Tristan remained silent for a moment, thinking about Jackson’s request, before saying, “Right now, our clinic isn’t functional. From what I could see, Josiah stopped stocking it a long time ago, not to mention we’re missing qualified people to man it. I know you offered to have Mac help with examinations of the children, which I’m grateful for, but I’m concerned Theo might need more than an occasional visit from him.”
“You’re right,” Jackson agreed. “Theo needs access to a full-time doctor, and a fully equipped hospital…as do your pack members, so Steel has arranged for Dire Enterprises to expedite my request to renovate your existing clinic as an interim measure until their construction division can build a new building that will house both a clinic and a hospital for the Silver Point Pack. To oversee outfitting it, Mac and his mate Ollie, who is Theo’s cousin, will stay with your pack until Dire Enterprises can hire a doctor and nurses for you. While they’re there, they’ll be in charge of Theo’s medical needs.”
Stunned, Tristan stared at Jackson before shifting his gaze to Heath and exclaimed softly, “Holy shit! Can you fucking believe it?”
Shaking his head slowly, Heath grinned at his mate. More than half the items on his to-do list would be resolved if they had a doctor. Josiah had neglected the health needs of the pack, and it was a frequent topic he and Tristan had discussed, but with no resources to solve the problem, it was just one more thing that frustrated them. The only solution he’d come up with was to ask for a loan from his father—something Tristan was adamantly against. But now, the solution to their problem had suddenlyappeared, and all they had to do to make it happen was to hide three of Jackson’s pack members. It was almost too good to be true. But that thought suddenly made his father’s words come to mind: “When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
Unable to shake that advice from his thoughts, Heath turned to Jackson and asked, “What happens if Tristan doesn’t agree to take in your pack members…does your offer regarding the medical staff and hospital disappear?”
“Heath!” Tristan muttered. “Don’t…”
Holding up his hand to stop his cousin from continuing, Jackson said, “It’s a fair question.” Then shifting his gaze to Heath, he said, “No…the Board of Dire Enterprises has already voted to move the Silver Point Pack to the head of the list of packs needing medical personnel and faculties because of the years of neglect the members suffered. All I did was tell my mate how much it would mean to me if he could speed up the timeline a bit.”
Chuckling, Tristan said, “A happy mate means a happy life, hmm?”
Smiling, Jackson replied, “Something like that.”
Nodding, Tristan turned to Heath and asked, “Any other questions or objections?”
“Just that the only place that’s suitable for them to stay at this point is the Alpha house…and if they do, it would delay me from starting the renovations.”
“I don’t see that as a problem…I'd rather spend what money we have on renovating our pack members’ homes first.”
“I didn’t think you’d object,” Heath said, laughing. “Anything to avoid moving into that monstrosity, eh?”
“That’s one way to put it,” Tristan muttered. Then shifting his eyes to Jackson, he said, “I certainty owe you for all the help you gave me in fighting Rudy, so if having your pack members stay with my pack helps you, then my answer is yes.”
“I appreciate it, but you don’t owe me anything,” Jackson said. “There is one thing you should know about me, and that is I do what I want to do with no expectations of payment…especially when it’s family.”
“Duly noted,” Tristan replied. “But there’s one thing about me you should know, cousin. I never forget when someone does me a good turn. And now that we’ve settled that, you mentioned the restitution my pack owes you. Unfortunately, I still can’t tell you when I can do it since Reeve still hasn’t finished his accounting of the money Josiah stole from the pack.”
“About that,” Jackson said, “I have an idea that could benefit both our packs.”
“I’m all ears,” said Tristan with a grin.
“When I filed the complaint against Josiah, all I wanted was for him to let me and my brothers pick up the pieces of our lives without worrying about him trying to kill us,” Jackson said. “I made it clear to my mate…and to Reeve…that I neither needed nor wanted to become the Silver Point Alpha, nor did I want any money from Josiah.
“Fortunately, your appearance settled the issue of me or any of my brothers becoming Silver Point’s Alpha, but Reeve was insistent that restitution still would have to be made…somethingI thought would only make the members of your pack suffer more for the sins of their former Alpha.
“And yes…I know that according to the High Council, that doesn’t matter…but it matters to me. Punishing the innocent by making them pay for the crimes of another is a line I cannot cross…will not cross. Our world is facing enough problems without creating internal strife within it. So, after thinking about it long and hard, I decided there had to be another way to satisfy the law.”
“Did you figure out what that might be?” asked Tristan softly.
“I did,” Jackson replied, smiling and leaning back in his chair.
“Care to share it with me?” Tristan asked nonchalantly, trying to hide his curiosity.
Instead of answering his cousin’s question, Jackson asked, “Do you know why Josiah murdered the entire Fox River Pack, including my father and siblings?”
Shaking his head, Tristan said, “Sorry, I never asked.”
“He found gold in the river that runs through the Fox River Pack land, and he wanted it for himself,” Jackson said. “I learned about it because he’d applied for a grant from Dire Enterprises claiming he needed to mine it in order to feed his pack, who were starving.”
“That sonofabitch!” growled Heath.
“More like he wanted it for himself,” Tristan muttered.
“Probably,” Jackson replied. “I don’t know if there’s gold there or not, but now that Josiah and Rudy are dead, I intend to hire a geologist to determine if my uncle was right.”