Page 2 of The Orc’s Sweetheart (Creatures & Cottages)
Chapter 2
Bodin
“ B odin, dear, is that you?” Ma calls the moment the front door closes behind me.
“Yeah, it’s me.” I duck through the bathroom doorway right next to the entrance and bend down to squeeze my hands under the faucet in the tiny sink. Ma’s stone cottage was built with a goblin’s diminutive size in mind and wasn’t really meant to accommodate my six foot eight orc form.
Ma appears in the corridor as I reach for the small towel. Feeling bad for knowing I’d drench the delicate fabric, I look at my shirt and choose to wipe my hands on it instead.
“That towel was made for using, Bodin. It’ll dry again.”
“This just seemed more efficient.”
Ma takes a slow breath in through her nose and gives me a patient smile that I’d like to think is her appreciating my thoughtfulness for not destroying the tiny towel. I note the lines around her eyes that have gotten more pronounced over the last couple of years. Her large, pointed ears remain alert—just as her mind still is—despite the massive jewels she likes to hang from them. I’m glad she is retiring and that she’ll be taking things easier once the new nurse gets here.
“You all moved into your new apartment?”
I exit the bathroom and hunch my way toward the middle of the room where the roof is at its highest and I can stand up straight. “All set. Got a bed, a chair, and a fridge. That’s more than enough.”
“It’s not too late, you know? You can stay in the cottage and the nurse can move into the apartment.” Ma adds in a conspiratorial whisper, “She’d never know.”
I huff a laugh. “Nah. I think she might need it more than I do. Plus, that cottage is pretty enough to make her stay in Starry Hill permanently.”
“You have the sweetest heart, my dear boy.” Besides being thirty-one years old, to my Ma, I’m still her little boy.
“Don’t you dare tell anyone that. It’ll mess with my street cred.”
“With your what?”
“My… never mind. It’s nothing.” I sit down on the large armchair Ma keeps for bigger creatures so I can be at a more accessible height fo r her.
Ma studies my face like she’s trying to see right through to my soul—a skill she thankfully doesn’t possess—before she narrows her eyes and asks, “I know you’re a capable adult and I don’t need to worry, but you do have plates and bowls and such, right?”
My lips quirk up and I scrub at the back of my neck. “I left a few at the cottage for the nurse. Kept one of each for myself.”
“Bodin!” Ma scolds lightly and swats at my arm. “You need more than one of each. Let me give you some of mine.” She makes to leave for the kitchen but I gently place a hand on her bony shoulder, halting her before she empties her own cupboards.
“Ma, it’s not like I’m having a ton of guests over. It’s just to hold my food for five seconds before I consume it. Besides, I don’t know if the new nurse is the entertaining kind, but at least she’ll be set if she is.”
Ma’s face softens and she takes my hand in both of hers. “Oh, what a kind soul you have. I think Nurse Williams will really appreciate that.” I love how the green of Ma’s skin matches mine, even if we don’t share the same blood. She’s always been more of a mom to my sister and me than our biological mother ever had been. Ma was only supposed to take care of us while our mother sailed off for the summer—we still think she was involved in some illegal sea business—but she never came back. After two seasons, we stopped waiting for her to ever return and Ma officially took us in.
“Is that the nurse’s name? Nurse Williams?”
Lowering herself down opposite me into her favorite armchair, Ma nods. “Yes. It’s about time we stopped calling her ‘ the nurse’ and by her actual name. The gods only know I’d hate for all of Starry Hill to refer to me as ‘the doctor.’ Or maybe she’d prefer Nurse Tilly. We’ll have to ask her.”
“I’ll be sure to ask her that when I meet her later. What else do you know about her?”
“Besides that she’s human, not too much. She recently graduated as a nurse practitioner from Cape Easton University.”
Something uncomfortable twists in my chest and my lip curls back involuntarily. “So, she’s a city creature?”
A long, thin finger points directly at me and Ma’s face matches her suddenly stern voice. “Don’t jump to any conclusions about her yet, Bodin. She sounded lovely on the phone the couple of times we spoke.”
I scoff. “She’s from the city, that says all I need to know.” I resist the urge to jump up and start pacing. “Why is someone like her applying for a job in Starry Hill?” My voice drips with bitterness, my whole mood having soured as just the name of that university brings back memories I’ve long since buried.
The smile creeping across Ma’s face speaks of mischief, but I don’t understand why. “I had a good feeling about her.”
My brows shoot up to my hairline. “Ma, tell me you didn’t hire someone based on a feeling.”
Shaking her head, Ma doesn’t quite meet my eyes as she answers. “Of course not. Obviously she’s well qualified. I checked her papers and she has excellent references.” Finally looking directly at me, years of wisdom shine behind Ma’s large hazel eyes. “But don’t underestimate the power of a good feeling either. I had the same feeling about you and Beryl. Tilly is going to be good for Starry Hill. She belongs here. Just mark my words.”
“Can I get that in writing?” I deadpan.
Ma leans forward and flicks my shoulder with a deceptively strong finger. I pretend to wince in pain, even though we both know it didn’t have any effect on my thick orc skin.
“Better get going,” Ma says, ushering me toward the front door. “I want you to make a good first impression. Try to be friendly and a bit more talkative than usual. And nice. Please . Ask her questions, but don’t let it sound like an interrogation. Show her the cottage, but don’t linger too long—we don’t want her to feel suffocated. Offer to fix anything in the cottage she needs, but don’t be overbearing since she sounds very independent.”
I pause right outside her purple front door and cross my arms across my chest. “Anything else the city princess might need?”
Ma takes a moment before answering. “Besides leaving your prejudice right here at the door, I can’t think of anything else right now.”
I bend down to place my right temple against hers in farewell. “I’ll try to be nice, but can’t make any promises if she shows up with some kind of attitude.” Taking a step back, I add, “And by the way, the cottage is in pristine condition. I checked everything before I moved out so nothing needs fixing around there.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure I do,” I mutter under my breath as I start walking away .
Mom scurries after me, calling, “Oh! Your cart. Please take it along. I’m sure she has lots she’s bringing.”
“It’s right here,” I say, and point to the handcart I built partially hidden next to the cottage. “Greased the axle just this morning.”
Our island doesn’t allow any vehicles and we walk everywhere. As Starry Hill’s caretaker, it is part of my job to move heavy equipment around at times, and the handcart makes the job much easier. I arranged with Beck that I’d help transport the newcomer’s luggage, but if she’s from Cape Easton she’s most likely bringing a ton of luxuries that will hardly fit on it.
Would I need to do multiple trips? I fucking hope not. Maybe I can leave the cart for her and she can do it herself. Ha, as if she’d be able to. She’d probably want one of us to do all the heavy lifting for her.
“Oh, Bodin. You already thought of everything. Now if only you could apply that same level of care to yourself.”
“Don’t start, Ma,” I call affectionately as I hitch the cart up and head down the worn cobbled road toward Beck’s dock.
This is a favor for Ma , I remind myself, the gentle rumbling of my cart’s wheels soothing my troubled thoughts. I don’t need to like this new nurse. I can arrange it so our paths never cross.
The tall grasses lining the path swish languidly in the faint breeze and the melodic chirping of birds aid in calming my racing heart. Cottages dot the hillsides in the distance, their vibrant front doors as familiar to me as their inhabitants. They’re the reason this island needs a new nurse after all, and it would benefit me to remember that .
Perhaps it’s wrong to have any preconceived ideas about this Tilly, but hearing the university’s name, the city, it all triggered some very uncomfortable memories.
I hope she’s nothing like them, though. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.