I groaned when my alarm went off, but thanked my past self profusely when the glorious scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted down the hall. I swear, whoever had invented timers and automatic brewing functions for coffeemakers was a damn genius—or maybe a god. Either way, I sure hoped they’d received proper gratitude at some point for the gift they’d given mankind.

It took me several minutes to pry my dead ass out of bed, but I didn’t want to be late for my first day. I stubbed my toe on a box in the hallway as I stumbled into the bathroom. Shit, why was it always the little one that got it? Thankfully, I’d gotten enough unpacked over the weekend so that my clothes and bathroom supplies were all laid out and I was good to go for a hot shower.

Standing under the spray of water, my mind flitted back over the night before and the sweet omega I’d met. I hadn’t gone out looking for more than a cold brew and a little bit of a break since my son was visiting his mom for a few days, but wow. One look at those pretty green eyes and that curly brown hair and I’d been a goner.

Rubbing a soapy hand over my morning wood, I gave my cock a firm stroke and smiled at the memory of how that sweet ass had hugged my cock in all the best ways. After I finished jerking off to the memory of what was unfortunately probably going to just be a one-time thing, I rinsed myself clean before turning off the water and stepping out to towel dry.

Yeah, between my son and my new job, I definitely did not have time to follow up with hot stuff. Even though he’d been completely my type. I just wished I’d gotten his name.

After I dressed and had coffee in my system, I was ready to start my day. I glanced around the apartment as I headed for the front door, wondering if I’d be able to get everything unpacked and put away before Simon came home.

As much as I wondered how he was faring with his mother, I really didn’t want to intrude on his biannual visit with Victoria. But still… I knew that she wasn’t exactly used to parenting and our precocious four-year-old was so self-sufficient that he made it easy to forget how young he was. Pushing my worries aside, I locked the door behind me and headed for the restaurant.

Looking around the large, country-style property, I couldn’t help but be grateful for this opportunity to start fresh. Even though the small, furnished apartment and, let’s face it, low-paying job were a step down from what I’d been used to back east, I was happy to be here. Now I’d have more time with Simon, not to mention far less stress than I’d had in my previous life.

Being a single father was tough and the last thing I wanted was to have nannies raising my son. When that had been happening more often than I’d liked, I’d known that it was time for a life change. I liked the idea of putting down roots in this small town and giving my son a happy childhood where he could run free and actually know the neighbors. That alone made the move worthwhile. The fact that I’d be able to craft my own artisanal beer was just icing on the cake.

Walking into The Sausage Shack for the first time, I was impressed by the neat, clean restaurant. The Bavarian theme was strongly represented and I could easily see where craft beer would make the place more appealing. A young omega in his early twenties glanced up from a table where he sat rolling fresh silverware into napkins.

“Good morning, you’re either super early and I have to apologize that we aren’t open yet—or you’re our new brewmaster. Either way, I’m Cody. Welcome to The Sausage Shack.”

I fought the urge to chuckle at his chipper greeting. “Good morning, Cody. I’m Hugo, the new brewmaster—not an early customer. I’m looking for the boss, is he around?”

Cody popped up from his chair and clapped his hands together. “Oh, good! I hate early customers. Like, who wants our food this early in the morning, you know?” He motioned for me to follow and began leading me back through the restaurant, chatting easily as we went. “Todd is waiting for you. He’s busy pulling the sausage right now”.” He glanced over his shoulder with a snicker. “Sorry, that never gets old. Anyway, he’s working the sausage—no, that still doesn’t sound very good, does it? Anyway, he’s getting the meat ready…” He shook his head regretfully. “I’m sorry, there’s just no nice way to say it.”

I held both hands up with a laugh. “I got it, loud and clear. This is a sausage restaurant and he’s preparing the recipes, we’ll leave it at that.”

Cody looked almost disappointed. “My way sounded much more fun, but yours is probably better, I suppose. Anyway, Todd’s in the kitchen and he’s waiting for you back there.”

He gave the swinging door to the kitchen a push with his hip and we walked on through. My jaw dropped when the sweet omega from last night looked up at me with a bright smile that quickly faded to shock. He was stretching a long tube of sausage between his hands. All of a sudden, I understood Cody’s giggles.

With one fist competently stretching around the sausage near his apron-covered hip, his other arm was raised almost to shoulder height. That hand clenched and made stroking motions as he made certain the sausage was uniform. A surprised squeak came from his throat as his squeezing hand fisted tight and a wad of raw meat flew out of the end in a wide arc, shooting high in the air before finally landing with a wet plop between my feet.

Todd groaned and slowly lowered the long tube of sausage into a large metal bowl. After he’d washed and wiped his hands dry, he walked over and picked up the chunk of meat with a paper towel. After he’d thrown it away, he turned back with a chagrined smile and an outstretched hand. “Well, then. I’m Todd and you must be Hugo, because why wouldn’t you be? Oh, well. I guess this doesn’t have to be awkward unless we let it be, I suppose.”

As we shook hands, Todd appeared to realize that Cody was watching us with avid interest. He jerked a chin toward the door. “Thanks Cody, I’ve got it from here. Go ahead and finish up with the silverware and then go over the checklist to make sure that everything is prepped for the day. And don’t forget to check the hand soap and spare toilet paper supplies in the bathrooms, we don’t want to run out in the middle of the lunch rush again.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get right on that.” Cody was off and running, the kitchen door flapping back and forth in his wake before finally slowing to a stop.

It dawned on me that we were still shaking hands and I reluctantly released my hold. “You’re right, this doesn’t have to be awkward. It figures that the one time I’m kid-free and decide to put myself out there, I had to pick up one guy in the entire club who happened to be my new boss though, am I right?”

Todd grinned at my wry smile. “Come on, we have some paperwork to fill out and I have a pot of fresh coffee if you’re interested.”

I couldn’t help but think that I was definitely interested in more than coffee as I followed him over to a round booth in the far corner of the kitchen where he had paperwork spread out and a tray of coffee fixings with an elegant carafe waiting. However, coffee was all that I was going to indulge myself. Last night was definitely going to be a one-off now that I knew that the hot omega was also my new boss.

“Did you get the packet of information I sent you for the local elementary school? Even though school doesn’t start for another six weeks, I know the other parents in town had to sign their kids up months ago.” He made polite conversation as he poured us each a cup of coffee before turning his attention to the paperwork.

“I did, and thank you for that. They were able to handle most of the registration requirements long distance, I’ll just need to get by there this week to sign a few forms.”

Todd smiled as he passed a contract across the table and handed me a pen. “This is everything we discussed via email, you will see that nothing’s been changed—but feel free to look it over before you sign.”

I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or saddened by the fact that he was behaving so professionally. But I decided to follow his lead. After all, I’d moved across country for this job, and my son’s future rested on it. If he could be adult about this, so could I. I scrawled my name on the contract and dated it before passing it back. Todd glanced at it briefly, then added his own signature and date before setting it to the side and handing me a thick manila envelope.

“This is all of your healthcare information, a copy of the contract you just signed, and an employee handbook.” Now that the business part of things was handled, he took a drink of coffee and seemed to relax a bit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask about your son. Where is he today? I hope you’re both settling in all right. Have you already found a babysitter? Please know that I have no problem with him being here in the restaurant before and after hours as long as he is well behaved.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that, Todd. I don’t foresee him spending a lot of time here, to be honest, but I appreciate the gesture. Simon isn’t here yet, but I got the name of a local girl from a babysitting service. She’ll be keeping an eye on him for the rest of the summer until school starts. After that, I figured we would work my schedule around school like we discussed.”

Todd nodded with understanding. “If you don’t mind my asking, who did they refer?”

“An Allie Collins, I don’t know if you’ve heard of her? I suppose with the size of this town, that’s probably a given. I didn’t realize just how small this town was until I walked into your kitchen a few minutes ago,” I admitted with a grin.

He waved a hand to let my reference to our night pass. “I know Allie very well, actually. She’s a good kid and will take great care of him. Her dad is a good friend of mine. Both of her dads, to be honest. She mentioned getting a nanny job for the summer to put some money away before she starts college in the fall; I just didn’t connect the dots. I’m sure I’ll see her around whenever your son arrives.”

I could tell that he had more questions he wanted to ask about Simon and where he was, but I didn’t think delving any deeper into my personal life was the best idea after having already slept with my boss. With that in mind, I quickly drained my cup and stood. “I hate to cut things short, but I’d better let you get back to work while I check out the brewing equipment you’ve set up and see what I’ll be working with here.”

Before he could reply, the outer door opened and a group of kitchen workers came inside. A flash of what looked like relief went through his eyes and I noticed his shoulders relax a notch before he smiled and rose. “Let me just show you around and then I’ll leave you to it.”

For the rest of the day, whether he was around or not, I kept catching whiffs of his sweet honeyed scent. It took all my focus to ignore it while I checked out the mash and fermentation systems, and went over all the equipment. I’d been relieved to see that whoever had overseen the installation of the cooling and filter systems had known what they were doing.

By the end of the day, my biggest worries were how soon I could get my first couple of batches going since I’d need at least two, if not three, weeks for the fermentation process, and which brews I’d make first.

I definitely wanted to start by crafting a smooth, smoky malt to complement the sausages, but a nice, toasty caramel lager with a sweet aroma and a bitter bite would do well here. My mind was still running over the flavor possibilities when my day ended and I was able to break free—until tomorrow when I’d have to face him again.

The sun was low in the sky but it wasn’t quite dusk just yet as I took a walk around the property. I breathed in the pure scent of the country air as it mixed with the freshly mown grass. Yeah, I could definitely get used to this.

I couldn’t wait for Simon to join me. He would absolutely love this place, I just knew it. I followed the creek as it weaved past the old mill building that had cleverly been remade into Todd’s restaurant. When I came around a curve, I found myself in a small glade where a trio of girls sat chattering and giggling in the grass. They couldn’t have been older than eleven to fourteen, at most.

They quieted immediately as I walked up. The oldest-looking one, a pretty girl with long blonde hair woven into a braid, held a hand over her eyes as if to shield the sun as she looked up at me. They all wore old-fashioned, homemade dresses that spread out around them on the grass, hiding their feet.

“Hello there, welcome. I’m Luisa and these are my sisters.” As she spoke, the other two stared at me in fascination with hands held over their mouths as if to contain the giggles that had reappeared.

I figured Luisa must be the mouthpiece of the group, so I focused my attention on her. “Hello, Luisa. I’m Hugo Keller, but you can call me Hugo, if you’d like. I am new here, thank you for the welcome. It’s nice to make your acquaintance, are we to be neighbors?”

“Gracious, I could never call you by your first name. Mr. Keller will be far more appropriate. How are you liking your new home?”

I wondered how she knew that I just moved into my apartment, but figured that maybe she really was a neighbor—unless she was talking about the fact that I was new in town. It was hard to say. The girl’s proper speech and perfect posture made me feel like a slob though, that much I knew.

Something about the scene was just slightly off and I realized with a start that a grown man probably had no business being alone in a sheltered area with three young girls. Yeah, I needed to go. Backing away, I gave them a friendly wave and turned to leave. “It was nice meeting you ladies. I’m sure I’ll see you around, but I really do need to get back to my unpacking.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Keller. You’ll definitely be seeing us around.” I turned back at the sound of giggles, but the girls had run off into the trees somewhere.

I shook my head with a smile as I walked away. Little girls. They were always so odd.