Bear set the bag down then reached up and pulled Ellie’s lip free of her teeth, rubbing his finger along it. “About fifteen cans of fruit and beans. Some bags of rice. Non-perishable stuff.”
“I’m sure she has a good explanation, Clint,” Ellie told him. “You won’t fire her, will you? I’ll pay for it all.”
He let out an exasperated noise. “I’m not going to fire her, Ellie. And you’re not paying for anything. I just wish I could figure out why.”
“My aunt and uncle used to foster kids,” Bear said suddenly.
Clint wasn’t annoyed by what seemed to be a change in topic. When Bear said something, he usually had a point.
“One of the kids, boy named Mason, used to hide food under his bed. Used to drive my aunt nuts, though she never got mad at him. She always made sure there was plenty of food for him to eat at mealtimes and snacks in between. Used to always tell him that he could snack whenever he wanted. After a few months, he slowly stopped hoarding.”
“Did they ever find out why he did it?”
“Yeah. His mother was a druggie. Always forgot to do the grocery shopping. He got fed at school, but there was often nothing when he got home. Every so often, she’d get her act together and buy some food. But not that often. He was skinny as a rake when he came to live with my aunt and uncle.”
“So even though he moved in with your aunt and uncle, where there was plenty of food, he still worried it might disappear?” Ellie asked.
Bear shrugged. “Yeah. He learned early on that to survive that’s what he had to do.”
Was that it? Had her childhood been similar to this Mason’s? He wondered how long she’d been doing this. His gut churned at the thought of her as a child, of her not having enough to eat.
“It doesn’t seem like she’s been eating any of it.”
“I feel so terrible that I didn’t realize there was something like this going on,” Ellie said sadly.
Bear hugged her against him.
Clint reached out and tipped up her chin, staring down into her eyes. “Hey, now, it’s not your fault. Understand me? If anyone is at fault, it’s me for not looking after her properly. But that’s all changed now. I can assure you that I’m going to take care of her from now on.”
Relief filled her face.
“I’ll talk to her about this hoarding stuff when she feels better and I have no intention of firing her over it. All right?”
She nodded. “And will you talk to Allan, too? Because I don’t think he’s being very nice to her.”
“Yes, I plan to,” he said in a dark voice. Obviously, Ellie didn’t know everything that had happened earlier. “Now, I get why Charlotte didn’t come to me about her problems, she doesn’t trust me.” Yet. “But you know you could have come and talked to me if she was having trouble with Allan, don’t you?”
Ellie looked guilty. He wasn’t truly upset with her. But she needed to know she could come to him about things.
“We’ll be having a talk about that later,” Bear said in his deep voice.
Ellie’s cheeks flushed red and she glanced up at Bear. ?
?I’m sorry.”
Bear snorted. “Well, that’s good. We’re still going to have a talk. Keeping things from me isn’t allowed, is it?”
“No, Daddy. Sorry, Clint.”
“That’s all right,” he soothed, knowing she had to be rattled if she was calling Bear Daddy in front of him. “I just hope I can get Charlotte to open up to me about what’s going on. Thanks for bringing her stuff. I’ll let you know when she’s ready for visitors.”
Bear nodded. “You know she’s welcome to come stay with us. Ellie and I will take care of her.”
He scowled. What the hell? “You don’t have room for her.”
“We’ll make room.”
Ellie looked back and forth between the two men.