Page 47 of A Light in the Dark
“Oh, Joel, you found yourself a smart one.” Jolena smiled, came around the counter, and gave my cheek a kiss. As we did the same in my neck of the woods, I returned thegesture. “Just for that, I’m going to give you a little treat for the grill. Most don’t figure it out just based on names, and my sister takes after my pappy while I take after my mammy, and Mammy doesn’t much take after Aunty because Mammy takes after Grandpappy on the one side and Aunty takes after Grandmammy on the other.”
“And Joel takes after his daddy?” I guessed.
“He sure does, and he’s a dead ringer. Handsome as they come, men on that side of the family line. His daddy is a smart one but never felt like working in Stonecreek, so Joel here ran off with ideas he surely inherited from his daddy and made them a reality.”
“He probably had to go get rich so he could afford to buy all that silk.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Seriously, Joel. You don’t have to buy all the silk stock, I swear.”
“Yolana got the navy in.”
“I know she did. We were talking about you when she confirmed the dye job had gone well and how she was going to save the best bolt of it for you, else we’d never hear the end of it. And she saved the white for you, too, knowing you’d use the whole thing up making your suit shirts. Maybe that’ll keep you busy for ten whole minutes.”
“I bought everything I could get my greedy hands on, but Valerie said I couldn’t buyeverything.”
“He bought some of everything anyway, but only because he justified it through having actually used his last silk on curtains and he needed to do a bunch of sheets.” I shook my head at the insanity of it all. “He rolled around on the floor like a toddler.”
“Did he scream and cry?”
“I think he thought about it!” I laughed over the insanity of it all, and I browsed the woman’s selection, spotted her section dedicated to wild fowl, and read the list, eyeballing two species of duck that were listed as having been dressed that morning. I pointed at them. “Will these be okay for transit back to Stonecreek tomorrow?”
Unlike chicken, I liked wild fowl and duck.
“Absolutely. I have both of those types in the freezer already. You just have Joel give me a ring when you want to get them, and I’ll rig a cooler for you.”
I stared at Joel.
“If you want to load a cooler up with meat to haul back to Stonecreek tomorrow, I’m not going to stop you. We’ll have the trailer, so it’ll be trivial to fit the cooler in the back. I’ll bring the one we got over at my parents’ place over.”
“Can I have one of each wild fowl? Is it possible? Anything that doesn’t taste likechicken.” As I was so sick and tired of chicken, I made a show of gagging. “If I have to eat another piece of chicken for the next month, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Jolena snickered. “If you don’t mind everything frozen, I got one of all the stuff I carry; it’s only if you want it fresh that I’d have to call around to the local hunters to see if any can do me a favor. I can promise that none of the wild fowl taste anything like chicken.”
Well, if frozen was an option, and the cooler could fit everything, I had space in my spare freezer for everything—and a healthy interest in getting a new generator for my basement. “Okay, I’ll take one of each type of bird unless it’s small, in which case I’ll take enough to feed four people.” I browsed the rest of her offerings, licking my lips at thethought of getting my hands on some wild deer. “What do you have in the way of deer?”
“I just got in three carcasses this morning, so you can have everything your heart desires. I can have them butchered for you for delivery tomorrow morning. They’re in my cold storage.”
I pointed at my favorite part, which was the entire back haunch including the leg. “I want one of those, please.”
I would use the rest of my bonus to get the fancy charcoal grill with propane backup I wanted, and I’d buy an overhang for my backyard, which I would cover with rose vines so I could grill in any weather without getting wet.
Life would be good—and I would lure the luna moth shifter into paying visits to me. At first, I’d settle with luring him out while a luna moth, but in time, I’d coax him into making appearances while a man.
“You’re going to need a second cooler, Joel.”
“I will steal both of Dad’s coolers, no problem. And if not, I’ll go buy a new one. I could use it.”
“You really could. I’ll go pick you up a good one and spare you the errand. And as I have to run errands for you, I’ll sell you your favorites and fill the extra space with it.”
“Deal. Pay at pickup?”
“Yep. I’ll bill you for the stuff you’re taking for dinner and have everything else ready for you for the morning.”
As I was the kidnapping victim and he was the handsome kidnapper, he paid for my steak and everything for dinner, and he grabbed a few extra steaks, all of which were good cuts. I waited, shifting my weight from foot to foot, anticipating the moment I could listen to the sizzle of meat touching a grill.
“I think Valerie likes grilling, Joel.”
“I’m thinking you might be right. Are you going to be okay for the fifteen minute drive to get to my parents’ place?”
