Page 9 of Shopping for His Omega (Omegas of Oliver Creek #15)

Daniel

I never took lunch breaks, but I was willing to make an exception if the omega stopped by.

After our morning encounter and clearing of the air, everything felt different, and I caught myself almost skipping on the way into the store.

For once, I was not the first to arrive, and a stockboy and checker looked at me askance, settling my stride into a more ordinary version.

“Morning, all.” I left the door unlocked behind me. “Since you all look so ready to go, let’s open a little early. No point in keeping the town away from all our fine products, right?”

I’d always thought I was a morning person, but apparently this level of cheer was throwing them all off, so I disappeared into my office where I could clap and dance a little without freaking out my whole staff. They might be traumatized enough to quit.

Mav liked me too. You’d never know it from how we had been fighting lately, in front of Goddess and everyone, but he did, and I liked him back.

More than liked, but we weren’t ready to say it.

The pressure that had been building and building since the day he arrived and my wolf recognized him was both more intense and eased at the same time.

Not something I could explain easily. Or understand, but the feelings of frustration, sadness, and even anger that had haunted my days and nights were lifted.

That said, we had a lot left to talk about, even if we had agreed that we didn’t want to argue anymore. Didn’t we?

I’d thrown myself into paperwork that had been piling up while I fussed over my little first aid display and my omega’s chips and sandwiches, horrified at how much I had been distracted.

There was no excuse for such neglect. I worked on store business here and, as things had gotten gradually busier, my remote job at night.

But lately, both had suffered. Largely due to my mate situation but also because both had grown to take up more time.

Not like when I first came back here and things were so slow at the store, I did a few hours of my other job while it was open and I waited for customers.

At that point, it was just me and one part-time employee.

Looking over the ledgers and spreadsheets, I began to notice something.

Things had gotten tighter and tighter for a long time, especially with having to support my dads.

Technically, I’d paid off the loans for both the business and the building.

The house had no mortgage, thanks to my dads’ insistence on giving it to me.

But at some point, I stopped living hand to mouth, week to week.

My staff had grown, my customer base had grown, and my bank balance as well.

I’d been living as if I was desperate for so long, I never saw when things changed.

Of course, I hadn’t sold Band-Aids because they would save me from bankruptcy.

Dang…had I done it so he’d finally notice me?

And his little snack sales were under no circumstances hurting me.

Emotions that went the wrong way could cause so much misunderstanding.

“Boss?” I looked up to see one of the checkers in the doorway. “The pharmacist is here to see you?”

A glance at the clock showed it was nearly noon. Lunchtime.

“That’s great. Send him in.” I jumped to my feet. “Actually, never mind. I’ll go meet him.”

If brows could arch into a person’s hairline, Ernie’s would have done it. “Uh, okay. If you say so.” Our arguments really were public if his presence here, not just to buy something but to see me, attracted such a surprised reaction.

But I didn’t have time to explain. Nor did I want to. Ducking past Ernie, I searched the store and found Mav standing, talking to his friend Mr. Bryant by a display of early pumpkins and gourds.

Waiting until they finished, I watched the omega not just chatting with him but listening.

Older folks often had a hard time finding people who would do that, and I felt a swell of pride at his kindness.

Sure, he helped out financially, but many were willing to toss money to a good cause.

Far fewer would share time in their busy days.

Then Mav caught my eye and smiled. “Danny, Mr. Bryant was just telling me he’s been feeling better and is going to go back to volunteer at the community center again. Isn’t that great?”

I hadn’t known he’d stopped… “That is great to hear. For both reasons. Are you on your way there now?”

The older man gave a short nod. “No big deal. I have time on my hands anyway.” But even if he was trying to play down the compliments, he looked happier than I’d seen him in a while.

His helping out clearly brought him joy and my omega’s kindness was affecting people beyond the man whose medication he covered.

“I only asked because I have some day-old pastries”—a lie, they were fresh—“I was planning to send over there, if you wouldn’t mind my guys loading them in your car?”

“They can sure use them.” Now, I did get a small smile. “Some of those folks get awful hungry.”

Our town was doing so well, but there were still hungry people. Unacceptable. “Then maybe you could do me an even bigger favor. If you know of a family that’s not getting dinner every night, slip me their names and I’ll do what I can to help out.”

“Really? You can do that?”

“We have far too much waste here, and I’ve been looking for a way to donate items coming close to their expiration dates to folks who can use them. They are all still good, mind you, but we can’t sell them after that.”

“Of course. Foods don’t go bad on their expiration date!” Another shopper, a lady passing by, said, “I know a family you could help.”

Grabbing the arm of a shelf stocker, I said, “Chelise, please take down the information on the family this nice lady is talking about and leave it on my desk? Maverick and I have a lunch to get to.” And I was sure Mav didn’t have all afternoon to spend away from the shop.

He had an assistant or two, but he was the only licensed pharmacist, meaning, he needed to get back before too long.

“So nice to see you, Mr. Bryant. And thank you for helping me out. I feel much better now.” I shook his hand and turned toward the door, Mav right beside me.

“Thanks, I only have an hour or so, but I don’t like to blow him off. He may not show it, but he was so excited to be back volunteering. It’s his only real social life, too. And you’re going to donate all that food?”

“I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve been making an extra loaf or two of all those banana breads and when I have several, I drop them off there, but I am really annoyed I never thought of doing more.”

“Can you write off the donations, not the banana bread but all the rest?”

“Yes, it’s a win-win.”

“But you’d do it either way.” He took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Sure.” Now, who was brushing off compliments. “Where would you like to eat?”

“Let’s see what the food trucks have today. I’m in the mood for something smoky.”

We didn’t have long, but it was still the best lunch I’d ever had. Smoky brisket sandwiches and slaw and incredible company. I could hardly wait for dinnertime.