Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) (5 page)

Once the two precocious ladies had taken up the seat
Marcella had vacated, he sat and resumed eating. He knew his grandmother and
Genma wouldn’t need any prompting to speak.

“Cordy-bear—”

“Nanaaa…” he growled, at thirty plus moons old, his
grandmother still wouldn’t stop calling him by his childhood nickname.

“Okay, okay. Sweetheart, you know that since Genma and
I don’t have any grandcubs…” She allowed those words to hang in the air.

Genma lowered her head and shook it slowly as if the
thought of her not having small ones to spoil was depressing.

Biting a healthy piece of bread, he rolled his eyes.
This must be good if they were starting with a guilt trip.

“We’ve decided to go away for a few days this week,”
Octavia continued.

“Nana, everyone loves your wicker baskets. You’re not
going to sell them this year during the festival?”

“Your sisters have agreed, since they have another year
before they can participate in the run, they will man my Bjorn Basket tent.”

He chuckled as he lifted his glass of honeyed tea and
took a swallow. His sisters were all about the festival events and making sure
they riled up all the Were-males their age, flirting. It was doubtful that the
two girls volunteered willingly. However, he knew better than to contradict his
grandmother.

“Lola Shardik has agreed to sell my muffins with her
honeycombs,” Genma explained. “So, no one will even miss us.”

“Not likely,” he commented and pushed his empty bowl to
the side. “What do you all need from me?”

His grandmother looked at Genma and Genma returned the
look. It was full of secrets and a deeper level of communication. If they were
Were-male and female, he would have believed they had a mindlink going on.

Pulling a napkin out from the dispenser he wiped his
mouth, using the moment to cover his smirk.

“I need some repairs around my house. Odds and end
things done to my yard,” Genma explained. “Winter flowers planted.”

“Not forgetting the re-soiling and fertilizing of your
garden for those awesome winter vegetables,” Octavia added.

Genma looked at her and smiled. “Oh, thank you. This
year I’ll probably plant beets, carrots, some parsnip, maybe fava beans and
brussel spr—”

“Ladies… ladies, can we please get to what you need?”
Cord ran his hand over his head, knowing that these two ladies were anything
but tangential. Everything they did had a plan and purpose. They were too sharp-witted
for normal elderly babbling.

“Sorry, dear.” His grandmother reached across the table
and patted his hand. “Anywho. We were wondering if you could take care of it
while we were gone.”

“During the festival week?” For a moment he was willing
to take back all his thoughts about these two women being incisive.

“I know it’s a no work week, but it would really mean a
lot to me to have it done. Then I can start my planting when I return.” Genma
took hold of his other hand.

Looking from one woman to the other, one black with a
short silver twist in her hair and the other white with wheat blonde locks cut
in a bob below her chin, as they gave him puppy dog eyes, Cord shook his head.
Pleading eyes from these two meant trouble.

Unable to refuse them anything, he nodded. “Fine. Fine.
I’ll take care of it. I wasn’t planning to do much around the festival anyway.”

“Fit it in when you can.” Genma patted him then moved
her hand away. “I’ll have lots of muffins inside for you. Heavy on the
honey-glaze, right?”

He cocked a smile at his grandmother’s best friend.
Genma knew him too well. “Yes, ma’am.”

Their job done, his grandmother slid from the bench
first, followed by Genma.

Needing to get back to work, he rose as well. After
tossing cash down on the table for the meal and tip, he escorted the two
scheming ladies out of the diner.

“Thanks again, dear. I knew I could count on you.”
Octavia stepped to him and kissed him on the cheek. She didn’t immediately step
away, but cupped his face, her gaze full of sincerity as she said, “Soon, life
will look up for you. I just know it will. Don’t fret.”

Staring into deep set, coal eyes that mirrored his own,
he took her words to heart. “If you say so, Nana, I believe it.”

Giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head, he turned
and left the two best friends on the sidewalk. Crossing the road he headed to
his truck wanting to get back to work. He’d had enough of the women in his life
for the rest of the afternoon.

Chapter
Three

“Grandma, I forgot how beautiful your home is.” Rena
closed the door to her grandmother’s wagon-style sedan. Taking a moment, she
looked around and just allowed herself to absorb the pure, crisp natural air.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just my little slice of heaven,
that’s all.” Her grandmother, still a statuesque woman for almost eighty, came
around the front of the car.

Turning, Rena smiled at her. “It’s more than that.”
Sliding her arm around her grandmother’s shoulder, she said, “I’m sorry I’ve
stayed away for so long.”

Wrapping her thin, but strong, arm around her waist,
her grandmother squeezed her tight. “Don’t be. Everything happens in its
timing.”

“True. I’m still ashamed that I let my mother’s wishes
keep me from yo—”

Swatting her on the hip, Genma stepped away. “Oh, pooh.
It’s not like I’m going to kick my toes up anytime soon.” Chuckling, she went
to the back hatch of the vehicle and opened it.

Shaking her head, Rena followed her to the rear of the
wagon, gravel shifting and grinding beneath her feet. “Grandma, you’re going to
hurt yourself. Get the smaller one. I can get the big suitcase.” She reached
out to claim the bag from her grandmother.

Rena was shooed to the side, as Genma walked past her
lugging a heavily packed bag as if it didn’t weigh more than a handful of
groceries.

Reaching in, Genma collected the smaller one in her
other hand. “You can barely carry yourself, let alone anything else.”

Her grandmother was right, Rena did feel weak. The
plane ride from coast to coast had practically done her in. During the two-hour
drive from the airport she had slept most of the way, missing all the tranquil
scenery. Still feeling queasy, she admired the woman before her with a slack
jaw.

“Close your mouth before you catch something.” Her
grandmother moved toward the house, never breaking stride.

Amazed, Rena lifted her jaw to seal her lips together.
She wondered how she could contact the people from the Guiness Book of World
Records and get Genma Berend added to it as the world’s strongest senior
citizen. Rena wondered if over the years, with her grandmother’s only child far
away and her husband passing away leaving Genma to take care of herself, if
that was the reason her grandmother was stronger and more capable than most
elderly. Rena wasn’t sure about the details surrounding her grandfather’s passing.
It was something else her mother had refused to talk about.

She never asked her grandmother about it because she
didn’t want to bring up something that was hurtful. 

Closing the hatch, Rena went to the house. “I can at
least unlock the front door for you.”

“No need. Why don’t you sit on the porch or something?
You have plenty of time to get this stuff unpacked and I’ll re-familiarize you
with the house when you’re ready.” Her grandmother set the cases down for a
moment to open the door then collected them and crossed her threshold. “I’ll
get us some warm tea.”

Country living
, Rena thought. In the city where
she lived, no one left their homes unlocked, even if they were just going five
minutes up the street. It made her wonder once again why her grandmother wanted
her here. It was apparent Genma wasn’t concerned about a stranger stealing
things from her, so it was doubtful Genma would be worried about someone she
knew and authorized to be at her house.

Pushing those thoughts away, she took her grandmother’s
advice and remained outdoors for a moment. The weather here was chillier than
in North Carolina. It was fall back at home, but there was only cause for a
light sweater at night.

Standing in the great outdoors, she felt too anxious or
uneasy to sit. She followed the wraparound porch to the back of the house. Her
feet halted at the breathtaking view.  Two hundred feet beyond her
grandmother’s porch was a magnificent lake. The thick trees surrounding the
single-level cabin-style home broke just enough for an unobstructed scene of
Nature’s majesty.

The thick redwoods created the perfect shade no matter
which way the sun was shining and the lush grass between the waterfront and the
house just made Rena want to take her shoes off and run. Run wild, free and uninhibited
by illness. She wanted to feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her face.

“Go on down there if you want to.”

Startled, Rena glanced over her shoulder at Genma.
“Grandma, I didn’t even hear you come out.”

Standing at the back door that led to the living room
with a tray filled with a porcelain kettle, two cups and what appeared to be a
small basket of muffins, her grandmother smiled at her. “You were too focused
on getting those shoes off to notice anything.”

“What?” Rena looked down and sure enough she had
somehow toed herself out of both her shoes. The charcoal grey, Mary Jane-style
flats lay skewed in front of her feet, one on top of the other. Laughing, she
said, “I didn’t even realize I was taking them off.”

“Well they’re off now, go on out there and feel the
grass between your toes. Dip your feet in the lake if you want to.” Her
grandmother moved to a small table between two rocking chairs and set the tray
down.

Glancing away from her grandmother, she squeezed the
rough banister beneath her fingers and stared at the sparkling water. “Won’t
the water be too cold this time of year?”

“For some maybe. But, it won’t hurt anything to swing
your feet in it. Probably do your constitution well.”

Looking back at her grandmother, she asked, “What about
the tea? You went to all that trouble to prepare it.”

“It will keep.” She settled into a rocking chair. “Go
on. Everything will be fine.”

Clutching the rail again, Rena had a picture flash in
her mind of when she was younger and the other local teens in the area would
leap over the banister—agile and free. However, that kind of antics was for
children and the healthy.
Not me. Not now.

Unable to resist the lure, she walked around the side
until she reached the steps that led from the kitchen to the yard. She noticed
a large area that appeared to be a substantial garden. Presently it was barren,
no fruits, flowers or vegetables could be seen. She knew her grandmother had
started gardening in the years since Rena and her mother had been gone.
Frequently, her grandmother would mail boxes of canned items to her after Rena
moved out of her mother’s house.

People in the city didn’t have gardens and Rena looked
forward to feeling better and helping her grandmother plant some things before
she returned to the East Coast. Maybe by the time her grandmother got back from
whatever trip she was taking.

Walking through the thick grass, she loved hearing the
rustling of the blades of grass caused by her steps and feeling the soft, cool
prickles too. Rushing to the water, she only had to break her stride a few
times because her stomach turned and knotted, but she refused to stop.

The planks of the dock were smooth and warm from the
fall sun as her feet slapped against them. Once she arrived at the end of the
dock, she sat and leaned against one of the two high beams there.

She closed her eyes, and tried to recall the summers
she’d spent right here. However, it was all fuzzy. For too many years her
mother wouldn’t allow her to talk about Den County, her grandmother or how much
she missed it. Lillian Hoodman was having none of that.

“Forget it, Rena. Just leave it alone. Wipe that place
from your memory.”

Over and over, for two years following their final
departure her mother would repeat the same words.

“I guess you got your wish, mom.” Rena opened her eyes,
and saw how the expansive lake narrowed downstream and took in the low
mountains in the horizon.
New memories
, she told herself.

Testing her grandmother’s theory, she lowered her feet
from the dock and first dipped her toes then sank to her ankles in the icy
water. It was cold, but refreshing in a way she could not understand.
Everything in her body began to settle some. The queasy feeling in the pit of
her stomach calmed several degrees as she just concentrated on the sensation of
the water around her feet and breathed.

When her toes began to feel numb, she pulled them out.

Not wanting to keep her grandmother waiting any longer,
Rena rose and followed her earlier path back to the house.

At the house, her grandmother had a towel tossed over
the back of the vacant rocker and a shawl beside it.
Did the woman think of
everything?