Page 80 of Bear’s House

The morning was quiet the way it always was after something loud. Through the bedroom window, the four carved pumpkins sat on the front step in a line, already starting to soften at the edges after Halloween, their little battery lights switched off.

I stood at the foot of the bed and waited. Three bedrooms, three boys who knew we still had something to talk about.

"Boys." My voice carried. Not loud. Didn't need to be. "Master bedroom. Now."

I heard the shuffle. The creak of floorboards, the soft padding of bare feet. They'd been expecting this.

They filed in one by one. JJ first, his blond hair sleep-mussed and his blue eyes already wide, his bottom lip pushing out into a pout he probably didn't even know he was making. He was in a ratty T-shirt and white briefs. Behind him came Mikey, smaller, quieter, green eyes nervous even though I'd already told him the night before that he wasn't in trouble. He'd slept in a T-shirt and briefs, his arms folded loosely over his chest. Last came Sawyer, broad-shouldered and serious, his brown eyes fixed on me with that look he got whenever he was preparing himself to take responsibility for something whether it belonged to him or not.

They stopped in front of me.

"Sit," I said. Mikey immediately climbed onto the edge of the bed. Sawyer sat beside him.

JJ started to follow.

"Not you, baby."

He froze. His eyes flicked toward his brothers. Then back to me.

"Kneel."

His expression changed. He knelt on the hardwood in front of me. Mikey's brow furrowed. Sawyer looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet. I let the silence settle.

"What happened yesterday was serious," I said. "And we're going to finish talking about it now."

JJ looked down. I turned toward Mikey first.

"You are not being punished. You did nothing wrong. You knew JJ wanted to help Max. You did not know how the night would unfold, you did not pressure Max, and when everything went wrong, you cared about him."

Mikey nodded slowly.

"I know you still feel bad," I continued. "Feeling bad because somebody you care about got scared is not the same as being guilty."

"Okay, Daddy,” he said, always obedient.

"Good boy."

Then I looked at Sawyer. "You aren't being punished either."

"I should've—"

"No. We already discussed this."

"I know." Sawyer swallowed. "I still feel like I should've caught it earlier."

"That's a feeling. Not a responsibility."

His gaze dropped. "You do not have to prevent every mistake JJ makes in order to be a good big brother."

From the floor, JJ muttered:

"That sounds impossible anyway."

Sawyer's mouth twitched. I looked down. JJ immediately straightened.

"Sorry."

"Mm-hm."