Page 7 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
“Oh, yes, sure. What time?” she asked, her voice muffled.
Truly, it would cause no harm to open the door back up and maybe even step into the hall. Speak with me face-to-face.
Or would it? I suspected she might have a different opinion than mine.
“Nine?”
“Sure. I’ll be there!”
Nine was way too late, but it was her first day. I always started early, though I did a lot of prep work at the end of the prior day, so I didn’t have to go in like some bakers at three.
Turning, I leaned against the wall, scrubbing my face with my palms. I finally bumped off and headed back downstairs and out onto Main Street. A call brought my sorhox, Zist, running.I leaped up onto the beast’s spine and gently nudged his sides with my heels, aiming him toward the right side of town.
After we’d finished building our tourist town, we'd constructed small ranch houses, all completely alike, for me and my five brothers, plus one for my Aunt Inla and another, now, for Lil, my sister-in-law, Jessi's grandmother. We all called her Grannie Lil, even my brother, Greel, Jessi's mate.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Holly and Max and the odd way they’d behaved. While I didn’t know humans well, I’d been around enough to know they were scared. Yes, that was the right word.
What could I do about it, assuming I want to do anything at all?
I ran one idea after another through my mind.
By the time I’d reached my dark home and stepped inside my small kitchen, I’d come up with a plan.
Chapter 3
Holly
Max and I arrived at the bakery at six. Hours before nine, but I couldn't resist. I'd never been one to lounge in bed, and if I knew my bakeries, Sel would be hard at work already. The sky still wore that soft bruised color before full morning, and I paused on the boardwalk, just staring. I couldn’t remember when I’d seen a sky so open, so beautiful. Cities tended to mask everything around them.
Max held his book with one hand while the other fluttered near mine, not quite reaching. He didn’t say he was nervous. He didn’t have to. I almost reached back. But I didn’t want to spook the quiet courage it had taken for him to come with me in the first place. Some things, you just let settle on their own.
Inside the bakery, the scent of yeast and sugar wrapped around me. Warm ovens hummed in the back. A display case waited to be filled in the front. My fingers flexed twice before I stilled them.
Max wandered a few steps away from me, searching everything behind his glasses. “Is that real sourdough starter on the shelf behind the case?” His voice was quiet, but full of awe. The kind I’d missed without knowing.
“I assume so.”
Sel stood behind the counter, sorting through things, placing items in the day-old area, all tall and broad, though currently hunched over. His tusks caught the light when he straightened and smiled at us. “You're early.”
“I hope that's okay.” I braced myself, watching his face for anger.
It remained pleasant. “No problem. Couldn't sleep?”
I shrugged.
He turned to the jar on the back counter. “You're right, Max. I started feeding this starter months ago, not long after I arrived here from the orc kingdom.”
“That's cool,” Max breathed. “What's the kingdom like?”
“Different from here. We have cities built much like yours. But no sky overheard. No moon, and no sunshine, though the bugs peppering the cavern roofs provide enough light.”
“That’s so cool.” Max looked more than impressed.
“I hope it's alright that I brought Max with me,” I said, the words coming out fast. My jaw was tight from holding in the worry that he'd frown, that I’d see that little flicker people got when they realized you’d brought baggage. I continued to watch, watching him for any hint of irritation, and I was surprisingly grateful when I didn't see any. “He'll sit here in the front.” I rested my hand on Max’s back. “He’ll read. Stay quiet. I promise.”
Sel’s brow lowered, though his expression didn’t appear unkind. “He can visit the stables if he wants. Or sit in the saloon with one of my brothers. Not a lot of danger in Lonesome Creek.”
My stomach dropped. The thought of Max not remaining in the same building as me knocked the air from my lungs. Not this soon. Maybe not ever.
