Riley’s Downfall(26)

“Piggy milk?” the man asked, looking at Sterling as if he were daft. “I’m not even sure I’ve ever heard of that. But there is a sow in a pen past the outhouses. You can leave the piglet with the sow if you want to fatten him up.”

What was with everyone trying to eat Bacon? Sterling wasn’t sure if he should yell at the man or just ignore him. It didn’t seem to do any good when he had a holy cow fit. So he chose to ignore the man and head toward the pen.

Maybe the mama pig would let Bacon have some milk straight from the source. The piglet had been a little ornery eating this morning, and Sterling knew it was because the milk he had brought along with him wasn’t warm.

If the sow let Bacon nurse, his little girl would be in heaven.

“Sterling, right?”

Sterling stopped in midstride and turned to see Chey walking up behind him. He switched the rope to his other hand and stuck out his right to shake Chey’s. “Yep, and from my eavesdropping, I take it that you are Chey.”

The man studied Sterling’s hand for a moment but didn’t shake it. Instead he smiled politely and nodded. “I’m Chey. I’m sorry, Sterling, but I don’t touch people. I have a gift and a curse and I wouldn’t want to…set you back.”

They exchanged a polite, simultaneous smile.

Yeah, okay. This guy wasn’t strange in the least. “I was heading over to the pigpen. Do you want to come with me? Bacon needs to eat.”

“Did you just call your pig Bacon?” An arched eyebrow indicated his amused surprise. Sterling was getting really tired of people making fun of his piglet’s name. What the hell was wrong with Bacon? It was adorable. He didn’t think anything was wrong with naming his pig Bacon, but it seemed everyone else had a different opinion. Sterling just wished he knew why everyone looked so dang surprised when he said his piglet’s name.

“I did,” Sterling grumbled as he walked away, heading for Bacon’s breakfast. He didn’t like people making fun of his pig.

“I wasn’t trying to offend you,” Chey said as he caught up with Sterling. “It’s just an odd name for a pig.”

“Why?” Sterling asked. “I don’t get why everyone gives me shocked looks when I tell them my pet’s name. What was I supposed to name her, Fido?”

Chey chuckled, shaking his head and waving for Sterling to lead the way. “No, Bacon is a fine name for the little pig.”

Sterling spotted the pen and was amazed that there was only the mother and her four little pigs. From the way the elven men acted, there should have been a whole pen full of them. He scooped Bacon up and pushed through the bottom rung of the wooden fence, going right into the muddy pen. Ew, the place was a mess. Why on earth would anyone let pigs lay in a muddy pen?

“Are you sure you should be in there? Don’t mother animals get cranky when people go near their babies?” Chey asked, placing his hands on the top of the small wooden fence.

“Nah, she’s fine.” Sterling walked over and knelt down in front of the mama pig, holding Bacon out for her to sniff. When she didn’t protest, Sterling sat Bacon down and nudged her on the bottom toward a nipple. “Eat your breakfast, Bacon.”

Bacon ambled up to the mother, sniffed, and then began to eat like she had been starving for days, making the cutest little grunting noises.

“Wow. You’re good with animals,” Chey commented as he stuck his foot on the last rung, resting his chin on his hands, offering Sterling a bemused smile. “Aren’t you a little afraid?”

Sterling gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Not really. It’s just a pig.”

Bacon backed up and bounced toward Sterling, happiness in her steps. “Did you get a full belly, girl?” He scooped her up and leaned down, shoving himself between the wood and stepping out on the other side. “Thank you,” he said to the mama pig before glancing back over at Chey.

His and Chey’s heads snapped around at the same time when they heard a truck pulling into the village. “There sure are a lot of people showing up lately,” Sterling said as he watched Riley walk quickly from their hut.

He glanced around until he spotted Sterling and then pointed at Sterling to stay put. Even from this distance Sterling could see the clench in Riley’s jaw and the seriousness in his grey eyes. Sterling saluted Riley. His mate shook his head, the tips of his mouth curving up slightly before he turned and walked toward their visitor.

Riley was unaware of the captivating picture he made when he smiled. It had been a small smile, barely there, but it was there. Sterling would get the stick out of the man’s ass yet. He wanted to see the tentative smile turn into a full-blown one. The man had only smiled a handful of times, and he was simply stunning when he showed teeth. It always made Sterling’s cock hard as he turned into a babbling idiot.