Page 89 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
Would that be enough?
As the other orcs found wives, they’d leave to go home. Our team would look completely different from year to year, and I’d find myself constantly having to train neworcs on the game and how to skate, as well as figuring out how to adjust our game strategy for each new player. I’d be the only orc in this world long-term. Jordan’s and my children would be the only ones in this world who looked like them, who carried orc blood. How could I make sure they were accepted? How could I ensure they knew their heritage, learned my language, carried the stories of our ancestors in their hearts? How could they be orcs in a human world?
And while I’d encountered so much support, I knew there were humans who hated our presence here. I’d seen the scowls, the glares. I’d heard the occasional shout to go home, the angry words telling me I didn’t belong here. I’d agreed with them, ready to return as soon as I’d found a bride, but now I was contemplating living among humans—some of whom would never accept me, or my children, or Jordan for having chosen me as her mate. Would her practice suffer? Would some humans refuse to go to a dentist that married and had children with an orc?
“Penny for your thoughts.” My beloved’s soft, concerned voice broke me from my spiral of anxiety.
“The team has improved, but we are still not winning.” I was a complete coward for not being honest, but we’d knitted a fragile repair of our relationship after the disastrous proposal of marriage, and I didn’t want to risk further damage.
“Oh, honey!” She reached out to take my hand, entwining her fingers in mine. “Don’t discount those very significant improvements. Rome wasn’t built in a day. And the games are energizing and so much more fun. People aren’t watching because they want to see silly orcs-on-ice, they’re watching to see you all score, defend the net, and fight back against the other team. You’re realhockey players, even if it’s another season or two before you win a game.”
I knew she meant that speech to be inspiring, but her belief that it might be a year or two before we won evenonegame was disheartening.
“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand gently. “And I’m tired. For some reason, sitting on Bus for hours at a time is more exhausting than the actual game.”
“Oh, I know that.” She smiled. “I used to take the bus home for Christmas break when I was in college, and I always felt like I’d run a marathon and been beaten with a leather strap by the time we arrived in Buffalo. My parents would pick me up at the station, and I’d fall asleep in bed the moment I got home.”
I eyed her. “I think I have enough energy for sex if you limit your expectations.”
The laugh that burst out of her did more to energize me than a dozen cups of coffee.
“As much as I want to feel your touch and have you inside me, I’ll be perfectly happy to cuddle up with you in bed, feeling your body against mine as we sleep. And in the morning, I’ll wake you with my mouth on your cock, just so you know how much I missed you these last two weeks.”
My hand-axe began to harden at the thought, but I knew that I would be happy having her against me in our furs as we slept. And I was already envisioning all the things I would do to her in the morning.
Morning. Because I trulywasexhausted.
Jordan found a parking space only a block away from her house. I carried my duffle bag, which seemed to have gained a hundred pounds since I’d gotten off Bus, and held her hand as we walked up the street. Even this felt warmly familiar, like home. She let go of my hand to unlock herdoor, and I was surprised by a chorus of meows as we walked in.
“Surprise!” Jordan’s smile wobbled with uncertainty as she turned and extended an arm toward the two cats racing across the living room.
I instinctively shut the door, knowing that Jordan wouldn’t want Judy to escape. Or the other cat…
Small. Black. Friendly, but displaying obvious deference to the tuxedo cat that ruled this house.
“Coal?” I could hardly believe it. Cats often looked similar, but this little feline was identical to the one I’d fallen for at the animal shelter.
Jordan twisted her hands together in front of her waist. “I couldn’t risk him being adopted before you came home, so I got him. For you. And after a few days, he and Judy seem to be getting along great. It helps that he lets her get her way in everything and is so chill with her temperamental outbursts of hissing and growling.”
“For me.” Like an idiot, I was repeating her words, barely able to absorb all she was saying. I wanted to claim it was due to exhaustion, but I think surprise was more to blame.
“For you.” She put a tentative hand on my bicep. “If I acted in haste and you weren’t ready to adopt, it’s okay. I’ve gotten really fond of him, and like I said, Judy gets along with him as well. What I’m saying is that I’m happy to keep him if you’re not ready to be a cat-dad yet.”
“I am very ready to be a father,” I blurted out. “I mean, a cat-father.”
I meant both. Hopefully the other kind of father would happen eventually, but for now I was beyond excited to know that I would be Coal’s orc-father.
“Good.” She let out a long breath. “Honestly, I was alittle worried that I’d acted in haste and was putting you in a situation where you’d have to make a decision you might not be ready to make.”
“I wanted him before I left but felt it wouldn’t be fair. Thank you so much for adopting him for me and letting him stay here until I came back.” I gathered her in my arms and kissed her. “This is the best of all surprises.”
She snuggled against me. “I’m happy to have him stay here when the Tusks need to travel in the future. That way, he won’t be lonely in your apartment when you’re gone.”
“Thank you.” Again, there was the reminder that she had no intention of leaving this human world, no matter how much she might love me. Something ached in my chest, and I ignored it. This wasn’t the time for that discussion, not when I was so tired and had just gotten back to Baltimore after two weeks on the road.
“Bed?” Jordan asked with a soft smile.
“Bed,” I agreed. Then I put my arm around her shoulder and walked with her up the stairs, two cats bounding up behind to join us in the bedroom.
