by Terra Wolf
“Don’t you dare call me honey.”
The woman turned so red, Blaze worried her head might explode. He stepped closer, thinking cooler heads needed to prevail in this situation, then recognized the woman.
“Capri?” he called as he stepped closer to the desk.
Capri turned her head, relief flooding her features when she saw him.
“Blaze, right?” she asked as she stepped forward, but not before scowling once more at his brother. “At first I thought this one was you, but I realized he wasn’t once he opened his mouth.”
Blaze bit back a laugh and asked, “What can I help you with?”
“Nothing,” Hunter yelled. “I already told her no.”
His eyebrow rose as Blaze looked curiously at his brother. Hunter wasn’t usually so quick to lose his cool. He wondered what had happened before he’d gotten here to rile his brother up.
“What’s going on?” he asked Capri, taking her elbow and steering her toward his desk and away from his brother’s.
“Reagan was supposed to get me this morning to take some equipment with her for the shoot. She must have forgot, because I never heard from her. Then, when I started asking around, I realized she already left. So I came here to see if I could charter something, or pay someone to go to the site and deliver the equipment. If not, they won’t be able to do the shoot and the whole thing will be ruined. A total waste of money.”
Blaze looked at Capri’s worried face, his gut filling with guilt when he thought of the fact that he was the reason Reagan had been late and forgot something that was important for her job.
“It has to be tonight?” he asked, then saw Hunter coming toward them.
“Yes, I’m sorry, it does. If not, I’m going to be in heaps of trouble.”
“I think you’ll survive,” Hunter said sarcastically. “Daddy’s not going to fire his number one girl.”
“Why are you being so mean?” Capri asked, frowning at Hunter, and Blaze could admit he was wondering the same thing.
“I’m not being mean, I’m being realistic,” Hunter argued. “It’s too late and the weather is turning. Losing money on one of your accounts isn’t worth risking something happening to one of our choppers. Just call your father and tell him what happened. I’m sure he’ll forgive your lapse in judgement.”
“Hunter,” Blaze warned, then ran a hand over his head. “It’s my fault Reagan was distracted, you know how important her job is to her. She never would have forgotten if it wasn’t for me. I can’t have her getting in trouble and risking her job, not if I can do something to help.”
“Too risky,” Hunter said with a shake of his head.
“I’ve flown in worse conditions in this,” Blaze answered wryly. “Plus, I’ve never seen Reagan work. I’d love the chance to see her in action. So, two birds, one stone.”
“I don’t like it,” Hunter said, at the same time Capri gushed, “Oh, thank you so much. You’re a life saver.”
Hunter scowled at the both of them, then stormed off.
Blaze watched his brother leave, then turned to Capri and asked, “What is it you need me to take, and where is the location?”
Once he had what he needed, Blaze did what he needed to for the last minute trip, then walked out onto the tarmac excited to surprise Reagan.
Seventeen
Reagan
Reagan had never been so happy to be home in her life.
Usually, she was more excited to leave for a job, then to return home from one, but not this time. She guessed having someone who loved her and was waiting for her to return made all the difference.
Reagan walked out to the parking lot and saw Blaze’s truck still parked, so she changed course and made her way to the office he shared with his brother.
She’d half expected him to jump her the second she’d gotten off the chopper.
Oh well, she thought with a shrug, she’d just have to jump him in his office. Hopefully Hunter wouldn’t mind.
Reagan didn’t see anyone at first, but seconds after she entered, Hunter came walking in from the back, his head bent as he read some documents.
“Hey,” she called, wanting to let him know she was standing there, so she didn’t startle him.
“Hey,” Hunter replied with a smile when he raised his head and saw her standing there, her red hair tied back in a loose ponytail, her duffle over her shoulder. “You guys back already?”
“Yeah, just got in.”
“Everything go okay with your shoot?” he asked, leaning back to rest against his desk.
“Nah, that’s why I’m back already, I forgot something we needed for the shoot, so it was cancelled.”
Reagan shrugged when she answered, but she was actually worried. She’d never messed up like that before, and wondered if she’d get in trouble. She needed to call Capri.
At her words, Hunter surged off the desk and rushed toward her. Reagan took a step back, the look on his face scaring her.
“What?” she began, but was cut off by a knock on the door. Reagan turned to see Capri standing there, wringing her hands as her eyes darted about the room.
“I was just stopping by to check and make sure Blaze got there in time,” Capri said, her voice more timid than Reagan had ever heard it. “I didn’t get a call…”
“This is your fault,” Hunter roared, and for the first time in her life, Reagan felt fear from a Grizzly brother.
“What’s going on?” Reagan asked, her heart pounding as her head swiveled between the two of them and she tried to figure out what was happening.
Capri’s face paled, and she clasped her hands together so hard, Reagan worried she’d break something.
“He didn’t make it?” she asked.
“Who didn’t make what?” Reagan asked, still horribly confused.
“Blaze,” Hunter began, and her heart dropped.
“What about him?” she asked. No longer afraid of Hunter, she crossed to him and put her hands on his face so that she could pull his attention from Capri and force him to look at her. “Hunter, where’s Blaze?”
“He left last night,” Hunter explained, his voice breaking. “She needed to get equipment to the site. I said no, it was too late and the weather was changing, but she insisted, and Blaze agreed. He should have made it there over eighteen hours ago.”
“Oh my God.” Reagan felt like she was going to faint, so she shifted her hands to hold on to Hunter.
“Come on, I’m taking you to Sadie and getting Diesel,” Hunter said, practically dragging Reagan along with him. “You too,” he barked at Capri as they started out the door. “You’re staying with them until I find my brother, and I swear, if anything happened to him, I’ll kill you myself.”
The trip to Sadie’s was like a dream, one set in very slow motion. Reagan was practically comatose in the front seat, while Capri was visibly shaking in the back. Hunter was just pissed. He hadn’t allowed any worry to creep in yet, and every time he saw the fear on Reagan’s face, his rage increased.
They made it to Sadie’s in one piece, with Hunter carrying Reagan inside and placing her gently on the sofa.
“What in the world?” Sadie asked when she saw her sister’s ashen face.
Hunter ignored the ladies and looked to his brother as he entered the room.
“Blaze is missing,” he informed Diesel.
Unable to control his emotion, Diesel shifted right then, causing Capri to let out a death defying scream and the babies to all start wailing.
Hunter sent Capri a look that told her to shut the hell up, then corralled his brother out the backdoor and followed him.
Reagan knew he’d shifted too once he got outside, and that the brothers were already gone and looking for their triplet. She knew if anyone could find Blaze, his brothers could; she just prayed they weren’t too late.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Sadie asked as she tried to calm her babies.
Capri explained what happened, then turned
to her friend and said, “I’m so sorry Reagan, if anything happens… I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
“It’s not your fault,” Reagan managed, as she wondered why her body felt completely numb. “It’s mine. If I hadn’t been so adamant about taking things slow, Blaze wouldn’t have been trying to talk me in to letting him move in and I wouldn’t have been distracted and forgotten to call Capri and get the stuff. He was trying to help me, I know it… He wouldn’t want me to get in trouble, he knows how important my job is… I’ve been so foolish.”
“No, Reagan, stop,” Sadie said as she crossed to her sister and put Jessica in her arms. “Here, hold Jess. She’ll distract you with her cuteness… You can feed her. She’s the only one who refuses to breast feed. It’s the bottle or nothing for this one. She’s stubborn, just like her Auntie Reagan.”
Not wanting to harm her niece, Reagan sat up taller and ensured her grip on the baby was good, then reached for the bottle Sadie offered.
As baby Jess ate, making happy noises that tugged deep in Reagan’s belly, Reagan looked down at her sweet baby face and smiled sadly.
“I hope I have a sweet, stubborn baby, just like you,” she whispered to her niece, not realizing that tears were running down her face.
Eighteen
Blaze
Mother Fucker!
Everything hurt.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, or what exactly had happened, but Blaze knew his chopper was wrecked, his head was killing him, and the snow falling to the ground was not a good sign of things to come.
Blaze sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings as he mentally inventoried his body to see what was hurt and what was fine.
His head and his ankle seemed to be the two parts of him that had suffered the most damage. He thought momentarily about shifting.
Shifting to bear form would help him heal faster, but if he shifted without taking off his clothes, they’d be ruined, and then he’d be stuck in Alaska, naked during snowfall. Not a great idea.
Normally, he’d just take off his clothes, shift until he was healed, then shift back, but the ankle was a problem. The way it was bent was unnatural, it was already swollen, and Blaze knew that taking off his boot would be a bad idea, plus he doubted he’d be able to get his pants off without causing himself a tremendous amount of pain.
Shifting will be a last resort, he promised himself, then continued to look around to see if he could get his bearings, or see something that would give him a hint as to where he’d landed.
When that didn’t help, Blaze looked for something that would work as a walking stick.
Seeing some large branches in the distance, Blaze flipped over onto his belly and began using his arms to pull him toward the branches.
“Fuck!” he yelled when his foot twisted beneath him, and he stopped for a moment so he wouldn’t pass out.
Laying there, with his face on the cold ground, Blaze thought of Reagan, and wondered if she’d made it home already. Hunter wouldn’t realize anything was wrong until Reagan came back without him, so all he could do was pray that she’d made it home and found his brother.
Inspiration struck and hope filled him as he checked his pockets for his phone, then Blaze quickly deflated when he realized it wasn’t on him. It must have come out of his pocket when he’d crashed.
“I look for it after I get a stick,” Blaze muttered, then lifted himself up onto his elbows and began moving again. This time, trying to ignore the pain every time his ankle was disrupted.
Blaze was almost to the branches when he heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
Helicopter blades.
He craned his head and watched as the chopper made its descent, then fought back a laugh when his brothers jumped out, both of them butt ass naked.
“There he is,” Diesel shouted, pointing toward where Blaze lay on the ground.
They both took off running toward him, causing Blaze to start laughing so hard his head felt like it was going to implode.
“Stop,” Blaze managed when they got closer.
“What? What is it?” Hunter asked, looking around to see if something was about to explode.
“I can’t watch your dicks swinging around while you come to rescue me,” Blaze said with a choked laugh. “I’d rather be left for dead.”
Diesel ignored him and kept coming forward to access the damage.
“It’s D’s fault,” Hunter explained. “He shifted as soon as I said you were missing, and I had to chase after him to get him to the chopper. I think he would’ve run all the way here, otherwise.”
“You need to shift,” Diesel said, his hand gently probing Blaze’s ankle.
“I didn’t want to be left naked out here with no chance of rescue,” Blaze explained. “I was afraid I’d freeze to death.”
“Well, we’re here now, so you have a way home,” Hunter said, crouching down next to Diesel.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Blaze said with a small smile, chuckling at his own joke. Then he looked inside himself and called his bear.
Blaze shifted until his head stopped hurting, and most of the surface damage was healed.
“I’m going to have to see a doctor to get that bone set,” he told his brothers, pointing to his ankle. “There was too much damage.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get the best ankle doctor there is,” Diesel promised, causing Blaze to laugh.
Then they each put a shoulder under his arms and lifted him to standing, and Blaze was no longer laughing.
It hurt like a son of a bitch.
They helped him to the helicopter, and Blaze chuckled as they took off.
“What’s so funny?” Hunter asked.
“Oh I don’t know, a couple of big ass Grizzly triplets, naked on a helicopter. I hope we don’t run into anyone at the airport, or they’ll see that we’re not identical in every way.”
“True, my dick’s much bigger than both of yours,” Hunter said with a laugh.
“You wish,” Diesel replied dryly, and Blaze started cracking up.
He couldn’t control it. He was delirious after everything he’d been through, and it felt really good to be with his brothers again and to know that he was going to be okay.
“How’s Reagan?” Blaze asked when he managed to stop laughing.
“Freaked,” Hunter replied. “She’s going to be relieved to see you. I’d call back to let everyone know we found you, but, you know, I had to chase after Diesel.”
“Maybe someone’s at the airport and would answer the radio,” Blaze suggested. “We could ask them to call Reagan and Sadie.”
“Good idea,” Diesel said.
Blaze listened as he made the call back. All he wanted now was to put his arms around his woman and never let her go.
Nineteen
Reagan
“Thank you so much,” Reagan heard Sadie say, then she felt a hand on her shoulder, gently trying to shake her awake.
“I’m not sleeping,” she muttered, and she hadn’t been. Reagan hadn’t been able to sleep a wink since she’d found out Blaze was missing; she’d just been laying there with her eyes shut.
“He’s okay, they’ve found him.”
Reagan sat up quickly, her head spinning.
“Easy,” Sadie said, as she brushed Reagan’s hair back off of her face. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Reagan’s head fell forward onto her sister’s shoulder, and she finally let loose the tears she’s been holding since she’d gotten home.
“Shhhh,” Sadie cooed as she held her sister close and rubbed circles on her back.
Once Reagan was all cried out, she pulled back from her sister and said, “I’d better go clean up before they get back. I don’t want him to see me like this.”
“Okay, sweetie,” Sadie said, then got up to give Reagan room to get off the couch.
Reagan headed toward the spare bedroom and shower, but paused when she saw Capri on the back deck.
<
br /> She opened the sliding glass doors and stepped outside.
Capri turned at the sound of the door, her face filled with worry.
“They found him, they’re on the way back,” Reagan told her friend.
“He’s okay?” she asked, and at Reagan’s nod she let out a deep breath and said, “Thank God.”
“It’s not your fault, you know,” Reagan said, knowing Capri had been beating herself up for hours.
“I’m just glad he’s okay. Now Hunter won’t have to kill me,” Capri replied, trying to make a joke, but failing when her voice wavered.
“Don’t worry about Hunter. He was just worried about his brother, he’d never actually hurt you.”
Capri looked like she wanted to argue that point, but Reagan needed to get herself cleaned up before her man came home, so she excused herself and went to shower.
Reagan had just finished piling her wet hair into a bun on her head and pulling on a pair of Sadie’s yoga pants when she heard the sound of tires on gravel.
She ran through the house and threw open the door in time to see Hunter and Diesel helping Blaze up the steps.
Reagan’s hands flew up to cover her eyes.
“Why are you all naked?” she squealed, torn between wanting to rush to Blaze, and wanting to run inside and hide until the brothers had some clothes on.
Someone chuckled, she couldn’t tell who, but she heard Blaze ask, “Can you run inside and grab some of D’s shorts? I don’t want to scar my sister-in-law, or the babies.”
Reagan spun on her heel, letting her hands drop to her sides, and she raced to Sadie and Diesel’s room. “Don’t go out there,” she warned her sister, who was changing one of the babies’ diapers.
“Why?” Sadie asked, then they heard a loud squeal, and Reagan started laughing.
“I forgot to tell Capri. Welp, she just got an eyeful,” Reagan said, then ran out of the room with three pairs of basketball shorts in her hands.