Page 5 of Cider
A chuckle slipped out. Asher was an ornery little dude. He’d be a heartbreaker when he grew up.
My fox stirred, her tail brushed against me. She chittered. Well, whatever was bugging her was no longer an issue. At least until her stubborn butt decided it did again.
The rink was in the center of all the shops. The castle on the hill was up on the mountain and easily seen anywhere anyone went.
As I passed Bitchin’ Baubles that was owned by Thora, I noticed a crowd around one of the empty spaces further out from the rest of the stores, a large truck was outside of it with a logo that had me cursing. They were building another shop outside of the ring of stores? It would mess up the aesthetic for sure, not to mention who was building it.
Darcorp was a nationally recognized restaurant. If they were setting up a store here, I was in trouble. So was everyone else. The people around the truck were unfamiliar. A short balding man with a stringy looking mustache was giving orders while looking at a clipboard.
My fox’s hair stood up and she gave a low growl. That made two of us. I flipped the open sign on the door as I unlocked it. One issue at a time. There was only so much I could do at once.
The door to the shop opened and Gray strutted inside. Like her name, her hair was gray and long. She’d been hinting at me when she’d visit sometimes that I needed to come down to her tattoo place, Lady Blue Tattoo, and get one done. I was still trying to decide if I wanted one or not.
“Hey, Cider.” Gray moved with easy grace around the tables to end up at the counter, sitting at one of the stools. “I heard a little fox was seen running off the rink last night. Was that you?” She shrugged out of her jacket, her wolf tattoo with blue eyes vivid in the light.
I cursed. “Really? It’s already all over that I freaked out?” I pulled out my box of loose leaf tea for her to look through to choose. “You look like shit, by the way.”
Flipping me off with her left hand, she pointed to the chamomile tea with her right. “That’s good for a hangover, right?”
“It sure is. With some lemon juice and honey, you’ll be right as rain in a little bit.” I snickered as I started putting the drink together.
“Rumor is that you met Eirlys' dad last night and he scared you so bad for the prank war, you shifted and ran away.”
Almost dropping the kettle that was already hot, I whirled around. “Her dad?”
Gray held her hands up. “It’s true? Do I need to go kick her ass?”
I shook my head, quickly finishing her tea, and handed it to her. “No, he wasn’t mean to me. I barely even said two words. It’s just, er, he, um.” How was I going to admit this?
“He? Stop stuttering.” She blew on the hot beverage before taking a sip with a sigh. “Oh, that’s good.”
“He’s my mate.” My hands went flat on top of the counter as I looked down. He was her dad? Oh, that is so going to make this even more awkward than it already was.
“Your mate?” Gray blinked as she sipped more of her tea. “Well, that sucks.”
“Tell me about it.” If I could bang my head on the counter without risking damaging it, I would.
Once Gray left, I went through the scene from yesterday in my head. Every time I remembered shifting like a child, I groaned. How embarrassing. What must my new mate think of me?
A few customers came in, interrupting my inner battle. Right after them, Candela, the owner of Candela’s Cupcake Shop walked in with her husky, who was always at her side, Jasper.
Looked like my shop was popular today.
She waited while I served the others in front of her.
“Hey, Candela. How are you? How’s it going?” I offered a grin. “I am in love with those vanilla cupcakes with lavender frosting you did the other day.”
“A little stressed. I’m sure you saw that building going up and who it belongs to?” Candela reached down, most likely unconsciously, and rubbed Jasper’s ears. “I’m glad you like the cupcakes!”
Leaning over the counter, I tossed a puppy treat to Jasper. I kept the treats near the cash register. He caught it in mid air and happily munched it.
“Yeah, on my way in this morning. It gives me the heebee jeebees.” I poured a quick iced tea for her in a to-go cup.
“I'm wondering if we have the option to ask the rink owner not to let them in?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’d be great if we actually knew who the owner was.
She sipped her drink before shrugging. “It can’t hurt to try to find out. Otherwise, we’re all going to have to band together.” She tried to hand me some cash, but I shook my head. “Thank you for the drink. I’ve got to go.” She paused. “Oh, I almost forgot one of the reasons I wanted to see you. You know Jack?”
“The guy who drives the zamboni?” I knew the Jack she was talking about, but I didn’t want to give away that I oogled him.
