Page 2 of Rutger

“It’s too late now.” It was, and he wasn’t even the least bit mad about it. “So the two of you will live in your expensive house and be happily ever after.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” He couldn’t help but think that the fates could have been a little easier on him, but he really wasn’t mad. He was thrilled to have a house of his own and a mate. He decided not to get too overboard in his thinking. It might not be his mate, or he might not get the house. When his cell phone rang, it was Debbie.

“The house is yours, Mr. Smith.” He nodded to Rance, and he stood up and did a little dance around the living room. “I have to say, I thought it was going to go for a lot more when the bidding started coming in. But you have it for eight point five, and I hope you enjoy it. I have your paperwork here, and I’ll meet you at the realtor’s office in the morning to fill out the rest of the paperwork.”

“I’d like to meet Ms. Richardson.” She said that would be up to her. “I thought as much. But I’d like to get with her and see what other things she can tell me about the house.”

“She only lived in the place for five days. Her attorney only just found her a week ago.” He wondered at that but didn’t say anything. “A Mr. Gloom was helping her. Did you know him?”

“Mr. Gloom, did you say?” He looked at Rance. “Did you meet this man? I mean, he must have worked very hard in getting her the house so that she could sell it. Do you think I can talk to him too? I’m always looking for a good lawyer.”

He knew as soon as he heard the name that he really had been played by the fates and faeries. He knew Gloom. He’d been one of the faeries that had been helping him around the house for the last several weeks. Just until he sold it. Now here he was, talking to his future mate and setting up so that he could have a house that he wanted.

“I wouldn’t know how to get in touch with him. You could ask Ms. Richardson. I’m sure that she has all the information on him that you’d need.” Debbie sounded confused, but she didn’t say anything more about meeting him. “I’ll meet you in the office in the morning, and you can go to the bank from there. It’s been my pleasure working with you, Mr. Smith. I’m so happy you were able to get the home of your dreams.”

“Thank you so much.” He was so excited that he did his own little dance around the living room so that he could enjoy himself. After getting off the phone, he put it down and hugged Rance. He’d been there for him, and he was happy that he could share the experience with someone that he really liked. Now all he had to do was fill out the paperwork, and he’d own the house of his dreams.

“I will tell you that it will feel like a house until you find your mate. She’ll make it so much warmer just being there.” He asked if Kimber had done that to his home. “Yes. I thought it was perfect until she came along and warmed it up for me. I just don’t know what I’d do without her in my life, Rutger. You’ll feel the same way.”

“If she’s not pissy with me. Not that I care. I’m excited about having a mate and plan to do all kinds of things with her that will make her love me right away.” He didn’t know if it would work out that way, but he was hoping. “I can’t wait to meet her. Debbie is going to arrange it for me tomorrow.”

He didn’t say anything about Gloom. He was going to do some investigating of that on his own. It had to be the faerie that was making things happen, and he was hoping to talk to him as well. To ask him why he thought that he couldn’t find the woman on his own, for starters.

~*~

Katie didn’t understand why the man would want to meet her. She’d put the house up for sale, and it wasn’t her fault that he’d paid so much for it. But Debbie had assured her that he wasn’t upset with the price he’d had to pay, but she didn’t know. She’d made over eight million dollars on the sale of the house, more than she had wanted, and now he was going to be pissed off with her about it. Mr. Gloom told her too that she had nothing to worry about.

“He’ll just want to talk to you about the things in the house. You did leave things behind, didn’t you?” She said that she had no use for all the furniture that was in the house. “There you go. He’s a good man and will want you to take anything you wish from the house when you leave.”

“Why didn’t he just say that to Debbie? I mean, there’s nothing here that I can take out of the house that will fit in my place. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to take other than the pool, and we all know that’s not possible to take.” He asked her if she’d enjoyed it. “I have always loved to swim when I was younger. And now that I had the opportunity to swim in my own pool, I hate to say it, but that alone would have made me keep the house. Even though I couldn’t afford it. I could now. But only because I sold the house where the pool is.”

“You’ll meet the new owner, and things will be good for you.” She asked him what he was talking about. “The fates. You said you believed in the fates, did you not? Well, they might be able to give you everything you wish, and the pool as well.”

“What have you done?” Gloom looked nervous. While he played with his pink and green paisley tie, she wondered again how his other friends at the law firm put up with his suits. Today’s was blue and green plaid with sparkles all over it. “Have you set me up with this man in some way?”

“No. My goodness, what a thing to say to me. I’m just a good man that helped you get yourself some money.” She didn’t believe him. She had no idea why, but she had a feeling that something was off about this entire thing, and she was going to be in trouble for selling the house. “You’re going to be happy now. You said yourself that you have enough money that you can live the life that you wish.” He laughed.

It sounded so much like bells tinkling that she looked around to make sure it wasn’t a wind chime. There was something about him that made her feel good to be around him. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it was something. Now this with the man who had bought her house.

“What do you know about him?” He sputtered around like he wasn’t sure how to answer her. “You know something. What is it? Is he going to back out of the deal now that we’ve all accepted the bid? Or is he going to not be able to get the financing needed to purchase the house? Something is going on, and I want you to tell me right now.”

“He’s your mate.” Katie asked what that meant. “He’s the one fated to be your mate and lover for the rest of your life. And when you meet him, you’ll not be able to tell him any lies.”

“You’re not making any sense. Why would I want to be with someone that I can never lie to?” He said there was more. “Spill it. You’ve been dicking around with me for far too long. I want to know the truth, and I want you to tell me now.”

“He’s a vampire of considerable age.” She said she didn’t believe in vampires. “They’re all over the town if you know where to look. And he’s the richest of them all.”

“So? He has money. What does that have to do with me?” He told her that she’d be pampered for the rest of her life. “I don’t want to be pampered. I want you to tell me what you know about this person. And don’t tell me that he’s a vampire. I know there are no such things. Next thing you’ll tell me is that there are faeries. I don’t believe in them either.”

“I’m a faerie. And you believe in me.” She asked him again what he was talking about. “I’ve been working with the faerie queen on getting the two of you together. You two were to come together several times in the last two years. You kept missing one another.”

“I don’t believe you.” He told her that they were to have met at the bank one day, and Lord Rutger was her savior. “What happened at the bank where he was supposed to be my savior? Did the place get robbed or something?”

“Yes. You were there too with him. He saved your life and that of the rest of the people in the bank. As it is, neither of you showed up, and the bank wasn’t robbed. I guess it would have been a waste of time or something.” Again, she told him that she didn’t believe him. “I swear to you on my lady wife’s heart that I’m telling you the truth.”

She didn’t want to believe him. She just couldn’t. There were faeries and vampires? Next thing he’d be telling her that there were wolves and other shifters around. She’d, of course, read about them in books, but nothing like this had happened to her before.

“I’m going to go to this meeting, and I’m going to tell him about the house. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. I’ve read about vampires, and they’re a group of people that I don’t want to get to know. They use sex like a weapon, and I’m not into that sort of thing.” She got up to get dressed, hating that she didn’t have the room that she’d had in her mansion. “Why did you come to me with that house only to have it taken away from me? I think that’s about as cruel as you could be to someone.”