Page 8 of Bear's Rejected Love

“Okay. I’ll have breakfast on the table in five.”

He grunted something that sounded like thanks.

She nodded and walked to the door to give him privacy. Privacy. What a concept. Their last apartment was little more than a bachelor, with a tiny kitchen and living room. She’d rented it only because it was affordable without being in too rough a neighborhood, although it wasn’t good, but because the bedroom was just big enough for two twins, two dressers, two nightstands, and the curtains she hung up to divide it between them.

Corbin had a room here. A room with a real door.

“Mom?”

She turned, her heart melting because she expected that he’d tell her he was okay or that he loved her like he had all the time when he was little. He stood up and pulled a fresh t-shirt out of the dresser, a pair of jeans, socks and boxers. He looped it over his arm for after his shower.

“Yes?”

“What are you going to do today?”

Find out how things work here. Find your father and have a very long overdue conversation with him, figure out ways to get you involved here and keep you entertained, try to make friends, learn how to fit in, try to find my place here, brainstorm ideas how to not be the worst mother in the world…

“The way this clan works, as I understand it, is that everyone is allotted a job and a certain amount of money—a way to contribute to the wellbeing of the entire place, but it’s also to give everyone a purpose. Our clan wasn’t so different. I’m going to talk to Sam’s mate, Lily, and see if I can make myself useful.”

Corbin grinned at her, and even though it wasn’t an I love you in so many words, it still melted her insides. Even as a thorny, moody teenager who had questionable friends and made so many questionable decisions, her son was still so, so sweet.

Chapter 4

Roan

“Oh my gosh, Roan, you’re really jumpy today.” Ora pointed out the obvious with sweetness, and softened it with a smile, even though he’d just dropped his morning coffee in the middle of the kitchen and there was currently a java explosion and three thousand shards of broken mug to clean up.

Helena slid away from the table, giving Honor a kiss on the forehead and walked to the sink. She grabbed a rag and Ora went for the dustpan and broom.

“No, leave that,” he told them as gently as he could. “I’m sorry. I was clumsy. I’ll clean it up. I don’t want you to be late for school.”

Ora paused, the tiny broom suspended from one fist, the dustpan in the other. “You’ve been losing your mind since she came here. Just go talk to her.”

“You’re both sharing the same space now. Greenacre is only so big. You’re going to run into each other,” Helena backed up her sister.

“You could ask us about him, you know. We see him in school every day,” Ora added.

“You’re way too adult for your own good. Both of you.” He took the rag and dustpan from the girls and set them on the counter. He plucked Honor out of his highchair and was rewarded with two sticky oatmeal hands batting him on the head.

The girls shared a look, laughing openly. They got their backpacks and walked to the door. He waved them off and they waved back, giving Honor special emphatic baby waves that were utterly adorable.

“Have a good day, be safe, let me know if you’re not coming straight home after school,” he called.

They waved back at him, less emphatically, but with broad, bright smiles.

They knew what he wasn’t saying. Have a good day because you’ve been forced to endure the worst and you deserve every bit of kindness and wonder this world has to offer. Be safe because I couldn’t take it if something happened to you. My heart would not be okay. If you don’t tell me what you are if you don’t come straight home, I’m going to worry and that will no doubt lead me to tearing this entire place apart to ensure that you’re okay and if you weren’t okay, that would kill me.

They’d never said they loved each other. He’d never heard the girls tell each other either. Maybe words like that were cut out of their vocabulary along with everything else that had been taken from them, the experiments and medicines, all the scars from the lab.

He waited until the girls were out of sight, Honor a warm weight in his arms. He was a very quiet baby, although when he was teething, that was another matter.

“Well, kid, should we finish your oatmeal and get you dressed for a walk?”

Honor cooed and got more oatmeal in his hair. Just how much was on his hands to start?

Roan fed the baby while holding him in one arm, then cleaned them both up. He changed the baby’s diaper and slipped on a pair of black leggings and his red knitted sweater overtop his long-sleeved onesie.

As soon as he had gotten them ready and was just about to leave, Honor grinned at him and decided to fill his fresh diaper. Roan groaned as he took him back inside the cabin. “Should have seen that post breakfast stinker coming.”

---