Jupiter (Were Zoo Book 2) (11 page)

“
The question is how fast
can we finish this so it looks real?” Jupiter asked.

Amadeus shrugged. “If we
get lots of help, we can crank it out in a month, but that’s with
a
lot
of help.
The barn already has plumbing and wiring, so at least that part is
done.”

“
A month is fine,” Celeste
said, looking up at Jupiter. “We can have dinner with my parents
next week, and then I can invite them here to visit when the
apartment is finished.”

He wrapped his arms around her and
drew her close. “I’m sorry you have to lie to your
parents.”

“
Don’t be. I don’t like
lying, but it keeps you and the pride safe. Besides, it’s not just
about us, it’s about our future. Our kids will be living here in
the zoo, and so will my bestie’s. I want them safe,
too.”

“
Me too.”

“
So a lie like this is okay
in my book. It’s for a very good cause.”

“
I’ll find some plans
online I can copy and then I’ll get a supply list going. We can
start tomorrow,” Amadeus said.

As they left the barn, Jupiter took
Celeste’s hand and asked, “Want to go for a walk?”

“
Sure.” They said goodbye
to the pride and headed to the main path to walk around the
park.

“
Tell me about your family.
I want to know them before I meet them,” he said.

“
Oh, okay. Well, my parents
are Joanie and Roger. They were high-school sweethearts and got
married after my dad graduated from college. My mom stayed home to
raise me. She loves to work around the house, gardening in the
summer and knitting in the winter. She’s always working on one
project or another.”

“
You’re an only
child?”

“
She said she and my dad
only ever wanted one child. They were both only children. I was
always jealous of my friends who had siblings.”

Thinking of his brothers, he snorted.
“It doesn’t always live up to the hype.”

She laughed. “I like your brothers.
Adriana and I have been friends since grade school, so I think of
her as a sister. We call each other’s parents Mom and
Dad.”

“
When did you and Adriana
move in together?” They stopped walking in the center of a wooden
bridge that overlooked a manmade pond.

“
Adriana’s parents moved to
Florida during our senior year of high school. They wanted her to
come with them, but she didn’t want to leave, so my parents offered
to let her move in while she finished school. After high school, I
went to work at the nail salon as a receptionist, and she went to
cosmetology school. We moved out of my parents’ home after she
graduated, and have been living together ever since.”

He kissed the top of her head as he
pulled her close. “I’m glad you have her in your life, and I’m
doubly glad that she found Zane, so you two can see each other
often.”

“
It would be hard to be
apart from her, but I’d do it for you.” She tipped her face up so
he could look into her eyes. “Being with you is the single greatest
thing that’s ever happened to me. Making a life with you…it’s like
a dream come true.”

* * *

The following week, Jupiter
and Celeste headed to her parents’ home. Her parents had been
supportive of her new job, and curious about Jupiter. She was
calling him her ‘boyfriend,’ a human term that females gave to
males when they were in relationships. He thought the term was kind
of silly – he was a
man
after all and not a
boy
– but he was doing his best to
not roll his eyes every time she talked to her parents and the word
came up in conversation.

He wasn’t normally nervous. He was a
big cat, after all. There wasn’t a whole lot that worried him. But
as he pulled to a stop in front of her parents’ home and turned off
the engine, nerves grabbed hold of him and refused to let go. He
could admit, at least to himself, that he was definitely concerned
about meeting her parents. The roaring part of him didn’t care a
bit if her parents liked him, but the rest of him craved their
approval. It would make Celeste happy if her parents liked him and
were happy for them, and he was determined to do whatever it took
to make that happen.

If they were both shifters, he
wouldn’t have trouble getting her family to like him. They would be
thrilled their daughter was mated to the second-in-command of the
pride. But her parents would never know about that part of their
lives, so he had to impress them by…being himself.

“
They’ll love you,” she
whispered as they walked up the sidewalk.

“
How do you always seem to
know what I’m thinking?”

“
Because I love you. It’s
natural to be nervous when you meet the parents of the person who
holds your heart.”

“
Were you nervous when you
met my dad?”

“
Yeah. Not only is he your
dad, but he’s also…you know, the
boss,
” she said, making a soft
roaring sound.

He laughed. “He and my family love you
because of what you are to me, but also now because they’ve gotten
to know you and think you’re as awesome as I’m always saying you
are.”

“
The same goes for my
parents. I’ve been telling them about you for a week. They know
we’re serious, and they accept it.”

She twisted the knob and opened the
door, and the scent of roasting meat and vegetables made his cat
perk up. Celeste inhaled and sighed. “I miss this about living at
home.”

Footsteps moved toward them, and he
saw her parents approaching. Celeste stepped away from him, but
didn’t release her grip on his hand. She hugged her mom first, and
then her dad, and said, “This is my boyfriend, Jupiter Ross. These
are my parents, Joanie and Roger.”

Roger stuck his hand out and Jupiter
shook it, careful to measure out his strength so he didn’t squeeze
too hard. “It’s nice to meet you,” Jupiter said.

Joanie ignored his extended hand and
hugged him. “I feel like I already know you, the way Celeste is
always carrying on about you.”

“
Mom,” Celeste said as she
blushed.

“
And get used to the hugs,”
Joanie said. “I’m a hugger.”

“
My dad was a single
parent, so I like that you like to hug,” he said as she stepped
away.

“
I’m sorry. Did your mother
pass away?” Joanie asked.

“
No, she and my father
parted amicably, and he raised me.”

Celeste leaned into him with a soft
sigh, and he recognized the action as one she did when she thought
something he said was sad.

“
Well, it’s a good thing we
live close, then,” Joanie said with a smile. “I hope you like pot
roast.”

“
She’s been cooking up a
storm,” Roger said with a chuckle.

The delicious scents increased as they
walked down the hallway to the bright kitchen. “I just had your
father redo the walls,” Joanie said to Celeste as she shooed them
to the large table. “I wanted roosters, but he said we don’t live
on a farm. I said that was semantics.”

Celeste chuckled. “Come on, Dad, you
argued about roosters?”

He grunted as he sat heavily in a
chair at the table. “I agreed to lighthouses in the bathroom and
flowers in the bedroom. Can’t the kitchen just
be…kitcheny?”

“
I’m not sure that’s a
word,” Celeste said.

“
It’s not,” Joanie piped up
as she set a large platter with a glistening roast in the center of
the table. “Which is why the kitchen is yellow with roosters.
Bam!”

Celeste groaned. “Don’t say ‘bam,’
Mom.”

“
Isn’t that what the kids
say?” she asked as she sat down across from Roger.

“
I have no idea, but it’s
weird when you say things like that.”

Joanie winked and clicked her tongue.
“I’m just too cool for you, Cellie-boo.”

Jupiter looked at Celeste. Before he
could ask about the nickname, she put her hand up and said, “That
nickname is for my mom only, under penalty of death.”

Stifling a laugh, Jupiter kissed her
on the cheek. “Whatever you say, little love.”

When the food was passed around and
the plates were filled, Jupiter found himself surrounded by a
family that was immediately accepting. Roger and Joanie trusted
Celeste to make her own choices, and they were excited for what the
future would bring. He knew then that Celeste had been right in
taking things slow with her parents. If they’d shown up saying they
were already living together and getting married quickly, they
might be suspicious.

“
Do you like your new
place?” Joanie asked.

“
I do. There are three
apartments in a converted barn. It’s perfect for me. Plus, I don’t
have far to walk to get to work since I’m already living in the
park.”

“
Do they have a lot of
apartments on site?” Roger asked.

“
So far just three. The
owners wanted to make use of the unused barn.”

“
Can we come visit?” Joanie
asked when the meal was finished and they were ready to head back
to the zoo.

“
I’m still unpacking,”
Celeste said. “But give me a few weeks and I’ll have you over for
dinner.”

“
I got you a housewarming
gift,” Joanie said.

Roger cleared his throat. “It’s from
both of us.”

Joanie rolled her eyes as she stood
and pushed her chair in. “Yes, dear.”

She returned a few moments later with
a potted plant, setting it on the table in front of Celeste. “It’s
so pretty, thank you!”

“
You’re welcome,” Joanie
said, bending and kissing her cheek. “It’s a money tree. They’re
supposed to be good luck.”

The green-leafed braided trunk was a
foot tall, in a dark blue ceramic pot. “It would be nice if money
really did grow on trees,” Celeste said.

“
Maybe someday science will
catch up with wishing,” Roger said.

“
Thank you so
much.”

“
How do you like your new
job?” Joanie asked as she took her seat.

“
I love it. Working for the
park is so much fun. Yesterday there was a third grade class that
came in for a tour and the kids got their faces painted. I got to
help out; it was a blast.” They’d told her parents that she was
working in security in the park, and that was partially true.
Whenever Jupiter worked in the security office, she sat behind the
reception desk and answered the phone. Originally he’d anticipated
that worrying over her safety would distract him too much from his
job, but he found her presence in the security office comforting.
She spent a lot of time working with Adriana on supplying the
soon-to-be-opened salon in the market for manicures and
pedicures.

“
I’m glad you found
something you enjoy doing, and it sounds like a very exciting place
to work,” Joanie said.

When they’d finished dessert and
chatted a while longer, Celeste said, “I think I’m ready for you to
take me home.”

Jupiter nodded and went to get their
coats, holding hers open for her.

“
Take good care of our
daughter,” Roger said, shaking Jupiter’s hand after Joanie gave him
a hug.

“
I will,” he
promised.

When they were back in the SUV and
heading home, Celeste leaned on his shoulder and said, “What did
you think?”

“
They’re wonderful, but I’m
not surprised because you’re pretty amazing yourself.”

“
Aw,” she said with a
chuckle. “I told you that they’d like you.”

“
I’m glad.”

“
I think your cat doesn’t
care if anyone likes him or not.”

“
Not true. He wants you to
be happy.”

“
I’m the happiest I’ve ever
been. You’re a wonderful guy, and I’m a lucky girl.”

“
I think we could argue for
years about who’s the luckiest one in our relationship. I
personally think I’m the luckiest cat on the planet, because I get
to go to bed with you every night and wake up every morning with
you in my arms.”

“
You’re sweet,” she said.
“I’m going to make you so happy later.”

He purred as she giggled, and he knew
without a doubt who was the luckiest in their relationship – it was
him. He’d been hanging out in the paddock, never expecting to find
his soulmate, and then she’d been there. Beautiful, sweet, feisty,
and all his.

Lucky didn’t even begin to describe
it.

The End

Contact the
Author

Sign Up For RE’s Newsletter
by Clicking
HERE
!

Website:
http://www.rebutlerauthor.com

Email:
[email protected]

Twitter: @rebutlerauthor

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/R.E.ButlerAuthorPage