“Got date.”
I sighed, something strange to do in my wolf form. The whole thing had indeed been planned. That was incredible, and I was torn between being flabbergasted, impressed, and a little concerned.
“How did you even know where to find her?”
“Googled name I saw on van. Planned to go all the way there. Lucky seeing her at park.”
I shook my head, still in wonderment at just how together these kids were compared to when I was their age. The kids may have been all right, but they were also diabolical.
“Just… don’t do it again. I don’t need y’all trying to wingman for me.”
“Don’t mess up an’ won’t have to.”
Did I just get told off by a teenager? I was pretty sure I had.
Once they were all together, I would see just how long they could run for. Maybe if everyone was utterly exhausted, they wouldn’t have the energy for more shenanigans.
Unlikely, but an alpha had to try.c1BS
Felicia
When it Rains, it Pours
I had a date.
I had a date!
I couldn’t believe it when I went to bed, and I woke up still not believing it. What were the chances that I happened to literally run into the same oversized young dog that I’d met at the McCallister reunion? I’d expected its frazzled owner to run up apologetically, but no, it had been Cas himself.
What couldn’t that guy do?
Family wrangler, maybe a farmer, and a dog trainer on top of it. No lie, the competency was pretty damn attractive to me. Then again, what about Cas wasn’t attractive?
I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a date. Unsurprisingly, I never dated in high school. I’d had a few casual flings in college, but I was too dedicated to my studies to have spare energy for a serious relationship.
I had tried more sincerely once I graduated, but the life of a baker simply wasn’t conducive to having a social life. Waking up at three-thirty in the morning and going to bed by nine most nights eliminated a lot of social time that other adults had.
“Relax, girl. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
Easier said than done, however. If I was being entirely honest with myself, I wasn’t even sure that I was able to swing it now, because I was busier than ever. The difference was that before I cared a lot about that, but in the moment? Didn’t give a shit. Even with the strange things I’ve noticed about Cas and his family, I didn’t want to miss a chance to see if something could work between us. Even if it was the tiniest chance, it was worth exploring. I met a lot of people in my life, and none of them made me laugh so easily or feel so welcome as Cas had in just three short meetings. I didn’t know if it was the way he looked at me, the way he talked to me, or the way he treated others, but I was drawn to him in a way that was inescapable.
Not that I wanted to escape.
I started my Monday looking forward to the weekend, and I hoped the anticipation for Friday wouldn’t become too much. It didn’t help that I had an awful lot to do. I just needed to be patient and steady.
Too bad patience wasn’t really one of my strongest traits.
Thankfully, I had my regulars to get me through most of Monday, and once I closed up shop and finished my prep, I took a long soak in the tub. I didn’t know what had gotten into me to try jogging the night before, but I was definitely sore from it. It turned out all my baking muscles and endurance didn’t really lend themselves to cardiovascular health. Oh well. I’d lasted long enough to get a date with a hunk who seemed to have a heart of gold, so we could chalk that up to #worthit, as some of my contemporaries would say.
Tuesday was harder, since it was a slower day. I still had most of my regulars, of course, but that was kind of it. It was hard not to be discouraged at having an empty shop for most of the day, but thankfully, I had the extra cushion from the McCallister family reunion. That had saved my bacon in a way I didn’t think any of them understood. I would be eternally grateful for that, even if my date with Cas bombed.
When the solitude and lack of things to do bordered on painful, I finished up the last of my prep, then went to the front to close up. However, miraculous timing seemed to strike again, because as I rounded the corner of my display case, the bell above the door chimed.
A customer? That would be a great way to end my day.
“Welcome!” I said it cheerily as a pair of middle-aged women stepped in, all smiles and red cheeks. For a moment I was so pleased that someone was in my shop, I didn’t really take in their faces. But after a beat, my brain recognized them. “Auntie Penny?” I blurted, not quite comfortable solely using their given names now that I wasn’t inebriated. That was one overlap of Southern and Asian culture that I really liked: using honorifics for anyone older as a sign of respect. “Auntie Polly.”
“Goodness, look at you. Don’t you look so crisp in that baking uniform.”
Crisp? I looked down at myself dubiously. Although I used multiple aprons throughout the day, I still had a few splashes of flour and other ingredients on my white uniform. Signs of a productive day, but they didn’t exactly scream crisp. Maybe at the beginning of the day, but certainly not hours and many baked goods later.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to argue against the compliments of two Midwestern women.
“Aw, thanks. I do my best, you know. Try not to slather myself with the jams and all that.”
“You’re doing a great job,” Polly said, striding up to the counter. I couldn’t help but notice the reusable shopping bag on her arm, and my hopes grew that both were in to try something.
Yes!
When I’d taken Cas’s order, I had daydreamed that it would drum up some possible new business. And it seemed that dream was happening in real time. Man, when blessings rained, they really poured. Goodness knew I had been in a drought for far too long.
Either that, or they were coming in to have the “shovel talk”. I didn’t think that was the reason-Cas and I hadn’t gone on our first date yet-but some folks could be real hostile to outsiders, and the way Claudia mentioned me not being from around here still lingered in my head even if I couldn’t remember any of the context around it.
“What can I do for y’all?” I asked, putting more twang into my voice than I naturally had.
“We actually came in here because we’re planning a baby shower, but we’ll talk about that in a minute.” Polly said, still grinning broadly. “Some of these just look too good to pass up! Is that pumpernickel bread?”
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