Born to Be Badger (Honey Badger Chronicles #5)

“I was pissed she would put the upcoming championship at risk.” Mads felt the need to point out, ignoring Tock’s enormous eye roll. “But other than that . . . I’m fine.”

“I,” Streep announced, hand pressed to her chest, “was very concerned about Tock. I kept thinking, Is she safe? Is she alive?” Tears began to fall. “What if we’d lost her forever?” She wiped her face with the back of her other hand. “We are all friends and Tock means the world to us. We can’t lose her! Not like this!”

Charlie gazed at a sobbing Streep for several seconds before telling her, “You know you gave me almost the exact same speech that time we couldn’t find Max, right?”

Looking up, Streep said, “Sorry?”

“Remember? You guys were in tenth grade, and I was worried that she’d either been kidnapped by that drug dealer trying to kill Dad or she’d decided to track down the drug dealer and kill him herself. Turned out she was just with her boyfriend, but you guys were covering for her. And that’s when you gave that speech. That speech you just gave. Tears came in at the same time, too.”

“Oh.” She sat up straight, tears now gone, and sniffed. “Well . . . in answer to your question,” she replied calmly, “yes. I’m fine.”

They all looked at Nelle, but she was texting on her phone. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said, waving with one hand before going back to her texting, “Devastation. Tragedy. Blah blah blah. Glad she’s alive.”

Max handed Charlie her phone back. “Maybe badgers and wolverines should have their own team-managing handbook.” She sat down in her chair and pointed at Charlie’s phone. “Because if they suggest forced frivolity and team-building exercises that involve trust falls”—she shook her head—“that information is not for us.”

*

Shay followed Keane into the house; Finn came behind him with Dani “helping” her Uncle Finn to carry in the crate with all the puppies.

“Where do you want it?” Finn asked.

He shrugged. “Out back, I guess.”

“Oh . . . Daddy.”

Shay faced his daughter. “What did I do now?”

“Outside? In the harsh elements?”

“Harsh elements? It’s summer.”

“And their dog houses are air conditioned,” Finn added. “Much to my disgust.”

“Princess and the puppies will go in my room,” Dani informed them with a superiority only found in tiger and lion cubs. “She’ll need blankets and space so Princess can care for the puppies.”

“Or,” Keane said, “we can just put her back outside where she was doing a great job of being a dog mom.”

Dani’s silent glare was so intense, Keane turned around and walked away. Dani was a naturally sweet girl, but like any cat, she had a temper.

“Is putting them in your room necessary?” Shay asked. He wasn’t put off by his daughter’s glares. That was why she rarely bothered to level them at him.

“It’s the cleanest room in the house because I make sure it’s the cleanest.”

“The house isn’t dirty.”

“But you could eat off my floor if you were so inclined.”

“If I was so inclined?” Shay said with a laugh.

“And,” his daughter went on, lifting her arm high, her hand holding the tome that Charlie had given her so Shay couldn’t avoid seeing it, “according to the book, at this age, the puppies need to be fed every three to four hours. And they need warmth. And their mother needs to lick them to help with their”—she stopped short and looked around at her two uncles and Shay before whispering—“bodily functions.”

“Ew,” Keane said, lip curling in disgust.

“Cats do the same thing,” Finn argued.

“Ewwwww.”

“Not shifter cats, you idiot. Cat cats. We, shifters, are born human . . . and like most humans, we start pooping and peeing on our own, I guess. Wait . . . do we?”

“So they’re going to be in your room, peeing and pooping all over the place?” Keane asked. “And you want that?”

“I want them to be safe and healthy and confident in their surroundings. Not outside with two big male dogs and all sorts of other animals running around, scaring them. And you’re not going to get in my way, Uncle Mean.”

“Uncle Mean, huh?” Keane demanded, picking up a squealing and laughing Dani. “Let me show you how mean I am!” he said, tossing Shay’s daughter in the air.

He loved watching his older brother with Dani. It was one of the only times the man ever smiled or laughed. Not since their dad had died . . . well. Yeah. That horrible day, when they’d gotten the news, they’d all changed. Everything had changed. Only when he was with Dani or Nat did Keane remind Shay of the brother he used to be.

Shay’s new phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. As soon as he saw his daughter’s mother was calling, he said to Keane, “Put her down. And you”—he pointed at Dani—“get your room set up so Princess and the pups can relax. They had a big day.”

“According to the book, Daddy, you shouldn’t have taken the puppies or Princess out of the house. They’re not vaccinated yet and—”

“Can you chastise me about all the things I did wrong later, baby?”

“Okay.”

Shay waited until Dani led Finn and Princess up the stairs to her room.

Once his daughter was gone, he walked outside and called her mother back.

“Hi, Chu,” he said as he leaned his ass against the front of the SUV, facing away from the house so he could have some privacy.

“Hey, Shay. How’s it going? How’s life?”

Shay immediately rolled his eyes. He always knew Chu was up to something when she started out asking him how he was doing, because she really didn’t care how anyone was doing. A true tigress, Chu didn’t bother with memories of good times or arguments over . . . well . . . anything. She didn’t even worry about child support. Instead, they’d equitably worked it out so Shay paid for Dani’s private school education and future college tuition and let the kid stay with him and his family anytime Chu wanted her to, which was way more than one would think.

Honestly, he’d be fine with Dani living with him full time, but she loved her mother, and he didn’t want her to ever feel she had to choose. Because she didn’t. Not when he understood Dani’s mother the same way he understood Keane. At the end of the day, the pair of them only cared about two things: grudges and football.

“What’s going on, Chu? What do you need?”

“Would it be okay if Dani stays with you for a little bit?”

“Why? What are you doing?”

“I . . . uh . . . I have a boyfriend and we’re going to go to a hotel and bone for a few days.”

Shay sighed. “Chu, don’t lie to me.”

“Fine! I was with the boys at their two-week football training camp, and I was showing the coach some moves he hadn’t seen before—”

“Because they’re full-human and haven’t seen anything that shifter football has to offer.”

“Whatever. I promised I’d stay and help out as a team mom. But not if Dani can’t stay with you—”

“Of course she can stay with me.”

“Are you sure? Because if it’s going to be a big deal—”

“My daughter staying with me is never a big deal.”

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