Page 124 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
“What’s that supposed to mean? You wouldn’t happen to be plotting something, would you?”
“That’s for me to know, and you to find out,” I countered before hurrying to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Although the cabins were rural, we were far from roughing it. The water was way hotter than my shower at home, and the tub was plenty big enough for both Remy and me. The dual showerheads were another bonus. Remy stepped into the tub behind me, his hands roaming over my body.
We might have gotten a little distracted, but only because he looked downright irresistible with soap suds trailing down his dark skin. He tanned a lot during the summer with his landscaping work, but now that we were in the dead of winter, hewas back to that same warm, earthy gold he had been when we met.
Unfortunately, however, there was only so distracted we could be with three kids in the same building and only one bathroom, because maybe fifteen or so minutes after we got in, there was a soft knock on the door with an urgent plea about needing to pee. We hurriedly finished up and dressed, because that was part of being a parent.
“So, what’s on the docket today?” I asked once we were all seated around the table and eating the breakfast that Remy had made us. I was a fairly accomplished cook myself, but I didn’t have much skill with breakfast food. Growing up, I’d never been too fond of it. Eggs sometimes made my stomach cramp, so many things were far too sweet, and I had a crippling addiction to hollandaise sauce that was best treated by pretending the delicious, creamy sauce didn’t exist.
Bacon was nice, though.
“Well, since there’s been a nice snowfall, I figured we could round up all the kids to go to the playground and the fields, see if another cataclysmic battle takes place,” Remy stated, resulting in our kids cheering in agreement. “As for tonight, there’s a big dinner to kick off the holiday. We arrived too late for it last year, because I didn’t want you to get too overloaded with more than ten days with the clan.”
“I understand why you did that,” I said between bites. “You know, it really was crazy that you invited a clueless human to a shifter gathering. What was your plan with that?”
It wasn’t always easy to see when Remy blushed, but I could definitely tell now that his cheeks were pinkening ever so slightly “I... I actually just spaced when I invited you. I was so horrified about the thought of you and Max spending Christmas alone that my mouth kind of moved before my brain did.”
“We had to tell him in the car,” Eva said, grinning impishly.
“Really?” I asked. I was gobsmacked, but also completely amused. My gaze flicked back to Remy’s, and the pointedly nonchalant way he was staring at his food told me everything I needed to know. “Remington LeBeau! That could have gone so badly! You hardly knew me at the time.”
“I know, I know,” he murmured. “But think of it this way. If I had done the logical thing, none of us would be here together. Besides,” his gaze sidled over to our children, “I don’t think anyone here can judge me for acting a little out of pocket aftersome peopleinvented an entire conspiracy to change the markers on the trail so their parents would end up lost and having to spend the night in an abandoned cabin.”
“Technically, it was a half-renovated abandoned cabin,” Max said, chin resting in his hand in what I was sure was an exact mimicry of what I did whenever I was being saucy with Remy.
“A detail that makes all the difference, I’m sure,” Remy answered, ruffling Max’s hair.
My son beamed at him, then stuck out his tongue. I loved that they got along like they’d always been in each other’s lives. While I would always respect that the first chapters of Remy’s story were dedicated to Zara, I never once felt that there wasn’t any room for Max and me in his heart. Maybe I was seeing things with rose-colored glasses, but we made the perfect little blended family. And in just one year, too.
“I think it is,” Addy objected. “It’s not like we just left you in a tent in the wild! We made sure it was real nice for you.”
“Yeah! All romantic-like,” Eva chimed in. It would be strange if there was ever a time when she didn’t back up her sister. Those two were going to be BFFs for life.
“And yet we still had to deal with a random bear trying to break in because food was left out too long,” I pointed out casually. Sometimes it was fun to throw a little wrench in tokeep it going a little longer. Our kids were all their own little characters, and I genuinely enjoyed interacting with them.
Strangehow I thought of them as completely our kids now. Sure, I referred to them as our kids when the three of them were together and we were discussing them, but now I thought of them asourkids—there was a difference. Yes, Remy and I were just a couple at this point, but that didn’t mean I didn’t see the girls as my own. While I would never try to replace their mother, not in a million years, I was more than happy to be a guardian for them in whatever way they would like.
“Wait, there was a bear?” Eva asked, eyes wide.
Right, we’d never shared that tidbit.
Naturally, Max didn’t miss his cue and began to beat his little fists against the table as he chanted. “Bears! Bears! Bears!”
Addy and Eva joined in with just as much glee.
“Bears! Bears! Bears!”
“All right, all right!” Remy said, holding up his hands in surrender as he chuckled. “Why don’t the three of you worry about finishing up your breakfast so we can all start rounding up the crew?” His gaze returned to me once more. “Actually, I have an idea. While I’m rounding up all the kids who want to go play, why don’t you check in with Ana? I know she’s been slammed at work, and we haven’t seen her since, God, what? Halloween?”
“Actually, that’s a great idea. It has been a while.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play with all the kids, but there would be more than enough time for that. I didn’t want to wipe myself out on the first day. As much as it besmirched my pride, those kid shifters had a lot more energy than I did. If I tried to keep up with them, I’d be sore and needing a week to sleep it off. Besides, it would be nice to have another private conversation with the woman who had grown to be my closest adult friend.We texted each other at least once a week, which wasn’t a lot by most people’s standards, but it was a lot for me, and she always seemed to understand.
“Sounds like a plan,” Remy said.
Although I was certain Remy had made the right decision the previous year by bringing me a few days after the big start of the Christmas jamboree, that feeling was solidified when we stepped into the main cabin only to find it absolutely teeming with people.
The entryway where Remy and I had discussed Shakespeare for probably twenty minutes? There were at least a dozen people in there. Some sitting and reading quietly, but most gathered in small groups seeming to be catching up with each other. Several stopped and waved as we passed, some of whom I even recognized, but no one halted us on our journey to the dining area.
