My Brother's Keeper(4)

"I don't think Keelan is the type of asshole that would begrudge you being happy because you have met up with an old friend," Meryn stated matter-of-factly.

Kendrick looked up and glanced around the table. Heads were nodding and he saw only smiles, not looks of disgust.

"Heika, your brother is simply sleeping. It is our duty to live our lives in such a way that we do not bring sadness to this home. When he wakes up, he will want to be told of glad tidings, not of how we blamed ourselves," Ryuu said kindly.

"So am I just supposed to pretend that nothing is wrong?"

"Be happy," the child responded.

"Exactly, Pumpkin Dumpling!" Rheia said, tickling the girl. She looked at him. "This is my daughter, Penny Carmichael. She's also no stranger to pain and loss. I became her mother after her parents were killed."

Kendrick looked at the small girl with her bright green eyes and brown curls. She reminded him of Amelia as a child. "So, just be happy?"

She nodded. "If I'm sad, Momma in heaven will be sad, too. So I'm happy."

Kendrick sat back and blinked. It was so simple, and because it was so simple, it was that profound. He couldn't change what had happened, and being sad wouldn't bring Keelan back. If he gave in to his anger and frustration and acted like a jerk, he would only end up hurting the ones that Keelan had given his life to protect.

"Okay little one, I'll try it your way, though I may need some help remembering to be happy," Kendrick said.

Penny nodded, her curls bouncing. "I'll help. I am a good helper; Papa says so. I even help train the men." She beamed proudly.

Kendrick raised an eyebrow at Aiden and then Colton. They just nodded and laughed.

Colton tickled his daughter until she squealed. "Though she cheats sometimes."

Kendrick turned to Amelia. "Reminds me of another little girl who used to torment unit warriors for fun."

She glared at him. "I didn't torment them."

Kendrick snorted. "If you didn't torment them, why did they nickname you the Little Terrorist?"

Darian turned quickly in his chair. "Ha! I didn't even have to call Caiden to figure out your nickname."

"Athair!" Amelia groaned.

Kendrick smirked and picked up his cup. He looked into it and turned to Ryuu.

"Cafe mocha, I remembered that you like sweet things," Ryuu replied.

Kendrick took a sip and practically shuddered. It was nectar in a cup disguised as coffee. "Gods in heaven!"

Meryn whimpered and pouted, her lower lip sticking out. "I want some."

"Denka, you know you can't have any caffeine," Ryuu gently reminded her.

"Can't she have chocolate?" Kendrick asked.

Ryuu shook his head. "No, she's off chocolate and coffee."

Kendrick winced in sympathy. He looked at Meryn. "I'm so very sorry."

"Finally someone who understands!" Meryn pointed in his direction.

Kendrick closed his eyes and took another sip and simply let it trickle down his throat. Sighing happily, he opened his eyes and looked at his old friend. "If I was slightly more attracted to men, I'd trade sexual favors for coffee like this every morning."

Around the table, the men began to choke. Kendrick hid a smile. He could tell a lot about a man in the moments when he reacted to discomfort. Kendrick looked around the table. Aiden and Colton, the two youngest, were blushing, yet their faces didn't show any judgement, just shock. Gavriel rolled his eyes and winked, acknowledging the test, and Darian grinned at him. Those two were the oldest among the four; of course they wouldn't be perturbed by casual references to homosexuality.

"What's sexual favors?" Penny asked.

Kendrick turned to the little girl. "Sexual favors are when--"

"Stop!" Amelia stood, her hands out in front of her. "No Athair. Just no. She's too young."

Kendrick frowned. Was she? "She can't be that much younger than you were when I explained human reproduction."

Amelia crossed her arms over her chest. "She isn't. And Caiden still hasn't forgiven you for telling me about the birds and the bees when I was seven."

"I don't understand; it's a natural part of life." Kendrick looked at Ryuu who shrugged. Okay, bad example of a person to look to in order to gauge normal human response. His eyes went to Meryn who looked equally confused. Yet another bad example of normal. Intrigued, he turned to Rheia. "Not appropriate?" he asked. Amelia sat down, shaking her head.

Rheia sighed and continued to thump Colton on the back as he choked on his breakfast. "She is a little young for that conversation, but I actually had been planning on explaining things soon anyway. She asked where the baby came from, and I refuse to tell her nonsense stories about a cabbage patch. She will learn the correct medical terms for our reproductive parts not silly baby names."

"No. She's too young," Colton protested when he could breathe.

Rheia eyed Colton. "Then you explain where our baby came from," she challenged.

"Challenge accepted," Colton growled. He turned to the small girl and lifted her into his lap. "Momma and Papa love each other very much. You know that right?"

Penny nodded.

"Well, one day, Papa couldn't hold in his love for Momma anymore, so he took her in his arms and kissed her so hard that his loved touched her heart and created a tiny seed. That seed floated down to Momma's tummy, and a baby started to grow in her belly."

Penny thought about it for a second. "So Papa loved Momma hard, gave her a seed, and made a baby?"

Beside Meryn, Gavriel choked on his coffee. Laughing, Meryn thumped him on the back.

Colton nodded. "Exactly."

"Oh Colton! You can't tell her that," Rheia said with a worried expression.

Penny turned to Colton. "Is that why you said you'd kill any boy who kisses me?"

"Yup. You're too little for kissing. You have to leave that to the grown-ups." Colton said nodding.

"When can I kiss boys?" she asked.

Colton thought about it for a long moment. He turned to Aiden, then Gavriel, then Darian. The men wore equally scary looking frowns. He looked down at his daughter. "When you find a boy who is stronger than your Athair." He pointed to Aiden. "Smarter than your Uncle Gavriel, more noble than your Uncle Darian, more loyal than your Papa, and kinder than your Uncle Keelan. When you find a boy like that, then you introduce him to us, and we'll let you know if it's okay to kiss him," Colton replied.

"Okay Papa. I think I know who." Penny kissed his cheek and hopped down. "I'm going to go color now before Grandma gets here." She skipped out of the room.

"Wait! Who?" Colton's eyes looked wild.

Rheia patted him on the arm. "She will grow up eventually."

Colton slumped backward. "No, she's not allowed. Ever."

Rheia rolled her eyes. "Cavemen, y'all are a bunch of cavemen."

Kendrick ignored Colton's brooding and smiled at the blonde next to Gavriel. "I don't think we've been introduced."

"I knew you'd get around to asking. My name is Elizabeth Monroe, I'm a lepus curpaeums..."

Kendrick smiled. "You're a bunny. There aren't too many bunny shifters left, I'd love to see you shift later."

Gavriel growled at him, his eyes turning red and Elizabeth laughed.

"What?" Kendrick asked.

"You will not see my mate naked."

"Who said anything about being naked? I just want to see the actual shift from human to bunny. Most shifters I meet weigh at least as much as their human selves in animal form. This is a rare situation where the human form weighs considerably more. I've been working on a hypothesis about where the extra mass goes," Kendrick explained.

Gavriel blinked, his eyes returning to their normal grey color. "You know, I never even thought about that."

"I don't mind shifting, but it will have to be much later. I'm in the middle of a nationwide multi-race census, so I don't have time to experiment," Beth offered.

Kendrick waved his hand. "Any time you have free."

Beth looked between him and Meryn. "Guess I'm Bunny for life." She sighed.

"What does she mean?" Kendrick asked.

Meryn grinned. "That's what I call her." She looked down at her phone. "On that note, I better head to the office. My minions await."

"Minions?"

"Jaxon Darrow and Noah Calloway. They're learning about programming languages and computer science to assist the units. We don't use nearly enough technology."

Kendrick held up a hand. "Before you go, I just have one question..." He took another sip of coffee. "How long has Lycaonia been covered with the stench of black magic?"

Everyone stared at him in shock. Aiden finally shook his head. "What do you mean, covered in black magic? The city is as it has always been. We don't deal in black magic in Lycaonia."

Kendrick sat back. "Someone has. There's a fine layer of black magic grime everywhere. I noticed it the second I entered the city's boundaries."

Aiden turned to Ryuu. "Is that true?"

Ryuu nodded slowly. "If Heika says that the city is coated in black magic, then it is coated in black magic. I am unable to tell the difference between white magic and black magic, so I can not see what he does."

"Great, just great! What next?" Aiden dropped his fork on his plate.

Kendrick, Meryn, and Ryuu winced. Asking a question like that invited more bad things to happen. Sometimes, higher powers had a twisted sense of humor.