“And what if I don’t?” Tabitha asked.
Marcus thrust his hand out to Tabitha. “Give it a chance. If after three nights you don’t like sleeping in a tent, you can take my bed.”
Tabitha’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed her opponent. “Two nights.”
Marcus chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain, but you’ve got a deal. If you don’t like camping after two nights, you can sleep in my bed for the last two nights of your stay here.”
“Deal.” She placed her small hand in his and gripped it firmly as they shook on the deal.
“You know, she’s a stubborn child,” Kylie told Marcus as they walked toward the barn. Chuck was talking to Luke, with Stu and Jude flanking them, while Tabitha followed behind kicking invisible lumps of dirt with her foot.
“She might have met her match.” Marcus grinned at Kylie’s concern. “I know what I’m getting myself into. And don’t worry, I will hold up my end of the bargain. If I have to.”
“You sound confident.” Kylie cast a quick glance over Marcus, assessing him with a shrewd eye. “You look confident. Perhaps Tabitha really has met her match. It would be a first.”
“Can you tell me her story?” Marcus asked. “Not all of it, I’d like Tabitha to trust me enough to tell me herself. But a few details would help.”
Kylie’s face clouded over. “She was abandoned as a baby. Eventually, social services located her mom and they were reunited. However, soon after, her mom disappeared off the radar. Tabitha was five when she was found in a squalid basement next to her mom’s lifeless body. She was underweight and small for her age. She’s been in foster care for the last six years, bumped from one foster home to another. There’s something…abrasive about her. That’s what we were told anyway.”
“Poor kid.” Marcus sighed, he sometimes wished he could wrap his arms around every child in the world and make it a better place for them. But that was a side he never admitted to anyone. Not even his own family. He had a persona to maintain, one that had kept his family together through whatever life threw at them.
Gruff, sometimes rough, but always dependable.
“She’s tough. And I believe if we can just make a chink in that armor of hers we could show her how good life can be.” Kylie nodded toward her other kids. “We’ve done it before, but Tabitha is the toughest nut so far. But we’re determined.”
“Stu and Jude are adopted, too?” Marcus asked in surprise.
“They are. But we adopted them when they were younger. In some ways, they were harder because they had each other so Chuck and I had to get through this almost impenetrable wall they put up around themselves and each other. And Stu was almost feral in his need to protect Jude. But we got there. Eventually.” Kylie’s face filled with love and pride. “When we heard about Tabitha we knew we wanted to help her. We sat down as a family and discussed the situation. And we decided as a family that we could help her.”
Marcus pressed his lips together, his jaw tight as he considered Kylie’s words. “You’ve raised two awesome kids, I don’t doubt Tabitha will see that, too, and open up to you. It takes time.”
“It sure does. And we are not going anywhere. Once Tabitha understands that she might give us a chance.” Kylie shrugged. “We made a commitment, I just hope she does, too.”
“I’m sure she will. And we’ll do whatever it takes to help you. We truly are committed to helping each and every family that comes here.” Marcus looked up as Luke led the others into the barn. “At least it looks as if she can be tempted with food.”
Kylie chuckled. “Oh, yeah, all those years of malnutrition have given her a need to devour whatever food she can. In fact, I’d be surprised if she didn’t try to smuggle some out. She’s a hoarder.”
Marcus nodded. “Good information to have.”
Kylie gave him a wicked grin. “You know, I think you might understand Tabitha better than any of us.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You do?”
“Yes, you have the same…mischievous streak running through you.” Kylie’s face grew serious. “As a family, we’d appreciate any help. We are not proud, we don’t believe we have to do it ourselves and we won’t think we’ve failed if it’s not one of us that breaks down her walls.”
“Do you believe in fate, Kylie?” Marcus asked suddenly. He knew Chuck and Kylie weren’t shifters. In fact, he was certain none of the families coming here this week were shifters. Karen Sayer, who helped organize the event, intended to organize two such events the next year. One for non-shifter families and one for shifter families since teenage shifters could be a little unruly and a lot unpredictable.
“I never used to. But lately, with the kids…” She nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Good, because I do, and I believe fate puts you right where you need to be. That’s what it did for you and Chuck and the children. Now you’re here and this week is going to be the turning point for you and your family.” Marcus spoke with such belief that if Kylie didn’t believe in fate before, she certainly would now.
“Thank you, Marcus.” Kylie nodded and gave him a hopeful smile.
“You are welcome. Now, eat and then you can pick a site. There are only twelve families coming for the week so there is plenty of room.” Marcus left Kylie and wandered over to Luke. “I am going to grab a coffee and then get the tents sorted out. Sage and Patrick should be here soon.” He looked at his watch. “Along with the other guests.”
“Sounds good. I’ll come and give you a hand. The remainder of the families will likely arrive all at once, so it would be good to be ready.” Luke looked a little sheepish.
“You mean if we can get some of the earlier families pitched quickly we aren’t going to be spread too thin?” Marcus sighed.
“Yes, I don’t want Sage trying to pitch a tent on her own,” Luke admitted.
“Why not?” Sage asked from the doorway leading into the barn.
Marcus and Luke exchanged guilty looks, but it was Patrick who voiced their concerns. “Because, my love, you are pregnant with this family’s new generation and we all want you and the baby to be healthy.”
“Pregnancy is not an illness,” Sage reminded them for the thousandth time.
“Neither is it a chance to prove to everyone that you are strong and capable. We all know that.” Patrick slid his arm around Sage’s waist and pulled her close. “Take care of yourself.”
“I always do.” She pulled away from Patrick and spoke to the three men. “Please give me some credit. I know my body. I know what I’m capable of and I also know how much this baby means to you. Because it means just as much, if not more, to me.”
“I think you men have been told,” Kylie said from behind Marcus. “Hello, I’m Kylie. A lifetime ago, I used to be a nurse. I gave it up to raise my kids.”
“Hi, Kylie, good to meet you.” Sage shook hands with Kylie. “Maybe you can tell these men that I’m okay to pitch a tent.”
Kylie grinned. “I don’t want to get caught up in the middle of anything. But I agree with Sage. If she feels okay and doesn’t overtire herself, and she’s attended all her prenatal appointments, I can’t see there being a problem.”
Sage patted the brothers on the shoulders. “All I need is for you all to do the heavy lifting.”
“Deal,” Marcus said. It was the second one he’d made today, and he hoped it might not be the last. He wouldn’t mind making a deal with Joanna, one that meant she would put his ring on her finger and say I do.
Marcus was nothing if not romantic at heart. Even if he hid it from the world.
Chapter Five – Joanna
“I like it here,” Winnie announced as she stood on a large, flat boulder watching the stream bubble and dance around her feet.
“I like it here, too,” Joanna agreed. “How about you, Reece?”
“I don’t like it.” He turned his mischievous face to her. “I love it!”
“I wish we could live here.” Winnie plopped herself down on the stone,
pulled off her shoes and dangled her feet in the shallow, fast-flowing water. A piercing screech filled the quiet of the wooded glade, followed by a burst of laughter. “The water is freezing!”
“I want to put my feet in there, too.” Reece jumped onto another flat stone, hunkered down and then yanked his sneakers off, before throwing them onto the grass behind him. He plunged his feet into the water. For a second the cold didn’t register but then he whooped in delight as the water froze his toes. “It’s like ice.”
“Can I try?” A young girl melted out of the trees, her eyes wide as she watched Reece and Winnie splashing each other. Water droplets flew in every direction.
“Here.” Reece scooped up a handful of water and threw it into the air. It fell like icy rain sprinkling cold droplets over Joanna and the young girl.
Joanna gasped and glanced at the small girl as the cold water soaked her T-shirt. For a moment Joanna was certain the girl would burst into tears as rage and anger slipped across her face, along with a sense of fear. Not of Reece but of the situation.
The girl didn’t know what to do.
Joanna wasn’t sure if her own reaction was appropriate. But she wanted to defuse the situation and let friendship between the children have a chance to bloom. So she laughed. “Shall we join them?” she asked the young girl. Would her parents mind? Was this a mistake?
The young girl stared at Joanna for a moment and then looked longingly at Reece and Winnie who were giggling and kicking their feet in the water to create white bubbles. “It’s fun. But freezing,” Reece patted the flat stone. “Come and see for yourself.”
Reece, the protector. Who could resist his face that shone with happiness?
The girl pulled her shoes off as she ran forward. Her bottom hit the hard-flat stone at the same time as her feet plunged into the icy water. She gave a howl as the numbness took over but kept her feet in the stream, kicking like crazy as she joined in the fun.
Only then did Joanna give a thought to who the young girl was and where she had come from.
“What’s your name?” Joanna asked as she sat down on the grassy bank.
The girl turned to look at Joanna but didn’t speak. It seemed it was okay to sit by a stream and splash around with strangers, but not to talk to them. A sense of unease crept over Joanna. Was this a mistake? Perhaps if she had raised her children from babies she would know how to handle these situations. But she wasn’t experienced and was making it up as she went.
Reece caught Joanna’s eye and gave her an encouraging smile. “My name is Reece, and that is my sister, Winnie. We’re camping at Chance Heights, are you?”
The girl stared at Reece for a moment, her feet stilled in the water as she considered his words, then, slowly, she nodded. “My family is pitching the tent.”
“Aren’t you supposed to help them?” Winnie asked as she pulled her feet out of the water and tucked them under her body to warm them.
“They don’t want me to help,” the young girl answered. “They don’t want me at all.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Joanna said gently. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have come here.”
“They came for my other brothers.” The girl stood up suddenly, jumped off the flat stone and landed nimbly on the grass.
“If you’re walking back, we’ll come with you,” Joanna offered. “We said we’d help pitch the other tents since ours is already up. You could introduce us to your family.”
“They aren’t my family.” The girl sat down on the ground and pulled her shoes on.
Reece came to sit next to her, his shoes in his hand. “Are you adopted?”
“What business is it of yours?” she asked.
“We’re adopted. And we came to meet other children who have been adopted.” Reece cast his steady gaze on her.
Winnie left the river and came over to join her brother and their new friend. “You are the first person we’ve met who is also adopted. Everyone else we know has known their parents their whole life.”
Joanna swallowed down the lump of emotion that welled in her throat. She’d never looked at the situation from her children’s point of view. They had settled in well at school and seemed happy, but Joanna didn’t know anyone else who was adopted. Karen had often mentioned groups they could attend where the children could interact with others who had been through the process, but with everything going on with Julian they never had time.
“What am I, a monkey in the zoo?” the girl asked, her brows knitted tightly together.
Winnie’s eyes widened. “I’d love to see a monkey in a zoo. I’ve never been to one.”
Another thing to add to the list of things to do, Joanna made a mental note.
“Winnie really wants to see the wolves and bears that roam the mountains,” Reece confided.
“There aren’t any here,” the girl said, but her interest was piqued.
“There are. Marcus and Luke told us there were.” Winnie pulled on her shoes and stood up. “Come on, we can go and ask them if you don’t believe us.”
The challenge was laid down and the young girl could not resist. “Okay, I guess we could walk back together.”
Reece assumed the role of leader and led the way back up the trail, while Joanna walked behind to ensure the girl didn’t slip away into the trees. However, by the time they exited the forest trail and entered the campground, the three children seemed to have made a tentative bond.
“There you are, Tabitha.” A harassed-looking woman ran toward them as they walked across the field. “I thought you were going to the bathroom?”
Tabitha tilted her chin up and shrugged. “I wanted to see the stream.”
“You should have asked someone to come with you.” The woman put her hands on her hips and sighed, exasperated at Tabitha’s behavior. “You can’t wander off.”
“I just did,” Tabitha replied tartly.
“Hi, I’m Joanna, and these are my two children, Reece and Winnie.” Joanna stepped forward and held out her hand to the woman, who looked close to tears.
“Kylie. I’m Tabitha’s mom.” She brushed her hand over her eyes. “The rest of the family is over by the barn.”
“Can we help you pitch your tent?” Reece asked.
Kylie nodded. “Sure, we’d like that.” She glanced over to Tabitha who was watching Reece as he and Winnie broke into a run toward the barn.
“Come on,” Reece called over his shoulder. “We should get a snack before we start.”
Tabitha raised her head, a look of hope flitting across her face. She took a couple of stilted steps forward, but then stopped, suddenly self-aware. Joanna linked arms with Kylie and pulled her along. “The banana cake is heavenly.” Joanna looked over her shoulder at Tabitha. “Have you tried it?”
Tabitha shook her head. “No.”
“Then let’s try it together.” Kylie held out her hand for Tabitha to take. “I find you never know what you might like until you try it.”
“But not oysters,” Joanna said, making a gagging sound.
“Nor celery,” Kylie added. “What about you, Tabitha, is there a food you don’t like?”
Tabitha swayed on the spot, unsure of what to do and how to act. To take this first step and go with the others would be the first step on a long journey. No one could take it for her, and yet both Joanna and Kylie would gladly have done whatever it took to help Tabitha, who looked so lost and alone.
“Raisins.” Tabitha blurted the word out with distaste. “In cakes. Why would you put a raisins in a cake?”
Kylie chuckled. “I promise to never put raisins in a cake.”
Tabitha looked at Kylie’s outstretched hand. “You’d better not.” She took a couple of steps forward and then reached out for Kylie as if she were drowning in the sea and this was her only way of rescue.
“It sure is beautiful here,” Joanna said quietly as the three of them walked toward the barn.
“It sure is,” Kylie agreed, a hitch in her voice as s
he held her daughter’s hand.
“Are there really bears and wolves?” Tabitha asked.
“So Luke and Marcus said.” As she spoke his name, her eyes were drawn to activity over by the camping gear. The two brothers had been joined by a heavily pregnant woman and a man. They were talking and laughing with each other and Joanna longed to go over there and be part of the conversation. To be part of his world.
“Are you here alone? I mean aside from your children,” Kylie asked so suddenly that Joanna jerked out of her daydream about Marcus.
“Yes. I adopted Reece and Winnie with my husband. Unfortunately, he then decided family life wasn’t for him.” Joanna kept her bitterness from her voice. The longer she spent alone with the children, the more she realized how much more relaxed and happier they were as a family unit. Julian hadn’t exactly been regimented in his approach to raising their children, but their views were not always in alignment. In so many ways she looked back and realized that Julian’s behavior and views often echoed her parents’.
Reece’s actions at the stream where he sprayed water over Joanna and Tabitha would have been met with stern words. Whereas Joanna accepted that children needed to behave like children.
“You look as if you’re coping okay,” Kylie ventured.
A small smile passed across Joanna’s lips. “I am. I’ve focused on how lucky I am to be part of Reece and Winnie’s lives and I’m relishing the challenge. Having children is the best thing in the world.”
Kylie glanced down at Tabitha. “It is. It’s the most rewarding challenge in the world.”
“Oh, look, more people are arriving.” Joanna pointed toward the house, although her eyes soon focused on the two men walking toward the house. Luke and Marcus.
She swallowed down her desire, which was getting out of hand.
Focus on the children. She tore her gaze away from Marcus and watched Reece and Winnie as they reached the barn and went inside.
“It doesn’t hurt to look.” Kylie’s words sliced through her thoughts.
“Doesn’t it?” Joanna said with a sad smile.
Second Chance Bear Page 4
