Page 60 of The Grizzly Situation
“We love Momma.”
“And from the looks you get, that love goes both ways. Don’t worry, I’m going to do my best to keep Uly here. I very much like him too.”
He leaned back and peered into my eyes. “Promise?” he asked, his lip quivering.
I held out my hand, then crooked the little finger. “Pinky swear.”
And as he hooked his finger with mine, that seemed to satisfy him.
ULY
When I woke,I found Jack still snuggled against me, seemingly content. Eddie wasn’t anywhere to be seen, so I slid out of bed and trudged out to the great room. Brent was holding a sobbing Eddie to his chest. My first instinct was to rush over and grab Eddie and hopefully get him to stop crying. Then I heard the words that caused everything to grind to a halt.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to do my best to keep Uly here. I very much like him too.”
Now I was weirded out in a different way. No one had everlikedme before, and I had no idea how I should react. If I was honest, I liked Brent. A lot. Since the day in the diner he’d been a port in a storm for me. Showing me I had worth, telling me I wasn’t broken, and propping me up on bad days. Other than Jamie, our parents, and Deb, everyone else passed me by without noticing me. I always felt as though I was a bit of the background.
Unless I fell flat on my face. Then no one could miss me.
But Brent and the boys? They actually saw me. Even Chaim and Benjy seemed to, although I suspect it was more for Brent’s sake than anything else. And that was okay too, I suppose. Itwas weird, you know? For most of my life I had to hide away, because I was ashamed of pretty much everything about myself. Yet here, in this haven for bear shifters, I felt more human than ever before.
“You can come in, Uly,” Brent called out.
Of course he’d know I was here. I stepped around the corner and smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“Momma!” Eddie shouted, then struggled in Brent’s arms to get down. As soon as his feet hit the floor he rushed over to me and latched onto my leg. I stood there, staring at the kid who’d accepted me into his life without any reservations. Intellectually I understood it was because of his mother’s scent being similar to mine, but that didn’t matter. I bent down and hefted him into my arms, smiling when he buried his face in my neck and breathed deep.
“You smell so good, Momma,” he said, his voice dreamy.
Brent came closer and leaned in. “You do,” he agreed.
My stomach got all fluttery at the sweet words. “Thank you.”
“I have to make a few phone calls,” Brent said. “Will you give me like twenty minutes or so?”
“Sure. We need to go wake up Jack anyway. I want to check their temperatures. Eddie’s seems normal and—wait. What’s normal for a shifter?”
Brent smiled. “We do tend to run hotter, but only after puberty when our healing factor kicks into full.”
“Healing factor? You mean like Wolverine?”
He chuckled. “Not quite that good, but it is similar. Wolves have total immunity to human diseases, while bears have about eighty-five percent. And even if we get sick, it doesn’t last as long. Unless it’s something that overwhelms us.”
“Then the boys should be a normal temperature?”
“Yup. They’re good, normal boys. With a teeny tiny quirk.”
And I found I believed that. They’d been sweet, touchy-feely, and seemed to care about me. Or Mama me. And I loved them already.
“Okay, go make your calls. I’ll take care of the kids.”
“Great. Thanks.” He stood, then took two steps toward the office, then came back. “Oops, damn, I forgot,” he said, a moment before he leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. A jolt went through me as he kissed me, but then his eyes widened and he pulled away. “Oh, crud. I’m so sorry, Uly!”
But I wasn’t. Not in the least. I wrapped my hand around the side of his neck and pulled him down to me, then kissed him back. It was chaste—didn’t want to do anything awkward in front of the kids, after all—and when he stepped away, he touched his lips and looked as though his brain was fried.
“Brent?”
“You… You kissed me.”
