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Three months later.
“So, what do you think?” Chadwick opened his arms wide, showing off the big slab of concrete that would become the community center as if he were a proud papa. Since he was the one in charge of building it, in a way, he was.
Gawain felt his jaw drop as he gazed upon the mammoth size. Tears sprang to his eyes as he realized not only had he found his mate, but he’d found a home. Nowhere else could Gawain image a group of people being as supportive as the citizens of Miracle.
He chuckled to himself. Who was he kidding? The place was called Miracle. Something he had needed in his life to get him out of the hell he’d lived in for far too long. With his mate’s help, not only had Gawain found it, but he was happier than he ever imagined a person could be.
How ironic that a town could be named Miracle and perform miraculous acts for so many people that could truly be called that? Although, if he were honest, not everyone was happy that Gawain had gotten off without having to pay for the sins of his past. Yeah. That was the understatement of the year.
First in line would be Banyan Huff, who was still pissed, claiming the vote had been railroaded through and shouldn’t be legal. Then again, according to Koen and a few of the others, Banyan was never happy. They’d all had theories on why the guy was so uptight, but the resounding solution was that Banyan needed to get laid.
After meeting him, Gawain could understand their opinion. The man was so damn uptight, he was sure Banyan kept his entire world in perfect uniformity. Not one hair, or thread on his clothing, was ever out of place. The only time they saw any kind of emotion from the man was when the topic of Gawain came up.
“It’s amazing,” Gawain whispered.
“Was it supposed to be this big?” Koen asked as he stood arm in arm with Gawain as they took in the massive sight.
Chadwick grinned at them. “Not even close,” he admitted. “When people found out about the community center, they started giving Iniko and Edrick ideas for other services Miracle could offer. Since there wasn’t really time to hash through them all, we decided to make the building another third bigger in hopes of including some of their ideas.”
Stunned, Gawain shook his head. “I can’t believe there is a town filled with people who actually want to help others.”
“That’s the miracle of Miracle, honey,” Iniko, a vivacious man with a knack for telling things like they were, even if a person didn’t want to hear it, walked up to them. He wore a stylish blue coat that went down about mid-thigh that contrasted his blonde hair with bright pink highlights perfectly.
“Edrick said you were going to show Gawain and Koen the blueprints. Do you mind if I see them too?” Iniko asked.
Chadwick held out his arm toward the café across the street called, The Mousetrap. “Why don’t we head inside for something warm to drink and I’ll show them to you there.”
Now that fall was starting to turn the corner to winter, it was getting nippy outside. Gawain imagined it would start snowing any day.
“By the way,” Iniko said as they headed into the restaurant. “Edrick and Saber are meeting us here. There has been a development that we’re all hoping Gawain and Koen would help us with.”
“Of course,” Gawain said instantly. He’d do anything for the people who felt more like family than his own father ever had. “What do you need from us?”
Koen leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Gawain speaks for us both. We’re happy to help.”
“I’m going to wait until Edrick and Saber get here, that way we still get to see the plans for the community center.” Iniko said as they sat down. One of the local teens was currently learning to wait tables and came over to get their drink orders.
When he’d left, Chadwick pulled the blueprints out of tube and rolled them out. “What do you think?”
“Oh my God.” Gawain clutched his chest as he looked at the blueprints before him. His gaze instantly fell on the part of the plans that included his youth center and those damn tears came back. “This is...”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Koen finished for him when Gawain was at a loss for words.
The building would dwarf all the other buildings on Main Street. Then again, the multifunctional space would need to be large to accommodate all the things the town’s leaders had decided to include.
Gawain had been proud to be invited into the Alpha’s meeting with his inner circle as well as a few others from town on what Miracle should be doing to help its residents. In the end they had decided on a Youth Center – which would include afterschool help, counseling, mentoring for both life and future plans, as well as peer groups to help anyone who might be having a difficult time finding friends.
There would also be an adult education area, with computers provided for the residents to complete online courses. Koen would head that up to help with getting people registered, as well as assist with any classwork, along with a few other residents who had gone to college. For those degrees that required attending a physical class, there were two universities within an hour’s drive, one north of them and the other to the northwest.
In addition to those two services, they had also decided to put in Iniko’s career center. Iniko had apparently taken on the task of helping to place the residents of Miracle in jobs they not only excelled at, but loved. From what Koen had heard, the man had a gift when it came to matching each person with a career they would be proud to have.
“Where did you put the shelter?” Koen asked as his eyes scanned the blueprints.
Chadwick flipped the page over. “The second floor,” he responded, pointing out the separate areas. “We’re putting in a separate men’s and women’s area, as well as one for teens who have been kicked out of their homes. Obviously, we’ll work as quickly as possible to get them placed in homes somewhere in town.”
His finger went to two more rooms. “These are for those that don’t feel comfortable in male or female rooms.”
There was also single use bathrooms and showers so no one felt exposed, as well as a counseling office to get them help into housing, as well as setting them up with other community programs to get them on their feet.
“I didn’t realize this was going to be two stories,” Gawain said as he stared in disbelief at all the town was putting into the community center.
Chadwick shrugged as he rolled up the blueprints. “It was that or take up land we don’t have to spare.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Saber strode in with a scowl on his face. It morphed into a brief smile as he wrapped an arm around his mate and placed a kiss on his lips as he sat down. “We’ve been working to buy the land to the east of us but we can’t get the owner to respond to any of our requests for a meeting.”
When Miracle had been formed, it was meant to be a sanctuary to five best friends. Edrick, who was their alpha, Lucca, the beta, Chadwick, Hudson, and Kellach. At the time, Edrick apparently had bought the place so he and his friends could hide from their former pack that they’d run from after it being discovered they were gay.
From what Chadwick had told Gawain, they’d never imagined in a million years so many people would show up and move into town. Currently, there were more citizens than they had room for and so it had been decided they would try to purchase more land to increase the size of Miracle.
“Well, that sucks,” Chadwick chimed in. “But at least we did manage to buy the next two miles to the west.”
That would definitely help. Although, the town also had an advantage, for their animal halves anyway, that the south side of town backed up to an immense national forest, allowing them to shift and run as they wished without worrying about anyone eventually buying the land and developing it.
“But that’s not why I’m here.” Saber said.
But before he could continue, Edrick walked in looking as if he were pissed at the world. It had taken Gawain time, but he’d learned it rarely had to do with the people of Miracle that caused him to be upset. Currently, it had more to do with trying to expand Miracle, but there were times other outside factors came into play.
“I swear to God, if I get my hands on that asshole of an alpha, I’m going to wring his damn neck, throw him out into the cold, and make him stay there for weeks without any food or shelter.” Clearly, this was one of those other factors.
Iniko was nodding vigorously. “Tell me about it. Greyson told me two of the kids were skin and bones with only a t-shirt and holey pants to wear.” He thrust his arm out to point at the window. “It’s going to snow any day, for Christ’s sake. It’s too damn cold for them to have survived long.”
Gawain froze at the mention of kids starving and nearly freezing to death. His heart bled for anyone having to endure such conditions, but especially children.
“That’s why we’re meeting you here,” Saber told Gawain and Koen. “Greyson found a group of kids about twenty miles from here sleeping in tents.”
Iniko snorted. “Tents? Greyson said they were more like rags thrown over a few branches to try and keep the elements out.”
Saber started again after Iniko’s rant. “The point is, they looked like they’d barely eaten in days and they haven’t had a bath in probably a week or more.”
Gawain straightened his shoulders, already getting ready to get in there and do what he could to help them. “Is there a place for them to stay in Miracle?” He gestured toward the blueprints Chadwick had put into a long tube. “Without the community center, will anyone have enough room for all of them?”
Saber grinned. “Actually, we do. We have a bunkhouse that my men have graciously agreed to move out of and sleep in the house with me and Chadwick, or stay in one of the barns.”
“With that many kids, it will mean some of them having to double up in rooms.” Chadwick shrugged. “But we should have enough for the two of you to stay there with them.”
“Us?” Gawain tried to ignore the fact that his voice had squeaked. He cleared his throat before saying, “You mean it? You trust me to help them?”
It didn’t seem to matter how much time he spent in Miracle, Gawain was still having trouble accepting that these people genuinely sought out his opinion and accepted him for who he was. Then again, he couldn’t remember any point in time in his life where that had happened. Definitely not from his father.
“Would we have put you in charge of the youth center if we didn’t?” Edrick said seriously. “I know you still haven’t forgiven yourself for your past, but Gawain, you’re the only one.”
Gawain had no clue what to say to that, except, “Thank you. I promise, I won’t let you down.”
Koen took his hand in his and said, “We won’t let you down.”
Gawain’s heart melted. He honestly couldn’t say how fate thought him worthy of a mate, much less one like Koen. The man was always there, helping him get through the times he was hardest on himself about his previous sins, to celebrating when something good happened.
He couldn’t imagine having a better mate than Koen. Gawain would gladly spend the rest of his life trying to prove fate hadn’t screwed up.
“I love you,” Gawain leaned in for a kiss.
“I love you, too,” Koen said as they broke apart.
Gawain wasn’t sure he would ever find a way to heal his soul. His life had been too filled with regrets to make that an easy task. Then again, this was Miracle. From what the citizens told him, anything was possible.
More importantly, with Koen by his side he just might succeed at Finding Absolution.
Who is Shea Balik, you ask?
Best Selling author of the Cedar Falls Series, Paranormal War Series, and Miracle Series, Shea Balik has always had a vivid imagination with stories running around in her head. Often her stories are taken from observations of other people with her own spin.
Traveling is one of her favorite ways of fulfilling her passion of people watching. You never know, one day you may spark her imagination for her next book.
Whether at home or traveling she is usually in front of her computer writing or curled up with a good book.
You can stay up to date with everything Shea by checking out her website!
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