by BA Tortuga
“That would rock, honey.” Brock hustled back into the kitchen just as the timer went off.
Four-dozen muffins were in there, perfectly golden and filled with blueberry goodness. He grabbed a half dozen, buttered them, and put two on one plate, four on another.
Sam popped up in front of him when he turned around, and Brock let out a bark of surprise. “Shit, Sam. Scare the fur off me, why don’t you?”
“Sorry, man. They smell good, huh? You want milk?”
“Please.” He put five more muffins on a plate. Two for Sam and three for Gus.
“You might as well plate them all. The kids are like locusts.” Sam poured four glasses of milk and grabbed a bowl and the half-and-half for Connor.
“Gotcha.” He put a bunch on plastic plates and tucked the rest up on the top of the toaster oven so the adults could have a few.
“How’s he feeling today? Better?”
“He says he’s coming down. I’ll go check.”
He found his cat at the bottom of the stairs drooping a little bit, panting hard.
“Hey, Ragbone. Your taxi has arrived.” He bent and gently scooped up that furry body.
I was coming. Connor didn’t fight him in the least, though, and he got a purr.
He grinned. Stubborn kit. “I know. I found you this time. I’m so smart.”
Clever puppy.
“Puppy?” he growled, playing along. He blew a raspberry against Connor’s neck.
That immediately earned him five tiny growls, and two sets of puppy teeth sunk in his pants.
“Ouch! Gentle! Gentle,” he barked, and then he eased down into a crouch so they could see their Uncle Connor.
They all lifted up to sniff and lick, and Connor yawned hugely, making them all bark. Unfortunately, Connor was silent in fuzzy and human form, so the first pup in line was snagged and well and truly groomed.
The others scattered immediately, and Lisle and Bella chortled from nearby. “No one wants a bath.”
Bella nodded. “There’s muffins, Uncles. Blueberry ones. And milk.”
“I know! We’re coming.” Brock plucked a pup from Connor’s mouth. “Muffin train, ho!”
Who you callin’ a ho? Connor teased.
“Uh.” He had to laugh at that.
Connor’s ears twitched. Tell Sam to make more muffins.
What for? You gonna eat them all?
Uh-huh. Someone’s coming. Big someones. Someoneses.
Okay, babe. Eve had the bed set up, so he lowered Connor down to it. “Con says more muffins, Sam. We’re gonna have company soon.”
“Who’s coming?” Sam looked alarmed, but Connor didn’t, so he shrugged.
“Someone hungry, obviously.”
Eve went still. “You want me to call them off?”
Brock eyed her. “Are we about to be bear invaded?”
“Probably. They haven’t called.”
Sam growled softly, but Brock shook his head. “These aren’t bad men. I swear to you. They’re big brothers, sure, but good men. I’ll vouch for them.”
Connor nuzzled Evie’s hand.
“I sure hope so,” Gus said, wandering into the kitchen. “We’ll make more muffins.”
“There’s a bunch of stuff at Momma’s, mate. I’ll go pull some from the freezer.”
“Sure.” Gus tugged Sam over for a kiss, and that got Randi making gagging noises.
“You guys! Gross!”
“I want you guys to take the puppies to Helena’s and stay put until our company is settled,” Gus said. “No arguments. Deal?”
Randi and Richie stared at them for a moment, then began herding wee ones. Bella and Lisle helped, tempting the wee ones with muffins. They all trailed out, but an adult wolf appeared behind them, pushing them toward Helena’s. Gray.
Sam waved to his brother, causing Gus to point out, “You know he’s blind, right?”
“Shut up.” Sam pinched Gus’s butt. “So, what do I need to know about the bears?”
As one, they turned to look at Eve.
“Danny is the reasonable one. Tom is the oldest, and he can be growly. Chris is a good guy but tends toward berserk, and Freddie is the quiet, deep one.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead.
“And you?” Brock asked.
“I’m the baby.”
“Wow. That had to be something growing up.” Sam gave her a sympathetic smile.
“It was great. No, seriously. It was great. No one messed with me. Ever.”
“Oh, nice. Everyone messed with Sam.” Gus did the wide eyes when Sam glared. “What? It’s true.”
“You were the worst offender, you know.”
“I know, and I’ll be sorry forever, but I fixed it, didn’t I?”
Sam gave Gus a look that liked to burn him to the ground, and Brock looked away, the connection intimate, private. Connor chuffed softly, paws batting the air.
Eve cleared her throat. “On the good side, they all love blueberries.”
“Well, then. Muffins. We’re on it.”
For the next half hour, they all ate and stirred and baked. Just as the timer dinged, Brock heard the roar of a big diesel out on the private road.
Evie stood up, fluttering a little bit, but Connor leaned up, pushed at her hand, begging a petting.
“I’ll go greet them.” Brock was the one who was smack dab in the center of this.
Connor tried to rise, but Sam moved to sit with him. Eve walked outside with Brock, giving him a half smile. “My music, my dance.”
“Right on, brave lady. Remember, you don’t have to apologize to anyone. You are a grown-up mamma bear.”
“Yep.” She squared her shoulders, and he bit back a grin.
Four big men stepped out of the truck, two of them familiar. Brock chose to address Tom since he was the oldest. “Hey, man. Welcome to the packlands.”
Tom gave him the barest nod, but his eyes were on Eve. “You weren’t even going to tell us, Sister? That’s our kin!”
Oh, Lord. Nothing like family business that wasn’t his business. He backed off, but he had to stay with Eve, just in case.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I was scared. I was going to tell you, but Greg had stalked me right out of school.”
“And you didn’t think to come to the gigantic bears who are your brothers?” Yeah, Danny was pretty pissed too.
“No! You told me when I dated Ken Cho. The panda? You told me never date someone who wasn’t like us.”
“Well, there was a reason, Evelyn.” That was one of the ones he didn’t know. “This Greg asshole did kidnap a bunch of bears to draw us out because he couldn’t track you, stalk you, and try to kill, what is it? A bobcat?”
“And me.” Brock waved a hand. “You know, in case you wanted to pay me what you owe me.” Might as well deflect a bit.
“You know we aren’t going to stiff you. You did your job,” Tom growled.
“Sort of spectacularly,” Danny added, and Brock began to hear Connor rumbling in the back of his mind.
“Yeah, well, the eagle was the one who took his head off.”
“The eagle. Right. Marilyn and Aaron Valk.” Damn, Tom did his research. “Can we come in?”
“As long as you promise not to be jerks,” Eve said. “They’ve been so nice to me.”
“No one is going to be a jerk.” The smallest one grinned. “Much.”
“Let me introduce you to the Alpha, hmm? Gus Fieri is his name, and his mate is Sam.”
“Sure.” Tom nodded at Brock, then kinda… lunged at Evie and grabbed her in, well, a bear hug. “You scared us. Don’t do that.”
Then the bears surrounded her, growling and vocalizing, but he didn’t sense any threat, no anger. Or fear from Eve, for that matter.
Eve finally pulled away, sniffling a little. “They have a shitload of blueberry muffins to share.”
“Oh. Oh, really? Because there’s no snackage opportunities for miles.”
“I know.” Brock led the way inside. “First t
ime I came, all there was on the road trip was jerky. Salmon.”
“Yum!”
Connor’s laugh echoed in his head.
Shut up.
Never!
Silly Ragbone.
The bears milled around in the front room, and Gus walked out of the kitchen. “Hey, guys. I’m Gus. Welcome.”
Tom shook hands. “Tom. That’s Danny and Chris, and the little one is Freddie.”
“Pleased to meet you. Come back into the kitchen, hmm? We have a big pack, and everyone will want to meet you.”
“Sounds good.” They all trooped into the kitchen, and Sam rose, smiling. “Hope you guys like muffins.”
“There’s nothing about muffins that we don’t like.” Tom shook Sam’s hand, then nodded to Connor. “Hello, Mr. Bobcat.”
“Connor,” Danny corrected. “The conspicuous one.”
Connor’s short tail slapped the bed he lay in, and those mismatched eyes narrowed.
“He’s not a hundred percent.” Brock helped Sam lay out plates and pour coffee.
Pete slipped in through the back door. “Everyone okay? Whoa. Bears. Howdy. Did I smell muffins?”
“Yeppers. We made enough for Mona and the ladies. Gray and Jason. And bears.” Brock winked at Pete, who fist pumped.
“Score.”
“My brother-in-law, Pete,” Sam said. “We’re so proud.”
“We all have one.” Every bear in the room turned to look at the shaggy giant named Chris.
“What?” Chris grinned at Pete. “Dude, you have a Dr. Who T-shirt.”
“Correction. I have an entire collection of Dr. Who T-shirts.”
“No shit?”
“Grab a handful of muffins. My wife made me a Tardis wardrobe for my collection. I’ll show you.”
“Rock on. What’s your position on the Twelfth Doctor?” Chris grabbed six muffins and trundled out as everyone else stared.
“Well, glad he was here to see me,” Evie said, rolling her eyes.
“He has so few friends,” Freddie murmured. “We wonder why.”
“At least he’ll be busy, right, guys?” Tom sat hard. “Lord, I can’t believe my baby sister is pregnant.”
Evie stuck out her belly. “I’m not bloated, just preggers.”
“Are they moving? Can I feel?”
“Dork.”
Brock chuckled and went to check on Connor, who was still curled up on the sunny bed, watching, quiet.
It was weird.
Really weird.
He sat down because he needed to touch, to be sure Connor was okay. I miss your babble, mate.
Liar.
I do. It’s too quiet in my head. The conversation rose and fell without them, and he stroked Connor’s ears.
In mine too.
Are you—is it from being hurt? What if Greg had knocked the finding right out of Connor’s head? Would he freak out?
No, mate. It’s from being tired, which I guess is from being hurt, huh? So, maybe yes. I think.
Oh, blessed babble.
He nuzzled the top of that golden head. I think the bears are surprised.
At what? Evie?
No, at the little community we have. They didn’t seem overly surprised about anything that came out of Evie’s mouth. Big families.
We, huh? You decided you might stay a little with me? Connor looked up at him, eyes twinkling. For real?
Yeah. I think this is my place. Took a long while for me to figure out what you knew.
I knew I needed to find us. So sure. So simple.
You did. Now we just need to get you healed. And make it through the winter. And get the bears safely delivered. And figure out how to feed everyone.
Right. Good thing we’re not the Alpha of this pack, isn’t it?
Oh, clever man.
“You two can stop plotting to take over the world at any time. Brock, can you show the guys where they can put their stuff? I assume you want to stay a few days?” Gus asked Tom.
“We would, yeah. Might as well since we’re here and the poacher situation is a nonissue now.”
“We’re putting them…?”
“There’s a guest house. It’s a little unfinished in the details—but it’s solid. There’s a fireplace, and there are two king-sized beds.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“Yep.” Gus winked.
Brock stood up and waved a hand at the bear brothers. “Come on, guys. Grab more muffins, and I’ll give you the short tour.” He lowered his voice. “Now is the time that Eve and Connor nap together.”
“Do they?”
He nodded and shot them a conspiratorial grin. “I think it does them both a world of good.”
“Well, lead on, bud.” They all grabbed muffins, but Brock noticed they were careful to leave one whole plate of muffins. Nice guys, hearing what Pete had said about the other adults.
Sure enough, there was a new building just beyond Pete’s cabin. It needed some paint, but the inside had a decent finish, if sparse. Front room, tiny kitchen, fireplace. A big bedroom with two beds. Nice.
“Where is Evie staying?”
“Right now with Mona, but they’ll be moving her into her own space soon, I bet.” She would need a den. Possibly this one. Hell, he didn’t know, but he’d better find out what Gus’s plans were.
“Someone is a good builder.” Tom tapped a counter. “Chris and Danny are amazing carpenters. Fred and I are indifferent at that, but we can hammer. If your Alpha wants us to help with anything….”
“I’ll tell him. There are a ton of kids here, a lot of them still wolfy. Just warning you. I imagine you’ll meet the rest of the pack at lunch. Lupper? We were also lazy today and slept in.”
“We’ll have a powwow with him. This is a good place. It smells healthy.”
“It is.” He clapped Tom on the back. “There’s probably some stuff in the fridge too. I’m gonna go check on my mate. He was hurt pretty bad.”
“Evie mentioned. He’s going to be okay, though?” Danny actually looked concerned.
“He will.” Connor was better every day, and just before he left the kitchen, the babble was returning. He had a whole new lease on life.
“Excellent. I’m glad to hear it. It would have been easy to just walk away from Eve and let her hang.”
He shook his head. “My mate would never have done that. Never.”
“No, but that’s what makes him an amazing guy.” Danny surprised the shit out of Brock by grabbing him and enveloping him in a hug. “Thank you both.”
“You’re welcome, sir.” Shit, he’d been touched more in the past six months than he had his whole life.
Brock thought he might like it.
28
Connor actually felt like being human two days later, and he got up to put on clothes. By the time he wandered out, everyone but Sam was gone, and Sam was cooking up a storm.
“They’ve gone to buy lumber. They’re going to start building more cabins. Now. When it’s going to be winter soon.”
He nodded and grabbed a cup of coffee, heavy on the cream.
“It’s insane, but they want one for you and Brock, one for Evie, and then another that’s more commercial kitchen.”
Wow. That sounded expensive as hell. He wasn’t sure he’d contributed enough to build a whole house.
“I know, huh? It’s the bears. They came to Gus and me last night. Evie said she intends to stick here, and they’re going to bankroll us. We agreed to not turn needy bears away. They agreed to build for us.” Sam looked at him, eyes worried. “We said yes. Do you think it’s a mistake? We’re going to be a little city of shifters. What if…?”
Connor went to Sam and held on tight. He also popped his lips in a pshaw noise, because if anyone could organize this, it was Sam.
“Thanks, brother.” Sam hugged him back so tight.
All those years choreographing dancers, a bunch of ragtag shifters were going to be a breeze. He leaned back and patted Sam’s cheeks.
>
“Yeah. Still no voice, huh?” Sam grinned. “Maddening, huh? I didn’t think my legs would ever get back to even close to normal.”
He nodded, shrugged. He communicated all right, he thought. Even the babies seemed to get it.
“Anyway, we’ll need to roast off a few beasts, huh? Dry run for Thanksgiving. Mom is making two soups, and she has everyone’s ovens but ours making bread.”
Mmm. Bread. He nodded and grabbed an apron. He was terrible at cooking, but he loved to help and pretend to be useful.
“Peel.” Sam handed him carrots and potatoes, a full bag of each. Now that, he could do.
Two pups peeked in the back door, floppy ears sad and down, tails low. Poor babies had been cooped up a lot.
Oh. Oh, his little ones.
He dropped the vegetables on the island, plopped down on the floor, and opened his arms.
They romped right over to him, and up close, he knew they were Dane and Donna, an inseparable pair of Gray and Marina’s babies. Oh, so sweet. He nuzzled in, scratching and petting, loving on their little bodies.
“You’re a sucker, brother.”
He nodded easily. He so was. He loved these little souls so much.
“I never thought I’d be a dad. I mean, I know I’m not their dad, but I am to Bella and Lisle now. I am their dad.”
And Richie and Randi, which was just as important. Those kids needed direction and were responding to getting it so beautifully.
He kissed heads before pouring the babies some milk. He washed up, because he had promised to peel.
“I’m glad you’re staying long-term, you know. I mean, I know you’ll go and find things, but I love knowing you’ll be here between. Are you looking forward to Christmas?”
He nodded, even though part of him was going, Christmas? He needed to get toys. Scarves. Things.
“We should go shop once the bears go, huh? Take the Mustang and play.”
Oh, yes. Yes, please. He nodded and bounced over to nuzzle his friend.
Sam hugged him again. “I’m so glad you found us, Connor. You’ve brought us so much happiness.”
Flatterer. Still, they’d found one another, and that had been important. Vital.
Him and his pack of cats and dogs.
He peeled potatoes while Sam sang and seasoned, and they moved babies out of the way as more and more joined them.
