Chapter 11
Torrence smiled as he heard Staz’s dragon call, the sound slashing through the quiet morning. He stepped out onto the porch and saluted his friend, who circled the mountain and then swooped in to land. Shielding his eyes against the dust and debris that Staz’s wings kicked up, Torrence walked down to him with a pair of sweatpants slung over his shoulder.
“Thought you might need some clothes,” Torrence said as Staz changed to his human form.
“Aw, don’t want the missus to see what she’s missing?”
“She’s not missing anything,” Torrence promised, tossing the pants at Staz.
Staz laughed as he tugged the pants on. “Sorry things went south here. I know you wanted to be here for Cecily. Is she upset?”
Torrence glanced over his shoulder into the cabin where Cecily was talking on the phone with Andrea. He turned back to Staz. “I think she’s more disappointed than anything, but she’s in good spirits.”
“Life’s funny like that.”
“Thanks for coming to help.”
“You’re welcome. As long as I get the second donut fountain you carve, and Jules gets a dragon for our flower bed, too.”
Torrence rolled his eyes. “Are you going to copy everything we do?”
“Only the awesome stuff.” He clapped his hands and looked around. “So how are we doing this?”
“If you’ll help me rig up things, we packed all our belongings in boxes, which we’ll secure together with straps and then we’ll be able to carry the boxes by the straps in our shifts.”
“Cool, saves on multiple trips.”
“Exactly.”
“Hey! We could start a moving company. I bet humans would pay a bundle to have a dragon carry all their belongings in one trip.”
Torrence laughed. “I bet.”
He and Staz secured the boxes with straps to make it easy for them to carry. As they finished, Cecily came out of the cabin blotting her cheeks with a tissue.
“Hi Staz. Thanks for coming to help.”
“Happy to, that’s what family is for.”
Torrence kissed her cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Andrea wanted to come say goodbye, but she started her new job today.”
“Ready to go?” he asked.
She stared toward town, far below the mountain. He knew it was hard for her to deal with that part of her life closing, but even though she’d cried when she’d gone through the boxes that Andrea had packed, she’d still been happy to go back to live with the clan.
She inhaled deeply and put her arm around him. “I’m ready. It’s time to go home.”
Buttoning up her wool coat, she put her gloves on and pulled her stocking cap down a little further on her head. She turned her back to Staz, so he could strip and shift, and then Torrence shifted. Stretching out his wings, he watched as she gathered their clothes into a knapsack and then put it on her back.
He lifted her against his chest, settling her gently but firmly in the crook of his arm, and then he grasped the carrying strap and lifted from the ground, the stack of trussed-up boxes dangling from his hand. Staz picked up the other boxes and joined him in the air, and they headed toward home. He didn’t bother looking back. The cabin had been home for him for a short while, but there was nothing there now but a lonely existence he didn’t want to go back to.
Although he’d only been with Cecily for a few days, he was happier than he’d ever been in his life and he owed it all to her. She was his everything – his mate, his friend, his dragon’s treasure. He was fast falling for the sweet human who always smelled of sugar and spices, and as soon as he was able to speak, he’d tell her exactly how he felt. For the first time in his life, he had everything he’d ever wanted, and it was all because of an allergy to fruit.
* * *
After they returned to the clan’s mountain and had help carrying all the boxes up to their third-floor suite in his parents’ home, Torrence took Cecily for a walk. There were many paths leading away from the main house, some going down the mountain, some further up, that led to cleared areas where dragons built their homes. Traditionally, males built a home for their mate on their family land, but there were other clearings that weren’t utilized by a family and offered more privacy. Not only would he and Cecily be close to his parents if they built a home behind their house, but the clan held celebrations and parties there, not to mention that his parents were the clan leaders which meant a lot of dragons coming and going at all hours.
“We can go to town whenever we need to,” he said, holding her hand as they walked away from the main house. “There’s a nice restaurant down there, plus a pharmacy and grocery store. The clan also has a dedicated delivery service, so if you want something, you can put in a request to have it picked up for you.”
“That’s cool,” she said. “Is the town mostly human?”
“It’s all human as far as I know.”
She hummed. “They won’t try to ban the clan from town, right?”
He snorted out a laugh. “No, sweetheart. Not only has the dragon clan been here longer than the humans, but they respect us and have no reason to dislike us being around. We keep their businesses running. It would be foolish of them to try to keep us away.” He stopped walking and said, “If we were going to build a home on my family’s land, we’d do it here. Close enough to walk to the big house for family meals, meetings, and parties, but far enough away that we’ll have some privacy.”
“I can see your mom in the kitchen window,” she said, squinting. “It’s not very private.”
“I didn’t say it was super private, I said it had some privacy.”
She chuckled. “What kind of house?”
“What do you want?”
“I grew up in a trailer and I shared a tiny house with Andrea and then the minuscule apartment over the donut shop. Anything would be bigger and better than what I’ve known in the past.”
“We can do a two-story home, three or four bedrooms.”
“Three or four?” She arched a delicate brow.
“It depends on how many kids we have. We could always add on.”
“Will you have a workshop like you have at your parents’?”
He nodded. “And we can have a commercial kitchen.”
She blinked rapidly a few times and tilted her head. “Why?”
“I talked to my dad, after we got here, about you starting up a shop. Instead of driving down the mountain every day, if I built you a commercial kitchen, you could make donuts here. The clan would love them, first of all, but we could employ some of the younger dragons as a delivery service and you could sell them in town, too. We could put a deck off the kitchen, so the clan can come there, and they won’t have to be in and out of the house.”
Her mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“Sure. I know that you’re giving up your dream because of me. Unless you just want to lay naked in bed all day and let me pleasure you. I’d totally be okay with that, too.”
He waggled his brows at her and she giggled, her cheeks pinking as she blushed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Only for my mate.”
“You’d really do that for me? Build me a commercial kitchen so I can sell donuts out of our house?”
“I’d love to,” he said, in all honesty.
“That’s so sweet.” She jumped into his arms and kissed him.
What he’d wanted to say since they flew here tumbled from his lips. “I’m crazy about you, Cecily. I’m falling hard.”
“I’m already there,” she murmured, brushing her lips over his. “My sweet, sexy, fierce dragon.”
“So many adjectives,” he teased. “I must be pretty wonderful to have such an amazing mate.”
“You are. I just realized that I haven’t even made a donut for you yet, and here you are wanting to help me set up a home business,” she said as he set her gently on the ground.
“I’m looking forward to being your personal taste-tester.” He looked around the area and then said, “There’s another spot we could build a house. We could have our own family clearing.”
“Is that normal?”
“Whatever we want is what’s normal for us.”
“Oh. I like this place, though. The view is spectacular.”
He smiled down at her. “It sure is.”
* * *
Once they’d decided to build a home on his family’s clearing, they headed back to the house and Cecily gathered the ingredients to make a batch of donuts. Torrence kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go to the builders and get them started on plans for our ten-bedroom house.”
Her eyes widened. “Ten?”
He laughed at the shocked expression on her face. “Just teasing. Four.”
“That’s better. We could always add on if we wanted.”
“Very true. I’m going to the workshop after that, do you want to stop by when you’re finished and see what I’m working on?”
“Is it shaped like a donut?” she asked.
“It might be.”
“Then I’d love to see.”
He kissed her lips and, although tempted to stay longer and kiss her a lot more, he left and headed to a path that led to the builders’ house. He knocked on the door and opened it.
“Anyone working today?” he asked.
“Come on in, Torrence,” Fedder, the clan’s head builder, called.
Torrence found him and several of the builders at drafting tables and greeted them. Shaking Fedder’s hand, he said, “I wanted to get on the schedule for a home build.”
“Great! On your parents’ clearing or an empty one?”
“Behind their house.”
He sat down at a desk and double clicked a mouse, opening a blueprint program. “Give me the basics and we’ll squeeze you in. We’ll want to get the supplies ordered in the next few weeks before the snow hits.”
“Sure. And I’m happy to help in any way I can, too.”
Torrence explained that the house layout that he’d discussed with Cecily, going over the idea he had to make the back deck an outdoor restaurant of sorts, so people had a place to sit and eat her donuts.
“Sounds good. When we heard you two were coming back to stay, a lot of us are really happy to have a baker in our midst. Since Isabell passed away, we haven’t had anyone making baked goods.”
Isabell had been a great baker. Her specialty was breads and cakes. Torrence didn’t know anything about baking, so he wouldn’t attempt to say what his mate could and couldn’t make, but he was very sure that she was happiest when she was talking about her donut shop, and he wanted her to get back to work as soon as possible.
“Well, the sooner we get the house ready, the sooner she can start working. She’s looking forward to it.”
“Us, too.” Fedder stared at him for a moment, and then said, “It’s strange what happened to you. We all thought you’d never get your dragon, but somehow you were meant for a human mate. Makes some of the younger males wonder.”
“About what?”
“If you’re unique or if it might be the start of a new future for our people.”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Torrence said. “I suppose that anything is possible. Maybe I am unique, or maybe it’s a taste of things to come.”
“The important thing is that you’re happy.”
“I am.”
“Good. Nothing like a mate to make everything in the world right.”
“You can say that again.”
Torrence said goodbye and walked to the masonry workshop. His father was there working on stone pavers for a sidewalk for a new build. He sat down and said, “I wanted to work on the forms for Cecily’s fountain, so I could get the concrete poured for it. While it’s curing, then I can get back to working on the list of clan projects.”
“That’s fine,” Benecio said. “How are you planning to make it look like a donut?”
“Well,” he said, picking up a pad of paper and a pencil from a nearby table, “I thought I’d make two halves of the donut and then put them together to make it look round, and then I could lay it flat on top of a stand and put a fountain in the center.”
“Coloring the concrete or leaving it gray?”
“Maybe a little of both.”
“Be careful, if it looks really good you might have a lot of requests for strange food-related fountains.”
He laughed. “Staz would probably ask for one that looks like a chicken wing, since it’s his favorite food.”
“Or your mom’s Boston cream pie.”
As Torrence got to work, first sketching, and then creating the forms to pour the concrete, his mind continually returned to the conversation with Fedder. He mentioned it to his father.
“Anything’s possible I suppose,” he said, looking up from the pile of pavers he was getting ready to cut. “The important thing is that we don’t try to force our people to adhere to rigid rules about who can and can’t be a mate. If we were exclusive to dragons only, you wouldn’t have been welcomed back with your human mate. If our people find their mates elsewhere, I want our clan to always be inclusive, and never be exclusive.”
“Me, too.”
There was a knock at the door and Benecio called, “It’s open.”
The door opened and Torrence caught a whiff of cinnamon and sugar, and knew it was Cecily. She appeared with a plastic container, her cheeks pink and her eyes shining. “I wasn’t sure if I should just walk in.”
“Of course, you can,” Benecio said.
“I brought you some donuts.”
She held the container out to Torrence and he took it, lifting the lid and smiling at the six sweets. They were oddly shaped, with slits in them. He lifted his gaze to hers and said, “They look great.”
“They’re dragon claws.”
“What?”
“You know, like bear claws? I cut them so that when they were fried, the pieces would separate and look like claws on a hand? Is that dumb? I was trying something fun.”
“Are you kidding? It’s very cool.” He lifted one out and took a bite. He was unable to stop the happy groan as the sweet taste of cinnamon and sugar filled him. “This is the second-best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
Her brows rose. “Second best?”
With a lowered voice, he said, “You’re the first.”
She gasped, and her cheeks pinked with blush. “Torrence!”
“Hey, I’m honest.” He finished the dragon claw in two bites, set the container down, and pulled her close. “It’s delicious and you’re a great baker.”
“Thanks. I wanted you to like them so much, I was nervous.”
“Rest easy now, sweetheart. I knew it would be great.”
“Can I see what you’re working on now?” she asked.
“As soon as I eat the rest of these.”
“Aren’t you going to share?”
“Yeah, Son,” Benecio said. “I raised you better.”
“If I must,” he said, grabbing two for himself and giving the rest to his father. “Let me show you this amazing thing I’m making.”
“I can’t wait.”
After he showed her the sketch for the fountain, and the form he’d made, she helped him mix the concrete for the bottom of the donut. They’d opted to make the base of the donut a sandy brown color, and then use a pink glaze on top to make it look like something she called a “classic frosted donut.”
“Then we can put it on the deck outside of the sliding door, right? It’ll be perfect.”
“It absolutely will be,” he promised.
She washed her hands and dried them on a shop towel, and then turned to face him. “Your mom was telling me about the clan’s school.”
The clan didn’t send their children to public school. Instead, there was a school building on the mountain, and several clan members were certified teachers. “What about it?”
“They need a baker. They feed the kids breakfast and also need someone to make desserts for lunch. She asked if I’d be interested.”
“I didn’t put her up to it,” he said.
“I know. It would mean that I’d be doing more than just making donuts.”
He took her hand and rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. “You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to.”
Her eyes glistened suddenly, and he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that it’s more than I ever thought possible.”
“Baking for the school?”
She sniffled and smiled at him. “I know it’s only a handful of kids and the teachers, but when your mom explained to me that already dragons were asking if I could help out, it just made me feel so welcomed. We’ve been here a day, and your people just opened their arms so willingly.”
“They’re not my people, sweetheart, they’re ours.”
“Yeah. It feels like it.”
“Then you want to help out with the school?”
“Yes. Is that okay?”
“Whatever you want is okay with me.”
“I was thinking about asking Jules if she’d like to help.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“She’s sweet. I think we’ll be great friends.”
“And family.”
She went onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him sweetly. “I thought I’d lost everything but you when we had to leave Tomb, but I feel like I’ve gotten so much more than I ever thought possible. I’m thankful every day that you’re in my life.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
His dragon trilled in agreement as he lowered his head and kissed her. He was positive that no dragon in existence was as happy as he was at that moment with his sweet mate in his arms.