Okay, maybe that last part was the alcohol talking. Mama needed her bucks after all.
I wrinkled my nose at myself for that particular line of thought. Since when did I call myself Mama? Really wasn’t my vibe at all. But maybe it was Tipsy Felicia’s vibe. She was a bit of a wild card.
What was really surprising was the fact that I still hadn’t sobered up yet. Maybe I was coming down with something, or was it because I’d had the drink on an empty stomach? I wasn’t usually so sensitive to alcohol. Because while yeah, I probably hadn’t drank in ten or so months, it wasn’t enough to make me that sensitive.
I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice a strange new noise had joined the fray until Cas began to cough from where he was sitting across from me, almost as if he was trying to cover it up. Weird. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound. It was like a strange howl.
Wait…
Was someone yodeling?
Another smile broke out across my features as I listened to the long, low notes that carried across the wind for impossibly long. It wasn’t expected, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. Where was the singer? I looked around, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. Man, they had to be classically trained with how far their voice traveled.
I wished I had an aptitude for singing. I could casually carry a melody if the radio was playing, but that was the extent of my skill. Not that it stopped me from having my own personal concert when the mood struck me in the middle of a baking frenzy.
“I’m gonna go handle that,” Cas said quickly with an embarrassed smile.
I wasn’t sure why he looked so flustered. Yes, at first, I’d been a little startled by the somewhat wild sound, but now I thought it was quite beautiful. Also, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a culture thing and maybe he was just worried about how it would come across to someone with a different background. I didn’t think the Irish were known for their yodeling, but I could be wrong. “I’ll be right back.”
“Tell the singer I think they have a beautiful voice,” I said. I hoped everyone could tell I genuinely meant it. Sometimes, my dry humor got me into trouble because people couldn’t tell when I was being serious or not. And I definitely didn’t want any of the McCallisters to think I was being rude or making fun of them.
“What? Oh, right. I’ll make sure to do that.” Cas strode off in an awful hurry, leaving me with the older folks once again. Not that I minded. Even though it turned out the whole reason Gammy had hijacked me was a misunderstanding, I had enjoyed my time with her. It really was quite funny how that whole thing had worked out.
Turning my attention back to the people who had demanded I stick around, I grinned dopily. “So, who has any embarrassing stories to tell about Castiel?”
“And that’s my cue to go on a run,” one of the middle-aged people across from me said, pushing away from the table to stand.
“Pardon?” I asked, sure I had misheard. They’d just eaten, after all.
“Yeah,” another said, joining the first person. Had someone introduced them to me? I couldn’t remember. I felt like I’d heard so many Irish-adjacent names in such a short time that they were all mashed together in my brain.
God, I hoped I sobered up soon. I was having fun, but it would be nice to think clearly again rather than having everything be all fuzzy and blending together.
“Anyone else want to go burn off some of this food so we can eat more?”
A few more people stood up, but I most certainly was not about that life. I needed at least another half hour minimum before I was capable of movement, let alone going on a run. Still, I had to admire their health-consciousness.
“You know, I wish I’d thrown more events like this when I was alpha of my own pack,” Gammy said after everyone had left. “It really makes a woman feel young again.”
“A what now?”
“She means she was the matriarch of her own little community back in the day,” Claudia said quickly, giving me a wink. “Gotta love that old-fashioned slang.”
But I thought alpha talk was a new thing? Was Gammy on TikTok?
“Yup, I sure was,” Gammy said with a nod. “But I retired and had my daughter fill that position sometime back in my forties.”
“Why did you do that?” I asked, more than eager for some Gammy McCallister lore.
“You see, my husband had passed about four years earlier, and there was so much of him just hovering around my old pa?-“
“Family,” Claudia corrected.
“Right. But then I met Declan and decided to marry into the McCallister p?-“
“Family.”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Gammy McCallister gave me a look. I chuckled and nodded along. I got that Claudia wanted to participate in the conversation, but it would be nice if she stopped interrupting. “Anyway, married here and been here ever since. Just no one expected me to stick around this long.”
“It’s a pleasant surprise, I’m sure,” I said, reaching for my juice. It was empty. Bummer.
“Depends on who you ask. But I’d like to think I’m one of the biggest influences to encourage Cas’s pappy to challenge the previous al?-“
“Patriarch.”
“Yes, thank you, Claudia. Anyway, helped challenge that old man so he’d stop gambling off so much of our land. Lost nearly half of it to the fairies! Greedy buggers.”
I had been vibing so hard and really enjoying myself, that it took a couple of beats for her words to sink in. I knew Gammy was older, that much was obvious, but I hadn’t quite expected that terminology from her.
“Uhhh, I don’t think gay people as a whole are responsible for buying up your land,” I said cautiously, trying to go through her story mentally in my head to see if I’d missed some context.
“Oh, that’s more of that old-fashioned slang for lawyers,” Claudia corrected. She sounded exasperated. “We don’t have anything against gay folks, promise.”
“Huh? Why would I?” Gammy said, her voice raising even louder. “We’ve got plenty of gay people of our own! Declan’s brother and his partner grow the best lavender in our community.” Her cloudy eyes went wide for a moment. “Don’t tell Rebecca I said that. She’ll get awful jealous. She does love her lavender.”
“She does,” Claudia agreed before giving me a rueful of smile. Why did it feel like everything they said had a different meaning? It was draining my social battery despite all the fun I was having. “Just remember, Gammy, our friend Felicia isn’t from around here.”
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