“Why not?”
“We have things to do. Being sad will distract us.”
“What do we have to do?” he asked.
“Get you back to Mimi safe and sound. I’m not going to lie; those bad guys are going to keep trying to find us. But Uncle Jim, Paul, and I are going to do everything we can to keep that from happening. You can help us by staying focused. What did Aunt Mary tell you about what you feel?”
“It all has a smell.”
“That’s right. And little kids, like you, usually smell happy. Sure, they sometimes smell angry or sad, but never for long. The bad guys looking for us are going to use their noses to try to find the saddest, most scared kids they can. So don’t be sad. Don’t be scared.”
Liam nodded and looked out the window. I hated having to tell him all that. Cubs weren’t supposed to worry about their scents or people using them to track. But, we needed to do everything we could to keep the cubs safe.
Slowly, Liam’s scent changed. It stayed far from happy, but the grief and worry eased up considerably. I caught Jim’s gaze in the mirror. He nodded at me and returned his focus to the road.
“Have you ever been on a vacation?” I asked Liam.
He shook his head.
“Me, neither. I think when we get to Emmitt and your sister, we’ll tell them we want a vacation. Where should we go?”
“The place where they make the mouse pancakes.”
His immediate answer surprised me.
“You mean Disney World?” I asked.
“Yep. I want to see that mouse.” He lowered his voice and looked up at me. “Uncle Jim isn’t so good at making that shape. Dad isn’t any better.”
Jim burst out laughing, and I grinned.
“Then, we need to go there.”
“Yep. Aden would like that, too. I think it would help his smell.”
“I think you’re right. What do you say, Paul?”
“I’m always up for mingling with some princesses,” he said.
He didn’t sound up for it. He sounded ready to fight. I knew my brother well enough, though, to know his issue wasn’t with a vacation.
Tell him to cut it out,I sent Jim.
He just wants blood. Like we all do.
I know. But, I just told a cub to hide his emotions. Paul needs to do the same, or he’ll be the princess when we finally get to Disney.
Jim snorted, but otherwise remained silent.
“Hey, Liam,” Paul said suddenly. “Do you think Henry could get in free if we dressed him up like Merida?”
Liam snorted.
“I’m disturbed that you know who Merida is,” I said.
“Nope. You should be more disturbed that you know who I was talking about,” Paul said.
Liam’s mood lightened further over the next few minutes with Paul and me quietly bantering about who would make the best princess.
