Page 47 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

TEDDY

Five Years Later

“ P op-pop! Stop!” Bear groaned and tried to stop Wesley from straightening his T-shirt.

Wesley pulled back and pouted.

“Have you got your lunch?” I asked him.

He rolled his eyes. Gosh. Adolescence was going to be fun, wasn’t it?

“Duh!”

“And what do you do if someone tries to take it by force?” I asked.

Bear sighed and brushed his blond hair back with frustration. He was getting taller every day. I couldn’t even believe he’d grown so much. I’d found photos from our first year in Mayberry a few days ago, and I couldn’t even believe he was ever a tiny little person who wouldn’t leave my side.

Oh, how things had changed.

“Please, Dad, who would steal a sandwich? Be for real right now. Besides, you think anyone’s going to mess with the son of a Navy SEAL?”

I smirked and patted his shoulder. Maybe the whole island knew who we were and it was harder to keep people safe, but at least our infamy had its privileges.

Not that Mayberry Holm was a hub for criminal activity anymore. At least not the way it used to be under Salieri. And if anyone got any ideas, we were there to nip it in the bud.

“Is your phone on silent?” Wesley asked him. Bear did more of his new teenage expressions until Joey and Santiago turned up with their two grown-up boys.

“Hey!” Bear said to both Valentin and Niko. They “hey’d” him back as if they were all the coolest people on earth or something, and that was that.

It was only when Parker and Hwan turned up with little Levi that everyone became more animated, embracing their brother-in-crime and forming a protective circle around him.

Levi was the shyest of the group, and all three of our boys turned into protective papa bears when with him, which was always wonderful to see.

“Right, it’s picture time!” Hwan sang, and all of us dads tried to get the kids into position, which proved harder than it should have been.

“Agh. Do we have to?” Bear asked before getting smacked in the head by Niko.

“Shut up, bro. It’s a big moment for our parents. Let them enjoy it,” he said.

Bear elbowed Niko, but he obliged us, and Hwan propped his phone up on his bag, set the timer, and ran up to join us before the snap.

It was incredible how far we’d come. How far all of us had come in our lives, both personally and professionally.

It wasn’t without its struggles, but anything we came up against paled in comparison to what we’d been through at the start of this journey.

But most of all, we wouldn’t be here without each other.

I knew I wouldn’t, that was for sure. I owed these people my life and livelihood, and all the others that might not be here to see their kids off to middle school but were still a part of our big and happy, queer family.

But most of all, Wesley.

I turned to him and squeezed him closer.

He’d been my rock all these years. My rock, my love, my life, and my air. His kindness was a thing of beauty to witness and to experience, and I’d learned so much from him. Not only how to be a better parent, but a better human too.

He and Bear were my world. My entire world. And we might have come together through tragic and unconventional means, but we were a family, and we were meant to be.

“Let me check. Let me check,” Hwan ran off to his phone, and two seconds later, he turned around to give us the thumbs-up, and the kids dispersed.

“Where do you think you’re going? Where is my hug?” I told Bear when he started walking away.

“Dad! Everyone is watching us,” he groaned.

“So?”

Joey and Santiago made a big fuss over the boys next to us, so of course we all turned to look at them fawning all over the kids and hugging and kissing them, squeezing their cheeks.

It was freaking adorable. They were a tight unit and a wonderful family through and through. Those boys couldn’t have been luckier.

All of a sudden, I stumbled back and the oxygen was cut off from my lungs, but I didn’t mind. I found my footing, looked down, and saw my son hugging me back. Two moments ago, he wouldn’t have been caught dead in the company of his dads, and now he was being a sweetheart.

I hugged him back and enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

When he was done with me, he hugged Wesley just as tightly, and then we both kissed his cheek and set him loose in the hell of middle school.

“Our boy is all grown up,” Wesley said, wrapping his arms around me.

My heart fluttered every time I heard him refer to Bear as his boy, even after all this time. I knew we were married now, and he had adopted Bear so long ago, but it still warmed my heart.

“We’re getting old.” I planted a kiss on his forehead.

Wesley smiled and shrugged.

“Isn’t that part of your vow to me anyway?”

I chuckled and held him closer, inhaling his sweet lavender scent. I could never get enough of him. Not even after five years, and I sure hoped I never ever would.

“Damn right,” I said and kissed him.

I was so happy. Happy and fulfilled. My life was right out of my vision board all down to the house. But beyond that it was warm, loving, successful. Happy. And it was all thanks to Mayberry Holm.

And him.

My wonderful, kind Wesley.

Don’t miss Zach and Dare’s story, up next.

What’s happening with Zach’s ex? How did Dare end up in Mayberry Holm and why is he such a recluse?

Find out in Grizzly Dare.