Page 5 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy (Brides of the Lonesome Creek Orcs #3)

Holly

A s I walked into the front area, moving to stand behind the glass-fronted display cabinet with what I hoped wasn’t a tortured smile on my face, footsteps clicked on the wooden floorboards.

A tall orc woman with gray-tinged hair formed into a bun on the top of her head and a tiny, elderly human woman sauntered across the open area like they were born to take up space.

Aunt Inla wore a floor-length purple dotted dress with ruffles along the neckline that did nothing to disguise the set of her thick orc jaw and shoulders.

Her dark eyes assessed the display case before zeroing in on me.

The elderly human woman wore a floral cotton gown covered in green pears, of all things, and a wide-brimmed pink bonnet tied so tight under her chin, she looked like she’d planned to ride a tornado. Her cane tapped on the floor, punctuating each step.

When she came to a stop, her eyes also landed on me.

“Oh-ho,” the tiny one who had to be Grannie Lil said, propping a hand on her hip. “Now who’s this fine person working here at this lovely establishment?”

Sel rested an arm against the end of the counter to my right. “This is Holly Engle. Holly? This is Grannie Lil, which she wants everyone to call her?—”

“Including you, dear,” Grannie said with a wink.

“And this gorgeous orc lady is my Aunt Inla.”

“You.” Inla nudged his arm, her ears darkening. She beamed my way. “You can call me Inla or Aunt Inla. Your choice.”

“Holly’s the new baker I hired,” Sel said.

Aunt Inla’s eyes narrowed but not in an unkind way. “She’s the human one you were messaging with.”

“That’s me.” My smile slipped somewhere between polite and please-don’t-look-too-closely.

Grannie Lil tipped her head, her gaze bouncing between me and Sel. “Cookie chef, huh?”

“Holly can cook almost anything, actually.” Sel rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s amazing.”

My face overheated at the compliment.

“Is she single?” The question popped like a firework, aimed straight at Sel. “Please tell me she’s single. I knew you looked sprucier than normal yesterday, and now I know why.”

I sputtered. “Sorry—what?”

Sel coughed. “Lil.”

“Don’t ‘Lil’ me.” Grannie Lil waved her cane toward me, then tapped it twice on the floor.

“I don’t mean to speak of you as if you’re not here, but males sometimes need considerable guidance.

Don’t you agree?” She didn’t wait for me to reply or even sputter.

“Sel, you can’t deny she’s got kind eyes. And hips perfect for handholding.”

Sel nearly dropped the towel he was holding. I nearly dropped on the floor. “That's not… She just started today.”

“Ignore Lil. She’s just eager to match everyone up.” Aunt Inla leaned closer to the case, studying the coffee cake I’d finished and put on display. She studied one of the chalkboard signs propped behind the counter and nodded. “Who made the dartling cake?”

“Me,” I said bravely. Please tell me I didn't mess anything up. It looked fine. Smelled great when it came out of the oven. But maybe there was an orcish thing I was supposed to do with it before putting it up for sale.

“It looks fantastic,” she said with a subtle smile. She also couldn't stop glancing between me and Sel.

“I’m quite good at what I do.” I wasn’t one to brag. Never. But I found it easy to say this morning.

Grannie swung her free hand in a circle. “Good instincts. Good hands. Good eyes. Sel, darling, if you don’t put a ring on her by the end of month, I’m going to do it for you.”

“That’s not—Grannie,” he said with a groan, swiping a hand down his face, leaving a smudge of flour.

My face got even hotter.

Grannie Lil winked. “She blushed. Told you she likes you.”

“I didn’t say that.” My voice cracked, because, strangely enough, it was kind of true.

I liked him in a good way. Not a…sexual way. Not too much, that is.

Sel muttered something and retreated into the kitchen, working fast to rinse out a bowl, even though the bowl didn’t need to be rinsed.

Aunt Inla trotted after him, speaking quieter now, almost like I wasn’t supposed to hear. “She’s skittish.”

“Yeah,” Sel said. Just one word, but soft, and spoken in a way that pulled at places I didn’t know could still ache.

“You like her.”

“She’s a good baker.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I do.”

I nearly dropped the slices of cake I was placing in a paper bag for her.

“Who might this be?” Grannie Lil had found Max, who’d slumped in his chair with his legs outstretched and held his book in front of his face.

“My son, Max.” I rounded the display case to join them. Or intervene if she started matching him up.

“A son,” Grannie cried out. “A son, Inla! Get out here so we can be introduced to him.”

Max lowered his book onto the table and shot me a look full of panic, though not the true kind he'd show when he spoke of his father. More the look a man got when he knew a couple of women were about to toss him onto the grill and hold him down until he’d been scorched on both sides.

“He's reading,” I said as Inla rushed from the kitchen and over to him. Sighing, I made the introductions. Max nodded politely to them both, his cheeks a touch pink.

“Tall,” Inla said, looking him up and down.

“Handsome,” Grannie chimed in. “It's very nice to meet you, young man.”

Max's jaw dropped, but I could see he was as pleased as he was surprised. At twelve, he wasn't fully grown, but he was no longer a child. People still tended to ignore him rather than include him in conversation.

“What year are you in school, Max?” Lil asked. “Though it's summer, so I guess I'm curious about what year in school you'll be in this fall.”

“Um… Seventh grade,” Max said.

My voice croaked with pride. “He's in an accelerated program.” Or he was.

I wasn't sure where he'd go to school now, though I needed to figure that out. Assuming we stayed in Lonesome Creek long enough for him to start in the fall. I also needed to find a library, because he’d finish the few books he’d brought with him and would need more.

“Do you like it here?” Inla asked as Sel joined us, giving me a sheepish look.

Max nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. You'll find we're a warm group. Eager to bring in new blood.” Her gaze fell on me.

Sel leaned toward me, speaking in a low voice. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. Just…they’re a lot.”

“They are. But they mean well.”

Grannie Lil pressed a five-dollar bill into Max’s palm. “For you. Buy yourself a pizza.”

Five wouldn’t buy much of a pizza, but it was sweet of her to give him anything.

But it also wasn’t appropriate. “I?—”

Grannie Lil laid a kind hand on my arm. “Let me indulge the boy. Please? We don’t see many younglings here in these parts.”

“I guess… I guess it would be alright.” I gave Max a look.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he promptly said.

“Anytime, son. Anytime.” She turned and caned over to the counter, looking over the items on display.

I hurried behind the counter and filled a bag with everything she pointed to.

“I can’t resist buying and then eating everything inside this bakery,” she said. “Sel’s also a good cook.” The wink she gave me was anything but subtle.

I gave her a wan smile in return.

Aunt Inla paid for her dartling cake slices and the two took their paper bags in hand and shuffled toward the door.

On their way out, Grannie Lil patted Max’s arm. “We’ll be back tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”

Then they were gone, and I wasn’t sure if I was more exhausted or relieved.

Blessed silence echoed in the lull. I turned, half-expecting Sel to make a joke or return to his work, but he was standing a few feet from the counter, his arms at his side, watching me like I might lift off the floor.

I fidgeted with my apron. “Does your family make a habit of encouraging new hires to date you or your brothers?”

“All the time, though not for my brothers who are mated. They only have about two sign-ups so far for the dating app they’re putting together, and they really want more.”

“It won’t be me.” I said, though kindly. “I'm not looking for romance.”

“I'm not either.”

Why did that make a twinge of sadness shoot through me?

He stepped closer, his gaze steady on mine. “You handled them well.”

I tried to look casual by leaning my hip against the back of the counter. “They're sweet.” More or less. Grannie Lil didn’t need to look for a tornado; she was one.

A smile flirted with his mouth. “They are.” I could tell he was glad I saw it that way, that I wasn't offended. But they'd meant no harm. “They care.”

That landed somewhere I didn’t want it to. “I could tell.”

I suddenly felt apart from all this. They were family. They understood each other, encouraged each other, and that was incredibly nice.

I walked past him, entering the kitchen, where I poured more flour onto a board. My hands found another round of dough to knead.

Sel followed, working at his own station beside mine. Too near. Not near enough. He didn’t speak for a while, except to hum something under his breath, but the air between us had changed. It felt softer, somehow. Charged, though I didn't know with what.

He reached past me to grab a greased tray, his sleeve brushing mine. My heart tapped against my ribs like it wanted out. I didn’t flinch. Normally, I would’ve. But this male touched without taking, and that settled me in a way I didn’t know I’d been waiting for.

“This kitchen…” I said to break the quiet. “No, this whole town. It smells like…” I couldn’t finish, couldn’t say home.

I felt his gaze land on me, but I didn't look his way. “Is it good or bad?”

“Good.”

He slowly nodded before he turned back to his work.