And when she crashed and burned like she inevitably would, at least her Liam wouldn’t be there to see it. Poor boy was almost six, and he already had taken on the burden of protecting her. He needed a life with real friends, a pet, and no responsibilities except for remembering to say please and thank-you.
That’s why she had been taking him out to the woods on the outskirts of town. The sprawling woods and meadow were said to be private property, but she needed somewhere big and open to let him roam. Liam was getting closer to his first shift every day. Pretty soon, she’d have to take him out of school. At least the higher dosage of his medication was stifling his animal side. Until Bo lifted his fist to her today. She’d never seen Liam that close to shifting, and it scared her more than her memory of Seth. The appearance of that man with the camera had spooked her enough already. And if Liam shifted, his lion father and pack mates would be able to smell him. They’d find them. She ought to pack their bags and leave tomorrow. Just in case.
But she had run out of money, and she was 99 percent positive Seth was watching her bank account. That’s how he had found her six months ago. That poor elderly couple who had given Liam and her a place to stay had never known what was coming. She’d been more careful, but that meant not touching the trust fund her parents had left her. And, after refilling Liam’s medication, she was broke. She’d work her booty off for a few more weeks, and take every extra shift available. That would earn her enough money to get out of town. Then she’d go west. North Carolina was just a little too close to the danger following her. If she gave her son something to really calm down, could they fly? California sounded good and far away.
She finally drifted off to sleep after checking the locks and alarms around their home a few more times.
This had to end soon. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. When the alarm clock woke her at 5:00 a.m., she smiled down at the little boy curled into her chest. She hadn’t even heard him enter her room.
Chapter Four
“Hey,” the large man said, while leaning against an oak tree as the last school bell rang.
Jane and Liam sprinted across the street. She would have been scared had she not felt his presence since the moment she got there ten minutes earlier. Anyone else would have sent her straight into stalker-alert territory. But not Bo. His hulking form was diminished by his easy, lopsided grin, dimple on his left cheek, and the way he lounged against that tree as if he wanted to scratch his whole body on it. She stifled a giggle at the image in her head. He’d been watching her the past few days. But it didn’t feel creepy or dangerous, like the photographer had. Bo’s presence made her feel safe, secure, kind of warmed her heart. His whole persona and energy came to her as strong, protector, warrior, good, and for once she didn’t mind. Bo was guarding her—she knew it in her heart. Her inner skeptic and self-protector reminded her not to trust a male—especially one that bear-normous. Great, now her inner voice was making up words. She stifled the next round of made-up words and reasons to leave the guy with his tree, and gave him a quick wave.
Liam was already bounding up to him with a huge grin on his face. And her son didn’t normally like males. He always stood up as straight and tall as his little body could go, planting himself firmly between her and whatever male was addressing her. But there was no protective posturing or light growling or eyes dilating. Nope. Her kid had left her five seconds ago to high-five the larger man and tell him his latest joke.
“Hey, hey, wanna know where the poop emoji writes all his secrets?”
Bo cocked his head as if deep in thought. “A brown leather journal with poop emojis all over it?”
“No.” Liam snorted and giggled at the same time—something he’d coined last year as a snorgle—and shook his head before proudly answering. “A diary-uh. Get it?” His eyes sparkled with humor, their hue intensifying when Bo threw his head back and laughed.
She should write a column for one of the magazines that the other moms seemed to love so much. Jane could title it. Interesting Ways to Meet Guys in Public. And right after baby kitties, puppies, and carrying a free beer sign, was a kid telling jokes about poop. It’d sell at least five copies.
“So, I was wondering if I could take you out. Grab some early dinner?” His eyes were hopeful, but his whole body was tense as if he feared she would crush his soul under her feet by telling him no.
And she did still feel bad about yesterday. Though she couldn’t see any signs of damage on his hands. Thank goodness Liam hadn’t really hurt the poor guy. Poor guy? She barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Liam was at the most 15 percent of the guy’s bodyweight, but still… Liam was part shifter and he could do some damage if he wanted to. Poor guy still didn’t quite sound right. Not physically. But Bo’s eyes were beautiful and bright and hopeful, and he was exuding the wounded puppy dog look, though he was trying to hide it. Okay, she’d put him out of his misery. Besides, it’d be fun to go out on a real date again. “I’d love to go out with you for dinner, but I don’t have a sitter for tonight. How’s Friday sound?”
“Actually, I was hoping I could take you both out. My treat. We could find a kid-friendly place nearby and still get him back by bedtime.”
“I know a place, Mama.” Liam’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head with excitement.
She knew exactly the place he was referring to. “Okay, we’d love to get dinner. I’ll drive. I just need to stop at our place for a sec.” One more dose of Liam’s medicine would help. Then they would be on their way.
“Are you sure you’re okay with the setting?” Jane laughed at Bo’s face as his eyes widened. They pulled into the crowded parking lot of the closest thing the area had to a Chuck E. Cheese’s. This place was Ralph E Pizza, a bit of a bust, but still, Liam would love it. And she’d already administered a double dose of his medicine after a long walk in the woods. Liam would be fine. But would Bo?
Bo’d had to hunch a bit, sitting in the passenger seat of her tiny Ford Focus, but he’d handled it well. Jane had requested going in their car because that’s where Liam’s booster seat was, but if she was honest, it was more than that. She wanted an escape route. The huge man with kind eyes had not given her a single vibe of malevolence or danger, and when he’d asked her out, he had surprised her by offering to take Liam, too. But old habits died hard. If anything went wrong, she knew right where her mace and car keys were. If anyone tried to hurt her or her son, she’d spray first, drive next, and ask questions later. Yeah, old habits. She’d try to relax, let Liam have some fun, and get to know Bo in a safe, very public environment. But she’d be prepared. Just in case.
Bo was already helping a very excited Liam out of the car. He turned to her with a huge grin. “I haven’t ever been in a place like this, but it sounds cool.”
“You’re not overwhelmed at the thought of a hundred germy kids screaming and shouting as they climb on everything within sight?”
Bo held the door for them as Liam and she entered. The noise was deafening. Loud, silly music played in the background, and kids were everywhere. “Kids climbing on everything and going wild, I can handle.” He winked. “The music…?”
She laughed and got into line to get their special black-light numbers put onto their wrists for child safety. “Yeah. I brought earplugs if you want a pair.”
Bo paid for their admission, got a rechargeable game card for Liam, and they strode through the restaurant to the very back near the bathrooms.
Jane put down her jacket, and explained to Liam where they would be. “You come right back here to check in, okay? I’ll stay right here.”
Liam let out a whoop, thanked Bo for the card, and hustled off for his first game.
“I always pick a table near the bathrooms. It’s the only place a kid can get to without a parent.”
Bo assessed the rest of the place with a small scowl. “What about the entrance?”
“That’s what the number on our hands is for. When they shine the bla
ck light on the child’s hand, the adult with them must match up, otherwise the place locks down quicker than Fort Knox. Thanks for paying for this.” She didn’t have enough money for this sort of thing anymore, and felt like she was ruining Liam’s childhood by not being able to afford the stuff kids did these days. But her first priority was keeping him safe. So, Ralph E Pizza, movie theaters, and McDonald’s had to wait. Someday, they’d be free to go to a place like this every week. A screaming kid shook her out of her thoughts. She winced and placed her earplugs in. Maybe not every week. “Here, you want some earplugs?”
Bo smiled and took them. When his fingers touched hers, a jolt of electricity ran up her arm and through her entire her body. Like fire, no, like lightning. The man had just kick-started her heart with one soft touch, and her body was slowly awakening to something it hadn’t felt in a long time.
He visibly shook himself, backed off a step, and placed the earplugs into his ears. “I can still hear, but it’s muted. Brilliant.”
“Be happy we went on a Tuesday.” She laughed and scanned the area as she always did. Liam was in front of a huge claw machine trying to get candy. Crap, if he got much, she’d have to make sure he didn’t overdo it. Sugar brought his other side out quickly. But this was his time to enjoy. She’d just watch him carefully.
“Hey, I’m going to check out the restaurant, make sure everything looks...all right,” Bo said, still assessing the place like it was a time bomb waiting to go off. What a nice guy. He was in way over his head, but at least he was here.
She nodded and ordered some drinks on the computerized kiosk on her table. Cool, they had Plants vs. Zombies. Maybe just one game while Liam played? No, she needed to keep tabs on her boy. She knew all the signs if he got close to shifting. This place was exhausting her emotionally already.
“Hey, I didn’t know if you prefer cheap white or cheap red, but here you go.” Bo put a see-through plastic cup of red wine and another filled with white in front of her. “Can you believe this place sells wine?”
She thanked him and pulled the tiny red cup toward her. A four-ounce plastic cup of two buck chuck wasn’t going to hurt or distract her too much from watching Liam, so why not? She took a tentative sip and grimaced. Terrible.
“How is it?” His eyes were full of mirth as he watched her finally swallow.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” She took another sip. It wasn’t quite as awful as the first one. “Are you having anything? I bet they have really watered-down beer, too.” She grinned.
“No. You relax. I’ll keep an eye out for everything and drive us home later, too.” He smiled. “You want to play a game of Trivia?”
“Trivia? Unless you want to play the kids’ trivia, I am going to have to bag out. I’m much better with the puzzle games.”
“All right. You get us a front yard of pea shooters and sunshine, while I go check on Liam.” He strode off.
Her heart did that little fluttery thing again as she watched the huge hulking man walk away from the table. Surrounded by chaos, noise, and shrieking kids, he was completely at ease, marching through the throng of children to her son. She took another sip of her wine, set up the sunshines in Plants vs. Zombies, and watched out of the corner of her eye as the large man whispered something in Liam’s ear. Liam beamed as they walked side by side over to the whack a—some sort of small rodent like creature—game. She’d never say it out loud. But being here, with wine that could probably be used to wash her dishes and laundry, playing Plants vs. Zombies while watching her son have fun...this was the best date she’d ever been on.
~.~
Her gaze was on him again. He could feel it. The gorgeous blonde with the curves to die for, sitting at the back table, sipping daintily on her wine while halfheartedly playing a computer game. He chuckled to himself when she furrowed her eyebrows and pressed the screen in front of her. Whenever she was unsure of what to do, she squinched her eyes and bit her lower lip. Then she hunkered down a bit lower and did the most adorable thing with her nose. Like a wiggle and squinch as the tiny dimple in her cheek appeared. It was perfect. She was perfect.
He focused on her son again. Liam was a delightful young cub. Pup? Whatever he was, he was awesome. Liam was independent and fierce for such a little guy. Bo watched his cues to make sure he was all right, but the boy showed no signs of shifting when he became agitated or overstimulated. Weird. Most shifters his age would be at the very least spouting some fangs or claws by now. But not Liam. Bo had been quietly following him around for the past ten minutes. The kid longingly shot his gaze back to the claw machine with the stuffed animals. He’d already tried it twice and failed. Then he went to bounce around on a mat that played musical notes, before coming back.
“You want to try it together this time, partner?”
“Sure.” The kid’s lisp was really pronounced today. “If you want.” Liam shrugged as if he didn’t care, but his eyes told the truth.
“Yeah, I want to.” Bo kneeled to assess all the angles on the claw machine. That was something he had always been good at. Spatial awareness and shapes. It helped him in his side business, construction. Someday, he’d put more of his time into building homes for the shifter community. But, right now, he only had time to manage small repair jobs for the elderly. It was good, but nowhere near enough. As soon as he got some help managing their slowly growing pack, he would devote more time to building. Hopefully, Zach, his sister’s new mate, would be willing to stay around long enough to help him. “What are we trying to get?”
“The big dog with the silver fur!” Liam’s eyes practically glowed with excitement as he pointed at the wolf-like stuffed animal near the middle of the pile of plushies.
“Awesome. What are you going to name him when we get him?” Bo watched Liam scan his little card in front of the machine.
“I’m not going to name it, my mom is.” Liam turned to him soberly. “She has nightmares. If she has that to sleep with at night, she can sleep better.”
Bo felt the punch in his solar plexus at the mature gaze considering his soul. The kid was trying to get a stuffed animal to help his mother. He fell in love with him right there. Bo stifled the growl and grabbed out his wallet. “We’re going to need a few more credits to get that guy. I’ll be right back.” He was going to get that damn wolf if it killed him. His bear chuffed in agreement.
Chapter Five
Jane walked over to the two males huddled deep in conversation in front of the claw machine. They’d been there for the last fifteen minutes, and the only time they’d left was for Bo to go back to refill Liam’s game card. “You guys okay?”
They both gave her identical looks of frustration and sadness, and she stopped herself from laughing. They looked so mournful and pitiful. Like one of those commercials with a father and a son at a losing baseball game. Dang it. She shook her head and cleared the thought. Bo was a great guy, and obviously her son was smitten with him. But that didn’t make him father material. Heck, he could be Billy Ray Cyrus, but he still didn’t have the skills or natural breeding to handle having Liam for a son. She winced at her shallowness. No, it wasn’t shallow, it was truth. A human male, no matter how gorgeous, big, and strong, could not handle a shifter son. What if Liam shifted and tried to take a bite out of Bo? He could kill him. She placed a hold on the heavy thoughts and forced herself to pay attention to the current moment. She’d sort out the rest later. But, for now, she just wanted to enjoy the time with these two. “What are you trying to get, big boy?”
Liam furrowed his brow, released a slow breath, and put his hands on his head, mimicking Bo’s same movement. Adorable. But not now. “The doggy. I want...the...dog.”
Okay, if it meant that much to him. Besides, their pizza was getting cold, and Liam must be starving by now. She glanced at the machine and back to Bo and Liam. “You need to get the unicorn out of the way first, guys.”
A low chuff left Bo’s throat as he put his arms around his beefy chest. “We don’t want..
.the unicorn.”
She laughed at the silliness of the big man and her little man—so horrified at the thought of holding onto a fluffy, sparkly white unicorn with golden stars on its horn. “You don’t have to get it. But at least drag it out of the way and drop it on the side.”
“Oh, yeah.” Bo cocked his head, and Liam followed suit. “I was too close to the situation. Want to try that?”
Liam nodded his head thoughtfully. “Mama’s always got good ideas. She says to amplify a situation and then calmly proceed.”
“Analyze,” she corrected, and Bo grinned at her.
“Yeah,” Liam said then redirected his gaze to Bo thoughtfully. “You know what you call a big thing for hammering on and it can see you?”
“What?”
“Anvyl-eyes.”
Bo laughed. “I see what you did there.”
Liam was just getting going. “Guess how many kidneys you have.”
Bo pretended to be deep in thought. “Hmmm. Two?”
“Nope. I got two. You have adult knees.”
Bo chuckled and leaned in close. “What do you call cheese that’s not yours?”
Liam shook his head.
“Nacho cheese.”
Liam giggled and looked at Jane with a twinkle in his eyes. “Here’s my mom’s favorite.”
Good Lord.
“What’s invisible and smells like carrots?”
“What?”
“Bunny farts.”
Jane felt the heat rise to her neck and into her cheeks.
Bo busted out laughing so hard, that some of the children next to them stopped playing and looked up at them, wide-eyed.
Bear With Me: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Mates of Bear Paw River Book 2) Page 4
