Page 15 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

THIRTEEN

TEDDY

A s if Wesley hadn’t already given me enough food for thought, he’d given me newfound purpose. I just didn’t know how I could afford it.

I’d have to talk to Hwan to see if he could give me an advance on some of my wages and probably pick up another job somehow.

It wasn’t as if I enjoyed staying at Luna’s Lodge, but it was the only option we had.

It was free, and Mr. Roger was far less demanding than I had anticipated.

So far, I’d only done a few odd jobs here and there and kept an eye on check-ins while he ran errands on the weekends.

But Wesley was right. Bear needed his own room. He needed safety and security. I’d just been too much in denial to see it.

After the school function was finished, we made our way home and picked up some pizza on the way, trying to take advantage of this new food obsession in hopes it would grow Bear’s eating horizons.

“Did you enjoy today?” I asked him when we were sitting in the living room, which was thankfully empty as every tourist was busy with the Harvest Moon Festival activities in town.

“It was okay,” he said.

“Are you looking forward to releasing your candles later?” I looked at the three cups he’d decorated and smiled.

“Yeah,” he said with a sad pout.

“I can’t believe you made three when you didn’t even want to make one earlier,” I said.

Everyone said to talk to kids as if they were grown-ups, so surely there was no harm in sharing my incredulity with him, right?

“I want to make sure Mommy sees my messages.”

My smile froze for a second, and I bit back the sting in my eyes and mouth that assaulted me out of nowhere.

“I bet she’ll love them.”

“You think so?”

“Are you kidding? Look at them. They look so gorgeous, and your messages are beautiful.”

I tried to ignore what he’d written, but not because his handwriting still needed work.

They were filled with I love you and I miss you and When are you coming back .

But Wesley had convinced him to add some more positive ones.

Like I hope you’re happy and I hope you’re looking out for me and Uncle Teddy .

“Say, Bear, what do you think of us moving into a proper house? I think it’s time, don’t you?”

Bear went back to quietly chewing his pizza and shrugged.

“It’s okay, bud,” I whispered and ruffled his hair. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Somehow.

A couple of hours later, we got ready and made our way to The Outpost for a drink and to wait for the other kids to show up.

They did just before sundown, and so did Wesley, still in the same clothes but looking just as dashing as he had this afternoon.

Dashing?

Since when did I find other people—especially men—dashing?

I shelved that thought for later and approached the class on the beach.

A few kids had taken their shoes off so they could walk barefoot in the sand, and I asked Bear if he wanted to do the same.

He agreed, and I let him run up and down the beach until Wesley welcomed everyone and talked them through the process.

“If you make a line, I’ll light your candles, but then you have to wait, so we can all put them in the water together. Okay?” he said, and the kids followed directions.

By the time everyone had their cups lit, the moon was up, full and bright, and we had an audience of people watching and joining in with their own lanterns.

“Right. Are you ready?” Wesley asked, and Bear and I stepped up beside him. Bear placed his cups in the water. I added the third one and we watched as the tide carried them deeper into the ocean, slowly, majestically, solemnly.

There were tears in my eyes before I realized it, and it only took a hand on my shoulder to make me notice both the tears and him.

It was hard not to. He set my body on fire with the simplest of contacts.

Yet another thing I had to shelve because I didn’t know what to do with it. How to feel.

“You okay?” Wesley asked, and I nodded.

I looked down at Bear. His eyes were glued to the candles long after they’d been swallowed by the sea. As if the poor guy were waiting to see Josie out there.

“Great job, everyone,” Wesley said after a while and high-fived all the kids goodnight. “See you on Monday. Enjoy your Sunday!”

A couple of kids gave him a hug, and then everyone dispersed. It was way past everyone’s bedtime.

Wesley walked with me to my car and watched me put Bear in his seat before he spoke.

“I know it’s probably not the right time, but…we need to talk about the twins. Tell your friends we need to make a plan. Tomorrow.”

I gave him a reassuring smile, bid him good night, and watched him walk to his own car, unable to take my eyes off him.

He was wonderful.

Simply wonderful.

And even though I didn’t know what to do with that thought, there was no doubt in my mind about that. He was a special, one-of-a-kind guy.

Despite everything, I didn’t waste any time. I sent a group message to everyone and told them we needed to meet up early in the morning before The Outpost opened.

Once the sun was up, I got Bear ready and we set off.

“Do you want to spend your morning playing with Mac?”

“Yeah,” he said and smiled cheekily in the backseat, making the weight on my shoulders a little easier.

I didn’t know how he’d take to being left alone with her and King, but thankfully, he got too busy becoming friends with their dog and chasing Mac’s chickens, Thelma and Louise, with him to notice.

Slade and I made our escape, and I drove to Arrowwood Lane to pick up Wesley, much to Slade’s surprise.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re taking over is what’s happening,” Wesley answered and climbed into the back.

I glanced at him in the rearview before I set off, and he winked at me.

My chest throbbed, but I ignored it and set off for The Outpost, where every single one of my teammates was already waiting for us.

Maddox and Asher were sitting at the bar. Joey and Donovan had taken over another table, and we took our place at the table with Azrael and Wyatt.

The only one missing was Parker, but I could fill him in later.

“What is this?” Wyatt asked, staring at Wesley.

“This is me lighting a fire under your asses,” Wesley said, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “We need to talk about the house on Aster Hill.”

“What about the house on Aster Hill?” Wyatt raised his voice, and in that moment, Autumn walked in and stopped dead.

“Did I miss the invite to this party?” she asked.

Before anyone could fill her in, Donovan rose to his feet and dragged her out of the room.

“Um, excuse you. Let me go,” she shouted.

“I can’t let you get involved in this,” Donovan told her, and their voices would have been muffled if Autumn wasn’t speaking at the top of her lungs.

“You can’t let me? Since when are you the boss of me?”

“I’m…I’m not your boss, but you don’t need to concern yourself with this stuff. It’s dangerous.”

“Puh-huh. Concern myself? You know I’ve been here longer than you and know more, right?” she shouted.

“But you don’t know how to protect yourself.”

“You want to try me, big guy? Come on. Show us what you’ve got?” Then after a moment. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Autumn walked back in with a big smile on her face and stood behind Wyatt.

“Sorry about that. Some people need to learn the pecking order around here,” she sang as if she hadn’t just been shouting at my teammate.

Maddox and Ash laughed quietly, and Donovan re-entered the room looking pissed as hell, but he didn’t say anything. Just sat down next to Joey, who patted his hand in consolation.

“Wesley! How nice to see you again so soon. What can we help you with?” Autumn asked, and Wyatt huffed.

“Shut up, Autumn,” he said.

Before Autumn could bite back at Goodman, Wesley stood and addressed the room with more authority than my old commander. I didn’t know why it was such a surprise, since he commandeered far more rowdy people every day, but it was.

“You need to stop dragging your feet and do something about the house on Aster Lane. There are two kids mixed in this, and frankly, I’m frustrated as hell that you haven’t done more yet. So, what’s the plan? How are we going to get them out of that situation?”

Wyatt glanced at me with a questioning look, and I shrugged. If he thought he could intimidate me like he used to, he was mistaken.

“I’m sorry for being so blunt, Wesley, but you have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,” he said after a moment, and Wesley pouted.

“I have no idea? What I do know is that there are two boys who have a shit waste of space for a dad, and they need to be rescued. The only reason I haven’t gone to child services is because you told me you were taking care of it and it’s too dangerous, but I’ll counter that it’s even more dangerous for those kids to continue to live under that roof.

I mean, the house has no front door for fuck’s sake and winter is coming. ”

“I agree,” Joey said. “We need to act now.”

“It’s not that simple,” Slade said. “The chatter has gone quiet, at least as far as the stash house is concerned. We don’t know if they’re still operating from there or if they’ve gone underground.”

“Then let’s find out,” Wesley said.

“It’s not that easy,” Donovan added, only to get a glare down from Autumn.

“Then we’ll make it easy. I’m not going to sit around twiddling my thumbs for another six months waiting to figure this out. What do you need? Let’s get the ball rolling.”

Slade exchanged a glance with Wyatt before he spoke up.

“Ideally, I need to get inside. I need a way to replicate their phones, tablets, or whatever so we can figure out if they’re involved with the syndicate or not.”

“Then let’s get inside,” Wesley suggested, getting more and more riled up and bouncy as a result.

“We can’t. They know all of us, and we can’t just sneak in. What if that puts the kids in danger?” Slade said.

Wesley pursed his lips and nodded, tapping a finger on his chin in contemplation.

“Then I can go in. What would I need to do?”

“Wesley, you can’t!” I spoke for the first time, and how could I not when the moment the words spilled out of his mouth it felt like my insides were at risk of being ripped open.

“Watch me,” he said and turned back to Slade. “So?”

“Not much. It’d be an easy job, but how can you gain access without raising suspicion?” Slade asked.

Wesley took a deep breath, bit his bottom lip, and looked up at the ceiling before he said, “I’ll think of something. You get everything in place, and I’ll find a way to get close.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Wyatt said, and for once, I agreed.

“Too bad you’re not in charge here. I am. As long as those kids live there, I will remain in charge. So get. To. Work.” He clapped his hands at every word for emphasis, and Autumn high-fived him before Wyatt grumbled an okay and the whole room agreed.

“Glad to know you’re easier to control than a bunch of seven-year-olds,” he announced and turned to me long enough to wink at me again. My chest got even tighter.

I was right.

He was a special guy.

He was more than special. And I was in complete and utter awe of him.