Coral came inside, a dreamy smile on her face, but one look at Shivey and it disappeared. "Shivey are you okay? What the hell happened? Shivey!" she grabbed her arms and shook her. "Shivey what's going on, what did he do to you?"

Shivey blinked several times, finally snapped out of it, a hand coming to her mouth as if wanting to protect what was left of... what she could feel of... Taren's kiss. She glanced at Coral, fear in her eyes, "He kissed me!" then whispered, "Twice."

It took a moment for it to sink in, then Coral squealed, started jumping up and down as if she'd won the lottery. When she saw the expression on Shivey's face, she calmed down. "Hey, I thought that'd be a good thing. I mean he likes you, right. And Taren's a good man."

Shivey started shaking so Coral pulls her over to the couch in the living room and sits next to her, keeping a hold of her hands. "Okay, now that we're more comfortable and I know you aren't gonna pass out and hit the floor." She sighed. "Talk to me Shivey, please?"

"He's the Alpha! The God damned Alpha!"

"Breathe Shivey, breathe." Coral does her best to help Shivey steady her breathing before saying anything else.

"Okay, you look much better. Now before you say anything, just calm down, that's right now tell me exactly what happened. This may not be as bad as you think." She nodded, made a face telling her friend to get on with it.

Shivey took several calming breaths before she explained exactly what happened right up to when she got kissed. "I didn't do anything to make him think I wanted him to kiss me. And still he did it. And now I won't know how to be with him? He's ruined everything!"

Coral laughed. "Geez any woman in this town or any other would kill to be in your position. And you're complaining." She took a breath, remembering that this would be a huge deal for Shivey. "I know your scared Shivey, but maybe it's time to take a chance on someone.

Coral waited for a response, when she didn't get one she kept going. "Taren really seems to care about you and he's willing to put himself out there for you too. I mean look at what he's done regarding your family. And he's even taken care of me and Katnip."

Shivey held Coral's hand tighter, "You're a good friend Coral and I'm so glad I have you." She couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Taren and knew Coral could all but read her thoughts.

"Oh my God! It wasn't a little kiss, or a peck on the cheek was it?" she laughed. "Come on Shivey give! If you can't tell me who can you tell?"

Shivey could feel her cheeks burning bright red. She nodded, "Not a peck on the cheek, but not a full on pash either. It was gentle, soft, but it drew me in and I didn't want it to end." Coral's mouth dropped open, but no words came out.

"I, umm I couldn't move, couldn't even speak Coral. When he ended the kiss, he said goodnight and left. I just stood there until you came in."

"Umm, okay. He might just really like you. Or it could have been his way of thanking you for a lovely evening." She looked at Shivey hopefully.

They both shook their heads, knowing full well that Taren wasn't the kind of man that just went around kissing women. Not if he didn't want their parents on his tail discussing engagements and marriage.

"Shit!" said Shivey then they both burst out laughing.

"Look," began Coral once they'd stopped laughing. "It's late and we've both had more than a couple of drinks. What say we go to bed and go over this in the morning? I'll even make waffles?"

"Sounds good. I just hope I can sleep." Then she turned to Coral, "Hey how'd it go with Thomas?" when Corals face turned red Shivey just laughed. "In the morning okay." Then they both headed for the stairs and bed.

***

Morning came all too soon; Shivey stretched her body out on the bed enjoying the feel of her muscles moving in anticipation of the day. She lay still for a few more minutes before getting up to shower and dress. After making her bed she ventured down stairs hoping Coral was up and there was a pot of coffee waiting for her.

Yes! She could smell the coffee from halfway down the stairs. And if her nose was right, waffles. As she stepped into the kitchen Shivey saw Seth with a plate of waffles. He stopped eating long enough to wave hi to her. Last night when she was talking to Coral she'd forgotten all about Seth being here.

Shivey actually felt a sense of relief knowing that Seth was here. No way could she have a deep and meaningful with Coral while Seth was around. It would also give her a chance to think on things as well. And try to come to some kind of a decision as to what she was going to do. Holy cow! What am I gonna do?

"Good morning sunshine. Sit. I have coffee and waffles as promised."

Shivey took a seat and before she knew it she had a mug of coffee and a plate of waffles in front of her. There was a jug of warmed maple syrup, a bowl filled with slices of strawberries and another bowl with clotted cream.

Shivey grinned, "Thank goodness I have a fast metabolism! If I didn't I'd weigh a ton." She laughed, then picked up her coffee.

Coral took a seat a minute later with her own meal. "So what's on for today? It won't take me long to tidy up here. I'm sure Seth won't mind helping me put all the decorations away." She looked at Seth hopefully.

He nodded, couldn't speak because his mouth was full of waffle.

Shivey concentrated on her meal for a moment before speaking. "I need to check the garden, see if there are any plants that need moving. I also need to see what herbs I have that would suit Owen, I mean what kinds he'd like in his window boxes.

"I guess I could give him a call and see if he'd like to come over one day this week to pick what he'd like? In the meantime, I'll get a range of herbs ready for him to take a look at." She nodded her head finalising what she'd be doing today."

"Can I help with the herbs?" asked Seth. "I know I don't know a lot about them or anything, but if you tell me what to do..."

"Sure, that'd be a big help Seth, but help Coral first. It'll be a while before I'll be ready for you and I promise I'll give you a call when I need you. Okay?"

"Okay." He smiled.

After breakfast Shivey made her way outside to sit on the porch. It was going to be a lovely day and she'd be able to spend a good part of it outside, a fact that made her happy. Pulling her phone out of her pocket she scrolled down until she found Owen's name then hit the button.

He answered after the second ring. "Hello Shivey, it's nice to hear from you so soon after your dinner party."

"Hey Owen. Yeah last night was kinda nice. Umm, listen I'm going to spend some time this afternoon looking at herbs and I'll be potting some for you to take a look at. They'll be in small pots so we can put them in the boxes to see what they look like and you can get an idea of what you want. What I need to know is what day can you come over to pick and choose?"

Owen thought for a moment as to what he had to do for Taren and the house-hold. "I'll be free on Tuesday if that suits you. What time did you have in mind?"

Shivey laughed, "Well if you come over in the morning, we can take our time, have lunch then finish up. Is that okay with you?"

"That sounds wonderful Shivey and I'll bring the dessert this time."

That sorted Shivey made for the herb section of her garden. Pushing a wheel-barrow containing her tools, a large number of small pots and a bag of potting mixture. Shivey would check the garden over to see its general health before doing anything else. If the garden seemed healthy, then and only then would she begin to pull a mix of plants.

Herbs didn't always mean edible, lavender for instance was something all her gardens should have and it wasn't something you generally ate.

It wasn't long before Shivey called Seth to help. He pushed the wheelbarrow and kept watch as Shivey worked her magic with the herbs. Seth didn't dare suggest he pull or dig up any. He was afraid he might damage one, so he waited to see what Shivey did.

Many of the herbs were growing clusters, which was good because Shivey was able to gently dig them up and pull them apart. She'd then lay them on the soft dirt until she had about a dozen herbs of various types. This is when she got Seth involved.

"Seth, come give me a hand. Bring the potting mix and some of the empty pots with you."

He did what Shivey said and she showed him how to gently pot the herbs. She did this twice before she gave him a nod to help her. Once potted the herbs were placed back in the wheelbarrow to be taken back to the greenhouse.

They worked steadily for well over an hour, Shivey glancing at him every so often to see how he was doing. He seemed to be really enjoying himself. And didn't mind getting his hand dirty. Which reminder her – he needed work gloves. By the time they'd finished there was quite an array of herbs to be taken back to the green house and the garden didn't even look as if it had been touched.

Seth pushed the wheelbarrow as they walked back to the greenhouse. "Where are you gonna put all of these?"

"I'm thinking for now we should just leave them where they are. I don't think I'll be needing to use the wheelbarrow for anything?" she shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. "That you can move them in and out of filtered sunlight each day."
"Huh? What's filtered sun light?"

Shivey laughed and bumped his arm good naturedly, "Don't worry I'll show you okay."

"Okay." Seth felt a good deal better, especially knowing that he'd be able to ask Shivey whatever questions he wasn't sure of and she'd take him seriously because he wanted to learn.

Seth wouldn't start his course until next semester, so Shivey was going to take advantage giving him as much of a head start as possible. She'd teach him what she could as they worked together, making sure he understood everything she was saying. She even gave him several books about plants and flowers. They had plenty of graphics so Seth would soon be able to recognise them as they worked.

She'd also be teaching him the safety aspects of the job. He already knew to clean up a work area when they were done for the day, even if they were coming back to the same place tomorrow, but she had to make sure it was something he would always do no matter what. If he didn't. It wouldn't look good for her business and business still happened due to word of mouth. So far Shivey had a good reputation and she wanted to keep it that way.

Shivey managed to keep Coral at bay all day. Seth called his mother to let her know he'd be staying and working for Shivey, but would be home for dinner. Shivey even offered to drive him home, giving her even more time away from Coral. Time alone with her thoughts. Time to try and get a grip!

After dropping Seth off Shivey drove home... slowly. At one point she finally pulled over to the side of the road because she just needed time to think. She sat there for a good fifteen minutes and nothing came to her. In the end she gave up and drove home.

Coral had a mug of coffee and a slice of chili chocolate brownie waiting for her. She sighed audibly knowing it was no use trying to avoid this conversation. Her only hope was that she could at some stage turn it back on Coral.

Shivey took a seat at the kitchen table and picked up her coffee mug, "Thanks, you're gonna make one hell of a housewife someday." She saw Coral's face turn red and ignored it. She'd use that knowledge later, when she most needed it.

"Are you okay Shivey? I mean last night, what happened, I guess it kind of freaked you out huh?"

Shivey put her mug down, afraid she'd drop it, her hands were shaking so much. "I had no idea the night was gonna end like that Coral. I mean I went over it and over it in my mind and I can't think of anything I said or did that would make him think I... I." she shook her head unable to continue.

Coral took hold of her hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "He cares for you Shivey. The big guy really seems to care for you."

Shivey started shaking her head wanting to tell Coral she was crazy, but Coral stopped her. "Listen to me! Right from the start he's been there for you. With your parents, with your brother. He's even offered to put a word in with the mayor for you. Maybe it's time to take a chance Shivey. Maybe he's the real deal."

"And may he's just like every other man I've ever known." Shivey pulled her hand away from Corals. "Besides, he's the goddamned Alpha. Our Alpha." She paused for breath then, "And how about you and Thomas, what's going on there huh?" she waited and when Corals face turned red she continued.

"Is he your real deal? Are you gonna take a chance on him? I know I probably looked like a stunned mullet last night, but I saw the expression on your face to. And I've seen the way he looks at you."

"Fuck!" Coral all but screamed. "We're a perfect pair aren't we?" Then they burst out laughing, both from frustration and the uncertainty of what they should do.

"If it wasn't so early I'd say let's get drunk!" stated Coral.

Shivey laughed, "It has to be cocktail time somewhere... right?"

They got to their feet, making their way to the kitchen where the left over alcohol from last night's dinner party was. "I really don't feel like cooking. How about we order in some Thai food and get sloshed."

"I love Thai food. I just never know what to order. So you order the food Coral. I'll take care of the getting sloshed part. Oh and I'll also sort out the entertainment. I'm thinking we need a movie marathon. What do you say?"

"I say, so long as it's not a love story I'm in."

"Blood and guts then." Shivey laughed at the look of horror on Coral's face. "Okay not too much blood and guts."

Needless to say they both got sloshed and fell asleep to the sounds of Colonel Jack O'Neill trying to get a rise out of Teal'c as they head off on another adventure through the Stargate.

***

Next morning they woke bleary eyed and got to their feet heading for the stairs to shower. They didn't look at each other or speak, it was it was a rule that they shouldn't until they were clean and 'alive', i.e. showered dressed and hopefully caffeinated.

Shivey got downstairs first so she put on the coffee before looking for headache tablets. She was searching in a cupboard when Coral came in handed them to her. "Thanks. You already..."

"Yeah. I must have known I'd need them. I had them upstairs in my room." They finally made eye contact. "How bad?"

"I'll live. Seriously it's not that bad. So long as I don't hear any loud noises, I'll be fine." Shivey tried a smile, found it didn't hurt her head. I'll make a start on the mess in the living room."

"Okay, you do that and I'll start breakfast. I don't really want anything greasy, but I could go for something sweet?"

"Pancakes?" Shivey said hopefully. "Aww hell Coral, why don't we both clean this up and go out for breakfast?"

"You up to it? I mean being with... people?"

"My head isn't that bad and the fresh air will do us both good." Shivey looked at her friend for a moment. "You aren't scared you'll run into Thomas are you?"

Coral's face turned bright red and Shivey held in her laughter. I'll be with you Coral and I'll thump the crap out of him if he hurts you."

Coral laughed, "Yeah, I can see you doing that. Okay, let's do this."

Ten minutes later they were on their way to a local café they often frequented. Mainly because they made the best pancakes in town.

The place was busy, but they got a parking spot and hoped they'd get seats just as easily. A few people were leaving as they were coming in so it looked like they'd get a seat. Coral moved forward and grabbed the booth by the window. It was smallish booth so they didn't feel guilty taking it. One of the waitresses came over to clear the table and asked them to check the menu. Said she'd be back to take care of them as soon as possible. And she did. Her name was Shawna.

Coral remembered Shawna from school, she always took good care of them when they came in and they always gave her a good sized tip.

"Okay," Shawna said when she returned. "The usual?"

"Huh?" said Coral.

Shawna laughed. "Blueberry pancakes with ice-cream and a dollop of clotted cream." She turned to Shivey, "Strawberry pancakes with ice-cream and a huge dollop of clotted cream and extra warmed maple syrup for both of you." She smile at their expressions, "Then to drink one large black coffee and one large cappuccino."

"Holy cow, are we that consistent?" laughed Shivey.

"Looks that way." Grinned Coral.

"So?" they both nodded as Shawna wrote down what they wanted before taking it to the kitchen.

They shook their heads and laughed at each other. "It actually feels nice to have something like this." Shivey said, "Something regular, familiar, consistent. You know?"

"Yeah Shivey I know. It just felt creepy for a second." Coral sighed wanting to go with the feeling Shivey had about familiar, consistent. She looked up to say as much to Shivey and... "Crap! Hide me. Quick!"

"What's wrong?" Shivey turned her head and saw 'what was wrong' heading directly for them, a huge grin on his face.

"Good morning ladies, I trust you're having a good day?"

"Good morning Thomas, what brings you in here. I mean I figured your mother would have cooked you breakfast?"

His eyes were on Coral waiting for her to acknowledge him. "Hey Thomas," she said in a shaky voice, then cleared her throat. "Do you still live at home or do you have a designated place of your own?"

"No I'm not at home, but I check in on my parents and Seth regularly. As for breakfast," he smiled. "Some days I don't feel like cooking and I like the food here." He shrugged.

"Would you like to join us," Shivey asked.

Coral kicked her in the shin under the table letting her know she was not happy about her inviting Thomas to join them, but she smiled politely.

Thomas smiled, "Thank you, I would." He took a seat next to Coral making her scoot over to give him enough room. "Have you already ordered?" when they nodded he turned to see if he could catch the eye of one of the servers. Shawna saw him and he gave her a nod.

Coral rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me you're a regular and Shawna knows what to order for you?"

Thomas laughed. "Umm, yep. I take it, it's the same with you two as well?"

Shivey could see Coral wasn't dealing well so broke in, "Hey the foods good and it's close to home. Besides, when you have a craving for pancakes and don't want to cook, where else are you gonna go?"

"Exactly!" confirmed Coral.

Shawna came back a minute later with their drinks, "Your food won't be long, let me know if you need anything else."

They sat quietly sipping their coffees. After a few minutes Thomas spoke. "I really enjoyed dinner the other night. I love Mexican food and yours was really good Coral."

"Umm, thanks." Was all she could manage.

Thomas realised Coral was a little uncomfortable with him being there and hoped she'd wouldn't freak with what he said next. "I'd actually like to return the favour."

Shivey very quickly became interested in what was happening outside the window. She knew exactly what Thomas wanted and wasn't going to involve herself any further.

"Umm, what? You want to cook Mexican for us?" Coral asked looking somewhat confused and Shivey almost choked on a mouth full of coffee.

Thomas doing his best to be a gentleman, reached for Coral's hand. "No, what I'd like is to take you out for dinner."

Unfortunately her response was a very short, "Seriously?" because she honestly couldn't believe he'd asked her.

He laughed good-naturedly, "Yes, seriously. I'd like to take you out for dinner." He smiled softly, "What do you say?"

"Umm, I... that is..."

Shivey poked Coral in the ribs, hoping to get her to respond. She didn't so Shivey did. "What Coral means is, she'd love to go to dinner with you. Just let her know where and when."

Thomas grinned at Shivey then turned to Coral. No need to tell you where, I'll be picking you up. As for the when, how about Friday night?"

"Friday night is fine," said Shivey. "I'll make sure Coral is ready at say seven?"

"Seven would be good Shivey. I'm sure Coral would appreciate your assistance. I know I would."

Shawna soon brought their meals and they ate quietly. There didn't seem to be anything else to say. Coral glanced at Thomas at intervals and Thomas did the same hoping to catch Coral's glance. As for Shivey, well she felt like she shouldn't be there at all.

Thomas left soon after finishing his meal. "It was nice to share another meal with you both. "Coral I'll see you Friday at seven." Then he headed for the door with a distinctive bounce in his step.

They watched until he left the restaurant then Coral turned to Shivey, "How could you?"

Shivey smiled all innocent, "How could I what?"

"Shivey! You know damned well what."

"Come on Coral, he really likes you. And he's a good man. Just like Taren is a good man."

"Son-of-a-bitch, that's not fair Shivey, throwing my own words at me. Anyway it's not the same thing."

"Isn't it? From what you told me, Thomas made a point of making sure Katnip liked him, because he wanted you to like him." She sat with a smug expression on her face. And Coral knew Shivey was right.

"Well shit! Okay you have me there." She sighed. "But I'm gonna be leaning on you until I get through this, you know that right?"

"Yeah I know. And Coral. I know you'd support me if I were in need too." Shivey took several calming breathes, because she had a feeling her turn was coming and coming soon. "You want another coffee or..."

"Nah, wait until we get home." Coral waited for a moment then, "Shivey, what the hell am I gonna wear?"

Shivey waited, watching as Coral considered what she needed to do, "We need to go shopping. Now! Umm... do you have anything on for today?" she looked at her friend hopefully.

"Actually yes. I have a full day scheduled."

Shivey saw the sad expression on Coral's face and continued. "My entire day is booked solid to make sure you have what you need for Friday night."

Coral's face lit up like a Christmas tree! "Really? You'd do that for me?" Shivey nodded and the next thing Shivey knew Coral was out of her seat, dragging Shivey out of hers so she could hug her.

Shawna came over to see if everything was okay, "Do you need anything?"

"Nope!" they said in unison.

"Oh, that guy, Thomas. He paid for both your meals as well." said Shawna. "Wow! He really is a gentleman?" said Coral.

Shawna nodded, "You both look too happy, what's up?"

"Nothing, we just decided we needed a day of retail therapy." Said Shivey.

"Yeah," began Coral, "and Shivey doesn't usually like that kind of therapy?"

"Oh, I'd love to join you, but I'm stuck here for the next four hours. Have fun ladies."

***

Over the next several hours Shivey and Coral explore possibly every clothes, accessory and shoe store in town. Shivey thought it would drive her crazy, but she had a ball helping Coral find something that was just right and of course she had to have the right shoes and bag and accessories to go with the outfit.

Along the way, they also bought a few other things they just had to have. Shivey bought two pairs of skinny jeans one blue the other black with matching jackets as well as a pair of black dress boots. Then of course Coral insisted she needed tops to go with the jeans.

All in all they'd a fairly good day and decided to stop at Maxwell's for a late lunch, because they needed sustenance and well, they were too pooped to fix something for themselves. Besides. Today was about spoiling themselves.

Maxwell's was one of the more upmarket cafes that catered to both the younger and also more adult clientele. In other words you could order anything from a burger and steaks to crepes suet. They actually cooked a pretty mean steak!

They also had all the healthy type foods that 'ladies' liked to order like spinach salads and stir fried tofu with vegetables. But Shivey and Coral didn't hold that against them. At the moment all they were concerned about was getting a table.

Surprisingly it was still fairly busy, but as they made their way inside Shivey spotted a couple of empty tables. Pointing them out to Coral, neither paid much attention to anyone else in the restaurant, which was unfortunate.

As they moved towards one of the empty tables Shivey's mother stepped in front of her. Shivey looked at her, not saying a word. To be honest she had nothing to say to the woman.

It seemed Martha and several of her friends were just leaving, her friends standing a few steps behind her perhaps wondering what she was going to do. Martha huffed! "How could you! I hope you're proud of yourself."

Martha shook her head as if she was in pain. "After all I did for you. And now you dare come here!" she all but growled.

Shivey was going to let her mother have her moment, but enough was enough. Especially with Coral squeezing her arm so tightly. "We have just as much right to eat here as you do. If you want to make an issue of it speak to your Alpha." Shivey smiled sweetly. "I'm sure Taren will be glad to discuss it with you."

Then she did something she'd never done before. Shivey turned her back on her mother and walked away. They were soon seated and looking at menus. Actually they were doing their level best not to be seen looking over said menus to see Martha's reaction.

Shivey shook her head. "I can't believe she's acting the wounded mother. Like I really did something to hurt her." she looked at Coral her voice shaking, "I swear, that woman has no idea what it's like to feel hurt."

Coral gave her arm a squeeze, was about to speak when two men walked up to them. "Miss Anderson, Miss Wilson," they both gave a nod of their heads. "I'm Henry Jensen and this is John Tanner," he indicated the other man with his head. "We saw," he paused trying to find the right words. "What almost happened a moment ago and I must say you averted it a great deal better than I would have."

Both women looked up at the men. Coral frowned, but Shivey smiled, just a little. "It's been a while Henry." She turned to John. "So are you here because Taren told you to watch over us poor defenceless women?"

John burst out laughing, "Shivey I doubt there's anyone man or woman that'd call you defenceless. At least not in this part of the country." He rubbed his jaw for emphasis and Shivey found herself relaxing.

"Mind if we join you, at least for a coffee?" asked Henry.

"I think I'd like that." She turned to Coral, "Coral you remember Rhys's friends."

"Yeah. They seem a whole lot more mature than the last time I saw them."

Henry and John did more than have coffee with Shivey and Coral, they sat and chatted with them while they had lunch, got to know them and when they were ready to leave, they insisted on following them home. Just to make sure they got there safely.

Neither had ever been to Shivey's home before and were interested in the herb boxes that she was looking at putting together for Owen.

"Shivey this are great, you should sell something like these here. I know my mother would love to have something similar. I'm pretty good working wood, if I put something together... would you help with the herbs. I mean would you..."

"Definitely. And if you build a few extra I'll even buy them from you. How's that sound?"

John grinned and called out to Henry, "Henry, come here!" Henry was in the house with Coral making friends with Katnip.

He came out with said cat in his arms, scratching her behind the ear. "What to do you need?"

"Henry's father owns the lumber mill. I'm thinking we can get all the lumber we need at next to nothing."

"What are you two up to?" asked Henry curiously, then he saw Owens window boxes. "Oh. Yeah, that's a great idea. But we have to make one for my mother too."

Coral who was standing in the background cleared her throat. "Why don't you do a test run, see how it turns out. Then you'll know what changes to make. And. If things work out okay, you might want to think about making enough to sell one or two at the local florist. Once word gets out that Shivey makes window boxes..." she smiled.

They all grinned. "I'll draw up plans, but I think I'll make them smaller than Owens. Not as much wood." John grinned again.

"Okay and I'll see what I can get from the lumber yard. I might even be able to get off-cuts cheap or for nothing. I'll talk to my father, see what he has to say."

"Okay." Began Shivey. "So how about we get together next Sunday." She shrugged, "May as well make go all out and have a barbeque. But if you want beer, you bring it yourself and yeah you can bring my brother with you if you want."

Both men felt a great deal easier about things once Shivey had said Rhys could come. They soon said their goodbyes and left.

Shivey and Coral sat on the couch in their living room sipping coffee from their favourite mugs. "Life's getting interesting." Declared Coral.

"Too damnedinteresting if you ask me?" Stated Shivey.