Chapter Ten – Michael

“The pizza oven is ready!” Jenny called excitedly as she reached the workshop, where her brother was concentrating hard on making a sword. They had rounded off the wood, and now he was shaping the hilt. Michael had needed some ingenuity to get Jason to the right height so that he could shape the wood and also reach the pedal.

“Do you like it?” Jason asked, the intense concentration on his face slipping as he turned to his sister.

“Yes.” As the wood stopped spinning, Jenny reached out and touched the smooth surface.

“Michael said I can carve the hilt and the pommel. As long as I’m sensible.” Jason grew an inch while he spoke.

“Can I help, too?” Jenny asked.

“When you come for another visit, we can all whittle wood. It’ll be good practice before you attempt to carve the pommel.” Michael put away the tools. “Let’s go and cook our pizza.”

“Can I whittle a wand?” Jenny asked. “I want to be a wizard.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want to make.” Michael walked in the middle, with the two children on either side. “Jason, let’s slide your pizza in.” Michael ducked down and looked inside the oven. “We might even be able to get two in there.”

“I’m starving.” Jason rubbed his tummy to emphasize his hunger.

“Right, here, use this to push the pizza in, and then we’ll see if we can get Jenny’s next to it.” That’s it, like that, and give it a shove to pull the paddle free.”

“Yes!” Jason’s face lit up as his pizza cooked in the oven. “Is there room for Jenny’s?”

“I think so. Are you going to give it a try, Jenny?” Michael asked and guided her forward, holding the pizza paddle with one hand while she held it with two.

“I did it.” Jenny stood next to Jason as they watched their pizzas cook. “How long will it take to cook?”

“Not long, you can go play and I’ll call you when it’s ready.” The two children ran off, leaving Michael alone with Ruth.

“They look so happy.” Ruth waited for Michael to sit down next to her on the swing seat and then settled into his arms.

“They’re a good couple of kids.” Michael inhaled Ruth’s scent.

“Jenny asked if I was going to have kids.” Ruth’s heart rate increased and her breathing came heavier. She was nervous, but what about? Was she scared he’d say no to having children?

“And what did you say?” Michael asked.

“That I’m old. Probably too old.” She sat up and looked at him. “Does that make a difference to us?”

“As mates, no.” He shook his head emphatically and took hold of her hand, their fingers entwining. “We’re locked together for the rest of our lives and beyond.”

“Just like that. No matter what each of us wants.” Ruth studied Michael.

“Ruth, my beautiful Ruth.” He stroked her face. “Do I wish we’d met sooner, and had children of our own? Of course I do. Does that change the way I feel about you? Hell no!”

Her mouth cracked into a smile. “What about adopting?”

Michael looked over her shoulder to where Jason and Jenny were chasing each other around a tree. “I know two children who would make our family complete.”

Ruth half turned as Jason caught Jenny, who screeched wildly, startling the birds. “Me, too.” She turned back to face Michael. “But we have to be sure. About us. About our lives together. And more importantly whether there is a good chance we will be allowed to adopt before we mention it to either Jason or Jenny.”

“I agree completely. I suggest we arrange to talk to Dean and Elizabeth, and then make an appointment to talk to their social worker to get the process started.” Michael got up and checked the pizzas.

“To find out if they are eligible for adoption?” Ruth asked.

“Yes, their dad is still alive. Which means they may be only temporarily in foster care.” Michael put his hands to his mouth and shouted, “Jason, Jenny, pizza.”

With a whoop, they raced back to the cabin. Before they reached Michael, Ruth said, “Fiona is their social worker.”

“That old dragon. I’ll make an appointment. But I’d like to talk to Dean and Elizabeth first. If they are on our side, it should all go a lot smoother.”

“Is it ready?” Jenny asked.

“It is. Come on, let’s get these out.” Michael helped the two kids retrieve their pizzas from the hot belly of the pizza oven. “Afterward, we’ll walk through the trees down to the stream, that’s where we might see the deer.”

“Might see the deer? So they might not be there?” Jenny asked in disappointment as she blew on her pizza to cool it.

“We might not,” Michael replied. “But I have a secret weapon.”

Ruth laughed, watching as he placed their pizza in the oven and closed the doors. “And what is that?”

“A surprise.” Michael tapped the side of his nose.

“What?” Jason asked excitedly, taking the first bite of his pizza. His eyes rolled up in his head. “This is good.”

“Best pizza ever!” Jenny called, then her eyes widened. “Is that your secret? Do the deer like pizza?”

“No, at least, I’ve never tried feeding them pizza.” Michael joined Ruth on the swing seat while the children sat on the porch steps.

“Are they real deer?” Jason asked thoughtfully. “Or shifters? If they were shifters, they might like pizza,”

“But they’re not getting any of mine.” Jenny laughed and covered her plate up with her hands.

“Or mine!” Jason did the same.

“Looks as if you are going without pizza, Michael, since the deer are not having mine either.” Ruth laughed as Michael shook his head in despair.

“It’s not pizza.”

“So what is it?” Ruth asked. “Tell us your secrets.” She poked him in the ribs.

“Nope,” Michael replied, laughing as Ruth tickled him.

“But Ruth is your mate, you have to tell her everything,” Jenny pointed out.

“We’ve got you there, Michael.” Ruth arched her eyebrows.

“Still not telling.” Michael laughed and pretended to zip his lips shut.

An hour later, Ruth, Jenny and Jason were squeezed into a tree stand blind, which was like a small treehouse, looking down on Michael, who was spreading his secret deer treats on the ground. He could almost feel their eyes boring into him, or more precisely, into his secret deer treats.

He smiled to himself, the children’s excitement and enthusiasm made him feel young again. Michael dug his hand into the box containing his special deer treats and spread them over the ground. The deer usually came this way in the evening to drink at the stream. Over time, Michael had encouraged them to establish a feeding routine by spreading the treats out at the same time each day.

Dusting his hands off, he walked backward, away from the stream, watching for his evening visitors to arrive. He hoped they weren’t late, since the children had to be home in half an hour. A stirring in the undergrowth, twenty feet away, informed Michael he was going to hold on to his lucky bear name.

Turning, he swiftly climbed the steps and squeezed inside the tree stand, lifting Jenny so she could see properly. “They’re coming.”

All four faces looked out of the open window of the blind, staring into the gathering twilight, wanting to be the first to see the deer. “There.” Jason pointed, his voice barely a whisper as the shadows moved, and a deer trotted forward, head down, eating the treats. Soon another deer joined the first, and then another.

The children stood patiently and watched, neither of them speaking in case they frightened the deer away. Michael often spent an hour up here, high above the world watching the deer and the other night life that tracked across the forest. Foxes and badgers, owls swooping down from the trees, all creatures who made the forest their home.

Was it possible the three people next to him would also make the forest their home? Or at least make the cabin he’d built for himself into their home? He could extend it, make room for a family.

Ruth turned her face to him and smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her lips, slipping his arm around her shoulders. He had so much to show them, so much to share. Was it possible that this lucky bear was about to become the luckiest bear who ever lived?