An Ember To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 5) (12 page)

That bastard
, Mindy thought as she stroked Sophia’s hair and kept whispering to her in a soothing tone. He should have warned Mindy. Had he been hoping she wouldn’t find out until the adoption was finalized? Mindy felt her ears burning with anger. She would never give Sophia up now, but knowing about this beforehand might have helped her at least be prepared to help the girl.

Mindy felt Sophia’s whimpering slow and then stop, and soon the girl’s shaking had been replaced by the smooth, rhythmic breathing of sleep. Mindy gently pulled a fresh nightgown and underwear onto the sleeping girl, and then tucked her back in to bed.

Mindy had so many questions. Why did Sophia turn into a bear? What triggered it, and how often did it happen? Was there a way to prevent it? And, perhaps the most pressing question of all—who did she turn to for answers?

Mindy instinctively knew that she couldn’t just share Sophia’s situation with anyone. She wasn’t sure whether Sophia’s caseworker even knew, because, although Mr. Stewart wasn’t above using underhanded tactics to get a bear child out of his orphanage, Mindy had a hard time believing that a caseworker would just place a bear child in someone’s home without warning. Mindy feared that if she told anyone, they might take Sophia away from her. Who knows where they would take her or what they would do with her.

Mindy slipped out of Sophia’s room and started pacing back and forth across the living room. Finally, she decided to call the one person she knew she could trust to keep Sophia’s secret, even if the whole situation sounded unbelievable. Mindy grabbed her cell phone and started dialing Bailey’s number.

As Bailey’s phone started ringing, Mindy glanced up at the clock on the microwave and winced. She hadn’t realized until that moment that it was almost three o’clock in the morning. Maybe she should have waited until morning to make this call. But just as Mindy was about to hang up, Bailey’s sleepy voice came on the phone.

“Hello?”

“Bailey, hi, it’s Mindy.”

There was a long pause, as Bailey seemed to realize that it was the middle of the night. “Mindy? Is everything okay? Is Sophia okay?”

“Everything is okay, for the moment. But I just had the most bizarre experience and I’m kind of freaked out. I’m really sorry for calling this late, but I don’t know what to do. I needed to talk to someone I could trust.”

“What’s going on?” Bailey asked, her voice filling with concern.

“This is going to sound crazy, so please don’t judge me. And please, don’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you until I figure out what to do about it.”

“Okay,” Bailey said.

Mindy heard some noise in the background that sounded like mumbling, followed by Bailey telling Trevor to go back to sleep. Mindy took a deep breath. Maybe it had been a mistake to call Bailey. What if Trevor overheard, or Bailey confided in him? Maybe she should just do her best to keep the whole thing a secret and hope that it was a rare occurrence.”

“Mindy? Mindy, are you still there?” Bailey asked.

Mindy took a deep breath and started rambling. “I’m here. Okay, I have something to tell you, but don’t freak out when I do. I promise I haven’t been drinking.”

“For Christ’s sake, woman, just spit it out.”

“Sophia just turned into a bear, and then back into human. I swear to god I’m not making this up,” Mindy said, then winced as she waited for Bailey’s response. Bailey fell silent for so long that Mindy thought she might have hung up. When Bailey finally did respond, her tone sounded more concerned than shocked.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Bailey asked, keeping her voice slow and even. She sounded remarkably calm. Too calm. Mindy’s heart sank as she realized that Bailey must not believe what she was telling her.

“Sophia turned into a bear,” Mindy repeated. “I know you probably think I’m insane or high right now, but you have to believe me. It just happened right in front of my eyes. I have no idea how or why, but I’m freaked out and I don’t know what to do or who to even turn to for answers. I was hoping you might have some ideas.”

There was another long pause, but this time Mindy could hear Bailey talking in a muffled tone to Trevor. Trevor was asking what was wrong, and Bailey was saying something about shifter cubs. Mindy’s heart sank. She knew she shouldn’t have said anything to Bailey. Now Bailey was telling Trevor, who was going to think Mindy was certifiably insane. One of them would probably call Sophia’s caseworker, sending Mindy’s dreams of adopting up in smoke. The caseworker would almost certainly come take Sophia away. Mindy frantically tried to think of something to say to Bailey to backtrack and act like the whole thing had been some kind of joke. But before she could say anything, Bailey came back on the line.

“What is she doing now?” Bailey asked.

“Sophia? She’s sleeping right now,” Mindy said.

“Okay, just sit tight and keep an eye on her. I’m coming over.”

Mindy sat in her living room in the darkness for half an hour, waiting for Bailey and wondering what would happen when she got there. For that awful thirty minutes, she feared that Bailey might have decided to call the cops. When she heard a rapping at her front door, she jumped, then got up and peeked through the peephole. Relieved to find that Bailey was standing outside alone in a hoodie and sweatpants, Mindy unlocked the deadbolt and threw the front door open.

“Bailey! Thank you so much for coming. I swear I’m not making this up,” Mindy said.

“I know. Trust me, I believe you,” Bailey said. “Where is she?”

“She’s in her bedroom right now, sleeping.”

“Can I see her?” Bailey asked.

“Of course. Come on.”

Mindy led Bailey to Sophia’s bedroom, where Sophia was still sleeping, although she was tossing and turning quite a bit in the darkness. Bailey looked around the room, and Mindy saw Bailey’s eyes resting on the shreds of the pajamas that Sophia had ruined when she turned into a bear cub. Mindy started trying to explain the torn pajamas, but Bailey held up her hand and stopped her.

“What exactly happened?” Bailey asked.

“I don’t know, really,” Mindy said. “I was in my room having a bad dream, and in the dream Sophia was screaming. At some point, I woke up and realized that her screaming wasn’t just in my dream. I ran in here, and when I did I couldn’t find Sophia. Instead—and I swear to god this is true—there was a little black bear cub running around.”

“Did you see anything that looked kind of like a power surge? Maybe like a whoosh of wind or something?” Bailey asked.

“Yes, actually. There was some sort of weird power surge. It happened twice. First, right before I came in here and saw the bear cub. And then again when the bear cub turned back into Sophia. How did you know that?” Mindy asked. She suddenly realized that she was shaking, and Bailey seemed to notice it, too.

“Come on. Let’s go to the living room. I have a lot to tell you,” Bailey said.

Feeling overwhelmed and confused, Mindy followed Bailey without a word. When they got to the living room, Mindy sat on the couch while Bailey went to Mindy’s kitchen and started boiling water for tea. When the tea was finished, Bailey poured two steaming mugs of it and came back to the living room, sitting on the couch next to Mindy. Mindy took the mug Bailey offered, and breathed in the strong peppermint aroma of the tea.

Bailey took a sip of her tea, and then looked over at Mindy. “Did Sophia say anything to you that might indicate she was…different?”

“Not really. Before I brought her home from the orphanage, she told me that she had caused trouble. She said she’d been warned not to tell anyone what kind of trouble, because if she did no one would want her. At the time, that didn’t really make sense to me. I just thought she was dealing with the normal negative comments that the kids in orphanages and foster homes tend to get. Last night, she also kept saying ‘bears bad’ over and over, but I didn’t know what she meant. Now, it makes more sense. But that’s it. She hasn’t said anything else about turning into a bear or why it happens.”

Bailey nodded. “It sounds like you’ve got a little bear shifter on your hands.”

“A
what
?”

“A bear shifter,” Bailey said. “It’s a rare genetic mutation that causes humans to be able to shift back and forth between bear form and human form at will. But, sometimes, in very young shifters, the ability to control the shifting isn’t fully developed. This can cause them to shift forms without warning and against their will. I’m guessing that’s what’s going on with Sophia. You said her mom died, and no one knows anything about her dad, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Bailey nodded again. “Well, one or both of her parents would have been a shifter and passed on the genes for it to her. Since they’re both out of the picture, she has no one to help her learn to control her shifting abilities. Combine that with the fact that she’s probably upset by all of the unfamiliar environments she’s been thrown into, and you have a recipe for an out of control little shifter cub.”

When Bailey had said she’d come over, Mindy had been expecting Bailey to be the one thinking Mindy had lost her mind. But now, she found herself looking at Bailey with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“How do you know so much about this? And how do you seem so calm?” Mindy asked. “More importantly, do think you know how to help me?”

“I think I can help you. Well, to be more specific, I think I know someone who can help you.”

“Who?” Mindy asked. She was getting frustrated with Bailey’s cryptic answers.

“The smokejumpers. Every one of the guys is a bear shifter,” Bailey said, then paused to let this bit of information sink in.

“This is getting weird,” Mindy said.

“I know, it’s a lot to take in. I almost left Trevor for good when he first told me. But now I’m just used to it. The guys are part of a shifter clan, and they can all change back and forth between bear and human form at will. If one or more of them can spend some time with Sophia and get her to trust them, they can start teaching her how to control her shifting.”

Mindy sat on the couch feeling shell-shocked. She had expected Sophia to have some emotional issues that would need to be dealt with, but she had never in her wildest imaginations thought one of those problems would be uncontrolled bear shifting.

“I promise you, Mindy. The guys can help Sophia get this under control. It’s actually a gift, especially for a girl. No guy will ever be able to push her around or hurt her physically. She’ll always know she can easily stand up for herself.”

Mindy just nodded, trying to process everything Bailey was telling her. Before she found her voice to say anything else, she heard little footsteps pounding down the hallway. Sophia came into the living room, dressed in her brand new mint green nightgown and clutching Frog. She approached Mindy and Bailey cautiously, then pointed at Bailey.

“Who’s this?” she asked, her voice full of apprehension.

“This is your Auntie Bailey,” Mindy said, trying to keep her voice as happy and confident as possible. “She’s been looking forward to meeting you.”

“She’s not here to take me away?” Sophia asked.

“No, sweetie. She’s not here to take you away. She’s one of my good friends.”

Sophia considered this information, and then her lower lip started quivering as she looked back at Mindy. “Are you going to send me away now? Because I was bad?”

Mindy held out her arms, inviting Sophia to come get a hug. “No, Sophia. I’m not going to send you anywhere. You belong right here with me. And you weren’t bad. You’re a very special girl, and Auntie Bailey knows some people who can help you learn to keep your little bear under control.”

Sophia looked visibly relieved, and she crossed the living room to hop onto the couch and into Mindy’s outstretched arms. After a few moments of snuggling up against Mindy, she tilted her head upward.

“Are you my mom now?” Sophia asked.

“I want to be,” Mindy said. “That’s why I’m trying to get an appointment with the judge to adopt you.”

Sophia sat up and looked at Mindy, her face turning very serious. “Can I call you ‘Mom’?” she asked.

Mindy bit her lip to control the flood of emotions that ran through her. “Of course. It would make me very happy if you did.”

Sophia sat up and hopped off the couch. “Frog and I are going back to bed. Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, Sophia,” Mindy said, unable to keep a single tear from escaping down her cheek.

Sophia started back toward the hallway, then turned around at the last second. “Good night, Auntie Bay-ee.”

Bailey smiled, “Good night, sweetie.”

As soon as Sophia had disappeared down the hallway, Bailey turned and looked at Mindy with wide eyes.

“Um, Mindy, did you notice anything strange about the way Sophia looks?”

“No. Like I said she looked like a normal little girl to me. I had no idea she was a shifter, or whatever you call it.”

“No, I’m not talking about whether she looks like a bear. I’m talking about the fact that she looks like a little carbon copy of Zach.”

“Oh, yeah. I thought that too when I first saw her. Weird, isn’t it? Do you think they’re related or something?”

“I’d be willing to bet money on it. Shifters are rare, and finding a shifter that looks exactly like Zach just seems to be too much of a coincidence.”

Mindy felt her heart clench. For the first time since she saw Sophia, she allowed herself to consider the awful possibility that Sophia’s father might be out there and might come claim her before Mindy could adopt Sophia. And now, Mindy had to worry about whether Zach, a man who couldn’t seem to get his emotions together, was Sophia’s father. If that was the case, Zach would probably try to keep Sophia away from Mindy out of spite, since Mindy had refused to date him and probably insulted him with her rejection. Mindy suddenly realized that Bailey was speaking again, and forced herself to focus.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Mindy asked.

“I asked where Sophia lived before her mom died. It wasn’t Georgia by chance, was it?” Bailey said.

“No, it was Idaho.”

“Hmm,” Bailey said. “I don’t think anyone in the clan has ever lived in Idaho. But I also haven’t spent much time talking to Zach, so maybe he had some sort of brief stint there that I don’t know about.”

“Will he try to take Sophia away from me?” Mindy asked, her voice trembling.

Bailey looked at Mindy and gave her a sympathetic look. “If Zach is her dad, he should be in her life. But, since she obviously views you as a mother figure, you should be, too. I think, if Zach does find out he has a kid, he’s going to be scared and want help knowing how to be a parent. I honestly don’t think he’ll try to take her away. I think he’ll beg you not to leave. He’ll want help.”

“What do I do now?” Mindy asked. “Walk up to Zach and say, ‘Hey, I think I might have your kid’?”