Page 6 of Beau (Sheppard’s Shadow #5)

After they both had two helpings of the dinner, she was stuffed. The bread had been so delicious, too, that she had eaten far more than she should have. After their plates were shoved away, it was all she could do to stay awake; the carbs were hitting her hard after not getting her nap today.

“I’ve been really stressed out for the last couple of weeks.

I thought that having my own place and money enough to afford not to work would be just what I needed to get on with my life.

But I’m finding homeownership is a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.

” He asked her if he could help her with the house.

“I think that once I get used to the faeries being around, I won’t stress about the yard.

I found several notices about the lawn needing to be taken care of in some of the paperwork that I found on a desk in my grandmother’s room. ”

“I’d be more than happy to help you with anything you need.

” She told him that right now, she just needed to rest and then get a job.

“I have to find myself one too. I’ve been sort of lazy about working since I was going to college.

Now that I’ve finished up, I need to get into gear and start earning a living.

I can afford not to work, for now anyway—you understand that, but I need to have something to do or I’ll get myself into trouble.

I have a feeling that you’re the same way. ”

“Not so much trouble as I get bored. I was really busy when I first started on the house, tossing things out that were broken or old. Going through their things was heartbreaking, too. But since I didn’t know any of them all that well, it wasn’t so difficult to toss out their personal things.

Except for my dad’s things. That was a bit harder to go through.

” He asked if she was finished moving things out.

“I am for the most part. The first time I went through the house, it was sort of a purge. The next time I’m going to go through the house, I’ll be more selective about what I toss out.

Mostly, as I said, it was broken or old stuff that had long since outlived its usefulness. ”

“And now you’ll have the gardens finished too.

I can talk to my brother Weston about the notices if you wish.

I doubt very much he’s gotten that far into his job to notice if yards are mowed or not.

He’s doing a really great job if you were to ask me about it.

” She said that he might be slightly one-sided in his opinion. “True. He is my big brother after all.”

They didn’t go to the living room to sit and talk, but did sit at the kitchen table.

When it was apparent that they were getting along well, she suggested that since he had cooked, she should do the clean-up.

Beau told her that the faeries would do the cleaning up as he’d made them happy by making a mess for them.

“They thrive on helping out. Something that you’re going to have to learn about them is that they had no concept of size.

Since everything is bigger than they are, they just assume that when you want something, it has to be the biggest they can make.

” She was confused about that. “You do know that they can make things for you, don’t you?

They’re going to be all right in fixing the furnace and roof, as they have sizes already made up for them.

But if you were to tell them you needed a greenhouse, for instance, you’d have to tell them what size you want.

Like lots of details in how big you want it to be.

Or it might be bigger than your home that you live in now. ”

“I didn’t know they could make things. I guess I should have when they said they could fill out the rooms for me.” She sat up straighter in her chair and thought about what he was saying. “So they’re not going to repair the furnace, but put in a new one that is magical. Same with the roof.”

“You might not even see a difference in your old furnace and the new furnace, but it’ll be magical, as you said.

It will never have to be replaced. Ever.

Same with the roof. It will never leak again, not even if you lose some of the roofing in a storm.

” She laughed, knowing that he was telling her the truth but still disbelieving of it too.

How could they make it work without a big person there to show them how it would work?

She didn’t know and decided that she wasn’t going to question their work from now on.

If they fixed it, she was in good hands, she thought.

Danielle hated that Beau was going to have to take her home.

But it was raining again, and she didn’t drive to his house.

As soon as she was at her house, she realized that she didn’t want to go in and be alone.

Looking at Beau, she made a decision that would affect the rest of her life, hopefully in a good way.

“Would you like to stay here with me? I’m not ready for us to be a couple, but since it will happen sooner or later, you might as well get used to the house and the things that are here.

” He asked her if she was sure. “Yes. I don’t want to be alone either.

I don’t know why, but I might even sleep better if there was someone else around when I went to bed.

I’m sure that the faeries would be good company, but there are just too many of them around for me to get used to them right away. ”

“All right. I can have the faeries make me up a room, if that’s okay with you?

” She said that was a brilliant idea, as she was still sleeping on the air mattress she’d brought with her when she’d moved in.

“You should have them make you up a room. The master suite. If there is one. I’m assuming that there are a few bathrooms in the place. ”

“Not as many as there should be. There is one on each floor, and they’re not close to the bedroom that I’m using.

I should think about that too. Having them put in a couple more bathrooms in the place.

” He said he’d be happy to tell them when to begin and, with her help, where to put them.

“I was thinking that each bedroom needs to have its own bathroom, but I’m not sure how that would work.

Maybe I’m getting too greedy or something with them around. ”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been much further in the house than the front hallway.

But if that’s what you want, they’ll be more than happy to make you happy.

I think that’s what they live for, making people happy.

” She said she’d give it some thought. “If I’m going to stay here, I’m going to need some things from home. Tooth brush and some clean clothing.”

“You go and get them, and I’ll see what they’ve done to the house.

I might have to stay with you if the house is in worse shape than it was before.

I know that when I’m cleaning, that’s the way things look.

” She was laughing when she got out of his car.

“I’ll see you when you return. Just be careful driving in this mess. ”

Danielle was giddy when she walked into her home. She was excited, too, about what she’d see. The first thing she noticed was the living room. Not only were the blood stains gone, but the whole room looked renewed and refreshed. She could get used to this.