Page 25 of Horn in My Side

Mal coasted along for the next week, keeping busy and away from Jasmine, that was, until the weekend of the Founding Day Festival.

It was early on Friday when he noticed that Main Street already buzzed with activity.

Usually, at this hour all the businesses were still closed, or their owners were just trudging into their shops and restaurant to start their mornings.

Today, however, employees and shopkeepers hustled about, placing tables in front of their storefronts, decorating their display windows, and hauling out their wares from inside.

Brew-tique had put a makeshift bar outside with an enchanted coffee machine pumping out small cups of espresso, while a magical register rang up orders, mostly from other Main Street employees looking for a jolt of caffeine to jumpstart their early day.

A banner was strung across the street, from the library to the general store, with the words “Happy Founding Day, Dewberry Falls!”

Mal nodded and acknowledged the people who waved or greeted them.

The restaurant workers in particular recognized him.

Not much of a cook, he’d already eaten at every single eatery on Main Street at least three times.

Thank Vorlak everyone was rushing today so he didn’t have to engage in small talk, though he picked up his pace so he could get to the shop sooner.

When he got to Fantastic Tails, the door was wide open, and to his surprise—and annoyance—Kap strolled out, carrying a large table.

“Morning, Mal,” he greeted much too cheerfully at this hour.

“Kap.” The only reason he managed a neutral reply was because Jasmine had confirmed the tree giant wasn’t her boyfriend. Still, his first instinct was to demand to know what he was doing here, though he pivoted to a more casual, “Did you change schedules at the department?”

“No, still the same, but I took off early. Jasmine asked me to help her set up for the festival.”

A gut-burning sensation churned in his stomach at the idea that Jasmine would ask Kap and not him.

You know why she didn’t ask , he told himself. Not that the reminder helped the jealousy swirling in his gut.

Kap placed the table down on the pavement, then covered it with a red tablecloth slung over his shoulder. “This is your first Founding Day Festival, right? You’ll love it. It’s fun. There’s food trucks, games, rides, and the big parade tomorrow. And—Hey, Jasmine, is this okay?”

Mal froze as awareness of Jasmine’s presence washed over him when she strode out of the shop.

Then, a different kind of awareness located lower on his body came over him as he saw what she was wearing—cutoff denim short shorts that showed off her tanned legs and a tight shirt that stretched across her generous breasts.

Instead of its usual braid, her long, lustrous hair was pulled back into a high ponytail that swung behind her like a waterfall.

“That’s fine—Mal.” Brown doe eyes grew twice their size. “Good morning.” The awkwardness between them was palpable from the way her dusky cheeks tinted pink, and as she averted her gaze, he knew she was thinking of that torrid makeout session.

Miraculously, not all his brain cells had left him, and he managed to croak back, “Good morning, Jasmine.”

“I thought you said you were going to change into something more appropriate.” Kap pressed his lips together.

Jasmine fanned herself. “It’s only seven fifteen and I’m already sweating. Forecast said temps are gonna soar this afternoon.” Her arms crossed under her chest, pushing up her breasts so invitingly that Mal had to stifle a groan. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“Er, I’m just . . . concerned.”

“ Pffft .” She waved a hand at him dismissively. “I’ve seen worse. At least I don’t have to be in a bikini top, like the girls doing the charity car wash.”

Mal was glad too, because he’d probably end up embarrassing himself in front of half Dewberry Falls if he saw her in swimwear.

“I, uh, don’t want you to get sunburned or anything. I heard the UV index’s gonna go through the roof today,” Kap said. “Right, Mal?”

Kap obviously wasn’t concerned about Jasmine’s skin health, but rather worried that she’d get harassed. For once, he agreed with the tree giant, but he wasn’t going to say anything.

“I’ll put on sunscreen,” she snapped. “But I’m not stupid.

I know what you’re implying. Stop with the protective big-brother act, Kap.

I can do what I want, and if people take issue with what I’m wearing, then that’s their problem.

I’m gonna go get the flyers.” She huffed, turned on her heel and marched inside, her hips swaying provocatively.

It took all of Mal’s strength not to ogle her denim-covered ass.

Kap frowned. “Sometimes I swear she doesn’t realize how much attention she gets.

Not that I think of her that way. I’m just concerned and maybe a bit old-fashioned, but that’s how I was raised, you know?

And Jasmine’s dad made me promise to look after her.

Should we hang around her, to keep an eye on things?

That way, if she gets into a sticky situation, one of us will be within arm’s reach. ”

“Oh no.” Mal raised his hands defensively. “I’m not getting into this. She’s an adult and we need to respect her right to do what she wants.” Even if the thought of another male looking at Jasmine in that outfit made him want to punch a hole in the wall.

“I suppose you’re right,” Kap said, resigned. “She’s really mad at me, huh?”

“I’d say so.”

“Good thing I have my secret weapon.” He plucked something from his back pocket—a candy bar. “Here’s a tip. If you ever piss her off, a couple of these’ll help smooth things over.”

“Er, thanks.” Not that he ever planned on getting on Jasmine’s bad side again. He’d already learned that lesson. “I should head inside.”

“See ya, Mal.”

With a wave to Kap, he strode into the store, nearly colliding with Jasmine.

“Oops!” she cried, staggering backwards, arms desperately waving like wings to stop herself from falling over while simultaneously holding on to the flyers in her right hand.

Mal reached out and caught her by the shoulders, though he let go of her like a hot coal once she’d steadied herself. The memory of her skin was still stamped in his mind, and he didn’t need a reminder.

“Th-thanks.” She clutched the flyers against her chest.

“No, it was my fault.”

“It’s not—” she began.

“I’m sorry—” he said at the same time.

She cleared her throat. “Uhm, yeah, so it’s the Founding Day Festival weekend.”

“Yes. I see you roped Kap into helping you.”

“Yeah, usually Vrig’s here, but now I need the extra pair of hands.”

“Right.” Mal could have helped her—if he hadn’t been avoiding her these last couple of days.

An awkward beat passed. “So, do you need any help—”

“N-no. No.” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Mal. Really. Fridays aren’t usually crowded.”

He hesitated, but trusted she knew better. “All right. But at least let me give out breakfast.”

“You don’t—”

“I got it,” he assured her. “Your system really is well written and organized.”

“I—Thanks, Mal.”

She scampered away from him and headed out, leaving Mal alone. He fought the temptation to follow her with his eyes and instead trudged upstairs so he could check on the creatures.

For the rest of the day, Mal kept himself busy with one or two things on his to-do list, and of course, checking on the carcinos egg and the hatching tank.

He’d meant to keep it simple and functional, but the egg was much too exquisite to just sit inside a plain terrarium.

Inspired by Vrig’s work on the makara habitat, he’d recreated carcinoses’ natural environment as best he could.

The carvings on the side were a last-minute addition.

At first, he’d added a few vines and flowers, but as he worked on it, he thought of all the creatures in the shop and it just grew from there.

While he didn’t want to meddle in Jasmine’s business, if one or two of his chores happened to be something that allowed him to peek outside—like oiling the squeaky door hinges or replacing the lightbulbs in the display window—then he told himself it was just coincidence.

As Jasmine predicted, it wasn’t busy at all that day.

She spent most of the day sitting on a folding chair behind the table, chatting with people and giving out flyers, and coming inside to ring up purchases from customers.

When he left at five o’clock, she was clearing the table and most of the other shops were packing up too.

Confident that she had everything under control, he showed up near noon the next day, as his client-slash-therapy patient went an hour over their designated thirty-minute meeting.

By the time he entered Fantastic Tails, it was, to put it mildly, a madhouse.

The shop was filled with more people than he’d ever seen before, loitering around the pens and peering at the pets inside, walking up and down the aisles of pet food and accessories, and scrambling up the stairs to the second floor.

The animals didn’t seem to appreciate the extra activity, if the many unhappy, cranky squawks, squeals, caws, and growls were any indication.

Where was Jasmine?

Good thing Mal was about two feet above everyone’s heads, so he quickly spotted her in the back, by the chamrosh cage. He waded through the crowd to reach her.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Jasmine greeted a couple as they walked away, then quickly turned to the family next to her. “So, you wanted to see the water horses, right?”

“No, no.” The young boy stamped his feet. “I said I wanted an alicanto!”

“Right,” Jasmine replied, flustered. “Why don’t I show you—Mal?”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s the post-parade rush,” she explained. “Everyone’s tired and cranky, looking for a respite from the heat, so they head into the shops. We don’t usually get this many actual customers, but everyone’s been finding us on their Picstagram feed.”