Page 14 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

A couple of the parents looked our way, and I didn’t miss how Teddy bit his lip at the unwanted attention.

I sat on the floor opposite Bear and took a deep breath.

“Okay, Bear, tell me what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” The kid shrugged.

I studied him for a bit, and he glanced at the parents around us sheepishly. More specifically, all the moms.

“Do you miss your mommy?” I whispered.

He nodded, avoiding my gaze, staring at his cup instead.

“That’s perfectly normal, sweetheart. Do you want to make something pretty for her?”

That got his attention.

“What?” he asked.

I lifted the paper candle holder in front of him and smiled.

“We can put all the things you want to tell her on this cup, and then we’ll light them up so she can see them from above and know you’re thinking of her. How does that sound?”

Bear bit his lip, and I couldn’t help but think how much he looked like his uncle. He took the cup from me and the pencil he’d thrown and started drawing.

“There you go,” I whispered and ruffled his hair as I stood up.

“Thank you,” Teddy mouthed at me, and he stood up too.

“Don’t mention it,” I said.

“I’m so out of my depth.”

I looked into his icy blue eyes and pressed my lips together. He looked like he needed a hug, but that would be wildly unprofessional, so I did the next best thing. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze before I let go.

Even that was a mistake because as soon as I touched him, my whole body awakened and it became hard to breathe.

There was just something about him. Something I hadn’t felt with anyone in all my life.

Too bad I couldn’t explore what it was. I would have to be content with having him visit me in my fantasies, when I was all alone at home and he could do anything he wanted to me and I to him. That was my only consolation.

“Come on. You’re not doing so bad.”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I feel like I’m getting worse at it. He doesn’t eat. Doesn’t talk. He’s scared of everyone. He follows me everywhere. I…I don’t know what to do.”

I turned from him to look at the top of Bear’s head. He was so absorbed in his drawing that he wasn’t paying attention to anything else.

“Maybe you should try a therapist? It’s pretty clear he misses his mom, so maybe it’s all a result of his grief. He’s so young. He probably doesn’t know how to deal with it. Or maybe it’s something more neurological. Has he ever been assessed?”

“Assessed? Assessed for what?”

“Autism, ADHD, learning disabilities?”

He shook his head.

“I didn’t even think of that. God, I’m so hopeless.”

“Hey! You’re not hopeless,” I said, touching his arm. “Start with a therapist and see how you get on. A therapist will be able to help determine if it’s grief or something else.”

He ran a hand over his face and let out a deep breath.

“See? I’m so out of my depth. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said before he stuttered and added, “Without all of you on this island.”

Oh boy, would my fantasies have a field day with that particular wording later on.

God. I’m so pathetic.

I probably needed to get laid. I’d sworn off hookups and dating, but maybe it was necessary to keep this thing for Teddy at bay before it came out and embarrassed me beyond compare.

“We’re all here for you,” I said, and the way he seemed to hang on my words made a knot form in my throat.

The longer he looked at me, the bigger the knot became, and I felt like I would implode, so I turned away. Looked at Bear instead. Looked at the little kid and breathed.

“Y-you know,” I said after a few moments, pushing my glasses up and attempted to recompose myself. “Maybe he’s afraid of losing you too. Maybe that’s why he’s acting up.”

I called back to every instance of Bear and Teddy I could remember, and how clingy he was to his uncle. Even at The Outpost last weekend, he’d run to Teddy as soon as Autumn or anyone talked to him.

“You think?” Teddy asked.

“It’s a possibility. I wouldn’t rule it out.”

He sighed again.

“I don’t know what to do.”

I bit down the urge to touch him again and instead resolved to just smile.

“Visit a therapist, for starters. And build a routine. Routines help kids feel safe and secure.”

Saying that brought the twins to the front of my mind, and I wondered if they were showing signs too. Signs I might have missed.

“Routine, huh? It’s hard to keep a routine when the bathroom is occupied most of the day,” he said, and I blinked.

“Huh?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing. It’s just…it’s hard to keep a routine when we can’t even use the bathroom at the lodge whenever we need to. Some days, he has to go without a bath because it gets too late?—”

“Lodge? What are you…? You live in a lodge?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Luna’s Lodge.”

I gasped.

“Oh my, Teddy!” I scolded. “No wonder Bear is not settling very well yet. Does he even have his own room?”

Teddy hung his head in shame and bit his lip.

Freaking adorable even when he was being a silly man.

“You need to move into a home. ASAP. He needs to feel safe and secure, to have his own space that isn’t constantly crowded with strangers. Forget everything else and start there for his sake.”

Teddy glanced at Bear and nodded.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

I rolled my eyes and touched his arm again. Gosh, I was addicted. And it wasn’t like his arm was tiny. It was rock-hard muscle, and it made my skin sizzle every time I came into contact with him. But I didn’t care. He needed to get the message loud and clear.

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to this little man by finding him a home.”

“I will,” he said with a gentle smile, and I caught him glancing at my hand on his arm.

Was it having the same effect on him as it had on me? And why did he have to go and fuel more of my spank bank with such smoldering, cute expressions?