Page 48 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

“Unless I was under a hard freelance deadline, I could be flexible with whatever worked with your needs. If a conflict couldn’t be resolved, we’d have to discuss it on an individual basis.

Most of the time, I’m given enough time to get the shot others want, but there are a few who do a last-minute thing that drives me a bit crazy, but I expect it from them. ”

“My business is important to me, and I’ve been here thirty-five years.

I moved here when my children were young.

They’re grown and live in other parts of the country.

However, this became home. I’ve built a great clientele and have more requests than ever.

People come from all over, not just other parts of California.

It’s too much for me to keep up. I’m a one-man show when it comes to everything.

I handle both the business side and the artistic aspects.

It would be nice to take an afternoon or a day, maybe even a long weekend. ”

“I can understand that. We all need to recharge our batteries. If you like, I have references of others I’ve worked with.”

“Twyla said you had moved around a lot. I’d like to be sure whoever I get will be here for a while. I’m not asking you to promise me ten years or more, but if you will be up and gone in six months, that wouldn’t work for me.” His warning was clear that this wasn’t something he’d budge on.

“I understand. And I don’t see that happening. I’m in a committed relationship with someone. He lives here and won’t be moving.”

“Oh, really, may I ask who? I know most people, if only by name.”

“Fennick Mason. He’s friends with Twyla’s grandson-in-law, Abraxas. Fennick is a park ranger in Joshua Tree National Park.”

“Oh, yes, I know of Brax and all his close friends. They’re a lively crew who do so much for the citizens of Needles. If you're with that young man, and he has brains, he’ll make sure not to let you get away,” he told me, smiling.

From there, we chatted to get to know each other, sprinkled with professional questions.

At the end of an hour, I felt like I’d known Chester for months.

He was a delight. And I found that he was more than a little sweet on Twyla.

When I got up to leave, he and I agreed to a three-month trial run.

I’d start the following week. I thanked him and told him to call if he had any questions or needed to change the day or time we’d agreed on for my start. I couldn’t wait to tell Fen the news.

It was still early, so I decided to stop in town and buy something special for dinner tonight to celebrate.

He had a grill. A nice grilled steak, a baked potato with all the toppings, salad, and a vegetable side sounded good.

Then for dessert, I’d make something to top off the meal, if we had room.

Or I should say if I did. Fen and his friends were bottomless pits.

The grocery store wasn’t crowded, which was a good thing.

I could take my time browsing without feeling like I was holding someone up.

At the meat counter, I selected the steaks with the best color and the least fat.

In the vegetable section, I selected a few large dinner potatoes and found the toppings I needed, along with additional items to add to what was already at home to create the salad.

Overall, the time spent wasn’t much before I was in Fen’s Jeep and headed back to his place.

I was in a good mood. The sun was shining and the outside temperature was fair.

I had the window rolled partially down to let the wind in and the music out.

Before entering the store, I’d texted Fennick to check when he thought he’d be home.

He’d answered by eight and asked about my interview.

I replied I’d fill him in at dinner and to be careful.

When I arrived at the house, I got out with my haul.

A shiver came out of nowhere and ran the length of my spine.

I immediately dropped the things I was carrying and edged around the Jeep.

I sniffed the air, looking for something to tell me if something or someone was out there.

My nose returned with the usual scents for the area, nothing new.

Next, I let Nova surface to allow her to enhance our sense of smell and hearing.

Again, nothing unusual was detected. My human eyesight was as good as hers.

Scanning the surroundings showed nothing out of place, and I walked around the entire house to be sure.

The unease faded. I chided myself. Just because I got a shiver or cold chill didn’t automatically mean I was in danger. I guess I had spent too many years on the run and watching over my shoulder. Old habits die hard.

I returned to the garage, picked up my groceries, purse, and portfolio, closed the garage door, and entered the house.

Determined to forget my silliness, I put away my things and changed into comfortable clothes.

I wouldn’t care if they got messy while fixing dinner.

I had time since Fen wouldn’t be home for several hours.

I decided to work online and lay out some of my recent photographs to present to a prospective buyer.

I’d already sold a couple of the first shots I took after arriving here.

They’d been snapped up. My small, trusty laptop, which housed my photography editing programs, was part of my precious pack.

I saved my things to the cloud in case I couldn’t take the laptop with me or something happened to my work.

The hours flew by, and before I knew it, it was time to make our dinner.

When I had time to do it right, cooking and baking were fun and relaxed me.

I had been taught by my mom and the other women, since there was no way my father and the other men would do that.

The cleaning, laundry, and anything they didn’t want to do ended up on the women’s chore list. Peaches had further developed my skills.

Thinking of Mom, Peaches, and Ernie still had the ability to make my heart hurt even after all these years.

I couldn’t help but wonder what life would’ve been like if Mom had never been taken or we had been able to escape and be together.

I hoped she would’ve been able to find someone to love her and grow old together.

By the time the FBI had rescued us, Mom had six babies, which included me.

She hadn’t seemed to conceive like the other women who, if they had no problems with their reproductive health, had one about every fifteen to eighteen months.

Mom’s babies were born two and a half to three years apart.

However, the three men—my father Lazarus, Kairo, and Anton—always worked harder to impregnate my mom, Verity, than it seemed any of the others.

Tears pricked my eyes. They were a combination of tears of anger and sadness.

I didn’t want to dwell on the terrible things that happened.

Instead, I focused on the good times when we snuck time away from the three overbearing men.

They couldn’t have eyes on us every second.

No way they’d stand there as we did all the housework, so we were given moments to be together and talk.

I struggled to recall the topics of those conversations, but there were long periods of blanks, then a random one followed by more blanks.

Goddess, please help me recall what is hidden.

I need to know what Mom told me and how to use my powers, I mentally grumbled.

In my experience, if shifters prayed to any of the gods, they primarily prayed to Apollo, along with a few others, including Zeus.

But since I was a female and a bear, it was natural for me not to call out to Apollo, even if he was seen as our father.

Instead, I directed my prayers and sometimes exclamations to his sister, Artemis.

She was the guardian of wild animals and young women.

I’d never had her respond. That made the two times that Apollo had more puzzling.

And for him to speak to me both times added to it.

It was almost seven thirty when I got a text from Fennick.

Fen: I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Akiva: I’ll be here. BTW, you shouldn’t text and drive.??

Fen: Lots of experience, and I have hidden talents. Ones that I can’t speak of ??

Akiva: Pay attention to your driving. Don’t reply. Bye.

Fen:??

I finished setting the table as I chuckled at his antics.

He made me smile so easily. Laughter hadn’t been big in my life, but he brought that out.

By the time his truck came into the drive, everything was ready to go.

To keep it warm until he had time to change and wash his hands, I kept the food in the oven with the door shut but the heat off.

“It smells great in here. I smell steak and potatoes. The way to a man’s heart, especially this one’s,” he said as he entered the door. He came to me and gave me a deep kiss, making us both groan before he edged away.

“No, I refuse to have dessert first. Let me wash my hands and change, and then we can eat dinner and have our dessert,” he muttered.

As he went to walk away, I slapped his ass. He winked at me over his shoulder, then kept going.

It was silly that he was enthusiastic about the simple meal. The way he acted, you’d think I cooked a gourmet dinner. I had to tease him about it.

“Fen, I bet I could make a frozen pizza and you’d rave about it.”

“I’d eat it and likely enjoy it, but I don’t think I’d rave. What made you say that?”

“You’re raving over this one. It wasn’t complicated.”

“Uncomplicated doesn’t mean it’s not good. And for a meat-and-potatoes guy, this is heaven. And is that…” he paused to sniff the air before finishing with, “ Crème br?lée?”

“Yes, a favorite of mine,” I informed him.

“Starlight, I’ll let you know it’s one of mine, too. However, do you know what I love?”

“What?”

“Baklava.” He moaned at the thought.

I giggled. “I should’ve known. It’s all the honey in it. You know bears, our attraction to honey, and our love-hate relationship with bees. Love that they make it. Hate that they’ll sting the hell out of us to keep it.”

“Do you know how to make baklava?” he asked hopefully.

“And if I say yes, what’s in it for me?” I teased.

“Answer me first, then I’ll tell you.”

I sat silent for several seconds, then gave in. “Yes, I do know how to make it.”

Suddenly, Fen was out of his chair, kneeling next to mine. He took my hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed each knuckle. As he did, he said the words, “Please. Will. You. Marry. Me?”

I burst out laughing. It wasn’t until he frowned that I stopped. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I asked you to marry me, and you laughed. This is a serious decision, Akiva.”

“Fen, baby, I was laughing at it because you were playing around.”

“Yes, I was, but the last part was serious. I know it might seem too soon, but we’re mated.

There’s no going back. We’re together. I know that some shifters don’t bother with marriage since they say it leaves a paper trail that has to be cleaned up as we age.

But I find that I’m old-fashioned. I want a wife, you.

It’s worth the work. I planned to wait a while, have a big moment planned, and get down on one knee.

And you don’t have to answer me at this moment.

Wait for the official proposal, but I want you to know, I want it, if you do. ”

He was right about the lifelong commitment and that many shifters didn’t bother with marriage. Brax and Cerys had, but I wondered if it had more to do with her being human. But with Fen bringing it up, I paused to think. Would marriage be something I’d want?

“Fennick, please stand. Let me think about this. I wasn’t expecting you to ask me, I guess. I never dreamed of a wedding. My experience is that most shifters don’t do it. And I thought that the reason Cerys and Brax did was because she’s human. I’m not saying no. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

I hoped what I was saying didn’t upset him. I wasn’t turning him down. I needed to get my head around the idea. The thought sent a thrill through me. Having a fairytale ending would be amazing. Fennick rose to his feet and retook his seat. He wasn’t frowning, which I took as a good sign.

“I can do that. And you’re right, most don’t, but after seeing Brax do it, I came to see the attraction of it. However, it’ll be your decision. I’ll come back to you one day and ask. When I do, I’d like you to decide then.”

I reached across the table and snagged one of his hands. I smiled. “Honey Bear, I can do that.”

He groaned. “God, no, not Honey Bear. Please, tell me you’re not settling on that nickname.”

I giggled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

He growled. I reclaimed my hand and went to prepare our food. This was the first course, and I was eager for the dessert round.