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“What happened to making the most of your time on your own?” Horvan demanded.

Eve rolled her eyes. “Haveyouever tried to drag Hashtag away from a laptop when he’s searching for something?”

Horvan smirked. “He can be a little obsessive at times.”

“A little?” She snorted. “Herding cats would be easier than distracting that man.” Her eyes sparkled. “I did it, though.”

Dellan chuckled. “I’m not sure my delicate ears are ready to hear this, which is a pity, because I happen to have a mate who can also be quite… driven.”

Horvan gave a mock gasp. “You can’t be talking about me.”

Rael’s laughter filled Dellan’s head, and Horvan managed to appear offended.

Eve came over to where Dellan stood, leaned in close, and whispered, “Next time you want to grab his… attention? Crawl under his desk and go to work.”

“You know I heard that, right?” Horvan said with a grin. “And thanks for the suggestion. I hope he puts it to good use. Soon.”

Dellan snickered. “I’ll remember you said that the next time you’re doing a Zoom meeting with Aelryn.”

Horvan narrowed his gaze. “And you remember what I said about getting my hand on you.”

“Wasn’t I in the middle of a progress report?” Eve said with a chuckle. “Hashtag’s linked up to the satellite, still searching for that castle. Do you know there are about fourteen castles in Lancashire? They don’t all have moats, however. But I think he’s whittled it down to three. I’m here to grab them some coffee.” She grinned. “And cookies, of course. Man cannot live by coffee alone, it seems.” She went over to the pot and filled three cups. She glanced around the large kitchen. “Where’s Jamie?”

“He said he wanted a nap before dinner,” Dellan told her.

That sounds like a great idea. Rael chuckled.Except sleep wasn’t what I had in mind.

Horvan’s hand was on Dellan’s back.Jamie will be fine too. Stop worrying.

Dellan wished it was that easy.

“I don’t know about shifters being the only ones who have excellent hearing and a good sense of smell,” Saul commented as he strolled into the kitchen. “I swear I could smell Mrs. Landon’s cookies all the way from our room.”

Behind him, Crank snorted. “You wanna be careful. What do they say? ‘A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’? I’m sure there was more for me to grab on to the last time we—”

Saul covered Crank’s mouth with his hand. “I’ve got another one for you. Something about biting the hand that feeds you? Except we’re not talking about food.”

Crank blinked as Saul removed his hand. “Okay, I’m gonna shut up now.”

Saul grinned. “Good boy.”

Dellan watched the byplay between the mates.Is it me, or are they all coping much better than I am?

Horvan sighed.They’re dealing with it the only way they know how. And sometimes that means covering up their emotions until they have the time and the space to deal with them.

At that moment Dellan’s dad came into the kitchen. “This is a beautiful house.”

“It was built for Mom.” Dellan caught the flicker of pain across his face. “Have you got everything you need?”

“Yeah, about that… I love my room, but it feels wrong, having it to myself when there’s a houseful.”

Dellan couldn’t help noticing the lines around his dad’s eyes, the dark shadows under them, the air of fatigue that clung to him.

He really isn’t okay, is he?

Give him time, Horvan said gently.

“Jamie’s in the basement, and Doc too.” Only, Dellan had a feeling Doc wouldn’t stay there for long.