The Feminine Mesquite: The Complete Series

by Sable Sylvan

“Yes. Care for a refresher?” asked Sage.

  “By all means, if you think it will add to the presentation,” said Prof. Bingley. “Refresh away.”

  “‘You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last year, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.’ These are the words spoken by Darcy when he proposes to Elizabeth after her initial rejection of his proposal. As a shifter, I know that the pain of rejection from a true love must be unbearable, only able to be quelled by the acceptance of your love by your fated mate,” explained Sage. “Of course, I’m preaching to the choir here.” Sage motioned to his classmates, most of whom were also shifters. They laughed.

  “However, I guess there’s only one way to find out what that sorrow or joy would feel like, and that’s by conducting some research of my own,” said Sage. Sage turned away from the audience, toward Addison, and got down on one knee.

  Sage pulled out a small wooden box. He had hidden it in his suit jacket pocket.

  “Addison Quincy,” started Sage. “I don’t know how I ‘could not make the offer of my hand in any possible way that would tempt you to accept it,’ to paraphrase Austen. I hope that I ‘perfectly comprehend your feelings.’ After all, ‘a lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.’ I hope that this proposal, and this ring, is to your liking.” Sage opened the box, revealing a ring inside.

  The ring was simple, plain gold with a sparkling opal that wasn’t too large. The wide band of the ring had an inscription inside, reading, ‘We are all fools in love.’

  “You remembered,” said Addy. “It’s my favorite quote from the book.”

  “How could I forget? After all, I’m a fool in love,” said Sage. “Addison Opal Quincy, will you do me the great honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”

  “Yes, Sage, of course,” said Addy. She couldn’t frikkin’ believe this was happening, not until the ring was firmly on her finger and Sage had stood up, swooped her up in his arms, and kissed her to the symphony that was the cheers and claps of their classmates. Finally, Sage put his new fiancée back down on the floor.

  Prof. Bingley had a twinkle in his eye. Morten was right. His grandson and this American girl were really meant to be. Of course, everyone had had to help out what that shifter lot called ‘Fate,’ including his wife, Margaret, but in the end, true love had prevailed.

  “I only have two more questions for you,” said Prof. Bingley. “Addison…how did this project affect you?”

  “How didn’t it?” said Addy, before turning to Sage and pulling him close to her for another quick kiss. “I learned that even when you think you’re immune from pride, from prejudice, you can still be too proud and judge others before you get to know them. But most importantly, I learned that two people who might not ever think that they’d be together in a million years, might just be the two people that are perfect for one another. After all, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that a shifter in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a fated mate, to paraphrase Ms. Austen. Now, I know that it must become a truth universally acknowledged that a sassy girl in possession of an inner fire must be in want of a shifter.”

  “And you, Master Scoville…how did this project affect you?” asked Prof. Bingley.

  “I have to admit that I wasn’t crazy about this book at first,” said Sage. “I was more enthralled by the woman who I was partnered with to read it. Pride and Prejudice is a unique insight into the mind of a female author who understands the feminine mystique more so than any other author we’ve covered this semester. By reading this book and pushing myself to ask and answer increasingly more challenging questions about this title, I learned that I’m no closer to understanding the feminine mystique than I was before. To quote the ancient Romans, ‘ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat’: I know that I know nothing…except I know that Addison is my fated mate, my true love and that together, we’re going to help run this crazy thing called The Feminine Mesquite.”

  Sage pulled Addy in for one last kiss. Their fairy tale was not ending. He’d woken his sleeping beauty, who had tamed his beast. Now, they just had to let everyone else know, starting with their eldest siblings, Herb and Alice. To paraphrase Ms. Austen one last time…

  Sage, as well as Addy, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude toward the hot sauce company, The Feminine Mesquite, which, by bringing them together, had been the means of uniting them.

  Epilogue

  Mid-April

  The school year was nearly over, but Addy and Sage’s romance was just beginning. Ever since his proposal, Addy and Sage had spent nearly every waking moment together. Of course, they received the highest marks possible for their Pride and Prejudice project. Addy, under encouragement from Alice and Herb, took the initiative to apply for a transfer. With Professor Bingley and her other professors vouching for her, Addy’s transfer was accepted. She would be transferring her credits over to Bonimolean University, and Addy and Sage would be spending their senior year together…as husband and wife.

  That’s right. Addy and Sage had been invited to join the group Quincy-Scoville wedding. Alice and Herb and Abigail and Clove had invited the middle siblings to join their wedding, making the double wedding a triple wedding. Of course, Addy and Sage accepted the invitation. Alice’s wedding plans were dreamy, like something out of a fairy tale, so Abigail and Addison were more than happy to let their sister handle the arrangements. Alice had impeccably good taste, and of course, all the vendors were pleased as punch to hear that the wedding was going to be an even bigger event than before. More brides and grooms meant more dresses, suits, flowers, special events, and photographers than before, and that meant more money for the good people of Bright Star County, Texas.

  Even though it was crunch time, with finals approaching, Sage still found the time to make sure that he got to show Addison a good time. It was time for her to see his Europe, and luckily, Bonimolean had a private helicopter landing pad that he used to take Addison all over the continent. They went to Rome for pasta and opera, Paris for ballet and macarons, and Moscow for ballet and blini with caviar. In Germany, they had beers in the privacy of their Black Forest cabin. In Poland, they tried kielbasa in their riverside cottage. Of course, they also made regular visits to Oslo, where they always had a room at the Scoville Manor. Georgina Rosetti was dealt with by the dragon clan, and Minerva would try to visit Addy and the rest of the Quincy Sisters and the Scoville Brothers if she wasn’t too busy with magic summer school.

  Summer was steadily approaching. That meant that it would soon be time for Addy, Sage, and Clove to fly from England to Fallowedirt, Texas and for Basil to fly in from Brazil to join the joint Scoville-Quincy (or Quincy-Scoville) family in Bright Star County.

  Summer was a break from school, but it would be no vacation. They’d all be put to work at The Feminine Mesquite for the summer. Alice and Herb would, of course, supervise everyone’s work to some degree, acting as CEOs. Abigail and Clove hadn’t worked over winter break as they’d been working on their papers, but they would be handling the new factory. Alice and Herb had purchased it during the spring semester and had worked on refurbishing it and getting it set up for the summer.

  Abigail and Clove had been assigned the factory because it was the job requiring the most responsibility. Savina and Mason had been assigned to work at The Feminine Mesquite’s storefront on Fallowedirt’s Main Street because that job required the least responsibility and they were the youngest.

  That left Addy and Kai working with Sage and Basil. Addy and Sage had received their instructions regarding working in the warehouse. While Addy would do bookkeeping, Sage would be taking a leadership role, acting as supervisor over all the warehouse workers. It was the perfect role for them. Addy could read during her downtime and Sage could play the music of his choice in the warehouse.
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  Addison was sitting in Sage’s room, listening to him practice his music, when she received a call.

  “Who is it?” asked Sage.

  “It’s Kai,” said Addison. “I’ve got to take this. Do you mind?”

  “No…that is, as long as you come back,” said Sage. “Send her my best.”

  “I will,” promised Addison.

  Addison got up off the velvet chaise lounge and walked across the suite living room to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She sat down in the tufted leather armchair and answered the call.

  “Hey, sorry about that,” said Addison. “How’re you doing, Kai?”

  “I’m fine, but how are things at Bonimolean?” asked Kai. “The semester’s nearly over. Was it everything you dreamed of?”

  “And more,” said Addison. “Bonimolean has truly been like a fairy tale. If I tell you a secret, can you promise not to tell anyone yet?”

  “Okay, whose body are we hiding?” asked Kai. “Sage’s?”

  “No, and he sends his best,” said Addy, rolling her eyes. “The only person you might want to bury is me. I’m transferring to Bonimolean.”

  “You are?” asked Kai. “Addy, that’s been your dream since you were young. A semester at Bonimolean is one thing, but your senior year…well, that’s going to be abso-frikkin’-lutely magical!”

  “You’re not mad at me?” asked Addy.

  “Of course not. And I won’t tell Alice or the others yet,” promised Kai. “I know that’s your truth to tell. I can’t wait to see you again!”

  “Me either,” said Addy. “Sage, Clove, and I are going to be heading back to Fallowedirt the same week as you and Sav.”

  “So, we’ll all make it to Abigail’s graduation?” asked Kai.

  “You bet your butt,” said Addy. “But of course, we’re going to be put to work. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up snoozing through the graduation ceremony.”

  “Don’t jinx it!” said Kai. “I can’t believe that you and Sage are going to be running the warehouse. Before this semester, I thought there was no frikkin’ way that you two would be able to work together. I guess a lot of things changed this semester. I can’t wait to hear all about what adventures you had all over Europe.”

  “So, what did you and Basil get assigned?” Addy asked Kai as they talked on the phone. “Something about a restaurant?”

  “Ugh, yes,” said Kai. “Basil and I are supposed to help set up a restaurant. It’s right next door to The Feminine Mesquite’s storefront.”

  “Hey, that should be fun,” said Addy. “You love restaurants. You took all those courses on restaurant management, and you can cook better than any of us.”

  “Well, Basil seems to think he knows better than me,” said Kai. “We’ve been e-mailing. It’s all ‘Brazilian barbecue’ this and ‘European molecular gastronomy’ that. I’m starting to think that there’s no frikkin’ way that this restaurant can be a success…especially if Basil is involved.”

  “You really think so?” asked Addy. She couldn’t keep in her laughter, and she burst out in giggles.

  “What’s so frikkin’ funny?” asked Kai.

  “It’s nothing. It’s just…well, you remind me of someone else,” said Addy.

  “Who?” asked Kai.

  “Me,” said Addy.

  Addy listened to Kai complain about Basil and couldn’t help but shake her head and smile. According to Kai, Basil was the worst thing to walk on two legs that had ever entered Bright Star County. He was cocky, self-assured, and of course, he’d earned that right, which really got Kai’s goat. These two had no idea what was going to be in store for them that summer in Fallowedirt, Texas. Her siblings were not done with their meddling, not even a little. The only question was, would Kai and Basil resist the meddling, or would Fate bring these two closer than they ever thought possible? Would Kai and Basil end up together? There was only one way to find out, and that would have to wait until the summer that they’d be spending at…The Feminine Mesquite.

  Part IV

  The Matchstick Grill

  Prologue

  May

  The Quincy Sisters and Scoville Brothers had flown back to Fallowedirt, Texas to the Mesquite Manor just in time to leave again to make it to Abigail ‘Abby O’ Olivia Quincy’s graduation. All eight of the younger siblings had finished school a few weeks earlier. Abigail’s fiancée, Clove, was on the plane, ready to surprise her by showing up at her graduation. As Cayenne ‘Kai’ Quincy sat in the first-class section, which was pretty much entirely booked by the now joint Quincy-Scoville clan, she couldn’t help but reflect on how different things had become in the last year.

  Cayenne and her sisters had met the Scoville Brothers at the end of the last summer. Alice ‘Allie Penny’ Penny Quincy, the oldest Quincy Sister, had met Herbert ‘Herb’ Scoville at her grandfather’s lawyer’s office after the reading of her grandfather Elijah’s will. Grandpa had left his hot sauce company and his recipes to Alice, but Herb’s grandfather Morten was Elijah’s rival. The former best friends had met during World War 2, the Norwegian polar bear shifter meeting the boy from a small Texas town who had big dreams after both were captured by the Nazis and placed in a prisoner of war camp. The one thing that the nobleman’s son and the son of a farmer had in common was a love of delicious food, and of course, everyone loves spicy meat. Morten claimed Elijah stole his recipes for hot sauce and sold them, so Herb had come to sue Elijah’s heir and retrieve the recipes, but instead, had found something more important than a family rivalry. He’d found true love, in the form of Alice, his Cinderella fated mate.

  The pair had purchased an old dilapidated mansion in Fallowedirt, Texas and fixed it up. They’d announced their engagement to the Quincy Sisters and the Scoville Brothers at their housewarming party in October. That December, the second eldest siblings went to the mansion, now renamed Mesquite Manor, to escape the drama that surrounded them back at their colleges, but instead, they had found true love. Alice’s younger sister, the second eldest Quincy, Abigail, and Herb’s younger brother, Clove, the future beta of the Scoville Polar clan, had fallen in love, the beauty and the beast becoming engaged on Christmas Day.

  That wasn’t the only thing that happened that Christmas. Herb had given each of the Quincy Sisters a special gift. Alice’s gift was a greenhouse. Abigail was given an epic graduation party in Denver, Colorado, which is where the ten siblings would be headed after her graduation ceremony.

  Addison had received the most special gift of all. Herb had arranged for Addison to attend the exclusive Bonimolean University, a university in the English countryside that Addison had dreamed of attending all her life. Addison was off to England with Clove to spend her spring semester at the school of her dreams. However, Addison wasn’t the only junior from their group that was attending Bonimolean that semester. The middle Quincy Sister, Addy, and the middle Scoville Brother, Sage, were stuck together in the same English literature class, assigned as partners for the semester. The bookish, quiet Addy and the bad boy Sage were confirmed to be fated mates, and after the Scoville Ball, Sage had proved he was serious about her by presenting her with a ring. Cayenne could hardly recognize her sister now. Sage had woken something inside of Addy. It was like he was a prince, waking up his sleeping beauty and helping her come out of a trance.

  The summer would come to a start after the graduation party, one last blowout before the season started. Summer wasn’t about to be a vacation. The agreement that the younger Quincy Sisters and the Scoville Brothers had made with their eldest siblings was clear. Their eldest siblings would pay for their college educations and grant them their shares of the company and the Scoville fortune if they put in the work to ensure that the hot sauce company owned by Alice and run by both Alice and Herb was a success.

  The hot sauce company, The Feminine Mesquite, had grown by leaps and bounds over the last few months. Alice and Herb had purchased a local mill building and repurposed it into a factory. They were p
roviding the community of Fallowedirt with new jobs, breathing new life into the town. Hopefully, Fallowedirt would soon become the star of Bright Star County. Alice and Herb had also purchased a warehouse to store the excess sauce and to process larger orders, but of course, they kept Grandpa Elijah’s old storefront on Fallowedirt’s Main Street open.

  Every sibling had been briefed on their jobs for the summer and had started their jobs over the last week.

  Alice and Herb were the president and CEO of the company respectively. They were responsible for delegating the work and checking in on everyone.

  Abigail and Clove were going to be running the factory, as that job required the most responsibility. Clove had set things up before they had headed to Abigail’s college. They were responsible for ensuring that every sauce came out perfectly. There was their grandpa’s signature jalapeño ‘Secret Sauce.’ The first sauce that Allie and Herb had developed together, decoding Elijah’s recipes, was the roasted habanero ‘Awesome Sauce.’ Next was the sauce that was dedicated to Addy and Sage, the adobo chipotle ‘No Bullshizz Sauce.’ The only question was, what would be the next sauce to be developed, and could it prove to be an even bigger hit than the last sauces had been?

  Addy and Sage would be working the warehouse, with Addy working on the bookkeeping, naturally. Sage had a naturally dominant aura, even given his status as the future gamma of the Scoville Polar Clan, and he was a natural leader. It was hard to believe he wasn’t the alpha of his clan.

  The youngest siblings, Savina ‘Sav’ Quincy and Mason ‘Mace’ Scoville, did not get along at all. They were stuck minding the store on Main Street until they proved they could handle more responsibility. The only silver lining was that during the work day, Cayenne didn’t have to hear their bickering, but once they got home, all bets were off. After all, all nine siblings, soon to be joined by the tenth, were living in Mesquite Manor over the summer. They had been paired up with suitemates. Each suite consisted of two bedrooms, each bedroom attached to a private bathroom, a few closets, and a large shared room. Abigail and Clove had used their shared room as a study over winter break, and Addy and Sage were still figuring out how they wanted to set up their space so that Addy could read while Sage practiced piano. Sav and Mace couldn’t agree on what to do with their center room and fought about it over nightly dinners.