Page 14 of Culture and Curiosities (Blue Ridge Charm #1)

Wren

“How many cupcakes are too many cupcakes, Daddy?”

It’d gotten to the point where I needed to tattle on myself and it was time for Daddy to make some rules to protect my tummy.

“If you have to ask that question you have eaten too many, my mate.”

His sigh and general Daddy tone were really on point for someone who’d never been a Daddy before.

“I know. But everyone is so nice and there are so many cupcakes.”

They were all so cute and so much fun.

“I think I should’ve used less council logic and more little with a tummy problem logic and brought you with me today.”

We’d decided we needed to figure out a better way of easing everyone into meeting him than just having him show up. Unfortunately, that was sounding like a terrible decision even if everyone was trying to be nice and their shenanigans were entertaining.

“No more cupcakes, my Wren. Can you explain why there is so much food at the meeting? I understand all Earth events must include food, but cupcakes? And that many of them?”

He asked good questions.

“The gossip I heard was that the dragon that likes baking told someone he was going to bring cupcakes and someone else decided to compete with him. I think they were trying to impress the visiting council members and it got out of control.”

Daddy was quiet for a few moments, but he liked to think, so I was patient.

“Why was the image in your head of snow?”

Oh.

“Um, well I almost said the situation snowballed out of control but I wasn’t sure if that would make sense. So I changed the wording around but the mental picture didn’t change fast enough.”

That probably had been confusing, but in my defense, I wasn’t used to having someone always hanging around in there. It was nice but my head was really busy and I was trying not to drive Daddy nuts.

“Do you have snow?”

He’d picked up a lot of new words and just the most natural ways to say things once we’d started bonding, but I still wasn’t sure what he knew and what he didn’t.

Sometimes stuff still surprised him too but it seemed like the spell was finally starting to work as it’d been intended which was making Daddy happy.

“Yes, we’ve got snow but it’s on the other side of the world from the portal.”

I was starting to build up a mental map of the other world but it was still like picturing something I’d read in a fantasy novel and not a real place.

“You did a good job with the contractions, Daddy.”

For some reason that’d been one of the hardest things for him to manage on his own. I was really going to have to figure out who he’d first met because someone really needed to get out of the house more.

“Thank you, my mate.”

Before I could ask him if he thought a small cupcake would be fine instead of getting another big one, I noticed drama on the other side of the room.

“Oh, something’s happening.”

But what?

Everyone had been more interested in gossip than getting anything done, but it seemed like Pierce and the human deputy were pissed about something.

“Have they finally decided to be productive?”

Daddy was not impressed with the nonsense but he’d seen enough of it on his side of the portal that he hadn’t been surprised. Dragging their feet and getting distracted seemed to be universal with dragons and mages.

“I don’t know but the deputy guy is pissed and Pierce is grumbling about something. Oh the deputy just had enough. Look.”

Deciding to just show him, I widened the bond and showed him what I was seeing.

“Ah. Yes, he is highly upset for a local and this is fascinating my mate.”

Huh?

“Oh. Here we go.”

This was going to get good.

“Alright. We’re getting started. If you brought cupcakes to one-up Kenzie, you have to leave. He gets to stay because he was just being nice and he’s got a place on the council for this situation.” The deputy looked more pissed off about his mate and the cupcakes than whatever else had gone down.

He was a good Daddy.

“If you’ve been going around giving out welcome baskets, you’re going to meet me over at the sheriff’s office at three o’clock with a very good excuse for why you’ve been drugging our visitors.

” The deputy’s glare had several women who’d been standing beside me running for the door which had Daddy laughing in my head.

“I think I like the human deputy.”

Me too.

“He calls everyone fucking aliens when he gets pissed off, so I’m kind of excited to see what he says when he finally meets you.”

That was going to be amazing.

I loved everything about the crazy town…and it just kept getting better.

“If you’ve been given gifts by our local welcoming committee, please be alarmed because we don’t have one.

We have locals who make ridiculously bad decisions.

” The deputy paused, shaking his head like he was frustrated by all of us.

“If you ate or drank anything that they gave you, please see me before you leave or before you do anything stupid.”

Yep, still fabulous.

“I’m turning the meeting over to Boyd as our local representative and Pierce here to represent the visiting councils.” That was the part of his speech which got reactions from around the room. No one cared about being drugged, but someone else getting to be in charge was ridiculous.

The deputy wasn’t having any of it, though, and stopped it immediately. “Enough.”

“Most of you didn’t realize you’d been drugged by old ladies and the rest of you were waiting for someone else to take charge so you could blame them when shit hit the fan.” No one had a good comeback for that, so they went quiet fast. “Congratulations. Someone took charge.”

Pierce.

Which didn’t surprise me at all.

He was a wonderful pain in the ass who didn’t like most people, human or other, and yet still hated for anyone else to be in charge of the irritating people.

“I can’t decide if I should be there in person to help the situation or just enjoy the drama for the moment like one of the TV shows you showed me.”

Yeah, this was kind of like a daytime soap opera.

Attempted murder and everything.

Yeah, best town ever.

****

“Oh…” Don’t call him Daddy. Don’t call him Daddy. Someone might be able to hear us. “Do you think we can go in and look?”

Daddy Manny frowned, doing his head cock thing like he’d seen the other men do. “Is that not the point?”

Looking at the small strip of shops on the less interesting side of town, he focused back on me. “Shopping is a universal concept. They want you to buy their goods.”

But their goods were costumes.

“I don’t care if people think I’m odd. I know you won’t think I’m odd. But the owners are kind of weird about the other…you know…the people like us.” Probably shouldn’t say dragons or mages. “I can promise not to talk about sex toys but I can’t promise not to get excited.”

Or stay big.

Daddy squeezed my hand. “Is that your concern?”

“Part of it.” So I hadn’t been lying. “But I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

“My Wren.” Daddy Manny leaned over and kissed my head. “Your youthful headspace is adorable. That can’t possibly make anyone uncomfortable.”

Still looking slightly confused, Daddy frowned again. “We are keeping our clothes on. We are not doing inappropriate public displays of affection. We will not mention diner topics. We will make everyone comfortable.”

Daddy’s frown that time was clearly because of a sentence issue but he didn’t worry over it for long. “If they are that easily offended, they should not be selling clothing clearly designed for youthful adults.”

Part of me wanted to open the bond wide again and either give him the word he was looking for or ask if he wanted me to help, but we’d been practicing keeping it toned down as much as possible around regular humans.

When it was wide, we had a tendency to just use the mate bond to talk and that didn’t look human-normal at all.

Even Daddy Manny had realized that.

No.

Toman.

Even Toman had realized that.

Ugh.

I was definitely going to call him Daddy.

“Shopping for fun stuff makes me little.” I couldn’t help it. “Shopping for costumes would definitely make me little.”

Daddy shrugged. “I don’t see the problem with that. It is a store that sells costumes and toys.”

Technically he was right but I didn’t want to upset him.

Or make him upset with me.

Or make him upset with one of the store owners.

They were all a little suspicious of anyone from the other side of town…it meant they were smart…but it also meant they were hard to get along with. Somehow even though they were only a few miles apart they seemed to live in completely different worlds.

Maybe it was because of the way the roads kept disappearing? I’d heard those stories and I could understand how it would make someone mostly human or humanish kind of crazy.

“Can…can we turn the bond up just a tiny bit so I’ll know as soon as you get frustrated?” Normally I didn’t mind even Pierce going nuts on someone but Daddy was different. He was special.

And not from this planet, so I wanted him to have good experiences.

“Yes.” Daddy gave me another head kiss and as he slowly increased the bond, I could feel him smiling inside. “Better?”

“Much.” Yes. Strangely so. “I don’t think I like it all the way down.”

Something about it hadn’t felt right at all and worries kept creeping in no matter what I’d tried to do to keep them out.

Daddy nodded as he studied my face and probably what was going through my head. “I think it made you…anxious?”

“That’s the right word.” It was my turn to kiss him, so I pecked his cheek and smiled. We had lots of words for worried and emotional but he was doing great. “The only time you don’t sound like a native speaker is when you think about your words. But even then, it’s subtle. You’re amazing.”

Magic might’ve helped but he’d done a great job working his way through a frustrating language.

“Thank you.” Daddy swung my hand and I pictured the cartoons we’d watched before we’d gone to breakfast. “I think I know what we should do this evening.”

Cartoons, my mate .

“D—” That was close. “That’s what’s known as cheating.”

Daddy shrugged, not looking or feeling contrite in the slightest. “The diner men said that Daddies can’t cheat because they make the rules. They read it in a book possibly.”

“That logic is questionable…even for them.” They’d definitely got that from a book or one of the other Daddies in town.

Daddy Manny actually smiled. “It seems logical to me.”

Naughty Daddy.

“Come.” Tugging on my hand, he moved us away from the window and toward the door. “We…we’re going to look and see what kind of costume you would like. Then we will have dinner and enjoy your youthful headspace as you find additional ways to tease Pierce.”

Daddy was so cute…that was fun, though.

Wait.

Was I supposed to narrow it down to just one costume?

He was going to make us both naughty talking about teasing and costumes.

“Oh…” Don’t say Daddy. Don’t say Daddy. “Look…”

They had rabbit ones and doggies and kitties and pirates and even a lion. The store was filled with costumes and fun things like silly hats on one side and toys and books on the other. Even the chime over the door played a song that sounded like the ice cream man.

“We’re not naughty like the diner men, Daddy.” I was quiet-quiet but I heard a giggle from somewhere in the store. “Oops. Toman. Um. Yes.”

Daddy’s laughter bubbled through the bond making me frown at him. “Don’t laugh. I’m trying to be good.”

Oops again.

“I didn’t.” Daddy’s face looked serious and boring but his mind was filled with snickers and he was strutting around. “Are you feeling well, baby?”

That sounded weird and made him laugh more.

Ugh.

“You’re going to get me in trouble.” He was enjoying being naughty and it seemed like the giggly person was having fun too.

“As long as you don’t make me talk to you for thirty minutes to figure out what being Team Pony means, you’re fine.” The happy voice finally came around the corner and it was attached to a human-looking man who might’ve actually been human?

Or he might’ve been cosplaying one?

The locals were all weird but I pretended he was human as Daddy sent questioning feelings through the bond.

He didn’t think the guy was really human either.

Had weird mages come through the portal early enough to set up business already?