Page 16 of Horn in My Side

JASMINE

The next few days at Fantastic Tails were relatively quiet and normal for Jasmine.

She arrived at work, went through her usual routine of checking on the animals, ordering stock, packing and sending out their online orders, preparing their subscription boxes, and of course, entertaining customers.

In all that time, she hardly saw Mal at all.

He continued to come in before she did in the morning and mostly stayed in the back office, emerging only to get lunch or leave for the day, usually an hour or two before she closed up.

He would wave or nod to her, but didn’t speak, and there was a distinct impersonal coldness about him that she could perceive.

Jasmine supposed she should be grateful. He was no longer trying to tell her what to do or how to run the shop. Still, after their talk, a small part of her had hoped he would be more pleasant to be around.

Or that he would be more around her .

There was a moment, after he’d apologized and told her that he believed she could be successful, that she thought maybe he was going to lean down and—

Don’t be silly .

Mal was her boss and her landlord. He was only staying for a short while, then their business relationship would be over, and she would never see him again.

“Argh!” She tapped furiously on the “enter” key on the keyboard of the computer, but the program refused to load. “What the— oh .”

The pop-up on the screen flashed: “Authorization Code Required for Additional Orders.” Jasmine had been attempting to order more stock for the upcoming Founding Day Festival, but since it was over her usual amount, she needed Vrig’s code.

Or rather, Mal’s code.

She propped her hip against the counter and groaned. There was no getting around this one. She would have to go to him.

Jasmine ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach.

She raked a hand through her loose locks, pushing her hair away from her face.

She’d had a late start this morning and didn’t have time to blow dry it, so she’d left it down.

After spending a minute searching for a rubber band in the drawer under the counter, she found none.

With no other delaying tactics available, she decided to put on her big-girl pants and go to Mal.

I can do this.

Her feet somehow made the trip all the way to the back office without retreating or stopping. With a hesitant knock, she called out, “Hello? Mal?”

“Come in.”

The hinges creaked as she pushed inside. “Hey, Mal. Uh, good morning.”

“What is it?” He sat behind the desk, eyes glued to the computer screen.

“I need your code.” So, this was how it was going to be for the next few months. No pleasantries, all business. She told herself she preferred it that way.

“Code?” His head turned toward her, his purple gaze pinning her to the spot. “What code?”

“Your master code for our ordering system. I can’t finish up because it’s over the usual monthly amount.”

Mal frowned. “Why do you need to order more stuff this month?”

“It’s for the Founding Day Festival.”

“And?”

Oh right. He had no idea what that was. “Every year Dewberry Falls has a big festival to celebrate the founding of the town. During that weekend, there’s a big parade and Main Street is closed to cars and the businesses go all out.

It’s one of Fantastic Tails’s biggest weekends in terms of sales, so I have to make sure we have enough stock to keep up with the demand. ”

“I see.” Rising from the desk, he circled it to lumber toward her. “All right, let’s get you that order.”

He followed her as she led him to the counter in front. “Just enter it there.”

Bending down, he tapped the keyboard. “There.”

The bright chirp from the computer told Jasmine the order had gone through. “Whew. Thanks, Mal. Today was the last day for me to order to get everything in on time.”

“You’re welcome.” He drummed his claws on the table. “Jasmine, I—”

Ding ding dong!

Jasmine immediately shifted into customer-service mode as the familiar bell rang out. “Welcome to Fantastic Tails and—Oh.” She smiled at the woman who strode in. “Good morning, Mrs. Howard.”

Ellen Howard was the principal at Edith Hamilton Elementary School. Petite and middle-aged, she was a pleasant woman and Jasmine enjoyed chatting with her whenever she and Vrig had gone to the assemblies at the school.

“Good morning, Jasmine,” she greeted. “And you must be Mal, Vrig’s nephew.”

The orc eyed her suspiciously. “How do you know who I am?”

“Small town, I’m afraid,” she said with a chuckle. “We all loved your uncle and he’ll be missed. He was so active in the community. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Mal murmured.

Sensing Mal’s discomfort, Jasmine switched topics. “To what do we owe this visit? You’re not looking for a pet yourself, are you?”

“Goodness, no.” She placed a hand over her chest. “I’m much too busy for that. Maybe when I retire. I’m here for an entirely different reason. The school assembly.”

Jasmine glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall behind the counter, noticing the big red circle around one of the dates.

“That’s on Friday, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I completely forgot about it.

” Mrs. Howard would be disappointed with what she was about to say, but Jasmine had no choice.

“You’re going to have to cancel, I’m afraid.

I can’t do it on my own.” It would be too much work for one person, trying to handle the animals and talking to the kids.

“That’s understandable given the circumstances.” Her eyes darted to Mal. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help, Mr. Mal?”

“Just Mal, ma’am,” he said. “And how would I help, exactly?”

“Vrig used to come to the school assemblies at Edith Hamilton Elementary,” Jasmine explained. “He would bring a couple of the animals and talk to the kids about them. He loved it. It was his favorite thing. We would even close the shop for the morning just so we could go.”

“And the children loved him,” Mrs. Howard said. “They’ll be disappointed if we cancel. They look forward to it every year. But I suppose it’s understandable.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine said. “I’m sor—”

“We can do it.”

Jasmine’s head snapped toward Mal. “What? You want to do the assembly?”

“If you do the talking, I’ll handle the pets.”

“Me? T-talk?” She swallowed. “Vrig always did that, and I just helped out.” The thought of speaking onstage in front of about a hundred people made her palms clammy and her throat seize.

“You talk to kids all the time,” he pointed out.

“As customers.”

“Think of it like that, but a lot of them at the same time.”

Mrs. Howard clapped her hands together. “It would mean so much to the children if you did come. The parents too, as we do invite them to come to these presentations.”

That was, of course, one of the benefits of doing these assemblies. Parents, after all, were the final decision-makers when it came to purchases and it wasn’t unusual for a couple of them to show up days after the assembly to shop for a pet, their little ones in tow.

Two pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly. How was she supposed to say no? “I guess I could do it.”

“Wonderful. The children will be thrilled.” Mrs. Howard beamed at them. “So, you already know the place and time, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jasmine said. “We’ll be there.”

“Thank you so much. I will see you both then.” With a last grin and wave, she headed out.

“Oh Mother Goddess, why did I agree to that?” Jasmine wrung her hands together. “How do I even begin to prepare?”

“You’ll do fine.” His intense purple gaze caught hers. “I’ve seen you around kids. You’re a natural, just like with the animals.”

“Vrig was the one who was onstage while I stayed in the back, handling the pets. I’ve never been good at public speaking.”

“Never been good or never tried?”

“Well, I never had to, except at school when I was a kid maybe.”

He grunted. “Look, I don’t like being the center of attention either, but how about I stand next to you through the entire thing? Would that help?”

“Y-you would do that?”

“I have to be there anyway to assist you in handling the animals, right?”

“Yeah.”

He inhaled sharply. “I think Vrig wouldn’t want us to cancel.”

A tightness in her throat formed. “I agree,” she whispered. “All right, let’s do it.”

“Okay, how does this work?”

“Work?” She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Like, how do you choose which creatures to take and how do you transport them?”

“Transporting them is easy,” she said. “We have extra crates for them, and Vrig and I used to put them in his truck and drive to the school.”

“Gotcha. I’ll bring the truck over tomorrow. Which ones are you taking?”

“I don’t know. Vrig usually chooses.”

Mal walked around the counter to stand next to her. Despite his towering height, she didn’t feel crowded at all. “Well, you’re the boss. Or you will be in a couple of months, which means you have to make the decisions.”

He was right. Once she owned Fantastic Tails, she would be making all kinds of decisions.

“All right, I’ll think on it. I’ll have to figure out what I’m going to say.

” A kernel of doubt planted itself inside her.

“What if I pick the wrong ones? Or what if I choose a boring pet and the kids tune me out?”

He gestured around them. “You’ve been in charge of choosing and stocking the pets here for the last couple of years. You know each by heart, what they need, what makes them tick. I’m sure the young ones will love whichever ones you show them.”

“I’ll try.”

“You’ll do great,” he said, sounding much more confident than she felt right now.

“Thanks.” She smiled up at him, and to her surprise, he returned it.

Her pulse did a little dance, as this was the first time she’d seen it, and it made him look even more striking.

But then again, he also looked handsome when he frowned, and that tiny line appeared between his eyebrows.

And when he did that thing when he was thinking hard and his brows furrowed.