Page 92 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
“And enough for my hungry brother,” I said with a smile.
“You spoil me, Sel,” Hail said.
Another odd thing to say. How could treating someone nice make them smell rancid? I didn’t actually want to find out.
Max pushed his glasses up again. “That would be so cool.”
More people dressed in Wild West gear filed in and sat on benches around us. Energy hummed through the air.
I leaned back and let it all sink in. The laughter, the rustle of skirts, the clink of spurs. Holly’s voice up front, calling out to Gracie.
All of it sounded like belonging. I hadn’t thought I’d ever find myself in such a wonderful position, not after my first mate and our youngling died. Not after years of feeling like I was meant to be useful but not loved outside of family.
Then Holly and Max stepped into my life, and suddenly, a full, happy life felt possible.
Tark shifted around beside the podium, pretending to be more serious than he probably felt.
Gracie swept past him, and Tark snagged her around the waist and pulled her close. She laughed and tried to wriggle away, but he caught her mouth with his and kissed her. People hooted and whistled.
When he lifted his head, she clung to his vest before stroking his cheek and stepping away to get back to work with pink cheeks and a grin that showed how pleased she was to be mated to my brother.
Tark peered at the clock mounted on the left wall. It was time. He cleared his throat and raised the gavel, banging it on the top of the podium. The sound bounced through the barn.
Voices slowed and a hush descended.
Max bumped my elbow. “Here we go,” he whispered, practically vibrating in his seat.
I smiled down at him and looked back toward the front.
Tark gave it another bang and leaned across the top, his voice carrying through the room. “Thanks for coming, all of you. We’re so happy to have you visiting with my brothers and I in Lonesome Creek, where the sorhoxes are extra friendly, and so are the orcs.”
A few people chuckled. Standing near the right wall with Holly, Gracie grinned and shook her head.
“Every basket you see on this table,” his arm swept in that direction, “was donated by someone who believes in supporting a just cause. All the proceeds are going straight to BrightHope Animal Shelter. They’re expanding, adding new kennels, medical equipment, and larger outdoor runs for the dogs. That means every dollar you spend gets barked at.”
More laughs.
Tark grinned. “Let’s make this town proud, knowing those of you who bid big will get fed while doing it.” He raised the gavel again and brought it back down. “It’s time to start the auction.”
Chapter 33
Holly
Icouldn’t believe what Gracie gave me yesterday. When I’d opened the small pouch at Sel’s house, I’d at first shaken my head, staring at the marble-sized gleaming stones in my hand. They couldn’t be real gold, right? Nobody walked around with random pouches of gold nuggets in their pocket to casually give to a new friend.
“They’re real,” Sel had told me as we sat on his back steps with the sun sliding closer to the horizon. He ran his fingertip across one with a half-smile on his face. “We call it fymsom. You call it gold.”
“Tark gave it to her.” His level gaze met mine. “We tell most that we mine it in the hills, and we spend it sparingly to imply there isn’t much.”
I held my hand up and the gold gleamed in the sunlight. “This is more than not much.”
“Well.” He almost squirmed. “We’re mates, so I can tell you. It’s kind of lying on the ground everywhere in the orc kingdom.”
“What?” I barked.
“We have a lot of it.” His hand swept toward the downtown area. “We bought this valley and built this tourist attraction withit, though everyone thinks the king financed it all. He actually didn’t, though he would’ve. He likes the idea and plans to come to the surface soon to try some sorhox bull riding.” He frowned. “We ride sorhox bulls already, and they’re as tame as Zist. He’s a bull. But we’ve got some ideas for how we’ll get them excited enough to hop around on command. Hail’s working on that project right now and plans to open our first rodeo soon.”
I shook my head, trying to fathom how they’d get bulls to hop around on command and decided I’d have to see it to believe it. Hail seemed to have a way with sorhoxes, so I guess if anyone could make it happen, he could. And if I knew my son, he’d want to help. As long as he wasn’t bull riding himself, I was okay with that. For now, I’d focus on the…gold. Real gold.
