Page 11 of A Pack of Honey
"I remember when this place was a general store. It still had the ice cream section back then, though it was just Ben and Jerry's, not Gelato," Cole confides.
Winnie smiles. "Mr. and Mrs. Parsons' store. I bought it from them about five years ago. I'm afraid the general store life just isn't for me." she explains. "Though in the off-season, I bring more general store-type items so people don't have to fight the snow to Suttons Bay." I pick up a cheese grater that's shaped like a sloth
"Well, Miss Winnie," Luca says. “We're looking for a first courting gift.”
Her eyes widen with clear excitement. “For someone in town?' I can practically see her bouncing on her toes. She must be unmatched. Single omegas get so giddy about first-courting gifts. Everyone hopes to find their own scent match or even a scent-sensitive match, someday, and maybe she's already imagining what her first-courting gift would be.
As an omega, she clearly understands that a first-courting gift is something you get for a first date after finding a match. We all exchange glances.
"Yes," Luca says. There's no sense in denying it. "Though we don't want to betray her privacy by saying who.”
Winnie looks us up and down. "It's Sunny, isn't it?"
We gape at her. Are there so few women in town that Sunny would be the only one courted? Lakeside Point doesn't seemthatsmall.
"I'm a friend of Sunny's, " she explains. "I was with her this morning when she replied to your email." She admits but then grimaces as if regretting adding that information.
Luca nods. "I see. In that case, could you offer your opinion? We only just met Sunny, so we don't know where to start.
"Hmm…" She looks around her shop. "My best suggestion is the charm bracelets," she says, leading us to the display. "Sunny comes in here quite often to chat or have lunch with me when I can't get away, and she always ends up looking at them, but never buys any."
"Why not?" I won't waste any opportunity to learn about our Omega.
Winnie shakes her head from side-to-side. "A combination of things. I assume you've been out to Sunshine Apiary? Sunny's job is labor-intensive at times. I don't think she thinks charm bracelets are practical, no matter how much she likes them. And, I think, cost is a factor. This is the kind of thing you collect. Like I said, she's practical, and she doesn’t spend much money on anything other than the Apiary."
"She's very proud of the Apiary, isn't she?" Cole asks. I can see the respect in his eyes and hear it in his tone, but Winnie clearly takes it differently.
"She should be," the omega responds, her defense of her friend dripping from every word. "It's been in her family for threegenerations, but she really made it her own with her products and the tours."
I put my hands up for all of us. "We believe you. We're just curious."
Her expression softens, and I gain respect for the shop owner. The way she defends our omega makes my alpha rumble with approval.
Winnie brings the keys to the charm case and opens it. These aren't little plastic things for show. Many are marked silver or gold, and how many carats. They have precious gems and intricate, fine metalwork. There are charms for practically everything imaginable. Charms shaped like dogs and cats, charms shaped like houses, charms shaped like balls of yarn, and charms with blown glass or precious stones. It's overwhelming.
"If you'd like, I can help—" Winnie begins, but Jess cuts her off.
"No, we've cheated enough." He flashes her an award-winning smile, and my heart melts a little at the sight. Jess has always had that effect on me. I shake myself and focus. Packs are supposed to buy their own courting gifts, not get someone else to do it for them. It's considered lazy and weak.
She nods. "I'll be cleaning at the front if you need me."
She leaves, and we look at all the charms for a moment.
"Okay," I finally say. "What do we know about Sunny?"
Everyone thinks for a moment.
"Is the fact that she owns an apiary too obvious?" Jess asks. He's really trying. More than he has with anyone else we've courted by a mile.
We look at the charms. There are actually three different ones devoted to bees. One's a hive hanging off a branch, although the branch looks a little poky, and I can't imagine it's comfortable to wear.
The second is a honey pot with a bee alighted on the rim. It's okay, but a little chunky. I pick up the third one from its slot and hand it to Jess. It's a fat honey bee with very delicate wings that almost look crystalline, though they're sturdy. The bee's body is black and white enamel, but in a way that looks like watercolor. Jess nods.
"Do we know her birthday?" Luca asks. After sifting through the internal files we have in our documents on his phone, he finds it: August 30th. Which is only a little over a month away.
There's an entire section for birthstone-based charms. August's birthstone is peridot, as it turns out. We find an August charm that has peridot inlaid among iridescent swirls. It matches the bee's wings nicely. Luca pulls it out as his gift to her. We all think for another moment.
"I noticed a lot of sunflowers in front of the farmhouse," I say. There were many sizes and colors. There were the big yellow ones almost as tall as me, but there were also the medium-sized orange ones, the smaller yellow ones, and a few I didn't know existed. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of sunflowers. But there's only one sunflower charm in the flower section of the bead case. It's the traditional large yellow one, and I hope it'll be what she wants. I take it in hand as my gift when Cole doesn’t claim it.
