Page 36 of Bear Creek Thanksgiving (Holiday Mates #3)
Dustin was kicking himself for not anticipating the extraordinary response to his Thanksgiving Apple Pie promotion.
The idea was to offer a substitute for the traditional pumpkin pie, thus making the Red Barn a go-to place for a holiday dessert.
Dustin made the process simple by selling the pie frozen so it could be freshly baked at home.
He wrapped it up in a festive box, and included detailed instructions that virtually guaranteed gastronomic success.
He’d been right about it being an inspired promotional idea—only their customers went absolutely gaga for them and demand quickly outstripped supply.
They were only available for two weeks, and Dustin had already been forced to limit it to one pie per person with an assigned pick-up day.
Not only was their freezer space limited, he and Asha were forced to work overtime to keep up.
As a result, a few of their less popular baked goods were now missing from the display cases—marked as “Returning in December.” There’d been a few grumbles, but most customers chose something else and chalked it up to the busy holiday season.
In the shop, lucrative sales continued unabated, even as Dustin received new Christmas merchandise.
The building was stuffed to the gills, with the overflow being stored in the converted lean-to and the unused second-floor bedrooms at the house.
Growing pains were never fun, but Dustin firmly believed the Red Barn’s first year required flexibility as they figured out what worked and what didn’t.
He and Gruff were delighted in how well the business was doing, and were already talking about an expansion of the Barn in the spring.
Pennsylvania enjoyed a longer apple harvest season than most, extending into mid-November.
At Shady Lane, they still had four varieties available for picking, though the Rome and Jonagold were mostly being used for the Thanksgiving pie promotion.
While Ruben and Nina continued ferrying customers to the orchard and back, Gruff was busy harvesting for the Red Barn.
Every time he arrived with a fresh supply of apples, he’d pause to give Dustin chilly kisses on the way to the walk-in cooler.
He’d been even more affectionate than usual lately, and while Dustin enjoyed the extra attention, he couldn’t help but wonder what had lit a fire under his man.
Though Baxter didn’t know it, he was now famous in his own right—especially among their online customers.
What started out as a couple of puzzles featuring the scrappy feline, had grown into a line of stationery, T-shirts, hoodies, potholders, and playing cards, all bearing his image in one hilarious pose or another.
So far the favorites seemed to be Baxter riding or napping on Gruff’s bear.
For the Christmas season, he would be appearing on Christmas stockings, tree ornaments, gift wrap, coffee mugs, more puzzles, and a new children’s board game entitled ‘Where’s Baxter?
’ In real life, the cheeky kitty was busy dispatching mice who were looking for new shelter amid the cooler temperatures.
Any critter that got past him was a personal affront, and he spent hours in the old barn chasing them down or waiting like a spider to pounce on the unsuspecting vermin.
Gruff rewarded him with extra treats, figuring it was cheaper than hiring a pest control service.
To create some pre-holiday buzz among their regular patrons, Dustin purchased a Christmas tree-shaped display unit and covered it with photos of the new merchandise.
The topper sign read “ARRIVING ON BLACK FRIDAY!” The only people who could get their hands on it sooner were employees or close friends, though it was all hush-hush.
Customers who tried to wheedle the new merch out of Dustin were told that the stock was still arriving.
If pressed further, he thanked them for their interest, handed over a free cookie, and sent them on their way with a smile.
After the lunch rush, Dustin told Jillian he’d be in his office for a while.
Like all retail operations, the Red Barn had its share of paperwork—a necessary but onerous reality.
There were packing slips to file, invoices to be paid, shipping documents to scan, and payroll to sort out.
The online store also needed a few updates and price changes before the week was out, but he’d have to take care of that tomorrow.
Just as he’d begun making headway, his phone rang with a call from his mother.
She rarely disturbed him during business hours, so something must be up.
“Hey, Mom. Is everything all right?”
“Hello, sweetheart. I’m sorry to bother you, but I forgot about the Delicious chocolates for our get together this weekend. If I send an order in now, could you pick it up and bring it with you?”
Now hooked on Aiden’s goodies, the Mowry Thanksgiving celebration wouldn’t be complete without them.
“No problem. Can you throw in a couple of Bear Brownies for Gruff and request a Saturday morning pickup?”
“I can do that! When should we expect you on Sunday?”
“We’ll be there by eleven at the latest. Do you need anything from the Barn?”
“Nothing comes to mind, and I have plenty of food on hand to keep Gruff satisfied. We can’t wait to see you.”
“Same here. Love you, Mom.”
Dustin smiled as he got back to work. The week of Thanksgiving was more than busy preparing for Black Friday, leaving no time for out-of-town trips.
His parents solved the problem by moving the Mowry celebration to the twelfth instead, enabling them to be with family for the holiday after all.
Gruff had been warned about the noisy, chaotic affair, but claimed to be looking forward to it.
Dustin supposed it wouldn’t be much different than him being the only human at the Tillman gatherings.
Either way, family was family, and he was determined to show Gruff a good time.
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That same evening
After supper, Gruff joined Dustin on the couch, handing him a white, legal-sized envelope. The return address told them it was from Pittsburgh Wealth Management.
“This came today. Will you open it?”
Dustin kissed him first, snuggling closer in the process.
“No worries, love. Mr. Gorman told us to expect a letter from them.”
Dustin opened it and pulled out a single sheet of fancy paper with the PWM letterhead. He skipped the formalities and read the main paragraph aloud.
“It has been our privilege to manage your investment funds and we would be pleased to continue serving you in the future. Please contact us at your earliest convenience to schedule a personal consultation with one of our team. There are many new and exciting investment choices available which could significantly impact your earnings, and we look forward to assisting you in growing your portfolio.”
Gruff growled at the letter as though it were a snake.
“I don’t understand what they’re talking about.”
Dustin put the letter back in the envelope and set it aside before answering.
“Well, my dad taught me a few things, but I’m not an expert.
PWM has money managers who are trained to get the best return for your investment—usually a mix of stocks and bonds.
They get to keep one or two percent of the total as their fee.
I’m guessing they’re locked into whatever choices your father made when he set up the account.
A lot has changed since then, and they want to improve the investment mix so it will make even more money for you—and for them. ”
Gruff still looked confused.
“So, what should I do with it ?”
Dustin wasn’t the one to ask, and he knew it. Gruff could be easily taken advantage of, and it frightened him.
“I honestly don’t know, love. Off the top of my head, I’d say you could leave it where it is, switch it to a different firm, or invest it in something else.
There are legal and tax issues involved too, so you have to be careful.
Why don’t we sit down with Ryder sometime after Thanksgiving and figure out the next steps? ”
Gruff seemed satisfied with putting it off for a while, and he trusted Ryder’s advice. Another question still troubled him, though.
“What do you think we should do with the property?”
Dustin noticed how Gruff included him by saying “we,” and honestly, he’d been quietly ruminating on the possibilities all week.
“The three big choices are to keep it, sell it, or give it away. If you don’t ever intend to live there, then selling it might be the best option. That way, you can do whatever you want with the money: pay off debts, improve Shady Lane, buy a boat...”
Gruff snorted at the last one and pulled Dustin into his arms.
“Hmmm… any other ideas in your handsome head?”
Dustin’s scent changed to one that was intimately familiar as he began unbuttoning Gruff’s shirt.
“I always have ideas. How about you bend me over the couch and fill me up?”
Gruff’s growly response was muffled in Dustin’s neck.
“Sounds good, Dusty. Let’s get naked.”
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Sunday, November 12th, en route to Harrisburg
Though the original plan called for Gruff in the driver’s seat of his pickup, things didn’t turn out that way.
With two aromatic boxes of treats from Delicious in the cab, the poor shifter couldn’t focus on his driving, forcing them to turn around and switch vehicles.
Dustin double-wrapped the boxes in heavy plastic bags, twist-tied them shut, and locked them in the trunk of his sedan to keep the alluring scent of chocolate and Bear Brownies to a minimum.