Chapter Seventeen
Flint
At least I’d stopped sneezing. And it turned out, Tawny hadn’t been crying at all but simply in the middle of a sneezing fit.
The diner was busy at lunch but Karissa and the other pack had taken the big booth in the back, and Holt stood and told us to come and join them.
I was glad for Karissa. She saw that we meant no harm and built the bridge that led to our omega. What a lovely female.
We all squeezed into the booth and I had to admit, it felt right. Two packs and their omegas. Tawny filed in between me and Rork, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that having her hip flush with mine was exactly what my wolf needed.
Her close. Not as close as he’d like her to be, but it would do for now.
We ordered milkshakes, cheeseburgers, and fries all around. I took note of Tawny’s order. A peanut butter milkshake with a cheeseburger, extra pickles. And I could’ve misinterpreted, but she was already eyeing the ketchup.
What a privilege it was to get to know our mate.
“Everything worked out?” Karissa prodded in a nice way.
“We’re going to help Tawny get the bookstore ready. Many hands, light work.”
Karissa gasped. “We can help too.”
“What? No. I can’t have all of you working for free. I can’t ask you to do this.”
Rork scoffed. “You didn’t ask. We are volunteering. Besides, the whole town wants to see the bookstore open again. Consider it an investment in a better Pleasant.”
“But it’s not. It’s work for the business. It’s work that will make me money…hopefully.” Tawny squirmed and Goddess help me, if she didn’t stop, I didn’t know how I was going to make it. Her hips brushed against mine and I leaned forward, sharing a knowing look with Rork. We were both so done for.
Karissa leaned forward and put her hand over Tawny’s on the table. “Pleasant is pretty nice but the best thing about it is the community. We all stick together and help each other. Like a big pack. You’re one of us now.”
“I’ve never had people make me feel so at home before.
Thank you all. If you are really willing, I would love the help.
It would get things going faster so I could open sooner.
” Tawny accepted the help with a slight blush and a shrug.
I could tell it was hard for her to accept help.
She would have to get used to it living here and eventually, hopefully, as part of our pack.
“We are happy to help you.” Craven asked, “In fact, how about we start tomorrow, early. I’m off tonight and, Flint, can you take another day off?”
“I can.”
Holt and his pack were also available the next day, and we chatted on, listing off all the things that could be done while we ate our burgers.
The first thing to do was clean the place up which meant a lot of dusting, sweeping, mopping, and getting all that dirt off the windows.
Between the eight of us, it would be done in one morning as opposed to Tawny working for days and getting exhausted.
Next would be painting and updating the sign.
Then, of course, stocking the books, and it would be ready for grand opening.
Not a lot of things to do on paper, but each one might take days or weeks, especially getting a new inventory of books in.
By the time we were done making our plans, everyone was excited. We clinked our glasses of milkshakes together, making a toast to our new camaraderie.
In the meantime, I soaked up everything about my omega.
Our omega. The way she laughed. How she didn’t mindlessly nod while someone was talking.
Holding eye contact while she spoke to us.
Table manners that would rival any royally trained princess, not that it was important to me but I noticed.
Turning her burger this way and that, picking the perfect bite.
And I’d been right before. She was a big fan of ketchup. I could practically hear Rork making a note to stock up on the bottles of it on his next big-box run.
Her scent eased my wolf. He’d been rigid before her. Antsy. Impatient. But now that she was next to me, all of that had ceased.
Holt and his pack left us to finish off our milkshakes, and we offered to pay the bill. It was only right, since Karissa was the reason we had this time with Tawny.
Craven was talking about his job since Tawny asked, and we moved to the subject of our home and Rork’s job and mine.
After we paid, suddenly, Tawny’s scent kicked up a notch. Her sweetness became so thick in the air, it was like molasses being poured over us.
“Are you okay?” I whispered to her, not wanting anyone else to hear. Was her heat spiking? Was she on suppressants? Hard to tell.
“Yes. Kind of. It’s warm in here all of a sudden.” She pinched her collar and moved her shirt away from her body.
“Then let’s get you out of here. May we walk you home, Tawny?” Craven asked. Great idea. Walk her home. Take her inside. See what that intensity in her scent was.
Ugh, my thoughts were moving too fast. We had to get to know her. Court her properly. Take all the time she needed to trust us.
Choose us as her pack.
“That would be great. Thank you.”