5. Sadie

Deputy Smith drives everyone back to their businesses and homes.

In a very short amount of time I’ve left Townhall and I’m back at my bakery to assess the damage and luckily find everything is fine. All I can see on the streets is enough hail to make it look like a dusting of snow, but it’s already turning to slush.

Lila and I have already been exchanging a flurry of texts and I know that Cora and Sheri are also perfectly fine and at home, reuniting with their own families. My parents and other siblings have checked in and our whole family is safe and sound. This is what’s important.

I put up a sign saying closed today and tomorrow. Then I drive to Lila’s house in the hills. My apartment is over her garage. It”s very nice and completely separate from the main house by pathways and landscaping. How lucky am I to live here? I’ve been able to put the money I would have put toward rent, instead into a series of investments which are now returning nicely.

Lila is home and she’s already got the kids with her. I rush up and we exchange hugs. The four of us assess the damage to the house, which is light. I quickly learn that no one was hurt in Silver Lake and the nearby towns and the damage seems to mainly be roofs, trees and other stuff. No buildings were smashed and no vehicles took flight.

Lila and the kids tell me their stories and I share mine.

“Wow. That’s crazy. We had the warnings and went to the storm shelter. There was roaring wind and hail, but no tornadoes touched down in our town. There were tennis ball sized hail the next town over, though. The tornado tried to touch down right over us,” Lila explains, “but it didn’t fully hit. It got really bad for about eight minutes and then stopped.”

“It wasn’t too bad here,” I say.

The worst was that the trash can blew across the yard so we spend some time picking up trash. Apparently three streets over in the neighborhood the damage was extensive. Trees are down all over, pulled up from the roots. But everyone is okay, no deaths or injuries reported, just some wind damage.

Lila and I spend time looking at and sharing pictures in the town’s social media group. I learn again that everyone was okay and we commiserate over Mrs. Babcock’s downed trees and someone’s large back patio that was torn off and crushed.

We turn on the news and see Bowen answering questions. And then of course Lila finally remembers the fact that she had me arrested by Sheriff Underwood and starts grilling me about what happened.

“Are you going to marry Sheriff Underwood?” my niece questions.

A blush spreads across my face. “I think so.”

“Oh wow. That is so cool,” my nephew says. “He”s like a superhero or something. He”s strong.”

“You”re not wrong.”

And then my cell phone vibrates and I see there”s a message from Bowen. I”m busy with work are you safe?

I smile. Yes. Made it home. No one”s hurt. Everyone”s fine. Don”t worry about me. You do what you need to.

And then he gives me a thumbs up emoji.

In the middle of the night, I get another text. Still working through the night.

I understand.And I also send a heart emoji. The generator has been on all night. That thing is worth its weight in gold. I switch off a light and go to sleep.

Bowen showsup in his black SUV the next morning. There”s a tap on my door. He”s still in his uniform and looks exhausted. I feel kind of bad because I slept great and even showered and put on some makeup. I literally feel bright-eyed and bushy tailed. But, this just means I’ve got plenty of energy to help out the orc who stayed up all night, using his considerable strength to help out everyone in this township, and the next and the next one too.

“Have you slept?”

He shakes his head.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, but between me and all the other first responders in all the agencies the county is safe.” He points at my light. “And the power is back. Finally, I can rest.”

“I saw on the news that you saved someone. You lifted a car?”

He shrugs. “I am stronger than the average human.”

“And you use your powers for good.”

He glances around my apartment. “I”m happy that this has been where you”ve been living. Safe here with your sister and her offspring. But I want you to come and live with me now.”

My eyes widen. “You move fast.”

“At first I was going to ask you out on dates and take this slow.” He shakes his head. “I”m tired of slow. You know how I feel and I know how you feel.” He holds out a big hand. “I”ll tell you more in the car.”

I hold up a finger. “Give me just a minute.” I quickly pack a bag looking around wondering if I”m ever really coming back.

Soon we’re driving away and I send a quick text to Lila letting her know where I’m going.

Damn, he moves fast, she responds. He better really be marrying you. You know how mom and dad feel about that.

I don’t even bother responding because I love my parents, but their old-fashioned ideas do not decide my future. I once let them delay what I wanted when it came to college instead of culinary school. This time I make my own decisions. And what I want is a life with Bowen. Why wait when we both know that we are right for each other?

I eagerly watch out the window as we drive because I do vaguely know where the Sheriff lives. I”ve never been there before because he”s not in town. He”s a little more in the country and it would be too obvious that I was driving there. People say he bought the old Wilson place and it”s nice.

As he drives, I ask him the most important question. “Do you think you”re going to stay here forever? Or is this simply temporary and you”re planning on moving on to bigger and better things than being the Sheriff of this small township?”

He looks at me then back at the road. “Originally it was going to be temporary and I was going to move on, but I do not mind making roots here and creating a life with you. And our sons.”

I suck in a breath. “Our sons?”

He nods. “Staying here is no hardship. If you want to stay here because this is where your ancestors were and this is your place in the world where you have grown roots I will grow roots here with you.”

My eyes are getting watery again. “You”re not just saying that and then ten years from now you”re going to want to move to the big city because you can”t handle this place anymore. That will break my heart.”

“I want to be where you are,” he says and reaches for my hand and squeezes.

“I”m here to the bitter end. I left already and then I came back realizing this is where I want to be. The most I would do is move to a different house within the city. And I could probably handle getting a vacation house somewhere and we could become snowbirds.”

“That”s a good solution,” he laughs.

“Sorry, I”m the type who thinks a lot about the future and strategizes,” I warn.

“It does not bother me. What I am worried most about is that you do not fully understand what you are getting yourself into by mating with an orc. I want to make sure I know you understand orc culture.”

“I do. I mean I read the book.”

He chuckles, “You read that? That was written by Drew Overlook. She’s from the same commune as my tribe.”

“Yes. I”ve read the whole series. I understand exactly what I”m in for. And that”s fine.”

He glances at me sharply. “You”ll never have daughters. You”ll never have children that look half like you and half like me. You will have sons that look very much like me and my tribe.”

“I can do that,” I say.

“I also think the reason why my body is attracted to you and has latched on is because I”m ready to breed. Remember that if we have sex that means you will be instantly pregnant with my son. If we did this tonight, tomorrow you”d be pregnant and you”re going to be a mother right away.”

“Yes, I remember orcs are so potent.”

“Birth control does not work.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I”ve been thinking about it this whole time since I first saw you. I understand the implications that if I were to get together with you, this wouldn”t be a thing where there”d be a long, drawn-out dating, and then we”d be engaged. And then we could do family planning years later.”

“No, there will be none of that. I will be comitted to you for life until the day I die. There”ll be no other for me and I”ll be physically unable to have sex with anyone else. In fact, their touch will disgust me and I will need to come to you sometimes just to inhale your scent so I can calm down because that”s the level of my possessive feelings. Can you handle that? I’ve been told that possessive orc nature can be problematic for most human females.”

I laugh. “This actually makes you sound better to me.”

He turns into a driveway. “Now I want you to see the home I have created with you in my mind.”

“Oh, you bought this especially for us?”

“Yes, remember I moved here and saw you and knew you were my future mate. At first I was going to live in a small rental but I decided I needed to create something that would be ready for our family. I hope you like it.”

“I”m getting all the warm fuzzies because I didn”t realize that you got this for me.”

“I bought it for us and our sons.”

“I love the Wilson house. I knew the family that used to live here.”

“I”ve been having it remodeled but there wasn”t much to do.”

“No, they always kept it up really nice. I mean I”ve never been inside I”ve only seen the outside but that”s what everyone says.”

“It has been too big for me and it”s been odd living there alone. I”m happy to finally bring you here.”

He parks the vehicle. I get out. It”s the middle of the night so I can”t see the outside, but the accent lights are on. It”s not an actual lake house but it”s up higher in the hills around the lake forested area with sweeping views of the Great Lake and the beaches down below, and still within easy driving distance to either my job and his job and also to the newer parts of town that include schools and shopping.

He opens the front door and we go inside. “I like the vaulted ceilings,” he says. “It”s built for humans but can still accommodate me easily. The master bedroom is big enough that I put a California king sized bed which will fit the two of us.”

I walk in and see the dark windows with views of the lake from everywhere from the kitchen. But it”s basically empty.

“I haven”t filled it up any other furniture. I haven”t done much repainting. When I say I remodeled, it was just some doorways that needed widening. A few ceilings needed to be raised. And I did ask them already to remodel the master bath so that one sink is raised for me and one sink is a regular human size for you. The bathtub is bigger, the biggest I could get. I enlarged the shower. In fact, this used to be a five bedroom house and it”s now four bedrooms because I enlarged the bath.”

“Sounds good.”

“But other than that, as you can see, there”s only just the small amount of furniture I needed. You can decorate it as you want.”

We end up in the kitchen and I put the cupcakes I brought in the fridge. “First,” I tell him, “you need to eat and then you need to sleep.”

“Next to you. I need your scent in my lungs.”

“Yes,” I agree. “And now I’m going to feed you. Are there certain dishes you like? Do you only eat certain orc food?”

“I love human food. One thing about humans, you make very good food. But I do have to admit I prefer meat. I am a carnivore. I eat very little vegetables. Although I do enjoy pizza and cupcakes. But if left to my own devices mainly meat. But I can eat anything. I do love orc ale.”

I chuckle. “I”ve heard orc breweries are the best.”

“They are.”

I look through the cabinets and there isn”t much but I”m able to whip up a simple meal and I feed him. Meanwhile, he eats all four cupcakes.

“Where did you grow up?” I question.

“I was born in a small town in Maine. My father left his commune in order to live with my mother in her town, which was very accepting towards the both of us. We visited the commune often to meet with my grandfather, uncles and cousins. But I was raised amongst humans. I graduated from a human high school, the first orc to do so.” He snorts. “They were amazed at first, that I was able to learn so easily.”

“I read your resume.”

He snorts. “That only tells half the story. No one wanted me. All the doors were closed, but I kept trying.”

We chat while he eats and then at the end I can tell he’s fading fast. Finally, the dishwasher is running and I say, “Let’s go to bed.”

He sweeps me up into his arms, grabs my bag, and carries me upstairs. I giggle the entire time because I’ve never been carried like this before. He sets me down at the doorway of the master bedroom. “I”ll give you a better tour of the entire house tomorrow in the light right now we sleep.”

Strangely, I realize I am totally ready for more sleep, especially if it’s next to Bowen.