Chapter 1

Chapter One

“ C an you make extra pancakes this morning, Bear?”

Bear glanced over his shoulder at Eden, the bubbly Little who’d bounded into the room with far more energy than usual. He lifted his brow at Gabriel, her Daddy, as he followed her into the kitchen wearing a smirk.

“Do you have two stomachs this morning, Little one?” he asked Eden as he returned his attention to flipping pancakes.

She giggled. “No, silly. I want to take a plate out to my friend Addie.”

“Who’s Addie,” Bear asked as he filled a plate and set it in front of Eden.

Eden grinned up at him. “My friend from the university. She’s in my algebra class. She got a job as the receptionist, working for Kade in the motorcycle shop. It’s her first day, so I thought it would be good hospitality to bring her some pancakes.”

Bear grunted. “Sure.” He didn’t mind making extra pancakes, nor did he mind listening to Eden ramble on about her friend. “Is she Little? Do you want my special bear-shaped pancakes with chocolate chips for the eyes, nose, and mouth? Or just regular pancakes?”

Eden lit up. “Oh. Mmm. I don’t really know yet if she’s Little. She might be. But either way, who doesn’t like bear pancakes? You don’t have to be Little to eat pretty food.”

Bear narrowed his gaze at her, trying not to chuckle and failing. “Not sure I like the idea of you calling my food pretty.”

The Little imp giggled before she cut a huge bite and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Eden,” Gabriel warned, “smaller bites and chew your food. You’re not in a hurry. Addie doesn’t even start her shift until nine, and remember what I told you. You may go out and say hello. You may also bring her pancakes, but you may not stay and bother her.”

“Yes, Sir,” Eden muttered.

Bear turned back around to hide his expression. The Little girl was already on the path toward a spanking, and the sun was barely up. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

Bear was happy for his brothers. So many of them had met the perfect women who completed them and made their lives fuller and richer. The clubhouse was a hell of a lot more interesting with the addition of giggles and shenanigans. It warmed his heart.

Considering the fact that Bear would never find and claim a Little of his own, it was nice to be able to cook breakfast for everyone else’s Littles most days and listen to their banter and planned antics. He lived vicariously through his brothers, the Daddies of the Shadowridge Guardians MC.

In addition, Bear often found himself playing the role of babysitter, especially in the mornings when his brothers sometimes needed to get to work before their Littles were ready to start their days. He grumbled good-naturedly about his “duties” sometimes, but it was all a fa?ade. He secretly loved spending time with each and every one of them, and his brothers knew it.

Bear concentrated on making three of his specialty bear pancakes before sliding them onto a plate. He put syrup in a small plastic container with a lid and added it, along with a fork and knife, to the pancakes before placing a domed lid over the top.

“Oh, that’s perfect,” Eden declared when Bear set it on the table. “Thank you so much.”

“Tell your friend to just leave the plate and silverware behind the counter. I’ll go out in a while and collect it.”

Eden jumped up from her chair. “Can we go now, Daddy?” she asked Gabriel.

Gabriel laughed. “After I finish my coffee. Go brush your teeth.”

When Eden took off skipping away from the kitchen, Gabriel and Bear called after her at the same time, “No running!”

Gabriel groaned as she disappeared. “You’d think after spraining her ankle and spending time in Doc’s office as well as urgent care, she would stop running in the house.”

Bear smirked. “I’m pretty sure I’d faint if I didn’t have to yell at one of them for running before breakfast was even over. I’m equally certain they enjoy antagonizing us first thing in the morning. It sets a tone.”

Gabriel laughed. “If by tone you mean a shade of pink or red on half their bottoms, you’re right.”

Bear sat across from Gabriel, joining him with a mug of coffee. Any minute now, he would need to prepare more plates of food, but it was quiet during this lull. “Have you met this friend Eden is so excited about?”

“Yes. They’ve had a few study sessions together. Once at the library on the university campus and once at the coffee shop nearby.”

Bear chuckled. “I guess you didn’t let Eden go alone.”

“Fuck no. I’m still not ready to let her out of my sight. Even though Rat is in jail and the rest of the Devil’s Jesters seem to be staying in their own town lately, I don’t trust any of them.”

Bear nodded. “I can understand that. I wouldn’t either if I were in your shoes.” Bear had felt every bit of the angst a few of his brothers had experienced dealing with the Devil’s Jesters and the problems they’d caused for both Eden and Talon’s Little girl, Elizabeth. The entire town would appreciate it if the Jesters stayed away.

Gabriel pushed to standing. “I guess I better take Eden out to the shop. She’s so excited that she was able to get Adelaine an interview and a job. Apparently, her friend is only taking a few classes a semester because she has to work full-time to afford the tuition and her expenses.”

Bear cringed. “I hate that for her. Do you think Kade is paying her enough to help her stay afloat?” It bothered Bear when women were on their own, trying to make ends meet. It sounded like that was the case with Adelaine.

He’d do a bit of snooping later today and make sure she was above water. If she was important to Eden, he’d make her important to him, too, though he had no idea what he might do if the woman was strapped for cash. It wasn’t as though he could pay her rent or cover her tuition without her knowing. Or hell, maybe he could…

In any case, he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe she was fine. Maybe she had parents who were helping her out, and Eden didn’t know that about her.

As Gabriel set his mug in the dishwasher, Talon and Elizabeth entered the kitchen, followed by Faust and Storm. It was time to flip some more pancakes.