Jingle Bears: A Pacific Northwest Bear Novella: (Shifter Romance)

by Moxie North

  The splashing from the bathroom had ended a while ago. Edward assumed that Connie was trying to put Micah down for a nap. As he rested his eyes, he heard the tiny jingle of a bell. He cracked his eye open at Wyatt, who’d taken the seat across from him. His son appeared to be trying not to laugh.

  The jingles continued, and Wyatt was now staring at the floor shaking his head with a big smile on his face.

  Edward decided that the jingle had to be Micah since he loved sneaking up on Grandpa. Getting ready to turn around in his chair and sneak attack him, he was beaten to the punch by Micah springing from behind the chair and yelling, “Rawr!”

  The roar would have been cute coming from a tiny human that could turn into a bear cub. But this tiny human was dressed in a velvet brown costume, his nose was painted red, and he had large stuffed antlers on his head. Each tip of the antlers was topped with a small brass jingle bell.

  “Gampa, I’m Dudolph!” Micah yelled. Micah only had one volume; it was loud.

  “Rudolph you mean,” Edward corrected as he picked up his grandson.

  “Yas Dudolph!” he said in his cute lisp.

  “Unka Y!” he screamed when he saw Wyatt. He scrambled out of his grandpa’s lap and in his haste he shifted as soon as he hit the floor. The tiny reindeer costume was now being worn by a bear cub. It was too much. Wyatt busted out laughing, and his nephew crawled over him.

  “Isn’t it just the cutest?” Connie asked, clapping her hands in sheer joy at being able to dress her grandson as a reindeer.

  “It’s weird is what it is. Who ever heard of a bear dressed like a reindeer? Pretty sure that goes against all the laws of physics,” Edward snorted.

  “Dad, we are humans that turn into bears at will. Let’s leave physics out of this,” Wyatt wisely suggested.

  The door opened then, and the three adults could hear someone removing layers of clothing. Micah didn’t wait for that person to make it to the great room. He jumped out of Wyatt’s hands and ran straight for the door, skidding out on the hardwood floors and slamming up against the opposite wall in the hallway.

  “Oh dear,” Jinger gasped. Then she started laughing, “Oh, a deer!”

  Scooping her nephew up she gave his furry head a scratch and a tickle under his chin before setting him down to scamper away. Jinger hadn’t changed much since Wyatt had met her. She was a little rounder after having the twins, which Wyatt thought was a total bonus. Her red hair was still long, and she often wore it braided and pinned up on her head, like today. He thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. And she’d managed to produce the two most beautiful baby girls in the world. That made her superwoman in his mind.

  “There’s my gingersnap,” Wyatt said as he stood and swung his mate into his arms. He planted a hot wet kiss on her that she eagerly returned.

  A loud sigh was heard from the recliner. Edward hadn’t turned his head, he just knew his sons.

  “Where’s my girls? It’s been forever since I saw them,” Jinger asked pulling away from her man.

  “You saw them two hours ago,” he chided.

  “Two hours too long,” she replied saucily.

  “They are both asleep in the crib and don’t you dare wake them up!” Wyatt warned.

  Jinger stuck her tongue out at him and pushed away. She was on her way to the bedroom when Wyatt grabbed her and started tickling her. Her giggles got louder as he reminded her, “Shhh, don’t wake the babies!”

  “Stop tickling me, you brute!” she squealed.

  Chapter 4

  Connie moved off to the kitchen and ignored all their antics. Once Wyatt had sufficiently welcomed his mate, he would let her go for Connie and Edward to say hello. They just had to be patient.

  “Where is Cage? Shouldn’t he see how you’re torturing his son?” Wyatt asked strolling into the kitchen. Jinger was sneaking a peek at the babies.

  “I’m not torturing. I just didn’t have any baby Santa hats. The girls have matching sugar plum fairy outfits and don’t give me any lip about it,” she glared at her middle son.

  “Oh, like I’d even win. Jinger loves that crap, anything pink and sparkly and the girls are wearing it,” he grumbled.

  “Well, it’s purple and sparkly, but I’m sure she’ll still like it,” Connie said smiling a scary sweet smile.

  “And what about poor Kingston? What do you have planned for him?” Wyatt had to ask, he wanted to know before his brothers so he could torment them.

  “I found the cutest snowman outfit; it’s adorable,” Connie giggled. His mom giggled. Wyatt was amazed how she always seemed to look decades younger when she laughed. He thought that was what his father saw all the time.

  “I’m sure Kenzi will like it. Conner, well, you might have to spring that on him after a couple eggnogs,” Wyatt advised.

  Conner was like a super overprotective mama bear when it came to Kenzi or their son Kingston. King, for short. All the years he spent running from who he was and then almost losing his mate because of it, that all changed. He had their cabin baby-proofed the minute they found out they were expecting.

  He bought a new SUV because he said his Jeep wasn’t safe for a baby. He went to three different fire stations to make sure the car seat was properly installed. He figured if one of them was wrong the other two would catch the mistake.

  And whatever Conner’s mate wanted, she got. It wasn’t like he was a pushover or anything. He was just solely focused on his mate. Wyatt and Cage were too, but Conner was hyper-aware. It finally gave him and his bear something to bond over. Their constant concern for the welfare of their mate and cub was always on their minds.

  “What could he have against a snowman costume?” Connie scoffed.

  “Hmm, any small parts? Easily swallowed trim? Is it hypoallergenic and organic? One can only guess what my brother might come up with to protest a little holiday fun,” Wyatt concluded. He glanced down to see his nephew trying to climb his leg, this time in human form.

  Wyatt reached down and scooped his nephew up, giving him a raspberry on his neck. That earned him squeals of laughter from the little boy.

  Jinger came back into the kitchen, her face soft like it always was after she’d seen her girls. Wyatt thought it was one of her most beautiful looks outside of the ones she gave him in bed that is.

  “Okay, who’s ready for decorating?” she called out.

  “Not the tree! Everything else, go wild,” Connie said. Tree trimming was for when everyone got there.

  After about an hour of hanging garlands and putting out the least fragile decorations, they were nearly done. Anything at Micah level had to be able to withstand hitting the hardwoods and not shattering.

  “We’re here!” a voice called out from the front door.

  Mackenzie and Conner strolled in both holding shopping bags in each hand. Conner was wearing a snuggie on his chest that presumably held King.

  “What the heck did you guys buy?” Wyatt asked. Jinger had ended up waking the girls by checking on them one too many times. He had Mallory in his lap as she gummed on a toy. Maizy was at his feet on a blanket banging blocks together.

  Both bald headed girls were decked out in matching purple tutus and green t-shirts trimmed in green ribbon with tiny fabric wings sewn on the back. Each girl also had a mammoth size purple flower sprouting off their heads from their matching headbands.

  Now Jinger was still decorating, and Wyatt was on daddy duty. Not a problem as far as he was concerned. When the ladies had a plan for where the decorations were supposed to go, anywhere a man put them was going to be wrong.

  “We thought we were picking up cookie stuff?” Kenzi called out. Kenzi still tried to dress like she lived in California. Therefore she was always cold, and Conner was always worried about her temperature. Today was no different. She was wearing short sleeves and a pair of jeans. Not a stitch of warm flannel to be seen.

  “No, Cage and Sophie were getting supplies,” Connie huffed as they came around the corner
to the kitchen. “How many cookies do we need?”

  “Well, Wyatt eats enough for four, so we might just have enough,” Conner said, giving his brother a look.

  “Whatever papa bear,” Wyatt shot back. He heard Conner growl at him, but it was low. That meant that King was probably asleep. He and Cage thought up that nickname when the crazy over-protective Conner came to live in their woods.

  “Are you going to let me hold my grandson this time?” Edward asked from his chair.

  “Depends, have you washed your hands lately?” Conner asked, setting the bags on the counter.

  “A little dirt ain’t gonna hurt him. It’s good for him you know,” Edward looked at him sternly. “You boys managed just fine, and you were usually playing in a mud puddle all day.”

  “It’s a wonder we survived,” Conner sighed. He reached into the diaper bag he’d brought in and grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer. Edward sighed and held out his hands. Once he was suitably cleansed, Conner unhooked the snuggie and carefully pulled a sleeping Kingston out of it.

  “Watch his head,” Conner said, handing the baby over to his father.

  “Oh gee, ya think? Seriously, I raised two sons and apparently an idiot. I also have three other grandchildren besides King here. I think I know about holding his head. Do you want to explain to me what a soft spot is again? Just in case I feel like randomly tapping on his noggin?” Edward was teasing his son, but really, Conner’s hovering was getting old.

  “You break him, you bought him,” Conner snarled.

  Kenzi poked her head around Edward’s chair and gave him a big smacking kiss on his cheek. “Hey dad,” she said.

  “There’s my kitty cat,” Edward said patting her head. He heard Conner growl again and chuckled. Conner was not fond of his father calling his mate that. So of course, Edward kept doing it.

  Chapter 5

  Kingston Rochon looked just like Conner. Even his bear was a mini version of daddy. Edward leaned down to his grandson’s ear and whispered, “Your daddy will lighten up eventually.”

  “Doubtful,” Kenzi muttered as she was helping Jinger with the garland over the fireplace mantle. It was a heavy swag covered in lights, ornaments, and ribbon. It matched the garland that was now twirling around the support beams near the kitchen and over the archways of every door.

  “Heard that,” Conner called out from the kitchen. As he got those words out, he looked down to see Micah attached to his leg. “Hey Mr. Man, where’s your dad?”

  “Store!” Micah yelled then scampered off.

  “You feeding him honey again, mom?” Conner asked. “And why the hell is he dressed like an elk?”

  Connie just shrugged her shoulders and looked away. Conner knew that his mom was the quintessential Grandma, always stuffing the kids with sugar when mom and dad weren’t looking.

  “Oh shit!” Wyatt called out.

  “Watch your language, asshole,” Conner returned.

  “Dude, stop critiquing my speech and get Mallory. She shifted and is halfway up the tree!” Wyatt said.

  He was holding Maizy, and Edward couldn’t go after her with Kingston in his arms. Conner leapt into action and made for the tree just as it was starting to pitch to the side and shimmied in the stand.

  Plucking a tiny fairy-dressed bear out of the tree and tucking her under his arm, he turned to the assembled adults. “This is going to be a problem,” Conner said snuggling his niece’s bear close to his chest. “Bad bear,” he whispered to her. She squeaked back at him and tried to swipe a tiny paw at him.

  Conner put her back down on the blanket and hit the button on a loud blinking toy piano. As soon as it started lighting up and playing music, the tiny bear’s head pitched sideways and stared at it.

  “We need to secure the tree. Jinger, Kenzi can you take over the babies, and Wyatt and I’ll figure out a solution?” Conner was already on the move to the hallway to grab his coat.

  “I guess we are going to find a solution,” Wyatt said sarcastically, getting up and handing off Maizy to his mate.

  While the boys were outside, Connie snatched Kingston from Edward and rushed him and the girls to the bedroom. They were going to get him in his snowman outfit before Conner got back.

  “Those girls are up to no good,” Edward said to Micah, who had crawled into his lap and was busy sucking on a candy cane Grandma had slipped him.

  “Yup,” he chirped back.

  The front door opened, and Cage and Sophie came in, both laden down with bags.

  “Shit, we are going to have to bring cookies into work for a month,” Edward grumped.

  “Ship!” Micah repeated.

  “Seriously, dad, don’t teach him that,” Cage sighed. “Why the hell is my kid dressed like an elk?”

  “Oh please, like he doesn’t hear it from you,” Edward said. “And it’s not an elk, it’s very clearly Rudolph.”

  Cage’s dad looked at him like he was a moron. Cage looked at Sophie; she smiled up at him with her goofy grin. She loved all of his family’s banter. It was the exact opposite of her family, and Sophie lived for the shenanigans that always ensued when everyone was in one place.

  “Oh, it’s cute,” she said to him. Leaning over she gave Micah a loud kiss on the neck. “Whose my little baby deer?” she cooed. Micah giggled and blushed. He always blushed around his momma. It made Cage’s heart twist to see it. His baby boy was just as smitten with Sophie as Cage was.

  “Where is everyone? I wanna start baking!” Sophie said excitedly.

  “Girls are up to no good in the bedroom. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are out coming up with a solution to steady the tree, so tiny bears don’t climb it. And no, it wasn’t your kid this time,” Edward laughed.

  “Oh my boy wouldn’t do anything naughty, would you pumpkin?” Sophie cooed to her son.

  “Momma!” he screeched his sticky hands reaching up for her. Sophie scooped him up and walked him into the kitchen to clean him up.

  Coming out of the bedroom, Connie and Jinger each had a hold of one of the twin’s hands as they toddled on unsteady legs. Kenzi was carrying King, who was a giant round ball of white. There was a red scarf sewn onto the white material, and a white hood came up over his head leaving his cute face peeking out of the front. The hood was topped off with a black felt top hat.

  “Oh, Conner’s gonna have a fit!” Sophie gleefully giggled from the kitchen.

  “Conner needs to lighten up,” Cage said giving his father a look of solidarity.

  The front door opened, and Conner and Wyatt came in, both of them hauling a large cinder block in each hand. Wyatt also held a bunch of tie down straps that they used on their flatbed trucks at work.

  “Cinder blocks, really? Against a couple of babies?” Cage looked at them like the overkill was just that.

  “You didn’t see how fast Mallory had that big tree swaying. It’s not even decorated yet. We could have a catastrophe on our hands,” Conner said, thunking down the chunks of concrete by the tree.

  “Drama queen,” Wyatt said under his breath.

  “Hey, it was your little hellions that started this,” Conner reminded him.

  “Yours can’t even sit up on his own yet! Hardly a comparison. Even his bear just lays around and eats and sleeps. Wait until he starts moving, and then you’ll see,” Wyatt warned.

  “At least my house is baby-proofed,” Conner said, turning to strap up the blocks.

  “Your house is bubble wrapped, not the same thing,” Cage said from the edge of the couch. He’d taken up position to watch his brothers wrestle the tree. Micah was now racing around the floor his little antlers jingling as he went.

  As the whole family watched the men anchor the tree, they chatted amongst themselves. Occasionally offering advice on how the guys should be doing it. Which Conner and Wyatt completely ignored. Cage gave up on watching his brothers wrestle with the tree and went to get the gated pen so the kids could play together and give the adults some space.

  “No pen!
” Micah yelled as Cage started setting it up.

  “It’s not a pen bud; it’s a special rocket ship! You can play with your cousins and boss them around,” Cage tried to convince his son. “Besides, I’m pretty sure there will be treats to taste soon if you give mommy some time to start cooking.”

  “Cookies!” Micah yelled, clapping his hands.

  Cage got Micah and the twins settled into the gated area with more toys than any of them could play with. Maizy had shifted and now Micah was trying to pull a toy out of the little bear’s mouth. “Bad bear,” Micah was scolding her.

  Wyatt and Conner had finally finished with the tree, deciding it was secure enough to withstand three baby bears and possibly hurricane force winds.

  “Okay ladies, tree is up, babies are contained, let’s get baking!” Sophie called out.

  Conner glanced at the pen and then saw his dad was sound asleep in his recliner with a ball of white felt that must be King asleep on his chest. His heart warmed just seeing his dad hold his son. A year ago he would never have guessed this would be his life. He was one lucky bastard.

  Taking in the ridiculous snowman outfit, he sighed, shook his head and standing with his hands on his hips, mumbled under his breath at the ceiling. He couldn’t resist going over and checking the tag on the back of the outfit to see what it was made of. He even tried to tug on the trim to see if it would come off. Finally satisfied or at least deciding he was not going to cause too much of a fuss, he joined his brothers.

  Falling on the oversized couch that had been finally replaced by the tattered one they grew up with, the boys settled in. They all gazed in silence watching their mates putter around the kitchen laughing and chatting. The men were content to see their women happy, healthy, and protected. That was their Christmas gift to themselves. It was the best thing they could ever get for them and their bears.

  Cage took a moment to catch his brothers’ eyes, they all gave a small smile and went back to watching the kitchen.