Page 1 of My Boyfriend Marks Trees
Chapter 1
Skree!
The brown squirrel with a white streak on top of his head—which Ares and his siblings had nicknamed Skippy—had plenty to say about Ares sawing the tree.
So did his wolf.
One bite and it will be quiet.
His reply to his furry other half?You know how I feel about ingesting raw meat in this form.
I’ve seen how you eat your steak.
Difference is steak isn’t covered in hair and is delicious.
On that, at least they agreed.
“Sorry, little fellow, but this sucker is slated for the market,” Ares told Skippy. The entire field had been originally started by his dad more than two decades ago. When his father passed, Ares took over the planning and maintenance of the fir, spruce, and pine trees that people coveted for the holiday season.
The worst part of the squirrel’s harangue? It didn’t even have a nest in that particular fir. None in the other three it freaked out about, either. It would seem Skippy had claimed the entire field as his own.
Ares crouched and continued sawing.
Grack.The agitated squirrel yelled before it dumped snow on Ares’ exposed neck.
“Bloody hell!” He rolled to his back and gave it a glare. The critter didn’t seem impressed, as it continued to harangue him.
Bullied by a rodent. The humiliation,his wolf lamented.
Honestly, more annoying than embarrassing. Ares bared his teeth and growled.
The squirrel proceeded to let loose a stream of pee, and Ares only barely managed to avoid getting drenched.
“Keep it up and I will eat you,” Ares warned. The squirrel gave him the critter equivalent of a “fuck you” and leaped to another tree, one better suited for the creature since it hadn’t yet reached the proper size for selling and Ares had no plans to take it down yet.
Once more, Ares crouched under the lowest boughs and finished cutting. Then, because there lurked a little boy inside him, he yelled, “Timber!” as it fell onto the frozen ground, puffing the thin layer of snow.
He got caught. His younger sister, Selene—who could sneak like nobody’s business—chirped, “For a second, I thought you might start singing that Timber song by Pitbull and Ke$ha.”
“Never. You know I don’t do that modern-pop shit,” he grumbled.
“Or Christmas music or anything with a fun rhythm,” his sister complained.
“I like the classics.” The classics being Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC. He’d grown up listening to it because of his dad and found it more satisfying than anything put out today.
“You’re like an old man stuck in a twenty-seven-year-old’s body,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Not old, more like an enjoyer of the classics.”
“No wonder you’re still single. Maybe you should try hitting up the retirement homes. I’m sure someone there will appreciate your taste in music.”
“Ha. Ha. So funny. What’s up? Did you need something?”
“More like wondering if you need a hand at the market?” she asked.
“Depends. Are you going to complain it’s cold and wander off buying everything in sight while I do the work?”
Selene’s cheek dimpled as she smiled. “Probably. But I wanted to be polite and offer.”