Authors: Maddy Barone
Those snotty girls looked down on Tasha for doing what she had to do according to the law? She followed Tasha’s lead and ignored the girls as she walked past them on her way out.
They finished their shopping trip with a visit to a small café for lunch. Rose had no money with her to pay for lunch, so she was grateful to Tasha for insisting on treating her. Taye had given her a gold strip before she left the den. It was six months’ wages for a lot of men. She would need to cash it in for smaller denominations if she was going to go out shopping. In Kearney, she ordered what she needed and Taye paid for it. She never needed much. The Pack gave her all the clothes she needed, her food was provided by them too, and she lived at the den rent-free. About the only things she bought was yarn, wool roving for spinning, and books.
“Is there a bookstore in Omaha?” she asked.
Tasha nodded around her cheeseburger. “A couple.”
“Oh, good. Let’s go there next.”
Tasha made a face. “You like books?” She shook her head. “Sorry. After lunch we better head home. I have to get ready for work tonight.” She must have seen the disappointment Rose tried to hide. “You should go tomorrow with Aimee or Cayla. They’re always reading.”
That would be nice. Going to a bookstore with another book lover was best. Tasha’s expression said she didn’t love to read.
“So.” Tasha dunked a French fry in ketchup. “How did you and Sky meet?”
Rose considered briefly. If she said her plane from the Times Before crashed and Sky’s Clan rescued her, she would be giving explanations forever. “There was an accident, and Sky’s family found me and took care of me. That’s where I met Sky.”
“Was it love at first sight?” Tasha waggled her eyebrows. Rose had never seen anyone actually do that. Concentrating on Tasha’s eyebrows was safer than remembering the fierce, long-haired boy Sky had been. “Well?”
“Not for me.”
“Oooh! But it was for Sky?”
Sky had taken one look at her, and his wolf had claimed her for their mate, but she didn’t want to explain that either. “I guess. How long have you worked for Sky?”
“I’ve been a businesswoman for fifteen years. I was one of Omaha’s first.”
Rose stared at Tasha. Her brown hair was cut in a short, stylish bob around an unlined plump face. “How old were you? I thought you had to be eighteen to be a businesswoman.”
The other woman gave a trill of delighted laughter. “Rose, you’re so sweet.” She leaned over the café table to whisper. “Don’t tell anyone, but I turned thirty-four over the summer.”
She certainly didn’t look it. “And you’ve worked at Sky’s place all this time?”
“Well, it wasn’t always Sky’s place. The first owner was Josh Adams. He was a pig. I didn’t shed any tears when he died ten years ago. After him, Ms. Mary took over. That wasn’t a very popular move, let me tell you. The other business owners did everything they could to put her out of business. But then Sky and Quill came and things got better.”
She probably shouldn’t ask, but Rose was curious. “How did things get better?”
“Well.” Tasha took a minute to scoop up more ketchup with a fry. “When Josh ran things he didn’t care very much if the appointments got rough. As long as we were still able to work, he didn’t interfere.”
Rose gasped and choked. “Oh my God.”
“Ms. Mary tried to make things better, but…” Tasha shrugged. “She’s a woman and the appointments didn’t give her much respect. Once Sky and Quill came, things changed in a hurry. Quill was such a nice, shy man, but let an appointment get the tiniest bit mean and he turned into a holy terror. And he had ears like a cat. All a girl had to do was whisper for help, and he was right there. Sky too.”
Sky was an alpha. Even when he was calm he exuded something that told people he was trouble. Taye was the same way. But any wolf warrior, even the quiet non-alpha ones, revered women. Knowing the Pack the way she did, Rose could imagine just how Sky and Quill would have reacted to a man hurting a woman. “I bet those men never behaved badly again.”
“They cleaned up their act pretty quick,” the brunette agreed. “Once Ms. Mary signed the business over to Sky, he turned the place around. He makes sure every guest treats all the women in his place like ladies, whether they are waitresses, hostesses, or businesswomen. Plenty of men come just to have a few drinks and dance and enjoy music.”
Rose stirred more cream into her coffee. “Do you like being a…businesswoman?”
“You bet I do. I make more money than most men in Omaha and with Sky watching out for me, I don’t have to worry about pregnancy or being abused by an appointment.”
Rose jerked her gaze back to Tasha. “Pregnancy?”
“Well, sure. In my line of work, pregnancy is a well known risk. I decided a long time ago that if I did get pregnant I would keep the baby, but I’ve been lucky. Sky makes sure we have access to birth control, even though it costs the earth. We do offer condoms to our appointments, but a lot of men aren’t willing to put coats on their little friends, if you know what I mean. Now you’re blushing. You’re so cute, Rose.”
Cute. Sweet. Yeah. “Have you ever considered marriage? Amanda and Sand are going to have a baby in a few months.”
Tasha looked out the window, eyes distant. “I was engaged once, before the Women Acts went into effect.” She shook her head, as if shaking off a memory. “He wasn’t willing to fight for me. He called me some filthy names, and left Omaha. I never heard from him again.”
Ouch. “Why did he call you…”
Tasha lifted a shoulder in an impatient shrug. “He was a jerk and a crybaby.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. If he didn’t want me enough to do something about it then, I don’t want him now. He was probably one of the few people who could have stopped the Women Acts, but he ran away instead. No, I’m going to keep working. I can retire in six years. Then I’ll be a rich lady of leisure.” Her laugh was hard. “We’d better get going so we don’t miss the express.”
The bus was a convenient and quick way to travel, but no one could call it comfortable. And conversation was impossible on the bus, due to the incredible roar of the engine. Thirty minutes later she and Tasha got off the bus to walk the three blocks to Sky’s house. They passed several mansions that had probably been built in the early twentieth century. Rose wouldn’t be surprised if this whole neighborhood had been on the National Register of Historic Places in the Times Before.
In the daylight, Rose could see Sky’s house was a beautiful, stately mansion made of dark red brick and white trim. The fence surrounding the property was newer. The bricks were not the same red, and there were three strings of barbed wire along the top. On the peak of one tall post beside the gate sat Mitzi, surveying her new queendom with feline disdain.
“That’s your cat.” Tasha made it a statement, not a question, as they waited for the gate to open. “I think Sky is going to skin it and nail the pelt to the wall over the fireplace like a trophy.”
Rose managed a smile for the guard opening the gate for them. “Sky will not lay one hand on a single whisker.”
Tasha lifted one eyebrow. “Or he’ll be sleeping on the couch?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Mitzi jumped down from the gate post and strutted along behind them up the walk to the porch and into the house. Tasha peeled off toward the sweeping staircase. “I have to get ready for work. See you later, Rose.”
Rose lifted a hand, wondering what she should do now. Snow entered the foyer.
“Good,” he said. “You’re back.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.” His shoulders lifted in a half shrug. “I know women go out alone all the time in Omaha, but we’re not used to you going out without someone to look after you.”
She patted the whistle hanging on her chest. “I was fine, Snow. And Tasha was with me.”
For a long moment, he frowned at her. “I guess we’ll get used to it. Eventually,” he muttered, and left.
Rose shook her head. “Well, Mitzi, it’s a good thing it was Snow who met us at the door. Stone would have ranted in that icily controlled voice of his until I’d want to smack him.”
Mitzi, having seen the foyer, was ready for something else. The cat trotted toward the kitchen. Rose turned to follow her and almost bumped into someone.
“Oh, excuse me.”
The woman, tall and built like a Rubens model, tucked a lock of her shoulder length brown hair behind her ear with a pretty smile. “My fault. You’re Rose, right? Sky’s wife? I’m Cayla.”
Rose glanced over her and her gaze stopped on the book Cayla held. “You like to read.”
“Yeah, the girls tease me about it, but yeah, I like to read.”
“So do I. Would you…I mean, if you want, could you go with me to the bookstore tomorrow?” She remembered she didn’t have change. “Or the library?”
Cayla had an appealing, husky laugh. “A woman after my own heart,” she said. “Sure, I’d be happy to take you. But I warn you, when I go to the library, I stay all day.”
Rose laughed too, relief and delight dancing in her chest. “That’s no problem for me. My mom had to drag me out of the library when I was kid, the way some kids had to be dragged off the playground.” Her breath hitched just for a second when she remembered her mother. “It was my very favorite place.”
“Yes! Finally I have a book buddy. That’s so groovy. Listen.” She held up her book, a rectangle about six inches by eight inches with a brown cloth cover. “This is due back at the library soon. We can go the day after tomorrow to return it. We can’t stay all day this time because I have to be back here by three, okay?”
Rose’s mind stuck on the anachronistic word ‘groovy’ for a second, but she caught her breath at the rest. “Due back? Wait! You can check books out? And take them home?”
“Of course. It’s a library.” The taller woman pursed her lips. “Well, not all books can leave the library. Books about electricity and medicine and plumbing and that kind of stuff can only go to the reading room. But fiction can be checked out.”
Rose couldn’t keep from doing a boogie dance step. New books. Staying here was going to be so much better than she expected.
“Here.” Cayla offered the book. “Have you read this one? It’s a classic.”
Rose took it. A small frown furrowed her brow when she recognized the author’s name, but didn’t recall reading this book. She thought she’d read everything by him. “When was this published?”
“I guess a long time ago. Before I was born. 2021? 2025? What does it say?”
Rose flipped to the page that listed the copyright and her blood stopped in her veins for a moment.
Flames of Ice
, copyright 2025. “You’re right. 2025. Do you have anything else by him? I mean, that was published after 2014. I’ve read everything from the Times Before.”
“I don’t have anything else by him. But I’ve finished that one. Would you like to borrow it? If you don’t finish it before we go to the library you could check it out and finish it.”
“Thank you.” Rose couldn’t have been happier if Cayla had given her a diamond necklace.
A voice, quivery with age, called, “Rose, there you are.”
Rose turned to the fragile lady standing in the doorway to the reception room. “Hello, Ms. Mary.”
Behind her, Cayla spoke quickly. “I’ll see you later, Rose. Enjoy the book.”
Rose smiled over her shoulder at her new friend, holding the book tight, before turning back to the elderly lady.
“Sky sent a message. He’s having supper with the Scott brothers and won’t be back until late.” Ms. Mary’s rose-petal soft hands patted her wrist. “He’d like you to stay upstairs tonight while we have guests. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh. All right.” Was she disappointed? A little, but now she could read tonight. She hadn’t been this excited about a new book in a long time. “I don’t mind. What time do the guests start coming?”
“They shouldn’t come until they’re in bed with the lady of their choice.”
Rose felt her eyes attempt to bulge from her head. She tried to force her blush back, but from the heat in her cheeks she doubted she was successful.
Ms. Mary laughed. “Sorry. The guests begin arriving anytime after six. We serve supper to them at six fifteen. We eat a little after four. That’s early of course, but we also have a snack around seven or eight. Come back to the kitchen, and I’ll introduce you to the evening staff.”
Rose was introduced to Mrs. Nord, a round woman with a doughy face and graying red hair. Unlike Kim, the morning cook, Mrs. Nord was friendly and cheerful. She also accepted help. When Rose asked if there was anything she could do, Mrs. Nord promptly sat her down at a work table with a pile of radishes to be made into rosettes. Rose had learned how to do that at The Eatery, so she spent a comfortable half hour next to Katelyn, who didn’t talk much, but gave Rose shy smiles from time to time as they worked together to create relish trays.
When they finished, they carried their trays out to the ice house to be kept cool until evening. On the way back they met Paint and Stone, standing just outside the door. Katelyn jerked to a stop with a hoarse gasp. She stared at Paint with fright plain on her face. Poor Paint. A lot of women were put off by his scars, and it hurt him. Rose hooked her arm through Katelyn’s and called a cheery greeting.
“What have you two been up to today?” she asked.
Paint’s face was sad when he looked at Katelyn. Probably someone who didn’t know him wouldn’t have recognized that expression, but Rose did. He looked away from Katelyn to smile at her. “We went to find Sara.”
Rose swung her gaze to Stone. “How is she?”
Stone shrugged. “She wasn’t home.”
“She was probably at work at the hospital,” Paint said. “We left a note under the door.”
“You should go again tonight,” Rose suggested.
Stone shook his head. “I’m patrolling tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
Rose frowned at him. “Well, good luck.”
He relaxed enough to smile at her. “Thanks.”
Katelyn gave her a subtle but unmistakable tug. Rose was sure she wanted to get away from the men. She gave into the tug, but as they passed the men, Paint leaned forward and inhaled. Katelyn’s eyes flared wide and she nearly pushed Rose over trying to get away.