“Why?” a voice boomed, as it’s owner was coming down the hall, “Why is Avaleigh trying to get him to stop throwing food? Kid’s got an arm on him! Encourage it!”
“Yes, Maverik, he does have an arm on him, but I’d rather him throw baseballs, not carrots or strawberries!” Avaleigh answered.
Maverik snorted, stopping to kiss Maia on the top of her head, before he took his seat, pulling Valerie down to sit on his lap at the table. “Hey, whatever’s handy, ya know?” and with that he picked up one of Daisy’s carrot pieces and flicked it across the table at Remi, who immediately caught it and tossed it back at Maverik, which resulted in a Maverik vs. Remi and Daniel mini food war. That is, until Avaleigh stood up, yelling, “Hey! Stop it! Ya’ll are all children!”
Maverik immediately pouted, “Just trying to have a little fun. Damn. You ain’t fun no more, Avaleigh,” he mumbled.
Avaleigh shot him a glare as she went about picking up the carrots and little slices of hot dog that Remi had tossed at Maverik. Then she shot a glare at Daniel. “We had to defend, love. One cannot ignore an attack,” Daniel told her in all seriousness. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he pretended not to see as he concentrated on the hot dog resting on his own plate.
Maverik leaned over, placing his face right in front of Bam’s field of view, “We need to talk, brother.”
Bam looked away, pretending he didn’t hear Maverik.
Maverik rapped his knuckles on the table, right in front of Bam, making him jump, “We can do this right here, audience and all. Or you can get up and follow me outside like a grown ass male and talk to me, Bam. Your choice,” Mav told him.
Bam glared at Maverik, anger now mixed with the pain lingering in his eyes.
Maverik glared back, then, “I ran for a long time, Bam.” He wrapped his arm around Valerie’s waist where she still sat perched on his leg, picking a piece of hot dog out of her hair. “I almost lost my heart,” and he pulled her closer for Bam to see, “I know all about running and the why’s and how’s to do it best. Talk to me, brother.”
Bam met his eyes then; an anguished whine left his throat just as Bane stood to stop Maverik, “That’s enough, Maverik. Daisy just got him calmed down; don’t open him up again.”
Maverik’s head jerked back, “Daisy? Daisy got him calmed?”
Janie preened, the proud mama, nodding enthusiastically, “She’s a healer, too!”
“Well, look at that!” Maverik said, his eyes meeting the little girl’s sitting beside Bam. “My sunshine’s a healer! You a strong little Alpha Healer Bear aren’t cha, darlin’?” he said in that special voice he reserved for kids.
She squealed at him and did her best to talk, babbling a string of happy sounds in his direction.
Then Bane spoke again, “Bam, do you mind if I bring Maverik up to speed?”
Bam sat for a second before shaking his head.
“Is that a no I can’t, or no, you don’t mind?” Bane questioned.
“You can tell him,” Bam said quietly. Then he looked at Maverik, “I just can’t say it all again, okay?”
Maverik tapped Valerie’s hip to indicate she should stand; then he stood, leaning over the table to embrace his friend, “It’s alright, buddy. I’m right here. I understand.”
Bam nodded and cut another little piece of carrot for Daisy, who immediately threw it at him and grunted at him, “Unh,” as she reached for the hot dog. Bam dutifully cut a tiny piece of hot dog and handed it to her. She stuffed it into her mouth, munching happily before reaching for another one.
Bane caught Maverik’s eye and indicated with a tilt of his head that he should meet him outside. They quietly left the table, and Bane caught Maverik up on all that had happened in the clearing near the creek.
Kaid joined them outside under the big tree with the tire swing that Daniel had set up for Remi just out the back door. When Bane and Maverik were finished, Kaid said, “Tell me what happened in town with the Foxes and with Everly.”
So Mav filled him in on that and on the fact that Bam then went to Vince to ask for a safe place for Everly to live before he came home. Then he said, “You should have seen him, Kaid. He was a beast! Foxes flying in the air, demanding they leave his Mate alone or die!” Maverik was grinning, waving his arms around as he spoke. “I ain’t never seen him like that. It was freaking awesome,” Maverik finished.
Kaid considered for a minute, “Do you think she’s really his Mate? Or do you believe that he’s not made for one?”
Bane immediately jumped to his brother’s defense, “He’s meant for one! Bam’s good. He’s always been good! He just can’t see it.”
Maverik nodded, “Yeah, what he said! I agree.” Then he met Kaid’s eyes, “I think she’s his. I think he’s hers. I just think that he’s relied on his instincts for so long, that now that he can’t see gold; hadn’t ever been able to see any color at all when he looks at himself - he thinks he ain’t supposed to have her.”
“Since he was old enough to know what a Mate was, he’s said that he didn’t get one - ‘cause he didn’t see gold,” Bane said. Then he threw the stone he had been rolling around in his hand, “I fucking hate that color shit. I wish he couldn’t see any damn color! Then maybe he wouldn’t be so against accepting that Everly is his.”
“It’s gonna be alright. I’m not sure how, but somehow, we gonna make this okay,” Kaid said. He clapped Bane on the back, and they started walking toward the house.
“I promise, it’s gonna be okay,” he repeated.
Chapter 6
5 A.M. came early the next morning. Everyone was up, getting ready for their day, kissing Mates goodbye, hugging babies on their way out of the door. No one noticed until they made their way to the work trucks, that Bam wasn’t there. Bane tapped on the hood of the truck he, Goldy, and Bam usually rode in as he walked around it, “Hang tight, let me go run to his place real quick.” He jogged off into the trees. Six or seven minutes later he was jogging back toward them, “He’s not there. Let’s go on ahead.” As Bane climbed into the truck with Goldy, he reached out to Bam. He got a gentle nudge back, so he knew wherever Bam was, he was okay. Kaid pulled his truck, loaded up with Maverik, Daniel and all they’d need for the day, next to Goldy’s truck and called through the window, “You feel for him?”
Bane nodded and called back, “Yeah, he’s okay.”
“Yeah, I got the same thing. Okay, let’s head out.”
They arrived at the job site to find Riley waiting for them, already carrying bundles of shingles up the ladder to the first roof they were to tackle that day. They jumped out of the trucks, each reaching into the beds of the trucks to retrieve tools, shingles, tar paper, roofing tacks, everything they’d need. As Kaid approached the ladder, he called out loud enough for Riley to hear him up top, “Hey, you seen Bam?”
Riley called back down, “Naw, but I’ve only been here for about 30 minutes.”
Bane walked past with several rolls of tar paper propped on his shoulder, stepped on the ladder with one foot, using his free hand to grasp the side of it. His tension could be felt by all, “He’ll be here, Bane. Let’s just get started,” Kaid said. Bane just nodded. He was worried about his brother, but there wasn’t much he could do. When he reached the roof top, he paused, looking around himself. If Bam didn’t show soon, he was going to look for him. His decision made, he already felt a little better.
<> <> <> <> <>
Bam sat in the back of Joanne’s place, sipping his fourth cup of coffee. He’d been there since dawn, waiting for Everly to come in for breakfast. He knew she came here every morning, had a pastry and coffee, then started her day. She was later than usual, but not so late that he’d start to worry yet. His mind started to wander; he was back in her work shop, listening to her beautiful voice saying, “I’ve found my Mate.” His heart gave a little lurch; what he wouldn’t give to be her Mate. The one male meant for her. It almost made him weep with joy that she’d declared him her Mate. Only he knew the
truth - he knew he couldn’t have her and that made him worry again because he didn’t want to hurt her. At some point he’d have to talk to her. Make her understand that it wasn’t that he didn’t want her, he just loved her enough to make sure that she find the one she really was meant to be with. Bear snarled at him, pushing the word stupid into his mind. He didn’t have time to respond before the bell above Joanne’s door jingled. He snapped his head up, and there she was striding confidently toward the glass cases where Joanne displayed all her goodies. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept. Joanne greeted her, “Good morning, Everly. How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m alright, Joanne. Thanks for asking.”
“You look exhausted, hon. Did you get any rest?” Joanne persisted.
“No, Ma’am. I was up most of the night. Just fell asleep a couple hours ago, just in time to have the alarm go off,” Everly answered, smiling sadly as she shook her head.
“You should have slept in,” Joanne told her.
“Can’t. I have orders I need to finish. Deadlines to meet.”
“You sure you should be alone over there today?” Joanne asked.
“It’ll be fine. I’m going to keep the overhead doors opened, and I have Vince on speed dial.” She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket, showing it to Joanne. “If they show up, all I have to do is press number two on my phone, and he’ll come running.”
“Well, if you’re sure, honey,” Joanne told her.
“I am. It’ll be okay,” Everly answered.
“Well, what can I get you this morning,” Joanne asked her.
“I’d love some of those cherry turnovers,” Everly said excitedly.
“Aw, honey, I just sold the last of them.”
“Really? Oh, I should have come earlier. Dang, I really wanted those this morning,” Everly said.
“I know you love them, and I had a dozen of them, but Bam bought them all as soon as I opened this morning, those and all the blueberry ones, too,” Joanne explained.
“Bam did?” Everly asked, surprised.
“Yes, and I didn’t think to save you any because it was later than you usually come in,” Joanne explained.
“It’s okay. I’ll just take a cup of coffee and an apple one,” Everly said. Then she turned her head ever so slightly, looking around the shop. She knew Bam’s truck was still parked outside of the building. It was one reason she was so late; she’d seen it there and had gone back to the apartment she was using at Vince’s. She wanted to put on a little makeup and run a brush through her hair in case she ran into him. Then she spied him, sitting at the very last table, all the way in the back, half-hidden in shadows, near the restrooms. He sat quietly, watching her. His entire body tense, a white to-go box sitting on the table in front of him. As he kept his eyes on her, he lifted his cup and sipped at his coffee.
She offered him a half smile, but he didn’t respond. Joanne came back to the counter, handing her a plate with an apple turnover on it and a steaming cup of coffee. Everly tried to pay her, but Joanne said, “Nope. You don’t owe me anything. Your tab is already paid.”
Everly was confused, “What? What tab?”
Joanne smiled at her, “You’ve got a tab now, and it’s always paid.”
Everly just looked at her dumbfounded for a moment, then realized, “Oh, Vince. He’s always trying to take care of me, just like he does Valerie.”
Joanne just smiled at her, not saying a word.
Everly took her breakfast and sat at her favorite table halfway to the front of the shop, on the opposite side from where Bam sat. She placed her phone on the table far enough away from her coffee that if it spilled, it wouldn’t damage her phone, and sipped her coffee and picked at the pastry. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t the one she wanted. Suddenly she realized that a shadow had fallen across her table. She looked up, momentarily startled, and found Bam standing there, the white pastry box in one hand. He placed it on the table and reached for her phone.
“Hey! That’s my phone,” she told him, reaching out her hand for him to place it on her palm.
“Who’s number one?” he asked her.
“What?”
“You said Vince is number two. Who is number one?” he asked.
Everly lowered her hand and placed it in her lap. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, “No one.”
“No one?” he repeated.
Everly shook her head, “No. NO one.” She didn’t want to tell him that she’d cleared number one from Vince’s number and moved it to number two on her speed dial, because she hoped to place his number there. She wanted Bam’s number in her phone, in the number one speed dial position, where it belonged, always.
Bam swiped her phone screen, and was surprised when it opened right away. “You don’t have it locked,” he observed.
Everly again shook her head, “I may need to use it quickly if they come back; no time to unlock it.”
Bam just looked at her for a second before scrolling through her phone and tapping a few keys. He handed it back to her, and she took it, returning it to her pocket without looking at it.
“Be careful today, Everly,” he told her. “If you just feel funny, call Vince, ‘cause he’s closer. Then call me. I’ll be here fast as I can.”
Everly’s head popped up, “I don’t have your number.”
Bam smiled very warmly at her, “’Course you do.” Then he turned and walked away. As he got almost to the door, she realized that he left his box of pastries on her table. “Bam! You left your pastries.”
Bam paused, his hand on the door pull, and looked back at her, “Those are yours. You were late - I wanted to be sure you had your favorites.”
He smiled at her again and walked through the door.
Everly immediately pulled the box toward her and opened it up. Inside she found a dozen cherry turnovers. He’d bought all twelve cherry turnovers and had them boxed for her so that she’d have her favorites when she finally got there. Everly reached into her pocket, pulling her phone out. She opened it to her contacts and scrolled through. She grinned huge when she saw what he’d done. Bam had entered his number and his name. Then he’d saved it as number one in her speed dial menu. She raised her eyes to the door he’d just gone out of as she raised the phone to her nose and inhaled, trying to catch any trace scent of Bam on her phone. Everly pulled the phone away and looked at the screen again, “Bramley, number one,” was the name he’d entered. Bramley…she liked his name a lot. She liked the name Bam, too, but she’d never heard the others use the name Bramley. Well, except for Delilah; she’d used it once when she’d introduced him. But it was as though he was telling her to call him Bramley. And whenever she saw him from now on, that was exactly what she was going to do.
Bam paused outside his truck. He grinned as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and entered Everly’s phone number into it. He’d taken it from her phone when he’d programmed his number into hers. He moved Bane’s contact information to number two and entered Everly’s as number one. He made sure the ringer was on and climbed in his truck. He didn’t like that she would be in her workshop alone today, but Joanne had promised to keep an eye on things from her place, and he did still have the security cameras in place. He hadn’t told Everly about those; he was afraid she’d make him take them down, and he really didn’t want to do that. Bam smiled again as he drove past the front windows and saw her taking a huge bite of her cherry turnover, her eyes closed, smiling as she chewed. Bear chuffed, and Bam’s heart smiled. He loved the feeling he got from being able to provide her with something that made her happy. Today was going to be a good day, he had no doubt.
Chapter 7
Bane finished tacking the last roll of tar paper to the rooftop and stood, stretching. He looked out over the work site and toward the main street of town. He looked back over his shoulder toward home and sighed. Bam still hadn’t shown up, and Bane hadn’t heard from him either. Bane didn’t like it, not one bit. He was going to have a talk with Bam about l
etting the people that love you know that you are okay, even when you need time alone. He heard a sharp laugh, and Kaid said from the other side of the roof, “Yeah, ‘cause that’s what you did when Janie hurt you, right?”
Bane smiled and shook his head, hands on his hips, “Fuck you, get outta my head,” Bane told him, grinning.
Kaid laughed and kept tearing open packs of shingles and stacking them where he could get to them easily. Bane had just about decided to take a quick trip into town to look for Bam when his phone rang. He grabbed it quickly and put it to his ear without checking the number. Janie called him often, and he had no doubt that’s who it was, “Hey, baby,” he purred into his phone.
“Well, hello there yourself, sexy,” Avaleigh laughed as she answered him.
He chuckled, “Aw, I thought you were Janie.”
“Nope, just plain ole me,” she told him, smiling to herself.
Bane could hear the smile in her voice. He, just like the rest of them, had a very special place in his heart for her. “What’s up, Dragon’s Mate?” he asked her teasingly.
“Thought I’d let you know that Bam’s here. He showed up a little bit ago. Said he wanted to finish Remi’s room,” she told him.
“He okay? He didn’t even call to let us know he’s not coming,” Bane said.
“Yeah, I think so. I asked if he had work, and he said he didn’t want to go. Said ya’ll look at him like you feel sorry for him. And then he mumbled that ya’ll ask too many questions. So you might want to back off the inquisition for now.”
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