Page 12 of Beast Bear

They climbed out of the car and followed the walkway around the house. Theo caught the scent of grilling meat wafting through the air. They circled around to the back deck and found Shane Keenan at the grill. Lily was arranging bowls on a wooden picnic table. At the other end of the deck stood a chiminea and a stack of firewood. The yard was rimmed with flowerbeds near the fence, and the tall pines beyond cast cool shade.

“Theo!” Lily called out, setting down a dish. She walked over and gave him a hug. “You must be Serena. It’s so nice to meet you.” Lily reached out and took Serena’s hand, giving it a warm shake. “I’ve been dying to meet you since Stella told us she spotted you two at the diner. Theo, how dare you keep her from us for a single day?”

“Mom,” Theo said under his breath.

Shane turned from the grill, spatula in hand. Smoke curled from a variety of meats. “It’s good to see you, son,” he said. “And your lovely new mate.”

“Dad...” He shot Theo a sideways grin. “Serena and I are just getting to know each other. No pressure.”

Stella appeared in the sliding door from the kitchen, carrying a bag of hamburger buns. “There you are,” she said to Theo. Then she shot Serena a bright smile.

“It’s good to see you, Stella,” Serena said, smiling at his sister.

“Are my parents demanding to know if you’ve picked out baby names yet?”

Serena snorted, and Theo groaned.

“Dinner’s ready!” Shane announced, turning to them with a platter full of burgers, sausages, steak, and chicken.

The picnic table was loaded with side dishes: potato salad, corn on the cob, fruit slices, and a pitcher of iced tea. Everyone gathered at the table. Theo watched Serena sitting across from him, beside his sister. She turned to him and smiled.

Lily handed a platter of steaming corn on the cob across the table, then turned to Theo with a curious smile. “How’s the wilderness school, dear? And your new cooking position? Shane and I are dying to know how it’s all going.”

Theo paused for a moment, arranging the food on his plate. He felt Serena glance his way, as if sensing the guarded tension in his posture. “It’s been good,” he said simply, trying to soundupbeat. “The academy has a lot of moving parts, but the kitchen menu is pretty simple.”

Shane leaned in, elbows on the table. “That must be a change from those Portland restaurants, huh?”

Theo nodded. “Very different pace,” he admitted.

“Are you managing all right?” Lily asked gently.

He forced a small smile, stabbing the potato salad with his fork. “Yeah, it’s manageable,” he said. He pushed back the thought of nearly losing control again during today’s hectic lunch rush. A swirl of dread tightened in his chest, but he kept his face neutral, not wanting to worry his mother.

Stella leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wooden picnic table. The glow of the nearby chiminea lit the smile on her face. The evening air carried the scent of pine and smoke. “So, Serena,” she said. “Where did you work before coming here?”

“I work as a paramedic in different cities,” Serena said, her tone calm. “I go where contracts take me. It’s always changing.”

Stella’s eyes glimmered with interest. “So you’re used to packing up and hitting the road?”

Serena nodded, running a thumb over a knot in the table’s wood grain. “I enjoy the independence of it. I spend a few months in one location, then move on to the next. It lets me see a lot of places. But I realized I wanted something more specialized. Fate Mountain Wilderness Academy’s paramedic-integration program seemed like the right challenge.”

Lily took a thoughtful sip of iced tea, then nodded. “I’m so happy you found your way here.”

Stella eyed Theo with a mischievous grin. “Hey, big brother,” she said in a conspiratorial tone. “Do you remember that day when you were seventeen and I was ten, and I sneaked into your room to borrow your hoodie?”

Theo let out a groan, rolling his eyes. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

Stella pounced on his reaction, turning to Serena with a delighted laugh. “I had the genius idea to hide in Theo’s closet, waiting for him to come back from football practice. He had just taken off his gear, sweaty and sore, and I jumped out wearing his favorite black hoodie.”

“Why would you do that?” Serena asked, amused despite herself.

“Because I knew he was obsessed with that hoodie,” Stella replied. “And I wanted to see him freak out.” She gestured toward Theo with her fork. “And freak out he did. I think you practically clawed the ceiling, right?”

Theo sighed. “That might have happened,” he admitted, picking at a piece of cornbread on his plate. “I’d just walked a few miles home from practice, my arms felt like lead. Then you popped up in my sweatshirt. Creeped me out.”

Stella smirked. “He turned so pale I thought he’d pass out. Then he chased me around the living room until Dad yelled at us to cut it out.”

Lily, listening from the other side of the table, chuckled softly. “You two gave me quite the show that day. I remember Shane nearly dropped the kettle trying to figure out why you were both shrieking.”

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