Page 84 of The Grizzly Situation

Even if it hurt us.

ULY

Of all the stubborn,pig-headed… er, bear-headed, people I knew, Brent was the absolute worst. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had some donkey shifter in his bloodline.

“Hey, do you have any donkey in you?”

He smirked and cupped his crotch. “You tell me. You were on the receiving end of it.”

Yeah, I should have realized he would say that. “You told me we’d solve this as a family. Then you say it’s up to you to fix. It can’t be both. Am I, or am I not, a member of this family?”

He sighed. “Yes, you are. Of course. But?—”

“No, no buts.”

He stroked a hand over my ass. “None?”

I wanted to laugh, but I had to remain strong. Plus, the boys were still in the bed, and no way did I want them waking up finding me in a compromising position.

“Stop that, perv. And quit trying to dodge the question. Am I part of this family? Does my leaving cause issues for you and the boys? If you can answer yes to either of those, then I need to be part of the solution.”

He huffed. “You are a pain in the ass.”

Now it was my turn to play. “Guess we’ll never know about that, will we?”

He leaned in and kissed the rim of my ear. “Told you, anytime you want to try, we’ll give it a go.”

Asshole had an answer for everything.

“I love you, you know.”

He gave me a sweet smile. “I have been made aware, yes.” He nudged me. “Have you called Jamie?”

“No, not yet. I was kind of involved in something.”

“Maybe you should give him a call. Let him know you’re okay.”

Sounded like a good idea. Jamie was a worrier. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”

I slid from the bed, doing my best not to wake the boys up. Of course, I should have realized the futility in that.

“Momma?”

“Go back to sleep,” I encouraged them. “I have to go make a phone call.”

“No, don’t go again,” Eddie whispered.

“I’m not leaving the house. Just wanted to go call my brother.”

He opened bleary eyes. “You have a brother?”

“I do. His name is Jamie. He’s…. Well, he’s your uncle.”

Brent beamed a smile at me. “And his wife, Deb, is your aunt. And soon, they’re going to have a baby who will be your cousin.”

“A cousin?” Eddie said excitedly, which woke Jack.

“We have a cousin?” he asked, his eyes wide.