Max - Three Silverback Bears and a Baby Book One

by Raines, Harmony

  “I’ll do it.” She rummaged for a bowl and a small spoon and scooped out the baby food from the jar into the bowl. “Can I ask what happened to your parents?”

  “Our mom died of cancer and dad died of a broken heart,” Jake said matter-of-factly as he sat down at the table and picked up his glass of wine.

  “Jake had just turned eighteen, Tad and I were still in school. Social workers wanted to place Tad and me in foster homes, while Jake would have been left to fend for himself,” Max explained.

  “But Jake swore he would find a way for us all to stay together.” Tad paused. Not for dramatic effect, but because even now, so many years after it happened, Tad and Max were still awed by their brother. Despite being desperately sad about losing their parents, he’d stepped up to the plate and made things work.

  And work he did, for long hours, until he could afford the repayments for the house and put food on the table. Within six months, Jake had gone from a carefree boy to a man who shouldered the responsibility of two younger siblings, a house and a business of his own.

  “You’re a tightknit family.” Josephine’s tone held more than a hint of admiration for Jake. Most didn’t know this side of Jake, they only saw the businessman who was willing to take chances and play hard to get what he wanted.

  “And now Milly is part of that family, too.” Jake brushed off the sentiments expressed by his brothers and Josephine, just like he always did. In Jake’s eyes, he hadn’t done anything special. He’d simply done what needed to be done.

  “She sure is, and it’s time for this family to sit down and share a meal.” Tad finished dishing up dinner and sat down in his chair. The others quickly followed with Milly at the head of the table in a highchair.

  “Fiona dropped it off earlier this afternoon when she brought around some paperwork for us to sign,” Max explained as he seated Milly in the chair and snapped the harness shut. “There, you can’t fall out of there.” He tested that theory by pulling the straps of the harness and then watching a wriggling Milly for a few moments to make sure she couldn’t squirm her way out of the seat.

  “She’s been very kind since I moved here.” Josephine sat down next to Max, with Milly on her left. Jake sat across from her and Tad was to his right. “I was told she was a bit of an old dragon.”

  Tad nearly choked as he sipped his wine. Jake slapped him on the back as his eyes darted up to meet Max’s. “She does have a bit of a reputation,” Max said easily. He couldn’t outright lie to Josephine, but neither was this the time to break the news to his mate that dragons were real, at least dragon shifters were real. Wasn’t that the same thing?

  Josephine glanced at Max, and he fixed his attention on his plate, unable to meet her eye. He’d never taken a lie detector test, but he imagined his mate’s scrutiny was probably harder to circumvent than any machine. It was as if she could look right into his soul and see the truth in his words. Or the untruth.

  We are not lying, his bear assured him, but neither of them felt comfortable at not telling Josephine that dragons were real, and Fiona was one.

  “She’s given me some details of mother and baby groups in the area. There are a couple in Bear Creek and some over in Bear Bluff. Do any of you feel comfortable attending the classes?” Josephine spooned up a small amount of baby food and slipped it into Milly’s mouth.

  “I would be happy to. Since I am already comfortable with my feminine side,” Tad made a face at Jake as he picked up his knife and fork. “I know we’ll likely get some strange looks and some comments about us being grandparents, but since we’re in this for the long haul, I want to get to know some of the moms and dads so that Milly grows up with friends.”

  “Good idea, since she won’t have any siblings. It’ll be good to make sure she always has friends and they are always welcome here.” Max tasted a piece of lamb. “This is incredible, Tad.”

  Josephine placed the baby spoon down in the bowl and picked up her fork. Carefully, she picked up a piece of lamb and added some potato to it before taking a bite. She rolled her eyes up into her head in pleasure. “This is fantastic.”

  “Thank you, you can all come again.” Tad beamed with happiness.

  If Jake had been the breadwinner, Tad had been the homemaker. He loved keeping the house clean and tidy. Max had always imagined it was his bear making a den ready for his mate. But his mate had never come along.

  As the conversation around the table switched to Milly and her routine, Max experienced a pang of regret that Tad might never experience the feelings Max had been exposed to since he found Josephine.

  If he could have one wish, one wish in all the world, it would be for his two brothers, the two men he’d shared so much with, to find their mates and their happy ever afters.

  Chapter Ten – Josephine

  “That was delicious.” Josephine was stuffed. The lamb was cooked to perfection, and the added herbs made the flavor incredible. “You sure know how to cook, Tad.”

  “Thank you.” Tad stood up and began clearing the table.

  “Hey, I’ll do that.” Max was out of his seat and picking up the plates so fast it was as if he blurred as he moved.

  “He’s fast,” Jake leaned across the table and told Josephine, whose eyes widened in wonder.

  “Because he’s a bear shifter?” Josephine asked as Max cleared the table and Tad went to the refrigerator and took out a tub of ice cream and set it down on the counter before removing a peach cobbler from the oven.

  “Yes, we all have enhanced senses, but Max has honed his speed, too, so that he can fly up the mountain as if he had wings.”

  Max cast Jake an odd look over his shoulder as he switched on the faucet and ran the water until it was nice and hot. “I learned early on in my career that the time it takes me to get up the mountain can mean the difference between life and death for a person stuck on the mountain waiting for help.”

  “Don’t you have a search and rescue helicopter?” Josephine asked as she fed Milly the very last of the rice cereal from the bowl.

  “We do, but it’s not always able to access the site of an accident.” Max began washing the knives and forks and placing them on the drainer, while also keeping one eye on the sweet dessert that Tad was spooning into bowls. “That smells even more delicious than dinner.”

  “That’s because you have a sweet tooth.” Tad held one of the bowls out under his brother’s nose and wafted the scent in his direction. “Shall I make you finish all of the dishes before you get your cobbler?”

  Max shook the suds off his hands and dried them on a towel. “I am not waiting for your permission.”

  Tad chuckled. “Come sit down. I won’t make you beg in front of your mate.”

  Max slid into his seat and grasped his spoon before casting a sideways look at Josephine. “Habit.”

  “When we were first living together, food was scarce. I don’t think any of us have forgotten that,” Jake explained.

  “There aren’t many people who get to see things from two opposite perspectives,” Josephine commented. “You are a true rag-to-riches story.”

  “It’s nothing and certainly not something I tell most people about.” Jake held his spoon in is hand but didn’t dig into his dessert. Instead he tapped it on the side of his bowl lightly as he stared at the orange peaches covered in a light syrup but didn’t see it.

  “Jake keeps his history quiet in case his competitors see it as a weakness,” Max explained.

  “I don’t,” Jake rejected his brother’s statement fiercely as he plunged his spoon into his dessert.

  “You do,” Tad insisted. “You’ve always hated letting people know your weaknesses, even at school. And if anyone knew we were your weakness, they might have used us against you.”

  “We’re all adults now.” Jake pointed his spoon at Tad and Max. “How could they use you against me?”

  Tad shrugged. “Maybe they couldn’t. Not now, but the fear is ingrained in your personality. You go on the defe
nsive so that people don’t get a chance to see the chink in your armor.”

  Josephine’s eyes came to a rest on the perfect face of the small child seated in the highchair, kicking her legs happily as she jammed a fist in her mouth. Milly was a weakness.

  The kitchen fell silent and she was certain they’d all come to the same conclusion.

  “It’s a good thing I don’t have to fight tooth and claw for business deals anymore. My company is big enough that no one would ever try to manipulate me through my family.” Jake cleared his throat. “This is good, Tad. Just the right amount of honey.”

  “Thanks.” Tad’s voice, thick with emotion, wavered before he continued. “I can’t wait for this little bear cub to be able to eat my cooking. How old does she have to be before Milly can eat what we eat?”

  “Because we don’t know what her routine was with her mom, Fiona and I decided we would feed Milly as if she’s only just started solids. Which means introducing new foods and new textures slowly. Once we know she’s not going to have any explosive adverse reactions to most foods, you can begin feeding her some of the same foods you eat but mashed up.” Josephine slipped inside the safety of her professional persona which was the only way she could stop the tears that pricked her eyes.

  They had lost their parents decades ago and yet they spoke as if the loss of their parents and their struggle to stay together in their family home were still fresh in their minds. How much hurt and pain they must have conquered to get to where they were today. If she ever had any doubt the Harrison brothers would not make wonderful supportive parents, they were now firmly gone.

  They were the perfect people to help Milly cope with any trauma in her life that might arise from the feeling of being abandoned by her mom.

  Josephine swallowed down the lump of emotion that threatened to cut off her breath. Were they also the perfect people to help her cope with her own sense of abandonment? Her parents were not dead, but they weren’t in her life. She’d been raised by her elderly grandmother while her parents went off to live their own lives and have amazing adventures around the world. A child would have been an inconvenience.

  She pushed her peach cobbler around the bowl. Her parents had never been part of her life. So why did a part of her miss them, mourn for them as if they were dead?

  “So are you planning your wedding yet?” Tad asked, switching the subject so fast she had whiplash.

  “Wedding?” Max asked, wide-eyed. “We’ve just met.” He glanced sideways at Josephine as he tried to recover himself. “But I’m ready to marry you as soon as you want.”

  “I’m in no rush.” Josephine pressed her lips together. Marriage. A wedding ceremony. That posed its own set of problems. Who the hell was going to walk her down the aisle? She had no one, her grandparents were dead, and her father was goodness knows where. “I’m not some dewy-eyed girl who has spent her whole life planning her wedding.”

  “No?” Jake asked. “I though all women had a dream wedding floating around in their heads.”

  “Oh, that’s sexist,” Max said lightly.

  Josephine laughed. “Okay, so he might be right.” She took a deep breath. “When I was in my twenties, I walked past a bridal store and there was this beautiful dress in the window, and I stood there staring at it for about five minutes. Just staring at this dress with its beaded bodice and a train that would trail behind me when I walked down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams.”

  She nodded as she recalled the images that had filled her head, as if she were the star of her own private movie. The dress, the three-tiered cake, her groom who had looked an awful lot like George Clooney.

  “And?” Max asked, his eyes fixed on her as she retrieved those memories from the part of her brain that stored all the nonsensical rubbish that had no real value.

  “And then I realized that I wasn’t the marrying kind.” She dug into her dessert. The cobbler was just as delicious as the rest of the meal.

  “But you’ve changed your mind now?” Max asked as she chewed slowly, savoring every last morsel.

  “Not especially.” She looked down at her curvy figure. “I’m certainly not going to fit into the dress I saw in the window all those years ago.”

  “I don’t care what you wear,” Max insisted. “But I do want to make you my wife.”

  Jake glanced at Tad, who nodded and then slid his hand into his pocket. When he pulled it out, he placed something down on the kitchen table. A ring.

  “It was our mother’s,” Jake explained. “And we would all be honored if you would wear it and marry our brother.”

  “Jake, are you sure?” Max asked as he picked it up and held it between his finger and thumb. “I thought we agreed you would give it to your mate since you were the eldest.”

  Jake waved his hand above his head as if he were flicking a mosquito away. “That was when we all thought we would settle down one day with our mates and start families.” He looked around the kitchen. “Things didn’t turn out as any of us expected. So Tad and I talked it over and decided instead of the first-born brother having the ring, the first brother to find his mate should have it.”

  “If Josephine wants the ring…and you.” Tad grinned as all three brothers looked at Josephine.

  The tears pricking her eyes won and a large fat tear rolled down her cheek. “How could I say no?”

  Max’s face crumpled in concern, but he stood up before going down on one knee in front of her. Josephine’s heart galloped along at a thousand miles an hour and she thought she was about to have a coronary as Max asked, “Josephine, will you please do me the honor of marrying me?”

  She nodded and hiccupped as she answered, “Yes.”

  What was she doing? After Vincent, she’d promised herself she’d be careful and never rush into a relationship, yet here she was after knowing Max for one day, agreeing to marry him.

  By accepting his mother’s ring, she’d accepted not only Max’s hand in marriage, but she’d also accepted being part of this family.

  Happiness radiated from Max as he slid the ring on her finger, accompanied by clapping and a couple of whoops from Tad. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Thanks.” She stared at the ring for a long while as she tried to compose herself. This was the maddest, craziest thing she’d ever done…

  No. No, it wasn’t. The stupidest, craziest thing she’d ever done was let Vincent into her life. Accepting Max’s hand in marriage was probably one of the best, sanist things she’d ever done. As they sat together and finished their meal, for the first time in her life, Josephine felt as if she belonged.

  She’d finally found the one thing she’d always wanted. A home.

  Chapter Eleven – Max

  “Sorry for blindsiding you like that.” Max dried up the last of the dishes. He handed a plate to Josephine, who turned around and stacked it with the others in the cupboard while he put the wine glasses away.

  “It was unexpected. But I wouldn’t have said yes if it didn’t feel right.” She held up her hand to the light and a wave of unexpected emotion rolled over Max. He never expected to feel quite so emotional seeing a woman, his woman, wearing his mother’s ring.

  The diamond and sapphire engagement ring had been put away years ago, stored in Jake’s safe for decades. That Jake and Tad had even thought about discussing whether Josephine should wear their mom’s ring touched him deeply.

  “It was unexpected for me, too,” Max admitted. “I had no idea what those two were up to.”

  “They’re good men. And even better brothers. You’re very lucky.” Josephine closed the cupboard and turned to face him. Tad and Jake had taken Milly into the living room and were playing with her while Max and his mate washed up and cleaned the table and counter.

  Now that those chores were done, it seemed a pity not to make the most of this time alone. Although, he wasn’t sure anything could better their sudden engagement.

  “They are good men. And I know just how lucky I am.” He hu
ng the dish towel up to dry. “And I’m not just talking about my brothers.”

  Josephine raked her hand through her hair and then turned away from him as she brushed imaginary crumbs off the countertop they’d already wiped down. “There are things we need to talk about. Things you should know about me.”

  “I know all I need to know.” He reached out and touched her arm. “Josephine, I’m a patient man.” He gave a short laugh. “You must be able to see that.”

  “There are a lot of things about you I see.” She turned to face him, her eyes flickering down to stare at his lips before she dragged them upwards to lock with his silly lovesick gaze. “Every one of them good.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t put me on any kind of a pedestal. No one is all good or all bad. We all have shades of light and dark inside us. And I prefer to judge people by their actions.”

  “Even if there is something…someone in my past who might…” She swung around and took a couple of steps away from him.

  “Someone who might what?” Max asked gently.

  “I don’t know. He’s a ghost from my past.” She hunched her shoulders as if shielding herself from this someone.

  “I don’t believe in ghosts.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around gently to face him. She didn’t resist. “And even if this ghost was real, we’re in this together now, Josephine.”

  “That seems a little unfair for you.” She raised her eyes to his. “You’ve waited all this time for your mate to come along and you don’t get to choose or have a say in whether or not I’m the person you want to share the rest of your life with.”

  “You know, if I did have a choice, I’d still pick you. The question is whether you would pick me?” Max sighed. “Have I moved too fast? If the ring on your finger makes you nervous, then we can take a step back and start again.”

  She rubbed her thumb against the engagement ring on her finger. “No.” She placed her hand on her heart and the diamond caught the light, twinkling like a little star. “I’m happy.”