Chapter Text
Spring was always the most beautiful time of the year. The birds chirped as rabbits climbed out of their burrows to welcome new kits. The ground still had minimal moisture from any leftover showers as the sun rolled in summer. Just as animals migrate home, John Price migrates to Armelle’s Rest.
He had served his country well and finally turned in his dogtags after his last mission nearly put his men in their own wood-framed beds. Now he searched for a place to rest his head after years of hol’ing himself up in the city for the sacrifice of his job. His bear yearned for a safe place with the impending date of his first hibernation out of the military. So when he was recommended by Laswell to come here, he took one look at the surrounding mountainous terrain of the town and decided to follow one last order.
His deep claws dug into the crumbling soil of the dense forest as he padded through. His deep cerulean orbs caught the solar fractions through the green arrowheaded leaves of the coastal redwoods. He was so far away from the thick grasps of civilizations he almost was unsure of every step he took with a scent strongly permeating his every thought.
His snout filled with a swirling deep amber scent until it pooled in his gut like a warm resin form of the smell. It made him want to curl up and bask in it like a housecat does at the first notion of sun in the early morning. His thick fur shook with a force as a shiver passed through at a realization. This was marked territory. It wasn’t just a dense forest home to a cavernous mountain range. He could hear the nearby rushing of the river as it pounded into the rocks below. He could feel the low breeze of spring ruffle through his thick and dark brown bristled fur.
The nearest town was an old retirement community that had one inn, a few shops, and a whole lot of old cottages. Sure there were lake houses but this was not some vibrantly young community of curious humans. So when he moved here to plant roots, he assumed that he would be alone, perfect for his Kodiak and better for a war-torn old man who couldn’t bare much sentimental or deeply personal human interaction.
When he was younger and a cocksure idealist, John imagined finding a mate and filling her with cubs and keeping her safe in a den. He imagined being surrounded by a big family during hibernation and big hunts to commence every time he came home. Then the reality of his life struck his brain like a bullet to the skull in the middle of a war-torn field. He wouldn’t get that because he didn’t have the time, nor would any sane human want to become a shifter like him and nonetheless a kodiak.
Kodiaks were beautiful bears but yet cursed to a life of solitary confinement much like himself. He remembers fondly how his parents were happy with just John. Growing up as a lone cub was hard but lacking a strong community was harder. Sure, bears are solitary but kodiaks are the most lonesome. His species originated from a lone archipelago and mates never stayed together long or stayed loyal unless they were meant to last. He never understood why his own species couldn’t live together like other bears but it was something that he learned to grow accustomed to and crave. Even as a Captain and a pack man, he always spent his winters alone and in some poorly rented apartment off base.
But yet as he followed the trails deeper into the forest, he felt his inner bear preen. This was the life he was meant to lead. He was meant to be safe within redwood pillars of this seemingly impenetrable woodland. Except this wasn’t just a home for him. It was a home already constructed for somebody else.
These worn paths he trekked were filled with smaller paw marks and a softer scent was carefully tucked behind the overwhelming amber. Something bigger than him had worn away these trees to make it safe. Something wiser than him understood the safety that these trees held. His brain began to ponder what softer scent the amber seemed to be guarding so well. But his query was shortly answered as his mouth salivated while the amber continued to pool in his nose. But a new scent was overtaking now as he strided closer to an open pasture.
It was the smell of honey, and it was soft and it blended so well with the amber it almost brought John to his knees. But the sight before him caused him to be alert and concerned.
Just past the tree line was a newly bloomed meadow. The grass was tall and the ground was firm. The sun warmed the soil below but in the middle was the real beauty. Surrounded by beargrass and lavender plants was a little babbling toddler. She had the brightest green eyes and deep brown hair that cascaded down her back. The baby’s skin and tongue unmarred by any violence or fear typically held by young cubs. Her teeth were still coming in but her cheeks were round and plump like a fresh apple. Her giggling imbued the air with an air of unmitigated bliss and youth. Her hands glistened in the sun as she fiercely held onto a piece of honeycomb, her lips and chin smothered in the glaze.
But soon the young beau set her sights on John and stood up. Her mouth opening and a meager growl crawling out of her throat as she bared her small set of teeth. Four barely sharpened canines glistened in the spring sun as honeycomb dripped from her jaw.
John almost cooed at such a scary image until real fear plagued his veins as the view changed. The tall grass parted behind the girl as thick hazelnut fur came into his view point behind her. The bear had soft rounded ears but that was the only nice feature as her coned snout twitched with her lips coiling up to reveal razors for teeth. Her deep brown eyes harshly scorched Price with her gaze. While the cub's mouth dripped with honey, Price recognized the thick red liquid that dripped from the mother’s. The amber scent that once pooled in his gut now soured like a bad meal as his brain connected the pieces. The scented trees, the paw tracks, all of it.
For being such a warm-blooded animal, Price felt his ichor run cold at the realization that not only was that Grizzly in front of him, but that it was her cub he had found. He always knew that bears never left their cub alone but some deep part of him prayed for a mere moment that the seething bear in front of him was some hazed illusion his mind conjured up.
But as her roar rang out and slammed his body awake again, he realized he might die here in this field. Not the snow covered mountains of Russia or the hot deserts of the Middle East but here in this meadow, by the hands of another shifter. And just like a good man, he was willing to roll over and accept it as payment for his sin of intrusion. For who was he to have followed this bear and her cub up here.
Deep in her eyes he saw a blazing fire that he wanted to stoke and feed. He knew that was what kept your cub safe. His fur wouldn't be the first to be skinned for a pelt and his head wouldn’t be the last to be sold at market.
Yet within those burning brown eyes, he also recognized the flash of gold within her eyes. The gold that he once planted his heart into when he met them longingly across a bar once. It was a rare chance that you were the same woman from 10 years ago. Yet the flash of gold brought John’s knees to the floor to pray for just one miracle within his life of calamity.
Price laid his head low but didn’t break eye contact. The grizzly’s deep brown eyes leveled him in such a way reminiscent of a look he’d seen before. But as much as John would like to take a moment to recognize that look, he would rather like to see if he could live to recount this tale for another day. The grizzly stepped forward as Price stepped back and a tense moment passed but a certain golden girl cut through the moment.
“Mama!” she cried as she turned around to see the female grizzly at her side. The toddler stuck her honied hands deep into the brown fur and stuck herself to her mother. The grizzly turned for a moment to look at her cub, a silent pass to Price to run for the hills and the man obliged his fellow shifter.
But as he fully extended his limbs to run back to his home and escape with his life, he didn’t mind leaving his dignity. Especially as his ear caught the sweetest voice cooing to the babbling baby.
“My darling Ossie what did you do.” came a woman’s voice as she picked up her young. Her bare skin warmed her child as she coddled the babe in her arms and kissed her head, a sigh of relief passing her lips as the young girl just babbled with her honeycomb.
When Tallulah Rhodes brought her babe to Armelle’s Rest it was with the intention of sanctuary. Tallulah was a woman raised in a community of bears and thus wanted to give her daughter, Osa, the same. So when she discovered Armelle’s Rest after searching far and wide while her belly grew, she decided this would be perfect.
Her home was a beautiful wood house with some cobblestone walls and big beautiful windows that reached out to the sky. Sure the exterior could be burned down by one single match but the wood was homey and carved by her like a cradle for her baby.
It wasn’t the high-priced penthouse overlooking a vast empire that her ex, Noah, wanted but then again that man never knew what he wanted. One day he was kissing her belly with talks of suburbs and the next he was yelling at her to control herself. So when Tallulah discovered the growing cub inside of her, it almost gave her a taste of the freedom she thought Noah would give her. From that moment on, she decided that if he wouldn’t give her a place in the mountains to keep her Osa safe, then she would just make it herself. Human boys always rubbed her the wrong way.
So as she walked to a nearby creek. Her mind plagued her with memories of that night 10 years ago. Hungry eyes, tingling skin, and a promise of wilderness among a time of urban dreary. But yet, her own little wild promise cried in her arms as she waded into the river. The toddler squealed as her soft digits grabbed and a hiss fell over the air as Teddy lowered her lower half into the water. The cold river rushing across her skin as it flared up with goosebumps in protest. Teddy, as always, chose to comfort her wailing offspring instead of the blistering cold liquid which permeated her bones.
“I know Osa baby, but Mama has to clean off this blood then I can run you a nice warm bath for our little honey mess.” Teddy promised softly. She grabbed a nearby towel she had placed earlier when they had originally walked out here.
As Teddy strided through the forest back to her house, she noticed how certain trees now smelled faintly of cinnamon and it made something swirl in her chest. Something that hadn’t moved since a night long ago. But the swirling in her chest sloshed into a different feeling as Osa’s hands curled into little fists. A rumble rung out into the air which further confirmed the issue as one of hunger and not of temperature.
“Mama’s hurrying okay?” Teddy spoke as she picked up her pace. Her feet were digging as she worked into a jog and her home came into view.
The back doors slid open as Teddy reached for some homemade berry sauce and quickly fed it to her youngling. A pleased sound left Osa’s mouth as she suckled the elixir clean from the bottle. Teddy smiled as the scent of her home filled her nose and Osa’s gurgles filled the home. She had made it home safe, again.
John could relate to that sentiment as he passed through the doors of his home and nearly collapsed onto his floor. His limbed burned from exhaustion as his knees throbbed harshly like they’d been knocked together. However none of that mattered as his head swam. His body felt worn yet his mind renewed at the possible discovery in the meadow.
“Cap!” A certain posh accent rang out in his ears. Shit. John forgot he told the men to stay for dinner. Gaz came running in to the man’s aid.
“Bloody ‘ell, Garrick ‘m only 35 not fifty.” The man said he swore he smelled fear snuggled between his friend’s fervent scent of jasmine and frankincense. The younger man moving to offer his arm to help as Price grabbed it.
“Ye sure it’s not that ‘genetically’ bad knee over ‘ere Cap?” Johnny butted in from his spot on the couch. Ghost nowhere to be seen, but not completely worrying to the eldest member of the group.
“You smell different.” Simon comments. It nips at John’s ear as he processes the comment and Gaz takes a whiff.
“Aw Cap found a little honey now did ‘e.” Gaz grins but a loud whine cuts them off. Simon’s eyes barely soften as they find a cross-armed Scotsman.
“Man, I always miss out on this stuff.” Soap frowned, and as he aimed his oral cannon to fire off another comment, his lover quickly stamped out the ignited gunpowder.
There are two kinds of shifters in this world. Genetic Shifters who are born into the beauty of the wilderness. They are welcomed to the world with open arms and fawned and cooed over. Within their birth they are given a scent by their surroundings and their parents as if to mark them. Humans love them as babies and come to respect them as adults. What genetic shifters lack in control of their animal, they make up for in pure size and fortitude.
But choice or chosen shifters aren’t so glamorous. They made whispered promises of love and mauling bite marks. They are monsters to humans, because while a birth is beautiful why would somebody choose to become such a monstrous thing. Why would somebody choose love and bone-cracking animal transformations all in the name of love. Genetic Shifters are even looked down upon in the community because they lack size and their scent is awful. While Genetic Shifters are given beautiful aromas based on their surroundings, Choice Shifters are forced to bear the scent of their creator along with a vicious mark of the metamorphosis. A choice shifter lives a life of pain as their human bones never quite adjust to the dna change and that was a fate Simon could never condemn his boy to.
“ Which is for the better.” Simon snapped. Soap’s frown only deepened as John ignored the silent lover’s quarrel. John ignored the tension as he headed off for a rinse and was back down within a coin drop of a moment.
“Kyle, lad? You said you found a spot for dinner?” John questioned with a quick cough, desperate to get some fresh air to break up the foul smell of Simon’s silent frustration.
Tallulah was a tired woman but eager to come in and catch and pick up a shift for a friend at the inn. Her daughter safely tucked away into the kitchen with the chef who she trusted because since it was the dry season, most people wouldn’t be making the trek out of beds or even out of their homes to come eat out. It was no big deal, the town was full of retirees and their grandchildren but the winter season would linger long enough to stave off any real trouble in town. Speaking of real trouble, that bear earlier on her territory was still eating at her brain as she walked up to the podium. Her work boots clicked the ground as she looked into the dining room.
But some sooner trouble came at the door when she heard the commotion of four grown men coming. That didn’t sound like the sweet couple who usually frequent The Cedarwood Inn and restaurant. They rather seemed more befitting of the The Savory Stag crowd, a rowdy tavern across town often frequented by men looking for a good pint of ale, a game of pool, and a basket of fried whatever.
Tallulah wasn’t one to raise her hackles but something was different about this group and its leader. Sure all these men were big, but they were burly as well. The smallest one, adorned with a mohawk and a brutish laugh hung off the side of the tallest one, a rather quiet blonde with a scar over his eye loomed over his loud counterpart. There was the more posh man with a rich, dark skin and a beautiful smile that gleamed from behind his lips like newly bedazzled diamonds. Finally was their ring leader or who walked in front, his shoulders were big yet filled in with thick muscles protected by warm fat. His dark henley under his jacket did nothing but tease the warm expanse below. Surely all of their bulky size combined created a mountain of muscle to be feared, but yet it was their scents that caught Tallulah’s attention.
Humans had a very distinct smell to them of flesh and blood, it was a flat note of aroma piled on with their artificial perfumes. It was intoxicating as it was annoying because even when they were changed they still reeked of flesh under the scent of their new bear. Yet the men in front of her, save for the loud mohawk, all had a darker tone to them, richer, deeper, and they walked with a little more heave and give than humans did.It was way too soon for hunting season and they had laws against poachers, but what would pack would have any sort of business on her land unless.
Something was different about them, and it had Tallulah’s hackles raised, but she quickly lowered them as she remembered where she was. This was human territory, this wasn’t a dense forest where she could hunt them out one by one and then sell their pelts for profit later. It was man’s land and she had to abide by a man’s rules for now.
Even though their muscles ached with the pain of travel and moving boxes all day for their captain, the boys were relieved as the deep promise of warm food wafted from the restaurant kitchen as they walked into the inn at which Kyle was renting a room while John set up his spare room.
“Table for four please?” John spoke as they approached the hostess podium for the restaurant entrance on the right side of the inn lobby. Soft jazz pooled through the area as low candles lit all the tables. The restaurant was marked by large windows to let light pool in but they were now all closed for the late afternoon.
For some reason, the gorgeous woman in front of him flare her nostrils for a mere moment until she pulled her lips into a thin, fake smile. He saw on her name tag her name was Teddy and he only found it to be fitting of the woman in front of her. Teddy wore some beat-up black work boots as well as matching black low rise boot-cut jeans and a fitting dark button up blouse. The blouse had two buttons undone allowing her scent to flow freely and safely in the previously lonesome area. Her almond brown skin looked soft and endless to John as he watched her face contort. Her pillow pink lips pulled into a flat line with a slight curl in her upper left lip as she recognized him. They were a dark umber brown but in that moment, they flashed gold in a similar way in something he couldn’t place.
“Oh can’t cook anything at home can you? I suppose with everyone just coming out for spring and winter leaving us so soon, I can’t place any heavy blame.” Teddy said as she looked up and met John’s eyes. She was scanning him for answers to questions he didn’t know were being asked.
“Sorry ‘m afraid we’ve just arrived for the spring, love. Winter had a certain effect that made moving here a challenge.” John responded, testing the line. Her hickory eyebrows pulled into a line before quirking up, something was written on her face that John couldn’t begin to transcribe but her words were more comprehensive of something evident.
“Welcome to The Cedarwood Inn, glad to see you came here during visiting hours and didn’t trespass just for a bite” She remarked softly before John continued, both testing.
“Didn’t mean any harm by it, we can leave if you want to close early, honest” He spoke, taking another deep breath to huff more of the scent of amber and.. Tonka bean was it? He could feel three pairs of eyes now boring into him as he spoke with the hostess in a battle of blazes between their looks of different feelings.
“You should check in with a doctor in the city if you couldn’t smell the amber,” She mumbled under her breath, John would’ve missed it if every fiber of his being wasn’t hanging on to every word. A flash of gold again but still no smile. John couldn’t understand what game she was baiting him into, but suddenly the warm amber and tonka bean were snatched from the air and the scents of his own team were all he could detect.
“You callin’ me old and we haven’t even exchanged names?” John emphasized and a hum from Tallulah agreed. A moment passed as they stared at each other before a cough from Simon made the two relent.
“You can seat yourself if you can bring your feet to walk a few more steps, and I’m not your server for tonight so I do not need your names, just your promise to dine.” She said with finality to him to which John just hummed with a nod, grateful for the interaction.
“Reckon it’s any good if they’re empty on a week day?” Johnny murmured and Simon seemed to agree as a chuffed laugh passed the blonde’s crooked lip. A scar from a forgotten mission sunk a line through the left upper side of his lip straight through the bottom in a way that when he moved his nose, the top half of the line shifted.
“Ye of little faith.” He sighed in response to his partner before Johnny’s burly hands came up to press into his blonde scalp and shove him slightly. The man enjoying his partner’s hands momentarily scratching his grown out buzzcut.
“Well let’s try to announce ourselves then.” John noted and suddenly pushed his chair back as he sat and a loud screech tore through the soft sounds of the inn. But the screech was answered with a line of curses in the kitchen as well as some banging pans, running water, and the traffic doors pushed open and a woman came walking out quickly.
A low gasp passed Gaz’s lips inwardly as he found himself entranced by a woman quickly approaching their table now. Her brown clogs hidden behind some loose and stained light washed jeans which hung low on her waist while she wore a sheer blue button up and a white tank top underneath. It was pulled up at her elbows and the woman flattened out the apron she was wearing as she walked closer to the table.
While he took in every feature, the world seemed to stop. The woman before him was gorgeous in all aspects. Her wild auburn waves were held back by a white bandana while some shorter pieces framed her soft peach colored skin that was dotted with sepia colored freckles. Her sea green eyes pulled in Kyle like the shore pulls in the sea with every breath. As his eyes raked down her, so did her hair. It was poofy and big on top like a jelly fish and its tentacles cascaded down her back as they stopped around her mid-waist area. Her nimble digits came to brush a bit of flour off her own cheek as she grabbed a pen out of her ear and a notepad from her apron. Gaz was about to take a moment to admire her some more before a quick boot to his shin struck him back.
“I’m so sorry for the wait, if you did wait that is. We don’t usually have busy nights on- I mean we don’t usually get customers, I mean, the food is great it’s just the customers usually eat- crap, uhm, what can I help you all too. I mean what would you want to eat because of course you came here to eat, right?” She rambled out to Kyle in such a way he felt skipped like a broken record.
“Your name might be a good thing to bite into first.” Gaz smiled with a certain charm that made Simon’s eyes slam into the back of his skull with a roll as a chuckle fell from John’s lips. The men at the round table were not shocked by his antics but didn’t understand the severity of his already growing admiration.
“Selena MacRae.” Her tongue curved around both words as her throat made a noise in Gaelic pride in her last name. She continued after seeing Gaz nod for a moment. “Now can I get the names of you newcomers and what you’d like for a drink to start you off or..”
“I’m John and I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks if you’ve got it.” The eldest said with a knowing smile and soft blink as he noted how it pained the poor woman to look away from Gaz.
“MacRae you say? Pleasure to meet ye lassie, I’m John MacTavish.” Johnny spoke and a similar pride in his last name with a smirk as he motioned partner, “A pint will be great for me and Simon ‘ere but we actually call big fella ‘ere-”
“That’ll do, Johnny.” Simon growled out in response to his lover, his lip curling and his scar twisting in the low light but as he turned to look at their waitress, she had already found Kyle again who had stuck out his hand to greet her.
As she took Kyle’s hand, he gently caressed her thumb for a moment and noticed how soft her hands were even against his, “I’m Kyle, love, but the lads here call me Gaz.” he spoke softly as if the room was just filled with them. Selena’s lips parting barely for a mere second at his touch and words alone. The other three men holding a breath as Gaz’s scent of jasmine and frankincense, two natural relaxers and aphrodisiacs, filled the room naturally from how pleased he was.
“And you’ll have to drink?” Selena said with a quirked brow, her hand slightly tightening his own in a grasp at his next sentence
“Well you’re already a tall drink of water so I’ll take a cuppa.” Kyle said with a purr. The gentleman releasing her hand to let it drop as she moved to recount the order and then go to the kitchen.
“Two pints, one whiskey and one cuppa.” she said with a nod, her cheeks visibly hot to the group, “Oh shoot all I have is cases of beers because we just got out of off season but I swear we are usually more stocked-”
“Sweetheart, that works just fine, right?” Gaz spoke with finality to an amused Simon and Johnny who nodded with him.
“Okay then I’ll have your two beers, one whiskey, and one cuppa, out soon.” She informed with a soft smile at Gaz’s comfort.
“See you then.” Gaz said with his eyebrow quirking up to her as she smiled and quickly scurried off to the kitchen to collect the orders.
“Laying it on a little thick now are we?” Simon said with a judgmental look toward his friend.
“Say you, talk to your partner.” Gaz shot back, his head cocking towards the guilty Scotsman.
“The wee lass is Scottish, what can I say in ma own defense? I’ve got to let ‘er know, she is no longer alone ‘ere.” Johnny balked, a hand quickly and playfully clutching a pair of imaginary pearls around his neck.
“Oh you’ll give her company alright.” Kyle gruffed out, his eyes finding their way to the small windows on the traffic doors of the kitchen, the sound of soap inquiring about the hostess being drowned out.
Inside those doors, Selena was biting her palm to control herself and her giggles as she quickly scurried to grab mugs and cups.
“Oh I hope it’s not the table I just sat, well at least not the old hairy one” Tallulah queried her long time best friend. The woman sat on a far end of the kitchen counter. Osa sitting on her lap sucking on a pair of her own jam-covered fingers, Tallulah’s legs dangling off the counter.
She wasn’t shocked to see how fast Selena had ran out to serve them. Just displeased that she was now giggling at the group of men. Sure they seemed like good fun, but she couldn’t trust that their mountain of strength didn’t accidentally have trouble etched into it’s fine print.
“Oh, Teddy, yes! Wait, you know them?” Selena squealed softly before turning to her. The sound of loud jazz and running fans overhead covering her noises. A moment passed Selena sized up her counterpart before she finished off her response, “Teddy.. You spill.”
“Don’t ‘teddy’ me.” Tallulah responded with a crooked accusing finger at the sound of her town name. A nickname given to her because when she first moved to Armelle’s rest, she only allowed the adoring community members to buy Osa Teddy bears.
“Tallulah you owe me for all the food I gave you for the winter.”
“You said I didn’t! Oooo God doth hate all who lie, sleep with one eye open.” Tallulah said with an evil wink to her friend.
“You’re avoiding it.”
“You’re wasting time. You spill now and I’ll tell you when you get back.”
“Okay fine there’s a hot man, the posh one not the couple or your old hair bear, and he said I was a tall glass of water” Selena confessed with a hushed yell as she quickly found the glass of whiskey
“Oh god, laying it on thick and winter has already passed?” Tallulah teased as she started to bounce Osa while watching Selena fly around the kitchen and throw a kettle on the stove for tea.
“Oh you pessimist.” Selena reprimanded with no harshness in sound.
“Well you better be a good little optimist and get them their orders before they get pessimistic like me!” Teddy countered as Selena cracked open the beers and poured the fine, aged whiskey over ice and placed it onto a tray.
“I always do!” Selena declared as she picked up the tray and used her back to open the swinging doors.
John and Simon seemed to be deep in conversation at the table as they sat next to each other with Kyle on John’s right and Johnny on Simon’s left. But Kyle as being the one closest to the door heard Selena walk out but Johnny beat him to the first word
“Only three cups? Who’s going thirsty?” the Scotsman jested quickly, and a small frown inscribed itself on Selena’s lips as her eyebrows furrowed inwardly and her eyes grew in a guilty manner. The heel of Kyle’s shoe found a nice home on the toe side of Johnny’s shoe for his crime of humility.
“Kyle, I’m sorry about your tea, it’s going to take a minute, the kettle is on though.” Selena apologized and she swore she saw his eyes soften a bit within their already kind gaze.
“Anything to bring you back to me, right?” in response to a late cup of tea, but secretly testing to see what Selena would do, to which she nodded softly and her smile only deepened as her guilty look faded.
“What can I get you boys to eat tonight?” Selena surveyed with looks, “it’s a weekday so we don’t have much but we do have smoked salmon, roasted potatoes with greens, and wildberry pie topped with sweet cream.”
Selena was looking down at her notepad so she missed the way that Simon’s eyes lit up, and the rest bit back a groan at the sound of such delights. Her head tilted up to see them already dreaming for the food,
“I’ll go put the order in then.” She said softly with a knowing look and nodded to the group to walk off and leave them in their haze.
Selena padded into the kitchen with a renewed sense of vigor which caused Teddy to peak up at the energetic intrusion of giggles which now filled the kitchen. A newfound vigor passed through the redhead as she passed by Teddy and Osa on the counter to quickly swipe open the refrigerator door and pull out the ingredients for her customer’s meal.
“And what’s this all about?” Teddy questioned Selena with a harmless cocked brow, “you only get this happy for sunday roast”
Selena recanted the story as her feet danced across the kitchen tile to fire the oven to prepare for the pie as her fingers delicately placed the seasoned salmon with a soft sizzling hiss leaving the pan at the contact. Her fingers deftly moved the pan to another burner as she slowly heated up a cast iron for her potatoes. Teddy moved silently in suit with Selena to wash the potatoes as Osa babbled on the counter beside the sink
“So what’s the problem with ‘the big hairy one’ hm? John seemed nice.” Selena said with a knowing look to Teddy as she took the skinned potatoes to cut them up.
“Something is off about him. That’s all.” Tallulah responded with a soft look towards Osa.
“When you came in here, you didn’t even tell me you sat those men down, I had to hear them screech their chairs.” Selena gently reprimanded her friend. Teddy’s eyes rolled as she washed the last potato, her hands falling short as she rang out against the towel. Selena carefully took the last potato from the bottom of the basin. Tallulah’s mouth opened to speak before the sudden shrieking of the kettle set off throughout the kitchen causing Osa to cry out at the loud intrusion of noise. The baby’s cries filled the kitchen as Selena’s hand quickly found an oven mitt to yank the kettle off for a cup.
“I got Osa and the food for a minute, you can go give your lover boy his cuppa.” Tallulah said with a soft smile as she scooped up her daughter. Petting the back of her brown wavy hair down as she softly sang her coos to the baby within the safety of her arms.
The conversation between the men had become a laughter of recanted stories of each other. A warm sensation filled in Kyle’s chest as he heard the door from the kitchen swing open and Johnny perked up as well.
“Aye there’s the Scottish lassie, ye finally got Kyle’s cuppa o’ shite?” Johnny’s mockery came out with a puffed chest of laughter as Simon’s hand quickly grazed his thigh in warning below the linen cloth and out of Selena’s peripheral vision.
“Ach Johnny that’s-” Kyle quickly piped in after to defend but Selena’s response came quicker to the punch.
“Aye I do have his cup of tea, here but he’ll have to make it himself because I didn’t know how he liked it steeped.” Selena said as she placed the dark oak trivet onto the linen table cloth in front of Kyle, the kettle on top of the trivet as she handed a mug with a tea bag. The kettle settling onto the trivet nicely, “here is the mitt so you don’t burn those hands off.”
“Thank you sweetheart. Really appreciate you getting me a cuppa, how’s the food coming?” Kyle said, his tone calm yet his words rang out like a siren song to keep Selena closer to the table.
“It’s coming along good and your first course will be out soon, can I get you men some bread or anything?” Selena offered as Kyle’s hand twitched at his side to reach out and touch her. Kyle’s hands loosely wrapped around the kettle handle under the protection of the thick mitt as he poured his tea into the ceramic white mug with his tea bag inside. The man pushed it out to let it steep as John answered for the group.
“No we’re just fine, we know your kitchen is busy already.” John said with a kind smile to the woman, his hand gently caressing his scotch glass. The men all took a deep breath in to intake the wafts of deliciousness that Selena escaped into as she passed through the white swing doors.
Selena had a proud smile as she was greeted with the sight of the greens and potatoes all browned and the salmon cooked to perfection as Tallulah had taken over. Osa was on the counter behind her mother in a high chair with her own platter of dinner but the babe was beginning to nod off.
“And you say you can’t cook well just look at you!” Selena smiled with a high praise as a chuckle left Tallulah’s mouth. Selena passed by her quickly to get out the pie dough and the wildberry mix to bake her pie as she rolled out the dough onto a pan.
“Because I’m always comparing my cooking to yours.” Tallulah responded quickly as she put the salmon onto a ceramic dish and pushed it into the oven to make sure it cooked thoroughly. The kitchen was now smothered in the sweet notes of the maple wood burning in the oven to heat the fish.
“Speaking of comparing, that ‘big hairy one’ you’re so displeased with seemed so sweet, Tallulah, I don’t understand.” Selena said softly to her friend with furrowed brow as she placed the pie dough onto the sheet. Tallulah came around the corner of the island to check up on Osa as she sighed softly her hands coming to the girl’s head.
“His eyes are so familiar in a way that scares me. I recognize his presence but I don’t know where.” She spoke soft, “and after Noah I don’t know if I can do it again.”
“Do you think he could be the bear from earlier?” Selena said, her eyes suddenly full of concern as she recognized her friend’s sad tone and thus decided to shift gears.
“I mean they both smelled like cinnamon but I just don’t know.” Tallulah skeptically murmured to herself as she looked down upon her child. Osa’s big brown eyes bored into her own as she stroked her daughter’s hair slowly
Selena nodded in an understanding nature. Tallulah had a lot to lose to a strange man. She had a daughter and a new life to think off. It was a risk considering what happened last time she exposed her true nature to a man. It sends her running away from pitchforks in the city into the safety of Armelle's rest cradling a swollen belly.
The women moved silently after that but in a beautiful dance to plate each dish. Selena was hearty in her portions, something Osa’s plump cheeks and Tallulah round hips were no stranger to. The women nodded to each other before the plates were set onto a carrying tray as Tallulah quickly stole the tray to take it out. All but ignoring Selena’s flour and berry slicked protests as her back hit the swinging door to deliver the divine meal.
The men quickly dried off from their conversation as the aroma of smoked salmon, buttered greens and roasted potatoes on the side. Each plate followed a soft noise and a thank you as it was placed onto the table.
“Can I get you boys anything else, perhaps another round?” Tallulah said, the woman was not trying to be rude as she avoided John’s gaze but it was fed through an eagerness to return to the kitchen. Something deep within her called out to meet John’s eyes but she would not listen.
“No, we're all good love.” John said, as he looked to the table, his words quickly squash any comments from Johnny who was already tongue deep into his food like a man starved. His partner flustered at such a raw show.
As quickly as Tallulah excused herself, the rest of the men joined suit and dug in. Kyle’s senses were enveloped in a world of flavor as the rich notes of salmon hit his tongue, the skin flaking off beautifully as he swore he could take in soft notes of the applewood used to smoke it. The men were all in different states of pleasure as the warmth of the food wrapped their souls in a warm embrace. Suddenly, Johnny began to eat his aforementioned questions about the validity of the restaurant.
As the ladies watched the men slowly eat their meals, jabs and affections flowing so freely it painted itself like a hearth of love. Tallulah’s eyes were drawn to the heavyset man once again. Not because he was older than the other men at the table, but because of the way his eyes somehow found their way to hers through the circular glass window of the swinging doors. The woman looked away quickly like a school girl. This was not something she had planned for this spring.