Page 2 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

TWO

WESLEY

I walked over to the mantel in the living room, brushed my hands over the bright-green leaves of my pothos plants, and breathed in.

It wasn’t that it smelled particularly of anything other than, I guess, plant realness, but touching it, being next to it, watching it grow stronger, gave me life.

“Oh, oops, someone needs a tall drink of water,” I said to the plant pot on the far right of the mantel after checking the soil with my finger. I then checked the other two pots spaced out evenly next to it.

Yup, all had started to dry out.

“Let’s take care of that,” I told them, misting their draping foliage first before pouring water into their pots. “There. That should do it, huh?”

I cocked my head side to side as if they would respond and smiled.

“Gorgeous, darlings.” I blew them a kiss and walked over to the little nook corner beside the fireplace, where my glorious Zizi resided, her leaves seemingly larger every time I turned around.

“Good morning, Miss Zizi!” I said and ran my hands through my zanzibar gem’s leaves to check for rot or signs of malnourishment. “One of these days, you’re going to have to share your beauty regimen with me. Not a hint of decay anywhere, you diva you!”

Miss Zizi’s neighbors, the fiddle leaf fig with its frilly dark forest vibes and the monstera with its huge, almost fluorescent leaves, were the next to receive some TLC. Last, I showed some love to my herb garden on the kitchen windowsill.

Once I was done, I put the watering can and spray bottle back in the cabinet under the sink and toasted a bagel.

I made a sandwich for my lunch and then turned back to my bagel, which received the royal treatment with cream cheese, strawberries, bananas, and honey.

A generous sprinkling of crushed walnuts and all systems were a go.

I sat at my dining table, chewing my delicious, sweet breakfast, and looked around me.

The kitchen island was woefully empty of some plant friends, and the living room contained a single two-seater couch that was so terribly uncomfortable I preferred sitting on the floor in front of it.

My backyard was gloriously colorful, and to the side of the wall next to the table was my entire book collection, stacked like a Tetris board into my tiny bookcase.

I couldn’t help but fill my lungs with extra air.

“You’ve done well, Wes.”

My dream was finally a reality. Yes, it needed some work—actually a lot of work if you took into account the entire upstairs was devoid of furniture, sans my childhood bed I’d brought over from home—but it was mine. All mine. My house.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the serenity permeating the building. Heck, if I stayed quiet long enough, I could even hear the birds singing from their perch in my beach plum trees.

“This is heaven,” I said to no one in particular.

It was still strange having no one respond to my ramblings, but I liked it. I liked having my own space after sharing it for so long.

If summer vacation had lasted longer, I could’ve spent more quiet mornings here reading. But alas, school had started, so I had to go out and be sociable. Good thing I liked my job and couldn’t really complain.

I rinsed my plate and set it in the drying rack, picked up my satchel, and walked to the side door. I took one last look around, like I did every morning, and with a smile, walked into the garage.

I rode my bike to the school, which was only a few blocks away. Another great benefit of my new house. It was so close to work.

I took the scenic route anyway. It was still nice and warm. Might as well enjoy it before summer completely walked out on us and gave way to fall and winter.

I passed Mrs. Bea’s house, my absolute icon.

Her front yard was a thing of beauty. If there was a heaven, I was pretty sure it looked like Mrs. Bea’s garden.

Naturally, she was out there, tending to her babies, and I waved at her.

She waved back and shouted after me. I didn’t quite catch it, but if I knew her by this point, it was probably to be safe on the roads. It was sweet that she cared.

I rode down to the beach, through Main Street that was starting to wake up, and back up again a couple of blocks.

I could get the rest of my workout in after school.

Now, I needed to get into my classroom. I was expecting a new student today, and I needed to reread their file before they arrived.

Thankfully, he’d only missed a couple of days so there would probably be no catching up necessary, but it was better being prepared for every eventuality.

The classroom was just as quiet and serene as my home was, but unlike my humble abode, the quiet here wouldn’t last. It would soon be filled with laughter, groans, screams, and the occasional tears. But for now…

“Right, let’s recap.” I sat down at my desk with my cup of coffee and opened the file.

Student name: Bear Olson

Legal guardian: Theodore Olson

Custody status: Single Custody

I scanned the rest of the info and got to the notes from his previous school.

Creative. Loves to draw. A bit closed off. Attachment struggles.

The more I read about the kid, the more excited I was to meet him. I loved a challenge, and there was nothing more rewarding than gaining the trust of a kid who didn’t trust easily.

I turned the page to read his previous school report when a piece of paper caught my attention as it floated from the wall down to the floor as if performing an intricate dance.

Before I could even push my chair back to deal with it, the whole world flag display followed suit in one aggressive splat.

“Dammit,” I muttered, set the file down and got to work putting it all back up.

I was just finishing securing the flag banner where it ended by the front door when there was a knock and a hello.

I’d gotten so enthralled in my solitude that the intrusion took me by surprise, and I jumped, lost my footing on the chair, and tumbled backward.

My voice got caught in my throat as a pair of hands grabbed me before I cracked my head open on the floor. I looked up at the bluest, most gorgeous eyes I’d ever seen.

“Hi,” I said with a croaking voice.

“You must be Mr. Crawford.”

The blond beauty before me looked more like a mirage than a real-life human being and whatever brain cells I had left jumped ship.

“The one and only,” I muttered.

Was this a dream?

Had I actually fallen and knocked myself into a coma?

Yeah, that must be it. There was no other way this giant, muscled man with the most perfect skin, glorious icy eyes, and silky blond hair that begged to be stroked was real.

Especially when he spoke so softly, so gently that it almost sounded like an ethereal secret that had the power to change your life.

He was a walking wet dream. And I didn’t want to wake up from it.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and I’d almost started dancing to the tune of his voice when I spotted a little man beside him.

This was not a wet dream. This was real life. And I was being held by a real man, no matter how unreal he seemed.

“I…um…yes,” I stammered and tried to balance myself upright, only to lose my footing again, but the blond dream put his hands around my arm and my back, steadying me.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked me, and I had to give it my all to sound like a normal human being and return to reality.

“I’m good. Thank you. I was just startled.” I pulled back with grounded steps and straightened my clothes and glasses.

Had I forgotten to lock the door somehow or had this dream man managed to break it open with his huge muscles? It honestly wouldn’t surprise me considering how big he was and how underfunded the school was.

“Are you a student of mine?” I asked, looking at him again.

The dream man smirked and shook his head. “I’m not, but little Bear here is.” He put his hand on top of the young boy’s head and ruffled his hair.

The heat rose and gathered around my cheeks, but I refused to entertain my embarrassment.

“Yeah, sorry. That’s what I meant. Hi, Bear.” I turned to the young boy and offered him my hand. “I’m Mr. Crawford. I’m really pleased to meet you and have you in my class.”

The boy glued himself to his dad and looked at me with reservation. His eyes were the same bright blue as his dad’s, his messy hair the same blond.

“Sorry, he’s a bit shy,” the dad said, and I pulled my hand back.

Right. Attachment struggles. I forgot.

“That’s okay,” I said. “How about you go find the best desk in the classroom, and I’ll chat with your dad over here?”

Bear stared at me, not saying anything, but when the dream man got down on his knees and urged him forward, he hesitantly weaved through the classroom in pursuit of the perfect spot.

“I’m Wesley,” I said, turning back to the dad. “You must be Theodore.”

“Teddy,” he said, and I all but melted.

And when he closed his hand around my own and firmly shook it, I just about exploded. Internally.

Dream Man kept getting better by the second.

“I hate Theodore,” he said.

“Teddy, it is.” I smiled and let go. Hardest thing I ever had to do.

But I had to be professional.

“I’m actually his uncle,” he added. “His mom, my sister…she recently passed away. Car accident.”

The way he pressed his lips together, his eyes blinking rapidly for a couple of seconds, his head dipped a little, turned me into a puddle, and I wanted to give this man a hug.

“I’m so sorry,” I said instead. I liked my job. I didn’t need to hunt for another. Especially not now that I had a mortgage. Not even for Dream Man.

And boy, what a dream he was.

“Thank you,” he muttered and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“So, you’re new to Mayberry Holm? What brings you here?”

“My old commander. He’s from around here. Plus all my friends from…from the Navy.”

I flinched.

“Oh. You’re a SEAL?”

He flinched too.

“H-how do you know?”

“Well, this island is crawling with your kind. I just put two and two together.” I bit down my laugh, and he gave me a hint of a smile.

“So you know Goodman?” he asked.

“Goodman?”

“Sorry. Wyatt.”

“Oh yes. Well, of him. I’ve been to his bar. But I know Parker and Slade. Oh, and I recently met Azrael.”

“Yup, those are all my friends.”

Nice hot group of friends. Definitely not something out of a gangbang porn fantasy. Not that I watched those. Never. I was a lady and a half.

“How long did you serve?” I asked, standing beside Teddy so I could look at my new student.

He was sitting at a desk right at the front and was already drawing something in his pad.

There. Already at ease. He’s going to be a breeze.

“All my life, really. But I gave it all up when Josie… When my sister died.”

I glanced at him, the pain visible in his face, and I felt, not for the first time, like giving him a hug.

“That was a great thing to do,” I said.

He shrugged.

“It’s not like I had a choice. I couldn’t leave him with my parents. They…”

“Suck?” I raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. “Not very nice people.”

“Well, I know I haven’t properly met you yet, but I think he’s very lucky to have you,” I told him.

“I don’t know about that. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”

I chuckled.

“Welcome to parenthood. No one knows what they’re doing most of the time.”

He sighed and turned to me.

“You’ve got kids?”

“Oh no. Well, you could say my students are my kids, but no. None of my own. But I deal with enough parents to know everyone is on the same rocky boat.”

“I don’t know. It feels like I’ve gone overboard and I’m in desperate need of a lifejacket.”

“How long have you had him?” I asked.

“I was granted temporary guardianship a week ago.”

“Whoa! No wonder you feel like that. You were thrown off the deep end from the word go.”

“Told ya.” He smirked, and something tightened in my chest at the sight. It might have been a sad smile, but it still made me feel some kind of way.

“I’m surprised the judge let you take him out of town. Where are you from?”

“West Virginia. And yeah. Extenuating circumstances and all. I have a support network here, and they thought it’d be best for Bear and me to be here.”

Those must have been some very extenuating circumstances if a judge allowed him to not only leave the town but an entire state. I wondered what else had happened in young Bear’s life, but I’d probably never know.

“Wait, I just got it. Teddy and Bear. Please tell me that wasn’t a coincidence!” I looked from Bear to his uncle, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

Teddy rolled his eyes and sighed.

“It wasn’t. My sister thought she was being funny, and then she liked the sound of Bear, so it stuck.”

“Brilliant!” I said, but before I could add anything else, the door opened and my students started walking in.

“I better go,” Teddy said, and I nodded.

I followed him to where Bear had settled and stood back while he said bye to his nephew, who suddenly remembered he didn’t want to be left alone and hugged Teddy tight.

Hmm…interesting.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here to pick you up when you’re finished, and if you need me for anything, Mr. Crawford can help you call me from the principal’s office, okay?”

They both looked at me with bated breath, and I crouched to reassure them both.

“If you need anything, just ask. Okay, Bear?”

I got a nod from the kid and a thanks from the uncle, and he left the classroom, leaving me all flustered to return to reality.

A reality without Dream Man.

Toughest morning ever.

I got busy with attendance and briefly mentioned Bear, but I skipped the proper introductions because I didn’t want to make him feel more uncomfortable than he already was.

I then went straight into my lesson plan.

I kept my eye on Bear and my mind on Teddy, and somehow—some- fucking- how—I made it through the first hour and then the second one and on and on until lunchtime came and I felt all spent and exhausted like I never had before.

Teddy and Bear’s arrival was like a wrench in my routine. An unexpected but welcome distraction that I didn’t know what to do with or how to function now that it was here.

As I unwrapped my sandwich, my phone buzzed and I looked at the screen.

Ruby

Hey, how’s it going?

I dropped my sandwich mid-bite, sighed, and picked up my phone.

Wes

I’m screwed. I’m in love.

And wasn’t that the truth.

I just hoped it was really just lust, a fleeting desire that would die down after a good round of “beat the meat” in the privacy of my own bedroom.

Gods, please make it so . The last thing I needed right now was to have an unrelenting crush on one of my students’ parents.