each other. Basically, this little guy decided he wanted us as his dads and made it happen.”
Bailey grinned as the timer on the oven beeped. He hopped up to take out the tray of cookies.
Orsen continued spreading out samples while holding on to Gus. “So anyway, with that many kids, it takes a lot of supplies. We put in a butler’s pantry. That way, anyone helping set the tables or whatever, doesn’t have to be in the way of whoever is cooking. You put big stuff in there. Your mixers and stuff if you like to bake, which you clearly do. We keep the plates and stuff in there, plus extra food supplies. You can put a drink fridge in there too. Or your freezer. Whatever you need to keep clutter off your counters and people out from under your feet.”
“That makes a lot of sense. This kitchen isn’t big enough for me to have the guys in here haunting me every time I’m cooking.”
“Well,” Logan said, “that part’s probably not going to change.”
Bailey laughed. “You’re all monsters. Constantly stealing samples of whatever I’m making.”
“Not our fault. You only have yourself to blame. The whole damn warehouse smells so good it’s hard to focus.”
Bailey shared a pleased grin with Logan before turning his attention to Orsen once more. “Okay, that makes sense. But you might as well put those marble countertop samples away. I cook way too much red sauce to have counters that can stain.”
“I told Aleron they were a bad idea. Honestly, depending on what you like, if we get stuff they stock at the hardware store, we could knock this out in a week or two. If you custom order cabinets or countertops, though, it’ll take a lot longer.”
“We don’t need custom, do we?”
“Not for what you’re doing. I mean, Aleron made it sound like you needed a gourmet kitchen, but considering I don’t think he knows the difference between a spatula and a frying pan…”
Bailey laughed and leaned against Logan. “We don’t need fancy, do we?”
“Need? No. But if that’s what you want, go for it.”
“I have what I need already.”
“Not true. You’re making do with what’s in here.”
Bailey chewed his lip and looked over the three-room plan once more. “I do like the idea of the pantry in the middle. That way people who are here for training don’t have to come in the kitchen.”
“We can also put in a break room downstairs. We’ve got room. Upstairs can just be for us.”
Logan had already been considering extending the balcony around and adding a second entrance to his apartment. It would mean Bailey never had to go into the main area if he didn’t want to.
“I won’t be so… I won’t be like this forever.”
Logan shrugged. “I’m not doing this because of you. Well, partly, because I want you to be happy. But honestly, I’m not crazy about people who aren’t our team roaming around up here. We have tech that is private, and our meeting room has info on cases we’re working on. It wasn’t a problem before, when it was just us, but if we are going to start training, we need to think about employees-only spaces.”
“Are you really considering offering classes?” Bailey asked.
“Yeah.” Logan ran his hand down Bailey’s back. “Heather’s right. Everyone should know how to take care of themselves, and it’s not like we’re on cases all the time. We can go days sometimes without one.”
Bailey wrapped his arms around Logan’s waist and squeezed. “I think it’s a great idea.”
Logan’s wolf preened. “I’m going to go move walls around for tonight’s training session. You good without me for a bit?”
“Yep. Gus and I are going to have a cookie while we pick some cabinets. Isn’t that right, Gus?”
“Cookie.”
Logan stole one off the tray and made his way downstairs. He’d already come up with a plan in his head for a series of buildings similar to the bars downtown. It would give them ways to move between buildings, both inside and outside. Scout could use some work on his stealth, and Aleron wanted to get better at depending on senses other than his eagle vision. This would serve both purposes.
He’d managed to get the first track moved around when he heard Orsen and Gus coming downstairs. He paused in moving the final piece of wall and set it aside to finish after he spoke to the contractor.
Unfortunately, Logan didn’t have it on solid ground, and the wall toppled over with a reverberating