Page 10 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
To cover the awkward moment, I pointed to the row of chalkboard labels leaning against the shelf behind us. “Are those for the display case?”
“Pricing and names. Tourists want authenticity, so I try to label everything with either human or orc names. Color-coded too. Green means it's an orc item.”
Stepping carefully around the space between us, I took a look. “Horncrust Thunder Bread?” I blinked. “That’s interesting.” I could only imagine what it might taste like.
“The name is accurate,” he said.
I laughed. “Are you saying it tastes like lightning and cranky gods?”
His mouth twitched, but he only shrugged.
Pulling trays from a rack near the oven, I paused. “Would it be alright if I gave Max something to eat?”
“I’ll get it.” Sel grabbed a wide plate, loaded it with a little bit of everything, from two sugary rolls to something I didn’t recognize with a glazed top, to what might be an orc version of a bagel. He poured water from the tap into a tall cup and left before I could thank him.
I scurried over to watch from above the swinging doors as Sel strode to my son. Max didn’t flinch when Sel stopped beside him. He lowered his book to the table, and they spoke, though I couldn’t hear what they said. Max nodded. Took the plate. Focused on the food but not in that worried, I-have-to-eat-it-fast kind of way. His face remained calm. Seeing how relaxed he was with Sel tied a knot in my chest.
Sel returned to the kitchen, passing me where I stood by the doors.
“Thanks,” I said.
He nodded.
Something about the way Max hadn’t flinched, hadn’t looked toward me for reassurance, made my ribs ache. His trust wasn’t a result of direction I’d given. It was something he’d chosen on his own.
My eyes stinging, I returned to my work.
We fell into a rhythm again. I mixed and portioned muffins while he prepped a batch of flatbread behind me, singing underhis breath. The song was in orcish, full of thick consonants that smoothed in places where I didn't expect.
The bell over the front door jingled.
Sel froze. “We’re not open yet.” Stepping into the double half-doors, he peered into the front and sighed. “It’s my Aunt Inla and Grannie Lil.”
The way he said it made me pause with the scoop halfway from the bowl to the muffin tin. “Is that…bad?”
If he was rattled, I needed to know why. Trouble was rarely loud. It started with familiarity. And my son was out there.
Sel didn’t answer, just gave me the sort of look that made my hands sweat before he stepped through the swinging doors.
I reluctantly followed.
Chapter 4
Holly
As I walked into the front area, moving to stand behind the glass-fronted display cabinet with what I hoped wasn’t a tortured smile on my face, footsteps clicked on the wooden floorboards. A tall orc woman with gray-tinged hair formed into a bun on the top of her head and a tiny, elderly human woman sauntered across the open area like they were born to take up space. Aunt Inla wore a floor-length purple dotted dress with ruffles along the neckline that did nothing to disguise the set of her thick orc jaw and shoulders. Her dark eyes assessed the display case before zeroing in on me.
The elderly human woman wore a floral cotton gown covered in green pears, of all things, and a wide-brimmed pink bonnet tied so tight under her chin, she looked like she’d planned to ride a tornado. Her cane tapped on the floor, punctuating each step.
When she came to a stop, her eyes also landed on me.
“Oh-ho,” the tiny one who had to be Grannie Lil said, propping a hand on her hip. “Now who’s this fine person working here at this lovely establishment?”
Sel rested an arm against the end of the counter to my right. “This is Holly Engle. Holly? This is Grannie Lil, which she wants everyone to call her?—”
“Including you, dear,” Grannie said with a wink.
“And this gorgeous orc lady is my Aunt Inla.”
