Page 38 of Bear Creek Thanksgiving (Holiday Mates #3)
Shortly after, around the table
While everyone enjoyed the tasty meal, Gruff was in bear heaven surrounded by new and interesting foods.
He loved to cook and sampled every dish, parsing out the recipe by taste and scent.
Anything that slipped by and only ended up on Dustin’s plate was freely pilfered with his mate’s permission.
Gruff was too busy enjoying the meal to notice the fond looks and smiles from the other adults around the table.
At one point, Joan caught Dustin’s eye, pointed at Gruff’s plate, and mouthed “okay?” She’d been concerned about him getting enough to eat, but Dustin smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
On Gruff’s other side sat Nicole’s little one, Elijah, who at eighteen months was going through his selective eating phase.
Somehow, Gruff noticed and had started a game with him by sharing bits of this and that from his own plate.
He’d pretend to eat some, and then offer a bite to Elijah with a rumbly growl.
When the boy opened his mouth to laugh, Gruff would feed it to him, and down it went without a fuss.
Nicole and Blake watched the show as they ate, grateful to have avoided another stressful meal with their little one.
After dessert, most of the adults reported to the kitchen for clean-up duty, allowing Joan to relax for a bit.
With many hands, it didn’t take long to get everything washed, wiped, and put away for later.
Per holiday tradition, the guys made a beeline for the den to watch football, while Gruff and Dustin got the third degree in the living room.
At the moment, Dustin was sharing photos of the new line of Baxter merch for Christmas, prompting laughter and jokes.
Tara piped up with a suggestion of her own.
“You should have Delicious make some mouse-shaped chocolates and sell them as Baxter Bites!”
Gruff responded with a rumbly laugh as Dustin’s brows rose in surprise.
“I like that idea. Aiden can get almost any type of candy mold, and I’ll ask him about bear paws, too. If I make the packaging fun, our customers will love them!”
Ignoring the other adults, Tara’s twins, Gavin and Luke, crawled up on the couch and handed Gruff a book to read.
He gave them a friendly growl as they parked themselves on either side, squeezing Uncle Dustin out of the way.
It was a short book about a lost unicorn, and both boys kept glancing up from the colorful pages to stare at Gruff.
His deep voice had captured their attention, and eventually, they noticed his soft purr—laying their heads against his chest to feel the vibration.
This was a side of Gruff he’d never seen, though he must have had lots of practice with the Tillman brothers’ cubs.
Dustin almost lost it watching the gentle interaction with the boys.
Would kids be part of their future together?
They’d never discussed it, but he could picture them adopting a few and making a family of their own.
When the boys got down to play, Gruff pulled Dustin to his side for a smooch, and then whispered in his ear.
“Love you, Dusty, and yeah, I want some cubs of our own. You’ll be a great dad.”
Dustin teared up, burying his face in Gruff’s neck.
“You read my mind, love, and we do have three extra bedrooms…”
What Dustin didn’t say, but Gruff heard anyway, was that once they were mated and sharing the primary bedroom, there would be plenty of space for kids.
His bear didn’t miss a beat, sending Gruff a mental picture of marking Dustin as their own.
It was time—past time really—and Gruff acknowledged the idea with quiet acceptance.
It took about two weeks for the newly mated to settle in and allow for short periods of separation.
But with so much going on back home at this time of year, when would they ever find the time?
After passing around the boxes of Delicious chocolates and catching up on everyone’s news, Gruff and Dustin said their goodbyes. The Mowrys saw them to the door, giving both men hugs, and Joan lingered a bit longer for a final word with Gruff.
“I apologize for what my parents said to you earlier. For some reason, shifters frighten them. They were genuinely concerned about Dustin’s safety, but they have no idea how hurtful their comments were.
I want you to know that the rest of the family loves you unconditionally.
We can see how much you care for Dustin, and think you make a wonderful couple.
Never be afraid to be yourself in this family, Gruff, and from now on we’d like you to call us mom and dad. ”
Gruff blushed, wrapping an arm around his mate. He hadn’t expected such kindness, but Joan’s sincerity meant a great deal to him anyway.
“Thanks… mom. It was fun to be with everybody today—well, almost everybody. The food was good, too. I’m not sure what we’re doing for Christmas or New Year’s, but we’ll figure it out and let you know. Oh, before I forget, will you send us some gift ideas so we know what to buy?”
More hugs ensued before they got back on the road, thankful for many things—each other, certainly, but for family, too. Gruff hadn’t given Thanksgiving much thought in years past, but he was grateful that the holiday now meant something.
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Sunday, November 19, one week later
It had been a hectic week at both the orchard and the Red Barn, with Gruff bringing in the last of the apple crop.
Delicious ’ final order of the season had been delivered on Thursday, and the cider room cooler was now filled floor-to-ceiling with fruit.
Yesterday had been the last U-pick day for customers, and any remaining apples would be sold to Wallen Market, their local grocery store.
Nina and Rueben, troopers to the end, had gone home to resume their quiet lives, promising to stop by now and then.
With the Red Barn’s change of hours coming up, today was the last Sunday off for Dustin and Gruff.
They spent a good part of it working anyway—this time relocating all the Christmas merch stored in the upstairs bedrooms. Neither of them wanted employees in their personal space, so they decided to transfer all the boxes to the Red Barn today.
Gruff had cleaned off the hay wagon and pulled it up near the front of the house for easier loading.
Baxter supervised from a safe corner of the porch where he had a perfect view of all the goings on.
His running commentary kept Gruff and Dustin chuckling as they marched back and forth with scores of cardboard containers.
Apparently, this was more entertaining than chasing down mice, and Baxter graciously accepted a throw rug Dustin brought out for him to sit on.
Gruff had explained that the fussy feline disliked cold weather, and truly detested snow—exclusively riding on his shoulder between the house and the old barn during the winter.
There, he would do his hunting while Gruff took care of business, and then enjoy a ride back home without freezing his paws in the offending white stuff.
The Red Barn was to be closed for the next four days.
On Monday and Tuesday, Dustin and his crew would set up new display racks and shelving and fill them with holiday themed product.
Wednesday and Thursday were reserved for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the Barn reopened on Black Friday for the Christmas season.
From then onward, Monday was their day off, matching the shops in town, and allowing for weekend ice skating through the winter.
Dustin had asked Gruff when the coldest weather arrived in this part of the state.
“Early December for snow, but the pond will start freezing over any day now. The ice isn’t safe for skating until it’s at least four inches thick.
We’ll need to post something on the website and out by the road to let people know when it’s ready.
I expect the season to last through February or early March. ”
Dustin was eager to try it.
“I must have been eight or nine the last time I went ice skating. How about you?”
Gruff growled and shook his head.
“Never have. I’m not coordinated enough for skating. Dancing either.”
Dustin wasn’t giving up so easily.
“Will you try for me? I’ll help you.”
Gruff huffed several times before giving in. He simply couldn’t refuse his mate.
“We’ll need to buy skates. There’s a couple of places in Wilkes-Barre who sell them, but we should go today while we have the time.”
Dustin gave his sweet man a big smooch.
“Thank you! It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”
Gruff grumbled for five minutes solid, convinced he’d be breaking limbs instead of learning to skate.
############
Monday and Tuesday
Dustin and his crew had their hands full with the gift shop reset and a deep cleaning of the building.
Asha took care of the kitchen as well as the first floor display cases and drink area.
Two of their part-timers were tasked with cleaning public areas of the Red Barn while nearly everyone else worked on preparations for Black Friday.
Finding a specific item amid a mountain of similar boxes was a herculean task.
Once located, it had to be unpacked, priced, and placed on the appropriate shelf or display.
Meanwhile, Jillian and her helpers focused on making signs, taking photographs of the new merch for website use, and uploading the items to the online store.
The work went much faster with no customers under foot, and Dustin provided snacks to keep things casual and fun.