Talk About… Rivalry (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #2)

35. Sidney

Sidney

W e were ten hours into the labor. Reports the nurses gave us were that she was nearly dilated and being monitored.

We had all napped on and off but the excitement and hospital cafeteria coffee were keeping us going.

Until now. Charlie and Mama Whitaker were passed out in one of the recliners, the omega settled on her alpha’s chest.

Nash and Cameron had stretched out and tucked their hats over their eyes, and hadn’t moved for an hour.

Leo had snuck into a storage room and grabbed some blankets, making a pallet on the floor where he and Taylor were snuggled in shamelessly. I loved their easy friendship.

Bennett was off in search of snacks and Maverick and I had been working quietly. He was doing some paperwork, for the bar or the fair I wasn’t sure which.

I had been sketching out some artwork ideas. After my talk with Leo the ideas hadn’t stopped flowing and I had half my book full of ideas for canvases the moment I could get myself to a craft store.

Maverick let out a low sigh. I glanced up to see his eyebrows creased as he stared at his screen. I don’t think he even realized he’d made a sound.

Setting my own work aside, I focused on my alpha. I gently pulled the laptop from his hands and placed it carefully on the seat beside him. He blinked up at me, trying to figure out what I was doing.

I simply straddled his lap and wrapped my arms around his middle before resting my cheek against his cheek. His entire body relaxed around me and he breathed deeply the same way I did to him.

His rugged scent tickled my nose, easing my own exhaustion a little. Vanilla, amber, sandalwood, and a hint of sharp citrus to round it out.

“What has you sighing like that?” I finally asked once I’d soaked in the affection of his embrace.

“This Artisan Fair,” he admitted, voice laced in exhaustion that wasn’t from my heat.

“What about it?”

He buried his nose into my neck, taking another breath before he answered my question.

“I’ve got a lot of vendors, but I need to vet them first. I don’t want someone there selling something they bought online, it’s meant to be hand-crafted and I’m drowning in the emails.

“Make a form,” I said. “You can make an online form that they submit with all those questions already on it. There’s a way to lock in necessary questions so they can’t submit without an answer.”

He was quiet, then he chuckled.

“See, this is why I need you. I didn’t even know those existed,” he said with a gentleness most wouldn’t expect from Maverick.

“I’ve used those quite a few times, I can make one up if you’d like,” Leo offered. His voice was rough with sleep as he came over and gently lifted Maverick’s laptop and took that seat.

“That would be amazing,” Maverick admitted.

“Alright, next problem,” I said. “You’ve got to rely on us just like you expect me to rely on you guys.”

Maverick was quiet for a moment but I didn’t bother to move to read him, he’d finish talking when he was ready.

“We had a lot of the booths in storage, but I need to pull it all out and do a test on each then figure out how many more to buy,” he started.

“We can help with that,” Bennett said, his scent preceding his footsteps. He settled into his chair and sat a bag of food down. We didn’t all lunge for it, instead just soaking in this pack moment. It felt too significant to break and I liked to think that me being in Mav’s arms was helping him reach out to us.

“How are you funding it?” Taylor’s voice joined us now, settling on Bennett’s lap. I smiled over at them both. They were beautiful together and a pang of need hit me, even as my body protested.

Just seeing them turned me on but this wasn’t the time.

“Table fees,” Maverick said. “If we get enough slots filled we should be able to cover the initial costs. Mayor Adams is giving us the permits for the old distillery grounds for free since it’s such a benefit to the town.”

I snorted. “I bet the town council loved that. Avery always said the others were stuck in their ways.”

“That’s putting it nicely,” Leo muttered. “It took me a two hour explanation with visual aids before I could get my business license.”

“Even they couldn't argue Rockwood Valley needed this boost,” Maverick said. “That and my glare holds power sometimes.”

Taylor chuckled. “It does.”

“Run us through the rest of the fair,” Bennett encouraged.

“If Leo handles the form, then we simply go through and pick this year’s vendors. I’ll have to check the booths and figure out just how many we can accommodate,” he explained. “Then I’d like to book live music to fill the times we’re open.”

“What about things for kids?” Taylor chimed in. “It’ll be different times of year, but in fall we could do a haybale play area or something.”

“That’s genius,” Maverick said, his voice perking up now. “We could rent out some inflatable things.”

“Or build a play area out on the grounds,” Leo said. “The council could use town funds for it, the space would benefit everything they run.”

“Maybe a face painter, there’s no way one of those submissions wouldn’t be something like that,” I added.

Now that everyone was throwing in ideas I could picture the festival in my head. Kids laughing and walking around with their cute little faces covered in art, the smell of food and sweets in the air, music filtering through the chatter of the crowd, and people moving up and down the aisles of the vendors.

“We used to have bigger areas for the blacksmith and glass blowers to do demonstrations,” Maverick said. “I’d love to have that again.”

“We should create some kind of welcome basket or tote for the vendors, something extra for the demonstrations,” I said. “Kind of like the one we just got though very different things inside.”

Taylor cracked up. “What, you don’t want to hand out lube?”

“It’s not that kind of demonstration, love,” Bennett joked, pulling him closer as he looked at me, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I love that idea, Sidney,” Maverick said. “Leo, can you add a note to the document that’s open?”

“On it,” Leo said, the keyboard tapping gently filling the following silence. It was comfortable enough I snuggled in closer and Maverick brushed a kiss over the top of my head with a contented sigh.

“Alright, I saw the logo on the document and used it for the form,” Leo said. “Now we just need the questions outside of basic information, like name, business name, location, number, and email.”

“If there’s long answer options, I’d like to have them explain what they bring to the Fair.”

“Add in a disclaimer that this is for artisans only, meaning hand-crafted goods and homemade food,” I suggested, turning to face Leo. His eyebrows were furrowed as he typed in what we were suggesting.

“Okay, done,” he said, glancing up at us. “What else?”

“You should offer an advertisement add on. Feature in a newsletter, the paper if we can talk to the local paper as well, maybe even a feature on the website. Avery will be up and going by then so she could fix that up as well.”

“Good idea, angel,” Bennett said, pride in his voice.

“I think if you need someone to run this with you, Sidney has a good mind for this,” Leo said absently as he typed in the additional section. My cheeks warmed and I bit back a smile, feeling their pride and Maverick’s appreciation in the bond.

Right now with us all so close it was humming between us, growing stronger as we fell into a comfortable companionship that was missing before.

We continued tossing out ideas until the form was exactly what Maverick needed. I shifted off of his lap so Leo could show him the form and how to send it out to the email addresses of those who’d shown interest when he was ready.

“Don’t forget to add Sidney’s email as well for a vendor,” Leo added. Every set of eyes shifted to me, a mix of confusion and surprise on their faces.

“For her art,” Taylor said, nodding his head like this all made sense.

Even though I hadn’t outright shown them or talked about it, they’d watched me sketch over the past few hours on and off.

“Yes, I mentioned to Leo how I missed painting on canvas and he suggested we turn the garage into a studio.”

“Tell me you’ll share the sketches, too,” Bennett said. “I’d like to frame a few of them in the packhouse already.”

I bit my lip, barely able to stop the smile as I felt their excitement building for me, mixing with my own, even if a little hesitation clung to me.

It had been far too long since anyone saw my art, let alone shared it with the world.

Could I do it?

When I glanced around at the men surrounding me, felt the way they were sure of it, I felt some of my own confidence building.

“Leave it open, and try out the studio first,” Maverick suggested.

“I might need to commission a big piece for the lounge. There’s a spot near the bar I haven’t found anything to fit there.

“You should paint yourself, Sidney,” Taylor said, his voice gentle. “Just how we see you.”

“That feels a bit narcissistic,” I laughed, but I was the only one who found it amusing. The others were all in agreement.

“We should find a red dress for her, have her pose and take a picture as inspiration for it. The color would match the tone of the shop,” Bennett suggested.

“You want me to paint myself?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. I’m going to pay you like any client would, for a piece of art that ties my lounge together,” Leo said firmly.

“It’s not conceited, it’s a way to heal, to see yourself differently,” Maverick said. My eyes widened. That was the last thing I expected from Maverick. He let out a grunt at my shock. “Don’t argue with me, omega.”

“Okay, alpha,” I said, my voice breathless under the weight of their reverence. It wasn’t anything I could have ever dreamed of, but it seemed my pack was ready to show me that reality was far better than the fantasy I’d been running from.

We settled back into silence, Bennett finally passing out the food that he’d brought as we all thought over the changes coming our way.

The quiet was broken as the doors slammed open and Ford rushed out. He was looking ragged but beaming with pure happiness.

“They’re here.”