Page 78 of Havoc's Fox
“Very good that you listened, too. That’s very good.”
“And how do we cross?” Havoc asked.
“We run, really fast.”
“Show me!”
After crossing to Brandt’s side of the road, they took their time walking along the road. He showed her where the first road Brandt and the rest of the clan had put in crossed the main road that led through the property. He pointed to the right. “You can’t see it because the lights aren’t on right now, nobody’s staying there, but there’s a house down on that end.”
“Okay. Nobody lives there?”
“Nope. It’s there for anybody in the family that might need a place to stay. That’s how ours was, built for anybody in the family to use, but I liked it, and you like being here, so I’m buying it. It’s ours now.”
When they got to the next road crossing the main road, he stopped. “See down there?”
“Yes, sir. I can see lights.”
“That’s right. Uncle Remi and Uncle Christian both have houses down there. And the new girl, Addie, her family lives down there, too.”
“I see lights that way, too,” Harley said, pointing to the left.
“Yep. That’s the direction our house and Aunt Hellen’s house are in. If you keep going straight on this road instead of going left or right, you’ll get to the end of the road, and Uncle Brandt’s house is left, and Uncle Barron’s house is right.”
“Okay,” she said, completely grasping what he was telling her. It was uncanny the way shifter children took to spacial understanding and directions and such.
He took her by the hand again and they turned left, walking down the middle of the road. When they got close enough for her to see the house, she gasped and her mouth dropped open. “That’s our house?” she asked excitedly.
“It is.”
“It’s so pretty!” she said and pulled her hand free of his. “Can I run to it?”
“Let’s both run to it,” Havoc said, excited to be able to give her a home this nice.
They ran down the circular drive in the front, then up the stairs to the front door.
“Why is the front door upstairs?” she asked, standing back on the porch and trying to take in all the windows she could see.
“Because on the bottom we have a swing and a picnic table and places to park our truck.”
“That is so much fun!”
He laughed. “It’s fun?”
“It will be!” she said, trying to open the front door.
“Here you go, it’s locked.” He unlocked the door for her and she ran inside. She went into the open kitchen, then the dining area and living room. She ran into the bathroom on the main floor, then into a room that could be a bedroom or an office. At the moment it was set up as an office. She looked at both porches and the French doors that opened out onto the front and back porches. Then she focused on the stairs that curved up to the top level where the bedrooms were. “Can I go up there?”
“Baby, this is your house. You can go wherever you want. But you have to knock when Daddy’s in his room, okay?”
“Okay!” she said, taking off at a run.
“And do not run on the stairs!”
She stopped running and dutifully held onto the banister as she walked, albeit quickly, up the stairs to the landing. She took a right first and examined Havoc’s bedroom and bathroom, then went running down the hallway until she reached the bedrooms with the shared bathroom between them.
“They’re just the same, but one is blue and one is white!” she exclaimed.
In truth they were both blue and white, but the one on the left was navy with white accents, striped bedding and throw rugs, almost nautical in appearance, and the one on the right was white and had only a few navy accents. It was actually a little more girlie with some of the bedding and curtains having a bit of a scalloped edge to them. He figured that would be the one she’d choose, but she’d surprised him before so he just waited patiently while she made her decision.