Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  His hands landed on her hips. He started to steer her toward him when Silas walked in. Arryn leapt away.

  Silas looked them over with his casual gaze. “Good morning, love birds. You don’t have to stop ‘cuz I’m here. A little lovin’ makes everything taste better.”

  May turned bright red and spun away to fuss over the waffle iron. “Cut it out, Silas.”

  Arryn gave a nervous laugh and sat down at the table. “What’s your plan today? I guess you’re meeting your dad.”

  Silas nodded. “I’ve got a full boat today. I gotta run down to the milking plant first thing and check on the progress of some repairs I had done. Then I’m…” His phone interrupted him. He got it out and studied the screen.

  “What is it?” Arryn asked.

  “It’s Aiken. He wants you over at his place on the double.”

  Arryn started. “What for?”

  “He’s mortified Harmony had to turn you away. They want you staying with them. I’ll drive you over there first thing so you can quit bouncing around all over the place.”

  May set a waffle in front of Arryn. “You won’t drive him over there until he’s had breakfast, and you need breakfast, too, Silas. Sit down, and I’ll make you a waffle.”

  Silas sat down in front of Arryn. He nodded sideways at May. “You see how domestic she’s gotten since you showed up? She’s cackling around like a mother hen.”

  Arryn blushed again and laughed down at his waffle. May glared at her brother over her shoulder. “You better stop that, Silas, or I’ll peck your eyes out.”

  The two men laughed while they waited for May to make a waffle for Silas. Both men bent over their food until Shaw stormed in. He took one look at Arryn sitting at the table and thunderclouds gathered in his face. “What did I tell you about that thing staying in my house?”

  “It’s our house as much as yours, Shaw,” May snapped, “maybe even more. You heard what Dad said. Arryn is our guest. You can at least let him finish his breakfast in peace.”

  Shaw slammed both fists on the table. The plates jumped, and Arryn lurched back in his chair. “I’m in charge around here, not him, and I say you’re out on your ear. Nobody brings a guest into this house without my permission unless they want to catch my fist in their teeth. Got it? I’ll throw you out on your backside if I see you sitting at this table or sleeping under my roof again.”

  Arryn pushed back his half-eaten waffle. “Don’t worry. I’m leaving, anyway. I don’t need this.”

  May leaped across the kitchen. “Don’t you dare leave! Back off, Shaw. You’re not in charge here.”

  “I’m in charge here as long as I say I am. Not one of you dares stand up to me. That makes me in charge, and I say you don’t bring home any strays without checking with me first. Is that clear?”

  Arryn put out his hand to May. “Don’t worry. It’s all right. I’m leaving. I won’t cause you any more trouble.”

  Silas scooted his chair back. It dragged across the floor and made a high-pitched screech. He straightened his legs and braced his back to confront Shaw. “You’re not going anywhere until I take you. Sit down and finish your waffle. We’ll go when we finish breakfast.”

  Shaw whirled around to face Silas, and the two men came nose to nose. Shaw stood a good six inches taller than Silas, but Silas never blinked. Shaw growled into his face. “I said get him out of here. Get him out of here now before I teach you a lesson.”

  Silas’s mouth smiled, but his eyes narrowed to two glinting slits. “It’s you who needs a lesson in hospitality. Stretch your imagination for once in your life and pretend you already gave Arryn permission to stay here. That’s the best thing you can do, ‘cuz he’s not leaving until he finishes the waffle May just worked to cook for him.”

  Shaw’s lips slithered back from his teeth. “You’re treading on thin ice, boy. You don’t want to do that.”

  Silas wrinkled his nose. “What I really don’t want to do is talk to you when you’re standing this close to me ‘cuz you haven’t brushed your teeth yet this morning. Your breath stinks. How does Dana stand to kiss you?”

  Shaw quivered all over. His lips twitched in an agitated search for some withering retort, but his pea brain couldn’t think of anything. His fingers clenched into fists, but he didn’t make a move toward Silas.

  The two men stared each other down in matched hatred. May and Arryn watched the confrontation in fascinated horror. No one moved a muscle until Shaw threw up his hands. “Aw, what the hell. I don’t need this.” He stomped out of the kitchen.

  Silas sat down and took up his knife and fork. He swirled a piece of waffle in his syrup and stuck it in his mouth. “Sit down, buddy. Finish your food.”

  Arryn sank into his chair, but he didn’t look sideways at his plate. “You beat him. You made him back down.”

  Silas shrugged. “He won’t put up with that. He’ll come at me again, and then it will be all on.”

  Arryn blinked. “I’m serious, man. You won.”

  Silas snorted. “Hardly. That was just a little tester shot.”

  May came over to the table. “Arryn’s right. He backed down. He refused to discipline you for saying those things about him.”

  “You said you wanted to wait,” Arryn added. “You said you wanted to avoid fighting him. He could have attacked you. What would you have done then?”

  “I would have torn him a new hind end,” Silas replied. “I couldn’t let him throw you out, and that’s what he would have done to show us who’s boss. I was ready to fight him right now if it meant extending hospitality to a guest.”

  Arryn shook his head. “He’s afraid of you, man.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? He’s been afraid of me for years. That’s why he has to be such an insufferable jackass to me all the time. If he wasn’t afraid, we would be friends.” Silas jabbed his fork at Arryn’s plate. “Are you gonna eat that? ‘Cuz I’m hungry.”

  Arryn pushed the plate across the table. “I’m not hungry after what I just saw. You take it.”

  Silas wolfed down both waffles and stood up. “Come on. I’ll drive you over to the Dunlaps’ now. You can get out of here and never smell Shaw Cunningham’s stinky breath again. Phew!”

  Silas grabbed his car keys from the hook by the door and strode out onto the porch. Arryn looked back over his shoulder to see May watching him walk away. Her heart stuck in her throat. Was he really going to walk out that door? She couldn’t let him do that. She couldn’t let him leave when she didn’t know when she would see him again.

  He took a few steps toward the kitchen and stopped. Her whole being ached for him, but she didn’t know what to do with herself. Should she let him go? Should she kiss him good-bye? Nothing seemed right.

  He studied her lips. “I…I guess I’ll see you around.”

  She nodded. Her heart sank into her shoes. “I guess so.”

  “May, I…”

  She waved her hand. “That’s okay. You go ahead.”

  He took another step. “I don’t want to. I want to stay here…with you.”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing made sense. “I want that, too.”

  “You’ve been too kind to me. I won’t forget it.”

  She didn’t want anything in the world but to put her arms around him right now. She wanted to escape in the delirious magic of his kiss and his overpowering presence.

  His hand glided toward hers. “Will I see you again?”

  A car horn honked outside. May jumped a foot in the air. “You better go. Silas is waiting for you.”

  He nodded, but he didn’t leave. He stared into her face so long she thought he would surely kiss her now.

  A door crashed open across the living room. Shaw burst in. “Where is he? Where is that puny little whippersnapper?”

  May’s hand flew to her heart. “Do you have to crash around like that all the time? You scared me half to death.”

  Shaw froze when he saw Arryn standing in front of May. He narrowed hi
s eyes. “What are you still doing here?”

  Arryn took his time turning around. “I’m talking to May. Last I checked, I didn’t need your permission to do that.”

  Shaw scowled, but Arryn didn’t flinch. Shaw looked him over. “I guess I can outclass you any day of the week.”

  “Find out,” Arryn told him. “I’d love for you to find out right now. Let’s make a big bloody puddle on the kitchen floor for Iris to clean up.”

  Shaw growled deep in his throat. “You better get out of here with your skin on, Mister. Don’t let me see your black face under my roof again if you know what’s good for you.” He turned on his heel and marched out of the house.

  May collapsed back against the counter. “This can’t go on.”

  “It won’t go on,” Arryn replied. “He’s a coward. He’ll stick his neck out too far one of these days, and Silas will give him a haircut he’ll remember. You watch.”

  May lunged forward. She grabbed both Arryn’s arms and hustled him to the door. “Please, just go before he comes back. I don’t want him making trouble for you.”

  He tried to turn back at the door. “When will I see you again?”

  “I don’t know. Just please go. I don’t want anything to happen to you. At least I’ll know you’re safe at the Dunlaps’.”

  He weaseled around in her arms and planted a hasty kiss on her lips before she shoved him out the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to see you. I just have to figure out what to do about these negotiations first.”

  47. Chapter 8

  Aiken Dunlap yanked his front door aside and seized Arryn’s hand. “Come in! Come in! I’m really sorry about yesterday. I didn’t know when you were coming, and I didn’t want to worry Harmony with the details. I wish I could have been here, but I had to race into town on urgent business. Did you have an okay night at the MacAllisters’? No, don’t answer that. I know they took care of you. They’re the salt of the Earth.” He clapped Silas on the shoulder. “Thanks a million for covering for me. I’m really sorry. I won’t let it happen again.”

  Silas laughed. “Slow down, man. It was no big deal, and it was my sister May who took care of Arryn. None of us wants to bother Harmony at a time like this. Arryn’s just fine, and we can take him again if you need us to. I gotta go to work. I’ll see you around, Arryn. You call me if you need anything at all.”

  The two men shook hands, and Silas drove away.

  Aiken rubbed his hands together. “Well, all right. Come on in, Arryn. This is the big house. I’m sorry we don’t have room for you here, but we’ve got a little cottage all set aside for you on our land. Things are sticky here since my nephew Jana moved in.”

  “Harmony explained all that yesterday,” Arryn replied. “You don’t have to apologize. These things happen, and I’m happy to stay anywhere you want to put me.”

  “You’ll be comfortable in the cottage. You won’t be comfortable here.”

  Arryn looked around the carpeted entrance hall. “Why not? It’s a beautiful house.”

  At that moment, a piercing scream echoed through the place. It shattered the stillness, and female voices shouted to be heard over it. Aiken winced. “That’s why. It’s my son, Jace. He’s been sick, and he’s only gotten worse since yesterday. Things are tense around here right now. He screams all night long. No one can get any sleep, and Harmony is living on a knife edge.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t know,” Aiken replied, “but you’re a guest. You shouldn’t have to live with this. The cottage is clean and quiet. It’s set in a very peaceful part of the forest. It’s on the other side of our territory, along the MacAllister boarder.”

  Arryn pricked up his ears. Along the MacAllister boarder? Maybe he would get a chance to slip over the mountain to visit May. “Sounds perfect.”

  Aiken pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Just hang on a second while I call Brody Farrell. He’ll want to know you’re here. And I’ll call his brother Mattox, too. He’s Mackenzie Alpha.”

  “Ash told me all about the Farrells,” Arryn told him.

  Aiken stared up at him with wide eyes. “He did? What can you tell us about Ash? We don’t know anything except what he told us on the phone.”

  “I don’t know what he told you on the phone,” Arryn replied, “but he married my sister June. Did he tell you that?”

  Aiken grabbed Arryn by the elbow and steered him toward the living room. He shoved him down on the couch. “Tell me everything! We want to know every detail.”

  Arryn looked around. “Don’t you think you better wait until the rest of your family can hear?”

  Aiken leaped to his feet. “Of course! Of course! How stupid of me! Come on. I’ll show you the cottage so you can relax.”

  “I am relaxed,” Arryn replied.

  Aiken’s eyes popped open. Then he burst out laughing. “Of course. I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve got a lot going on right now.”

  “I understand. Take your time.”

  Aiken inhaled a shaky breath. “Okay. What was I doing?”

  “You were calling Brody Farrell.”

  “Of course.” Aiken glanced down at his phone when another even louder scream ripped out of the bedroom. He crammed his phone in his pocket. “I better go see what’s going on.”

  At that moment, the front door swung open. A tall man with smatterings of grey around the temples stepped through the door, along with a heavy-shouldered man with black hair. Aiken whipped around. “Dad! This is Arryn Stark. He’s the visitor from Renegade Ridge. This is my dad, Jasper Dunlap, and this is my older brother Boyd.”

  Arryn stuck out his hand. “Thank you for having me, sir.”

  Jasper shook it. “Think nothing of it. We’re very happy to have you. Are you getting everything you need?”

  “I’m just waiting for Aiken to show me the cottage,” Arryn replied. “He’s a little distracted just at the moment.”

  “I’ll say he is.” Jasper turned on Aiken. “Why don’t you get Jana to show him to the cottage? Then you can focus on your family.”

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Aiken took his phone out one more time. “I was just about to call Brody to let him know Arryn is here.”

  Jasper plucked the phone out of his hand. “I’ll call Brody. You tend to your wife and child before you run yourself off your feet. What’s your schedule while you’re here, Arryn?”

  Aiken turned toward the bedroom when Harmony rushed into the room with Jace in her arms. “Aiken! Quick! He’s passed out again.”

  Aiken hurried to her side. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know!” Harmony cried. “Do something! Look at him. He’s half dead.”

  She held out the limp form. The little boy’s arms and legs flopped when she moved him. Aiken put out his hands, but he hesitated to touch the lifeless body. “What can we do?”

  Boyd turned to Arryn. “So tell me about this Renegade Ridge of yours. I hear you’re bidding for peace. How are you going to do that without fighting?”

  Arryn started to say, “We don’t have to fight to get peace,” when Jace lurched upright in his mother’s arms. He started screaming his head off and stared around the room in terror. No one could hear a thing over the noise.

  Aiken and Harmony tried to shout to each other. Boyd leaned close to Arryn’s ear. “Where do you get your weapons? Do you make your own ammunition? A bunch of guys around here are wondering how you defend yourselves. If we’re going to build an alliance, they want to know what you’ve got that we could use if it came to a fight.”

  Jasper bellowed over the ear-splitting screams. “For God’s sake, somebody do something for that child. Call Iris MacAllister. She probably has some medicine for whatever’s wrong with him.”

  Aiken spun around. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He took his own phone out of his father’s open hand. He punched a button or two and pressed the pho
ne to his ear, but he couldn’t hear anything over the boy’s cries. He kept shouting, “What? I can’t hear you. Sorry. I’ll go in another room. Okay, thanks. See you in a minute.” He hung up. “That was Silas. He’s says Iris is on her way over now.”

  “Thank God,” Harmony breathed.

  Jasper tried to take his grandson out of her arms, but the boy only shrieked louder than ever. He clung to his mother and wailed to raise the rafters.

  Arryn took refuge in the noise to avoid Boyd’s questions. He couldn’t keep quiet forever. Pretty soon, someone would get curious. These Bruins would probably want to see Renegade Ridge for themselves. They would want to send an emissary to the NightShade.

  Maybe this visit wasn’t such a good idea after all. What if the Bruins found out about Arion? The NightShade would do anything to defend their secret. They would do anything to stop the Bruins from ever coming close to finding out about it. With more and more people asking questions, the NightShade might have to turn against the very people they tried to make their friends.

  Aiken bellowed into his father’s ear, “Ash wants us to call a big meeting of all the Alphas. He wants us to make an alliance with the NightShade. That’s what I was about to call Brody about.”

  “Then I better call him,” Jasper replied. “I’m still Alpha over this tribe.”

  Aiken hung his head. “Of course, sir. I was just trying to help.”

  Jasper slapped him on the shoulder. “I know, son, but you can’t do everything. You’ve got more important things to think about right now. Leave this to me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Dead silence descended over the room. Harmony looked down at her son’s face. Then she started screaming, too. He lay limp and white in her arms. His head lolled to one side, and the whites of his eyes showed between his eyelids.

  Aiken ran to her side. He hugged her around the shoulders. “Don’t worry. Iris will be here soon.”

  Jasper fiddled with Aiken’s phone. Just then, two strapping young men came in from the other end of the house. The bigger one surveyed the scene in one quick glance. “What’s going on?”