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Charlene was dying to know what had happened with Ethan and the guy who was tailing Renault, but she couldn t talk with him about what was going on while she was with the real estate agent.

Ethan had sounded annoyed with her that she wasn t sitting at home staying safe while Noah was secretly watching out for her.

She was glad he was concerned about her, but she had been thinking about looking for the additional property to rent, and while he was doing his business, she wanted to do hers.

If Charlene and Ethan were right for each other, they could talk things through like this, and everything would be fine.

In a way, it was good to have these little bumps in their relationship because if they could successfully deal with them, she knew they were right for each other.

If they couldn t, things wouldn t work out.

She understood how he was feeling, but she hoped he also understood how she felt.

Jennie said, Hey, two more listings just came up that are similar to what you have already purchased, though one is larger—a four-bedroom and three-bathroom. Do you want to check them out? They look good.

Yeah, let s check them out. One of the other listings Charlene had seen looked like it might be perfect for what she wanted, but she had to look at the others too.

The other two homes she had seen online needed a lot of work.

She could do it, but if she could find a reasonably priced home to rent out that was more ready, she would prefer that.

Still, she felt a little like she should go home and learn what had happened with Ethan and Renault.

She sighed. That was Ethan s business, and he would tell her later.

This was her business and she wanted to do this now.

Homes could be snapped up just like that, and she didn t want to lose out on a good bargain if she found one.

Okay, this one might be right up your alley, Jennie said. The couple are divorcing. They both want as much money as they can get out of the place, but they want it done quickly, so I m sure we can get them to come down significantly on the price.

When they arrived at the house, they walked inside and checked the place over.

The first thing Charlene wanted to see was the back deck and the view of the ocean from it.

That was one of the things that really enticed people to rent her places.

But she loved the detailed molding around the floors and the tile floors throughout the living room, kitchen, and dining room.

The house was about two miles down the road from her own home, so it was a nice location.

What do you think?

So far, I like it. Then Charlene looked through the bedrooms and bathrooms and it truly was a much bigger house than she normally rented out. But for bigger groups, she thought it might work.

Normally, she would have just decided on a place and purchased it, not having to ask anyone else s opinion, but she realized she wanted Ethan s input.

She had never thought she would feel that she would have to ask anyone else to help her make a choice.

But she really wanted to include him in the decision-making, and that was a big change for her when she was in a relationship.

More than that, she realized just why she wanted his input.

She wanted him to live with her—permanently.

She just hoped when she told him, he was of a like mind.

With Noah, she had told him what she was going to do; she didn t ask him what he thought of it.

Let me call my boyfriend and have him meet us over here to look at the house.

Oh, sure. Go ahead, Jennie said.

Charlene called Ethan and said, Hey, have you gotten home yet?

No, not yet. I m about ten minutes from there. Is anything the matter? Ethan sounded worried that she was in trouble.

No, but I would like you to help me decide on buying one of the houses for the third rental. I m only two miles from my house, so we ll just wait for you here. She gave Ethan the address.

All right. I ll be there pronto.

Don t break any laws getting here.

He laughed.

She loved his laughter and she felt he was over being perturbed with her about not telling him what she had been up to while he was watching Renault s back.

When he arrived at the house, he hugged Charlene and kissed her. I m so glad you re fine.

I m so glad that you are.

I ll let the two of you look at the house alone together. Jennie went outside to give them some privacy.

Once Jennie had closed the front door, Ethan pulled Charlene in for another warm embrace.

I had to protect Renault if anyone bad was following him, but my main concern truly was you.

I didn t tell Noah to go watch over you.

I just told him what I was concerned with and what I was doing.

He wasn t supposed to let you know he was observing your place.

She laughed. He was hiding in the woods, but I just happened to look out the window and saw him move into them. It was pure dumb luck.

Oh, good. I was going to give him hell for not doing it undercover.

She smiled. You don t need to now. I want to learn what had happened to you and Renault, but I also want your opinion on buying this house as a rental.

Really? Yeah, sure. I would be honored. So Renault and I took down Thor and he is off to jail.

Ohmigod, really?

Yeah.

That s so great. She hugged him back and kissed him.

I know, right? I m glad we got him. So, what do you think about the house?

I love it, but I want you to look at all the bedrooms, the bathrooms, kitchen, deck, view, et cetera.

Wow, this is a really big place. He discussed the open-layout plan with a kitchen that opened up into the dining room and living room.

Yeah, I know. I was thinking —she sighed— that maybe I could move here if you would like to move in with me permanently. That was the real reason she had wanted him here, but she hadn t wanted to say that over the phone.

He smiled. Are you asking me what I think you re asking?

A mating? Yes. She smiled. If you agree and we want to have kids, this place is bigger. The beach access is great, and they have the same situation with walking right into the woods from the house.

Yes, on both counts. You have made me the happiest wolf alive. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor and kissed her.

She smiled. You make me feel the same way.

I want to take you right back to the house and mate you, he said.

Yeah, I m pretty impatient about it too. But then she took his hand and started walking him through the house. First things first.

Well, the other home is lovely, but then you ve decorated it beautifully, he said.

And it s smaller. So having a family there would probably mean we would need to have the bigger place and yet the other house is big enough for renters.

True. He eyed the master bathroom—the shower and the large whirlpool tub with jets. Yeah, this works.

She laughed.

The bathroom had individual sinks and lots of cabinetry for supplies. The toilet had its own separate little room.

I love this closet in the master bedroom.

It has even more room than the other house.

The living room is bigger, and even the kitchen is, Charlene said, walking back into the kitchen and checking out the pantry.

The kitchen is more open to the dining room and living room.

This is really nice. It would be better for having friends from the Portland area visit, and we could entertain guests while we re cooking.

We ll have to get a wolf door for the house.

Yeah. I had one installed in the other house, but not in the rentals. With all the wolves renting them in future months, I ll need to have those all fitted with wolf doors.

We will.

She smiled. She really liked that she had a partner in managing the rental houses. I guess when you truly retire, you ll also be a rental manager .

He smiled. I can be on top of any maintenance needs too. You can take care of other customer complaints.

She laughed. That works for me. But she suspected he would help her with customer complaints too. So about this place, what do you think?

They went out on the back deck and looked at the view of the ocean. The deck was even bigger than the other home s.

Yeah, I think you re absolutely right about this being perfect for us and for a family. How about we make an offer on the house, and then if we buy it, we ll fix it up the way we want before we move in?

And furnish it just like we want so it s a combination of our tastes? she asked.

That will be perfect. he said.

She smiled and told him the listing price.

The couple who own the home are divorced and they are looking to get the most money they can, of course, so they can split the proceeds between them.

But Jennie said that she felt she could get them to come down on the price.

It has just been listed, so it s possible someone else might snatch it up.

They haven t even had an open house yet.

Let s make an offer.

All right. Let s do it. She was so glad he was ready for being with her.

They walked out to the driveway where Jennie was in her car speaking on the phone. She quickly ended the call and left the car. I ve got a couple of people who want to see the house already and so does another Realtor. What do you think about it?

What s the lowest offer the owners will take? Ethan asked.

Five thousand less, that s if no one else wants the house.

I ll pay cash, no loan, no getting it approved. It will be a done deal, Ethan said.

Charlene thought the same, but she was surprised Ethan stepped in to say it first. Was he planning on spending his own money on the house?