~

 

Malachi was happy in his work. He was with his mate, spending his day putting up Christmas lights all over the outside of the cabin, while Donna decorated the tree inside.

She kept making coffee, copious amounts of it and bringing it out to him. He liked that. It made him feel as if his mate was taking care of him the way he wanted to take care of her.

The other good thing in his book was that she’d left the front door open so that they could chat. He liked that to. They may not have been doing the same thing together, but in a way they still were.

They were spending time together, and Malachi thought that was probably the best thing that he could do to be able to woo her. If she was on the inside of the cabin with the door closed, and he was on the outside then wooing would be harder.

“Well, I’m done with the tree,” Donna announced as she came out with another refill for his coffee cup. He didn’t mind that he was swimming in coffee either.

“I’m nearly done with the lights. Do you think that Stacey will like them?”

Malachi tucked the last of the cable around the side of the guttering and gave it a gentle tug to make sure that it would stay in place. Then he nodded at his handiwork and backed down the ladder.

“What’s not to like? Every child likes fairyland,” Donna chuckled. She was grinning behind her coffee cup, and he didn’t know whether that was a good sign or not.

“You think it’s too much?” Malachi was unsure once more.

“I think when you do something nice for someone, you should stop worrying, and stop asking them to poop all over it,” Donna said.

“I don’t understand?” Malachi didn’t follow her reasoning.

“It’s wonderful — it’s sweet — it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for Stacey, or for me. Stop questioning yourself,” Donna wasn’t chuckling anymore.

He could see the sincerity in her eyes, and he puffed out his chest and enjoyed the moment.

He guessed he might have gotten something right, after all.

“Oh poop! Look at the time. I’m going to pick up Stacey,” she turned, and a put her cup down on the windowsill before disappearing into the house. He could hear her keys jangling before she reappeared.

“I’ll follow you,” Malachi placed his cup beside hers before turning toward her.

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.” Malachi scowled.

He wasn’t about to let her drive to the school and back by herself. Not without protection.

“No, you won’t,” Donna said little more forcibly.

“Look…”

“You’re coming with me.” Donna gave a small shrug of her shoulders and challenged him with just a look.

“I am? — I am!” Malachi was confused, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Yes, you are.”

“Why am I?” He didn’t want to look at gift horse in the mouth, but curiosity did get the better of him.

Why had she suddenly changed her tune?

“Because we’re going to get Stacey and bring her back here, and we’re going to show her…Christmas.” She gave him another small shrug of her shoulders, and he was no better off in understanding her.

“Again, why am I?”

“Because you’re the one that gave her Christmas, don’t you want to see if she likes it?” Donna didn’t wait for his reply.

Instead, she started toward her car and heard him following on behind her. It was hard to miss — he was kind of grumbling and growling under his breath.

Malachi felt nervous — very nervous — very, very, very nervous. He had something of a boulder wedged in his stomach that felt as if it weighed him down.

It wasn’t just the fact that he was about to meet his daughter — it was the fact that he’d done something for her and he didn’t know if she would like it or not. It was his first test as a parent — what if he failed?

What if he failed so badly that she hated him and never wanted to see him again?

Malachi’s bear was on edge. That wasn’t a good thing — it only made him feel more nervous.

It wasn’t that he expected his bear to break free at any moment and attack anyone — that wasn’t going to happen around his family — not unless someone attacked them. It was just that his bear was nervous too — that had never happened before.

Malachi was in uncharted waters. And so was his beast.

 

~

~

~

 

Stacey sat on the booster seat in the back of her mother’s car and eyed the big man in the front seat next to her mother. Mummy had a new friend — and that was okay — because Stacey was making new friends of her own at school.

He was kind of big, probably the biggest person that she had ever seen before, and she liked his eyes. They were smiley.

“Can we get ice cream?” Stacey asked.

It was always good to ask her mother for something when someone else was there because she was more than likely to get it.

“It’s winter…” Donna started, but her daughter cut her off.

“And so we won’t notice how cold the ice cream is,” Stacey offered back with a small smile that Donna caught in the rearview mirror.

 “She has a point,” Malachi said. Donna tossed him a curious look, and he shrugged his large shoulders. “Just saying.”

“See — Malachi wants ice cream too,” Stacey announced.

“There’s always room for ice cream,” Malachi grinned.

“Not helping,” Donna muttered, but he caught it.

“You, or her?” Malachi asked and heard the giggles that came from the back of the car. His bear-like the sound of that as much as he did.

“We already have a surprise for you back at the cabin,” Donna tossed back over her shoulder and knew that her daughter would be occupied trying to work that one out. Hopefully, that would stop all talk of ice cream.

“What is it?” Stacey asked.

“If we told you that then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” Malachi tossed a happy chuckle back over his shoulder.

“Can we hurry to get home?” Stacey demanded.

“Don’t speed with her in the car,” Malachi’s smile had turned into a scowl.

“I wouldn’t!” Donna gave him a quick look that questioned his sanity.

“Just saying,” Malachi scowled even more at the thought that he might have miffed off his mate once again. That wasn’t his intention. He just wanted to keep them both safe.

“Well, thank you. But I think I know how to drive,” Donna said, but when Malachi snuck a look at her to see just how miffed she was, he found that her lips were turned up at the corners in a small smile.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mummy’s a very good driver,” Stacey announced from the back.

“Well, thank you, Stacey.” Donna lifted her chin with pride.

“It wasn’t her fault that the hedgehog was in the middle of the road and didn’t move fast enough,” Stacey announced.

Donna grimaced inwardly as she snuck a look at Malachi. Malachi allowed his eyebrows to rise slowly up his forehead as his lips pulled back in a grin.

“Mummy says hedgehogs are nature’s little speed bumps,” Stacey offered from the back seat, and Malachi watched his mate deflate a little and grimace. He couldn’t help but chuckle.