Life went on as well as
could be expected for Trent
for the next month. Work during the day, staying home with Beau most evenings
while Rory was running his company and leading some of the midnight tours. There were
brief interludes of their being able to spend some quality time together. Too
few, too brief interludes in Trent’s
opinion.
The tours became so popular
Rory expanded them to four a night to accommodate all the tourists. At Sienna’s
suggestion, he hired two of her werewolf friends, one as the accountant to do
the books for the growing business, the second to handle the sale of tickets
during the daylight hours.
The latter, Dolph, had a
definite flamboyant flair, outdoing even the guides according to Rory. Dressed
in full Victorian attire including a flowing cape and top hat, he strolled the
Quarter, proclaiming to one and all that if they wanted to meet ‘the real
thing’ they should purchase tickets immediately for an evening tour.
“He’s really quite amazing,”
Rory told Trent
soon after he’d hired Dolph.
Trent had smiled indulgently at Rory’s enthusiasm. He
became a bit less indulgent when Rory continued to talk about the werewolf
during the ensuing days as if he was someone very special and unique.
Finally, Trent decided it was time to meet Dolph in person.
The only reason he hadn’t taken the time to so far was because managing the
hotel took more and more of his time, even on the weekends. When he had told Rory
and Sienna early on that he would be able to help them out during the day if
necessary, he hadn’t taken into account how busy he’d be now that the hotel had
doubled in size. So much so that he’d finally had a long talk with the hotel’s
owners. He convinced them it would be in their best interests to hire an
assistant-manager. He, or she, could work evenings and the weekends. When he
told them he was beginning to burn out, they readily agreed, apologizing for
not having done so sooner.
Two days later he was
introducing his new assistant, Molly Burns, to the hotel employees. He spent
the rest of that Thursday explaining to her how he ran the hotel. As she had
been brought in from one of the owners’ other hotels she caught on quickly,
much to his relief.
Late Friday afternoon, he
was feeling confident Molly that could handle things on her own. So he headed
home, arriving there just as Rory was about to leave.
When Trent walked into the house, Rory looked at
him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here?” Trent replied with a
tight smile, sensing Rory was less than happy to see him.
“I know that. It’s just—well
you’re never home this early.”
“And that’s going to change.
I miss you. We barely spend time together any more. I told you… No, I guess
I haven’t had a chance to have I? Anyway, I have an assistant now so I won’t
have to be at the hotel or on call twenty-four/seven.” Trent closed the distance between them,
wrapping his arms around Rory’s waist. “I can take you to work, help out some
there the way I promised, and when you get home I won’t be so damned tired I
just roll over and go back to sleep again. Also, I won’t be working weekends at
all. Things can be like they were before.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Blurb:
Exiled from his homeland, Doran Taggart now runs a bookstore in his new home town. His only companion is his cat, Inwe. His only duties, despite his exile, are to protect the allies of his king and kill the king's enemies, should they appear where he now lives.
Detective Nick Groves is searching for leads in the disappearance of two men and a woman. In the process, he meets Doran and is instantly captivated by the violet-eyed young man. Soon afterward, things take a strange turn with his case. Is Doran, the cause, and if not, does he know why strange things are happening?
Nick must find answers to all this and more while dealing with his growing feelings for Doran—feelings that are reciprocated, even though Doran knows nothing can come of them. The men are, after all, from two different worlds. If Nick learns the truth about him, Doran is certain it will the end of any chance for the two of them to be together.
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