“All kinds…rabbits, squirrels, foxes, wolves, bears,” Smokey said.
“Wolves? Like Carsey?” asked Galen, staring into the woods.
“No, just regular wolves,” Smokey answered.
“Like Carsey,” Eamon insisted.
Rolling his eyes, Smokey decided it was better if he changed the subject. “What are your favorite animals?”
Shaking his head, Norm muttered, “Now you’ve done it.”
“Wolves!” exclaimed Galen.
“Na uh, that’s mine,” Eamon said. “You can’t have mine.”
“I said it first,” Galen replied.
“That’s not fair,” Eamon cried. “You knew wolves waz mine.”
Pausing, Theo turned around and, taking pity on Smokey, said, “Jake and Jessica could use a rest.” Sitting down on a log, he lifted Jessica up next to him, while Jake scrambled up on his other side.
Norm stepped around Smokey and placed the picnic basket at Theo’s feet. Sitting down, he said, “C’mon, Danny, I saved a place for you.”
Remembering Colton’s comments about Jessica’s crush on Eamon, Smokey immediately lifted Galen up and placed him next to Jessica and then put Eamon next to Jake. Then he plopped down next to Norm, grateful for a breather from the endless barrage of questions his two charges had aimed at him.
Opening up the basket, Theo smiled. “Okay, who wants a cookie?”
A chorus of “Me’s” echoed around Smokey and soon the only sounds were the crunch of cookies. Closing his eyes, he leaned back, inhaling deeply of the forest air. It was exactly what he needed to calm his soul. Tuning out everything except for some bird calls, he concentrated on them while continuing his deep breathing. It had been a while since he’d needed to resort to this routine, but his confidence had been greatly shaken by the two young boys. During the hike, doubts had begun to gnaw at him about his ability to be a good father to their cub. It brought back memories of his time at the Agency when Reeve Nicolet used to tear him down repeatedly.
Nudging Smokey, Norm whispered, “Don’t let it get to you…you’re doing fine.”
Startled out of his deep thoughts, Smokey opened his eyes and stared at his mate. He’d forgotten Norm could sync into his thoughts. “Not really…I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“Of course not, that’s why Theo came up with this idea. The more time you spend with kids, the easier it becomes,” Norm replied, chuckling. “Though, he kinda threw you into the deep end with Galen and Eamon. Those two are a real handful.”
“No sh…I mean kidding…no kidding,” Smokey muttered.
“Hey…look at you. You’re already learning a new language,” Norm joked.
Shaking his head, Smokey muttered, “Wait until Glenn finds out…I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Laughing, Norm said, “I don’t think that’ll happen. Alex has already decreed there will be no swearing in front of their cub.”
“Glenn’s okay with that?” asked Smokey, not sure whether to believe his mate or not.
“I’m not sure he likes it, but Sawyer agreed with Alex, so Glenn had no choice but to go along.”
“Well, I’ll be da…”
“Uh-uh!” Norm interrupted.
Sighing, Smokey asked, “Do you know how hard it’s gonna be for me to stop?”
“It won’t, really. My parents didn’t swear and didn’t allow me to…though once I joined the Blackwood Pack I started to, but I’m working on breaking the habit.”
“Thank the gods,” Smokey muttered. “At least I’m not alone.”
Noticing that Theo was closing the basket, Norm turned to Smokey. “I didn’t grow up with any brothers or sisters, so I was like you…having kids was something I never thought about, but Theo wanted them and once I figured out why, I was onboard. Luckily, Danny, Jessica and Jake were around and Theo volunteered us to babysit them as often as he could.
