Page 86 of The Grizzly Situation
And I’d missed it. Shucks.
“Mom? She wentoff. She reminded him that you were gay and demanded to know if he had a problem with you. He said no,of course not. It was thoseothergays. The ones trying to make kids into perverts like them. The ones that wear women’s clothes and prance around pretending to be like—and it was that point where she kicked him out of the house. Suffice it to say, since everyone bailed not long after he started, Deb and I brought home a lot of leftovers.”
I couldn’t love my parents more. I needed to call them soon. They knew I’d moved, but not much beyond that.
“I need you to tell me, Uly. We’re going to be okay, right?” Jamie asked, a quaver in his voice.
“Dude, we are going to be epic.”
And I meant that with my whole damn heart.
Chapter Twenty-Three
ULY
The next twomonths passed quickly. We were fully into winter now. The weather in the mountains was cold and and the peaks were snow covered. Sixteen inches of snowfall, some powder and some wet and thick, fell in the higher altitudes. Members of the sleuth came from all over to ski or romp through the drifts. One member brought some brown bears they’d met, and everyone had a great time. Even the boys loved it, burying their faces in the piles, then shaking it out.
Me? Normally I despised snow, but watching the boys play gave me a new appreciation. Even Brent got in on the action in human and bear form. When he was a bear, he’d join the adults and chase each other through the enormous drifts. When he was human, he’d gather the kids and make snow families. It was so plain to see that he was a family man.
That night, after we got home and took some hot showers, we all sat down to dinner and I got to meet Tom and Sandy Bishop, who Brent raved about. They were the sweetest people, and their brown bear friends were funny and engaging. It was nice whenBrent introduced me as his mate, and Sandy pulled me into an embrace and told me to never let him go. I swore I wouldn’t.
Even though he denied it, I could see the sheen of tears in his eyes when they got into a monster RV and headed out of town.
Which led us to the next problem. And this one? It could have turned bloody.
I was home one day, sitting on the sofa and reading a book while the boys took a nap. They tried to cajole me into sleeping with them, but the pills had stabilized and I no longer felt as tired after taking them. Interesting thing I noted was even though they still took a nap, they slept less and less. My boys were growing up, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
The doorbell rang, and I called out that I’d get it, since I was closest. When I opened the door, I didn’t need to wonder who the man was on the stoop. With the brown eyes and silver hair, he looked like Brent, only older and not nearly as handsome.
“Can I help you?” I asked icily, recalling the stories Brent had told me about this piece of crap.
His nose wrinkled. “You’re human!” he said, his tone sharp and accusatory.
“Nice to see your sense of smell hasn’t failed you. What do you want?”
He sneered at me. “I’m here to see my son.”
“Brent is at work. I can take a message and see if he’s willing to call you back.”
A deep rumble from his throat and he surged forward, slamming me against the door, which banged into the wall. Amelia came rushing out, saw him, and her face, normally sweet and placid, became a mask of rage.
“Get out of this house, Gavin!” she demanded.
“You don’t talk to me like that,” he insisted.
“I will talk to you however the hell I want. This is no longer your home, this is not your staff, and you are not welcome here.Brent made it very clear that you were no longer allowed in town.”
“He doesn’t tell me where I can go.”
I, meanwhile, was lifted off the floor and pinned against the heavy wooden door. I will admit, it was getting a little hard to breathe, what with his fingers wrapped around my throat.
“And since when are humans allowed here?” he demanded.
“Since I’m Brent’s mate,” I said, choking out the words.
His eyes widened. “You’re a liar!” he snarled, then slammed a fist into my face, bouncing my head off the door. Yeah, that was going to bruise.
As I was about to let loose with a snarky reply, a huge hand grabbed him by the back of the head, fingers splayed and digging in.
