New Alpha – New Rules(26)

“There you are.” Ryder circled her with his arms and kissed her neck. “Your room is now the bathroom so you have to sleep with me.” She felt his smile against her cheek.

“This is overwhelming.” She pointed.

“I’m working on it. I am going to convert the basement.”

“We’re going to drown in dirty clothes in the meanwhile. We need a commercial washer up here now and a dryer. We can move them later but this is…” She shook her head and bit her lip. “Daunting.”

“On it boss and I like that you said ‘we.’” He kissed her neck and disappeared. Cindy bounced in place.

“What?”

“Bigger washer!” Harper’s brows furrowed and she gave Cindy a curious smile. “You asked and he’s getting them.” Cindy was still bouncing while she hugged Harper. “And a bathroom.”

“Huh?”

“He said your room is the bathroom so they’ve figured out how to put the pipes in for a bathroom in the attic. There is only one on each floor so baths are on a schedule. It’s frustrating to say the least.” Cindy went back to the laundry. She was humming.

Harper wandered outside and looked into the barn. She stayed outside of the doorframe but looked in at the dust floating on the beams of light. The floor was bare dirt but it looked like there was hay up in the loft. It was probably rotten since the barn was full of holes. There was one big one in the back roof area. The whole building seemed to lean. Her previous analysis was correct. The barn was not safe.

This place needed a lot of work. She looked up at the sun and walked around to the other side of the house. This would be the sunny side, the garden side. She walked back to the barn still looking up and decided that the barn stood in the perfect location for a barn because it would be warm all day. She put her hands on her hips and looked around deciding where the chicken coup should go. It was on the list.

She wondered how long it would take to build one and how long to build a barn. She’d seen barns raised in a day if everyone helped. Harper squatted and looked out over the empty field wondering where Will and Mathew were. What were they going to plant here? If Cindy wanted sheep then they needed grass to graze. They had the room and she liked lamb. She scratched at the dirt it was good and black. Ryder squatted down beside her. “Penny for your thoughts.” He said and she smiled softly. “You aren’t rethinking this are you?”

“No.” she looked up at him. He was so beautiful. She wondered why he wasn’t already mated, why he would want her. It didn’t make sense. “Why aren’t you already mated?” He sat down in the grass and plucked a long stem. “I mean, look at you. You are probably fighting them off.” He chuckled.

“Uh yeah. Well, I was fighting them off. I didn’t always want a mate. I know that it’s best for the pack and for my wolf. But, until I met you I’d never met a female that the wolf and I could agree on. Sometimes he enjoyed them more than I did, sometimes it was me but none of them made us both happy.” He reached over and pulled her into his lap. She squealed with surprise. “I want to meet your wolf. Soon. It’s important.” Harper nodded. I think she’ll be sweet. Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Not sweet?”

“I’ve been told that she is dainty and insignificant.” He growled deeply.

“He was a real piece of work wasn’t he?” She nodded looking at her fingers. “Good thing he’s gone. I don’t think we would’ve gotten along very well.” Harper laughed. “I still want to meet her.” His arm pulled her against him in a quick hug. “Now, I’ve ordered the washer and dryer in as big as they come. I’ve ordered a bathtub, sink, toilet, and high-end fixtures for your bathroom and I can’t wait to get you alone in the tub.” Harper’s cheeks burned and he kissed her temple. “When I came out here you were pretty deep in thought. Tell me what’s going on in there because it wasn’t how pretty I am.” Harper laughed.

“I was wondering how long it would take to raise a barn and how much field you need to raise sheep and goats. Then I was thinking about a chicken coup because Cindy doesn’t like store bought eggs. How many chickens did you have before?” She gazed up at him now and he had a strange look on his face. “What?”

“Alpha females take care of the pack. I told you that you were Alpha material.” He thought for a minute while looking at the sky. “Chickens? I don’t know two dozen? It’s on my list.”

“Cindy said that you had a list, can I see it sometime?” He stifled a laugh.