At least he had been. I was still trying to wrap my head around him not only bonding the sister of his younger brother’s mate while the rest of Bear Mountain slept, but also mauling up with his constable and the brother of his former best friend, an ex-con who’d just gotten out of jail.
But this morning, he looked rather taciturn.
He removed his hat with a respectful nod.“Father.”
“Son.” I straightened to my old RCMP posture and gestured to the counter of food. “You hungry? I prepared the usual big meal for Zion’s first day of school. There’s plenty left over.”
“No, thank you. Already ate.”
Should’ve guessed that. The other thing people were talking about was how good a cook Hawk, his new ex-con maul mate, had turned out to be.
“Got a minute?” he asked, taking another step toward the counter.
Too many minutes.
But aloud I said, “What’s on your mind?”
He set his hat on the counter. “Remember before Mom died? You guys were talking about the two of you getting a passport and maybe visiting Jamaica with Zion?”
I nodded, even though I was a little confused about why he’d be bringing up that time right before her death. He hadn’t talked about Niska in years, not since she blindsided him by naming his younger, half-Outsider brother Tuk’Mara on her deathbed—not Takoda, the full Ayaska older son who’d spent his life expecting to become the next leader of our people.
“Did you ever get that passport?”
“No. Your mother passed before we could get the paperwork together.”
“Yeah, I figured.” A consternated look passed over his face.
And I patiently waited for him to tell me what this line of questioning was all about.
“Holly’s got this issue with her mother—name’s Bell. Right before the holidays, she got back together with Holly’s toxic stepfather.” Takoda wiped a hand over his face like he was already tired, even though the day had just begun. “Guy’s a real piece of work. Hit Bell for years, and Holly went out of her way to help her get him sent to jail. But as soon as he got out last Christmas, Bell went right back to him.”
Wasn’t the first time I’d heard about someone refusing to leave a toxic relationship. As an RCMP or as a maul husband.
I picked up the dish towel. Folded it. Refolded it. Thought about Niska trying to hold on to Erik, even when his presencethreatened to drive Zion away for good. How she’d defended him. Made excuses.
Some bonds were hard to break, even when they should be.
“Anyway, she’s not returning any of Holly’s or Noelle’s texts or emails about getting married this summer,” Takoda continued. “And now Holly’s talking about going to Minnesota herself. To check on her.”
I stopped folding. “But she’s pregnant.”
I remembered when Niska was pregnant. She’d nearly had to lay down spikes to keep me from trailing around after her. Male bears hated to have their pregnant mates out of their sights. And there was no scenario in which a maul husband would allow his wife to leave the bubble of his protection here in Bear Mountain. Much less, travel all the way to Minnesota.
“Exactly.” Takoda’s jaw tightened. “We can’t let her leave, but none of us can go and leave her here. I was thinking maybe if we sent someone to check on Bell, assure Holly that her mother is just being stubborn, like ours was with Mara.”
His expression soured at the mention of his womb twin, who’d refused to so much as step foot in Bear Mountain since Niska exiled her thirteen years ago. Not even for her mother’s funeral.
“I don’t think Holly gets how obstinate mothers can be when it comes to their daughters. And Holly texted her some real rough stuff after finding out she was back together with her stepfather.”
I nodded in full agreement.
“I was hoping you could go. But without a passport...” Takoda shook his head. “Even if you applied today, it’d take weeks.”
I set down the dish towel. Problem identified. Solution blocked.
But maybe there was another angle.
“Have you considered reaching out to your Uncle Walker?”
