Lindsey's POV
I finish my shift then head to my apartment to get ready for my date. I greet my white Pomsky Kal-EL. He is so funny and adorable. I text Paul when I left work. He apparently was in the area. I finish changing and doing my makeup. He texts and says he is outside. I walk down and see him sitting in a black truck.
"Hey," I greet when he comes out to greet me.
"Hey, you look beautiful," he says opening the door and helping me in.
"You do too," I say when he gets in his side. "So, where are we going?"
"There's a nice Italian restaurant near by." He says.
"Sounds good to me," I reply.
"He drives us to the restaurant and leads me into it. We get seated.
"So, how did you decide you wanted to become a vet?" he asks after we ordered our food.
"I've always loved animals. Growing up in Canada in Churchill one of the closest places to polar bears I gained a loving for the giants. They are so misunderstood, so when I graduated, I went into vet school." I tell him.
"How did you end up down here then?" He asks.
"That was less my plan and more of a happy accident. Once I finished my residency in Churchill on the rehabilitation center, I had no training om domestic animals. I was asked by the zoo here after they heard of me to be their new Arctic programs vet. So, I jumped at the opportunity. Kal-EL and I moved, and we've been here for three years now." I say.
"Kal-EL?" he asks.
"My puppy. He's a sweetie." I tell him. "So, what about you? What's your story?"
"I live with my dad. My mom ran away when I was young." He replies.
"I'm sorry to hear that." I say in response.
"It's alright. It was a long time ago. Well, I loved to fight growing up, so Sam took me under his wing and channeled that anger into protecting the community." He tells me with a shrug.
"Wow, that's incredible. Do you still do it?" I ask in awe.
"Yeah, more people have joined now. They aren't just my friends. They're my family, now." He says passionately. "I work in construction with Sam who owns the company."
"If you guys are okay with building new zoo enclosures as the zoo, I can give them your bid," I offer.
"I'll talk to Sam about that. But somehow, I think he will be up for the new adventure." He replies with a smile.
"With it being a zoo bids are pretty high so if you keep it in the medium price range toy should be getting the contract." I offer advice.
"You know a lot about the ins and outs of the zoo here," he teases.
"Well, shouldn't I? I work there." I tease back. "I'm also good with numbers. So, my opinion was asked about the contracts. They want a better tunnel for the bears and seals. Offer more options like that so people can get closer with the animals. Truly see how amazing they are."
"You looked over the bids?" he asks.
"Yes, I did." I say with a chuckle.
"Is there anything you can't do?" He asks.
"Draw, I can't draw." I say laughing, he laughs with me.
"So, how was work today?" he asks.
"Work was really good. There was this hot guy who asked me on a date." I say jokingly.
"Oh really? Did you say yes?" He asks joking back.
We both laugh and our food arrives, and we both eat.
"So, you like here?" I ask.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asks.
"No, I'm just wondering what it's like." I say with a shrug.
"It's nice. They have nice beaches there for whale watching and surfing. Great cliffs for cliff diving," he tells me.
"Well, it seems like I should visit," I say.
"You should," he replies smiling.
"Dogs allowed on the beaches?" I ask.
"Yeah, they." He says.
"Guess Kal-EL and I should make a day of it." I say.
"Friday night, we are having a bonfire. Would you like to go? You can crash as Sam's place. Kal-EL can come as well." He asks.
"Sure, I would love to," I reply.
I know Kal-EL will love the beach. His phone goes of just as we finish up!
"Guessing you have to go." I suggest.
"No, just one of my brothers asking if I can take his security shift, tonight while he goes and visits his not girlfriend." He sighs in frustration.
"I'm guessing you don't want to." I say.
"No, it's not that. Well, it is and more." He says.
"Would you like to talk about it?" I ask in concern.
"I always take his shift. I usually don't mind as I don't have anything to do most often. But he's going to see a girl he's obsessed with. She keeps stringing him along even though she has a boyfriend. Laat year her boyfriend dumped her and left her in the forest, and she stopped functioning. After months she started hanging out with Jake, my brother. She started getting better he thought she would give him a chance. Well, now her boyfriends back and ditched him except for when she wants something." He just spills out clearly this has been bothering him for a while. He also seems to be upset for hiss brother. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just dump that on you."
"It's alright. It was bothering you." I wave him off. "Well, for today tell him no. I would suggest texting you other brothers to say no unless they really want the shift. All you all are doing in enabling him to go see her every time he wants. It will also allow him to get some space from her hopefully and get charity.
She seems like she wants to be with both your brother and her boyfriend. She is being possessive which is toxic. Instead of getting over her boyfriend after he dumped her, she latched on harder and dragged your brother in as well. She want's it all but can't have it all."
"I've never thought of it that way," he says.
"Well, that's the way I see it." I reply.
"I guess he just doesn't know what's good for him." Paul says sighing after his phone goes off again.
I take his hand in mine and feel a shock go through them. I ignore it to comfort him.
"I'm guessing he's still a teenager," I guess.
"Yeah, he's sixteen," he replies.
"That's why. His hormones are going crazy. They will calm and so will he," I say it all making sense, now.
"He's upset that I won't take his shift," Paul says a little upset.
"Well, you don't have to. You had made plan." I say. He pays for dinner, and we leave. "Would you like to come in and spend some of the evening with Kal and I?"
"I'd love to," He agrees sparking right up.
We head up to my apartment. Kal gets so excited to see me. He then gets interested in Paul. Paul and I both sit on the floor. He puts out his hand for Kal. Kal runs right over running his head into Paul's hand. I guess Kal likes him. I always trust his opinion. I guess he passes the Kal test. We decide to watch a movie. Paul spends the movie with a little dog in his lap making him look even hotter. Kal looks completely at home in his lap. The movie ends and I notice it's late.
"You can crash here if you want. That way you can head home in the morning. I don't work till eight." I say.
"Thanks, I'll let Sam know I'll be late for work." He says.
I invite him to my bed. I wake up oner heating. He has curled up around me. I look down and see Kal sleeping on his feet. He wakes up and I make breakfast for us both. He kisses me good-bye and heads to work.
Paul's POV
I get to work late after spending the night with Lindsey.
"You're late," Jared says jokingly when I finally get to the job site.
"I spent the night with Lindsey." I say putting on my tool belt.
"You slept with her already?" he asks.
"No, we just slept no sex. We went back to her place so I could avoid Jake. We watched a movie it got late, and she said I could sleepover," I explain to my best friend.
"Why did you want us to say not to Jake, anyway?" Jared asks.
"That's what I was wondering." Sam says walking up behind me when he arrives.
"Lindsey says that we are enabling him, by constantly taking his shifts. Even if we don't want them. She also thinks that the more time he spends away the more clarity he will get." I say.
"It didn't work last time," Sam points out.
"Because she was harassing him," I explain. "He never actually got a break from her,"
"He also now knows for sure that she won't ever go for him." Jared adds in.
"So, how was your night?" Sam asks while we are building knowing we can hear him.
"It was good. She is very smart and caring. She has a dog too. A small little guy, but he's a complete suck," I tell the guys.
"So, she's coming Friday?" Jared asks.
"Yeah, she's gonna spend the night as well. Mind if we crash at your place Sam?" I ask not wanting her to be around my drunk of a dad.
"Sure, I know Emily will love it. We getting a puppy guest too?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, Kal will be coming." I reply.
"Clair will love that," Sam says.
"How's settling?" I ask as her parents gave her up to Sam and Emily.
"After the day with Lindsey pretty good. She would not stop talking about animals and Lindsey when she woke up." Sam says chuckling. "She wanted to go back to the zoo today. I'll have to tell her she will see Lindsey on Friday. She will be over the moon.
"Oh, I forgot to say. The zoo is looking for construction. It's a nice big, long project. They are also wanting a rehabilitation 0center built Lindsey says is we want to put in a bid she will hand it in." I tell him suddenly remembering.
"Really?" Sam asks shocked.
"She said if we charge on the medium end for price, we should get the bid." I tell him knowing how much that will help us.
"She has no idea how much this helps us does she?" Jared asks his eyes getting a little misty.
Being able to provide for his imprint is all we want to be able to do. We all go hungry a lot because we eat so much. Sam more then the others so the extra money will go a long way.
"No, she said she had a good feeling about me. Kal apparently confirmed it. Turns out if Kal-EL didn't like me she wouldn't have let me stay over." I tell them with a chuckle.
"Did you say Kal-EL as in superman?" Jared asks showing us his nerdy side. He loves comics and superhero stuff.
"Yeah, that's her dogs name." I say.
"I was thinking of starting to do training activities for the pups. TO help them learn and not get bored." Sam tells us.
"Picked that up from Lindsey, huh?" I ask laughing.
"Yeah, I thought it was a good idea. Turns out your imprint isn't just good for you but for the tribe and pack as a whole." Sam points out.
"Well, if Seth is going to change then that will be useful." I say. Seth is starting to show signs of phasing but he's only fourteen.
"Oh, is Mr. Fuller still looking for a job?" Jared asks.
"Yeah, that I know of," Sam replies.
"You could hire him for the zoo project if we get it. Being on the council he is in on the secret, so we don't have to hide our skills around him. We will also be able to afford it being that this is a long-term bigger project." Jared suggests.
"Eric Donner as well. He's looking for work. I heard he's struggling to provide for his kids." Sam says with a sigh.
"Embry's also looking for part time work. He say's after high school he wants to put himself through online university." I tell the guys.
"So, we will have two more full time and one more part timer. That will be good. Tell Lindsey I'll make the bid tonight." Sam says to me.
"I'll let her know. She says she can look over the numbers for you as well. She's good with numbers." I say proudly.
"Yeah, it would be good to have a second set of eyes." Sam says.