Rodney: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance by Kathi Barton (i wanna iguana read aloud TXT) 📗

send him to. I don’t know what she’ll do when he’s out of the house. And I know that Dru will miss him. Even as young as he is, he lights up when he sees you and Fletcher coming to him.” Grandda said he loved that little man. “It shows too. Rebel and I are waiting to get some of this magic that we have under control before we bring a baby into the mixture. It’s scary enough having this much power. The probability of having a child as strong as we are is huge. I want to know what I’m doing before I have to try and figure out what an infant might be able to do.”

“Are you two going to sit out here all evening, or do you think you could come in and join us for dinner?” Rodney kissed Rebel when she scolded them. “Grandda, you’re a bad influence on Rodney. The trouble the two of you get into is growing daily. Did you get the things worked out with the gazebo?”

“Grandda said we should go with not just white, but a couple of other colors too. Like a tan and a nice shade of cream. That’ll be nice colors for whoever wants to use it.” Rodney followed Rebel and Grandda into the house as he continued. “Trenton thinks that since we have the original plans, we should use them, then make an extension off the back of it that’s much larger. Wider and taller, I was thinking. He seems to think that with the idea of using it as a backdrop for photos, they’ll need the extra room there.”

“I love that idea.” After they were all seated at the table, he noticed that Shannon wasn’t joining them. “She’s sleeping. With my help. I don’t think she’s slept all that much since they arrived here two weeks ago. A good night’s sleep will make her feel better about everything. At least I believe it will.”

“That’s a good thing you did for her, Rebel. I thought she was looking a little peaked too.” Grandda poured himself some tea as he told them about his plans for the money he’d been given. “I think I’d like to see a bit of the world. I’ve not been anywhere special in a long time. I don’t know if I’d want to camp it a little or not, but it’s an option. Also, as a senior, I get a good discount on air travel, as well as ships, should I want to go that way.”

“I love that idea.” So did Rodney, and he told him that as well. “You’ll need to have a good camera to take lots of pictures you can send to us all—also, a passport. I’ll see how to go about that. Unless you already know.”

“Nope. I’ve never had the occasion to need one, so I’ve not the foggiest on how to make that work. Thank you, Rebel. That’d be really helpful. I was going to see if Rodney here could help me pick out some luggage. The stuff I have is older than any of you people.” Rodney told him he’d love to help out. “I knew you would. Well, let’s eat this here fine meal. I got some figures to work on with my paying job money.”

Rodney knew he’d hired five men to help with the grocery part of his business. They would go shopping for someone and then take it to them. They were also, from what he’d heard, making good tips, something no one had thought of. Also, Grandda had set up a few men, younger than the others, to shovel snow from driveways and walkways. Grandda was having people clamoring to work with him. And twice that many people asking for their help. Yet another reason to feel proud of his grandda.

When dinner was over, they settled in the living room. It wasn’t yet chilly enough to have a fire, but he could tell that Rebel wanted one. The house had free gas to it, so burning the fireplace didn’t cost anything. It just created a little too much heat. As soon as he had it on and was seated again, Rodney looked over at his grandda. The man was sound asleep.

“He ordered the roses to be put in next year. They were your mom’s favorite, he told me. There is also wisteria that will be planted that will be in full bloom in a few years. Less if I were to help it along.” They both watched Grandda snore softly. “I’ve been looking around town, and I think there are a lot of improvements that can be made that won’t cost the bank. I know there is supposedly a lot of money, but we don’t need to replace everything when the older stuff is still good enough. Not good enough, I guess, but it’s weathered this town this long, so I’m sure that it’ll last for a good long time.”

“That’s what we were talking about at the gazebo. Grandda suggested that we use the wood we’re going to have to take down for some park signs. You know, keep out of the flowers and such. He also suggested we could put the names on them for the people that donated over a hundred dollars. He said more people would help out if they could see their names in print.” Rebel laid her head on his shoulder. “How is Shannon doing? I mean, she was pretty upset when I saw her today.”

“She’s doing well. I had her talking about her mom before she went up to rest. They were incredibly close, the two of them.” Rodney said that was what Grandda had told him. “I think that once she rests, she’ll be able to handle just about anything thrown at her. I offered for one of us to go with her when she has to sort through her mom’s things. I would think it would be difficult for her.”

At some point, they both must