Chapter 29
Wren
“So, while you were waiting for Maverick’s knot to go down, I made the noodles and meat sauce. Do you want to help me assemble it?” Ethan asks me from across the island, looking adorable in his apron and glasses.
Maverick’s knot had taken about twenty minutes to go down, in which time he helped me brainstorm bear-related nicknames for the rest of the guys.
I’m pretty happy with the winners.
“Sure thing…Bossy Bear.” I grin, walking around the island to his side.
“Good, let’s—” he freezes, looking at me with an incredulous expression. “Did you just call me…Bossy Bear?”
I look up at him innocently. “Yes?”
He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but then he snaps it shut, suppressing a smirk as he shakes his head. “We’ll talk about that later. We’ll start by layering the lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of the pan.”
Ethan walks me through layering the noodles, meat, and ricotta, and then watches approvingly as I repeat the process, layer by layer.
“Do you enjoy cooking?” I ask thoughtfully as I lay down the noodles in a new layer. “Or do you just do it because you’re good at it?”
He seems taken aback by my question at first. “Huh. I actually never thought about it.” His lips purse as he watches me. “I think…I do enjoy it.”
“What do you like about it?”
“Well, I suppose…it’s very formulaic. A plus B equals C. As long as you follow the directions and use the correct ingredients, you should come out with something that’s edible, at the very least.”
“It is sort of therapeutic,” I agree, layering in more cheese.
“Is painting therapeutic for you?” Ethan tilts his head at me.
“I guess…” Images of my paintings flash before my eyes, memories of each feeling and emotion that went into them hitting me suddenly.
“In a way. It was…I had control over what I painted, you know?” I give him a sheepish smile.
“I may not have been able to decide anything else in my life, but the lines, the colors, the images that ended up on the canvas…those were a result of my choices.”
What…what happens when I paint again? Will I still enjoy it? Or did I only love it because it was a way to take a sliver of freedom? Now that I am free…will I still find the same joy?
I know I had fun when painting with Teddy, but that was different. It was part of a game…a date. The thought of no longer loving the one way I could escape my parents’ tyranny makes my heart sink.
“What are you worried about, Little Bird?” Ethan’s finger under my chin has me looking up, blinking away tears.
I sniffle, shaking my head. “It’s stupid, really.”
The spoon in my hand clatters to the ground as I’m gathered in his arms, my face buried in his chest. “Tell me.” His voice is quiet. “Please?”
A shaking sigh leaves me, and my voice is muffled as I talk into his shirt. “I just don’t know who I’ll be if I don’t paint anymore.”
I can hear the frown in his voice. “Why wouldn’t you paint anymore?”
“What if I was only in love with painting because it was something I could do outside my parents control?”
He’s silent for a moment, before he presses a kiss to my hair. “Then we’ll find something else you love doing.”
“But painting is the only thing I’m good at—”
He huffs. “You only think that because you’ve never had the opportunity to explore other skillsets.” My chin props up on his chest, looking up at him. His eyes shine down on me with warmth and determination. “I promise, Wren. If your love for art has burned out, we’ll find something else.”
“But…what if I don’t want something else?”
“Then we’ll light the flame again.”
Something about the finality in his voice settles me.
As if the possibility of anything else happening is nonexistent.
As if what he’s saying is absolute truth and there’s no world where it doesn’t turn out that way.
As if…no matter what, everything will turn out okay.
The tension leaves my body, and I smile. “Okay.”
His expression softens as he reaches to push my hair back. “You trust me that much?”
“Of course I do, Bossy Bear.”
He huffs a laugh. “Does that make you Bratty Bear?”
I frown. “No. I’m your Little Bird.”
“How would a relationship between a bear and a bird work?” His eyes twinkle with mirth.
I roll my eyes playfully. “The bear protects the bird, obviously.”
A smile lights up his face. “And the bird flits between the bears, singing sweet songs and making their days brighter with her mere presence.”
My heart thumps a little harder. “And the bird is free to do that, because she knows her four bears are there to keep her safe.”
“The bears will eat any threat to their little bird.” His words hold promise as he leans down and presses a kiss to my lips.
“The Bears and the Bird…” I smile, stepping away and turning back to dinner. “It has a nice ring to it.”
He chuckles, keeping his arms around my waist as I finish assembling the lasagna. “That it does.”
My heart soars with happiness as he hums approvingly over my shoulder, and presses a kiss to my neck before I top the entire thing with cheese.
We pop it in the oven, and I shut the door, turning and taking off my oven mitts.
But when I turn around, it’s like a switch has been flipped.
Ethan surprises me by backing me against the island, his voice menacing.
“Now, let’s revisit that nickname. I’m not against the suffix ‘bear’, but let’s think of something besides ‘bossy’, hmm? ”
“That sounds exactly like something a Bossy Bear would say.” I arch a brow at him.
Luckily, Teddy chooses that moment to walk into the kitchen, his arms full of bags. I frown, looking at him. “Teddy, I thought you already went to the store.”
“I did,” he says, plopping the bags on the island. “I made one trip to the grocery store, then came back so Ethan—”
“Bossy Bear,” I correct.
Teddy doesn’t even blink. “So Bossy Bear could have his precious rico'ta cheese. Then I went back out to a shop that actually has nice body washes an’ shite, and got you as many as I could, since I didn’t want to pick somefin’ you ‘ated.”
My heart turns. “Teddy Bear, you didn’t have to do that.”
Ethan snorts. “Alright, so I’m Bossy Bear, he’s Teddy Bear. Maverick is…?”
“Daddy Bear, obviously.” I nod seriously.
“Do I want to know what I am?” Brennan’s voice sounds as he enters the kitchen, a small smile on his face.
I grin. “Hey there, Boo Bear.”
“This just makes me want to role-play Goldilocks and the four bears.” Teddy grins, dumping his bag out on the island.
“Goldilocks only has three bears,” Brennan frowns, picking up one of the bottles of body wash.
“Not in my version.” Teddy winks at me, and I bite my lip, holding back a giggle. “Now, come take a look, Dove. I didn’t know what to grab, so you have your pick. Wha’ever you don’t like, we’ll just toss.”
I frown, ducking under Ethan’s arm and approaching the island. “We shouldn’t throw them out, that’s a waste.”
“We can’t return ‘em.” Teddy tilts his head at me. “Though I s’pose we could donate ‘em.”
“Let’s do that,” I nod, picking up one of the bottles and sniffing. Ooh. It smells good. But…won’t it cover up my scent?”
I don’t know how he does it, but Brennan seems to pick up on my thoughts pretty quick. “Ted, did you buy a scentless one?”
Teddy nods. “A few different brands…” He grabs three different bottles out of the pile before pushing them my way.
I give Brennan a grateful smile. “Thank you, I…I don’t know why. I’ve never been particularly attached to my scent, but…the thought of you guys scenting something else besides me makes me feel irrationally angry.”
“Nothing irrational about it, Song Bird,” Brennan gives me a gentle look. “That’s the true scent match at work.”
I open my mouth to answer, but then…the door bell rings. I freeze, my eyes going wide as I look at Teddy, Ethan, and Brennan. Who could that be? Did the police come back? Was I wrong about them not working for my parents?
Brennan’s gaze turns hard as he reaches under the island, promptly pulling out a handgun. “Stay here,” he orders, his tone so much different than his usually sweet one. If I wasn’t terrified that we’d be found, I’d be turned on.
It’s less than thirty seconds later that Brennan calls out, “Wren! You have a visitor!”
My brows shoot up. What? Who would be visiting me? And who could it be that Brennan would be so calm about it?
I take a step in the direction of the front door, but I don’t get to take another one before Maggie is rushing into the room. Her eyes scan the kitchen frantically, her shoulders falling slightly when they land on me. “Wren, oh thank gods.”
Without a word, she walks over and wraps her arms around me in a hug. Her scent, which must have been under scent blockers the other day, strongly reminds me of Maverick, but without the panty-melting factor. Maybe it’s a twin thing.
“Uhhh, Maggie?” My face is practically squished between her boobs. “Is everything okay?”
“Shit, Wren,” she sighs, pulling back and grasping me by the shoulders. “You can’t do that to me. You just hung up, and then I couldn’t get a hold of you…” she huffs, shaking her head.
“What did you think happened?” I frown, looking up at her. She seems really worried.
“I thought you went into heat!” she exclaims, residual panic in her voice.
“And that required you to come over because…?” Ethan looks at her blankly.
“”Onestly, Maggie, you’re lucky I like you, or I’d be pre'ty pissed your first reaction when you thought Wren was in heat was to rush right over,” Teddy deadpans.
“Oh fuck off, Teddy,” Maggie huffs. “It’s not like that.” She acts like she’s going to remove something from her shoulder, but there’s nothing there. “Shit, I—”
“Threw this at me when you came in?” Brennan offers, handing her a shoulder bag as he comes into the room.
“Yes.” She gives him a grateful look. “I was bringing you a birth control shot.”
My eyes widen. “B…birth control?”