Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,151

despite the cubs’ traumatizing ordeal. They stopped for burgers on the way back and Jessie could only chuckle and shake her head as the kids were immediately transfixed by french fries and milkshakes as if everything must be fine now because there was ice cream. Kids were deceptively strong she supposed, and most especially bear cubs. But that was why you had to be so careful with them.

“We’re okay now,” Cody said to her as she poked at her onion rings. “I swear, we’re okay now.”

Jessie wasn’t inclined to completely believe that yet until things were cleared up with the other elders and they all agreed that cubs would be better with her. And why would they do that, when she and the Strausses had just taken out most of the sleuth?

“We have those two elders on our side though,” Connor told her when she expressed her concerns. By then, they were driving up to the lodge and Jessie’s heart was pounding in anticipation, worrying about what came next. “Those elders really put themselves on the line. If we go down, they have to go down with us and the others aren’t going to like that. The others will fall in line. They just have to be convinced.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jessie said, and held both twins a little tighter in her arms.

Back at the lodge, they all attracted some attention. Nobody was too badly injured, Connor had taken the worst hits but insisted he would heal quickly, but they were all a bit beaten up and scratched and in no shape to get back to work right away even if they didn’t have this business with the elders to attend to.

Jessie saw the elders as she lingered near the dining room with the kids. Cody told them they’d go up to his suite. For once, the kids would be treated to some luxury. Jessie held one twin on her hip, the other at her side, grasping her hand. In the dining room, the elders got to their feet, already yelling as Connor approached in his bloodied shirt with the other two elders in tow.

“C’mon,” Cody said in her ear. He patted her shoulder. “Connor will take care of this. I promise. Let’s go up to my place. Rest up.”

It didn’t even take very long before Connor had apparently taken care of it.

Cody was exhausted but he couldn’t seem to sit still. He took Jessie and the kids up to his suite and just as quickly drove up to the cabin to pick up clothes and Sophie’s pull-ups and wipes and anything else they might need.

The kids were hyper. Jessie was on the verge of falling asleep on her feet but she made a pot of coffee and rallied as the kids bounced off the walls of Cody’s place, absolutely bewitched by all the luxury. Molly, who could often be shy, kept begging to get more crushed ice from the machine, she was so fascinated with it, until Jessie told her she didn’t need to ask for permission and handed her a bucket.

Jessie made Jason and Chris take baths first and they left the bathroom in a mess, though later Cody laughed at the very idea that he might care, and then Jessie bathed the little ones. The cubs had cable and internet on a big TV and there was room service happy to bring more french fries right to their door. They were exuberant and they worked themselves into a frenzy that Jessie could not stop but eventually just observed while slumped on the couch. But eventually, they tired themselves out and all fell asleep in a heap on Cody’s big bed.

Jessie didn’t mean to fall asleep on the couch, but she woke up late that night under a fluffy throw blanket, Cody on the other end of the couch with her socked feet in his lap as he read something on his iPad. She poked his knee, yawning and rolling over on her back.

“How long have I been asleep?” She murmured.

“A few hours. You missed all the excitement.” He patted her feet. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Couple of the hold-out elders came by to talk to the cubs-”

“What?” Jessie sat up with a start, her heart already racing and Cody shushed her.

“Whoa, sorry. It’s okay, it’s all good. They just wanted to talk to Molly and Chris, get an idea of their history from them which they should’ve done in the first place. So Molly and Chris start talking about being