“I guess I should get breakfast going,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that. Sarah, our cook, should be coming into work soon.”
“I didn’t know you had a cook.”
“She basically runs our bed and breakfast during the Christmas rush. I don’t know what we’d do without her.”
The shrill ring of a telephone interrupted their conversation. Mack reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
Rachel wanted to give him some privacy so she walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She’d just closed the lid when Mack joined her. A shocked expression washed across his face.
As she wiped her hands on a dish towel she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That was Sarah. Her mom’s in the hospital. She’s extremely ill and Sarah needs to fly back to Chicago immediately.”
“Oh that’s horrible. I hope she’s okay.”
“I hope so too. She’s been with us the last two years. She took over the bed and breakfast when our mom died.”
“I’m sorry about your mom,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“I can still help with breakfast. It sounds like you’ll need it.”
He frowned. “But you’re our guest.”
“I’m happy to help. It will keep me from going nuts wondering where Brady went.”
Less than an hour later, she picked up the dinner bell and rang it. Three of the other brothers, Hank, Logan, and Drew, stumbled into the dining room.
Hank said, “Mmmm, bacon.”
She chuckled. “Enough for an army.”
Logan laughed. “With five other brothers, every day is like feeding an army.”
“You all need wives,” she joked.
Mack laughed heartily. “I think I do just fine without a nagging woman after me all the time.”
She put a hand on her hip and waved a spatula at him. “Watch your mouth, sonny, or no bacon for you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
She smiled as Jimmy and her mom took their places at the table.
“Pancakes!” Jimmy shrieked.
“I tried to make monkey faces but…”
June slid a pancake onto Jimmy’s plate. “We can draw a face with syrup.”
“Good idea.”
The rumble of a truck sounded in the driveway. Rachel leaned over the sink to peer out of the kitchen window. Brady jumped out of the truck and strode purposefully into the house. When he walked into the kitchen, all conversations came to a halt. The look on his face was a cross between a deer in headlights and someone who’d just seen a ghost.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, can I see you for a minute?”
Rachel set the spatula down and wiped her hands on a towel. “Sure.”
As she followed him into the living room, her heart beat wildly. Something was seriously wrong.
Brady paced back and forth in front of the couch. “Uh, please sit down.”
She did. “Is everything okay?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “I just don’t know where to start.”
Her heart dropped. “Look, if you’re—”
“Wait, let me get this out.” He stopped pacing and knelt down in front of her. “From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for me. I made a bad decision when I abandoned you to join the Marines, and you made a bad decision when you didn’t tell me about our son. But that’s all in the past now. When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t imagine living my life without you.”
As he shifted to kneel on one knee, her breath caught in her throat.
He continued, “Last night, sitting out on the porch, I knew that I’d be a fool to ever let you go. I love you, Rachel. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I loved you every one of the days we spent apart. I never stopped loving you. I couldn’t. You’re my mate and we’re destined to be together.”
She choked out a sob as he pulled a black velvet box from his back pocket.
He said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you and with our son. I want us to be a family. So if you’ll have me, I’d love to have the honor of making you my wife. Will you marry me?”
The tears of joy she’d been holding back spilled down her cheeks. “Yes. Oh, God. Yes. I love you so much. I’ve loved you forever and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
As he slid the ring onto her finger, the huge diamond glittered in the light from the Christmas tree. She leaned forward into his embrace and they sealed their commitment to each other with a long, sensual kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.
“Does this mean you’re going to be my daddy?”
She turned to find Jimmy, June, and all of Brady’s brothers standing open-mouthed at the entrance to the living room.
Brady released her and held his arms open for his son. “Yes. I’ll be your daddy forever.”
Jimmy ran forward and Brady locked him in a tight embrace. Rachel joined the two most important men in her life in their first family hug.
Over Jimmy’s shoulder, Rachel locked gazes with Brady. Tears of joy ran down her face. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed her.
Mack said, “I guess we’d better get ready for a wedding.”
Brady laughed and helped her to her feet. “The sooner the better.”
Jimmy beamed. “This is the best present ever.”
* * *
Hours later after the celebratory breakfast, Brady joined Mack on the porch. “You seem upset. Is it about the wedding?”
“No, not about the wedding, I’m really happy for you.”
“Then what is it?” Brady asked.
“With Sarah gone and the opening weekend of the bed and breakfast coming up, we’re in serious trouble. I can’t manage the ranch and take care of the bed and breakfast at the same time.”
“Can you hire someone?”
“Where would I find someone on such short notice?”
“Put an ad online.”
Mack huffed. “We can’t just take in any random stranger.”
“So get a few people up here, do some interviews and pick the one that’s the least crazy.”
“That sounds like a disaster in the making.”
Brady laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. Hell, maybe we’ll even be able to find you a wife.”
Mack glared at him. “I have enough responsibility without taking on a relationship. Besides, I am perfectly happy alone.”
Brady shrugged. “I used to think so too, but then Rachel came back to me.”
Mack said, “You don’t want to keep your woman waiting.”
“Never say never.” Brady slapped Mack’s back before walking back into the house.
He found his future wife in his bedroom. As he walked up behind her, he slid his arms around her belly. “Hey, sexy.”
She turned and smiled. “I think we should start a new Christmas tradition.”
He nibbled on her neck. “I can think of a few.”
“It would involve the whole family, Jimmy too.”
He leaned back. “Okay.”
When she told him the idea, he readily agreed.
After bundling Jimmy up in snow pants, boots, and a waterproof jacket, they walked out into the field behind the porch. The winter sun splashed across the snow making it sparkle like a million diamonds.
Rachel said, “I’ll go first.”
She put her arms out and leaned back, falling into a heap of snow. She waved her arms up and down.
Jimmy’s face brightened. “Mommy’s making an angel.”
He plopped down on his butt then lay back and copied her. “I made one too. Now you, daddy.”
Humbled by how lucky he felt, he dropped onto his back and made his own angel. His new family was a gift. One that he’d give thanks for every day for the rest of his life.
* * *
About the Author
Coming Soon… The Cowbear
’s Curvy Christmas
Wondering what to read next? I recommend…
8 Panty-Melting Werewolves and BBW Witches: A Short Story Holiday Paranormal Romance Collection
Excerpt from Claimed by the Wolf Kings
Kane stood behind her. His rock hard body brushed against her as he poured water down her back. “You have the hips and body of a Goddess. Women should be round and soft. And you… you’re absolutely what we’re looking for.”
Raff closed the distance between them and brushed a feather-light kiss across her mouth. She moaned as Kane used one finger to draw a line from the nape of her neck to the base of her spine. She pressed her breasts against Raff’s chest. Behind her, Kane moved closer.
Sandwiched between the men, she lost track of whose hands caressed her hips and whose lips burned a trail of kisses across the hollow of her throat.
Lost in an orgy of sensation, she closed her eyes and fell into their arms. She recognized Raff’s lips as they captured hers again. She returned the passionate kiss with fervor. As her lips parted to welcome his tongue, Kane slid his hand across the lowest part of her belly. She tensed.
Kane whispered. “Relax. Let us worship you.”
A Note from Liv
I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Curvy Bear Ranch series. If you liked it, please leave a review. Reviews are extremely important for authors and I appreciate it every time a reader leaves a review. To leave a review, please click here.
To be the first to find out about the next book in the series, and to get special offers and discounts, join Liv’s Den by clicking here!
To find out more about me, please check out my website.
Friend me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Email me at [email protected]
To view a complete list of my books, please go to my Amazon Author Page.
The Alpha Warlock Shifter's Gift (An Alpha Warlock of Kala West Short)
by Auriella Skye
Chapter 1
12 Years Earlier
Kala West was beautiful in Christmastime, especially along the Gulf. All the shops and hotels had lights, making it seem like a Florida wonderland. Danika loved sneaking away from her pack to find moments of solitude, and at twelve, she was used to having her own mini adventures.
It made her forget her life and focus on other worlds.
She always chose to visit the spot near the Golden Pearl Fishing Pier. The pier was never crowded. It just had a couple of stray humans fishing here and there.
Still, Danika always enjoyed swimming beneath the wooden pillars. She’d even used her claws to carve her name on the pillar at the farthest end. She’d silently staked claim to the underside of the pier. It was hers, and no one could take it away from her.
Holding her breath under water was her odd thrill. It was never about timing herself or seeing how long she could stand it. Instead, it was about the peacefulness of the water. She loved how the world faded away to quiet serenity as she watched the sea life move around her. Schools of bright colored fish, fluorescent jellyfish, and even small sharks had made their way across her path.
The serenity was nothing like the hunter her family wanted her to be all the time, the proud and strong future of the Kala West Pack. Her older brother was made for that. Hell, it was in his blood, even if it wasn’t in hers. Lance had been an alpha-in-training all his life.
Their father saw to that with the frequent wolf hunts and tracking shifts he made her brother take. He’d even forced him to hunt for deer one winter without the help of the pack. Lance wasn’t allowed to come back without a kill. He was gone for three days before he dragged a deer back home. To Danika, Lance was never the same after that. It was as if he’d left a pup and came back a strange wolf, no longer the brother who told stupid jokes to make her laugh or go on midnight runs with her when everyone else was asleep.
Her father had made an oath with the Tampa Pack alpha to secure their heritage and strengthen them from larger packs wanting their territories. When she asked her father about it later, he just said she would have to fulfill her duty in the years to come. It wasn’t until she heard her father talking with seventeen-year-old Lance that she realized she’d have to marry a boy she had never even met.
That’s when she ran away to her safe place, and that’s where she first saw him.
A boy who looked around her age was standing at the end of the pier and looking over the edge. His eyes were unlike anything she’d ever seen. They were gray, but the fading sunlight made them look silver. His hair was dark-brown and slightly curly. He was a person she could stare at for hours and not get bored looking.
She was under the water and peering back up at him, so she was almost certain he couldn’t see her. That didn’t stop him from looking through the water as if he knew she was down there, just beneath the surface.
His face was sad, and she had the biggest urge to emerge just to give him a hug and tell him not to worry anymore.
Then she realized he wasn’t alone. A man was yelling behind him. In her watery haven, she couldn’t hear anything, but she watched as the man lifted the boy up and over the banister until he was dangling over the side. He had him gripped by his leg and shirt.
She quickly moved closer to the pillars underneath the pier to stay out of sight as she emerged.
“Think you can talk back to me, you little bastard?” the man asked. “Huh?”
The boy looked nervous, but Danika noticed that fear didn’t take over. He seemed almost numb to what the man was doing to him.
“Next time you talk back, I’ll drop you over here,” the man continued. “I don’t care how much your mother loves you, you hear?”
The boy remained quiet.
“Nothing to say now? Don’t tell me you’re stupid too!”
Rage filled Danika, and she wanted to shift and tear the man’s throat out. Her thoughts were thinking of how she could get up the pier when the man screamed.
“Shit!” he cried.
She saw the boy as he fell into the water in front of her. Instead of swimming, he just went under the surface.
Without thinking, she followed after him under the current. She saw his body fall downward. He didn’t struggle or thrash about. It was like he had given up before even an attempt to save himself.
Danika reached him and saw his eyes close just as she grabbed him.
It was easy to break the surface with him since he didn’t fight against her, but it still felt like forever until they reached the sand.
She dropped him on his back, but he didn’t move. Fear ripped through her. What did she do? She knew some people could breathe life back into others. She’d seen it in a movie once.
Her hand touched his cheek and felt the warmth slowly fading away.
She leaned over his head, wondering how she was supposed to blow air into his mouth, when something weird happened.
Each drop of water on his skin vibrated. Then each droplet started to turn into an odd blue color, something Danika didn’t think even had a name. Every one of the drops merged together, making a large sheet of water that hovered over him. It was as if a force was pulling the water out of his body.
A weird sensation covered Danika, almost as if she vibrated with the water. She realized it wasn’t her. It was the boy, who she still had her hands on.
The boy’s mouth opened, and water floated out of him and merged with the hovering water.
In an instant, the boy’s eyes opened and the water cascaded onto the sand.
Danika jumped back in time to avoid it soaking her. She knew there were witches and warlocks in Kala West, but she’d never seen one use magic up close before. The boy had to be a water warlock for him to control that element.
He sat up and looked around, a daze filling those eyes that now had a silver glow to them. When they rested on her, the boy smiled.
She felt a fuzzy feeling in her tummy and couldn’t help but smile back.
“Blaine! Bla
ine!” The man who had knocked the boy off the pier was approaching them.
Danika felt a growl escape her lips. That man had almost killed the boy, and that was something she was going to rip him apart for.
“Go,” the boy said. “My stepfather doesn’t like shifters. He’ hurt you if he sees you.”
“Let him try,” she said. “He might hurt you again.”
“I’ll be fine. Promise. Now go. Please.”
Something about the way he said it made Danika scared to leave the boy alone with him, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for her family. They’d just made pact with the witches and warlocks to have territory in Kala West. If she harmed a warlock, it could ruin what her parents had done for the pack.
She got up to leave him.
“Wait,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“Danika.”
“Thank you, Danika.” Blaine said. “For helping me.”
She nodded and made her way to the bushes near the boardwalk before his stepfather came into view.
“There you are,” his stepfather said. “I thought you fell in. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Sorry, Pete,” the boy said. “I just slipped. It’s my fault.”
“Damn right it’s your fault. Get up off the sand, so we can go home. I’m hungry.”
Danika still wanted to bite something off the man for being so cruel, but she remained hidden until the two were long out of sight. Even in their absence, she remembered the boy with silver eyes.
Chapter 2
Twelve Years Later
Danika ran like her life depended on it, and it did. She allowed her wolf self to run free through the tropical brush and palm trees. Her paws padded through the sandy earth, used to every single path in the area. She loved the Florida landscape and how the tropical whether mixed with winter breezes to provide the best weather for running.
Shifters in the Snow Page 41
