Read Online Bear My Soul (Fire Bears Book 1) by T. S. Joyce - Free Book Online
Authors: T. S. Joyce
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pulling her into a rough hug. Boone followed suit, and when she was thoroughly embraced and her spine nice and cracked, Gage pointed to a woman sitting at a table holding a sleeping girl around Aaron’s age. The woman had dark hair and eyes and a pixie-like turned-up nose over full, smiling lips. Her eyes danced as she waved.
“This is my mate…I mean wife, Leah. My daughter, Arie. My boy, Tate, is over there trying desperately to get grandma to let your boy down so he can play with him.”
Indeed, there was a little dishwater-blond boy jumping up and down, holding onto Ma’s shirt with one hand and pleading to play. Aaron was grinning down at him, and they were holding hands.
“Sit by me,” Leah offered, patting the long bench seat beside her.
“Okay,” Rory said shyly, then scooted all the way through to where Leah sat against the wall. “She’s beautiful.” She settled beside the woman.
Leah stared down at the girl, blond pigtails piled high and a sleepy smile on her face. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s a little monster in the mornings. It was easier to just let her fall back to sleep in here.”
Rory giggled and said, “Aaron is a morning person.”
“Like his daddy.”
“Yeah, I’m coming to realize he’s a lot like Cody.”
Leah looked lovingly at her brother-in-law and then to Aaron. “It looks like the Keller curse has struck you, too.”
“What do you mean?” Rory asked.
Leah lifted a lock of her hair, almost as dark as a raven’s feather, and set it beside Arie’s fair tresses. “The genetics are strong with those Keller boys.”
“Yeah, annoying right?” she joked. “Aaron got freckles. That’s my only claim. I carried him for nine months, sick as a dog the entire time, and he came out looking nothing like me and every bit like a little baby Viking.”
Leah snorted a laugh and nodded. “Finally, someone who gets my pain.”
“Hey, I’m going to order food,” Cody said, leaning on the table until his annoyingly sexy triceps flexed. “What do you want?”
“Uhh…” She squinted at the chalkboard menu at the front but it was too blurry to read from this far. “Just get me whatever you’re having. I’m not picky. Oh, Aaron will want—”
“A chocolate-covered donut? He’s put in his order six times already.” Cody winked and sauntered off toward the line with his brothers.
Now, some men looked weird when they winked, but not Cody Keller. Instead, he looked even sexier, oozing all that confidence. It was almost unfair.
“Uh oh,” Leah muttered as Ma settled in with Aaron and Tate across the table. “Incoming.”
Up at the line, the woman Cody had been with at the pizzeria approached and pulled him off to the side. Boone snuck a glance behind him, probably to check if Rory was seeing this, and she definitely was.
Ma smiled sympathetically as Rory forced herself to look away. “Shayna is partly our fault. We were encouraging him to date, and she has been relentless for a couple of years now. If it makes you feel any better, I think he was just going out with her to appease me.”
“It’s none of my business who he sees,” Rory said low. “We’re just friends.”
“Lies,” Leah said lightly. “We can hear them.”
Rory puffed air from her cheeks and rested her chin on her forearms before she tried again. “It’s none of my business who he sees because he said we should only be friends, and he wants us to date other people.”
“Truth,” Leah said darkly. “That sucks. Why?”
“Because she scares him, that’s why,” Ma said. “And honey, wielding the ability to scare Cody isn’t a bad thing. Give him time.”
Time she didn’t have. In four days, Rory would be going back to her life. She just hoped the friendship they forged this week would be enough to carry their little team through until the next time she could visit.
Rory glanced up just in time to see the woman kiss Cody on the cheek and slide a narrow-eyed glance her way.
“This is my mate…I mean wife, Leah. My daughter, Arie. My boy, Tate, is over there trying desperately to get grandma to let your boy down so he can play with him.”
Indeed, there was a little dishwater-blond boy jumping up and down, holding onto Ma’s shirt with one hand and pleading to play. Aaron was grinning down at him, and they were holding hands.
“Sit by me,” Leah offered, patting the long bench seat beside her.
“Okay,” Rory said shyly, then scooted all the way through to where Leah sat against the wall. “She’s beautiful.” She settled beside the woman.
Leah stared down at the girl, blond pigtails piled high and a sleepy smile on her face. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s a little monster in the mornings. It was easier to just let her fall back to sleep in here.”
Rory giggled and said, “Aaron is a morning person.”
“Like his daddy.”
“Yeah, I’m coming to realize he’s a lot like Cody.”
Leah looked lovingly at her brother-in-law and then to Aaron. “It looks like the Keller curse has struck you, too.”
“What do you mean?” Rory asked.
Leah lifted a lock of her hair, almost as dark as a raven’s feather, and set it beside Arie’s fair tresses. “The genetics are strong with those Keller boys.”
“Yeah, annoying right?” she joked. “Aaron got freckles. That’s my only claim. I carried him for nine months, sick as a dog the entire time, and he came out looking nothing like me and every bit like a little baby Viking.”
Leah snorted a laugh and nodded. “Finally, someone who gets my pain.”
“Hey, I’m going to order food,” Cody said, leaning on the table until his annoyingly sexy triceps flexed. “What do you want?”
“Uhh…” She squinted at the chalkboard menu at the front but it was too blurry to read from this far. “Just get me whatever you’re having. I’m not picky. Oh, Aaron will want—”
“A chocolate-covered donut? He’s put in his order six times already.” Cody winked and sauntered off toward the line with his brothers.
Now, some men looked weird when they winked, but not Cody Keller. Instead, he looked even sexier, oozing all that confidence. It was almost unfair.
“Uh oh,” Leah muttered as Ma settled in with Aaron and Tate across the table. “Incoming.”
Up at the line, the woman Cody had been with at the pizzeria approached and pulled him off to the side. Boone snuck a glance behind him, probably to check if Rory was seeing this, and she definitely was.
Ma smiled sympathetically as Rory forced herself to look away. “Shayna is partly our fault. We were encouraging him to date, and she has been relentless for a couple of years now. If it makes you feel any better, I think he was just going out with her to appease me.”
“It’s none of my business who he sees,” Rory said low. “We’re just friends.”
“Lies,” Leah said lightly. “We can hear them.”
Rory puffed air from her cheeks and rested her chin on her forearms before she tried again. “It’s none of my business who he sees because he said we should only be friends, and he wants us to date other people.”
“Truth,” Leah said darkly. “That sucks. Why?”
“Because she scares him, that’s why,” Ma said. “And honey, wielding the ability to scare Cody isn’t a bad thing. Give him time.”
Time she didn’t have. In four days, Rory would be going back to her life. She just hoped the friendship they forged this week would be enough to carry their little team through until the next time she could visit.
Rory glanced up just in time to see the woman kiss Cody on the cheek and slide a narrow-eyed glance her way.
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