Page 13 of A Pact for Porter

“You’re the best, Karma.”

She fluffed it off. “I’ve been told that before, but, you know, my mate is a little biased.”

He thought the sun and the moon hung in the air just for her. They were so ridiculously in love, after all these years. Honestly, they were couple goals.

I talked to Karma about where we stood with the contractors and the permits. By our estimates, it would be four days before we could really move forward with anything. I could fly to my mate, be with my him, and do some work remotely if needed. I was more the coordinator at this point and that meant I didn’t have to be married to the room.

Just giving myself permission to go see him had me happier than I’d been since he left. I pulled out my phone and started looking for flights. There was nothing left today. I nagged the first available flight. It wasn’t cheap, far more expensive than I’d pay for a normal trip, but this was my mate, and I clicked buy before I could change my mind.

I was going to surprise my mate.

I ran everything by Karma, and she was delighted despite the fact that I was going to be shirking my responsibilities for a little while. Rumor had it she was connected to an awful lot of matings around here and, of course, that she might not be human. I wasn’t sure about the human part, but I could see her meddling just enough to get people together. I didn’t know her well, but I knew her well enough to know she loved to see people happy.

Porter called to let me know his plane had touched down. It took every bit of willpower I had not to tell him that I was coming to see him. But a surprise was a surprise.

Time slowed to nothing as I waited for my trip. I was packed and ready to go far too early and had to reopen my suitcase to get clothes out to wear. I was both nervous and excited as I headed to the airport. My plane boarded on time, and my seat was next to an empty middle spot. Those were good signs.

Just over two days ago, I’d watched my mate leave Animals, promising each other that we were going to be fine, that we’d figure it out, and that we could handle this. It had only been a short separation, and I’d learned quickly that I could not handle it, but that was okay. Because if the connecting flight was on time, I’d be seeing my mate soon, and that was everything.

Chapter Eleven

Porter

My little townhome was waiting for me, just as I’d left it. At this time of year, the garden didn’t require a lot of care, so I hadn’t even had to get someone to water the few remaining vegetables and annual flowers. The perennials were all settling in for their winter’s rest, the few I had room for.

I had tried and tried to come up with a way I could put off returning for a day or two but short of a medical emergency it wasn’t going to fly. I’d heard from him twice while I was away, with questions about something or other, and in both cases he’d made a point of saying he’d bent the rules for me—as if I didn’t know.

The place looked so dark and lonely as I got out of the rideshare and walked up to the door. I should have left a light on, but growing up, my dads had been maniacs about wasting electricity. The thought made me smile a little. Would I be that kind of father? Would Chip? Or would we be the type of parents who let their children leave every light in the house on?

There had to be a happy middle for that. But I loved the idea that one day we’d be dads, if Fate had that lined up for us, deciding on our lighting policies. And everything else. My dads were great about talking things out with each other before facing their rambunctious youths. I liked that idea.

As soon as I got into the house, I set my bags down and pulled out my phone to send a text.

Made it home safely.

Thanks! I’ll talk to you when I get into bed.

Yes, we were already that couple. My heart sang just thinking about it.

Now we just had to figure out how to make it happen. Chip traveled for work, and if he was going to continue with his career, building on what I was positive would be his big success at Animals, he’d probably always have to do that and I‘d have to get used to it. The alternative would be me following him around like a puppy, not earning any money to contribute to the family budget and generally being underfoot.

So, not the solution long-term. But we were so new, how could we possibly not be together? My wolf was having fits.

I dragged myself upstairs to the bedroom and unpacked then carried my laundry back down to stuff it in the washer. Normally, after a trip, I’d have opened my bags right in the living room and left the dirty clothes downstairs, but I was so distracted and missing my mate, I was not thinking clearly.

My phone buzzed as I was tearing off a detergent sheet, and I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. Looked like we weren’t waiting for bedtime to talk again. I’d never have lasted that long anyway.

What are you doing now?

Laundry. He had washed that one set for me, but I had eventually gone down to the main parking lot and fetched my bag so I had all my other clothes. And even in that short time, I’d managed to wear a few more things. What are you doing?

Going to the kitchen for staff dinner. They invited me.

Oh, that’s great! I’m glad you’re not eating alone. A reminder that I would be. Pressing a couple of buttons on the washer, I heard it start to fill as I moved into the kitchen to find something to eat.

After a long day of travel, it would be gourmet even if I had time to thaw out a steak, so frozen dinner it would be. While continuing our texting conversation, I retrieved a frozen pot roast meal and inserted it in the microwave.

What’s staff dinner going to be?