The Bear’s Mail Order Menage

Chapter 3

        “Joshua, can you sit for a moment? Would you mind? I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but everyone seems so busy these days.”

“I’m sorry, mom. I’m not trying to be. I guess I haven’t been available as much as I should be lately.”

“Oh no, no, I didn’t mean it to be any kind of slight against you. Honestly, that wasn’t my intention at all. I just meant that life has a way of moving too quickly sometimes. It happens for all of us, your father and I included. One minute you’re thinking about spending time with your family and the next minute. Well, you know. The next minute everything is different. Everyone has changed.”

Joshua saw that his mother had gotten that far away look in her eyes that had become all too common over the last several years. He sat across from her at their old, weathered dining table and took her small hand in his. She was cold, much colder than a shifter usually was, and he rubbed her skin vigorously in the hopes that he could somehow instill a little bit more life in her. With the contact her eyes cleared and focused on the son she loved so dearly. She smiled her little smile and absently wiped away the tears that had begun to form in her tired eyes.

She had never been very good at hiding the things that were in her heart, his mother, and he could see that today was one of those days that made her feel too heavy in her own skin. Sometimes it almost seemed like she was turning to stone, she was so heavy, and those were the times when Joshua fought the hardest to bring her back to life. He would always be there to do that for her. She deserved that much.

“Mom, are you ok? Really, you can tell me. I want you to.”

“Oh Josh, I’m fine. You know me, the older I get the more emotional I seem to become. Don’t pay me any mind.”

“No, I’m going to pay you mind. I should be doing more of that, not less. I mean it. I’m sorry I haven’t been around so much lately. I guess I haven’t been the best son.”

“No!”

Joshua rarely heard his mother raise her voice and so when she did it made a lasting impression. It was startling, and it was effective. He looked at her earnest face and saw a glimpse of the fierce bear shifter mother she had been before Cali had died. He was surprised, but he was also flooded with relief. It was good to see that fire in her eyes. He felt sure that it would remind her of who she had been and who he had no doubt she could be again. She just had to remember.

“No? What do you mean no?”

“I mean no. I don’t ever want to hear you say that you think you haven’t been a good son. Joshua, you have been the best kind of son. You and Andrew both, as crazy as he sometimes gets. I just get lost inside of myself. You know that. Sometimes I need a reminder of who I am.”

“How can I help?”

“Sweet boy, you already have. The best way to remind a mother of what’s important is to make her feel protective of her child, and any time you talk badly about yourself, you do exactly that. So thank you. You’ve helped without even realizing it.”

“Jeez, mom” Joshua said with a smile and a laugh, “you are so nutty sometimes.”

“I know, but that’s part of why you love me.”

“You’re right, it definitely is.”

The sound of the tea kettle whistling broke the moment and Joshua stood, kissing his mom on the top of her head as he went to fill their cups. He knew that they hadn’t yet begun to talk about whatever it was that was on her mind, and he wasn’t sure that he even wanted to. He had a feeling what it might pertain to and it wasn’t something a man wanted to discuss with their parents, especially not their mothers. But he wouldn’t leave her, of course, especially not when she seemed to be so fragile, and so he would discuss with her whatever it was she needed to. He set the tea down in front of her, lavender, her favorite, and settled in beside her.

“So.”

“Yes? What is it, Joshua?”

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something. I was just wondering what it was.”

“Oh! Right, I’m sorry. I’m just so scattered these days!”

“It’s ok, take your time. I don’t have anywhere I need to be.”

“It’s just that I’ve been meaning to talk to you. To ask you, I mean. About the girl. The new girl.”

“I thought that might be it. What do you want to know?”

“Well, for starters, where does she come from?”

“New York. She took a bus from New York.”

“Right,” his mother said with a knowing smile, “but where did she come from before that? She doesn’t exactly sound like she was born and bred there.”

“Right. I guess that’s true.”

“So?”

So? So this was a delicate situation and one that Andrew, in all of his infinite wisdom, hadn’t thought to figure out. In a town as small as this one it was virtually impossible to have a person come in without being noticed. Add to that the fact that Alina was a strikingly beautiful girl with a thick Russian accent, there was no way for her addition to the town to go unnoticed.

And good god, she was beautiful. Her strange gray eyes were something he saw every time he shut his eyes, every day of the last few weeks. Andrew had been right about one thing, having her there did make things far more interesting than they had been in quite some time. She was something to think about, someone to get to know.