"Good morning!" I cheered at Charlie as we met at the diner the very next morning. I had slept with dreams of having him beside me in bed, of him and I being married and having kids and it was a rush to know that it will all happen in due time.

"Morning little one. I got your coffee in the works." He told me and I slipped into the booth and heard loud laughs around the place as he met me in the middle and gave me a quick peck.

"So are we eating as well? I'm not really a morning eater." I told him and he smiled like he didn't know what that meant.

"I'll take my pancakes to go." He told the waitress moments after I explained that I never really ate in the morning.

"No we can wait." I waved it and the waitress, who was the other bartender Calliope, or Callie, just nodded at me and smiled slowly.

"She's not going to bring them to-go is she?" He asked me and I shook my head and he sighed. "They listen to you because they know you." He told me and I just laughed.

"That's Callie, she works at the bar too. She is best friends with Claire's little sister- not sure if you met her officially." I knew she was there when he and Jason came into my shop, but if they got each other's names I didn't know.

"Darcy if I'm right. Very quick meeting at the engagement party." He told me and I just nodded.  "She's nice."

"Yeah." I smiled. Darcy was a Lion shifter, whereas Claire was a leopard. I knew that leopard were actually dwindling in the feline shifter community, so to be one seemed to fill Claire with some kind of importance, not to mention that most were only females. They were treated like queens and princesses their entire lives, and it was no wonder that Claire only wanted the best for everything.

I got some cream for my coffee and stirred it slowly, trying not to laugh as Charlie stuffed his face, getting some syrup on his chin and even a little drizzle on his shirt and I knew he didn't even notice.

I sipped two cups of coffee as Charlie finished eating and also had a cup of straight black, very strong coffee.

After a half hour at the diner he and I walked arm in arm up to the old house, and as he unlocked it and opened the door I got a better look at all of it.

I missed the wood walls and wood floors. The entire house had always been beautiful and I used to think that, since I was dating Jason, we might get to live here one day.

Charlie went upstairs, making sure they were steady and I went to the kitchen and had a look around. There wasn't a fridge, the large family table was missing, some cookbooks were thrown to the floor in a heap where a skinny shelf used to be.

I saw a rag under some so I tugged it out and started to wipe some things down, the windows and counters. The large oven was still in place, looking just as nice once all the build up was taken off.

I looked around again before going to the next room, the one that used to be Jason's fathers study.

It was completely empty. The large book shelves that had been built into the wall were still there, the books all gone. The mahogany desk and chair were gone, the small tables and chairs where his mother used to come in to just read or spend time with his dad were gone. The plants were left and dead on the floor. The file cabinets were gone too.

"Everything is closed but there is a small hole in the roof." I heard Charlie's voice and turned to see him rubbing his hands on his jeans.

"Big fix?" I asked and he shrugged before smiling at me. "What?"

"I want to know what you think." He encouraged and I looked around the room again.

"I can't get over the face that he took all the furniture and didn't take the memories. I barely have a couple pictures of my mom and I would cry for months if they were suddenly gone." I shook my head and looked around.

"Too many memories?" He asked and I sent him a small smile before walking over to him.

"I've always loved this house. It was beautiful with all the things.... but empty it's amazing." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in tight before leaning down and pressing his forehead to mine. "Do you want to make this into an Inn?"

"Yes." I bit my lip and smiled wide and looked around. "Might have to wait until next season to even get customers since it's already the first week of December." I shrugged at the time and looked around.

"Nonsense." He kisses my temple and pulled away with a smirk. "Just you watch how fast things can be done for you." He told me, he pulled out his phone and I looked around again before wandering up the stairs when he started making calls.

I opened all the big rooms and knew I would need to dust even more. Letting the doors stay open and tried to imagine them with 'family rooms' and honeymoon suit.

And I figured down in the old office will be a small cafe eating room with a giant library. The kitchen would have a couple tables and probably a bigger fridge. There would be a small menu based on family meal options as well as a simple menu based on breakfast lunch and dinner, and also an option for take out at the local diner.

"Shall this be the caretakers room?" I turned to Charlie and smiled slowly and shook my head.

"No. I have a house." I told him and looked around. "I was actually thinking honeymoon suit." I told him and he nodded slowly.

"Totally cliche with a vibrating heart shaped bed?" He chuckled and I laughed and shook my head.

"No. Something simple but with an option for better I guess. Like special order." I shrugged, not even knowing what that meant.

"Like silk sheets and rose petals and candles?" Charlie asked and while that sounded amazing to me, I wasn't sure that it was for everyone.

"Something like that." I told him and he nodded and looked around the main room before looking back to me. "And the other rooms can have various sizes of bed too." I told him with a shrug before he took my hand.

"I have gotten in touch with a company who is going to come out and fix the roof as quick and as effective as possible." Charlie bounced his eyebrows and I just walked to him, slipping my arms around his waist and setting my chin on his chest.

"Are you sure you want to be stuck with me as a mate?" I asked him and he smiled down at me, his arms around me tightening just a bit before he leaned down to attach his lips to mine.

I hummed and melted into him, it seemed to happen every single time. He pulled away quickly and smiled. "I have a small confession as well."

"And what is that? Secretly married?" I asked and narrowed my eyes before he laughed.

"I was going to move here. I had decided to move here to be closer to my only family left. I have catalogs of different furniture back at Jason's place since I was going to stay there after the wedding."  He told me and I just bit my lip. "I will go and get all of them and we can look through them over lunch and get them delivered as soon as possible." He kissed the corner of my mouth and rubbed over my lower back.

"Okay... but I need to clean. Just the dirty spots." I giggled at his exasperated looked around and while I went to my house to get the cleaning supplies he went to get the catalogs he had stored away.

I grabbed a mop, pine sol, dusting rags, and a broom. I got to the house before Charlie and I moved  to start cleaning right away. Dusting first, then sweeping before getting the first couple rooms mopped as well.

"What do you think you're doing?" I paused as I heard Claire's voice and I paused before turning to her.

"Cleaning. Why are you here?"

"Why aren't you making my dresses? I've been waiting for you to open the dam dress shop doors since 10 this morning! I don't like to be kept waiting!"

"Didn't your fiancé tell you? He threatened to fire me so I quit." I told her and she screeched.

"No! He said I had to use you so I made you make the best dresses! You are not fired and if I have to lock you in that-"

"You better back off Claire. I don't have to put up with you any more. I don't have to act like I like you as if my life depends on it. I'm not a feline shifter that will bow at your feet and do what you order! I am not making your three ridiculous too extravagant dresses!" I got in her face when she started to advance on me, she had nerve to shake her finger like I was some kid who accidentally tripped her or did something else naughty.

"How dare you! What are you even doing in Jason's house? I can get you arrested, if you even lay one finger on me you little runt I'll shred you like paper." I saw her eyes changing color, her nails seemed a little sharper and before I could react Charlie was shifted into his Yeti state, towering behind her and dragged her away.

She had completed her shift in no time and he stood in front of me, his white fur was silky smooth, his muscles multiplied by 10, and his height had him leaning over so his head didn't go though the second floor.

"This isn't Jason's house Claire. It's Charlie's and he wants you to leave." I told the large cat as she hissed and paced in front of the door.  "You leave before I call the sheriff." I told her and as she shifted back, clothes and all, she turned her nose up, glaring and she walked out stomping all the way.

"What the hell was that about?" Charlie asked once he had shifted back to his human skin.

"She came in here and demanded to know why I wasn't working on her wedding dresses." I told him with a shrug and went to finish dusting the second room I had started to work on.

"And why did she say she would shred you like paper?" He asked and I sighed.

"Because I told her I didn't have to do what she said or act like I liked her." I told him and he shook his head before I realized his entire body was still tense.

There was one time that I saw Jason's father pissed off, and the moment his mother touched him, it was like he instantly calmed down. It was part of their mate bond.

I walked slowly to Charlie, first taking his hand before making him wrap his arms around me again as I hugged him and he relaxed, only a bit before kissing my temple.

"I don't want you to get hurt. If she had shifted-"

"I have my magic. I know how to protect myself." I laid my head on his chest and he started to relax more and more. Less than five minutes of silence and we had started to sway. 

"What can you do?" He asked softly, pulling away, making me look up at him.

"I can create things as long as I can picture how it's made with things around me. Like if there was a sheet of metal and a table, my magic could make a sword or knife in seconds if not faster." I told him with a shrug and looked around the room. "I can make things float and do what I want them to, one thing at a time though. I'm no Matilda."

"The catalogs are probably a little wet I dropped them on the porch." He told me and I watched him walk out, I moved to the floor and leaned against the wall as he came back inside. He shut and locked the door, quickly and moved into the same room. "Stay here and please just look things over."

He handed me the heavy books before the knock at the front door came, his eyes showed anger but he turned and left before getting right out the door, not letting the person look in let alone step closer.

I could take a good guess who it was, but I was going to stay out of it. It was between Charlie and Jason now. I couldn't face him, and I didn't want to.

I looked at all the beds and looked at the prices and tried to think about budgets and what Charlie might set as his limits. I earmarked a couple pages before moving onto another book.

I was on the fourth catalog when the front door opened again, this time Charlie was calm, a small smile on his face as he noticed me and cane to not only sit with me, but he picked me up and put me in his lap.

"Now, tell me what you're thinking for this room."