by Terry Spear
“Thanks, Gary. You don’t know how much this means to us.”
“I think I do.” Gary glanced in the direction of the boys and smiled at Robyn.
Edward explained everything to the grizzly who had fought his own brother over a case of mistaken identity when it came to a woman Gary had been seeing, but everything had been patched up between Rob and Gary. Edward was watching out the front windows while he was talking, and Gary was watching out the back windows.
Gary smiled at the boys. “They look just like you when you were that age.”
“We hate dragging you into this,” Edward said. “But I was really worried they would reach us before we could get the kids to safety.”
“What are friends for? I know you’d do the same for me if our roles had been reversed.”
“I agree,” Edward said.
Robyn sat down on the couch and hugged the boys. She prayed Craig and his brother would get here before the other bears did. She was glad they had Gary here to help out.
“What’s your plan of action?” Gary asked.
“I’ll shoot off a couple of warning shots to let them know we’re armed and dangerous. Simon and his bothers didn’t have any weapons at their cabin. I would rather we just let the bears know we’re armed and they no longer have the advantage. I’d rather not have to kill them out here. But, of course, if it means they’re going to keep coming after us and try to take the boys away, we’ll have to do whatever it takes.” Edward turned to Robyn. “Does that sound all right to you?”
“Yes. I’ll do anything I have to, to keep them from taking the boys back to the Northwest Territories.”
“Okay, good. We’re getting married,” Edward told Gary. “As soon as we’re able to return to White Bear. You and your mate are invited.”
Gary laughed. “That’s a swift move. Looks like you got the cart before the horse.”
“Absolutely, and we’ll be glad to have you,” Robyn said. “Though it’s got to be a quick wedding.”
“Those are the best kind. Plenty of food?” Gary asked.
Edward chuckled. “Yeah, you know my aunt and uncle. We’ll be well-fed.” Edward moved closer to the window. “I saw movement.”
She’d hoped the brothers had seen the tracks for another bear, smelled the grizzly’s scent, and would worry Edward and she had more reinforcements they’d met at the cabin. But it appeared the bears weren’t going to be persuaded to give up their mission. She wished there was some way to convince them that the boys weren’t blood relations of anyone in their sleuth.
She got up from the couch and the boys immediately wanted to join her. “It’s okay. Stay here.” She grabbed some winter outerwear and began putting it on.
“What are you doing?” Edward asked, concerned.
“I’m going to tell them that the boys are yours. Maybe they’ll realize what a mistake this is and they’ll back off.”
“Do you think they’ll even believe us?” Edward asked.
“I’m hoping so.” But she really didn’t know. "Callahan's brothers are only doing this based on what Martha and Arnold told them. If we could convince them what they believe is wrong, maybe we can stop this."
Edward hurried to put on some winter gear. Then he and she headed outside, his rifle at the ready.
The four bears stopped some distance from the cabin when they saw Edward and Robyn.
She called out, “The boys are Edward MacMathan’s. This man standing beside me. He is their real father. Not Callahan. Your brother mated me to protect the boys and Edward from my family, but he was not the father of the two boys,” she repeated. “Your mother knows the truth. Callahan told the boys, and Bryan told your mother. I’m sure she told your father also. The birth certificates show Edward as the father. DNA will prove he is their father, and that your parents are not related in any way to the boys. Not only that, but Edward and I are married now. Martha and Arnold have no claim to the boys.”
None of the polar bears made a move in their direction while pondering the news. Edward kept his rifle at the ready, but was holding it in a non-threatening manner.
“Others are on their way here,” Robyn warned the bears. “And we have three rifles between us and enough ammunition to stop you right now. We don’t want this to end badly for any of us. The boys are already traumatized enough by your behavior. I understand why you thought the way you did, but I knew I couldn’t have explained any of this back in Yellowknife, not with Martha and Arnold wanting to take custody of the boys so bad.” She really didn’t think the brothers would care that the boys were upset about all this. To them, the brothers thought they were taking care of an injustice.
One of the bears suddenly ran forward and Edward reacted just as quickly, firing a shot in the snow right in front of him. The bear veered off. The other bears were waiting, but they could see Edward was an excellent shot and could have taken out the bear easily, if he’d wanted to.
Gary joined them on the porch, wielding the other rifle. She was certain Edward wanted her inside with the boys, but she stood her ground, showing solidarity with the men. This was as much her fight as Edward’s. She was just grateful Gary was helping them out too and that she hadn’t been bluffing. Though she had been about the third rifle.
Maybe this wouldn’t end in bloodshed. She didn’t know what they thought they were going to do about the boys. Or how the men were even going to get a plane back to White Bear.
For the longest time, they just sat there, stubborn as usual, not liking the way things were going for them. Then she turned and headed into the cabin, wanting to be with her boys to offer them comfort while the bears made up their minds. The boys were scared and she reassured them that everything was all right for the moment.
It seemed like forever that Edward and Gary were standing on the porch. She watched the bears through the window. The sat phone rang, and she hurried to get it. “Callahan’s brothers are here. We have a standoff. Edward had to fire a round at one of them when he charged us. I told them the boys are Edward’s, Craig.”
“We’re landing in a few minutes. Andy is with me and well-armed.”
Relieved, she let out her breath. “I’m so glad.” She knew he couldn’t arrest them, to go to trial and maybe earn a jail sentence for some time, not when they were bear shifters. Then they heard the seaplane coming in for a landing.
The bears all looked in that direction. She suspected then, they’d been waiting to see if she’d been bluffing about the seaplane carrying men coming to aid them.
“My cousins,” Edward said. “One is a trooper, Andrew MacMathan. You met him already. I’m sure we can arrange for transportation for you to return to White Bear, get your vehicles, and head back to the Northwestern Territories.”
The bears exchanged looks.
She hoped they would agree to it and leave without getting into a fight, but they must have left their clothes behind at Simon’s cabin.
Another seaplane landed after that and Edward said, “Sounds like your ride home. Or to your vehicles in White Bear, at least. We don’t want to have any more issues with you. If you ask Arnold and Martha about the boys’ heritage, maybe they’ll tell you the truth that they knew about it all along. I understand how you want to protect your own kin, but the boys are not part of your sleuth. And I understand how they feel about losing their son, and then realize that they have none of his offspring either to call their own. But that’s the truth of the matter.”
Robyn was glad Edward was so calm in a crisis.
Richard, the bear who seemed to be leading the pack, and who had made the motion to attack them, inclined his head, acknowledging he would go along with their plan.
She didn’t feel the bears had much of a choice at this point. Maybe they realized that their parents hadn’t been perfectly honest with them. She suspected this wasn’t the first time they’d lied about something to get their way either.
Callahan’s brothers could have been taking the boys away from their tru
e mother, father, and all the rest of Edward’s family who were real blood relations.
It appeared the brothers decided to stay here and get a lift home. If they ran back the way they had come, they could get their clothes, but they would be stuck there, unless they could get someone else to fly them out. Maybe the pilot would fly them back to Simon’s cabin and let them dress there.
Craig and Andy headed toward them, rifles in hand. Two more men followed them, the pilot of the second seaplane and another man, both armed with rifles, one carrying a backpack.
“Looks like you’re flying these guys out,” Edward said.
“Back to White Bear?” the other pilot asked.
“Yes, and then they’re leaving for the Northwestern Territories,” Edward said.
“Okay,” Andy said. “One man at a time goes into the house, shifts, changes, gets manacled, and waits for the next man to do the same. We were already at Simon’s place,” he explained to Edward and Robyn, “and found their clothes, so we grabbed them before we headed out.”
Good. Then they wouldn’t need to take them back to Simon’s house first.
The bear in charge headed for the house, Gary and Edward going in first to protect Robyn and the boys. She took the boys into a bedroom and shut the door. She didn’t want one of the bears to attack them, if they were just pretending to go along with the plan.
9
Once Richard was dressed, Edward used wrist ties on him and made him sit on the couch. Then the next brother was ushered in. He shifted and dressed, and then was manacled.
Edward was glad Robyn had taken the boys into one of the rooms to keep them away from these men. He knew it had to have been terrifying for them, running for their lives from the sleuth three times already.
“We need the DNA analysis that proves the boys are yours,” Richard said, stony-faced.
“We’ll send you a copy of that and of the boys’ birth certificates,” Edward said.
After all four men were ready to be transported back to White Bear, Andy folded his arms across his chest, his expression stern. “All right. Here’s the deal. You leave, and if you come back, you’ll be civil, or we’ll deal with you in the way our kind sees fit. The kids aren’t part of your sleuth. They’re members of ours. And they won’t be returning to your territory.”
“Uncle Arnold and Aunt Martha have been raising the boys. They should have some right to visitation,” Richard said, but he'd lost his growl, more like he was hopeful they could get some concessions, if his parents still wanted some time with the boys.
Robyn came out of the bedroom and closed the door. “No. They wanted to take the boys away from me for good when they knew damn well they weren’t Callahan’s sons. And they haven't been ‘raising’ the boys. They've babysat for them a few times is all. I’m sure you know how controlling they are.”
The brothers glanced at each other, the telling expression saying they knew just what they were like, in charge and everything had to go their way, or else.
“If what you say is true, then you won’t hear from us again,” Richard said.
Edward sure hoped that this was the end of it. “You have my word you’ll get the paperwork. I’d prefer to send it to you, rather than to give it to them. We want to make sure that the information is disseminated to the rest of your sleuth.”
“That’s the way I want it done.”
“Okay, then let’s go,” Andy said. “You can ride with me in the second seaplane.”
Andy led the brothers out of the house, and they loaded up in the plane, the other man with them helping to watch over the brothers. He and the pilot were wolf shifters.
Craig said, “That went better than I expected.”
“That’s the same thought I had,” Edward said.
“I’ll take you to Simon’s cabin and you can gather up all your belongings there. We’ll have some men follow the brothers out of our territory to ensure they’re headed home,” Craig said.
Since the boys didn’t have any shoes that would fit them, Edward grabbed up Bryan and carried him to the seaplane, while Craig carried Garrett out. Once they were airborne, the boys were having a ball pointing to the landscape below, the pristine snow, the choppy water, puffins diving, sea otters hugging each other, and even a couple of polar bears roaming across the snow, who looked up, stood, and waved at the plane. “Those are a couple of ours,” Edward said. “Susan and Molly Winterberry. They just moved into the area, but they would recognize Craig's seaplane.”
Edward had met them, just like his cousins and brother had, but like usual, he’d been so hung up on Robyn, no one else could hold a candle to her.
"Did the brothers ever have much to do with the boys?" Edward asked Robyn. It didn't appear the brothers cared about not seeing the boys further and if they'd been active in their lives, he would have expected them to say they wanted to see them anyway. It seemed as though the only reason they had made the effort to come after them was that they believed their parents had been wronged.
"No," Garrett said for his mother.
"Uh-uh," Bryan said.
"Truthfully? I think they were jealous of the attention their parents showed the boys. According to Callahan, their parents had been too busy to pay a lot of attention to their sons while they were growing up. So I think their sons were miffed," Robyn said. "Even so, sleuth ties are strong and I'm sure they didn't want me to get away with taking the boys from there where they couldn't easily see them."
"If the only ones who wanted to see the boys were Callahan's parents, it probably won't be as big of an issue." Though Edward did think of the presents they might have gotten the boys. Still, it didn't matter. Not when they had planned to take the boys away from Robyn for no good reason.
They flew to the area where Simon’s cabin was located and Craig and Edward carried the boys to the cabin so they could put on their own clothes. While everyone was dressing themselves, Craig began hauling their groceries out to the plane.
Edward grabbed his bags and the clothes everyone had borrowed and the sheets off the bed so he could wash them and return them to the snow leopard brothers, stuffing them in a trash sack. Then he carried them out to the plane. Robyn finished packing her bag and the kids packed their own, then Craig and Edward returned for the bags.
The boys ran outside to the seaplane while Robyn hurried after them.
“You know,” Craig said to Edward, following behind Robyn, “you and your brother are causing Mom and Dad to push my brothers and me to find mates. Here both of you already have kids even.”
Edward smiled. “You’ll find the right women one of these days. You’re so busy flying that you don’t take the time to look for the right girl. Ben’s too busy matchmaking to work on his own match, and Andy is too busy trying to uphold the law.”
“Not to mention finding a smart, beautiful bear who adores me can be an issue,” Craig said.
Robyn climbed into the seaplane. “It’ll happen when you’re least expecting it.”
At least that's what happened to Edward and his brother. Edward called his aunt on the sat phone to let her know they were on their way home, and he was glad that it truly was Robyn and the boys’ home now too.
WHEN CRAIG and his passengers finally arrived back in White Bear, Rob came by with another of their tour vans and picked them up.
"Tamara is so glad you can use her wedding dress," Rob said, smiling at Robyn.
"Is she sure?"
"Yeah. I just sent a picture of it to Edward. We didn't have your email address."
Edward forwarded the picture to Robyn's phone and she opened up the file to see the wedding gown. "Oh, wow, it's beautiful." She was so thrilled, even though at first, she was a little apprehensive. She would look like a fairytale princess for sure. "I'd like to pay her for borrowing it."
"Don't think of it. She's so excited to have a new friend, that she was thrilled to do it."
"Thank you." Robyn brushed away tears.
Her sons looked
at her, thinking she was upset about something. She smiled at them, to let them know she was fine.
"We scrounged up tuxes for the boys too. The tuxes the boys wore to Alicia and my wedding are too small for them now, so the wolves gifted them to the boys."
She couldn't believe the generosity of the local shifter community. "I just can't tell you how much all of this means to me."
"Everyone knows your circumstances and they're eager to help out. Once you and my brother found each other, we all knew that this was meant to be."
And here her family had been so awful about Edward and her being together. Edward had been so badly wounded after fighting with her brother and killing him, she knew then she would have to leave. Edward would never have provoked her brother, not when he wanted to marry her and make a lasting peace with her family. But her family would have wanted revenge. Edward could have easily covered up her brother's death and pretended his disappearance hadn't had anything to do with him. But he’d been honest about the whole situation.
"If it's all right with you, the rest of the guys are wearing black tuxedos, since we already have them," Rob said, breaking into her thoughts.
"That sounds wonderful to me. Can Alicia be my matron of honor and Tamara be my bridesmaid?" Robyn asked.
"They will be delighted. We're having a rehearsal dinner tonight and our aunt and uncle are hosting it at their tavern. Then tomorrow is the wedding. But we're formally marrying you off, paperwork-wise, when we get to the house, to ensure that Callahan's family realize you're not returning to the Northwest Territories. Uncle Ned is doing the honors. And then tomorrow afternoon, we'll have the formal ceremony with all the family and friends."
"Who will be there tonight at the house?" she asked.
"Uncle Ned, Aunt Genevieve, Alicia, me, and the babies. If we're lucky, the babies will be asleep during all the activities. Ben, Craig, and Andy are running the tavern while we're doing this. Then we'll head over to the tavern to the banquet room for the rehearsal dinner. We've reserved White Bear Hall for the wedding and reception and several people are setting up decorations for it tonight."