“I love and hate you all in equal measure,” Ottis muttered.
“Well, we love you,” Dad said, watching Ottis shrewdly. “Stay safe, and remember to call or text if you need help.”
“I will,” Ottis said, jerking when Doc stepped into the room with a huge tray of food. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
Doc cleared his throat. He took a breath like he was about to speak, then glanced at Ottis’ phone.
Right. Ottis’ family were wolves. Their ears might be sharp enough to recognize Doc’s voice, especially if he was well-connected.
“Is that someone your dad and I know?” Papa asked. He had been quiet through the conversation, but he preferred to listen to everyone’s sides first before making a decision.
“Um,” Ottis said. “He’s bringing me breakfast.”
He waved Doc over and gestured for him to set the tray on the bed. Then he turned the phone to show his family the indulgent spread: fluffy omelets, thick Belgian waffles, a variety of muffins and pancakes, and bowls of strawberries and blueberries. There were even little jugs of maple syrup and sweetened condensed milk, and a platter of shaved ham and cheese. And in the middle of it all, a huge sausage.
“Holy crap,” Ottis said, drooling. “This looks amazing.”
“That looks like a good spread,” Papa said approvingly. “Who made it?”
Doc’s chest puffed out. He left the room, only to return immediately with a tray of drinks; Hijinks must’ve been standing in the hallway with it.
“You’re not getting answers out of me,” Ottis said. “This is enough proof that I’m not dying in a ditch somewhere, so I’m gonna go now. Have a good morning, all of you. Bye!” He ended the call and tossed aside the phone, blowing out a deep breath. “Gods, that was tense.”
Doc nudged the tray closer. “Sometime soon, I’ll cook something for you myself. When you don’t want five different dishes at the same time.”
“I didn’t need all this,” Ottis pointed out.
“That may be so, but I wanted to impress you.” Doc’s eyes crinkled. “I wanted you to know that I’m able to provide.”
That... That was really nice of him.
“Thank you,” Ottis said quietly. He studied the drinks on the second tray—a large mug full of coffee, two smaller mugs of coffee and tea, along with glasses of milk and OJ. He picked the smaller mug of coffee and dumped a ton of milk and sugar in it. “Some other day, I’d love to have vanilla ice cream for my coffee.”
“Of course,” Doc rumbled, taking the large mug of coffee for himself. He added milk and sugar to it, then popped a bendy straw in the mug—so he could drink with his scarf still on. “That sounds delicious.”
He watched eagerly as Ottis sampled the food. The omelets were perfectly cooked—one contained sliced ham, the other had sautéed mushrooms. The Belgian waffles came with powdered sugar; Ottis added butter to a corner and crammed it into his mouth. Then he drizzled maple syrup and condensed milk onto a chocolate chip pancake, stuffing that into his mouth too.
“It’s all so good,” he said with his mouth full. He picked up a sugar-crusted blueberry muffin, then accepted a slice of buttered toast with ham on it.
Doc seemed to grow happier with each bite Ottis took.
“I’m stuffed,” Ottis said at the end, rubbing his stomach. “There isn’t space inside me for anything else.”
“Not even from the other end? I noticed you haven’t touched the sausage.”
Ottis snorted coffee out of his nose. Doc looked horrified, scrambling to hand him a bunch of napkins.
“I’m sorry.” Doc rubbed Ottis’ back and watched anxiously while Ottis dried the inside of his nostrils, trying to blow out the rest of the coffee. “Your lungs sound unharmed. Is there anything I can help with?”
Ottis shook his head and dropped his crumpled napkin. “It’s fine. This is nothing.”
Doc frowned, though. “I’m sorry. I should’ve waited for you to be in a better position before I made the joke.”
Ottis groaned. “In a betterposition,really?”
Doc paused. Then he laughed quietly. “You thrust my thoughts in a certain direction, sweetheart.”
Ottis froze. “I’msoglad I wasn’t drinking coffee again,” he said, and burst out laughing. Doc’s eyes crinkled. “Anyway, having coffee up my nose isn’t all that bad. I’ve been through worse.”
