Page 10 of Enforcer’s Little Warrior (Little Paws Haven #3)

Bash

How many times had he absorbed a punch? Had the wind knocked out of him? Been driven to his knees by the fierceness of an attack? It was more times than he’d cared to keep count off and yet Romy’s sobs and the sight of the rhino couple kneeling in the doorway with their arms around their calves… well damn… this was something he couldn’t just shake off.

Manners dictated he speak to them. Ensure that they had safe lodging and provisions for the children now that they’d been reunited. The mother…her scent hit him, and Bash knew she’d been the one to carry her boys as far as she could before setting them down to finish the walk on their own. She’d been the one to fool some of the best trained rhinos in the community, Bash included, with the way she’d changed directions, masked her trail. Then left her scent in so many different places that it had been impossible to tell what her fate had finally ended.

When they’d discovered the sight of a battle and the stench of dead rhino, they’d assumed it had been her to perish. For the sake of those boys, he was glad he and Arlo had been wrong in coming to that determination, but the ramifications now…

Bash took a deep breath and hugged Romy harder, needing to get his own emotions in check so he could tend to his mate. It had been too good to be true, the way the universe had handed him a ready-made family. Maybe he’d needed a greater reminder of how easily the ones you loved could get snatched away. Who was to say why fate unfolded the way it did? Maybe it was just to test his readiness and commitment to family and the changes being mated brought. The one thing he knew was that it changed nothing about the decisions he’d made, that was what he needed to convey to Romy.

Nuzzling him, Bash gently murmured soothing sounds in his ear, keeping his voice low with the boys continuing to chat excitedly at their parents, wanting to know what had happened, where they’d been, when they were taking them home.

All the questions.

They had sharp minds, those little ones, and Bash had ordered several learning toys, all with some kind of puzzle aspect, just to see how the boys would handle the challenge. Little minds needed to be stimulated, or so Sasha said when she’d helped him choose the website to shop from.

Breathe.

He could do this for Romy. Bash hugged him tighter, inhaling his scent and reached out along their connection, continuing on working to soothe the anguish they both felt. The boys are lucky. They had us when they needed us most. We will miss them, and while I can’t imagine what those parents felt, not knowing if they’d been successful in getting their boys to safety, I know how easy it is to love them and worry for their futures. We need to greet our guests and make sure they have a safe place to take the boys when they leave here.

B-b-but….

I know, Little Bumper, I know. I am going to miss them too. I had already come to think of them as ours.

Romy hiccupped, but at least his sobs were slowing some even while his shirt clung to Bash’s skin from the tears.

This changes nothing. I’m not going to return to enforcer status just because the boys will be returning to their parents. I wouldn’t do that to you, or us. I like the thought of being crash security and helping my neighbors. Hell, I like the thought of getting to know my neighbors and crashmates and spending time with them. Especially if that doesn’t involve bloodshed and worry about our survival. You will see me every day. He added extra cheer. You may even tire of that after a while, but all you’ll have to do is tell me and I’ll go let Sasha school me at the pool table until you’re ready for me to come back home.

Another hiccup. Promise you won’t leave me?

I promise. Everything is going to be okay. Let’s wipe our tears and offer them some of the delicious fruit salad you made. Then we can make sure they have what they need.

As he eased Romy back from him so he could wipe his face, Bash let him see the tears on his own cheeks so his Little Bumper would know that he was just as upset about their loss. It was crushing seeing Romy’s puffy and blood-shot eyes, and yet Bash couldn’t help but feel like they’d rebound once they could sit together. Hold one another. Talk and plan about getting the house set up so the way they wanted. Then maybe talk about a family they both so clearly desired. They’d be ready, he was sure for every joy and challenge that it would bring, just once they’d caught their breath.

Carefully, he cleaned the tears from Romy’s cheeks, leaning in close so he could kiss them away before rubbing noses with him.

“You will have everything your heart desires,” Bash murmured, staring him straight in the eye. “That is my promise to you.”

Only after hugging him once more did he take Romy’s hand and led him to where Nambi and Toofus’ mom had the boys. Her mate, because yes, Bash could smell the bond on them, was there holding her and the boys from behind as he murmured quietly to them.

He looked up when they approached though and scrambled to his feet, offering his hand to Bash as he thanked them for caring for and protecting their children.

“We heard it was safe here,” the rhino stated with a croaky voice. “So we hoped the rumors were true. We were so desperate to get them to someone who would protect them. We got separated from our crash, which was a good thing, because they got slaughtered. I could only buy time for my mate to vanish with our children. As I was never trained to fight so many at once, I barely survived.” His hand rested on his mate’s shoulder. “She came back for me.”

“Most of us haven’t been trained for this,” Bash said as he shook his hand and clasped the other rhino on the shoulder. “You did what you needed to do to ensure your mate had the best chance at success with your children. We’re just glad you both survived the council to make it here to us and can reunite with your boys.” He gave them a sympathetic smile. “Come inside, please, and sit down. If you’re without a crash, we’ll be able to help with that too? These little guys have come to mean a lot to us.” Bash couldn’t look at Romy at the wave of sadness at their loss.

“Thank you, for everything,” the other rhino replied as he bent to pick Nambi up so his mate could stand with Toofus. “We’ll happily accept your hospitality.”

“Then come this way,” Bash indicated, motioning with his head towards the kitchen. “My mate has made an amazing fruit salad he refuses to let me taste.”

That brought chuckles as they headed to the kitchen, Romy’s laugh more than a little brittle. Bash knew he didn’t have his experience with masking his emotions in situations like this, so he rubbed his hand up and down Romy’s back as they walked into their kitchen, pulling out a chair for Nambi and Toofus’ mom.

“Thank you,” she said, her face, up close, still baring faint scars from the ordeal she’d gone through. Toofus clung to her, just as happy as a rhino could be as he got snuggled while she stroked his hair.

“You were so good, for looking out for your brother,” she murmured to him as she kissed his cheek, the love she had for them unmistakable, as was the love they saw shining in her mate’s eyes as he watched her with their son.

Bash had to look away and busy himself so as not to fall apart. Romy needed him to be strong, so helping him get the fruit salad out and the plates on the table was easier. He took every opportunity to touch Romy’s shoulder or stroke down his back.

It’s all gonna be okay, Little Bumper, you’ll see.

One day soon. That’ll be us. He swore it. Bash never went back on his promises—ever.

Romy

It was a struggle to act like his heart hadn’t walked right out the door with the boys. His attachment to them was so strong. He’d protected them. Played with them. Seen them as his own. None of this he could really share with Bash because he couldn’t contain all of his own emotions. So Romy attempted to keep his in check around his mate. Three days on, Bash was at work and Romy couldn’t find anything to help him settle. He’d cleaned, tidied, packed more of the things they had bought for the boys for Bash to take to their new home.

Romy had thought about dropping them off himself, but it was too far to walk, and he couldn’t quite persuade himself that it was all right to pick at the fresh and throbbing wound of loneliness the boys’ absence brought him. He wandered aimlessly through the house, finding himself at the doorway to the boy's bedroom, and heaving a sigh.

Stop it.

He spun around and went down the stairs once more, near the front door, he went in that direction. Outside, he stood next to the wallow and debated about stripping to shift. Then thought about the fact he’d be alone with no one to play with.

Another sigh and his shoulders sagged. The heat of the sun seared through his thin T-shirt, droplets of sweat slid down his spine as he tried to think beyond his misery. Stop it. I mean it. This is getting silly. No matter what he said to himself, it wasn’t working.

The phone in his shorts pocket chimed, and he dug in to pull it out, wanting the distraction to not care who was messaging him when he knew it would not be Bash. When he was working, they had a rule that messaging or calling only happened when it was an emergency. Feeling down in the mouth didn’t constitute as that, or that’s what he thought, he’d not asked Bash. Seeing Cosmo’s name, his lips quivered.

Wanna come to mine for play time, my Daddies have made me a new maze?

Romy couldn’t use the maze in his shifted form, he was too big, but he could in his human form.

Yes please, he typed back, then hesitated because he didn’t have any way to get to Cosmo’s. The crash was based several miles away from Cookietown, and Cosmo’s home was on the other side of town, miles away. But I don’t have any way to get to you, sorry.

The second the message delivered the dots appeared and Romy waited.

That’s okay, Nomad said we can come get you, if you wanna come.

His eyes glimmered with tears he struggled to hold on at the generous offer. Thank you. I’ll be ready.

There was a ‘thumbs up’ a moment later and Romy gave his phone a watery grin, then headed back into the house to go to his bedroom to find an outfit that he’d like to wear for his play date.

In the closet, he stared at all the outfits Bash had insisted on buying him the day the boys left. They’d arrived the day before and he’d not even taken them out of the packets because he hadn’t felt like it. Now he could see how ungrateful that was after all the effort Bash had gone to. He’d need to apologize when he came home later, for now, he peeled off all the wrappers and laid them on their bed. A bed they’d still not used for more than cuddling and sleeping. He shook off the worrying thought that neither of them had been in the mood for more than cuddling.

He eyed the six outfits, sucking his lip in between his teeth as he considered his choices. The little sunshine yellow outfit that had a bib and braces came with pretty rainbows on the braces. It had rainbow trim around the cuff of the shorts and a little crop top that went underneath. He’d bet he’d look real cute in that. The outfit sat next to it was a dino onesie in purple with big orange spots that had scales down the back in bright blue. The hood also had them too, which Romy loved as they looked—and felt—silky soft.

There was another short set with cars on it from a movie he loved of the same name. There was another onesie, this one was lighter and covered in tiny little bears of different colors. He had also gotten a long-legged outfit in gray, that the top had a hood with a horn, same as his rhino. They didn’t do a white one, but Romy hadn’t minded.

He went back and forth until he picked up the sunshine yellow outfit and the purple onesie. He carried them down stairs minutes later after folding them and placing them in his rucksack that was in the shape of a turtle. Going to the kitchen, he went to the snack cupboard and found several things to go into the bag to nibble on when they got hungry. If he was acting more like a Daddy than his Little self, he ignored it. It was how he’d always done it because he’d not had a Daddy before to do it for him.

Happy he had everything, he went outside after shutting up the house as Bash had shown him and sat on the grass waiting for Nomad to come collect him. For the first time in days, he had something fun to look forward to, so he gave no thought to letting anyone know what he was doing as his Little side came to the fore.

When Nomad pulled up minutes later, he eagerly jumped up when he spotted Cosmo in the front of the car. “Cosmo, wanna see my outfits?” he called excitedly before Nomad had a chance to open his car door.

“Yeah. I wasn’t allowed to wear mine on the trip over, Daddy said I’d get too hot and sticky,” Cosmo answered glumly, then bounced in his seat and wriggled his fingers when Romy sat in the back and Nomad had him strapped in. “Can I see yours?”

Romy clutched the bag for a second, undecided when they were his new things Daddy bought for him. When Cosmo gave him a bright, pleading smile, he huffed before handing over his rucksack. “Okay, but be careful, they’s new.”

Nomad chuckled but didn’t say anything as Cosmo cooed over Romy’s choices, making him grin happily. “I like rainbows,” he said, just so Cosmo knew that was his favorite.

Cosmo’s curls bounced around his face as he looked back at him. “They’re the cutest.” He dug out the purple onesie giggling, then made a roaring sound. “I’m a big bad dinosaur.”

Romy giggled at his friend because he didn’t look scary.

“Could I wear this one, pleasssssseeeeee,” Cosmo begged, fluttering his eyes at Romy, making him think that something was in Cosmo’s eyes that hurt him.

He chewed his lip, tucking it behind his teeth.

“Pleassseeeee,” Cosmo said in a voice that made Romy’s heart ache a little.

“Okay… but promise you wont’s dirty it.”

Cosmo gave him the biggest smile. “I won’t, my daddies will make sure I’s good.” Cosmo looked at his Daddy. “Won’t you Daddy.”

Romy couldn’t see Cosmo’s Daddy’s face, but his head nodded, so Romy felt better someone would make sure his dino was safe from sticky fingers. He wanted to be the one to make it sticky with Daddy. His belly clenched at thoughts of his Daddy not there to play with him.

Daddy was important, doing important things so he couldn’t play with Romy. He sniffed and looked out the window, wrapping his arms around his middle. Next time, maybe Daddy could play with them?