Chapter 8

The cubs didn"t fight anymore,and when we got back to the trailer park, Carmen brought them new clothes to change into. They avoided each other, but got back to their schooling without complaint. Carmen brought me some food since I hadn't eaten lunch and I sat on the floor next to Talia's chair, making small talk with her and Carmen until the schooling was done and the angry lioness came back to bring Talia and Leo home.

Bear protested the idea of her leaving, but I wasn't going to force her to stick around. The work day would end soon and the crew would come back. I didn"t want to scare her. Instead, I walked her to her car and tried to extend our time together just a little longer.

"I, uh… I'll see you around, I guess. I'm visitin' so I'll be here tomorrow when school starts if you need me to walk you again."

She looked uncertain, and her nervous gaze flitted around the trailer park for a moment. "Will they… Will they all be there again tomorrow?"

I didn't know the answer to that, but Carmen did. "No. They lingered today to meet Teddy. They won't do that again tomorrow, I promise."

Guilt ate at me and I frowned down at my shoes. "I'm sorry. It was my fault you got scared. I'll, uh… I didn't really have a plan for this vacation, but I'll try to steer clear of Blackridge while you're here. Don't wanna cause you no trouble."

I took a step back, Bear already clawing my insides for being the reason Talia was so upset this morning. But before I could get too far, Talia reached for me, her hand hesitating and drawing back again before she could touch me.

"I don't… It's not your fault. I'm–" She dropped her chin, her frown so deep it looked painful. I waited, holding my breath because I didn't want to miss anything she said.

"I'm… glad you were here," she whispered. "You helped…"

Elation and relief slammed into me hard, and I beamed at her. "Really?"

She nodded shakily, her voice still barely above a whisper as she said, "Thank you for helping. Me and Leo both."

I looked into the back seat of the car, where the little cub sat watching us. He was still wary around me, but he wasn't putting himself between us. Baby steps.

"I was just like him as a cub. Pa wasn't nice to Mama. I wanted to protect her. He just wants to do right by you."

She peeked at me and then at her son. "You–" She cut herself off, dropping her chin again.

Carefully, so she'd see me coming, I lifted her chin with my knuckle. "You don't gotta be afraid of me, Talia. I don't hurt women. Or cubs. Don't like hurtin' anyone, really. Only people I do hurt deserve what they got for hurtin' people smaller than them."

For the first time since we met, her eyes met mine. She was really pretty. Her dark brown hair was wavy and spilled down over her shoulders. She had forest green eyes and soft looking skin. I had to pull my hand away because I wanted to stroke it with my thumb, but she didn't need that kind of attention. She was thin, maybe a little too thin, like she didn"t eat much, and my bear was demanding we feed her. He was demanding a lot of things, really. Like keeping her and her cub close and protecting them forever. He'd never been that demanding before, and it was a little confusing.

It took her a second to summon the courage to speak her mind. I was pretty patient, I had to be when Mama was recovering, so I waited until she was ready.

"He…" She hesitated again, this time glancing at her son and away. She didn"t want him to hear her. I backed up a little, and she followed me after looking to Carmen for support. Support was good, she needed people she was comfortable with, but I hoped one day she'd be comfortable with me too. Wasn't sure that was possible before I left, though.

Once we were out of earshot of the cub, she tried again. "Leo… He was forced to grow up too fast. I don't want him protecting me forever, but I don't know how to help him. I just want him to be a cub."

Her voice was stronger when she talked about her cub. Strong mama. She would put her fears aside to make things better for him.

I thought about when I was a cub and acted the same way. It wasn't the exact same. Pa was still around until I was big enough to fight back. Our bears fought it out, and he lost. I sent him packing the same day. But I could see the desperation in Talia's eyes. She wanted her cub to be a cub. And I understood what he was thinking better than most.

"I can help, if you want. Talk to him some. But the biggest thing that'll help is you gettin' better. I can help with that too. Mama needed to learn to stand on her own. I helped her do it. She's better now."

She dropped her chin, wrapping her arms around her middle. She wasn't confident that she could do it yet. That was okay. That took time. I used my knuckle to lift her chin again.

"You can do it. I know you can. And I'll be there to help. Promise."

I was going to need to extend my vacation a little. No way was Bear going to let me leave until we knew Talia was going to be okay. I hoped Audrey wouldn't be too mad.

Malcolm got home notlong after Talia left. Since he'd expected me in the evening, he hadn't taken the day off and he couldn't stick around when Talia was so scared earlier. We finally got to chat, and he brought me and his family into town for dinner.

"Papa! Papa! Have you seen Teddy's condition? He's huge! Maybe bigger than Derek!" Javi said excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

"Condition?" I frowned.

Carmen twisted her mouth to hide her laugh. "Sí. It was the word I used when Javi was a baby. I didn't know what else to call it. He still uses it when we're around town."

Around humans, she meant. I understood that much. Keeping the secret kept us all safe.

"That's smart. I wouldn't have thought of that," I said with a nod. "And your dad hasn't seen my… condition since we were kids. I've grown since then."

Malcolm snorted. "I'll say."

I grinned in reply.

Malcolm had brought us to a barbecue place in town. I smelled it over a mile away with the window down and Javi kept talking about the ribs during the drive, so I was starving. When the waiter came to take our order, I couldn't decide, so I chose an entire rack of ribs and a pulled pork sandwich, along with a few sides like cornbread and mac and cheese. Javi's jaw was on the floor when I finished and even Carmen looked surprised. Only Malcolm didn't. He chuckled, shaking his head as he handed the waiter our menus.

"He's been ordering like that since he was a kid. He had to eat adult sized meals when he was Javi's age. He's always been bigger."

I shrugged, not the least bit ashamed. "Bear likes to eat."

Javi leaned closer to his dad, whispering like a kid, way too loud. "Will I get that big when I'm older?"

Malcolm chuckled. "Maybe if you eat your vegetables."

I wrinkled my nose. I wasn't a huge fan of vegetables. I ate them because I had to, but I didn't love them. I didn't think I should say that in front of a cub, though.

"So, how long are you staying, Teddy?" Carmen asked.

I opened my mouth to answer a week, which was the original plan, but I hesitated before the words came out. "I, uh… I'd planned on a week, but I told Talia I'd help her get better. Not sure how long that'll take. It took a while for Mama."

Malcolm's smile was sad. He knew about Pa and how he treated Mama. I shared a lot with him when we were cubs. His parents used to let me stay the night if they could hear Pa shouting through the windows.

"She's okay now, though, right?"

"Yeah, she's alright. Moved back with her folks when Pa left. He kept her away from her family, so she was glad to have ‘em back. They help a lot, I think. Helped her when I moved to the city."

"What city?"

"Dallas. It felt like it was time, and Mama was better. Didn't wanna smother her when she can stand on her own."

Carmen smiled softly. "You'll be good for Talia. I think even one male she trusts is a big step for her. Since you have experience, you'll be able to help more. I thought maybe Esme could help, too."

The food came while we were talking about how to help Talia. I liked that the crew wanted to be part of her recovery. They wanted to help. They hadn't yet because they didn't want to push her before she was ready, but she might need a little push. If she stayed hidden, she wouldn't get better. She needed a few people she could trust, and then she needed to come back to the world. Maybe even find a job eventually. It helped Mama. She said it forced her to face her fears because she needed to put food on the table. I wasn't sure if Talia needed to work, but if she had goals, it'd help.

"She wants to help Leo. That's most important for her. He doesn't play well with the other cubs, and he hovers a lot. He needs friends."

"I can be his friend," Javi volunteered. "I'm good at makin' friends. Papa says so. Right?" He looked at Malcolm expectantly, and beamed when he nodded.

"You are good at makin' friends, son. Has Leo played with you at all?"

Javi shook his head quickly. "No. But that might be because of Kai. They hate each other. Whenever Kai is around, Leo gets mad. He doesn't like Scarlet much either. I don't know why. Scarlet is great."

"He ain't gonna wanna make friends if he's too busy snarlin' at the other kids," I pointed out.

"What if Javi comes with us to visit Talia? I told her I'd get some of the mates to go to the compound to visit her. I thought a familiar place might make it easier. I can bring Javi with me and he can play with Leo without Kai or Scarlet around to make him uncomfortable."

Carmen considered the problem and offered a solution really fast. Malcolm got a smart mate. I nodded once.

"Good plan. Think you can handle it, little bear?"

Javi gave me a thumbs up, his face and hands smeared with barbecue sauce. Cute kid.

With a plan in place, Bear settled a little. He'd been growly since Talia left, but we were going to help her get better. And we weren't doing it alone like we did with Mama at the start. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long. Talia shouldn't have to keep being scared.