Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
ARBOR
I spend far too much time online that night, browsing the internet, reading articles on how to grovel. There were the normal articles, suggesting saying you’re sorry, buying flowers, or writing a letter. And then there were some over-the-top ones, too.
I’m definitely not going to sing off-key in a public place to shame myself. Nor am I going to wear a collar that says Bad Omega on it.
Instead, I decide to just buy him something. I pay extra to have it delivered to my door that night. And when I finally make it to work the next morning, it sits in a bag on my desk, staring at me.
Mocking me.
I’ve never gotten an alpha a present in my life. That’s not me. But there it is. Waiting for its inevitable rejection.
When Glenn finally arrives, I’m so nervous my eye is twitching.
Not that he looks at me long enough to notice. He simply walks over to the coffee machine, brews his cup of coffee, and stands in front of my desk, awaiting orders.
“What’s the plan for today, Mr. Wren?”
I sigh and push the bag forward. “Let’s start with this first.”
His eyes flick down to it, and he steps forward, his fingers reaching out and flicking the bag open.
“What’s this for?”
I swallow and close my eyes. The twitch is too much.
“An apology gift.”
He’s deathly silent, and I peek an eye open. He’s still not looking at me, but his cheeks are slightly flushed.
“I already have a tool belt.”
“Yes, but this one is nicer and newer.”
He sips his coffee and picks the bag up.
“All right.”
Not even a thank you. Something inside me twists, and I let out a long exhale, turning my gaze to the computer screen. I don’t expect his gratitude, not after what I did—even so, the rejection hurts.
We go through the plans for the day, and then he walks out, the bag in his hand.
I watch him hand the new tool belt to Fisher, who ends up being the one to wear it.
I guess my web searches weren’t helpful. Or maybe they were, and I just need to grovel harder.
Fuck, I need to grovel harder.
I decide to pivot that night. Perhaps he doesn’t want things for work. That was silly of me. A guy like Glenn would like the same old shit, wearing it until it falls apart.
So, I decide on food.
A basket of it.
He said he loves food, loves cooking and eating.
I end up leaving work early the next day to head to a local farm, oddly named Buttered Blessings. They’re known for their homemade cheese, jams, and fresh fruit.
Weird, no butter in sight.
I walk into the small shop, feeling flustered and overwhelmed. Today was awful. Glenn once again didn’t even look at me. He acted entirely professionally and left me sitting in my chair without a backward glance.
I rub at my swollen eyes.
I might have had a small breakdown while driving here. And I know I don’t have a lot of time before they close, so when a lovely older woman named Eudora wanders up and asks if she can help me, I let it all out.
I stand there, swiping at my watering eyes, telling her far too much about how I fucked up. About how I need apology cheese and maybe some honey. Anything that will make my alpha look at me again.
She listens intently, bobbing her head, and then pulls me in for a long hug. Besides Glenn, no one has hugged me in a long time.
And I threw it away for a stupid rule I’ve been living by for far too long.
“Oh, you’re all right. I’ve got this. Let me help you, you poor boy.”
And she does. She helps me so much, in fact, that I end up sobbing in my car once more, unsure of what to do with such kindness from a stranger.
She even gave me a discount on it all.
Through wet eyes, I drive toward Wolverston with several cheeses, jams, and honey in a pretty basket.
Oh fuck, I hope he likes it. He has to like it.
Twenty minutes later, my car bumps down the gravel road to his house, and it’s then that I see his truck and an SUV parked outside. My eyes swivel to the windows, and I see the lights on inside.
This is where I spent an entire day, being fucked and cuddled and cared for.
This is a house that feels like home.
My heart is in my throat as I turn the engine off and grab the basket Eudora artfully arranged. It’s perfect, each item stacked so you can make out what it is.
My feet stumble up the stairs, and I ring the doorbell, listening as footsteps approach.
The door is wrenched open, and I see a handsome man standing in the doorway, tattoos on his arms and a piercing in his nose.
He cocks his head and stares at me.
I almost run away. Almost. This could be a lover, someone he’s fucking instead of me. He could have already moved on.
“I-I—” My words trail off, and I find it almost hard to breathe.
Hands grab the basket from me, and I lean against the railing, trying to take air into my lungs.
“Glenn, you have a hyperventilating dude on your porch with two different colored eyes.” The guy says, and then adds, “And he brought you cheese. Fuck yes!”
As my vision grows hazy, familiar hands find my hips, one running up my back. I guess I’m having a panic attack, something I haven’t had in a while.
Since I was with Vince, actually. I thought it was just him, his bad attitude, and negativity sending me over the edge every few days, but I think it’s stress.
The stress of not being wanted.
“Breathe,” I hear Glenn say, and I inhale shakily, my fingers curling against the wood of the porch rail, little bits of wood getting stuck under my nails.
“Breathe. Tell me what you see, what you hear, what you feel.”
My eyes sting, and I glance around, naming off the trees, the dirt, all the places Glenn and I were together. The way it felt with him inside of me sits heavily in the forefront of my mind.
And his touch makes my chest loosen and expand at the same time. I feel like I’m being stretched apart.
“I’m good. I’m good,” I finally wheeze, composing myself and standing up. I wobble slightly, and he grabs on to me gently.
“You okay?”
“Mhm.”
He doesn’t look so sure, so I straighten my shoulders and meet his gaze. Fuck, do not cry. Do not fucking cry.
“Sorry…sorry to have kept you from your date.”
“No date. That’s my brother.”
Relief rushes through me, and I feel like I can breathe again.
“Your brother?”
He nods. “Yeah, that’s Forest. Come here.”
I see the guy I handed the basket of cheese and jam to meander to the front door, lean against the doorframe, and stare at me. I can see the resemblance now that I’m more clear-headed. He and Glenn have the same eyes and the same-shaped jaw.
They’re both incredibly handsome.
“This is my boss, Mr. Wren.”
Forest cocks an eyebrow. “Nice that your boss drops off expensive cheese and honey at your door.”
Glenn clears his throat. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”
I feel a flush move across my cheeks and down my neck. Yeah, this is not what a boss does. Not at all.
“I was just in the area.”
Glenn huffs. He knows I live nowhere near here. I’m in the opposite direction, actually.
“Well, thanks for the basket of cheese, Mr. Wren,” he says. “Are you okay to drive?”
I peer up at him and swallow. My head bobs in a nod, and he lowers his chin, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“Well, see you later, then.”
And with that, he turns and disappears back into his house, the door closing softly behind him.
On wobbly legs, I get into my car, breathing deeply before I leave. And when I do, I sniffle and swipe at my eyes as I drive down the highway. If I turn down the gravel road to Buttered Blessings, the farm I just left, I don’t mean to.
But when I park my car and get out, Eudora is outside, watering the plants near her porch. Her hand comes up to shield the setting sun from her eyes, and then she waves.
I’ve lost my mind completely to be here right now. I don’t even know her. I just told her my life story over cheese a little while ago.
But she doesn’t seem bothered, just waves me over.
“Was everything all right with your purchase?” she asks, and I nod, my throat clicking as I swallow.
“His brother took it, and then I had a panic attack.”
She coos over me, setting down the watering can and bringing me up onto her porch.
“Oh dear, that’s not good.”
I sink into a rocking chair and take deep, rattling breaths. A glass of lemonade is handed to me, and I sip at it, feeling Eudora sit down next to me.
“I’m so sorry about this,” I whisper. “I just have no one, and you were nice to me.”
“You poor boy. It’s fine. What’s your name?”
“Arbor.”
“Beautiful name. Your parents have good taste.”
I peer over at her and debate whether I should tell her more of my sob story. I decide not to, but my mouth has other ideas.
“They’re dead.”
She places a hand over her heart. “Oh, my.”
“Yeah.”
I sip on my lemonade and close my eyes. “Spent most of my life in foster care.”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It wasn’t so bad. I got a brother out of it. Well, sort of. And I got a few life lessons I never asked for, but can’t seem to shake either.”
“Care to share?”
I shouldn’t. They’re private, whispers lingering in my mind. But I do it anyway.
“My mom always told me never to let anyone claim me because it would mean I was less than.”
“And your father?”
I open my eyes and turn to look at her. She stares deeply into my eyes and then cocks her head.
“Do you mind me asking if you’re part fae? Those eyes…”
I sigh. “Yeah. My dad was fae. My mom was an omega. It’s why I have these fucking eyes and the scent I know you can smell.”
She inhales and then shrugs. “I had cancer a while back. Killed almost all sense of smell and taste. But I remember the aroma from when I visited the Isles of Shoals.”
My eyes widen. “You went there?”
She grins. “I had a lovely forbidden tryst with one of the fae that lived on one of the islands. A bit of a recluse, but it was a wild time. He smelled of honey and lavender. A bit of a trickster when he wanted to be, and downright cruel and vengeful when he got mad.”
She sighs as I just stare at her.