A Mate to Share [Wolf Pack Mates 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

Eve laughed and said, “That sounds exciting. Tell me, should I hang another painting here or not?”

“Absolutely, hang it. If the clients can’t see it they don’t know if they want to buy it.”

Eve nodded. Nadia’s words made good sense, and people did gather in the foyer waiting to pay for their parcels, or while Ginnie sketched them.

That was the last moment Eve had to think as the crowds arrived again, some of them the same people who’d come the week before, bringing friends with them, and she was kept busy displaying their goods and answering questions.

It was early afternoon and Eve’s stomach was rumbling, making her think she needed to grab an apple or maybe just stop by the hot-dog van, when Taige brought a young woman across to her. “This is Josie. Her boss sent her to choose a wall hanging for their corporate offices.”

Eve stared at the woman. “Your boss didn’t want to choose it himself?”

“He trusts me to get something appropriate.”

Eve gulped. She’d have wanted to see the thing herself before paying, but maybe Josie would send him a cell-phone picture or something. “Sure. Is there one you like more than the others, or would you rather look in the workroom as well before deciding?”

“Can I see the ones in the other room first please? There’s a couple I like, but I might like something else more.”

“Sure.” Eve signaled to Taige she was leaving the market room. There was always a risk something might get stolen, but the expensive jewelry was under glass, as were the big paintings. If a few smaller bracelets went missing, they’d just have to accept it, she supposed. Taige would have to move around the room now she was in there alone.

“I can’t leave here for very long,” she said to Josie.

“I understand.”

They walked up the hallway to the workroom. After her experience the previous week, Eve had left her other hangings leaning against the walls and benches, so all were able to be viewed without any of them needing to be moved. That saved a lot of time and meant she could get back to the busy room so much faster. Josie walked slowly past them all, then turned and walked back again. “I’ll take that one.” Josie was pointing at a huge hanging in blacks, reds, and greens. On first look it was a volcano, just beginning to erupt. A closer inspection showed a multitude of animals and even people hiding among the rocks and trees.

“There was a lot of work to make that one. It’s one of my more expensive hangings.”

“I can tell from all the detail in it. I like the way you disguise extra tiny details under the bars of color.”

Eve took the business card with the hanging’s name and her details from the corner of the frame and handed it to Josie. “Thank you very much. If you give that card to Ginnie in the foyer, she’ll take your credit card information and get the details of where it’s to be delivered to. Is Monday suitable?”

“Reception is staffed from eight until six, so anytime inside those hours will be fine. Thanks, Eve. It’s a stunning creation. It should get us a lot of good comments, and may even bring you some more clients.”

“Now that would be great.” Eve locked the door behind Josie and hurried back to the market room. Everything seemed to be fine there, so she heaved a sigh of relief. Even if she sold nothing else, the sale of
Volcano
would be enough to allow her to restock her yarns and buy enough wood and glass to frame all the rest of her hangings ready for the next few markets.

Eve had known the three of them were a winning team in craft. Between paintings and sketches, jewelry, and yarn craft, there was something there to interest most people who liked craft. Of course, there were dozens or possibly hundreds of other crafts, but there was enough variety between the three of them that when people visited it was likely they’d see something that appealed to them. Also, they all made exclusive items as well as generic ones. That meant that wealthier clients, who wanted something unique and were able to pay slightly extra, could have it designed especially for them. Taige even had a three-year promise line, where she guaranteed not to repeat a design for three years if the buyer paid an extra premium. Quite a number of brides and prom queens took advantage of that idea. It was less expensive than a completely unique design, but three years was long enough for most people to no longer care if someone else’s bracelet or pendant looked like their old one.

All the time Eve’s gaze had been running over the crowd, watching for people who might have questions, or who needed help. She noticed a man drop down as if he was sitting on the floor or something. She walked over to where he was, hoping he hadn’t fallen over, or become ill, only to see him push a women’s floral purse under the table, stand up, and swiftly move away. Surely he hadn’t stolen some woman’s purse?

She scooped the purse up and ran after him. “Excuse me, did you forget this?” she asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

He jumped at her touch, his eyes big and round. “No, no, it’s not mine,” he said, backing away from her, then pushing past some people and hurrying down the hallway.

Intrigued as much as angry, Eve ran after him. Being slender and knowing the building, she slipped though the crowd much more easily than him and grabbed his arm in the foyer. “Excuse me. I saw you push this purse under the table. Did you take it from someone?”

“No. No. I never—” The man pulled away from her and bolted out the door. Eve just stared at him, still holding the purse herself.

Standing at Ginnie’s table, Josie had seen everything that happened. She also had her cell phone up to her mouth, whispering into it. Within a matter of seconds a broad-shouldered, muscular man stood just outside the building, his strong arms wrapped around the young man who’d run away. “Should we call the police, Josie?” he asked.

“I expect so. Just give me a moment here. Can you open the purse please, Eve?”

Eve did so, and stared. It was packed with money. “What the fuck?”

“Don’t touch the cash. The police will want to check it for fingerprints.”

“I’ve already called 9-1-1. They’re on their way,” said Ginnie.

Eve handed the purse to Josie. “I don’t understand any of this. But I must get back to the market room. People will be wanting me, and Taige is likely pitching a fit by now.”

Fortunately, no one in the market room seemed to have noticed anything untoward happening at all. Eve calmly answered questions, displayed jewelry, and sold a couple of Ginnie’s paintings. But all the time her mind was running in circles.
Who is Josie? Why did she instantly take control? Is she law enforcement? Who is the young man? Where did the money come from?

* * * *

Jett hadn’t been able to stay away from Eve, and as soon as he’d suggested going to the schoolhouse Morgan had said he’d come with him. They’d decided to go late in the day and help the women clean up and ready for the next day. Once again, they went by motorcycle, driving across country to save time, and parking out the back of the building. The parking lot was still quite full, even though it was almost closing time.

Jett was surprised and rather wary when he saw several police vans also parked right at the back of the school yard, behind the bathrooms. A police officer was interviewing a woman, using his cell phone to videotape the conversation. Jett looked at the woman again. She was a bit familiar, but who could it be?

“Is that Josie? Josie from Wolf Central?” asked Morgan.

Wolf Central was the name the wolves jokingly called the headquarters of the pack that lived in town. Josie was their receptionist. “I don’t know her really to look at. I’d recognize her voice though for sure.”

“I wonder what’s going on?” said Morgan.

“Yeah. We need to check Eve’s okay.”

“Hell, yes.”

They marched around the building. Out front people were going to their cars. Many were carrying parcels, which looked good for business. The popcorn man had run out of cotton candy but was still selling popcorn. There was a line at the coffee van, too, of about half a dozen people.

In the foyer, Ginnie was busy taking money and giving people their parcels. They nodded to her and walked inside. For a moment Jett wondered if they should have paid the entry fee, but it seemed a bit silly to do that when it was just about closing time.

Both Taige and Eve were helping clients, Taige displaying sets of matched beads in all different shades of blues, Eve simply standing behind a display table while several people were still looking at goods.

Jett and Morgan waited out of the way as the last few people made their purchases and headed out of the room. Taige went with her clients, taking the jewelry they’d selected in its carry bag. Jett moved across to where Eve could see him, in case she wanted them to do anything.

Finally the room emptied out and both Jett and Morgan went to Eve. Morgan kissed her cheek gently and Jett copied him. He’d have liked to do a whole lot more than that, but even kissing her in public was a major step forward.

“We came to help,” said Jett.

“That’s wonderful. See the empty spaces on the wall where we’ve sold things today?” She sounded so happy Jett could only be happy for her. “We’ll replace my work now, and then Ginnie can tell you what she wants hung when she’s finished with the clients.”

Eve pointed out several empty hooks then told them which framed pieces were to be hung where. For the next hour Jett found himself filling baskets with bracelets and necklaces, sweeping the floor, and then hanging more of Ginnie’s paintings.

He and Morgan even volunteered to clean the toilets, but said Eve had to go out with them for dinner at a later date as payment for that.

“Not today or tomorrow, but maybe lunch Monday would be good. I have to go to town to deliver a wall hanging on Monday.”

“We’ll come with you,” said Jett instantly.

Morgan nodded. “You’ll need someone to carry it for you, presumably, anyway.”

“Actually it is a big heavy one. I’ll be glad of your help.”

“Congratulations on selling a big wall hanging.” Jett took the opportunity to kiss her again, a little more passionately this time. Morgan was right behind him for his kiss.

By the time the schoolhouse was all clean and tidied and ready for the next day’s crowds, Jett could see how tired Eve was.

“Have an early night, treasure,” he said gently.

“I will. But first I want to find out what the story was about that purse.”

“What purse?” He and Morgan spoke together.

“A woman’s floral purse full of money. It was really strange. I saw a man put it under one of the tables, and then he tried to run away and said he knew nothing about it. One of the customers caught him and stopped him and Ginnie called the police.”

“What did the police say?” asked Jett. It sounded really weird to him, but it explained why the police were here, which he’d totally forgotten while they were helping Eve.

“I have no idea. They asked me to tell them what I saw, which I did, then I had to get straight back to work. We had a big crowd again today which was wonderful, but it’s a lot of work for the three of us.”

“Why don’t we come along tomorrow to help? We could do whatever you tell us. I know you have to take the sold items down to Ginnie in the foyer. We could do that for a start,” said Jett.

“And if people are leaving their purses behind, likely we could act as security for you, too,” added Morgan.

“I think that would be awesome, but I expect you’d get very bored very quickly just standing around all day.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Security guards do it for a living, you know,” said Morgan.

“I’ll have to check with Taige and Ginnie. All decisions are communal,” warned Eve.

Jett grinned at her. He knew they’d say yes. They were run off their feet without mysterious purses magically appearing under tables. And it was another chance to get close to Eve, to love and serve her, and to help her realize they were made for each other.

* * * *

There were no strange men placing wads of money under tables, and nothing at all out of the ordinary on Sunday. But Morgan still enjoyed being close to Eve, watching her deal with customers, talk about her wall hangings, and, on two occasions, sell them.

She was so tall and straight, moving silently through the crowd, answering questions, helping people, always calm and serene, yet still passionate about her craft, and so talented he could hardly believe someone so brilliant would spend time with him.

Morgan was the most ordinary and boring of people. When the kids were picking baseball teams he was never anyone’s top pick, but he wasn’t one of the last ones either. At school and college his grades were good, but he was never top of the class. And in the pack he was one of the managers, but not Jasper’s right hand man. A solid, worthwhile kind of person, he supposed, but never a star.

To have found the woman who would be his mate was the best thing that had ever happened to him. It still seemed almost unbelievable. And the fact that Jett was so cooperative and fair about sharing made it all the more amazing. Cleaning a few bathrooms seemed a small price to pay to have her smile at him. Of course, he still had to get her to say yes to commit to them, and there was the hurdle of their shape-shifter status still to jump, but just knowing she existed and liked them both was wonderful.