My little car putted along the narrow country roads, the chill breeze stripping the trees of their brilliant, colorful leaves, bare limbs waving in an excellent portent of the upcoming Halloween season. Few other cars traveled the route, and we didn’t talk for the first little while. As the lights of town came into sight, Edison reached over and laid his hand on my leg. I covered it with mine.
“Your mom is very nice,” he said in a quiet voice. “How many of the people working there tonight were your relatives?”
I rolled my eyes. “Most. They were actually trying not to spook you but next time, expect to be overwhelmed. Mom must have told them to behave this time. She’s been hoping I’d meet someone nice.”
“And am I?” He tightened his fingers on my thigh. “I mean...does she think I’m nice?”
The longing in his voice reached deep inside me. I’d always had my family around me. On occasion, they even overwhelmed me. I flicked a glance toward him, but in the shadowed car, I couldn’t get a good look. “My mom thinks you’re the one for me. So, yeah, she thinks you’re nice.”
“I think she’s nice, too,” he said. “So, you could have stayed and been part of the restaurant? Had your family so close to you all the time. Never needed to be alone.” His voice broke on that word. “But you chose to leave?”
“Yeah.” How to explain to someone who’d had such a rough time that there could be too much family. “I wanted to have my own life, where I could come and go without running into a sibling, in-law, aunt, uncle, or another relative. I adore them, but I needed a little space.”
“I guess...no, I can’t imagine.”
“Stick around.” I chuckled a little. “I see them about once a week, and remember, they aren’t that far away. They visit me a lot. And I do have one sister working in the candy store part-time. Her husband is a lawyer in town, so she made the move, too.”
“And you don’t mind?” The disbelief in his voice at my life decisions was a little quelling. Truth, I’d always had lots of family around to love me. And I probably had been more aware of the irritations than the privilege.
“Honestly? She keeps me grounded. I like my privacy, peace and quiet, but having Jenni in the shop a couple of days a week works out just fine. She’s expecting a baby soon, and I’m planning to make a little nursery in a corner of the office so she can bring her little guy with her.”
“You like babies?” His voice was steadier now.
“Of course!”
“For a minute I was afraid you might not, since you moved away from your family.”
I pulled over the side of the road and shifted into park, turned to face him. “Edison, if you’re asking do I want my own family one day, the answer is unequivocally yes. Maybe two or three kids...four at the outside.”
The half-moon rose above the trees and shone its light into his face tilted up toward mine. “Four? Wow, that’s a lot.”
“Not when you grow up in a family the size of mine. Both of my parents had big families, too. You should see our reunions!”
“I might be a little scared.” He licked his bottom lip, leaving it wet and shiny.
And I couldn’t resist, bent to press my lips to his and kiss away his fears. I wanted him never to be lonely again, never afraid, never sad. I wanted to feed him, give him a warm, happy home… One kiss couldn’t hold all of that but I tried. When he opened his mouth, I deepened the contact, more sure every moment we spent together that we belonged together. He was my omega. Filling a huge hole in me I’d only been a little aware of before now. Cupping his chin, I savored that scruff again, tickling my palm. I wanted him there, now, wanted to make love to him…
But then Edison was pushing at me, and a rap on the window broke the moment. I rolled it down to address a police officer concerned at seeing a car on the shoulder who wanted to know if we needed help.
Probably, but not the kind he could provide. If I’d just met the love of my life and hoped to make a life together, we were going to need all the help we could get. I’d lived alone a long time and most likely would require some adjustments to be fit to live with.
Assuming this omega even wanted to do that.
Chapter Six
Edison
My lips were still sore from the kiss last night, or maybe it was just my imagination. I applied some lip balm and remembered Liam’s sweet mouth along with our date.
On Saturdays, at My Sister, My Brother, we were the distribution center for the weekender kids. These kids received backpacks full of food to tide them over for the weekend. Some had parents who worked all weekend, and others just had a hard time making the paycheck last through the week. Weekdays, they were fed breakfast and lunch at school, and sometimes those were the only meals they got.
I looked up, sticking the lip balm in my pocket, to see Damon, Patrick, Robbie, and their new little girl. Damon and Robbie tried to find the time to make it here on Saturdays to volunteer and at one time, Robbie had been a recipient of the backpacks, since his food security at his old home was little to none.
“What’s up, Robbie? You missed karate yesterday after school.”
I pretended to berate him, but I was kidding. His face fell, and he looked to the floor. “I had soccer practice at the same time. I tried to come late, but these two said we should get home.”
He hooked his thumb and pointed behind him at his dads.
Patrick held the little girl in his arms and moved to ruffle Robbie’s hair. “So cheeky this morning. That’s the last time we buy donuts and chocolate milk for you at the same time.”
I tilted my head at the thought of a dentist. I had a picture in my mind of a dentist’s kid only eating apples and cantaloupe for breakfast. Who knew?
I wonder if Liam would feed his babe candy for breakfast. Our baby.
You’ve got to stop, Ed. Date and kissing equal baby not so much.
“Well, it was fun,” I said, making sure to smile so he wouldn’t think I was angry. He had a happy place now, and seemed like a happy confident boy, but I couldn’t forget the scruffy, hungry little guy I’d met when he first joined us. “The kids learned some moves. How about you help George with the backpacks?”
Robbie looked over, and I could see him assessing the situation. To be on the other side of the giving coin after being the receiver, flipped your perspective. I knew it for sure. I’d gotten government benefits and insurance for a while after my parents died, so I knew how it felt to be there.
“Remember how you felt?” I kneeled down to look him in the eye, his serious little face striking a chord deep in my heart. If only every kid had the happy ever after Robbie did. Too many of our little guys and girls were still on the receiving end.
“Embarrassed and relieved. It was one thing I didn’t have to worry about.”
I nodded and nudged him toward the table where George fist-bumped him, and Robbie fell right in step, high-fiving another kid and saying how he liked his hat.
George stepped back, allowing Robbie and his family to take over the line. Dad Patrick worked some Saturdays but came along whenever he could.
“So, should I start singing songs from Willy Wonka? Because you know I know every single lyric and the dance,” my assistant murmured with a silly grin.
I cracked up and did the Oompa Loompa squat. “Absolutely not. Don’t you dare.”
Just as I thought he might drop the subject, a man came in wearing a shirt that read Sugar on the chest. I inhaled but pretended not to get my hopes up.
“Speaking of the candy man.” George waggled his eyebrows and walked up to the visitor who blushed immediately. “Can I help you?”
He nodded. “I have a delivery for Edison.”
“Oh, you can just give it to me.”
The man with a matching Sugar hat shook his head. “I have strict orders to put this into the hands of Edison. Oh, there you are.” He showed me his phone that had a picture of me on it in the shirt I’d worn on my date with Liam. The little sucker must’ve snuck
one in.
I would not reveal how tingly that made me feel.
Reaching out my hand, I took the envelope and signed for it, making sure to put a heart dotting the I in my name.
“Thank you. Hold on, let me tip…”
“No, sir. No tips from you.” The young man left, but not before smiling at George who was now sporting flushed cheeks of his own.
“Well, open it,” George pressed in a whisper. I looked up to see that everyone was watching me, waiting to see what the delivery was.
I backed into a corner and waited until the attention was back on the kids before threading my finger between the seals and withdrawing a card with a 3-D sugar cube embossed on the front.
Didn’t want to send candy to you at your work. But, stop by the shop on your way home for a dozen surprises instead. See you soon, L.
“A dozen surprises, huh?” I hadn’t even noticed George looking over my shoulder. “I’d take a dozen of that delivery guy who just came in.”
“Shut up.”
I tucked the card into my back pocket and poured myself into work for the rest of the day, the only way not to sprint to the candy shop like some desperate schoolboy.
After the backpacks were handed out and our volunteers headed off for pizza and games at the local kid paradise, George and I cleaned up, making note of the packs that weren’t picked up. I wondered if those kids had enough to eat this weekend, or if they hadn’t made it to the center.
“Anderson Ray,” I said, reading the tag on one aloud.
“He lives in that apartment complex near your house.”
I thought I knew who he was talking about. “Scrawny blond kid? Ears for days?”
George nodded. “That’s him.”
I sighed and picked up the pack. I remembered the days of being at home with not much to eat until Monday at school. There was no worse feeling.
Except, you know, being abandoned.
“I’ll bring it to him.”
George elbowed me in the ribs. “After your dozen surprises.”
“Before…” Because after, I hoped to be busy with other things. I opened the backpack and stuck a few more things inside. We had generous donations from outside sources, so there was enough.
Throwing the pack onto my shoulder, I left George to put the other unclaimed packs in the cupboard—sometimes we saw the kids on Monday, the food still welcome—and lock up, I walked down the city streets, watching the lights come to life as the sun set on the day.
I hoped two of the dozen surprises Liam had for me were his lips.
Chapter Seven
Liam
If the first day of Halloween season was busy, Saturdays in October were completely insane. We’d had to bring in a few extra helpers to assist customers and do some of the more mundane tasks like rolling truffles in cocoa and wrapping clown suckers. Hazel’s twin grandsons, seniors in high school, were doing more flirting with my twin nephews, freshmen in college, than actual work, but judging from the grim expression on Hazel’s face and the gleam in her eye as she poured a batch of fudge and turned off the heat under the kettle, that party was about to end.
“Don’t make me use this wooden spoon on…” Her voice trailed off as she chased the guilty quartet into the back room to finish the conversation. I finished ringing up an out-of-state customer who just “had to come here after seeing our YELP rating.” She’d bought enough dark chocolate bark and bittersweet bats to feed an army, so I reached into the case under the counter and handed her a soft caramel sprinkled with just a few bits of chunky pink Himalayan salt.
Despite her nearly five-hundred-dollar order, you’d have thought she’d won the lottery as she accepted the sample. She smiled wide enough to show all her white, white teeth then bit in and groaned. “Oh my goodness. I’ll take five pounds of these, please. My bridge club is going to lose their collective mind.” She gave an evil chuckle. “They’ll hate me for all the calories, but they’ll love them!”
I briefly considered offering her one of the tiny petit fours we’d just made, layers of chocolate cake and blood orange caramel topped with a brown-sugar frosting and an even tinier spider—then decided enough was enough. Sure, she’d buy some, but I didn’t want her to think we were trying to upsell. We didn’t need to. It was all we could do to keep the shelves stocked.
Hazel’s cousin, a comfortable middle-aged accountant who was here just to “breathe the chocolate air,” although we did insist on paying him, returned from a break with a dab of chocolate on his chin. I handed him a napkin, pointing, and he wiped at it, flushing.
“Breathe the air?” I winked at him and his blush deepened.
“I’m only human,” he muttered, taking my place at the register.
“Just teasing.” I handed him one of the petit fours. “Give it a try so you can tell the customers how you like it.”
Eyes glittering with candy lust, he popped the treat into his mouth and chewed. “Oh my goodness. I’ll need a few of these for date night tonight. My husband is making dinner.”
“And you’re bringing dessert. Grab them now, and set them aside or they will be all gone.”
“Thanks, Liam. I will do that after I help this next customer. Good day, madam, will that be everything?”
The lady whose arms were filled with our pre-packed boxes and other items shook her head. “What was that I saw you eating?”
Yeah, those petit fours wouldn’t last long.
Freed from the counter, I took the opportunity for a tour around the shop, making mental note of what needed replacing, picking up a few stray waxed paper candy cups and a receipt someone had dropped. After the response to our terrifying clowns, we’d given the makeup-and-ruff-wearing performers a whole corner of their own. In fact, my sweet sixteen-year-old niece was on duty there, in full primary colored jumpsuit, making balloon animals for the kids and directing shoppers to the secondary cash register near the door to make their purchases. Looking at the display of the grinning, brightly colored heads on lollipop sticks, hard candies imprinted with clown faces, and other “goodies,” I couldn’t imagine why anyone would prefer them to say a piece of dark chocolate or my favorite cinnamon-candied pecans. Of course, I also had no idea where Brenda learned to make balloon animals.
The next couple of hours flew past and the shelves emptied. I heard the sounds of the night crew arriving to begin candy making for the next day, a necessity between now and Valentine’s Day, at least I hoped so.
Closing time approached, and I was grateful both for our successful day and for the coming evening. My dozen surprises, something I’d come in extra early to prepare, were in a box marked Liam’s. Do not touch! in the back of the big walk-in fridge. My invitation had been delivered and soon my omega would be here. The thought brought me out of the end of the day exhaustion that had begun to set in. I felt lighter as I closed and locked the door, putting the front cashier on duty to let people out as they finished their purchases. We were technically closed, but at least a dozen customers were either in line to pay or making their final decisions, so it would be another hour before we could start cleanup and head out.
Just as I lifted my hand to flip the sign to Candy Tomorrow, my cute way of saying don’t even knock, someone did, and I twisted the lock and dragged him inside and into my arms. Our lips met and we kissed as if we hadn’t seen one another in weeks. Cupping his chin, I tilted his head for a better angle and deepened the kiss, savoring his sweet and spicy taste, reclaiming my omega. I’d heard this was how it was when someone met their fated mate, the one person in the universe just for them, but the stories sold it short. I’d be happy to stand here forever and hold and kiss him, not giving a damn who was watching. Of course, some parts of my body had larger plans in mind, deeper goals.
“Liam...Liam!” The voice finally permeated my passion-soaked brain. “You’re blocking the door.”
With every ounce of self-control I had, I lifted my head and stepped back, looking down into Edison’s face, pr
epared to welcome him and ask about his day, but what I saw brought every bit of my protective instinct to the fore. Streaks on his face, swollen eyes, trembling lips… I wrapped an arm around his waist and steered him out the open door and away from the lit window to the bus bench in front of the store next to ours. One I was hoping to expand into when the dry cleaners closed next month.
Pushing my omega down to sit, I enfolded him in my arms and cuddled him against my chest. “Edison, what happened?”
His renewed tears soaked my shirt. I had a second’s worry when I realized not only didn’t he have a jacket on, but I wasn’t wearing one I could give him. “Liam, I-I...one of our kids.” He sucked air and shuddered a little then pushed back to sit up, eyes overflowing but his voice was steady. “He didn’t show up for a backpack today. We have...we give out these packs of food for the kids who might not have enough to eat over the weekend and some of them don’t show up. That always happens, but this one boy. I had a bad feeling so I went to his house and...and…”
He buried his face in my shirt again and I held him close and rubbed his back in soothing circles, until he sat up again and brushed the tears from his face. But he wasn’t crying anymore. His voice held anger I didn’t even know my sweet, kind-hearted omega had in him. “Liam, will you come with me to the hospital?”
Oh shit.
“Yes, of course. Let me get my car keys and a jacket.” I could find out more in the car, but right now we needed to go to the hospital. I steered him around to the alley employee entrance and grabbed the coat I’d worn to work that day and a spare from my office to wrap him in, and off we went.
For once someone else could sweep the floor.
My omega had made a request of me. Nothing else mattered. Although, as I bundled him into the car, I was steeling myself for what he might tell me. Who was in the hospital? What happened to them? This man helped kids in trouble every day of the week. He had inner strength I could only dream of. What could be so bad it would make him weep?
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