In the Woods, Bears

Chapter 50 - Four is the Luckiest Number

The morning came with the sounds of birds greeting the day. Nestled in the bed's warmth, large male bodies surrounded her. Kennedy allowed her arm to fall outward, and the back of her hand landed on Terry's broad back, causing him to grunt in his sleep. She suppressed a chuckle and carefully stretched, trying not to wake everyone. They lay tangled together like puppies.

Enough sunlight slipped through the wooden slats of the barn walls to illuminate their shapes in the purple early morning light. Jeremiah snored. The sound made her snicker. When she slid her leg over and pushed his side with her toes, he snorted awake. Blurry and half-aware for the moment, he smiled at her. "Was I snoring?"

Kennedy nodded. The ache and pleasant soreness in her body were welcome. Playfully, she pushed him with her toes again. "Jeremiah, I think you were right." She gestured to the room. Terry rolled toward her in his sleep and looped a heavy arm across her rib cage, and she placed her hand fondly on his forearm.

Spreading his arms wide and arching his back, Jeremiah sleepily asked, "About what?"

"We just needed to bless this space to make it our own."

When the big barn door creaked open, Kennedy drew the sheet up across herself. Red eased into the space with a thermos in his hand. When she saw who it was, Kennedy sat up, naked but for the thin sheet in the early morning dawn. "What are you doing here?"

"Keeping your dumb asses safe. Y'all are lucky I came to look for my cousin."

Jeremiah untangled himself from their bodies and the bedding. "Do I smell coffee?"

"Yup, my second thermos full. I'm grateful her Gran is an early riser. It smells terrible in here, but the coffee helps." He slumped into the lone chair outside of the enclosure and popped the cup lid from the top of the thermos. "When I found you last night, you four were sleeping like you'd been drugged." He seemed completely nonplussed by their nudity. Kennedy drew the blanket up over Terry. Sprawled on the floor on the comforter, David moaned and rolled over. The voices made Terry crack one eye open.

Kennedy asked Red, "Why are you here?"

"Already told you." This time he said it slower, drawing the words out, making fun of her, "Looking... for... my... dumb-ass... cousin..." He gestured to the men surrounding her. "Although any of them should have known better. One of these dicks should have stayed awake in case you changed."

Jeremiah said, "Aw man."

Red pointed at his cousin. "You are supposed to leave at least one to watch. What if that baby had flipped her in her skin, and she woke up scared? I could have been gathering up shards of your empty skull this morning."

"It's still early in her time." Seated on the edge of the bed, Jeremiah reached through the bars for Red's cup of coffee.

Obligingly, the man leaned forward and handed it to him, steaming and black. "It's not half bad. None of that nasty flavored artificial shit." He flicked his glance in her direction. "That girl has already changed in her sleep once. You aren't normally this stupid." Rangy, and lean, he tipped his chair back and rested his feet on the bars, one ankle crossed over the other. The bottoms of his boots were scarred from hard use. "You are lucky you have me to watch over you."

Jeremiah blew across the top of the black coffee and took a sip. "Were you here all night?"

"Since an hour or two before dawn. When you didn't come home last night, Ma waited up. She woke me up around 3am and sent me to find you." He extended his hands toward them. "And so I did. Lucky for you."

Jeremiah rubbed his hand through his morning wild hair. "Thank you, man. You should have woken me up."

"And ruined your beauty sleep?" Crossing his arms, he added, "You needed it, little cousin. You are ugly enough, even well-rested."

Half awake, Terry touched his fingertips to his mouth to say thank you to Red.

"No problem, Doc. I know she wore y'all out, but you boys gotta be more careful or you are going to fail the promise of your rings. I don't intend to let Jeremiah do that. Our family has a bad reputation when it comes to fatherhood as it is." Unwilling to look at Kennedy directly, or unable to, he fished in his pocket. "Speaking of. I know I was an ass the other day. I was drunk. And I thought your destiny was to be a ghost." He tossed a little braided ring through the bars. The ring landed next to her ankle.

Kennedy stared at him in open surprise.

"I know we didn't proper... you know." He shrugged. "That little sprout is going to be my kin. These three dumbasses aren't smart enough to leave someone awake, so I'd like to protect my niece."

"Or nephew," said Kennedy.

"Or nephew." Red nodded. "I don't expect nothing. I just want the right to make sure that you and my dumbass little cousin live through this."

"Why should I trust you?"

Red's chin lifted stubbornly, and he brought his chair down to the floor with a loud crack. Without a word, he reached through the bars and reclaimed the little ring. "You shouldn't." He threw the little ring into the nearby trash can. "Forget I offered it. These morons are awake now. You don't need me." Back stiff, he squared his shoulders. "See you in town, Idiot." He left the thermos where it sat next to the chair and turned and left them.

Terry rested one big hand gently on her back. She looked down at him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Shit." Jeremiah sighed. "You can trust him. He is an asshole, but he protects his family. Hand warmed by the coffee cup, he placed one hand on her calf."

David lay still, watching and listening. "It's her choice to make," David quietly said.

Should she have taken the ring? "Is that why he watched over us?"

"Yes." Jeremiah reached through the bars and claimed the thermos so he could refill the cup. "He saved me more times than I can count when we were kids. He was cracked out on caffeine, and had no sleep. That can make anyone grumpy." He found his phone under the bed. "Forty-five minutes until my shift starts. Can I use your shower, Doc?"

The Vet nodded.

Pulling on his shirt, Jeremiah said, "I'm ashamed that I failed you all last night. I didn't think I'd fall asleep like that. It won't happen again on my watch."

"Does someone really need to stay up every time?" Kennedy asked.

Terry nodded, powerful arms reaching over his head.

"Why? I wouldn't hurt you."

David said, "You might if you were scared or disoriented after shifting in your sleep. It's happened before."

"Could any one of you stay awake?"

Jeremiah turned away from her to hide a blush. "I drew the short straw."

"That's how you all decided?" Kennedy shook her head.

"I didn't know how hard it would be to stay awake. Stupid and foolish of me." After he tugged on his jeans, he lifted the hanging key from its hook and started moving blankets around on the floor. "My boots are somewhere."

David pointed behind him.

"Oh shit, yeah... that's right."