Page 23 of Bear Creek Thanksgiving (Holiday Mates #3)
The overhead speakers pinged with an incoming announcement, catching everyone’s attention.
“Good morning, shoppers! We have a special guest with us today to introduce a new line of products, found only here at the Red Barn. Please welcome ROWAN, one of Bear Creek’s famous dancing bears!”
Rowan trundled in from the break room hallway, alarming a few guests who had no idea who or what the dancing bears were.
Nose busy sniffing the fragrant air, he stood next to the display and waved at the gawking customers.
He wore a cream-colored apron, emblazoned with an image of six gyrating bears.
The caption read, ‘WILL DANCE FOR FOOD.’ A crowd gathered to see what was going on as Dustin approached for a little audience interaction.
“I love your apron, Rowan. Is that you on the right side?”
Rowan nodded his head and the crowd laughed while the photographer DeeDee sent over unobtrusively snapped photos. Dustin resumed his dialog.
“There’s a lot of cool stuff here, but I can’t tell who’s who. Maybe you can help me.”
Dustin then pointed out several different items, each time asking, “Is that you?” and receiving a growly headshake in response.
Eventually, Dustin lifted an attractive hoody showing a bear sleeping on a pile of colorful leaves.
The caption read, ‘FALL IS FOR SNOOZING,’ and Rowan nodded this time.
The audience laughed again when he curled up on the floor in the same position.
Dustin then invited all the children to a special Listen With Rowan story time in the kid’s corner while they enjoyed a free cupcake.
Later, Dustin played one of the Christmas songs Rowan had memorized, and he danced for the onlookers.
From there it was photos with a bear and then hide and seek with the little ones.
Using his ursine sense of smell, Rowan found each of the squealing children in no time at all.
As hoped, the bear merchandise sold well, and the employees had to restock the display more than once.
At noon, Rowan was given several sweet breads to take home, along with a generous gift certificate for the Red Barn. Dustin walked him out to his car.
“I can’t thank you enough for doing this. I’d have asked Gruff, but he doesn’t like the attention. You helped raise a lot of money today for good causes, and it’s truly appreciated.”
Rowan nodded, a genuine smile on his face.
“No problem. I’m used to the bear gigs now, and it’s kind of fun. I can’t wait to taste these breads. They smell fantastic.”
“Well, I hope you like them all. I could see Listen With Rowan becoming a regular thing if you or any of the others are interested. Both the kids and their parents loved it.”
Rowan left with a promise to think about it while Dustin’s creative side toyed with an idea that could potentially raise a lot more money for charity.
He’d have to do some research first and get some advice.
Maybe the local library would be the place to go, if he ever had the time.
At the moment, a building full of customers needed his attention.
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By the end of the week, they’d fallen into a fairly predictable pattern.
Customer comments and online reviews were positive, the new employees had settled into their roles, and sales were encouraging.
The photos from Rowan’s visit provided wonderful marketing opportunities for both the Red Barn and the SHARP charitable foundation.
Folks who didn’t have much to donate could still contribute by purchasing the dancing bear merch, providing a win-win situation.
Dustin kept a running list of additional items to order for the Christmas season—certain to become customer favorites.
As with all new enterprises, a few bumps were to be expected.
Gruff’s ancient tractor broke down on Tuesday and it took two days to get it repaired.
That left Nina and Ruben to redouble their efforts shuttling U-Pick customers back and forth, but there were no complaints about the longer wait times.
Then there was the accident in the parking lot—snarling up traffic flow until a tow truck arrived to clear the way.
The Red Barn itself experienced a few minor incidents, including some broken pottery, an accidental fire alarm, a faulty fuse in the dumbwaiter, and running out of cider.
The most notable snafu, however, occurred when Baxter slipped inside carrying a dead mouse in his teeth.
A blood-curdling scream brought Dustin running to see what had happened, only to find the shameless cat strolling through the gift shop like nobody’s business.
Amid profuse apologies, both he and the deceased rodent were hastily shown the door.
The solution to the cider shortage was to train two of their older employees to make it during the day.
Doing so left Dustin shorthanded, and meant Gruff had to use every spare minute to pick and deliver the apples it required.
On the other hand, it allowed Dustin and Gruff to catch up on baking and other chores in the evening.
It made for long days, short nights, and limited intimacy, but their growing relationship made the exhaustion easier to overlook.
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Sunday
Though it was supposed to be their day off, both men had work to do in order to be ready for Monday morning.
Dustin spent hours in the kitchen baking while Gruff tended to maintenance and other tasks he’d put off during the week.
Once the U-Pick apple season was finished in mid-November, they’d only have the Red Barn to worry about until the pond froze over and skating began.
At that point, they’d be open on Sunday and closed on Monday instead.
This first year would be somewhat experimental as they figured out what worked for themselves and their customers.
At least the evenings were theirs, and they took advantage of them.
After-supper cleanup went faster with two, and they were so used to working together that it took very little time.
Gruff loved having Dustin here with him, missing him terribly whenever he couldn’t stay over.
The upstairs bedroom had been worth every penny, and became their own little love nest. His bear regularly reminded him that the whole house could be theirs if he’d claim Dustin.
He acknowledged the true statement, and the thought wasn’t nearly as scary as it used to be, but it didn’t seem to be the right time yet.
With the food put away and the kitchen clean, the men kicked off their shoes and cuddled up on the sofa for some preliminary smooching.
Once they got riled up, the clothes would start coming off and the real fun started.
Baxter assumed his vaulted perch on the sofa back to spy on his keepers while they thrashed around and made odd noises.
It had become so commonplace lately that he basically ignored the incomprehensible activity and eventually fell asleep.
Now shirtless, Dustin had his hot mouth on Gruff’s nipple, licking and nibbling until the man was a growly mess and hard as iron.
He never got to reciprocate, however, because Dustin’s phone began ringing and interrupted their playtime.
He fished it out of his pocket and saw that it was his sister, Nicole.
“Sorry, love, but I need to take this one.”
Gruff grunted, pulling his lover back to rest against his chest, and started exploring.
“Hi Sis! Is everything okay? It’s been crazy around here.”
Gruff’s warm, wandering hands were very distracting, but Dustin didn’t have the heart to stop him.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Tara said she left you a message and never heard back, so I thought I’d try. Nothing new with us, but how are things with you and Gruff? Was your first week a success?”
Gruff’s flexible tongue was now toying with Dustin’s left ear, and his boner had lodged itself in his butt crack. Hot damn! He needed to make this call a short one.
“We had a few things go wonky, but overall it was a great week. Gruff and I are fantastic. He’s the sweetest man I’ve ever met, though he can be a tease sometimes. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
Gruff chuckled softly, kissing the side of Dustin’s neck with little pecks that drove his man crazy.
“Meeting him is what I wanted to talk to you about. Mom and dad will be home from their cruise soon and want to know when we can all drive up for a visit.”
Dustin jumped as Gruff’s hand slipped under the waistband of his jeans and started fondling his junk. He elbowed the naughty man, but it didn’t have the desired effect.
“Oh, I’d love to see everybody, but our only day off is Sunday. Why don’t we plan for… how does mid-September sound?”
Gruff nodded his okay when he turned to look at him—a wicked smirk on his face and a warm hand around Dustin’s balls.
“September should work, but I’ll let everyone know so we can agree on the details. You’re probably tired from a long day, so I’ll let you go. Tell Gruff hello—and send more pictures.”
“I will. Thanks for calling, Nicole. Love you!”
Dustin ended the call, turned off his phone, and unzipped his jeans.
“All right, buster, you better finish what you started or I’m going to beat off in the bathroom by myself.”
Indignant, Gruff growled loud enough to wake Baxter.
“No. MINE!”
Before Dustin made good on his threat, Gruff swallowed the man’s cock and quickly received a protein snack for his trouble. The remainder of their evening was spent upstairs, making up for lost time.
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The following week, Williamsport, Pennsylvania