“Did you make this?” the woman asked, looking over at him.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“With wood and nails,” he said.
The woman laughed and shook her head. It was a nice sound: her laughter. He wanted to make her laugh over and over again.
“No,” she giggled. Then she ran her hands over the railing, touching the wood. “How did you learn how to do this?”
“I just figured it out,” he told her.
“You must be very talented.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Just look at all of this. You crafted something truly incredible.”
“I wish my brothers liked the treehouse as much as you do,” Declan said with a chuckle. He turned toward the basket and grabbed his clothing. Although she’d seen him naked, and she’d seemed to like the way he looked when he was naked, he realized that he should probably put some clothes on. Something about being naked around a practical stranger felt a little uncomfortable, even for a shifter.
“You have brothers?”
“Two of them,” Declan confirmed. He tugged his pants on and then started to button his shirt. “Brian is the oldest. Christopher and I are next.”
“You have a twin?”
“We’re triplets, actually. Brian just always makes a big deal about the fact that he’s the oldest. So, when you meet him, be ready to deal with that kind of snarky comment.”
He couldn’t believe he’d basically just told her he was going to introduce her to his family, but he knew it was coming. He was going to need his brothers to help him kill Kellen. The fact that Brotella had been allowed to exist this long in the world was bad enough. He wasn’t going to live much longer. Not after what he’d done to this sweet lady.
The woman looked excited. Well, that was interesting. Declan knew that her parents had passed away. She’d told him that. She’d also said that she was all alone in the world, so it was possible that she didn’t have brothers or sisters.
“Do you have siblings?”
“No, it’s just me.”
Declan reached into the basket and pulled out his tablet and other supplies that he’d brought to Kellen’s. He wasn’t looking forward to checking his email. He was certain he’d have a couple of nasty messages from Kellan, but he didn’t particularly care about that. The only thing he wanted was to get the woman inside and make sure she was safe. Then he was going to gather his brothers, and they’d go slaughter the monster who tried to hurt this sweet girl.
“What’s your name?” He hadn’t asked her before. They’d been together the better part of the afternoon, and he hadn’t bothered to find out who she was.
“Zoa.”
“I’m Declan,” he told her. “It’s very nice to meet you, Zoa.”
“Likewise.”
It was a pretty name, and she was a pretty girl. She was dirty and injured and messy, but he’d help her get cleaned up. He would take care of her. He was suddenly filled with the totally overwhelming urge to just protect her. Where had that come from?
“All right. Let’s go inside.”
He led the way up the little staircase. Zoa followed Declan into the treehouse where he lived, and she gasped as she looked around. She clapped her hands together, and Declan was reminded of a little child getting a special gift on Christmas.
“It seems like you’re a fan,” he chuckled.
“More than a fan. I think it’s safe to say that I’m a super fan!” Zoa walked around the room, touching things and running her hands over the little pictures and trinkets and shelves. She grabbed a book and touched it carefully before setting it back down. Then she looked at a picture of Declan’s family.
“That’s my mom,” he told her. The picture Zoa was holding was taken just months ago. Declan, Christopher, Brian, and their mother had all gone on a wonderful hike together. They’d snapped a picture after to commemorate their adventure.