Page 21 of Bear Creek Thanksgiving (Holiday Mates #3)
Levi gave him the condensed version and then offered advice if Dustin needed it.
“I didn’t know a single thing about shifters when I got here, so you probably have the same questions I did. If you ever need to talk, please give me a call.”
Dustin thanked him for the offer and Levi excused himself to rejoin his mate and friends.
Another resort shuttle had just arrived with eager shoppers pouring through the main entrance.
Dustin sent one of the employees out with a tray full of sweet bakery samples while he went over to help with the plethora of kids in the activity corner.
While the day had been a huge success, Dustin now looked forward to closing time, a bit of peace and quiet, and spending time with Gruff.
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Sunday morning
Gruff awoke in his own bed, alone, missing Dustin something fierce.
By every measure, yesterday’s trial run had been phenomenal—strong sales, excited customers, and positive feedback.
By the time Dustin had finished at the Barn, it was eight p.m., and he’d been on his feet for fourteen hours.
Exhausted and needing fresh clothes, he’d reluctantly kissed Gruff goodnight and drove home to crash.
Gruff’s bear had sulked at the absence of the endearing human, still grumbling until the moment his other half fell asleep.
Now that he was awake, the disgruntled ursines’ sour attitude made Gruff grumpy.
The only solution? Take his bear for an early morning ramble through the orchard and work off some of his separation anxiety.
Wearing only a loose pair of shorts, Gruff opened the front door, allowing Baxter to go first. Overnight temperatures were in the sixties—more than warm enough for their outing.
Gruff stripped off the shorts, shifted, and lifted his nose to sample the air.
He started off towards the section of old orchard where he and Dustin had played recently, intending to have apples for breakfast. Baxter followed alongside, having learned the hard way that riding on the bear’s shoulder didn’t work very well when the beast ran at full speed.
Sure enough, the bear took off—zooming down the grassy strip between rows.
They were well-matched for speed unless Gruff was in a particular hurry, and Baxter kept pace until they reached their destination.
The apples here were sub-par, unfit for human consumption, though fine for indiscriminate bears.
Gruff stood on his back legs, methodically stripping an entire branch before moving on to the next.
When his cavernous belly was reasonably full, Gruff made an odd clicking noise—Baxter’s signal to hop on board for the ride home.
To anyone watching, the mismatched duo would have looked strange indeed.
If things got too bumpy, Baxter scolded him until the bear slowed down or forced him to jump off and walk under his own power.
As they neared the house, Gruff noted Dustin’s scent, and quickened his pace for the last hundred yards.
There he stood, hands on hips, watching the pair with a huge smile on his face. Upon arrival, both cat and bear got their ears scratched, purring in sync. As soon as Baxter hopped down, Gruff stood, shifted, and pulled Dustin into an embrace.
“Missed you, Dusty. My bear did too, and we’re so glad to see you. Can I fix you some breakfast before we get going?”
Dustin was too busy kissing his man to respond with words, so Gruff took that as a yes, picked him up, and carried him into the house stark naked. After more smooching, Dustin asked Gruff to put on some clothes.
“You’re too distracting otherwise, and all I can think of is… well, you know. I promise we’ll get to that later, but we have work to do first.”
Gruff grumbled but complied, making quick work of hearty omelets and a pan of buttermilk biscuits.
Dustin relented when Gruff insisted that he sit on his lap for the meal, making breakfast even more enjoyable—relaxed and comfortable simply because they were together again.
Gruff’s bear had mellowed out the minute Dustin’s scent registered, forgoing his cantankerous mood.
Baxter followed them out, glad to have free run of the place instead of being cooped up in the house all day by himself.
Yesterday, Gruff had wisely decided to keep him inside, otherwise the persistent feline would have taken every opportunity to sneak into the Red Barn.
Baxter would eventually learn that he wasn’t allowed inside, but he was both stubborn and sneaky—unwilling to follow the rules unless absolutely necessary.
While Gruff got the tractor and hay wagon out, Dustin went inside to check in with Asha.
The sweet scent of cinnamon was heavy in the air, and he greeted the father-son construction team who were finishing up the new breakroom.
At the top of the stairs, Dustin called out a good morning so as not to startle Asha.
She had just put a batch of caramel apple cupcakes in the oven, and the cooling racks held rows of fragrant cranberry orange bread.
“It smells great up here! I want to thank you for giving up your day off to bake. It means I can help Gruff make cider, and based on yesterday, we’re going to need more than I thought. You probably saw the empty display case when you came in.”
Asha smiled, pleased that people had enjoyed her work.
“Yes, I did. I was thinking some of our slower sellers could become weekly specials. That way, we can focus on the everyday items and not have to worry about running out. What do you think?”
Dustin liked the idea.
“Make as much as you can today, but text me a schedule and I’ll take a look.
We might have to limit some items to a single serving and take reservations if folks want more.
Let me know if you have any other ideas.
Even with the two of us, there’s only so much we can do.
Remember, I don’t want you working more than an eight-hour day, including cleanup.
I can’t have you falling asleep in the applesauce cake. ”
Asha laughed at his silly joke and got busy preparing the next recipe as Dustin turned to go.
Outside, Gruff was waiting for him, ready to head out.
Since the tractor seat couldn’t comfortably hold two, he sat on the wagon, surrounded by stacks of reusable plastic tubs.
Each one held a bushel of apples—enough to make only three gallons of cider apiece.
They had a big job ahead of them, though Ruben and Nina would take over picking later in the morning while he and Gruff made the cider.
Working together always made the day go by faster, and they might get to do some canoodling if they played their cards right.