by Amy Star
“Always,” Eli said, grateful that he had more than just the guestroom that Ava had slept in. He’d left that room untouched. It was too hard to go in there, and he’d asked Bonnie to let him be the one to clean it out. It was a mistake on his part, but he knew that he had to do it to heal.
“Good, cause there’s going to be a full house.”
Eli was surprised to see a slender, leggy woman with dark skin and short hair that fell in perfect corkscrews around her face emerge from the truck right behind Gideon. Eli smiled, happy to see his friend with a woman, even if he wasn’t expecting to be the third wheel in his own house.
Then Gideon leaned into the truck and held his hand out. Eli couldn’t see more than shadows through the heavy tint on the window. But when she finally stepped out of the vehicle, the sight of her knocked the wind clean out of his body.
“Ava?” She smiled weakly, the corners of her mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. She was nervous, and he couldn’t believe she was here. He looked to his friend. “I thought you went on a mission.”
“I did. My mission was to fix this.” He pointed to Ava and back at Eli.
“And your friend?”
Gideon smirked, and the woman stepped forward, thrusting her hand out boldly. “I’m Zoey, Ava’s best friend and the only reason she’s willing to give you a second chance.”
“Zoey,” Ava hissed under her breath, but Zoey was undeterred.
“I hear you’re planning on building me a guesthouse.”
Eli stared at her, incredulous, and completely overwhelmed. Ava was there, and she’d brought her best friend. And if what Zoey said was any indication- Eli sucked in a deep breath and looked at Ava. “Are you?”
She nodded. “I told you I would give it a month. We only lasted twenty-seven days. The way I see it, I owe you at least four more days to see if this can work.” A little laugh bubbled out of her, and she took a step forward, then another, until she was toe-to-toe with him, her hazel eyes staring into his. “If you want me to go, I will.”
“I don’t want you to leave ever again,” he said. “Ava, I’m sorry for keeping things from you. I wasn’t sure you were ready, and by the time I was ready to tell you, it was too late. I can never adequately express how awful I feel for everything that happened. If you can just-”
She flung herself into his arms, kissing him passionately and cutting off his thoughts. He held her in his arms, his tongue finding its way into her hot mouth when she opened to him. She tasted like heaven, and he never wanted to let her go. When he did, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest. Kissing the top of her head, he fought back the emotions that threatened to consume him. But unlike that past few weeks, this time, he felt nothing but happiness. Ava was home, and his family was with him once again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Eli’s warm hand covered hers, chasing away the chill of the late evening as they walked down the gravel path that led to the barn. Feeding the horses was about the only time they’d had alone in the week Ava had been home, but Eli had found a crew that could build a small two-bedroom cabin for Zoey before the first freeze.
“They build it in their shop and bring it here to assemble,” Eli explained. “Since they’re not framing it up and doing everything from scratch here, it’s goes much faster. The concrete slab they poured will be ready in a few days, and I’m told once that happens, the cabin will be done so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Ava shook her head, clearly in awe. “That’s amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it, but better yet, I’m glad to see Zoey so excited about it. I was a little worried that a place like this would be a little too remote.”
“Are you kidding? I thought she was going to die of happiness when you told her that she could choose the site.”
Eli smiled and nodded. “I’m glad I asked her, because I was planning on putting it close so she didn’t feel like we were trying to keep her out of our hair.”
“She chose the spot because she can look out from every side and see nothing but forest and the spring that runs through the property.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
Ava squeezed his hand. “I am happy. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have her here.”
“I know that a place isn’t a home without Zoey.”
“Or without you,” she said quietly. “I know this is going to sound silly, but my house felt weird when I went back to Omaha. It looked like my house, but it didn’t feel the same. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
He put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head affectionately. She was silent, but he waited for her to speak instead of pressuring her. His patience was one of the many things that she loved about him.
“You said no secrets, right?”
“I did.”
“Okay, so is it true, then? There are no bears indigenous to this region?”
“No wild bears,” he laughed. “Well, except little Martin. He gets wild now and then. But I promise you that every bear on this mountain is one of us.”
“Martin is a little wild,” she said with a smile. “I guess I should get used to it.”
“There is a lot you’re going to learn, mothering a werebear cub. But most of the growing pains will be handled at the school, so you don’t have too much to worry about.”
“They learn everything there?”
“Standard academics, plus everything they need to know to live among humans peacefully.”
She sighed. “That’s a relief. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to help out with all that other stuff.”
“I’ll be there,” he said.
“I know that. That’s why I’m here.” She stopped, turning in his arms to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek. “I’m so glad I came back.”
She could see in his eyes that he was just as glad.
“I’ll never keep anything from you again,” he pledged.
She smiled. “Speaking of not keeping secrets, I have something I haven’t shared with you yet.”
“What’s that?”
She pulled a folded paper out of her pocket. “I have a glossy copy of it so we can frame it, but I went to the doctor right before I left Omaha, and I hope you didn’t want it to be a surprise.”
She handed the paper to him and watched his face as it spread into a slow smile. “A son?” he said in awe. “I’m going to have a son.”
He gathered her into his arms and spun her in a circle before putting her back down on the ground.
“I wanted to tell you first, but it was hard to get you alone. Zoey doesn’t even know yet.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“I wanted it to be something special, just for us. Everyone else can find out when he comes.”
“Have you thought about a name?”
“I have. Unless you have a family name?”
“I don’t,” Eli said. “And I’m not interested in a Junior.”
“I was thinking about Logan.”
Eli’s eyes widened a bit, then he collected himself. “Why?”
“Well, when I first met you, you were undercover as Logan.”
“But I told you my real name.”
“You did, but you picked Logan for a reason, right?”
“I just always liked the name,” he admitted. “But finding out my alias almost cost us everything.”
“Not really, if you think about it.”
He looked dumbstruck. “I don’t think I understand.”
“If you hadn’t forgotten your wallet, and I hadn’t found it and bought that plane ticket, you never would’ve gotten the call from the credit card and come to my rescue when you did. It would’ve been hours later before you came home and discovered me missing, and I would have been in serious trouble by then.”
The words sunk in and a slow smile spread across his face. “Alright, I see where you’re coming from. But are you sure?”
; “I am. It will be an amazing story to tell him someday.”
“Okay, Logan it is,” Eli said, hugging her again and looking into her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”
“Me too, I just don’t know if I can wait another three and a half months. It’s like an eternity.”
“About that,” Eli said, turning so they were face to face. “Werebabies gestate faster than human babies.”
“How much faster?”
“About twice as fast.”
“Does that mean?”
He nodded. “Clara said you should be ready soon, no more than two weeks, if that.”
“Oh man, that’s not good,” Ava said.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to take a walk to relieve my Braxton Hicks contractions, but they’re not getting better.”
“You mean?”
She nodded, biting her lips. “I’ve been having light contractions for about an hour, I just thought they were the false ones.”
Eli looked panicked, but his voice was calm when he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Call Clara and bring the truck up to the barn,” he said. “It’s time.”
The spacious room in Clara’s home behind the diner was set up just like a hospital room, with all the monitors and hardware that Ava would’ve expected in a delivery room. Clara had given her something for the pain, and she’d been pushing with Zoey on one side and Eli on the other. Gideon had left as soon as he dropped them off, preferring to tend to the cattle instead. Eli had laughed at him, but a strong contraction had ripped through Ava then, and she’d squeezed his hand so hard that his face had paled. Now that Clara had given her something to take the edge off the pain, she was squeezing his and Zoey’s hands with more reasonable force, waiting for Clara to instruct her.
Clara smiled at Ava, her face so warm and maternal that Ava felt nothing but peace. Clara had everything under control. “Alright, sweetie. One more big push and you’re done. On my count.”
Ava bore down with everything she had when Clara told her to, and then there was silence as the adults in the room held their breath and waited. Logan’s earsplitting cry filled the room, and a sob of pure joy escaped Ava’s lips.
Clara’s daughter took the infant out for a moment, then returned with the baby in a warm blanket, cleaned up and ready to meet his parents.
Eli took him from her and walked the short distance to Ava’s bed with the infant cradled tightly against his chest. He fussed, but when Eli slid him into Ava’s arms and Ava held him to her bare skin, he stopped crying and nuzzled against her.
Zoey and Ava looked at each other. Ava’s smile was wide as she looked down at her son. Her son. He looked up at her, staring into her eyes as if he could see straight into her soul. Then he smiled.
“He already knows you,” Eli said, leaning down to kiss Ava on the cheek, then kissing the cottony hair atop the baby’s head. “He’s perfect, just like his mother.”
Clara watched them for a moment, then she smiled and stood up. “I’ll leave you alone so your family can bond,” she said as she stood, but Ava shook her head.
“You’re family now,” she said to Clara. “All of you. I can’t do this without you, please stay.”
She held the infant out to older woman. Clara scooped him up, inhaling the sweet scent. “You never forget how this feels,” she said. “I haven’t had a newborn in decades, and I still remember every moment of their first hours.” She looked at Eli, her gaze unwavering as a slow smile spread across her face. “You know what this means?” she said. “It means I was right.”
“Right about what?” Ava asked.
“Right about you, Ava. The first time I met you, I told Eli that you were the one. Even when you were gone, I knew you’d be back.” Logan started fussing, so she handed the baby back to Ava. “You were part of our family long before she stepped foot on this mountain.”
“Thank you,” Ava whispered, overcome with emotion at the woman’s words.
“Welcome to the world, Logan James,” Clara said to the baby, then turned her attention to Ava once more. “Welcome home, Ava. We’re glad you came.”
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