Gods, Elayne had been furious with him when he came back from an outing with Lizzy and had that bear instead of the doll Elayne had said would be a suitable toy. But Lizzy hadn’t wanted a doll. She’d focused on that furry brown bear, pulling it off a shelf she could barely reach and holding on so fiercely he’d had the choice of taking the bear or leaving the child.
The dolls were dutifully played with when Elayne insisted Lizzy play with something that looked human, but it was Boo Bear, her bestest friend, who went everywhere with the girl.
Apparently that was still true, despite Elayne’s infatuation with Nicholas Scratch and his damn HFL movement.
Meg looked toward the archway. “Lizzy,” she said as she pointed.
Lizzy turned and saw him. “Daddy!” She scrambled out of her chair and ran to him, dumping Boo Bear on the floor.
Monty dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her.
“Lizzy.” He kissed her cheek, her forehead. “Lizzy girl. You okay, baby?”
“We’re okay. We were on the train, and there was a bad man, and the Wolf police scared him away!”
Monty looked up at Nathan. “Thank you.”
The Wolf shrugged. “Should have . . .” He glanced at the girl and stopped.
“Nathan’s teeth got really big,” Lizzy said. “I saw them!”
One of the Wolves behind him sighed.
“Lizzy, where’s your mother?” Monty asked.
Her eyes held a blend of guilt and fear, an expression he knew well. She looked that way anytime something happened because she’d been doing something she’d been told not to do. Lizzy understood that actions had consequences. She just didn’t want to believe that applied to her. Of course, his transfer, and the disruption in all their lives, was a powerful example of actions and consequences. “Lizzy?”
“Mommy got hurt. She said I needed to be a big girl and go on the train by myself. Me and Boo Bear.”
Hurt could mean a lot of things to a child. “Where did she get hurt?”
Lizzy placed a hand over her belly.
“No!” Meg shouted.
Monty looked up. Lizzy turned and yelled, “Bad dog!” and ran toward the table just as Skippy grabbed one of Boo Bear’s stubby front legs and tried to run off with the prize.
“I’ll get him!” Sam said. He pushed down his shorts, yanked the T-shirt over his head, shifted into Wolf form, and rushed at Skippy, chasing the juvenile Wolf in and around the tables, both of them banging into chairs.
Lizzy ran back to the table, grabbed the last bite of her sandwich, and threw it at Skippy, distracting him just long enough for Sam to get his teeth into one of Boo Bear’s back legs.
The fierce game of tug only lasted a few seconds before seams split and Skippy darted under a table with a fuzzy front leg. Sam dropped the torn back leg, grabbed the rest of the bear, and brought it back to the table. He dropped it at Lizzy’s feet before shifting to the form of a naked, grinning boy who was so obviously pleased with himself.
No one spoke. Getting to his feet, Monty felt laughter bubble up at the absurdity along with a father’s panic. Lizzy wasn’t wailing about Boo Bear being in pieces—yet—but that was probably because she was getting her first good look at a naked boy. Sam didn’t look that much older than Lizzy, and he wasn’t doing anything, but still. Naked boy.
Simon pushed into A Little Bite, followed by Nathan.