Page 9 of Chased Bear

What Jayce was doing was nice. Really it was. I could appreciate the attention to detail, but gods, he needed to hurry it up. I had things to do that weren’t watching him move cookies all around. I’d offered to help a few times, but that went nowhere. Apparently, he didn’t think I’d be able to do it without a ton of instruction and this was faster. Why did they have to be perfect, anyway? They were just going to be chewed up and put in their bellies anyway. It wasn’t like they were display items that would be passed down for generations. If they made it until the morning, I’d be surprised.

“We’re only going to a few places. I don’t think they expected you to bring anything.” They had offered their hospitality, and this was the opposite of that.

“Unexpected gifts are the best gifts,” he said. “Don’t you love getting surprises?”

My jaw clenched. “I hate surprises.”

Mostly because surprises in my position were never presents. More like, Surprise, the territory was breached. Surprise, there’s a powerline down. Surprise, the diner has an electrical issue.Surprise, here are some cookiessimply wasn’t part of my daily existence.

He smiled. “I just bet you do.” Whatever that meant. “Besides, I’m coming into these people’s homes and businesses smelling like a skunk. It’s the least I could do to offer them food.”

“Are you sure people are going to want food prepared by someone who smells like a skunk?”

Jayce’s face fell, and I immediately regretted my words. I snatched a cookie off the plate of extras he had and took a bite. Even if it hadn’t been delicious, I planned to lie to him because I didn’t want to see him looking so sad. But when the flavors burst in my mouth and that gooeyness took me back to a simpler time, I moaned around the bite.

“They won’t care,” I said with a mouth full of cookie. “This is delicious. Are there more?”

His face lit up. “I have some extras. Plus, I can always make more.”

I grabbed one for the road and helped him with the bags he had packed for everywhere we were going. It was supposed to be a simple tour, but here we were, planning to go everywhere and see everything. I supposed I could kill two birds with one stone—show Jayce the territory and also meet with the people I needed to discuss things with. I had a list folded in my back pocket of topics to bring up.

Multitasking was my friend.

We started at the healer’s clinic. The space was simple, but Rissa had made it their own, decorating it and making as much space as they could. Jayce smiled warmly when he saw them.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Jayce said, giving Rissa a big hug before I even got a chance to get a word in. “I’m Jayce. I’m sure Corey has told you all about me and how great I am.”

Rissa laughed. “I have heard about you, but he didn’t tell me about your… predicament.”

“That is a new development.” Jayce handed them a container. “I made these for you. It’s a simple recipe that I actually got from Piers over in North Bay.”

Rissa gasped. “They shared their recipe? Are you kidding me? I haven’t had these in ages!”

“Try them. They’re close to perfect, but of course, nothing is the same as Piers’.”

Rissa took a bite, their eyes closing. “Oh, Jayce, this is a wonderful gift. Thank you. Come on in. Let me show you around.”

“I am glad to meet you, and I’m doubly glad you like the cookies, but I was also hoping we could talk about my little…” he pinched his nose, “problem.”

“It doesn’t smell wild skunk,” they said in a voice I had discovered meant defeat.

“It’s not. And it was a direct hit.”

“There’s not a whole lot that can be done aside from wait it out.” Rissa went to the back counter and opened a drawer, coming back with a bar of soap. “This might help. It has some acidic qualities to it that might help a little bit.”

“Acidic?” I snatched it from his hand. “He doesn’t need this.”

Rissa rolled their eyes at me and pretty much I deserved it.

“Meaning it’s a vitamin C bar.” They grabbed it from me and gave it back to Jayce. “Try it. It can’t hurt.”

We only stayed a few minutes longer. There were a lot of stops to make and the day was quickly running out.

Every place we visited was just like that. Jayce handed over his baked goods and won over whoever it was that we were meeting. He talked at length with each person, getting to know them, what they did, what their hopes and dreams were, and all of them were ensnared by his charm.

Even Patrick, one of my Betas, who was usually curmudgeonly, was wowed by the surprise Jayce had for him.

Jayce had made a miniature cake in the shape of a hamburger. It looked nearly exactly like one of the burgers that would come out of Patrick’s kitchen. Patrick smiled broadly when he saw it and let out a hearty laugh. He clapped Jayce on the back after scenting him.

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