Chapter Two

 

“Aw yeah, girl, that’s just how I like it,” Mac grinned as he reached for Rogue. She laughed and stepped back, just out of his reach. “You still mad at me, baby?” he asked. She shook her head and took another step back. He chuckled as he sprang forward and grabbed her for a kiss. She laughed again, then kissed him on his cheek. Then she kissed his nose and licked his eyebrow.

“Hold on, Roe, this is getting a little weird,” Mac frowned. “I’m not sure if I like this…”

Roe chuckled. Wait, since when did she chuckle? And when did she ever sound like a big-ass bear? A big-ass bear that sounded a hell of a lot like Bruin? Mac squinted as he felt Roe lick his eyelid. “Wait…Roe?” Mac blinked, then slowly opened his eyes… and stared directly into the mouth of a toothless, drooling, little baby face.

“What the fu—” Mac jolted, then promptly fell off the couch. Bruin, who stood over him, calmly swooped up the falling baby with his free hand as he supported another giggling baby with his other arm.

“What the hell, Bru? Why do I have kidspit on my face? And why do I smell like…applesauce?” Mac sputtered as he wiped the back of his hand across his face. He squinted at Drool Buckets Numbers One and Two. “What are Drip and Drop doing here, anyway?

Bru chuckled again. “Ella called and needed to run some errands. Trevor is busy on some top secret hush-hush something or other, and Rogue and Willow went to the Depot to work on a new lotion recipe so, that means we have baby-sitting duty. Yes, we do. Oh yes, we do!” Bru bounced both babies in his big arms.

They giggled and gurgled happily and stared at Bru as if he had hung the moon. Mac hefted himself up and sat back on the couch. Part of him wished he’d had a chance to talk to Roe before she left, but he figured he could do that later.

“Remind me to never fall asleep while Frick and Frack are around, they are liable to eat my face off in my sleep.” Mac looked at baby Kit first, then his sister, Kyla. Kyla grinned a gorgeous baby smile. In as much as he claimed to be annoyed with the kids, they really were cute little things. Not that he’d ever say it out loud.

“Especially you, little lady, you can’t be trusted.” Mac pointed at her, waggled his finger and made a face. Kyla giggled in reply. He looked up at Bru.

“It was good to talk to you last night, Bru. I think I worked some stuff out in my head. At least a little.” Mac rubbed his eyes with his hand.

“Don’t mention it. That’s just what good buddies do. Ok, so now that you’re awake, I need you to keep an eye on them for a second,” Bru said, as he leaned down and sat both babies on the couch next to Mac. They immediately crawled in Mac’s direction. Kyla headed for his face and grabbed his ear, and Kit crawled into his lap. Mac groaned in protest, but shifted and allowed both babies to settle in his lap.

“What the eff for?” Mac asked, his “naughty word filter” back in place. Willow hated curse words and, for her sake, he tried not to use them, and, in doing so, it had turned into his default with the kids. If they grew up cursing, it wouldn’t be his fault. Nope. He’d teach them all the good stuff, like how to drive, how to hotwire cars, and how to clean a 9mm in thirty seconds flat. Only the good shit. Life essentials, man.

“I need to make them some lunch. The applesauce was only an appetizer. But I’ve got to run to the store first. I’ll be back in a bit,” Bru’s words drifted over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen. Mac sighed. Kyla giggled. Kit stood up and squashed Mac right in the crotch with his little baby foot. Mac winced and Kyla giggled again.

“Ugh, you better be glad you’re cute kids. Otherwise, giggling and junk-stomping people all willy nilly ain’t gonna fly.” Mac looped his arms around the kids to support them, leaned forward and grabbed the TV remote. When he flipped to a cartoon channel, Kit and Kyla both looked at the screen, almost instantly mesmerized by a movie with a talking train. Mac set them both on the couch next to him and stacked a bunch of pillows around them. They liked to watch TV like that. That and it kept the little buggers from falling off the couch. There would be no bumps and bruises on his watch.

After a long while, Mac realized that he had been staring at the screen and watching the talking train travel along the tracks, the song that played was mildly hypnotic. He glanced over at the twins and noticed that Kit’s little eyes were slowly blinking shut and Kyla had already fallen asleep.

“Welp, nap time for everybody then,” Mac said as he lowered the volume on the TV and gently tugged a throw blanket from the back of the couch across the sleeping babies. Mac leaned against the arm of the couch as he felt Kyla shift against his hip, then he settled in for a quick nap before Bru came back.

 “Mac…MAC!” Bruin’s voice boomed loudly in his ear.

“What? WHAT?!” Mac startled awake. “What the hell, man??”

“Where are the kids? Where are Kit and Kyla?” Bru shook Mac by the shoulder. “Where did you put them? They aren’t in your bedroom.”

“What? What do you mean, ‘where are they’? The hell is wrong with you? They’re right he—” Mac looked at the couch, full on ready to punch Bru in the face. But all he saw was a blanket and a few pillows scattered on the floor. The babies were gone. What the fuck?

“Dude, what did you do with them?” Bru immediately started looking around the room. He crouched and looked under the couch. He grabbed it by one end and raised it from the floor. “Where did they go?”

“Dammit, Bru, put the couch down. The hell do you mean, where did they go? They’re babies, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like they can just get up and walk away, man.” So much for the “naughty word” filter, and Mac didn’t even care. The babies were gone on his watch and Trevor was going to kill him. Shit, Ella would…well, shit. He didn’t even want to think about what she’d do to him. But everything would pale in comparison to what Mac was going to do to whoever the hell took those babies.

Go. Go now.

Mac blinked, then stilled. He quickly sat up, tugged on his boots and dashed for the door, with Bru hot on his heels. He grabbed his phone and keys and headed for his truck. Bru hopped into the passenger side, tossed his phone into the glove box, then looked at Mac as he fastened his seatbelt. Mac didn’t even bother with his.

“Where are we going?” Bru asked, as Mac threw the truck in gear. Mac’s phone vibrated against his hip. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, then he groaned and tossed the phone to Bru. Bru looked at the screen and saw “The Chosen Bastard”. He looked up and frowned at Mac.

“It’s Trevor,” Mac said, not taking his eyes off the road. “I can’t deal with him right now. I’ve gotta figure this thing out…”

“Well, I don’t want to talk to him, either. Pretty sure he’s gonna kill us both,” Bru said, staring at the now silent phone in his lap. He jumped as it started ringing again.

“He’s gonna keep calling. I swear, it’s like he’s got some kinda sixth sense when it comes to his kids. You’ve gotta talk to him, Bru. You can do it. But don’t tell him anything specific. We can figure this out. Just act natural.” Mac weaved in and out of traffic.

Just go.

Mac frowned and stomped hard on the gas and they flew down the highway. He had to think of something but, in that moment, his mind was drawing a blank. Shit.

Bru looked at the phone in his hand and cleared his throat. He shifted in the seat and moved his arms this way and that, then he awkwardly crossed his big calf across his lap - which effectively knocked over the travel mug from the cup holder in the center console into Mac’s footwell. Mac swore as he reached down to grab the mug and rescue it from getting stuck between his feet and the brake pedal. “Shit, Bru, what the hell are you doing? We can’t afford to die until after we find those babies.”

Bru shook his head and quickly held up a hand to Mac. “Shhh, I’m acting natural.” He tapped the screen on Mac’s phone. “Hello? Oh hey, Trevor! What’s up? Why am I answering Mac’s phone? He’s in the bathroom… Why does it sound like I’m in a car? Because I am in a car… Why do I have Mac’s phone? Oh, I lost mine. Uh huh… Yes, the babies are cool. You want to Facetime them?” Bru looked at Mac in a panic. Mac vigorously shook his head.

“Uh, they’re taking a nap, Trevor. I’ll send you pictures later. Okay, bye!” Bru rolled down the window, tossed the phone out of the truck, then dropped his head towards his lap. “I think I’m going to throw up,” Bru groaned.

“You and me both, buddy,” Mac sighed. He’d really miss that phone.

 

 

*

 

“You’re just being mean,” Rhyann sighed. Selina could really be an evil little devil sometimes. And that was saying a lot, considering she was an angel.

“No, I am not. I’m just having a little fun.” Selina stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

“Yes, you are. They love those kids. And look at the big one. He looks like he’s about to lose his lunch.”

“You’re such a buzzkill, Rhy. The babies are fine. See?” Selina waved her hand and the image in the water changed from the cab of the truck to a lush green meadow. The babies were giggling as four soft and fuzzy wolf pups fell over themselves to lick their little faces. Close by, a woman in a gauzy white gown looked up at them and smiled then returned her attention back to her book.

“Look there. Everyone is fine. They love the pups and Leigh, too. She’s the best.”

“Yes, Selina,” Rhyann said, as she waved her own hand over the water. The scene changed back to the truck cab and both men had forlorn looks on their faces. Sad, concerned, and seriously pissed all at the same time.

Rhyann sighed. “I’m gonna help him. He looks so sad. And the way he’s driving, Heaven knows if they make it anywhere safely…”

“No, uh uh. You promised! I get to play with the wolf. YOU get the bear. Those were the rules. Besides that’s what the babies wanted.”

“Really, Selina? We’re trusting toddlers with running things now?” Rhyann rolled her eyes.

Selina scoffed. “You and I both know that-”

“Yes, yes, I know. They are more than what they seem. How they even ended up there explains that.”

“Yep!” Selina popped her gum loudly, then grinned widely at Rhyann.

“Where you even get gum up here, I’ll never know…”

“You’re just jealous that I know people. Now shhh, I need to concentrate so I can talk to Wolfy McSexypants here. You and I both know the babies are safe for now but we’ve gotta get them back before—"

“Yes, yes, I know that, too. Alright, let’s do this.” Rhyann closed her eyes and took a deep breath.