Chapter Thirteen Ace
Ibarely slept all night. Instead, I laid there with my hands laced behind my head, staring up at the ceiling as I thought of Matt. If I had doubted he wasn’t my mate before, I didn’t doubt it anymore. Every time we touched, it was like electricity shooting through my body. And when I had his cock in my mouth, his scent nearly bowled me over. I couldn’t get enough of him, and I ached for more.
When he’d asked to go back to the hotel, I’ll admit, I felt a little bit hurt. But I had to keep in mind that he was freshly homeless and trying to figure out how to get through the world on his own. Back when I was in his position, I wouldn’t even talk to people, much less get involved with anyone, regardless of how I felt. But Matt gave me a chance. I didn’t know if it was the pull of the full moon or the mate bond, but I was happy it happened. And playing with him as wolves? Well, that was something I’d relive over and over again in my memory. I couldn’t remember the last time I had so much fun.
However, by the time dawn began to peek over the horizon, I was exhausted. I’d maybe gotten an hour or two of sleep at the most. But today was market day and I couldn’t keep my customers waiting. Not only that, but I was picking up Matt to come along with me for the day. That alone was enough to get me out of bed and dressed.
Thanks to his help the day before, I had the truck packed and ready to go in less than twenty minutes. Making sure I had my hat and my bag full of cash, I hopped in the truck cab and headed for the hotel. When I arrived, I found Matt outside waiting for me. I guess he had a hard time sleeping as well.
“Ready to sell some vegetables?” I asked as I pulled up, the window already rolled down.
“Mmm,” he groaned, pulling himself into the truck.
“Maybe coffee first?”
“Please.”
It was more of a grumble than a word, but it was good enough. I took the long way to the market, stopping first to grab us coffee at the only cafe slash bakery in town. It was run by another werewolf named Andy. He was another one of Sam’s projects from way back when, and he provided quite a bit of food to the hotel like I did. He wasn’t manning the counter, which meant he was probably at the farmer’s market as well. He liked to do that to bring in more customers.
With coffee in hand, we arrived at the farmer’s market along with the other vendors. I drove my truck up to my usual spot, backing it close so we could pull more product from the back whenever we needed it. Matt covered the built-in benches with a cloth as I unloaded my vegetables. I showed him where they went and how to display them so that they looked the most appealing to customers.
No sooner had we gotten it put together than a van pulled up beside us. Out stepped a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had warm colored skin and freckles across his nose giving him a boyish look even though he was only a year or two younger than me.
“Hey there, Ace,” he called, waving in my direction.
“Good morning, Andy,” I replied.
Andy pulled open the back of his van revealing racks and racks of baked goods. Not only that, but there were two large carafes filled with coffee and a rack full of syrups. He even had a small cooler in the back of the van that he used for milks and creamers. The man practically drove a cafe on wheels.
“What have you got today?” Andy asked, ignoring all of his own goods and coming straight over to my booth. He always liked to have the first pick. “Out of rhubarb?”
“No, I just put them aside for you,” I smiled, reaching back into the bed of the pickup. “It’s the last of the season and I knew you’d want it.”
“Damn right I do. These little strawberry-rhubarb tarts sell like hotcakes!” He took the bundle of bright red stalks happily. “And I keep a few of them for myself, of course.” He patted his belly. “Obviously.” Andy’s gaze swept over to Matt, standing awkwardly off to the side. “Did you hire help?”
“Sorry,” I replied, shaking my head. “This is Matt. Matt, this is Andy, the cafe owner.”
“Nice to meet you,” Andy said, holding out his hand.
Matt shook it. “Likewise.”
“Another werewolf, huh?” Andy asked. “You must be one of Sam’s projects.”
“I’m uh… new to town.” Matt’s gaze darted up to me. “And I’m staying at the hotel.”
“Well, you’re in good company then,” Andy smiled. “I was one of Sam’s a year or two after Ace here. Most of us got our start at that place.” He glanced up at me, then back to Matt. “So, what made you get involved with this big lug?”
Matt blushed deep red. “I… uh…”
“Sam sent him over to help me out,” I filled in, trying to cover for him. “That’s how he’s earning his keep. He knew I needed the help, and Sam didn’t need another hand.”
Andy eyed Matt and me for a long moment. “Uh-huh. Right.” He leaned in close to Matt. “Your secret’s safe with me, buddy boy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Matt replied, taking on a defensive tone.
“Of course you don’t.” Andy reached out and ruffled his hair. “Do you want a donut?”
Matt eyed him with obvious irritation. “Yes. But don’t call me buddy boy anymore.”
“Sure thing, champ.”
Andy smiled, giving me a nudge as he headed back to the truck. Matt sighed, looking as frazzled as he possibly could. I gave him a shrug. There really wasn’t anything I could do to reign Andy back in. That’s just the kind of guy he was and there was no changing that. Besides, he made the best baked goods in town, so putting up with his teasing had obvious and immediate perks.
“Need some help?” I asked, heading over to the van.
“Sure!” Andy handed him a handful of tablecloths to cover the benches. “Spread those out, and Matty here can help me unload the truck.” He gave Matt a wink. “Gotta earn that donut somehow!”
Matt grumbled a bit at the new nickname but did as he was told. By the time he got the last tablecloth on, Andy and I pretty much had the truck unloaded. We set to work laying it all out and arranging things as they should be. By the time we were done, the first customers were arriving. Andy told Matt to grab what he wanted before it got snapped up by the early shoppers. With a donut in hand, he joined me back behind the table, leaning against the tailgate of the truck.
“You don’t have to do much today,” I told him. “Just watch. We’ll be done before lunch. I always sell out early.”
“Really?” Matt asked, looking over everything we’d piled high on the benches. “All of this will be gone?”
“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “And we’ll sell out far before Andy. That always annoys him.”
Matt smiled at that. “Just let me know if you want help.”
“No problem.”
I stepped up to the table as a group of older women wandered over with their canvas bags. I recognized each of them and flipped a quick mental switch to put myself in socializing mode. A warm smile spread over my face as I reached up, tipping my hat to the lot of them.
“Good morning, ladies,” I said, dropping my voice a bit. That always got them blushing. “Here before everyone else as always, I see!”
That was all it took to get the conversation going. Everyone that showed up in the first hour were regulars and I was fairly certain most of them came to buy veggies from the hot cowboy. I have to admit, I put on a bit of a show for them, but it didn’t take much. I flirted, got them blushing, and made sure to smile as much as possible. When the sun shifted so that it was on my back, I took off my button-up so that I was just wearing a tank top undershirt. That alone meant people were practically fighting over who would get my carrots first.
Of course, I made sure to aim those waiting toward Andy and his baked goods. It was still early, which meant selling coffee and sweets was pretty easy. Besides, that stopped any major fights from breaking out. It was hard to be mad at anyone when you had a mouthful of donuts and a warm coffee in your hand.
Matt sat back on the tailgate, watching me work. To my surprise, he took a lot of initiative without prompting. When things were getting low, he restocked with what we had in the truck. Once truck things started to run out, he began to spread things out, making it look like our stall was still full. Thanks to his help and the warm scent of cinnamon sugar from Andy’s booth, we sold out by eleven, breaking all my previous records.
“Sorry, folks,” I called to a few stragglers heading my way. “All sold out today!”
Those poor ladies and a couple of guys looked truly saddened that we were packing up for the day. Andy, on the other hand, couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Three hours?!” he scoffed. “How do you sell out so damn fast? People don’t even have to cook my stuff, and I’ve still got half my booth full!”
“I guess the veggies are just good,” I replied with a coy smile.
“Uh-huh. Right. I’m sure the hot cowboy angle didn’t help at all. Just like taking your shirt off was because it was hot.”
“It is hot.”
“Fuck you,” Andy laughed. “You know what you’re doing.”
“Maybe a little.” I turned back to Matt, who was munching on another donut that Andy had given him. “Thanks to you, it went a lot faster today. I should have you around more often.”
“Do I have to take my shirt off too?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Only if you want to. But it does help. If I didn’t show some skin, I’d have to lower my prices.”
“Imagine how much you could charge if you did this naked.”
The comment caught me completely off guard. Andy, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
“I like you, Matty,” he said, patting him on the shoulder. “I know it probably wasn’t under great circumstances, but I’m glad you’re here in Shifter Grove.”
“The donuts are almost worth it,” he replied.
“Ouch. Backhanded compliments, too? Damn.”
“You can take it,” Matt said with a grin. “I have a feeling you like the abuse.”
Andy blushed a bit. “Don’t call me out like that!”
I couldn’t help smiling as I watched the pair of them. It was nice to see Matt opening up for once. He’d been so closed off since he’d arrived. Understandably of course, but I still liked seeing that smile on his face. In fact, I couldn’t wait to see a lot more of it.