Porpoiseful Intent [Placida Pod 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Tymber Dalton Page B

phone.”
    He took two breaths before Louise’s voice punched through his haze of exhaustion. “Thanks.” He shut the water off and grabbed a towel as he stepped out. Once it was securely wrapped around his hips, he reached for the door and opened it. Louise stood there with his cell phone in his hand.
    He took it from her. “Thanks.” With the phone to his ear, he tried not to sound like he was half asleep. “Yo.”
    “You okay?”
    “I was in the shower, sorry. How are you?”
    “Dad’s sending me home. I’m exhausted. I guess I’m not as young as I used to be.”
    “Yet he’s still out there?”
    “He’s still the pod Alpha. He pulled rank.”
    Sean wanted to snicker, but knew that would be rude. “Then come home, babe.”
    “I am. That’s why I’m calling you. Anyone else there to send out?”
    He looked at Louise. “Any more latecomers?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    “Nope.”
    “Okay. I’m on my way.”
    “I’ll have an omelet with your name on it, babe. Love you.”
    “Love you, too.” He ended the call and returned the phone to Louise.
    “They’re all exhausted,” she quietly said, presumably so Alexis couldn’t overhear. “And I think you are thinking the same things I’m thinking.”
    “That there’s something foul in Lemon Bay?”
    She nodded and headed back down the hallway.
    With a tired sigh, he went to get dressed.
     
    * * * *
     
    Emery returned home less than an hour later. Sean didn’t miss how he avoided Alexis’ hopeful looks and instead headed straight for the kitchen, where Sean had his breakfast underway.
    Emery kissed the back of his neck. “Shower,” he muttered before heading down the hallway to their bedroom.
    Louise watched him go with a sad look on her face. “They’re all exhausted,” she whispered.
    Sean glanced at Alexis, who was once again staring at the TV. “They won’t find him, will they? At least not alive.”
    Louise shrugged. “One can always hope.”
    After eating, Emery collapsed into bed. Sean left Louise in charge and headed for the grocery store to stock up for dinner. By dark, Emery had caught up on his sleep, the searchers had returned empty-handed, and Sean still wondered about the odd looks Alexis and Carter exchanged once the man returned with the others from the search.
    If Sean wasn’t mistaken, Carter had appointed himself Alexis’ caretaker. He didn’t leave her side once he returned to the house, hovering around her.
    She didn’t seem to mind.
    Sean was too busy cooking for the hungry searchers to think much of it. By midnight, more shifters had arrived to join the search. Joseph left to take them out to the search area.
    Alexis and Carter, who had been sitting on Sean’s couch and talking with their heads tipped close, stepped outside onto the lanai and closed the sliding doors behind them.
    “How well do you know her?” Sean asked Emery.
    Emery glanced at the sliders. “Known her all my life. We’re not best friends or anything, though. Why?”
    Sean couldn’t put his finger on it. “No reason. Your mom said she can’t shift.”
    “Yeah. She caught a lot of flack about it from her siblings. Her parents didn’t bother stopping them, either. Asshats.”
    “Where are they? Why aren’t they helping with the search?”
    “I don’t know. About five years ago, they all moved out of the area. Out to Texas, I think. She stayed behind. She’d already married George. From what I understand, she’s not close with them.”
    “Can’t say as I blame her.”
    When Joseph returned around one thirty in the morning, Emery had already gone to bed. Alexis and Carter were once again sitting on the couch. The two guys Carter had arrived with were sharing the futon in the spare bedroom Sean used as his home office.
    “Come on,” Joseph told her. “I’ll take you home.”
    Worn out himself, Sean wasn’t too tired to catch the anxious look she cast Carter’s way. “I don’t mind staying here, Mr. Nadel,” she said.