Page 13 of The Alpha and the Baker

“Yes, thank you, Claudia. Anyway, helped challenge that old man so he’d stop gambling off so much of our land. Lost nearly half of it to the fairies! Greedy buggers.”

I had been vibing so hard and really enjoying myself, that it took a couple of beats for her words to sink in. I knew Gammy was older, that much was obvious, but I hadn’t quite expected that terminology from her.

“Uhhh, I don’t think gay people as a whole are responsible for buying up your land,” I said cautiously, trying to go through her story mentally in my head to see if I’d missed some context.

“Oh, that’s more of that old-fashioned slang for lawyers,” Claudia corrected. She sounded exasperated. “We don’t have anything against gay folks, promise.”

“Huh? Why would I?” Gammy said, her voice raising even louder.

“We’ve got plenty of gay people of our own!

Declan’s brother and his partner grow the best lavender in our community.

” Her cloudy eyes went wide for a moment.

“Don’t tell Rebecca I said that. She’ll get awful jealous. She does love her lavender.”

“She does,” Claudia agreed before giving me a rueful of smile. Why did it feel like everything they said had a different meaning? It was draining my social battery despite all the fun I was having. “Just remember, Gammy, our friend Felicia isn’t from around here. ”

Wait, was she trying to subtly remind Gammy that I was Asian and possibly an immigrant?

No, no, no. Everyone had been so nice. Not a single person had asked “where are you really from?” since I’d arrived, so the least I could do was give them the benefit of the doubt.

Normally, I would ask at least a couple of questions to clarify and perhaps open up an opportunity for dialogue, but eh.

It wasn’t like I’d ever see these lovely people again.

I hadn’t expected the wave of sadness to hit me at the thought. Huh. How utterly bizarre. Yeah, the people were lovely, and the food was great, but they were my client’s family. Unless any of them came to my bakery, we wouldn’t interact again.

I guess I’d forgotten.

Just a little side effect of being tipsy, I was sure. It wasn’t like I was desperately lonely or anything.

Right?

“Sorry that took a bit! Got called away for some other things.”

I looked up to see Cas had returned, the slow setting sun shining gold behind him. He looked borderline angelic, like something no mortal was meant to see.

“Hey there!” I said, standing up. I hadn’t planned on getting to my feet, so I swayed slightly. “Kind of wanna stretch my legs. Any chance you want to show me around?”

It was quite forward of me, but I needed to get away from the sweet smiles and loud voices of the older folks. It was just too easy to talk to them. To enjoy their company.

“Oh, uh, you wanna—” For one awful moment, I thought he was going to ask me to leave, but then a smile spread on his face, making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Sure. I can do that. We can grab dessert once we’re done.”

It seemed that the mystical portal to the dessert stomach had opened up inside me, because dessert sounded wonderful.

“I’d like that.”

To my delight, he offered me his hand again. I swore it glowed gold from the sun, and I kind of felt like a princess in a romantasy novel.

I didn’t trust my mouth not to say something silly, so I just took his hand and let him loop his arm through mine. It was the same way that I’d gripped his before, but this felt different.

“Thank you,” I murmured, still feeling a bit warm and floaty.

Man, when my hangover hit, it was going to hit hard.

I wasn’t looking forward to that at all, but I was going to enjoy the good feelings.

“You have a beautiful home here, you know,” I murmured as we walked past the tents.

A ruckus drew my attention to the left out in the field, where I saw a group of enormous dogs all playing together in a surprisingly coordinated manner.

There wasn’t a leash to be seen amongst them, and yet they were all staying in a contained area. There were a handful of teenagers and preteens with them who seemed like they were playing rather than watching.

Huh, that was probably a bunch of medical support dogs or livestock guard dogs that were all off duty. I’d always admired working dogs, and I loved watching the giant animals cut loose and have fun.

And they did look like they were having a lot of fun.

“I really want to thank you for letting me be part of your family today,” I said softly, soaking in the sun’s rays on my face, the gentle warmth of spring, the laughter all around and the fragrance of spring flowers only just beginning to bloom. “I really had no idea that drink was… was…”

“It’s okay,” Cas said, patting my hand where it rested on his arm. “You never should have been given that. It wasn’t your fault, and I do apologize for it.”

“I appreciate you saying that. By the by, we should sign that receipt once you’re done showing me around.”

“Yes, definitely, wouldn’t want to forget that.”

A slow but wonderful sleepiness began to bubble up within me, coaxing me to follow it down the rabbit hole as I grew more and more comfortable. But I didn’t get to slip that far into it before the same dog that had greeted me before came bounding up with a frisbee in her mouth.

“Not now, Arietty,” Cas said in a firm, but friendly voice. “We’re busy now, but I’ll play later.”

I was already reaching for the plastic toy. “Come on, why not? You only live once, right?”

Cas looked like he might try to argue with me, but I threw the frisbee and Arietty took off after it, howling her head off. She had to be part husky with that kind of bark.

“All right then.” He chuckled. “I guess a little bit can’t hurt.”

It turned into a whole lot more than a little bit. Between the tipsiness that didn’t seem to be waning and the good company, time flew by. We drifted into tag, with the kids playing along just as much as the dogs, then tackle football, and then more frisbee.

I couldn’t say how long we were out there, but when I eventually collapsed onto the grass to pant and rest, I had three more dogs come to investigate me. I found myself being sniffed quite thoroughly by giant dogs, yet I didn’t feel in danger at all.

Then Arietty, who I could now recognize on sight, flopped next to me, and that signaled all the others. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a furry cuddle pile with all four of them around me and touching me in some way, like they were guarding me.

“Well, if you insist,” I said before lying back and resting my head against the side of the largest dog. It let out a soft boof , but didn’t otherwise object. Together, the five of us relaxed and watched the sun disappear under the horizon.

When was the last time I’d ever had such a perfect day?

I couldn’t remember, not that my memory was the best right now. But I didn’t push myself to think. I just let my mind drift and be in the moment in a way I couldn’t very often.

It was lovely. So incredibly lovely.

As the sky turned periwinkle and lavender, a bunch of people came out with those citronella torches and staked them into the ground, lighting up the area and warding off the host of crepuscular bugs that liked to come out at dawn and twilight.

I was immensely grateful for that. As a type-O girlie, mosquitos loved me.

The relationship was not mutual.

As the air filled with a light, citrusy scent, a slight shadow fell over me. I cracked open one eye to see Cas, still looking angelic as he towered over me.

Angelic and kinda dominant in a way that spoke to some part of my brain that I didn’t often listen to. Yowza, was it the booze talking, or was he really just that good looking?

“Hey,” he murmured, his voice like straight syrup to my soul. “The dancing’s about to start. Do you want me to sign that receipt and walk you to your car?”

Part of me knew I should say yes. That I had overstayed my welcome and needed to get going. But another part of me didn’t feel sober enough, and another part of me wasn’t willing to go back to my empty shop and up to my empty apartment to sleep in my empty bed.

I was having fun. Was it so wrong for me to wanna hold on to it with both hands?

“Dance?” I echoed, slowly sitting up. The dog I’d been using as a pillow, whose coat was ridiculously thick, let out a bark of objection as if it already missed my warmth and I was genuinely flattered.

Should I get a dog?

Nah, I didn’t have the time to properly take care of one. But maybe I could volunteer at a local shelter to walk one every once in a while.

“Yeah, nothing official. Just a way to expend extra energy before the smores and the bonfire.”

More food? Cas wasn’t kidding. His family really knew how to eat.

“I wouldn’t mind staying for the dancing,” I said honestly. I wouldn’t be upset if he said no. “I still don’t quite feel safe to drive.”

“You sure? I’d love to have you stay, but I’m worried about you driving home in the dark.”

That breezy lightness within me dimmed a little. “Yeah, I’m not exactly familiar with the area.”

“Let’s worry about that later. For now, why don’t we dance?”

Once again, he offered his hand out to me, and once again it still felt so incredibly different than the last time.

Maybe it was because I was sitting and he was standing.

Maybe it was because all the dogs in my cuddle pile raised their heads and stared at his hand like they knew it was a significant gesture.

Or maybe it was because I’d been tipsy for about three hours after a few little sips of a single drink, which still didn’t make a lick of sense.

“Thanks,” I said, taking his hand. The warmth of his skin surprised me. He didn’t look like he was sweating, but he felt like a loaf of bread fresh out of the oven. Maybe I was just colder than I thought.