Chapter 15
Sera woke with more excitement than she could ever remember.
Even though the clock said four a.m. and she hadn’t gone to bed until after midnight, she was wide awake and ready for the day.
After slipping quietly from the bed while Caesar slept soundly, she’d dressed in dark jeans and a park T-shirt that Anke had given her from the store’s selection.
This one was maroon and had the park’s logo on the back with a small embroidered patch on the sleeve with all the animals in the paddocks that matched the animal silhouettes on the front gate.
In minutes, she was in the underground market’s kitchen with an apron on, brewing a brown sugar cinnamon syrup and prepping the sweet vanilla creamer that was always such a hit.
She set up the pastry display with items from her late-night baking session with Jeanie: coffee cake, two kinds of large muffins, and cinnamon rolls.
“Oh, you’re up early!”
Sera looked up from the batch of syrup she was pouring into a glass bottle that would be topped with a pump and saw Jeanie. “Morning! I was too excited to stay asleep.”
“Everything looks great,” Jeanie said, tying on an apron.
“What time is it?” Sera asked.
“Just after five. I’ve got a few breakfast casseroles to get into the oven that I prepped last night. Plus, I’m making Caesar salad wraps for lunch and I’ve got so much freaking chicken to cook.”
Sera smiled at her new friend. “I’m so happy.”
“I can tell,” Jeanie said with a grin. “You’re glowing.”
They parted ways and Sera continued to work on organizing the drink station, which included a small rolling cart near the counter with large buffet-style carafes for self-serve regular and decaf coffees, plus various milks on ice and sweeteners.
But anyone who wanted a special coffee or tea, or one of the pastries, would come to Sera.
And she couldn’t wait.
She heard voices down the hall, and even though it wasn’t yet six when the market was supposed to open, she knew the morning was about to get really busy.
Sending a quick text to Caesar, she said, I’m so blessed to know you. When you wake up, find me in the market and I’ll make you a coffee. Love you to the ends of the earth.
Putting her phone in her pocket, she smiled at the males who strode toward the café counter. “Is it too early?” one of the males asked. She recognized him as Alfie, a wolf who was part of the security team. “We can wait.”
“Nope,” she said. She pointed to the wooden sign where she’d written the menu in colorful chalk. “Help yourself to regular coffee or come talk to me about a special drink or pastry.”
“Hell yes,” Alfie said. He stepped up to the counter and she filled his order, her heart singing at the work she was doing.
It wasn’t anything like what she’d done in the prowl, with males stopping by her home for drinks and breakfast because there had been an expectation that she and her daughters pulled their own weight in the prowl.
Even though she had enjoyed it, she hadn’t loved it.
But this?
She freaking loved it.
Just like she loved her slumbering lion.
* * *
By seven a.m., Sera had made over a dozen custom drinks and sold out half her pastries. The iced brown sugar cinnamon coffee with sweet cream foam was the most requested, with Indio, one of the elephant shifters, coming back for seconds after he finished the first in record time.
“I don’t really like sweet coffee,” he said, holding the tall to-go cup. “But this is really awesome.”
“I’m so glad you like it,” she said. “I think I’ll put it on the menu as a regular drink.”
“Definitely,” he said. “I think it’s a hit.”
Jeanie joined her behind the counter. “You’re very popular, but I knew you would be.”
“This is a dream come true.”
A shadow fell across the counter, and before she even looked up, she knew who it was.
“Hi, beautiful,” Caesar said, his voice warm like honey.
“Morning,” she said.
“How are you, Jeanie?”
“I’m great. Especially with your lovely mate handling the drink orders.”
“We make an awesome team,” Sera said. Jeanie nodded enthusiastically.
He held up his travel mug that had a watercolor lion leaping across a grassy field. “I was wondering if I could get something sweet from my sweetheart?”
She took the mug from him. “What would you like?”
“Regular with the vanilla cream, please.” He leaned on the counter and smiled in a ferally sexy sort of way. “And a cinnamon roll to go too.”
“You got it.”
As she worked, she was aware he was watching her, his expression soft with affection. “You look really happy.”
“I am. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since I made the first coffee before six.”
She put the cinnamon roll in a paper bag and handed him the coffee. He took a drink and hummed. “Perfect. Just like you.”
“A girl could get used to so many compliments.”
“You should, I plan to compliment you often.” The way he said the last word made her whole body tingle. The male was too sexy for his own good.
He leaned over and kissed her. “I’m so proud of you, Sera. Do you want to meet for lunch in the employee cafeteria topside?”
“Absolutely.”
She watched him walk off, her chest swelling with love for him. She was living a dream she’d never dared to even wish for.
The morning flew by. More shifters came through than she’d expected, and by eleven, all the pastries were gone and the crowd had thinned to a trickle.
She cleaned the espresso machine and topped off the drip carafes, setting out a laminated sign that read: Self-serve coffee station open until 1pm.
Creamers and sweeteners in the cooler. Enjoy!
“Oh, hi!” a feminine voice said.
Sera stopped mid-motion as she was untying her apron. “Hello.”
“I’m Heidi.”
“Oh, right! Hi, I’m Sera.” She took off her apron and shook Heidi’s offered hand. The pretty brunette had intense green eyes and a kind smile.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make it here before you closed up for the morning. I was helping out in the petting zoo, cleaning out the stalls, and it took longer than expected. How was the first day?”
“It was amazing. Jeanie said you might be interested in helping out with the café?”
“I would love to.” The two sat at a table after Heidi fixed herself a coffee with milk and sugar.
“I’ve always been a jill-of-all-trades, and never really had anything that I did all the time.
I move to where I’m needed, and I never know what I might be doing.
Most of the time, I work in the offices doing whatever odds and ends are needed, and I fill in at the ticket booth, the season ticket office, the security office, and I’ve helped with the tours too. ”
“That’s quite a resume. Are you looking for something more permanent?”
“Yes, definitely. I’m twenty-three and think it’s high time that I actually settled into something. And I love coffee. I’m a quick learner and am also an early bird, so I don’t mind starting work early. If you’d like an extra pair of hands, I’m your girl.”
Sera smiled at Heidi’s enthusiasm. “I’d love to have your help. You can start tomorrow unless you’re assigned to the petting zoo again?”
“No, that was just today that they needed help. I’m very free. What time?”
“If it’s not too early, I got here at four, and I think the timing was really good because people were coming through around five thirty.”
“The morning shift starts at six, so that makes sense that they’d be here earlier than that. Normally, Jeanie puts coffee out for people to grab and the bears stock the employee cafeteria with sandwiches and drinks, but we’ve never had a real coffee shop before. It’s so exciting.”
“Welcome aboard,” Sera said.
They stood and Heidi gave her a quick hug. “Thanks for giving me a shot.”
“You bet. I’ll see you tomorrow around four. Joss is having someone create shirts for us, but you can wear whatever you’d like.”
“I will. See you!”
Heidi left and Sera turned back to the counter to finish cleaning up. Jeanie grinned. “She’s a sweet girl.”
“She is! I think she’ll fit right in. She seems really eager.”
“She’s been looking for something to call her own for a while. I think it happens to the wolves as they get older—they start to want to settle down with a job and carve out a place for themselves.”
“I get that. I felt the same way after coming here.” Even her daughter had made a place for herself at the farm, handling breakfast for the stallions and their mates, and working with the alpha female Zara to tend to the gardens.
“I’m getting lunch going. If you need any supplies for breakfast items, let me know.”
“I will. I’m going to work on a menu so I know what I’m making every day.”
“Perfect. Have a good lunch. See you later!”
She parted ways with the alpha female and headed up to the employee cafeteria.
She found Caesar at the counter looking at the lunch offerings that had been brought over by the bears who worked in the commercial kitchen that was located near the cafeteria.
They greeted each other with a warm kiss and hug, and then chose plates from under the warmer: pot roast and mashed potatoes for him, and a wedge of chicken and rice casserole for her with a side of steamed veggies.
After grabbing drinks, they settled at a table near the windows that overlooked the park.
Amadeus and his friends Xavier and Hyde joined them with plates and drinks of their own. They swapped stories about the morning patrols and the updates to the security systems. Sera listened, fascinated. Caesar kept a hand on her knee under the table, gently tracing circles against her jeans.
“The café is a hit,” Xavier said. “That cinnamon roll is the best one I’ve ever had.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I had so much fun this morning.”
“It’ll be awesome to get the topside shop going,” Hyde said. “Can I join the construction crew? I could use a break from food prep for a while.”
“We’d love to have you on board,” Caesar said. “We’re still in the planning phase, but the hope is to break ground by mid-October.”