by Sable Sylvan
“Now, we can use this to sweeten the lemonade,” said Liam. He pulled the jug, filled with lemon juice and marionberry mash, close, and he added water from the filtered water jug in the fridge, before he added the lemon zest syrup, swirling it all around until he had a bright violet liquid. Liam pulled out two glasses, filled them with the leftover ice from the ice bath, and poured in the lemonade. “It’s a bit warm, but it’s good. Trust me.”
Daisy sipped. The lemonade was similar to the lemonade she made with the Meyer lemons, but there was an added kick. The marionberries made the drink taste like a dark red wine sangria, as marionberries, a special cultivar of blackberries only found around Port Jameson, had a tannic taste, like red wine. The ripeness of the marionberries, so ripe they were almost bursting, meant the berries were extra sugary, but combined with the tartness of the Meyer lemon syrup, the lemonade wasn’t too sugary.
The lemonade was slightly warm from being freshly made but the temperature varied because of the presence of the ice cubes, the lemonade chilling as it ran over the ice cubes and into Daisy’s mouth. There was something else too, a floral taste that was almost slightly powdery, but which had an underlying sweetness. The texture of the lemonade was varied by the presence of the grainy syrup, the pulp of the lemons and the marionberries, and the ruggedness of the tiny bits of zest.
“That’s the most amazing lemonade I’ve ever had,” said Daisy.
“You know, it might be the best lemonade I’ve ever made,” said Liam. “But to be fair, I did have some help.” Liam shot her a wicked wink.
Liam took a sip and paused, thinking. “What is it?” asked Daisy.
“It’s just...it does taste different somehow,” said Liam. “What sort of sugar do you use?”
“Oh! I know what’s different,” said Daisy. “I put lavender in my sugar, because it’s good with tea. I leave a few sprigs in, shaking the bag once every few days.”
“That must be it, it does taste floral,” said Liam.
“Sorry, I should’ve let you know,” said Daisy.
“No, this is awesome,” said Liam. “You mind if I borrow that idea for my own syrup?”
“Only if you promise to name a cocktail after me,” said Daisy.
“I can see it now,” said Liam, putting his glass down before spreading his arms wide as if he was reading a fake marquee. “The Daisy Special. Fifteen dollars a pitcher, The Daisy Special is only sold as a pitcher because it’s best for sharing with friends. The drink consists of marionberry lemonade with a kick of Daisy’s secret syrup.”
“Oh, stop,” said Daisy with a laugh. “I’ll get the lemonade and lunches ready, you get Bill and Wylie cleaned up for lunch.”
“Alrighty,” said Liam, and as he walked away from Daisy, he accidentally-on-purpose brushed against her shoulder, his warm flannel covered forearm brushing against Daisy’s shoulder.
“Oh, sorry,” said Liam, turning back to Daisy, but Daisy walked right into Liam’s chest...and as he caught her, he looked down, at the same moment she was looking up. Their lips brushed and without thinking about it, Liam pulled Daisy up onto the counter, sitting her ample hips down while he held her by the waist with one arm, rubbing her soft shoulders with his other hand.
Daisy had gone from the floor to the counter in five seconds flat and was more than a little disoriented, but what was more confusing than her spatial location was why Liam had his lips against hers, and why it felt so right to be kissed by him...but the weirdest thing was, Daisy was kissing him back! She hadn’t intended to at first, but her body instinctively touched Liam’s strong forearm, feeling the firm bear shifter’s bicep and then, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders so that her hands were on his broad shoulders while she pulled herself up to deepen the kiss.
As their lips touched, Liam’s eyes flashed, a bright white color that had cool blue tones that matched his eyes, but Daisy barely noticed, instead, focused on enjoying the moment with Liam before she inevitably woke up, because kissing Liam was like something out of a dream.
Their tongues met, for a split second, just long enough for Daisy to taste both Liam and the delicious lemon zest and lavender syrup, before Daisy pulled back. Liam wasn’t even her boyfriend: he was basically her rival, as the leader of the pack of bear shifters that she’d had at the end of her shotgun that very week! There was no way that he was the first guy she’d kissed in the Pacific Northwest. It just made no sense...although the animal magnetism that Liam had was undeniable. Maybe it was those shifter pheromones at work.
“That was...an accident,” said Daisy softly, blushing. As she pulled away, she could still taste Liam in her mouth, a taste that was more intoxicating than the delicious beverage they’d concocted, together.
“My kind of accident,” said Liam with a smile, acting casual although his shifter eyes flashed from within, betraying his actual emotions, as the flash was a sign that his bear wanted out. “You need help with that tray, ma’am?” Liam made a gesture as if he was tipping a cowboy hat.
“No, but I could use some help off this counter,” said Daisy, her feet dangling off the side of the counter. Liam gave her his hand and helped her off the counter just as the boys walked in the back entrance to clean up for the meal. Daisy adjusted her tank top and jeans, hoping there weren’t any telltale wrinkles from the passionate impromptu kiss, before fixing the halter neck top and hoping to God that the shifters couldn’t smell just how aroused she was by Liam, although she was sure that they’d be able to smell his scent on her from a mile away.
After straightening herself up, Daisy poured the glasses of lemonade and pulled the lunches out of the fridge, placing them on the casual dining room’s table with a bunch of cutlery, before she pulled out her own salad, a simple salad made of fresh greens with some croutons and some olive oil and lemon dressing. It wasn’t much but it was enough. She took her place at the table and waited for everyone else to arrive.
The boys walked in, their shirts bundled under their arms, and they dropped the long-sleeved flannels off under their shirts. Daisy couldn’t help but stare: the guys were all wearing dark black shirts that hugged their chests, the shirts riding up around the hem and revealing their Adonis belts and happy trails.
“Hey, Daisy, I heard Liam made his famous lemonade,” said Wylie, pretending he didn’t notice Daisy eating him up with her eyes. Wylie sipped at his glass. “Bill, you’ve got to try this, it’s amazing.”
“Alright,” said Bill, pulling up his glass. He sipped at it. “Wow, that is good. What’s in it?”
“Lavender sugar in the syrup, it makes a big difference,” said Liam, sipping at his glass. “It’s all thanks to Daisy.” Daisy watched Liam’s lips as he sipped at the glass. She saw the mark of his lips on the glass and wondered what that spot would taste like. Liam’s lips were fascinating to her, now that she’d had a sample of what he had to offer...and it was making her panties so wet she was worried she’d leave a stain on her seat.
“Oh, it’s really no big deal,” said Daisy as the men unbundled their lunches. Each of the men had brought two containers to work: one big, one smaller. Daisy started in on her own salad and in a few minutes, was finished. She cleared her plate and started to do her dishes.
Liam followed after her. “Aren’t you going to eat anything else?” asked Liam.
“Me? No, I had my salad,” said Daisy, turning to Liam. She found herself wishing that he would prop her up onto the counter again and kiss her.
“What, that was it?” asked Liam, taking the sponge from Daisy and tossing it out the window.
“Hey, that’s my sponge!” said Daisy, now annoyed rather than aroused.
“I’ll buy you another,” said Liam, taking Daisy by the shoulder with his right hand and by the hand with his left. “Come on, Daisy. You’re not just going to eat some rabbit food for lunch, that’s bullshiz and you know it.”
“This is so stupid,” said Daisy, blushing bright red but glad that Liam was touching her, as it sent a
rush through her body, a primal signal that made her own body want to mate, even as a human. “That’s all I have for lunch.”
“No, it’s not,” said Liam. “I brought you something because I had a suspicion you weren’t eating enough.” Liam sat Daisy back down and gave her a spoon and pushed his second container of lunch towards her.
Daisy opened the container. Inside was a small burrito with a spring of parsley on top. “Where did you get a burrito?” asked Daisy. “I haven’t had Mexican food since I came up north.”
“We make them at the Saloon,” said Liam. “Try it. It’s good, I promise. Made it myself.”
Daisy lifted up the burrito and bit in. The tortilla was surprisingly fresh and the insides were delicious. A corn salsa was spicy and sweet, and the inside contained pulled pork, which she hadn’t had since she’d left Texas. “This burrito is amazing,” said Daisy.
“Means a lot, coming from a Southern babe,” said Liam. “I mean, woman. Southern woman.”
Wylie passed Daisy another container. “Here. For you.”
“This is going to be way too much,” said Daisy. “No way. I can’t eat all your food.”
“Eat up,” said Bill, who had been very quiet, working on his own delicious lunch. “He brought it for you.”
“You brought this for me?” asked Daisy. “Alright then.” Daisy opened the container. Inside was a heart broccoli salad. Unlike Daisy’s limp leafed salad, this salad had big pieces of broccoli coated in bits of real bacon, covered with a generous creamy dressing containing a bit of parmesan, with sunflower seeds and pieces of red onion to bring it all together. Daisy ate the whole thing and was left absolutely stuffed.
“That was really good,” said Daisy. “But this means you have to let me make you something next week.”
“Not a chance,” said Bill with a laugh.
“Fine, I’ll make next week’s lunch, but you can make next week’s dinner,” said Daisy.
“Deal,” said Bill. He reached over and firmly shook Daisy’s hand. Daisy had never felt Bill’s hand before and hadn’t expected the smallest of the shifters to have the strongest grip.
After the boys went back out to the fields, Daisy cleaned out the plastic containers and left them to dry before checking in on Wylie and the accounting, but Daisy couldn’t get her mind off of how natural it had felt to be with Liam in the kitchen, cooking with him and eating with him and the rest of the bear boys. While her feelings for Wylie had developed the day before, her feelings for Liam were just starting to bloom, and Bill still remained a mystery to her, a mystery which pulled her in and fascinated her.
Later in the night, Daisy took her pickup truck full of berries down to the grocer’s and sold them before coming back up the hill to the farm. When she got back to the farm, the sedan the boys had taken to the farm was gone, the lights were off, and the tools were all put away, the last of the berries of the day’s harvest in the cold storage, but Daisy found herself missing the presence of all three Williams.
After everyone went home that night, Daisy opened her fridge to see what she had for dinner, but inside, there was a large container, with a note, “For Daisy, From Bill”. Daisy pulled out the container, which had been smaller than Bill’s dinner container but which was larger than the other containers she’d eaten out of that day. Inside the container was a full dinner, consisting of mashed potatoes, a piece of corn on the cob, and two hamburger patties.
Daisy reheated the food and drank the last of the lemonade with the dinner. The dinner was filling and Daisy couldn’t believe that the bear shifters had been so thoughtful that day. There was no way that she was going to be able to top the lunch they’d made her, but she was going to try.
Chapter Four
There were no limp-lettuce salads the next week. Daisy brought the heat and prepared a full spread and when the boys showed up, she went straight to work cooking. Wylie worked in the office, sorting up the last of the files, and Liam and Bill tended to the fields, with a new system where one of the boys would wash the berries and another would pick them, switching every few hours. Daisy brought lemonade to all the boys to keep them hydrated, using the simple syrup made the week before with Liam.
Daisy worked in the kitchen and got changed before lunch, as her clothes were absolutely soaked and smelly from the cooking. She got changed into one of her special dresses, a purple dress with a fit and flare cut, a fitted bodice, and a halter tie, with white polka dots and white piping on the hems and seams, before she primped her hair and slipped on a pair of white sandals.
Daisy had made the practical decision that if she didn’t need to be wearing tight jeans and stuffy boots, given that she had laborers for the weekends, she could afford to wear something nice and light on the weekends, letting her barking dogs breathe before she had to go back to another week of wearing the tight work boots and denim pants. On the hot, humid summer day, an airy dress was a perfect choice, as were sandals. Of course, given that she had put on the dress and sandals, she’d had to complete the look with appropriate hair. Her mother would have had a heart attack if she hadn’t at least tried to look a bit presentable, the same mother who had somehow managed to basically run the farm while mothering Daisy and the rest of her siblings and working part-time shifts down at the donut factory, a woman who could truly do it all.
She put on her trusty blue check apron as she carried the food onto the fully set dining table: there was a fresh pitcher of lemonade, as well as a big tray of lasagna, a Greek orzo salad, potato salad, roasted zucchini, and a big platter of steaks. For dessert, she had a real treat in store she’d bring in later.
Once all the food was on the table, Daisy called all the boys in using a cowbell that they’d brought her so that she wouldn’t have to go out into the fields to collect them all. It was corny and country and absolutely perfect for Daisy, as it reminded her of the farm back in Texas.
The boys came in and washed up while Daisy poured the lemonade, and when they came in, they all gasped audibly at the spread on the table. Daisy could be tough as nails at times, but she knew her away around both the fields and the kitchen.
Of course, what the bear shifters were focused on wasn’t the food, but the woman who had made it. They’d never seen Daisy with her hair down, in a dress with cute sandals instead of work boots or cowboy boots, but Daisy looked like a Southern belle, the woman of their dreams. Of course, all of Daisy’s clothes showed off her natural curves, as jeans and tank tops were made for women with Daisy’s body. A dress, however, made Daisy look more feminine and the sandals left Daisy’s cute toes exposed for all to see. Even though the dress was relatively modest, Daisy’s sensual curves filled the dress out which made the outfit enticing to all three of the men.
“Well, don’t just stare, eat up!” said Daisy, looking over the three farm hands, who were cleaned up for lunch but still had messy hair from a long day of work.
The boys didn’t have to be told twice. They went to work on the delicious food. The lasagna was the hottest dish on the table, but they couldn’t resist the savory mix of ricotta cheese, tomato sauce made of the freshest tomatoes west of the Mississippi, and fresh ground beef from a local butcher.
The Greek orzo salad was the most exotic dish on the table, but the chilled salad was perfect, the vinaigrette and olive oil adding some acidity to the otherwise light and herbal dish.
The potato salad was made according to Daisy’s family recipe and it contained fresh potatoes (a mix of red potatoes and Yukon gold) as well as more chives and bacon than she could shake a stick at.
The steaks were made the way they were meant to be made: rubbed down with salt and pepper, fried in a pan full of pure fresh butter, the steaks were all so rare they were practically blue. The steaks were the first dish to be finished off by the boys, although of course, they gave Daisy first pick.
Daisy brought in the dessert. A large dark chocolate forest cake, covered in chocolate shavings, with whipped cream and cherries on top, it was lar
ge enough for each of the shifters to have a huge slice. She placed the cake and carefully served a slice to each shifter
“Daisy, this is the best cake I’ve ever had,” said Liam. “What’s your secret?”
Daisy smiled. “You’ll never believe me, but...coffee and mayonnaise. The coffee brings out the chocolate flavor and the mayo is very emollient, it adds a lot of moisture to the cake. It’s a little trick my grandma taught me.”
“Well, it’s awesome, and I want to steal this trick for my lava cakes,” said Liam.
“You can make lava cake?” asked Daisy.
“Well, yeah, I’m actually a licensed pastry chef,” said Liam. “I do have a day job, you know.”
“Never would’ve guessed,” teased Daisy. She served herself a slice of the cake and dug in. The cake was moist but still bouncy, not too cakey and compressed like a brownie. The whipped cream’s lightness went perfectly with the cake. The whipped cream was made from local dairy that Daisy had whipped up herself and the maraschino cherries on top of each slice were harvested and preserved by a farm outside of Seattle, which specialized in the cultivation of Washington’s Rainier cherries.
“This is awesome,” said Bill, serving himself another slice of cake. “But you know what would make this even better?”
“No, what?” asked Daisy.
“Marionberries, of course,” said Bill. “Fresh marionberries would be perfect for the cake.”
“That’s a really good idea,” agreed Wylie. “But I’m sure Daisy’s going to love the dessert we have in store for tonight.”
“What did you guys bring?” asked Daisy.
“That’d spoil the surprise,” said Wylie with a wink as he served himself another slice of cake. Daisy couldn’t eat another bite and she got started on stacking the plates.
Daisy cleaned up the dining room and the kitchen, loading up the dishwasher and starting it before heading back into the office. Wylie had cleaned the entire office up that morning, there weren’t any papers left on the ground anymore, and everything was in its place. Wylie was just running numbers using accounting programs and comparing stuff on spreadsheets.