Page 83 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

“Oh god,” he muttered, his cheeks instantly becoming bright red.

“What are you looking to get?” I asked with a wide smile. “I can help you find some things.”

“Well, I haven’t been able to visit my Noni and Abuela like I usually do lately — the game, moving, forming our pack.” He rubbed the back of his neck, almost looking shy. “So, I want to get them a big care package to send their way and maybe… if you want to, I mean if you’re up for it…”

“You want to introduce me to them?” I asked, amazed at how he stumbled over asking to introduce me to his grandmothers. “I’d love that.”

“They’re the ones that raised me,” he explained as we walked down the street towards the shops on main street. Magnolia Ridge had some amazing places that I think would be perfect for local gifts. Jack was happy to let me lead as we enjoyed the brisk autumn breeze around us. “My parents traveled a lot and well… They're my family more than anyone else.”

“Then we better find some amazing gifts for them,” I told him, shifting his arm so it was around me and I slid my arm around his waist. “Now, just what kind of things do they like?”

“Well, they’re chocolate fiends,” he admitted with a grin. “Two omegas in a relationship meant the house was always stacked with snacks.”

“Oh, is it just the two of them?” I asked, curious to know more about his family dynamic.

“Yes,” he explained, a hint of pride in his voice. “They are completely content to live a happy, cozy life. Noni has her kitchen, Abuela has her garden. They had some kids through surrogacy then ended up raising me, too.”

“I bet that house is full of love,” I said as I gave him a squeeze. I could tell my alpha was missing them. “And my vote is snacks, last. There’s a cute kitchen store and a gardening and florist shop next to it. This was meant to be.”

“Perfect,” he mused, kissing my head and letting me guide him toward the kitchen store. They didn’t just have gadgets and cookware, there were specialized seasoning blends and a million cookie cutters and aprons.

Jack perked up as we walked in and I let him take over. I snagged a basket as we passed the stack and Jack quickly started filling it. Jack was the kind of man who loved with his whole soul and I could tell these two ladies were going to be spoiled rotten today.

As they should be.

He picked up an apron that had a bunch of chickens printed on it and grinned.

“My Noni collects aprons like some people collect handbags. I remember one time our dog accidentally snuck off with one and dragged it through the mud. I couldn’t understand why Abuela worked all day getting the stains out. She told me Noni would notice and, sure enough, she went to cook and started yelling about it. Abuela presented her with it freshly cleaned and I think that was the first time I realized how much I wanted a family like that when it was time. One that knew each other’s weird, little quirks and celebrated them.”

“You’ve already done that. You looked out for Aiden when he was nervous about the conversation about babies. You have this way of making sure everyone feels seen and heard that I absolutely adore,” I said as I picked through the other aprons, seeing if any stood out.

He was quiet, so I turned around to see him blinking at me, stunned. “I didn’t realize I was already doing that.”

“It’s just who you are.” I swear this alpha melted on the spot and I couldn’t help but kiss him right there among the gaudy aprons.

He kissed me back tentatively, happy to let me take the lead as I fell into him. The kiss was starting to go past PG when a loud clearing of a throat made us spring apart like two teenagers.

“If you’re done, some of us are trying to shop.”

My face was burning and I’m sure it matched my alpha’s beet red face as we scurried down a few aisles. Once we were away from the two judgmental older women we looked at each other and burst out laughing.

I fell into him as he wrapped his arms around me. This time we didn’t start making out but just held each other as we both tried, and failed, to calm down for—I’m sure—way too long.

Harsh whispers in other aisles just had us snickering as Jack picked out some more items and we checked out with an entire basket full of things.

Next we went to the gardening store and found some new gardening tools, gloves, and a really cute pot that I picked out. It was a touch of me and I just couldn’t pass it up as soon as I saw it. If Jack didn’t think they’d like it, I would love it on my porch.

Jack spent far too long in the garden gnome section before finally choosing a little gnome riding an alpaca. He was colorful and ridiculous and he promised it would fit right in with Abuela’s garden.

This time we refrained from shocking the other customers in the store and went to the food place right next door as our last stop.

As a foodie myself I became instantly invested in the gifts he was picking out from here.

“Okay, you said they like chocolate. What kind? Dark, milk, white? Anything they especially like? Allergies?”

I shot out question after question as I grabbed a hand basket and started looking down the aisles.

“They also do have some other amazing things in here besides just desserts. Some of these jams are local along with some of the butters. The pumpkin butter is one of my favorites. Oh, and if your Noni likes sourdough, I think I have some dehydrated starter back at my house that I can pack up with instructions to include in the care package, too.”