“We can?” Cody said hopefully.
She kissed him on the mouth. “We can. We can take our cubs anywhere.”
“You’re my mate,” Cody said, his voice cracking as he returned the kiss. “And you guys are my family. I hope that’s cool with you.”
“I think I’ll live,” she whispered, and didn’t let him go until she’d fallen asleep again.
Epilogue
Jessie
Three months later...
“Wow, you really fixed the place up!” Nathan clapped Cody on the back, his baby daughter in a carrier on his chest. His mate, Alanna, stood at his side in the foyer of the house on Everly Street that Jessie was still getting the hang of.
“Jessie!” Alanna said. “Wow, you look great!”
They chatted and Jessie led Alanna to the kitchen where Molly was at the kitchen table listening to earbuds as she poured over math homework. She worked so hard at school, it sometimes worried Jessie, but then Molly’s eyes would light up as she explained to Jessie some new thing she’d learned. She genuinely loved school and had never been given such a stable environment to learn in. So Jessie let her throw herself into her schoolwork to her heart’s content and just made sure she took a break to play or relax from time to time.
Jessie, Cody, and the cubs had found the house on Everly street after a few rather chaotic weeks of living in Cody’s suite. But that had never been a long term solution and they had both known it and the cabin was too small and had no electricity and also wasn’t theirs.
Jessie suspected it had been strange for Cody to move out of the lodge and away from his brothers, even if the house was just a couple miles away. But it had all been exciting too. The house was a little bit of a fixer-upper but Cody had plenty of money for the renovations. It was three stories; an old sort of manor in the middle of Colorado. There were eight bedrooms and a spacious yard with grass and enough room for the swing set Cody wanted to buy for the kids.
It had been a couple of months, and Jessie still felt they were settling in. There was always something new she had to get for the house or some small thing that needed fixing but she found joy in it all. And she wasn’t sorry when Cody suggested she quit her job at the lodge. To stay home with the cubs, at least while Sophie and the twins were still so small, sounded like the greatest idea since sliced bread to her. Though her life turned out to be nearly as busy as it had been before between carting the older kids to school and activities and taking the younger ones to the park or taking all of them out to the woods with Cody for a nice run in the woods.
A car honked outside and Jessie heard Eric and Lydia laughing as they walked up the drive to the door. She had found friendship with Lydia and Alanna, who came over to hang out or came over with a babysitter to drag Jessie out of her big, loud, warm home to take her out for lunch or take her for cocktails and adult conversation because she could get caught up in the kids sometimes. They were sweet and not hard to get along with and when Jessie occasionally got down on herself for being “just a homemaker” though it was what she had discovered she loved best, they were quick to talk her out of that self-deprecation.
“You rescued those kids!” Lydia said once over margaritas. “You’re a damn hero! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!”
She was grateful for them and valued their friendship.
“Hello, Uncle Eric!” Jason came skidding into the hall and slammed into Eric who chuckled and tousled his disastrous mop of air. Jessie inwardly noted that he needed a cut as she handed Alanna the half and half and almost dropped it when Jason abruptly ran across the hallway into the kitchen and slammed into her next. He had a habit of butting people with his head when he wanted to hug them and she giggled and wrapped her arms around him until his cheeks burned red and he skipped away again. She had discovered that the kids, especially the boys, were shy when they wanted affection but they wanted it often and she was happy to give it.
“How’s this brood?” Connor blew through the door. Jessie hadn’t even heard his car pull up.
It was fall and chilly out, but Cody had just bought a fancy barbecue for their yard and he was itchy to use it so they’d bought a couple outdoor heating lamps and a patio table, and decided to throw a family barbecue. It was their first real family event at the house and Jessie had thought she would be nervous but found she was only quietly content. The house didn’t need the extra nervous energy anyway as all the kids were bouncing around with excitement, except for Molly who just wanted to do math.
“The brood’s great!” Jessie called out from the kitchen. She went out to give Connor a hug and say hello to Eric, and wondered where Cody had disappeared to.
“Every time I come here,” Connor said, as he followed her out to the yard, “it looks a little different.”
“I can’t keep still,” Jessie said, shrugging. “I never thought I’d live in a house like this and now I can’t leave it alone. I was thinking of repainting the crown molding next and then I was thinking maybe some air plants hanging in the living room. They’re so pretty in front of a window.”
“So it feels like a home,” Connor said.
“Oh, of course it does!” Jessie beamed at him and behind her, she heard a happy sigh and the scrape of a chair and then Molly was slumping against her, and Jessie knew to pat her head gently because she needed it sometimes. She smiled shyly at Jessie before she ducked away again without a word.
It wasn’t always easy with the cubs. They weren’t used to other kids and sometimes Chris in particular acted out at school or started fights, but he was still nothing like the sleuth he had come from, and Jessie was confident that would improve. Sometimes the kids still had nightmares about their old days too and Jessie and Cody had to keep their bedroom unlocked so the cubs knew they could come in for comfort even if it was three in the morning. Sometimes that meant that intimacy was hard to come by but Jessie and Cody managed to find time together where they could.
“There he is!” Jessie jogged out to the backyard where Sophie was safe in a toddler swing well away from the barbecue that Cody appeared to be playing with, studying the nobs and fiddling with charcoal briquets, although Jessie knew he would bristle if she referred to it as playing. He was all too proud of his barbecue and was talking about a dedicated stone pizza oven next.
“Hey!” Cody said brightly. Jessie slipped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. He was wearing a very cheesy apron with a roaring bear on it and Connor just wryly shook his head when he saw it. “Take a beer,” Cody said to his brother.
Connor found one in a cooler and loitered with them and Jessie kissed Sophie on the cheek and made faces before joining the guys’ conversation.
“You got it made,” Connor said. He ran a hand through his hair, looking around the yard with its slightly wild lawn and the kiddie pool full of plastic balls Cody had just bought and the patio tables decorated with tablecloths already bearing the dishes Cody had cooked up that morning. “Cool house, cute cubs... and your mate. It’s all so fast.”
“It was fast,” Cody said, chuckling, squeezing Jessie tight. “Feels right though. It doesn’t feel like this big, jolting sudden change. It feels like this is where I’m supposed to be, ya know.”
“Yeah,” Connor said softly. “That must be nice.”
“You okay, big bro?”
Connor shrugged but he managed a smile. He was lonely. Cody had told her as much. For the last year or so he had watched all his brothers find their mates one by one. True, they all had to fight for their loves but according to Cody, Connor was much more of a romantic than he liked to admit and if anything, he wanted somebody more than any of the rest of them had before they’d found the mates the fates intended for them.
“You’re gonna find someone,” Jessie said knowingly. “Trust me.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Connor said, but he was smiling, and Cody cuffed him on the shoulder. “Yeah, I dunno. I wish I had what you had. Weird, huh?”
“Honestly?”
Cody looked at Jessie and she saw that sappy look he always got in his eyes whenever he was feeling especially squishy about his new life. “I don’t blame you at all.”
Connor
Blurb
* * *
Billionaire bear shifter, Connor Strauss has fallen for the one woman he shouldn’t crave. His natural enemy, and a woman with a deep secret.
* * *
Every one of Connor’s brothers have found their mates. He’s happy for them but wants the same for himself. Brooke, the new hire at Cole’s Couture is just too tempting to not obsess over.
* * *
As a bear shifter of Colorado, Connor has always been a stickler for the rules, but when it comes to Brooke, he seems to forget about everything else.
* * *
He isn’t supposed to find out her secret. One that makes them enemies. She’s the alpha of a pack of wolf shifters, and as much as she wants Connor Strauss, she has to find a way to keep her hands to herself. The tension between the two groups is inevitable.
* * *
The conflict might be too much for Brooke to handle and gaining control of her heart would be even harder. Especially since her supposed enemy is the one person who genuinely cares about her. Maybe, even loves her. But will she be able to love him back?
* * *
***
57
Connor
It was winter again at Black Bear Lake, and that meant the lodge was hitting its busiest season. Connor Strauss slipped his hands into his pockets and glared at a tapestry that hung next to a large window that overlooked one of the expert ski slopes outside. The tapestry was a fantastically detailed scene featuring four black bears, all mid-action by a creek, and it looked incredibly dusty.
Connor pursed his lips as he walked up to it, tapping at it with the tip of his finger. No, just a little faded. He supposed the tapestry was quite old; one of the many Strauss family antiques held over from when his parents ran the lodge. Most such heirlooms were kept at his parents’ estate, but the brothers had managed to get away with quite a few choice items that they displayed proudly around the lodge.
Connor especially loved their family antiques; they were a reminder of his heritage. At the same time, the pieces gave the place the feel of a family-owned enterprise, which is exactly what the lodge was. He and his three brothers had been running the place for a few years now, overseeing every aspect of the place equally, despite the fact that, technically, the lodge was predominantly his as the eldest. Decision making for and about the lodge was split between the four of them equally, and Connor wouldn't have it any other way.
Finished with his inspection of the tapestry, Connor nodded to himself and hummed, satisfied, before walking on down the corridor into the depths of the third-floor east wing. The lodge was booked to capacity. Everything had been cleaned, fixed, updated, and given Nathan’s seal of approval, but Connor was still on high alert - always was at the beginning of winter. Cody liked to say it was when Connor was most on edge, but that’s not how he saw it.
It was just the busiest season, when he needed to pay the most attention and keep his customers satisfied enough to return. He liked to take walks from one end of the grounds to the other, from the honeymoon suite to the employee break room, making sure everything was in tiptop condition and shipshape for what he was hoping would be their most successful season ever.
He was busy, but the thought occurred to him to go down to the shopping promenade and see if Brooke was around. She had not worked at Cole Couture, one of the fine clothing shops in their small shopping mall, very long. But Connor had already found himself making excuses to check, and usually ended up going back and forth with her, mostly petty arguing. If he was honest, it was often the best part of a day, but he didn’t want his brothers teasing him about Brooke, so he hadn’t mentioned her to any of them. There was no point involving them anyway; it was only a flirtation. That was all. A distraction to take the edge off, a way to vent.
“Connor!” His brother Nathan appeared from around a corner. The handyman did not look overly pleased, his tool belt loose on his hips. He had been running himself ragged fixing the tiniest little things around the place and Connor knew he’d rather be looking after Emily, his new born cub with his mate, Alanna. “Room thirty-two says their room smells like paint. They’re upset, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Connor sighed heavily. All the rooms had been repainted recently, but that particular room had to be striped and repainted a second time. He nodded. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to them myself, offer comped room service or something. It should be fine though, I made sure to air it out.”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but they’re a little much in there. Good luck.”
Connor patted Nathan’s shoulder and passed him in the hall before hollering back, “Have lunch with me in the hall later. Bring Em and Alanna. Please?”
“We’ll be there,” Nathan said, shooting him a finger gun.
Connor smiled to himself. The thought of hanging out with Nathan and his new family for lunch made him feel lighter, even as he made his way to room thirty-two in an attempt to please the picky guests.
That conversation took a half hour, and mostly consisted of Connor standing there and listening to the wife of the middle-aged couple whine. He ended up offering champagne and free use of the spa, which was overkill. Bordering on ridiculous, in his opinion, but at the beginning of the season he was much more willing to be generous and solicitous towards guests than at any other time. Nearly any complaint, no matter how small, was likely to get you something for free. Sometimes he suspected they knew that; complaints were more common around this time, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.
Connor found himself slammed with request after request for another hour. Finally, his phone buzzed just as he was heading back to his office and Nathan asked if it was a good time for lunch. Connor was so tired and wanted nothing more than to sit down, but forced himself to text a yes and made his way to the dining hall instead. His stomach rumbled in anticipation of whatever his brother Cody had on the menu for the day.
The dining hall was pretty packed, but Connor went straight for one of the private dining rooms with the RESERVED sign on the knob and let himself in, nodding at one of the servers as he did. He dropped into a padded dining chair and took a deep breath. He had been on his feet every second since five o’clock in the morning. It felt good to sit for a minute.
The server was one of the seasonal hires, bright eyed and bushy tailed. They seemed to get younger every year. He poked his head in. “Can I get you something to start, sir?”
“Yeah, that Moon Bear Brandy we just got in,” Connor said, nodding. “Oh, and that cheese log appetizer. And if you see Nathan or Alanna tell them I’m in here, would you?”
The server nodded obediently. Connor jogged his leg under the table for a couple of minutes until his drink was set in front of him. Nathan came through the door, carrying baby Emily in a carrier on his chest, followed by Alanna. Connor stood and kissed Emily’s head and gave Alanna a quick hug. Though he had seen them both just the day before, it felt like it had been months.
“Where’s Eric?” Alanna asked, eyes never leaving Em’s face as she fussed.
“Still on the front desk,” Connor replied. As the concierge, his youngest brother arguably worked harder than any of them, constantly dealing with customer complaints and requests. The workload had more than doubled since the hotel had reopened.
“You look tense,” Nathan said, laughing.
“Yeah, well…” Connor answered with a raised eyebrow.
“He loves it,” Alanna said firmly, just as the cheese log arrived. She lit up and scooped up a bite. “This is his favorite time of year, I bet.” She chewed and swallowed and nodded at Connor. “You seem to like it, anyway. The kind of guy who wants to stay busy.”
“Alright, maybe,” Connor said. He pretended to bristle at that, jokingly scowling at Alanna o
ver the rim of his glass as he took another sip of brandy. Emily pointed at him and laughed, and he stuck his tongue out at her. “What about you guys? If there’s anything you need-”
“Connor,” Nathan said, chuckling, “we’re more than fine.”
“I’m eager for this little one to start walking and talking,” Alanna said, reaching over to boop Emily’s tiny nose. “Other than that, I’m good.”
“Good,” Connor said softly, but abruptly he felt a keen sense of melancholy. More and more lately, Connor had felt a hole where there had never been one before. He wanted what all three of his brothers now had. They had found their mates. It had not been easy, but they had fought for love and been rewarded with their soulmates. They were all starting their own families now. Nathan and Alanna had their little cub, Emily. Cody and his mate, Jess, had an entire brood of adopted cubs. Even Eric and his mate, Lydia, were already talking about having cubs someday, although they seemed quite happy since Lydia had just started art school. But they all had a keen eye on their futures together.
When Connor thought of his future...it looked lonely. He was in his thirties and he was naturally given to want a family of his own. Each day without one seemed a little colder, and if he was honest, he was more than a little jealous of his brothers.
“I’m glad you guys are happy,” he said, and he meant it. He just wanted some of that happiness for himself. He tried to sound genuine and cheerful on top of that, but he saw the quirk of Nathan’s eyebrow. Nathan knew.
After lunch, Connor felt a bit better, full of Cody’s prime rib and cheese and just enough brandy to smooth out the rough edges of his nerves. But Nathan didn’t leave with Alanna, who took Emily with her and left a kiss on her mate’s cheek. Instead, Nathan stayed behind to talk to Connor.
Billionaire Bear Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset Page 37
