Chapter Thirteen
Heath
"This one. He would love this one," Angus said, lifting a yellow onesie with a picture of a bear eating honey on the front. "Look. It says beary sweet. Ha. Puns."
Heath laughed. "Sure, put it in the cart."
Angus tossed it in Heath's red shopping cart like a professional basketball player. The onesie landed on top of the growing heap of baby clothing, toys and accessories.
If someone had asked Heath as recently as a few months ago if he ever thought he would find himself willingly going baby supply shopping, he would have died laughing. Being near Sawyer's baby still made him jumpy. Except, baby shopping was exactly what he was doing. And with Angus, he was having a blast.
They were admittedly a little early on stocking up since they had only just left their first doctor's appointment at the shifter friendly hospital. It wasn't until that morning they had found out for sure, with a picture of a little black and white pea as proof.
Back at home, after the first pregnancy test, Angus had insisted that Heath take the rest of the tests he'd bought. Each one came back positive.
Still, nothing could have prepared him for how he felt when he found out for sure. He was scared but also thrilled beyond words.
When he first discovered that shifters could get men pregnant, Heath had thought how weird it would be to give birth. Would he be the mom then? Did that mean he had to darn socks and bake cookies?
He laughed at those thoughts now. Of course he wasn't the mom. He was Heath, who was also a father.
He'd give birth and teach the little guy or girl how to throw a ball.
Heath picked up a pack of bibs. "Are we going to go super hardcore on the socially acceptable colors? Like, if it is a girl, all pink, all the time? A mountain of pink." Heath eyed the rest of the aisle.
"No. Besides, in the woods, colors all eventually turn the same tan, muddy brown anyway." Angus disappeared around the corner.
"We should talk names," Heath said, following Angus to the next aisle over. "Maybe if it is a girl, we can name her Maggie, after my sister obviously."
"That's beautiful," Angus replied. "But then, Gaia will be jealous. We should do a mix of the two."
"Gaggie?" Heath asked.
Angus patted the top of his head. "Yes, my sweet mate. Gaggie. Or, we could go the other way. Maia."
It was a good thing Heath had never claimed to be a scholar. "I like Maia. And if it is a boy, we name him Heagus."
Angus nodded, solemnly placing his hand on Heath's stomach. "Heagus or Gaggie," he whispered, as if speaking the words to a powerful incantation.
Heath waited for Angus to look up at him before he spoke. "That poor kid is in trouble."
Angus laughed, stooping low to snag several packs of pacifiers.
After clearing basically everything off the baby aisles at the store, they started the trip home with the jeep full of shopping bags. When they parked at the trailhead, Heath saw that there was a group of people waiting. His heart sped up, fearing the worst, but then he saw that they were all smiling. It looked like Sawyer, Roscoe, his sister and a handful more had been too excited to wait at camp to hear Angus and Heath's news.
Heath found Maggie's face and nodded his head, which started a chorus of whooping and hollering.
Maggie yanked open the jeep door and didn't wait for him to get out all the way before pulling him into a hug. Out of the corner of his eye, Heath spotted Roscoe clapping Angus on the back.
When they got back to the camp, Heath saw the pack had put together a little party with a sign that read, We're Expecting, streamers and other decorations.
"What if the answer had been no?" Heath asked. "We were pretty sure," Gaia said. "And Roscoe called the hospital a few hours ago to ask."
"So much for doctor-patient confidentiality," Heath mumbled, leaning into Angus' side.
"We're going to have to plan a baby shower," Sawyer told him. "And you should come over, both of you, so you can practice on Roger. You can change his diapers and feed him. That way, when your baby comes, you'll be an expert!"
Heath and Angus stared at him with matching horrified expressions.
"I think they are on to your nefarious plan for free childcare, love," Roscoe mock whispered into his ear.
Sawyer's eyes widened. "No! I—"
"I get it," Heath said, saving him any embarrassment. "It's a nice, much-needed offer. In return, I promise not to accidentally drop your baby."
Sawyer clutched Roger tighter to his chest and stepped back. "Maybe, never mind…" he said, but then spotted Heath's smile. "Oh, you were joking." A beat passed before Sawyer clarified, "But not about not dropping the baby, right?"
"He's safe with me."
***
They decided Heath would come over first thing the following day to get his introduction to being a parent.
When he arrived at Sawyer's house the next morning, Roscoe answered the door with Roger on his hip. "Did my brother stand you up?" Roscoe asked.
"No, he wanted to finish something really quick," Heath explained. "He'll be here in a bit."
Roscoe nodded. "Good, cause I gotta go." Roscoe handed Roger to Heath. "I'll be back."
Before Heath could say a single word, Roscoe was out the door, and Heath was alone, awkwardly holding a baby. He bounced the baby stiffly, deciding at some point that he should walk away from the door. Didn't babies get cold easily or something?
He sat down on the couch, looking around the room as he wondered where the heck Sawyer was. Finally, there was nothing left to look at, so he let his eyes fall down to Roger's face. The baby looked up at Heath serenely.
"You aren't so bad," Heath said, giving him another bounce.
Roger smiled. At least it looked like he did. Then, he opened his mouth and threw up in Heath's face.
"Got ya!" Sawyer said, jumping around the corner. "You thought Roscoe just left you with the baby and oh no!"
Heath figured that was about the time Sawyer noticed Heath's entire face was covered in stinky white vomit.
"I told Roscoe to make sure to burp him and… oh, Heath." Sawyer took Roger, disappearing and returning with a wet towel. Heath still couldn't open his eyes without getting spit up in them, but could tell from the way Sawyer was shaking that he was laughing. At least he had the decency to be quiet about it.
Just then, there was a light knock. "Did I miss something?" Angus asked.
Heath turned toward his mate's voice, wiping his face clean enough so he could open his eyes. "Just the part where they trained their baby to throw up all over me," Heath said, but smiled so Sawyer would know he was kidding. Sort of.
"This is why I should never prank. They always go wrong," Sawyer said. "But at least now the worst has happened."
"No, I think the worst is leaking out of his diaper and onto your shirt," Angus said, his lip curling.
The smell hit Heath the moment before Sawyer noticed the baby diaper blow out. As Sawyer ran away to clean up the baby and himself, Heath turned his head to Angus. "This is going really well. We should leave now."
Angus took the towel from Heath and took over cleaning his face.
"Don't you dare!" Sawyer called out from the other room as Angus laughed and shook his head.
"Now, the worst really has happened. All uphill from here," Angus murmured, as he indicated for Heath to turn his head to the side so he could wipe his chin.
"Downhill," Heath corrected him.
"No, up is the one where things are going right."
"But down is easier," Heath replied. He went into the bathroom to wash his face with soap. When he returned to the living room, Sawyer was back, holding Roger, with both of them in new outfits.
"Roger has already been fed and clearly just had a diaper change," Sawyer said. "Why don't we discuss ways of holding your child?"
"With regret!" Heath said. Sawyer cocked his head while Angus gave Heath the evil eye. "Joke, joke."
Sawyer went through all the ways Roger liked to be held and then had both Heath and Angus practice. As the morning went on, Heath noticed the whole lesson seemed to be more for Heath's benefit than Angus', since the shifter seemed as comfortable around Roger as a birthday cake was with ice cream.
"How do you know so much about babies?" Heath asked Angus when Sawyer had left to put Roger down for a nap.
"I have younger brothers, but the bear culture is also different, I guess. Even with our horrible pack master, babies were a regular thing. Like, not this thing that only one parent had to deal with. I was raised by my parents as much as I was raised by Gaia's."
"That sounds better actually."
"It definitely had its upsides." He looked to the hallway where Sawyer had gone into. "You want to sneak out of here and have a lunchtime quickie?" Angus asked.
Heath pretended to think about it before jumping up and running out the door.
Angus caught up with him and pulled his hand back so that they walked side by side. But all hope for a quickie was dashed when Heath spotted Maggie and Gaia waiting at their cabin door.
Maggie thrust a piece of paper to Heath when he got close enough.
"We found this at the inn pinned to the wreckage.
Must have been put there after the authorities left or else they definitely would have had questions."
He unfolded the paper, finding writing inside.
Want to be even? Let's talk. 555-0139
"Did you call?" Heath asked.
"The letter isn't for us," Maggie said. She pulled an ash-stained envelope out of her back pocket and showed them the name scribbled on front. Heath.
"So we call," Heath said with a shrug. "No," Angus said darkly.
"There is no harm in calling," Heath replied slowly. "Maybe he's had a change of heart."
"I doubt it."
"I'm calling," Heath snapped. "You can either be there when it happens or not."
He went inside and found the satellite phone Angus had bought for emergencies. He dialed the number, and it rang once before Angus ripped the phone out of his hand. He thought for sure the obstinate bear was going to hang up the call, but instead, he pressed a button, switching the phone to speaker mode.
The ringing sound filled the kitchen as Heath, Maggie and Gaia bent over the kitchen island waiting, while Angus stood stiffly beside Heath.
"Hello?" a gruff voice said.
"This is Heath. I got your note," Heath said before Angus could butt in.
"Glad to know you found my note. You and your sister disappeared, and I was disappointed when Steven told me he didn't know how else to get a hold of you. Other than your old number at the inn. Apologies for your home," Marcos said, like he'd just remembered he'd blown up the inn. Even over the phone, Heath could tell he was lying. "Though, now we're even—when it comes to that."
Heath didn't miss the clarification. When it came to the money, it was a different story. "That was my sister's home you destroyed. With us nearly inside."
"But you got out okay, obviously," Marcos replied. "Unlike one of my men."
Maggie grabbed Heath's wrist, shaking her head back and forth. Heath scowled but understood what she was trying to say. She didn't want him to argue about the inn being burned down. "Okay, fine," he said into the phone. "We're even when it comes to burning down buildings. What did you mean in your note then?"
"I'm talking about the money you owe me, of course."
"We're prepared to pay you back," Angus interjected. "In full. Everything Heath owes you, plus interest." Heath gawked at Angus, but Angus wouldn't look at him, his eyes remained fixed on the phone. "We pay you back, and you consider everything settled. Then you leave us alone," Angus said.
"What a generous suggestion," Marcos replied. His voice took on an icy edge that hadn't been there before. "Is this the bear man?"
"This is Heath's mate," Angus replied.
"I see," Marcos said. "Your display at the fight was very dramatic. Very informative. Very expensive."
Heath didn't like the sound of that. "Add it to my bill," Angus replied.
"You know, I would love to take your money, except I can't help but worry about how weak that will make me look in front of my men." Then Marcos' voice brightened. "Besides, Heath, you fought a good fight that day. You did better than anyone could have guessed and people have been asking for you. They want to see you go again."
"No," Angus said, but Heath lunged to the side, covering his mouth with his hands.
"They have?" Heath asked. He knew that Marcos was mostly blowing smoke, but if Heath could figure out a way to solve this problem, a way that didn't put the pack out of a lot of money, then he'd do it.
"Yep. So many of my highest betters have asked for a repeat performance that I am prepared to do just what you want - settle our debts if you fight one more time. One last hurrah before you retire a champion."
"Fight a fair fight? No weapons? One on one?" Heath asked. He didn't know Marcos but wouldn't put it past him to have something sneaky planned.
"A fair fight. Look, kid, this thing has been blown all out of proportion. You owe me less than most, to be honest, and I am a businessman first. People want you to fight. I want to give that to them."
Heath tried to ignore the fact that Angus was so angry he was shaking. He wouldn't like the idea of Heath fighting again, but this was the solution Heath had been looking for.
The only part that didn't sit well with him was that Marcos would never be held accountable for destroying Maggie's home. Heath looked over at his sister, who was hunched over the island and peering at the phone along with Gaia.
He caught her gaze, the question on his face. Is this okay with you?
She nodded, and that was as much of a blessing as Heath needed. "I'll do it, but it can't happen for at least five months." His doctor had explained that bear shifter pregnancies take three to four months, and then he would need time to heal from the surgery.
From the collective sigh of relief that hit his ears when he announced the time frame, Heath realized everyone in that kitchen thought he had meant to fight now. Heath scowled at them as Marcos thought about his proposition.
"Why so long? Need time to train? If you tell me where you're staying, I can send one of my guys to help train you. Anything for a good fight."
Heath scoffed. "No, that's okay. I have…a medical thing."
Heath thought he could feel Marcos' curiosity in the following silence. He clearly wasn't a man used to being in the dark. "I guess five months is better than never. I'll send my man, Steven, to the inn with further instructions. I noticed you had some friends helping you rebuild."
"Yep, lots of good neighbors in Noel," Heath said before saying goodbye. He needed to get Marcos off the phone before Angus exploded and threw the phone across the wall.
When he hung up, Heath looked at his audience, giving them an evil eye. "Some credit, please," he said. "You all thought I was going to fight today? I would never endanger little Gaggie."
"Who?" Maggie asked, her face twisted into a look of confusion.