They piled their plates high and when I didn’t, I got some encouraging looks and with a nudge from Dallas to my arm, thenervousness subsided. I got a lot of everything while my mouth watered.
“There’s so much cake,” I laughed.
“Archer went a little overboard once he heard I was bringing you home.”
I looked across the table to see Archer blushing. Cheeks red as could be. Even his ears.
“Thank you for all the trouble. I haven’t had cake in…well, since you sent some home with me the other day.”
I suspected the gift with consignment thing was a ruse, but at that moment, the smell of baked bread and honey was so strong in their shop that there was no way I could resist.
“Do you like to bake or cook?” Archer’s question tipped off a mountain of more questions from the three bears. They wanted to know everything about me it seemed, but as the food on my plate disappeared, the whole thing became demanding.
Too many questions. So much had happened in one day and I was overwhelmed, tired, and frazzled. Not because of them but because of me.
“I’m sorry but…” Goddess, I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. “Today has been a lot for me. I want to take the tour and explore this beautiful house, but I’m not sure how much I have left.”
Dallas nodded. “We understand. We have time for you to learn the house and anything else. Get some rest, Bonnie. We’re so glad you came to live here.”
I stood but realized that with all the cooking meant all the dishes. “The clean up?” I asked.
“Not for you to worry about,” Justice said. “I do the dishes. My thing.”
An alpha who did the dishes. Another alpha who cooked. And a third who offered me a home and a job.
Not at all what I’d been taught about the so-called stronger sex.
“Thank you again for everything. Good night.”
Minutes later, dressed in a new set of pajamas that were a bit baggy on me, I went to sleep happy but concerned.
When would the other shoe drop?
Chapter Twelve
Justice
The three of us wanted to give Bonnie space and quiet, and we also needed to talk. That led us outside, but before we could get a word in edgewise, our bears were pushing to get out. They wanted to check the land, make sure it was safe, make sure she was protected.
“Are you feeling it too?” I asked.
Archer pulled his shirt off. “You mean the need to get in our fur and run the perimeter, mark the perimeter, and then do it again?”
Dallas was already taking off his pants. “Yeah, I guess we’re all feeling that.”
We took our fur.
My bear took over completely, pushing me back, making sure every inch of our border was scented, marked, and clear, which gave me too much time to think. Think about how much our lives had changed with one female walking into our store. I didn’t know what her story was or why she was here, but I swore to the goddess we were going to do right by her.
Our beasts insisted on doing the run three times. Afterward, we shifted far enough away from the house that we could talk and not be heard. She didn’t need to be disturbed by us. Her day was stressful enough. Bonnie needed sleep, pampering, and a steady life. If she was allowed it, we would gladly give it to her.
Dallas was the first to speak. “Something’s not right. Nothing about Bonnie adds up the way it should.”
“I know.” Archer grabbed the back of his neck. “She’s way too skinny, and she jumps at everything. She’s scared. I don’t know of what, but I want to find out what it is and decimate it.”
“I wonder if she got mixed up with unsavory people, or maybe her family was…” I didn’t have a word for it. “She doesn’t have a phone. She doesn’t have a bank account. She won’t give us an address. She won’t give us a last name. People enjoying legal everyday lives don’t do that. But she’s not a criminal. My gut tells me she’s innocent in whatever it is that has pushed her to be here.”
Dallas paced back and forth, his bear still on edge despite our three border runs. I wouldn’t be surprised to find him doing another in the morning.
