Page 14 of Daddy Bear Picnic

“Well, I—” He reached out and touched the bear. “No, this is one-of-a-kind, you see the stitching here, how it’s a different thread to the other. That’s an error. People pay a lot of money for those.”

“How did you see that from all the way over there?” I asked.

Oliver shrugged. “I’ve got an eye for detail, Elijah. I always have.” He pulled out his eye set of keys with a teddy bear on it. “This is a regular one. I wouldn’t be caught with any special editions out in the wild.” He showed Malcolm the stitching he’d been talking about. “Yours is more obvious because it’s one of their pride bears.”

I didn’t know where they were being friendly or not. Malcolm just nodded at him.

“Anyway, if you need anything, ping me and I’ll try make it happen,” he said. “And I’ll be seeing you at the community center, Elijah. Don’t forget the bird houses.”

“Next weekend,” I reminded him. I had plenty of time, although work wasn’t even on my radar with Malcolm’s appearance, I just wanted to explore this and see what was going to come from it. It was selfish in a way—or all the way.

We walked back to the van parked near the town hall when Malcolm slipped his hand into mine. We paused and looked at the connection of our hands, a spark could’ve been lit from the heat we were generating.

“Thank you for showing me around,” he said. “It’s different to what I remember, but I think I’m going to like it here.”

“You should,” I said, giving him two squeezes on his hand. “Although winter’s can be little brutal, especially if you like the warmth.”

He puffed air in his cheeks. “I think I prefer colder weather, but I heard there’s a nice hot springs close by that stays warm all year.”

“Snowflake Springs,” I said with a nod. If David and Reynard hated looking for a place to live here, then they should steer clear of that place. “I know it’s probably too soon to plan all of that, but how about when it starts to snow, and it will in winter, we’ll take a trip there.”

“Deal!” He shook my hand since were already holding onto each other. “I’d also like to visit the ranch nearby as well, but maybe we can do that another time. I should start work on the house. I can’t live at the bed and breakfast forever.”

I nodded. “How about this, I take you on a little picnic, we draw some ideas of what you want to do for the house, and then we’ll head over and begin dismantling the fence and porch. Take out some frustration.”

“I don’t have any frustration,” he said with that adorable innocent smile.

“Not even from David and Reynard? I know they stress me out.”

He grumbled and forced his brows together. “I could probably channel something.”

There was more confidence already in his words. He even mentioned the smell of the van when we got in there, and turned in his seat to see the organized chaos in the back. It was all accounted for, from pieces of wood that I had laying around in case they were necessary for a project, to the bottles of varnish and paint strippers that had spilled more than once, and added to the smells combining in this place.

“How long have you had this for?” he asked. “It could use a clean.”

“Five years,” I told him. “When we get back, do you want to take your car? Not sure if we can take the U-Haul as well.”

“Good point. I’ve got it rented for a week, so I kinda need to get it all moved into the house really.”

“That’s very doable.” I knew it was, especially since the only thing that really needed doing was the porch. I was surprised by how quickly I’d connected and clung to Malcolm. My soul had been searching and yearning for a connection for so long, that the moment a viable man came along, it was almost undeniable.

We stuck with the van, packed with the wicker hamper basket and the perfumed teddy bear from Malcolm’s car to freshen up the van. The lake was a short drive away, easily walked, but I still had a schedule to keep, and my brother who would enforce it through a barrage of calls if I didn’t.

This was the time now where we could get to know each other.

The lake was busy with others deciding it was a good day to picnic as well. I liked to think I’d influenced them through the seemingly connected brain we all shared as a town.

Malcolm had brought a teddy. I hadn’t noticed it in the van. He’d left me when we got back to the house to freshen up and must’ve gotten it then. It was one of the teddies he’d introduced me to last night.

“Which one is that again?” I asked as I flapped a blanket around before placing it on the grass.

“Winkle,” he said. “I was going to bring all three, but I decided on just one.”

“I have to ask, you don’t already have a Daddy somewhere else, do you?”

Malcolm sat on his knees, pinning the blanket at the corner. “Nope. I haven’t had a Daddy for a little while. I used to go to this club where guys would be Daddies for like the evening or something, but the charm of it wore off. I decided it wasn’t something I wanted.”

“So, you’re looking for something long term?” I asked, opening the picnic basket. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a little in my life, and when I put all the clues together, like you were a puzzle, I had to talk to you about it.”

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