Chapter 7 - Nova

“Do you know of any other place that is hiring? I’m only taking care of Natalia for three days; that leaves four days I could work somewhere else.”

Blanche frowned. “I’m sure someone is hiring. I mean, I know Everett is at the ranch, but I can’t see you herding cattle.”

My eyes widened. I would be terrified of a cow. 

She died laughing. “If you could see your face right now!”

Shaking my head, I finished my bagel and coffee, then followed Blanche to SmokeShield Cyber. My car wheezed dramatically and spit out a plume of smoke before settling in and being the docile little machine I knew it could be. 

Following Blanche inside the house and then to the hallway leading to SmokeShield, I glanced around again. It was a lovely home. Sometimes when I let myself, I dream of a home like this, bright, airy, and warm. 

I spied Edge as I walked into the outer office of SmokeShield. He looked up when we came in. His eyes travelled over my well-worn sweatpants and T-shirt. I blushed. Currently, I have five outfits. None of them were great; they had all been patched more times than I could count. But at least I had clothes. That was how I looked at it. 

It was a lot cooler here than in Missouri, so I would have to find a coat eventually and maybe a sweatshirt and thicker socks. My feet were freezing in my sneakers; of course, the hole in the bottom of the right one didn’t help. 

“We’ll be leaving in about twenty minutes. Can you go check that Natalia is finishing her breakfast?” Edge’s voice was clipped, and when he turned his back, I wanted to stick my tongue out.

Blanche gave me a sympathetic smile as I turned to go find the pup. Making my way toward the dining room, I heard pups laughing and playing. There were so many of them running around. Blanche mentioned that Sonni actually has litters instead of just one or two pups at a time. I would lose my mind if I had a litter!

Natalia was at the table, frowning at her plate. When she noticed me, she smiled. 

“Nova! Daddy said you would be staying with me while he is at work.”

“That’s right, munchin'. I get you Tuesday through Thursday.” I looked at her cup and frowned. 

“Did you drink all your milk?”

She nodded. “Can I have some more?”

“Oh. Let me ask someone.” 

I walked to the kitchen area and saw Hawk, the big guy who picked me up off the floor yesterday. His smile was open and friendly, helping me relax just a bit around him.

“Natalia would like more milk. Do you think Edge would mind if she had more?”

Hawk nodded toward the refrigerator. “He won’t mind at all. Top shelf. Get yourself something to drink, too.”

I opened the refrigerator and blinked. It was well organized and full. I scanned the top shelf but didn’t see the milk. There were four different types of juices, sparkling water in glass jars, sodas, coffees, and teas, but no milk. 

“I think you guys are out of milk.” I didn’t turn around when I said that; I just stared at the mind-boggling amount of food in there. 

Hawk stepped up behind me; I felt his body heat radiating off him. He reached over my head and pushed a few containers aside. My body was frozen. He was too close, and I felt trapped between him and the refrigerator. I was fighting panic when he patted my shoulder. 

Jumping about two feet in the air when his hand connected with my shoulder, I wanted to crawl onto one of the shelves and hide. 

Hawk immediately stepped back and apologized. “I am so sorry, Nova. I didn’t think. We are all pretty relaxed around here. Let's go check the other fridge for milk. I’m sure Cassian and Trina made sure there was plenty.”

I followed him around the corner, expecting a second normal-looking refrigerator.  Instead, I saw a huge sub-zero walk-in refrigerator with a walk-in freezer right next to it. My brain short-circuited. Who in the hell has those types of appliances in their home?

Hawk stepped out of the walk-in and held up a gallon of milk. “Found it.”

“Thank you.” I reached for the milk while my eyes took in all the food stocked inside that walk-in. 

I bet nobody went hungry in this house. 

Edge popped up as Natalia was finishing her breakfast. He barely glanced at me, which was perfectly fine with me. 

“Why don’t you go say goodbye to Uncle Griffin and Aunt Sonni, Natalia? We’ll be heading home in a few minutes.” The pup lit up and wheeled herself toward a different hallway from SmokeShield Cyber. 

Edge walked away without speaking to me, and I was left wondering what I should be doing. Spying the pup’s dirty breakfast dishes, I gathered them and took them to the kitchen. Cassian, the big dragon shifter, was there looking in the refrigerator. 

He smiled when he saw me. “Just set those in the sink. I’ll put them in the dishwasher later.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I smiled back. He had a way of making me feel at ease. 

By the time I was behind the wheel of my Honda, I was shaking. It took three tries to start my car, and Edge frowned so hard when he saw my rust-bucket that I was afraid he'd tell me I was fired. 

Following him through the pack, I shook my head. The guy drove like a ninety-year-old grandma. Blanche had said the northern packhouse was a two-hour drive. Following Granny Edge, it took damn near three hours. My head was pounding by the time we got to the packhouse. It was smaller than I expected, but it was clean and comfortable. 

A few people stopped and stared at my car. It was a little out of place among all the shiny, newer vehicles parked in the lot. Edge lowered the ramp on his SUV and pulled the wheelchair out before lifting his daughter and settling her into it. 

I followed silently behind as they went into the packhouse. He nodded toward several omegas who were cleaning. One female sauntered up to him and touched his arm. I expected him to pull away from her. When he didn’t, I had flashbacks to my dad being overly familiar with certain female omegas. I walked in on him three times with three different females. 

I had a feeling Edge was a lot like my father. Edge may be gorgeous to look at, but I wanted nothing to do with someone like him. If I ever did find someone to love me, I wanted them to be honorable and faithful. Surely, that wasn’t asking too much.