Page 42 of The Great Maple Mistake

Luke hands Graham a plate of food and then brings his own to the table. Before he sits down, he grabs my shoulder, eyes wide. “Wait! Don’t eat that!” He points at the container of syrup on the table. “That’s maple. Are you okay with it being this close to your food? We have the fake stuff in the cupboard. Hold on, I’ll get it.”

“Luke.” Alex pushes his chair back and stands. “Luke.”

But it’s too late. Luke’s in the pantry digging around. “I don’t want to kill your boyfriend, Alex. Give me a minute. So it’s okay for you to be close to the maple, Cody?”

He exits the pantry brandishing a bottle of generic grocery store ‘pancake syrup’ and sets it down in front of me. “Ta-da!”

“Thanks, Luke. I appreciate it. But I’m not allergic to maple.”

“Dude, I read about your allergy in Maplewood Matters.”

He says it like if it was in the gossip column it must be true. Groaning, I pick up the fake syrup and drizzle it over my pancakes. Thank god for high fructose corn syrup. “I promise. It’s all a big mistake. I don’tlikemaple, but I’m not allergic to it. Rae from the Rocktogenarians misunderstood me, and before I could correct her, it was already spreading like wildfire.”

Alex nods, grinning at his dad. “Now the whole town thinks he’s allergic. It’s actually sort of funny.”

“Except it’s really not.” I try to be as nice as I can, but I really want him to understand why. “People are going out of their way to accommodate an allergy I don’t have. They’re inconveniencing themselves for me.” I look at Luke and Graham. “I feel really guilty about it, but no one will listen to me.”

Graham shakes his head. “This issoMaplewood. And the only thing you can do is ride it out and keep telling people you’re not allergic.” He winces. “I don’t envy you, though.”

I hold up the store syrup. “But thanks for this, Luke. I really appreciate it.”

We all dig in, and for a few minutes, the only sounds in the kitchen are forks and knives on plates. Then Graham breaks the silence. “Alex, how’s the prep coming for the cook-off? Do you need any help?”

Alex shakes his head. “No, but thanks. The committee has it under control. You’re coming, though, right?”

Graham’s head jerks back a little and his brow furrows. “Of course I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss your big festival. And Luke is competing.” Graham gives Luke’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Cody, how was the calendar photo shoot?”

I glance up from my plate, surprised at the change of subject. “Oh, it was good.” I grin at Alex. “Lots of fun. And it was a blast sharing the spotlight with Tux, my new kitten.”

“Did you guys hear how Cody rescued him and his siblings?” Alex shoves his last slice of bacon in his mouth and sits back in his chair, cradling his mug of coffee.

Eyes wide, Luke leans in. “Yeah, I read about it in Maplewood Matters. Did you get homes for all of them?”

I nod. “Yeah. I took Tux, of course, because he’s the cutest.” Alex snorts, and I elbow him. “Shush, you know I’m right. Gabe Winslow took one of the boy kittens for his daughter Ellie. Jason Zervudachi took another of the boy kittens, but I think he was giving it to his boyfriend, Bellamy. Finn took the one that was sick to nurse her back to health, and after she was better, he just kept her. I think maybe he gave her to Charlie. Or Drake? I’m not sure. And the final one went to the chief, who wanted her for the firehouse. He named her Cinder.”

Graham pushes his plate away and leans forward, resting his crossed arms on the table. “Did they find out what started the fire at the warehouse or who put the kittens in the dumpster?”

I rub my neck and wince sheepishly. “I can’t really talk about the details of the fire. It’s still under investigation. But I can tell you that they caught the guy who dumped the kittens! Guess he was ruled out as a suspect in the fire. Someone recognized the pickup truck in the security footage as belonging to a former employee. Investigators went to his house to ask some questions, and when his girlfriend found out why the police were there, she started crying and screaming because he’d told her that he gave the kittens away to a cousin. I guess it was a whole scene. Anyway, the police told her the kittens were safe and in good homes, and she calmed down, but I heard she threw her boyfriend out and told him to get lost. I don’t blame her. Anyone who could do that to defenseless kittens isn’t someone I’d trust.”

Alex nods. “Especially when there are plenty of people who want kittens.”

We silently sip our coffees, each thinking our own thoughts. Then in an abrupt change of subject, Luke scratches his chin and surveys the table of dirty dishes. “Glad I’m not cleaning up.” He pushes away from the table and stands, grinning at Alex. “Think I’ll go take a shower.”

Alex flips him off but doesn’t seem upset. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You cooked, I clean.” He waves him away. “Go. De-stench yourself.”

“Okay, pot.” He walks around the table to stand between me and Alex. “At least I don’t smell like sex at the breakfast table.”

Blushing, Alex flips him off again. “You’re just jealous.”

Luke nods. “You know it. Everyone in this house has been celibate for far too long.” I raise my eyebrow at that because as I pointed out to them earlier, the three of them are hot as fuck. Luke grabs Alex’s and my shoulders and gives them a squeeze.“Seriously, I’m happy for you guys. Cody, I like you. You seem like a good guy. Be good to my brother so I don’t have to kick your ass.”

Alex groans but leans into Luke. There’s even a hint of a smile on his lips. “Finn already gave him the shovel speech.”

Graham shoves his chair back and stands, clapping his hands together once. “Good. That means I don’t have to.” He points at me. “Hurt my son, and I’ll have to kick your ass. So please don’t, because I know the level of fitness firefighters need to be in, and I’m not sure I’m up to that.” Graham stares me down for all of three seconds, then grins. “Seriously though, I’m happy for you both. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around, Cody. But I have to get changed and head over to Luke and Alex’s mom’s house.”

At almost the same time, Alex and Luke ask, “Why?” and “What for?”

Graham grabs his plate and carries it to the sink. “I’m helping Rob install a back patio for your mom. I’m assuming she’ll be there to supervise, unless she has some committee meeting. You know your mom. She has to be involved in everything.”

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