expected. That included his face and nose. Instantly, blood splattered everywhere. The first thing that happens when hitting your nose is your eyes watering. The second is your hands flying up to cover the gushing pain.
Kasen knew he couldn’t do that with both hands, so in the nanosecond he had to think, he lost only one hand.
He kept in his scream of pain, otherwise Andi would come running. His shirt was now soaked in blood. His fingers started to slip from the sill. He snapped his other hand up, but covered in blood, it did nothing but slide off the smooth surface.
In his panic, he had no choice except to grab onto the trellis to break his fall into the flower bed. The trellis was made of two pieces nailed to vertical studs. He could easily replace the top half. Not a problem.
Not being wood and snapping quickly, the framework was made of a stronger plastic. Instead of breaking where he grabbed, the entire top piece leaned back, bending and popping pins as it went. Again, not a problem. When it got low enough, he’d just jump off to the ground.
Looking over his shoulder, he realized the length was longer than he first thought. Instead of dropping him onto the ground, it dumped him into the pool.
After dragging his drenched body out of the water, he decided he’d had enough. He’d man up and admit he locked them out. This would be something he would one day look back on and laugh. No one else. No. They would never know. Just him because Andi was probably long gone by now.
He schlepped around the side of the house to see Spike coming out the front door.
“Kasen.” Spike paused, squinting at him. He was sure he looked rough. Blood soaked, drenched shirt, torn sleeve; dripping boxers hanging out one side of his mud-smeared pants; one shoe and sock, shoe squishing out water with each step; face and hands bloody.
“Alpha,” Spike started again, “were you in a fight? Holy shit, why didn’t you call me?” He started to strip to shift.
“No, Spike. No fight. Unless you call stupidity a fight, then yes, I was fighting.” He passed his beta staring at him, mouth gaping. “Tell my mate I’ll be ready in a minute.” He dragged his ass to his bedroom, bypassing the living room. If this was how this date would be, he might as well send her home now.