Page 95 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy
Tark chuckled as I shouted out my three-nugget bid. “Well, folks, looks like we’ve got a serious auction on our hands.”
The crowd started murmuring again, half surprised, half in excitement.
I stood a little straighter. Let them talk. I was just getting started.
“Go, Mom,” Max shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
My son was happy. So was Sel. Could things get any better than this?
I was so happy I could scream.
The woman in yellow stood and tossed her curls over one shoulder like that might give her more authority. “What’s actually in the basket?” she shouted. “We should know what we’re bidding on at this price.”
Tark tilted his head, mock serious. “I can’t say. You don’t have to bid, of course.”
“Oh, come on,” she asked with a sweet smile. “Not even a hint?”
He held up one finger. “Nope. Orcs honor.”
A few people chuckled.
“Three-fifty,” the woman in yellow shouted.
“Four hundred,” her friend said, holding up her hand.
“Six gold nuggets.” Even with this bid, I had a few left. I was eternally grateful to Gracie for giving me this chance. There was no way I could ever afford something like this otherwise.
Whispers stirred through the crowd.
“Hold steady.” Gracie grabbed my arm, pumping it. “You’ve got this.”
I nodded, my gaze locked on that basket. No way was I losing now.
The women huddled together, whispering and one of them finally lifted her arm. “Six-fifty.”
Tark looked impressed. “That’s the highest bid so far today.”
I held up another nugget, making it seven. My hand didn’t even shake.
More whispers. People craned their necks to get a better look at the gold.
The woman in yellow pressed her lips together. “At that cost, the basket better come with a kiss,” she muttered, and the other women snorted.
“Even more than a kiss,” another woman said with a laugh.
“Eight nuggets,” I said, before the first woman could think about raising her bid.
Her shoulders slumped.
“Nothing’s worth that much,” she said with a shrug, leaning back against the wooden bench.
To me, his basket was priceless.
“Any other bids?” Tark’s gaze swept across the crowd, greeted with silence. “Going once… Going twice…” He paused long enough for drama, then pointed straight at me. “Sold to the little lady in the gingham dress!”
Cheers and clapping erupted across the barn. Gracie shrieked beside me and flung her arms around my neck.
Bright Hope was about to get a lovely donation.
