Page 18 of Haven
“That was crazy.” Lily sighed, leaning against the long metal island. “Some of them came in four times.”
Looking at the mess that still needed to be cleaned up, Sadie nodded. “I don’t know if mom teaching us how to cook was a blessing or not.” Lily frowned, stretching. “I can’t feel my feet.”
“You’re lucky because my feet are killing me.” Sadie lifted one foot and then the other, shaking them out. “Let’s fix us something to eat and then clean this mess up. I’m starving.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lily said, grabbing a plate. “Did any of the men say stuff to you that seemed off?”
Sadie started filling her plate with a laugh. “I lost count of how many dates I was asked out on and four proposals.” Sadie left out what one man had whispered to her. She shivered thinking about it. Something about the man made her veryuncomfortable. The rest were nice, fumbling their words, and looked genuinely disappointed when she turned them all down.
“I also had a few guys that were cute and nice, but Alex kept growling and glaring at them.” Lily set her plate on the island.
“I think he likes you, Lily,” Sadie replied, waiting for her toast. “And he seems very protective over you.”
“Nah, he’s just showing me the ropes around here. He said he was a drifter and never stays in one place for a period of time.” Lily said, then grinned. “Kile didn’t look so happy about all the attention you were getting.”
Sadie snorted, but her heart fluttered at the mention of Kile. When the man who made her uncomfortable whispered that she would be his, which was very strange, Kile stepped between them and sent him on his way. Kile never said a word to her other than to step back.
“He was probably upset with the long line.” Sadie blew off what Lily was insinuating. Her mind quickly went to the kiss they shared last night. They talked and laughed. Then he walked her back to the tent. He didn’t kiss her again, and the disappointment she felt shocked her. “Come on, let’s go outside and eat. I’m tired of being in this kitchen.”
Lily snorted, knowing that Sadie was quickly changing the subject. “He’s hot.” Lily peeked at her before they walked outside with their plates. “And he’s into you. I can tell.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a shifter, and I’m not,” Sadie whispered as they walked out the door into the sunshine. She squinted at the brightness. “Enough said.” Her lips tingled as she thought about the kiss they shared last night, which made her curse under her breath.
Lily rolled her eyes at her, letting the conversation go. As they passed people eating, Sadie noticed the looks they were getting—not from the men but from the females. Seeing an empty table down the hill, they headed that way. Her gaze met and stopped on Kile, who was sitting with Gemma, Eric, Cole, and Leeza. Quickly looking away, she put her plate on the small table and sat down.
“Did you notice the hate aimed our way?” Lily whispered before taking a bite of bacon.
Sadie toyed with her food before taking a bite, her appetite gone. “Yes, unfortunately.” Sadie frowned, taking a small bite of egg. She couldn’t blame the women here for feeling as they do, but neither she nor Lily did anything other than cook for everyone. She looked up at Lily, who was also picking at her food and frowning. “Do you still want to stay here?”
Her head snapped up. “Yes,” she said, then straightened her shoulders. “It will take more than a few mean looks to make me run. We didn’t do anything wrong. I want to stay here. I like it here.”
“No, we didn’t,” Sadie agreed, but she didn’t like the idea of leaving Lily if there were possible problems with some of the shifters here, both male and female. Here again, Sadie could fail her sister. She didn’t understand the mating phenomenon of Shifters. She tried to understand but couldn’t quite grasp the instant connection between two people who didn’t know each other. Her human mind couldn’t comprehend it. Kile’s kiss again came to the forefront of her mind as her eyes automatically went to where he was. As if he knew she was looking his way, their eyes met and held.
“Once some of the females here know I’m not looking at their man, things will be okay,” Lily said, trying to downplay the strange situation for Sadie. “Come on, let’s go clean up. I still have to help wash out some of the enclosures, and I don’t want to be late. Plus I want to go to the party tonight. Leeza said they have music, food, and dancing. Gemma, along with her neighbor, had a get-together once a month as a thank you to all the volunteers.”
“I’ll take care of the kitchen.” Sadie pulled her gaze away from Kile as she stood, grabbing her plate and taking Lily’s. “Go ahead and do what you need to do. God forbid you should miss a party.”
“Are you sure?” Lily frowned but looked hopeful. “I don’t want you to clean that mess alone.”
Sadie snorted, giving Lily a look. “At home, you did everything to get out of doing dishes.”
Lily shrugged, looking a little sheepish at the truth of those words. “Maybe I’ve grown up since then.”
Holding the plates with one hand, she reached out and pulled Lily into a hug. “You have grown up, Lily,” Sadie whispered, squeezing her tightly. “And I’m so damn proud of you. Now go clean poop.”
Lily laughed, hugging her back. “Love you, sis.”
“Back at ya,” Sadie smiled, watching Lily take off. Her gaze scanned the area, seeing a few girls giving her nasty looks, but Lily ignored them as she approached Larry and Alex. One of the girls glanced her way, and Sadie made sure she didn’t break eye contact with the girl. Yeah, human or not, she could be scrappy, and when you messed with Lily, you messed with her.
Walking into the kitchen after her short staring contest, which she won, she stopped in her tracks. The kitchen was almost cleaned. Five women were busy wiping everything down but turned to look at her when the door snapped shut.
“I was coming in to do that.” Sadie finally found her voice as the five women looked at her. “I didn’t expect anyone else to clean up my mess.”
A beautiful redhead smiled at her as she wiped down the island. “No worries. We are on cleaning detail. None of us can cook worth a damn, so we do the cleanup.” She tossed the rag she was using in a pile. “I’m Beth Ann.”
“I’m Sadie.” Sadie smiled with a nod. “And I have to say I appreciate you at the moment. My feet are killing me, and I was dreading this more than you know. But I would not have made such a mess if I knew someone else had to clean it.”
Another woman walked up to her, taking the plates. “Honey, this isn’t a mess. Gina made a mess.” The woman laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t get me wrong. Gina was a sweetie, but what you and your sister cooked this morning has the whole camp talking.”