Page 21 of Falling for the Bear Dad

I left early, canceling my last meeting. Driving home, I was once again thinking about how I would have to sound her out and make sure she wouldn’t be frightened off when she learned about us. I should have thought of it sooner, but she was hurting and needed a place to stay. Welcome, don’t mind me if I get all furry with big claws and fangs could be off-putting to some humans.

That thought made me laugh. Mya was doing great with Benji and didn’t need any additional stress. I was overthinking the whole thing, worrying about nothing. I even stopped and bought ice cream for dessert. What would Mya be making for dinner? That pot roast had been very good.

Pulling into the driveway, the oil puddle where her car had stood reminded me of how mad Mya had been at me. I sure hoped she was over it, although I wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t. Should I tell the mechanic just to hold off and not even look it over if he hadn’t? Have it towed back here?

Maybe.

But the logic was there.

I’d speak with her and do whatever she wanted me to.

Feeling like I’d reached the best decision, I climbed out of the car and walked up to the door. Letting myself in, I expected to see Benji in the living room playing with Mya, but there was no sign of either of them. Jeanine’s car was outside, so they couldn’t have gone far. I carried the ice cream to the kitchen and was putting it in the freezer when I heard something crash upstairs. Slamming the freezer door, I ran for the stairs. The noises seemed to be coming from Benji’s bedroom, so I headed that way only to freeze in the doorway.

Mya faced me, holding a wriggling bear cub in her arms.

Holy shit.

Chapter Eighteen

Mya

I kind of hated the two days a week when Benji went to preschool. The socialization was good for him and making friends and learning, but I got teary every time I had to drop him off. It was only two hours, but I missed the little guy.

My first paycheck was…scary. It had been a long time since I’d had access to money of my own, but I did need some clothes. Real clothes. Most of what I had packed to run were things that Jacob bought for me.

That meant halter dresses and tube tops, mostly. Pants with provocative sayings splayed over my ass in glitter and gemstones.

As soon as I had some new things, those were going straight into the trash.

With my two hours to myself, I went to a thrift store hoping to find some casual things to wear. Could I afford to go shopping for higher-priced things? Yes. Was I going to waste my money, especially with my car in the shop? No.

The local thrift store had a big selection, and I ended up buying everything I needed. Plus, I found Benji a couple of outfits and some lightly used toys I thought he would like, including a little tree trunk that housed a family of bears. And some books.

On my way back to the car, I noticed a little bakery and popped in. They had freshly baked ham-and-Swiss croissants, and I thought Benji would like one for lunch. Plus, I picked up some cheesecake brownies for dessert that night. I felt bad about that morning. I had no qualms about the things I’d said, but maybe stomping into the driveway, boobies out, in my pajamas maybe wasn’t the best way to handle it.

Once I picked up Benji, I got to hear all the preschool gossip. There was a girl named Holly who tried to hold Benji’s hand, but he didn’t like her voice so he didn’t hold her hand back. There were tears but he shrugged it off.

“Did you tell her you were sorry?”

Another shrug. “I not sorry. She talks like this.” He proceeded to speak in a very high-pitched voice about flowers and watering cans. “I wanted to play trucks.”

Fair decision.

“I got you something for lunch while I was out, and a new toy. We have to clean it up, but it should be fun.”

Preschool tuckered Benji out. He fell asleep on the way home and while he finished his nap on the couch, I cleaned up the toy set and got his lunch ready. That I’d noticed, the little guy didn’t turn his nose up at any food and singlehandedly kept the dairy food group in business. A full glass of milk in every meal.

When he got up, he was wiping his eyes, and I noticed his chin quivering. I wrapped him up in a hug. “What’s wrong, Benji? You can tell me.”

“I was dreaming about Mama.”

Heart broken. “Can you tell me about it?”

“She was pushing me on a swing. I could hear her laughing.”

I kissed the top of his head. It must’ve been awful to mourn his mother at such a young age. “Maybe she was visiting you. In your dream.”

“Can we look at the pictures of Mama?”