Donika spent the whole day nervously preparing for Grayson to come over that night. She changed her clothes five times. Put her hair up and took it back down. Put on pink lipstick and then put on red. She couldn't quite decide how she wanted to look when she first met him.
Why was she getting all nervous? She'd been on plenty of dates with high-powered executives, important men with important jobs, sophisticated and educated. Grayson Baxter was none of those things. He was a military vet in a small town who owned a small bakery. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with that, but society would have considered her above him. She bit her lip. It was impossible to think of him that way.
What was it about this guy that got her heart racing and her lady bits all in a tizzy? He was awfully handsome, in a rugged, outdoorsy kind of way. She imagined he knew his way around a firearm and around the kitchen. The combination just made her heart flutter, and she had to sit down to catch her breath when she thought about it.
“What's the matter with you Donika?” she asked herself.
Her mother peeked in the room and told her that the inn guests were arriving.
“Have you decided what you're wearing for dinner?” Adele snickered.
“This isn't funny, Mom,” she whined.
“I'll take your word for it,” Adele snickered again.
“I don't know what's wrong with me,” Donika said, wiping a bead of sweat from her temple.
“Well, Grayson is your fated mate,” Adele said. “I imagine that's the reason.”
“How much do you even know about shifters?”
“I know plenty. Fate Valley is at least half shifters. The mayor is a shifter. He won by eighty percent. We've had a boom in the shifter population since you were a girl. They’re pleasant folks, always respectful and ready to lend a hand.”
“You like shifters for the most part?”
“Most shifters are pretty good people,” Adele said, walking into the room and sitting on the foldout bed beside her. “But I don't think this is about shifters in general. I think it’s about one shifter, specifically.”
“Of course it is. I work and live in New York. I'm a New Yorker now, Mom. What if Grayson and I don't have anything in common?”
“I'm sure you’ll have plenty in common. Maybe your extended sabbatical could turn into full-time?”
“Maybe,” she muttered.
“Is there something you're not telling me about what happened in New York with your job. Were you fired?”
Donika let out a long, rugged sigh. She could never hide anything from her mother for very long. She just decided to let it out.
“I was fired.”
“What happened?”
“I hit my boss,” she said, searching for the closest version of the truth that she was willing to share.
She still didn't want to tell her mom about the blackouts. She was in a big enough mess already. She didn't want the whole family making a fuss over her undiagnosed medical issues.
“You punched your boss, Donika? I thought I raised you better than that.”
“You don't understand, Mom. I can't really talk about it. It's confidential.”
At least that part was true. She'd been working on the Trans-Food Corporation case and something had snapped. It had caused her to blackout. She could barely remember anything from the night she was up late at the office until the next day when she woke up in her bed, already fired. Something was going on. Something unsavory. And for the life of her, she couldn't remember what.
“I'm sure you had your reasons, Donika. But it sounds like you burned that bridge. Maybe you should get used to the idea of staying in Fate Valley.”
“I don't know, Mom. I graduated from Harvard Law.”
“Maybe you could try to get a job at Spinner and Sons Legal,” Adele said. “That’s a law firm in town. I used them when I got in my car accident a few years ago. Got me fifteen thousand dollars! I'm sure they'd love to hire a Harvard graduate there.”
“I'll give it some thought, Mom. Thanks for the advice.”
Adele stood, patting Donika on the hand, smiling down at her triumphantly. “Anytime.”
Adele went to the door. Before she walked out, she turned back to Donika, and said, “Now hurry up and finish getting ready. We have guests to greet.”
Her mom slipped out the door, and Donika was left there feeling more confused than ever. How could she keep her secrets with all of this going on? It was hard enough to keep them from her family. But if she added a guy on top of everything, it just became chaos. The worst part was, she wasn't even sure what her secrets were.
She stepped out into the hall. The guests were arriving in the main part of the inn. An old lady with white permed hair, a gray wool skirt and a pink cardigan, stood in the door with her baggage. Adele sat at the front desk and offered to help her check in.
“I'm Martha Howard, here for the Great American Bake-off,” she said with a grin. “I love that baking show. I’ve followed them all over the country.”
“Well, that's just lovely,” Adele said, handing Martha her key.
Donika took Martha’s smaller bag and Franklin took the others. They followed Martha upstairs to her room and left her bags inside the door.
“Why thank you, dears,” she said, handing them both a dollar.
Donika went back down the hall, looked at the dollar, and shoved it in her pocket. Every little bit helped. Downstairs, the rest of the guests were arriving. Everyone was there for the Great American Bake-off. There was a yuppie couple named Meg and Tanner Pike, dressed in running pants and fleeces.
A group of three middle-aged women, Darcy, Pamila, and Tiffany, who chattered excitedly when they came in the front door. A young man, named Emmanuel Long, dressed in a brightly tie-dyed shirt with hair to match, looking like he belonged at a music festival rather than at a baking contest. Franklin and Donika carried all their bags upstairs, helping them into their rooms.
She slipped into her room to check herself in the mirror one more time. As she was fixing her hair, the door creaked open. Martha and Emmanuel stood on the other side, staring at her.
“Excuse us, dear, we were just looking for the downstairs bathrooms,” Martha said.
“It’s down the hall and around the corner. This is the residents’ area,” she said, trying to contain her irritation.
She decided she’d be keeping her door locked from now on. Being a public house, the doors had sturdy locks on them and her mother had already given her the key.
Her granny was calling her from the kitchen. She found Pearl had finished cooking dinner and wanted Donika’s help dishing everything onto serving trays. Donika helped slice the ham and arranged it on a tray to be carried into the main dining room for the guests.
Donika glanced at her watch, knowing that at any moment Grayson would arrive. She excused herself as the guests were meandering into the dining room. She slipped out onto the front porch to wait for Grayson. Wrapped in her parka, she breathed out puffs of steam into the cold air.
A black SUV slowly rolled past the driveway. The window slid down. A man in a black suit and black aviator sunglasses stared at her. The minute he saw her, he rolled up the window and the car screeched away. It filled her with dread. Were they following her?
She shook her head and stared down at the floor. When she looked up again, she saw a red truck bumping down the driveway. A handsome, bearded man sat behind the wheel, a bright smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.
Donika gulped hard and wrapped her arms around herself against the cold. Her heart thumped wildly. He parked with the rest of the guests and hopped out of the truck, a pink cake box in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. He approached her, not losing eye contact for a second. His smile shined so bright, it lit up the dark evening. He hopped up the steps toward her and they stood, eyes locked, for several beats. He grinned down at her, holding his cake. She gulped.
“I'm Donika,” she finally said.
&nbs
p; “Grayson,” he said. “I'd know you anywhere.”
“You want to come inside? Dinner’s starting.”
“I'd love to,” he said.
She opened the door and stepped through, Grayson right behind her. They walked down the hall together and left their jackets in the closet.
“What kind of cake is that?” she asked, leading him to the kitchen.
“It's my special lemon cake. Same recipe I make for weddings.”
“My Granny is looking forward to it.” She took the cake box and set it on the table, opening the lid. The intoxicating aroma of lemon and sugar hit her nose.
“I hope you're looking forward to it too,” he said, turning toward her and taking her hand in his.
She swallowed hard. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. Their eyes locked, and her heart pounded.
“Let me just get some water for those flowers,” she said, taking the bouquet. She grabbed a vase from the cabinet where she knew they were kept, filled it with water and arranged the roses inside. She set it on the table next to the cake. The sight of his offerings together on the old kitchen table made her heart pound and her head light. She needed food.
“The dining room is right through here,” she said, leading him through the door.
The guests were all sitting around the long dining room table. Her granny's eyes lit up when she saw him.
“Grayson Baxter, Baker Bear himself, has brought us one of his cakes for dessert,” Pearl announced to the room. “Where is it?”
All eyes turned to him and Donika.
“It’s in the kitchen,” Donika said in a tight voice.
“Ah, good. I knew you wouldn’t let us down, Grayson,” she said. Turning to the guests, she added, “He's one of the contestants in the baking show, you know.”
Everyone began to chatter all at the same time. Donika found two empty seats. Pearl had saved them chairs on either side of the table, near her. Grayson took a seat to Granny's right and Donika took the seat to her left. They were staring at each other across the table with her grandmother between them. Just perfect, Donika thought.
Her grandmother immediately started chatting with Grayson about his cakes and cookies and scones and cinnamon rolls and the bear claws at the Fate Valley Café and Bakery. Donika let out a deep breath and sighed, scooping mashed potatoes onto her plate. Well, at least she had Grandma Pearl to talk up her date for her, so she didn't have to say anything.
Chapter 10
Grayson spent dinner talking with Donika’s grandmother Pearl, while stealing glances at Donika’s beautiful face. They couldn’t exchange more than a few sentences during the entire meal, but it suited him just fine. He knew her entire family as customers at the bakery and was pleased that his mate had come from such a big, happy family.
The guests at the inn were all just visiting for the show. He had never seen any of them before. They seemed excited to meet him. He was thrilled about the show, but it paled in comparison to meeting his mate for the first time.
After dinner, Donika’s sister Kamala went to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. She set it in front of Grayson and offered him a knife. He cut enough slices for everyone, even though the cake was meant for Donika. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she took her first bite.
He wasn't disappointed. Her fork cut into the yellow cake with the zesty frosting and she lifted a bite to her beautiful mouth. It slid between her lips and as the flavor hit her tongue, her eyes lit up and sparkled like a torch in the night. She was so beautiful in that moment, he wanted to bake a cake for her every single day for the rest of his life.
“This is good,” she groaned, shoving another piece into her mouth.
He watched her eat the cake greedily. His heart pounded, and his cock hardened. His inner grizzly paced back and forth behind his eyes, clawing and scratching. All the animal wanted was to launch across the table, grab Donika by the shoulders, and kiss her desperately hard on the mouth.
He shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to push away the vision. That kind of behavior was extremely inappropriate. Even for a grizzly bear.
After dinner, Donika's mother and sister cleared the table and her granny escorted the guests into the front parlor to sit by the fire and drink some after dinner beverages. He was left at the table with Donika and the last piece of cake.
“If nobody minds, I'm going to eat this,” she said, sliding it onto her plate.
“I did make it for you,” he said. “But I'm glad we got to share it with everyone.”
She dished the piece up onto her plate and took a bite.
“I wish we’d been able to talk more over dinner,” she said, shoving the cake into her mouth.
Donika’s nieces and nephews came running through the dining room, screaming and laughing. Their mother called behind them.
“I don't think we’re going to get much peace and quiet in here,” she said. “Maybe we can take a walk down to the boat house.”
She took the cake with her as they pulled on their parkas and walked out onto the porch. As they stood at the edge of the porch, under the twinkling lights, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. She set the cake down on a table outside and turned to him.
“I don't know how this whole shifter mating thing is supposed to work.”
“I don't really know how it's supposed to work either,” he admitted. “Let's figure it out together.”
He took her hand and they strolled down the dock and into the boat house. The boat was unlocked inside so they climbed in. Donika turned on the heater, reached inside a nook behind one of the benches, and pulled out a bottle of moonshine.
“Aha,” she said. “Granny hasn't changed her hiding spot.”
Grayson chuckled as she poured them shots into a couple of plastic cups.
“Do you want to go for a drive out on the water?” he asked.
“Sure. If I haven't forgotten how to pilot a boat after all these years,” she said, turning on the engine and lifting the anchor. “Let's go.”
She pulled out of the boat house and they drifted onto the water of the Lake of the Fates. A big full moon glowed amidst a mass of twinkling stars overhead. They sat in the warmth of the cabin, looking up at the night sky.
“So, tell me about yourself,” he said. “There wasn't much in your profile.”
Donika took a long sip of moonshine and sighed. “I'm not sure what to say.” She seemed uncomfortable.
“You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to.”
“It's not that. It's just that my life has gotten really complicated lately. Where should I start?” she sighed. “I was born in Fate Valley, and I grew up here in the inn. I love my family, but they can be a little bit… overbearing. And crazy.”
“I like them.”
“Oh, don't get me wrong. I love the heck out of my family. But I don't think they ever understood why I wanted more out of life than to stay at the inn and run it for another thousand generations.”
Grayson chuckled.
“I graduated valedictorian of my high school class and got a scholarship to Harvard. I studied prelaw and then went on to law school. I graduated at the top of my class there too. It was quite an accomplishment, but I don't think that anyone was ever really very proud of me.”
“You don't think your family’s proud of you?” he asked, shocked.
“I think Mom and Granny would've been happier if I had found a guy and started a family, and stayed here, like my sister, Kamala.”
“I'm sure they’re proud of you in their own way.”
“You're probably right. But I haven't been home in two years. Right after law school, I got a job at the top firm in New York, and I've been working hundred-hour weeks ever since. To be honest, it started taking a toll on my health. I lost a lot of weight, and I haven't been sleeping right.”
“Well, I have the perfect cure for both of those things.”
She gave him a funny look and blushed.
“I mean baking,” he said. “When you have a stomach full of pastries, it helps you sleep better. And I've heard that it helps with the curves.”
“Oh…right,” she said. “How did you become a baker anyway? A big burly man like you. It doesn't seem to fit together.”
“I've heard that before,” he said with a chuckle. “After I came back from my military service, I started baking as a way to help with my nerves. We haven’t declared war since the Great War, but that doesn't mean that horrible things aren’t happening out there, every day. I saw a lot of disturbing stuff and the baking helped me ground myself.
“Nothing like kneading bread dough or rolling out piecrust to calm down. I just fell in love with it after a while. I used my veterans’ benefits to open the bakery. It's been history ever since. Now my dream is to start a factory to make baked goods to distribute worldwide. I know it sounds silly, but I believe that food is one of the best ways to share your love with other people. And I want to share my love with the world.”
“That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard,” she said.
They continued talking and looking up at the stars as they drank her granny's moonshine. Anchored out on the water, they dozed off together in the middle of the night.
As the rays of sunshine rose overhead early the next morning, Grayson startled awake.
“Donika?” he said, patting her shoulder. “We fell asleep on the water.”
She woke up and stretched.
“Granny's moonshine will do that to you every time,” she said, standing to pull anchor and drive them back to the boat house. “I should have remembered.”
A few moments later they were at the dock and turning off the motor. Grayson helped Donika out of the boat and they walked hand-in-hand to the back porch. It was then that he realized they had forgotten her last piece of cake on the porch. The plate was empty except for a few crumbs. Only feet away, sprawled on the porch, sat the remains of a dead raccoon. Donika shrieked. She flung herself into his arms, and he held her, cradling her head against his shoulder. She turned around and looked back at the dead creature. She shook her head in disbelief.