Chapter 4
Chapter Four
brENT
“What the hell are you doing?” Chaim snarled, as he grabbed the one hundred fifty pound barbell that was about to take my head off, and put it back on the rack with one hand.
“You said I needed to lift more to get strong,” I reminded him, anger and pain bubbling inside me.
He closed his eyes and mumbled something, then they snapped open and he pinned me with a venomous stare. “What’s the first rule of lifting, Brent? What was the very first thing I told you?” he demanded, his voice barely concealing the rage.
There had been a long list of dos and don’ts that Chaim and Benjy had given me, but the very first, and most important they’d said, stood out in my mind.
“Don’t lift alone.”
“You could have died! That was way over your weight limit. If I hadn’t come in when I did—“
“But—“
“Don’t interrupt him, cub,” Benjy snarled as he strode through the door, the swagger from huge leg muscles which always attracted attention anywhere he was.
He went to Chaim and brushed their cheeks together.
It was weird knowing that the two of them were a couple.
A secret they’d shared with me, only after I promised not to tell.
I didn’t realize two boys could do that, but it felt good being in the know.
“First rule?” Chaim demanded, once more giving me his full unfettered attention. “Tell me again.”
“Don’t lift alone,” I said, my voice wobbly. “I’m sorry, it’s just…”
Chaim’s features softened. He stepped away from Benjy and came to where I was sitting, reaching out and putting a hand on my shoulder. “Is he still giving you problems?”
I nodded. “He asked me when I was going to kill myself, and said if I waited too long, he’d have to do it himself.”
A growl rent the air. “Okay, that’s it.” Chaim stood, his face beet red, hands clenched tight, his eyes narrowed. “I’ll be back. Benjy, keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything else so reckless again.”
“Of course, Chaim.”
He stormed out of the room, leaving me and Benjy staring after him. When we heard the door slam, Benjy turned to me.
“He’s disappointed in you.”
I knew that, and it hurt my heart. “I’m sorry.”
“He’ll forgive you. Right now he’s angry, but it isn’t all at you. Give him some time to cool off. You know he thinks of you like his little brother, right?”
I shook my head.
“Well, he does. It’s why he’s so protective of you. Any of the other cubs would be jealous of the fact that Chaim Flynn was paying attention to someone other than them.”
“I know. I’ll do better, I—“
“Mr. Lockhart? We’ve landed, sir. Did you want me to call your chauffeur?”
“What?” My head was still buzzing. I hadn’t thought about that day in forever.
Chaim saved my life, literally. Even if I didn’t want to admit it, my muscles—such as they were at the time—were screaming.
I was so close to dropping that barbell, and it would have been right across my chest or throat.
“No… I…. No, it’s fine. I sent him a text when we boarded, so he was likely watching arrival times. I’m sure he’ll be waiting at the gate.”
“Very good, sir. I hope you enjoyed your flight.”
“I fell asleep, so it must have been smooth.”
She laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell Jake you appreciated his even hand.”
I stumbled when I stood. Exhaustion on top of a caffeine overdose mixed with the sugar from Uly’s cake wasn’t a good thing.
At least I’d gotten a nap in. A few hours from now, I’d be in the audience, watching a bunch of kids mangle Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and loving the hell out of every off key note.
As soon as I made my way through the private area reserved for VIPs, a sweet, high pitched twin squeal reached my ears.
“Daddy!”
Two identical five-year-old boys, blessed with their mother’s dark hair, and my gray eyes bolted toward me, and when they were within a few feet, launched themselves, because they knew I’d catch them. I would always catch them.
“You came home!”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I swore. “But shouldn’t you be practicing your lines?”
“I wanted to see you,” Jack said, hand on my face, stroking my beard, gazing at me as if he hadn’t seen me in months. Maybe to a kid that was how it seemed. “We didn’t think you’d be here.”
“Hey, I made you a promise, didn’t I? I would never break that, especially to my two favorite kids.”
“Daddy, we’re your only kids,” Eddie reminded me with an exaggerated huff, him missing the joke that never got old.
“I know, and I’m glad, because I got the best.”
I nuzzled them, inhaling their scent. After a long day at work, nothing spoke to me of being home like my sons. They might be little devils at times, but I loved them with every fiber of my being.
“Were you good boys for Sandy?”
Eddie frowned. “We tried to be,” he assured me.
Sandy Bishop, our housekeeper, often doubled as the babysitter if I had to be out of town.
In fact, she’d been doing more of it in the last few years.
She took care of them during the day, which allowed me to be certain everything was done so I could be there in the evening.
Sandy adored the boys, and told me privately that even their antics were hilarious, though she had to pretend to be stern with them.
“I’m glad you’re home, Daddy,” Eddie said, as he wrapped his slender arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek.
“No happier than I am to be here,” I replied, giving both kids a squeeze. I looked up at Sandy, who stood with a smile on her face. “Thank you for bringing them down. I was expecting Gregory to be here with the car, but this is much better.”
She beamed at me. “When they found out you were coming in, they were so excited, they couldn’t focus on the play. I let Gregory know you’d be driving tonight.”
“Well,” I said, “seeing as how I’m a bear, I suppose I should eat these two sweet things up.”
I gave a playful growl and leaned in close to nudge my head with theirs, delighting in their giggles. These were the moments I lived for. I knew the boys would grow up far too soon, but I planned to be involved in their lives as long as they’d have me.
“Do you have your costumes?” I asked, though I knew if they were here now, Sandy had to have packed them.
“They’re in the trunk,” Sandy told me. “Will you be okay with the boys by yourself?”
“Hot date?” I teased. At sixty-five, Sandy was happily married for forty-three of those years.
“In fact, yes. Tom is taking me to see a movie at that new drive-in and then we’re going for a nice dinner. He says he wants to talk to me about something.”
“Well, now. Do I need to have a heart-to-heart with Tom about proper date etiquette, and a reminder to have you home at a decent hour?”
Her cheeks pinked. “I’d really rather you didn’t. He would take you seriously.”
Tom was the ultimate people pleaser, especially when it came to making the leader of the sleuth happy. He’d bend over backward if I asked him, which would be impressive, considering he was a pretty hefty guy.
“I hope you have a great time.” I put the boys down. “Give Sandy a hug and say thank you to her.”
Both kids rushed to her and grabbed a leg.
She would be a perfect grandma if she’d ever had kids of her own.
Pleasingly plump, with an ample lap to sit on, a chest to cushion you as you lay against her, and a voice that made stories an event, not just listening to someone plod through it.
Admittedly, I often found myself mesmerized when I listened to her as she put the boys to bed, regaling them with stories I hadn’t heard since I was their age.
When the boys let her go, I held out my arms, and she slid in, putting her head on my chest.
“I’m glad you’re home. I hope everything went okay.”
“It did,” I assured her. “The place won’t be closed, but we’re going to be doing their books, plus all the other divisions, from now on.”
She leaned back, her eyes wide. “Oh?”
So I gave her the quick rundown, letting her know about Uly and the question that got the whole tangled mess undone.
“He sounds like a good boy,” she said. “I hope he takes the job.”
“I don’t know if he will. He’s very skittish, and believes he’s too accident prone to be of use to anyone.”
“Surely you told him that wasn’t so.”
“Yeah, and don’t call me Shirley.” I gave her one last hug before letting her go. “It’s up to him if he wants to call. I can’t force him.”
She gave me the eye. “Really?”
I held up my hands. “Hey, he’s not part of the sleuth, so even my numerous charms have no effect on him.”
That made her snort. “Please. It’s nothing to do with being the leader of the sleuth, even though you could sell ice to the Inuit. It’s the fact that you care so deeply. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t follow you off a cliff, if you asked it.”
I arched an eyebrow at such a broad statement. “They’d say they would, and then watch as I walked over it, then sit back and laugh about how gullible I am.”
Before she could give what would no doubt be a smart aleck reply, the boys saved me by employing their most lethal weapon. Puppy dog eyes. They were extra devastating on bears. “Daddy, we’re hungry.”
And that was my cue to say good bye to Sandy, and pick the kids up and carry them, along with my bag, through the airport. She told me where she’d parked the car, so it was easy to find. We waved as she got into hers with Tom, then took off.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Fish and chips!” they both yelled.
Even though they hadn’t shifted yet, both boys had developed a bear’s tastebuds.
They were wild about fish, berries, and other food that a bear loves.
I had to make sure they didn’t try to eat grass or the neighbor’s cat after it got hit by a car.
Not saying they would, but shifters can be pretty unpredictable when they were young.
Sense of smell leads kids, sometimes poorly.
I was the voice of experience on that front.