Page 19 of Colby (Tucker’s Pride #5)

He had thirty-three applicants for the jobs on the boats.

Denver had put a post up at the foundation, and there were people who wanted to try out the job.

The first thing that he had to do was interview them, as his brother had already done a background check on all of them and had started the process of drug testing as well.

That certainly made his job a good deal easier.

Then he was going to have to train them on how to work aboard a boat for several days at a time while their guests fished.

His last night on the boat had proven they needed to be up for anything.

They were fishing off the starboard side of the boat when a large wave knocked them around in the water.

Looking to see what it was, they were amazed to see two whales cresting the water and making waves.

Then they saw the baby one and stood in awe as they all three swam around them while the men watched.

It was the best sighting that he’d ever seen in all the years he’d been hired out as a fishing boat captain.

But for now, he was going to get cleaned up and go pick up Emma so that they could go to the house and make notes.

He didn’t do anything without notes, and today wasn’t going to be the exception.

It took them three hours to go over the house and make a list of the things they were going to need.

Christ, he was exhausted just thinking about what had to be purchased.

Depositing the check had caused a bit of a stir at the bank.

While there, they decided to open an account together and make sure that they had the cards that would make it easier to spend the money.

They had to get approval from Taylor to make sure that she had signed over a check that large, but all in all, they got it squared away in a reasonable time.

The first thing they did was go to the furniture store.

They were then going to go to the appliance center to get the other things on their list. They’d not realized that the washer and dryer had come with their house, but after having it inspected, they were told that it was an older model and wouldn’t last that much longer.

That was going to be something they’d need right away, and they were going to get one for both the first floor and the second floor, as the house was designed that way.

By six-thirty, they were starving and had barely made a dent in their shopping spree.

They knew that they needed five-bedroom suites, but decided after looking at the prices of them that they’d just get what was necessary for now.

That meant a bed for the master and one other bed for one of the bedrooms on the floor.

That way, someone could spend the night if they wished, and they’d not have to sleep on the floor.

The living room furniture was perfect for the room they were going to use it in.

They ended up with two couches rather than one couch and a love seat.

The room was large enough to hold the two of them, but it was the large screened television that they purchased for the fall sports season that they were the most happy with.

He didn’t actually think that they’d watch more than just sports on it, as neither of them seemed to enjoy watching anything else.

The kitchen was put off until they got to the appliance store.

They did have a dishwasher, but they didn’t know how old it was or anything about it other than it had been put in the last year.

The house had had a large family in it before they bought it, and they were worried that it might well have been used a great deal.

Buying another one with all the other things seemed like a smart idea.

“We’re having this all delivered, right?

I mean, I could go around and pick things up, but it would take longer as I would have to get a trailer to take with me and figure out parking.

” Colby agreed that having it all delivered would be faster and smarter in the event something happened to it while in transit.

“You don’t think that I’d mess up our stuff, do you?

I’m totally offended.” They both laughed.

“We’re paying extra to have them bring it into the house.

I don’t want to ask my family for help as they’ve been so busy lately with everything else going on with their jobs.

” Emma agreed with him on that. “Good. This way, we don’t have to complain about our backs being too delicate when it comes time to move things. ”

There were other things that they purchased when they realized that they needed them.

A vacuum was one of the things they hadn’t thought about.

Then there were lamps around the rooms. The bedrooms would need some, too, but like the bedroom suites, they were going to wait until they found some that they really liked and not settle for something just because they wanted to get it all done.

By nine, they were about halfway through their lists but too exhausted to go on.

They had gotten linens for the master and the extra bed, towels, and extras for the bathrooms. They’d nearly forgotten shower curtains, and if not for the woman in front of them saying she needed them, they would not have been able to take a shower until they had some.

Then there were things like silverware and dishes.

They found a set of dishes that they liked that would be for every day.

They were plain white without a design on them.

But for the dining room, they weren’t agreeing on what kind to get.

In the end, that was another thing that they put off until they could agree and handled the silverware by tossing a coin.

Emma won the toss and picked out the set that would be in their forever home.

“I’m guessing that with you being a lion, we won’t have to worry about pests?

” Colby laughed and said that even little house cats wouldn’t be around all that much unless they were brought up on the land.

“I figured as much. Cats are pretty territorial, so I can see that they’d not like to have to fight for a window seat in our house.

What else can we expect with you being a lion? Anything that I should know?”

“Like little cats, we like to play in the yard. I won’t shift in the house unless it’s necessary because I would damage the floor.

But we might chase a butterfly and never harm it.

Or just play in the water. Our cats seem to really enjoy being in the water at times.

” She told him that she couldn’t wait to see his cat.

“When we get to the house, I’ll shift for you.

You should really get to know all the cats in the family, so that way you can tell us apart.

Not that it’s important that you do. If we’re all together and as our cats, that usually means that something is going on that’s important that we are our other selves. ”

“I can’t imagine what it would be like to shift into something else.

I’ve thought about it, and I want to see you do it.

You’re going to be larger than you are as a man, correct?

That’s what I heard from my friend who is a wolf shifter.

” He told her that Denver is larger than he was, and then Ronin, as the king, is even larger.

“I forgot about him being king. It must be really special to have a friendship with the king of your kind.”

“The next time they’re in town, I’ll make sure you get to meet them.

You’ll love them as much as we do. They’ve done so much for us now that I don’t know how we would ever repay them.

Thanks mostly to Denver getting things all gathered up and talking to them.

We only came out here to help them, and they made everything else happen for us to be a family.

” She just snorted. “What? Don’t you believe me? ”

“I think that you guys were a family—a tight family before all this came to be. You are so close to one another that it sort of makes me jealous of how much you guys depend on one another and really seem to love each other. I’ve never seen a group of people hug as much as you guys do when you’re together.

” He said that they love one another. “You respect one another, too. And that is what makes your family special above all others.”

“Thank you for that.” They were driving back to her mom’s home when he decided that they needed to go by the house for one thing. “We didn’t get the measurements for the washer and dryers, and I want to make sure they’re going to fit. I won’t be a minute.”

He was just going to run in and measure and come back out, but she decided that since they were there, they might as well put the things that they weren’t going to have delivered in the house.

There were all kinds of boxes that they had, mostly it was kitchen things like the tea maker and the coffee pot, but by the time they got it all in the house, they were both hungry again.

“Will we have staff, you think?” She was putting together some sandwiches for them that had been put in the fridge just this morning. “I’m glad that mom suggested that we have food for when we’re going in and out of here.”

They both ate two of them, and Colby was on his third when he realized that he’d not answered her about the staff. He told her that they’d need at least a cook and someone to dust and clean up after them because they both worked full-time and were out of the house sometimes for days.