Page 36 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

“Which sounds good?” I asked. I’d given him multiple options.

“All of them,” Jack said as he took my hand, urging me to lead.

“Dean, grab a cart. It seems like we’ll need one,” I ordered. He didn’t complain as he turned to find one while Jack and I started with the herbs. It was harder to focus on the herbs and which were the freshest with the alphas’ scents wrapped around me, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

They’d come so easily. No complaints. The one time I’d tried to even talk about plants with a date they’d gone glassy eyed and did the whole smile and nod thing. Even Jonathan had beaten around the bush and avoided going plant shopping with me.

Yet here were two alphas, happy to listen to what I knew and fill a cart just to make me happy. Not only that, Jack was genuinely trying to learn more about this part of my life.

As we wove through the aisles, filling not one, but two carts full of plants, I knew that fate gave me the right pack.

Aiden

“Just how many plants did you guys get?” Kai joked as we walked out of the house to join the others when they pulled in from the nursery.

“It looks like they cleared the place,” I muttered, trying to figure out just how they could fit that many plants in the truck. It looked like they brought back an entire forest’s worth of plants in the bed of the truck.

“Some of this is mine,” Tillie said as she hopped out of the truck after Jack.

He and Dean looked tired, happy, and pheromoned the fuck out if the wave of scents that came our way were any indication. Amber, rose, and some hints of vanilla joined into the mix and I couldn’t prevent a shudder at the smell.

Tillie.

She was beautiful and she smelled fucking amazing.

The omega was talking a mile a minute to Dean and Jack as she opened the truck bed and climbed right in to start handing out plants. She was so happy and I could tell completely in her element as she stood there in a pair of wide, flared-leg jeans and one of those long, flowy, cream boho shirts with flowers embroidered on it.

There was a small streak of dirt on her face when I finally came to my senses enough to join in. Kai looked at me closely, checking to make sure I was okay when I held up my hands offering to help.

“Here, can you take the mint and catnip over towards Dean? Tell him it’s going in the window box so he can put it with the others,” Tillie ordered, not making any commentary about my absence before.

I nodded as I grabbed them, taking the plants over to the alpha who was taking off his shirt as the South Carolina humidity really set in. Even in the fall I swear sometimes living here felt like we were swimming in thick air.

Humidity was the worst.

“Tillie said these go in the window boxes… Just how many plants are we ending up with here?” I asked, handing over the small pots I had carried over.

“More than we were originally thinking but she said she’d help us get it all started.”

“So, really, the omega’s scent really drove you and Jack crazy so you were both easy to crack?” Kai popped in out of nowhere, laughing when the alpha threw some dirt over at him. “What? That’s a very small space for two alphas and an omega to be in. I could only imagine how that went.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Dean protested.

“Disappointed?” Kai shot back with a cheeky grin before going over to the truck where Jack was waiting for more plants.

“One day, I’m going to get him back,” Dean muttered as he shook his head at our packmate.

“It wouldn’t stop him in the future,” I said before turning to head back.

“Wait,” Dean said, stopping me before I could even take a step. I turned to see him studying me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright,” I answered. I didn’t have the energy to care that he was fawning over me. “Just tired. I’m always a bit run down after one. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”

“Is everything alright?” Tillie asked, her voice soft and full of concern. I hadn’t realized she’d snuck up on us. Maybe I was more out of it than I thought.

“Yes, just some anxiety,” I said. She was smart enough to read between the words and know it was more complex than just anxiety.

“Then you can sit with me while they unload,” she said with a grin, offering me her hand. There was no hesitation as I slid my palm into hers.