10
“Mama! Look what I found!” Dakota held up a fist full of flowers. Ricky was filling a mason jar full of water and trying hard not to stare at Shauna’s legs displayed nicely in a pair of shorts.
“Wow. Those are really pretty Dakota.” She said and took a sniff of the fragrant flowers. “Where did you find those?”
“Out by the trees. There’s a whole patch of them. Miss Mallory told me where to find them. She’s so nice mama and she’s just a human, like you, but Dice picked her like daddy picked you.”
Ricky watched the color drain from her face as she tried to find something to say to her son.
“Here you go short stack. We can put them right here on the table.” He took a few seconds to help Dakota arrange the flowers, but he didn’t know shit about flowers so he was satisfied that they all had water. Shauna still stood like a statue and watched him.
“Mama?” Dakota felt her pain, so did Ricky, and he’d be damned if he let her suffer alone. He walked over and wrapped her in his arms.
“Shh, now you need to breathe sweetheart. Just take one slow breath.” She did and then another. Her whole body shook in Ricky’s arms, but he held her steady. “I’ve got you.” He whispered and she trembled harder.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what…” She tried.
“Hush now.” Ricky lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “I’m not Dakota’s father, never will be. I’m not stepping into those shoes, they wouldn’t fit me. I’m going to be whatever I can be and figure it out as we go.” He pulled her head back to his chest. “The same goes with this. We don’t need a guidebook Shauna, we just need to live and you need to stop beating the shit out of yourself every time you feel something.”
“I don’t know how to feel anything anymore. I just don’t know what to do.” She sniffed.
“You just live darlin’. You take one moment and squish it into another until you have a whole day, then another. You’ll get there and it’s ok to have shit moments too, like for instance, the moment you put a piece of this rabbit in your mouth and taste it. You are going to need to decide whether to chew happily or hurt my feelings by pointing out that it is just a little overcooked.”
She giggled.
“Are we supposed to eat this?” Dakota said in disbelief causing Shauna to laugh harder.
“I got a little distracted.” Ricky shrugged.
“What the hell is that god awful smell?” Ricky heard Pie’s voice from the back of the house.
“Breakfast.” Ricky answered.
“My house smells better.” Pie answered and Ricky wanted to groan. He’d already had to explain to Dakota why the woman was making those screaming sounds, he didn’t need to have to explain anything else.
“Fuck off Pie!” Ricky growled.
“I already did that!” Pie laughed and Ricky heard something else in Pie’s voice.
It turned Ricky’s stomach. How could the man be so desperate that he fucked anything with tits? Ricky didn’t know Pie’s story, not all of it, they were brothers, but they were still just a band of fuck ups that didn’t want their pasts clouding what they wanted for their futures. He was also a little pissed about what had happened earlier, but it seemed to have helped them both.
He looked over to where Shauna sat at the table, waiting for him. There was more to him than he ever wanted her to know, but he knew better than to keep secrets, especially if he wanted her to stay. Secrets always came out and ruined everything. He understood that, always had.
He sat the plate of rabbit on the table along with biscuits and gravy. It was a good breakfast and even if the meat was a little over cooked, it felt right to sit down with Shauna and Dakota.
It felt too right, until Pie grabbed a plate and joined them.
“So, did you hear the fight this morning?” Pie asked as he grabbed a biscuit.
“Pie, I swear…”
Shauna cut him off. “Fight?” Her face had lost color and her eyes were as round as saucers.
Pie was nodding and pulling up his shirt. “See this right here? Still hurts like a motherfucker too.”
Dakota looked at the bright red teeth marks on Pie’s side.
“You did that?”
Ricky gritted his teeth. “He started it.”
For some reason that caused Shauna to burst out laughing. “You all act like a bunch of children.”
“Do not.” Pie and Ricky said together, proving her point.
“What did you do to make him bite you?” Dakota asked.
Pie leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Never call him Richard.”
“Pie…” Ricky warned as he felt his wolf push for a change.
Pie held up his hands. “I didn’t call you that, just warning the kid.”
“Why? Isn’t that your name?” Dakota asked, puzzled.
“Yeah.” Ricky answered. He shoved a spoonful of gravy into his mouth to keep from snarling. “My old man called me that and then my uncle. Mean assholes. My wolf can’t stand the sound of it. It’s a good warning.”
His eyes met Dakota’s, a warning not to test him. Dakota nodded once.
“You realize that’s called a trigger, right? A psychiatrist would have a field day with you guys.” Shauna said and ate another bite of rabbit.
Pie threw back his head and laughed. “You don’t know the half of it honey.”
Ricky was glad she didn’t, not just yet.