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“Mr. Blackbourne,” North uttered. He’d heard enough. He was crazy! It could never work. Could he ever share her with all of them? Did he love her so much that he could look the other way if he ever saw her kissing Kota? Or Silas? He didn’t mind her sitting in their laps. He had thought once maybe he should have, but he didn’t know how he felt about her and she was so scared all the time, that he didn’t care who she sat with. If he couldn’t be there for her, he was glad Luke or Nathan or the others held on to her.
But kissing her? Or saying they loved her? Going that far?
Henry had been right. It was impossible.
He didn’t even know if she loved him back yet.
Henry laughed. “I think you should wait to find out if your team can handle this or not. Until then, you really shouldn’t lead her on. I mean, don’t be unfriendly to her. Try to win her over and do nice things with her. Just don’t take it too far. I think the best way is to get her to admit she loves you first. Then you know.”
That sounded familiar, too.
Mr. Blackbourne tilted his head back. “So we tell each team member that the only way to keep our bird with us would be if everyone loves her. But we only tell them this when we’re sure that person has fallen for her.”
“Right. It has to be all or nothing. Not unless you want to tear your group apart. I would make it a vote. When you figure out you love her and are willing to sacrifice exclusivity you should put that vote in. When all votes are accounted for, when you all agree you can share her, then swoop in on her and show her you love her. Well maybe not all at once. Do it gentle.”
“And we have to approach the Academy managers with this information?”
“You tell them you all love her, and have to prove it, and that she loves you. Then ask to bring her into your group. If you try to do it before, and sometimes even after, other groups are going to get curious and come check her out. And believe me when I say when other dog groups hear about this, they’re going to want to talk to her, to sniff her out and try to bribe her away.”
“She wouldn’t leave us,” North said.
“You better make sure before you set your heart on it.” Henry tucked an arm across the back of the couch. “How many is in your group anyway?”
“Nine,” Mr. Blackbourne said.
Henry’s eyes widened and he nearly choked. “You’re shitting me. Nine? And one bird? I thought you had three, maybe four or five. Nine?” He shook his head. “No. You guys are crazy. This will never work for you.”
“What we needed to know was how,” Mr. Blackbourne said, standing. “You’ve been very helpful. Could we call you with follow-up questions?”
“Hell, yeah. If you actually try, I want to hear about it. Don’t come back crying when it doesn’t work out though. I’ve warned you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson.” He stepped forward, his hand out. “I hope we haven’t disturbed you and your family too much this evening.”
“Always a pleasure to gain a favor from such a capable dog pack.” Henry shook his hand back. “Good luck with her. I mean it.”
“Are you happy?” North asked. He hadn’t meant to ask this. Maybe Mr. Blackbourne’s interest was catching. Now that the shock was over, North was curious, too. “Are you satisfied sharing her?”
A quiet smile dropped across Mr. Anderson’s face and North thought it was the most sincere look he’d given all night. “Son, I’ll tell you this now, and I mean every word of it. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. I would do it all again for her. And them. They’re happy, too. I didn’t think I would be. I thought for sure ... but it can work if you want it to. And when it does, it’s beautiful.”
North’s resistance started to taper off into a simmer. Could it be so simple? And so impossible? The way to keep a bird in the family was for everyone to fall in love with her. And there were nine of them. No, that was stupid. He’d have to keep her out of the Academy. He’d find another way.
Or maybe they’d become a couple team. The Academy didn’t care for that as much, but if it was the only choice he had ... but could he leave the team he loved? The one he swore on his own life to stand by forever with? What did his promise mean if he couldn’t keep the one to his own family? Could he leave his brother for Sang?
On the ride home, North stared off into the dark, afraid to look at his phone, afraid to think of her face like he usually did. A barrier had inserted itself there, masking his mind and heart. Could he allow her to be shared like that? Would she even want it? Their group was special. No one would really understand. They’d been through a lot. Like war buddies. More than that, because the wars they fought weren’t some nameless people out in the middle of a desert or jungle. They were their own siblings, fathers and mothers. Like Sang and her parents. They protected each other from relatives not fit enough for the loyalty they gave each other.
And they'd been trying to bring Sang into that. He realized that was his first mistake. It was Kota’s actually. He’d introduced Sang to all of them, somewhat on accident. North had been sure Kota would have asked them to back off, claiming her as his girlfriend. Or someone would. She was too perfect.
Oh god, he was thinking about her. He was seeing her face now. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to tear open his head and rip the image from his mind for a couple of hours of peace, so he could figure out how he really felt about this.
“North,” Mr. Blackbourne said next to him, driving closer to home. “We need to call a family meeting.”
“I don’t think we should.”
Mr. Blackbourne lifted an eyebrow. “Are you saying now that you know you love her that you’re unwilling to share? Or have you given up on that?”
North grumbled. “Are you saying you’re considering it?” He hid a small smile, happy that for once he was throwing some of his own psychological bullshit back at him.
Mr. Blackbourne was quiet for so long that North thought perhaps he wasn’t going to answer. Mr. Blackbourne shuffled into his pocket, retrieving his phone. He flicked at it while he drove. He selected a picture, holding it up and showing it to North.
North gazed at the image of Sang, smiling as she was wedged against Nathan. Mr. Blackbourne slid to the next picture, showing Kota and Sang together. The next was the one Silas and North had taken, with Sang looking incredibly happy as the two of them pretended to kiss her cheeks at the same time.
As happy as North had ever seen her. It was the way she looked when they were around lately. It was what drove him to finish his work early when he could, just to be back by her side, if she let him.
“I believe it’s already happening,” Mr.
Blackbourne said, surprising North. “And as far as sharing her, as far as what Mr. Anderson said about no other team being able to do it ... I’m more than sure we could.”
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READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT BOOK IN THE ACADEMY SERIES
The Academy
Drop of Doubt
Year One
Book Five
Coming January 2014
by C. L. Stone
UNDER THREAT
OF A BIRTHDAY
My phone buzzed to life in my bra.
My head shot up from the English text book we were supposed to be reading. Kota had his head bent over his desk in front of me and didn’t appear to notice. I was afraid to glance at Gabriel in case I was going to distract him. I wasn’t sure what Luke was doing behind me but since he wasn’t messing with my hair and he hadn’t nudged me in a while, he must actually be reading, or maybe he was wrapped up in another day dream.
I didn’t like having my phone out in class, but the only people who had my number were Academy guys. They wouldn’t send a text during class unless it was an emergency.
I slipped the phone out of the cup of my bra and used Kota’s back as a shield just in case I drew attention from Ms. Johnson, the English teacher.
Victor: Isn’t your birthday this week? What do you want for your birthday?
My mouth fell open. Victor! That wasn’t an emergency.
I was tempted not to answer him. I checked the date on the phone. He was right. My birthday was in a few days. I hadn’t noticed. It was also not important right now.
My fingers hovered over the illuminated keyboard. It was hard not to respond back. It felt rude. I simply didn’t know what to say.
