Out of the Woods

by Sophie Stern

“Why did I name my kid Cole?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Because he was the one connection that I had to you,” I shrugged. “Jake and Matt dated on and off for awhile. I never once asked about you, though.”

  Maybe I should have.

  If I’d asked about Dale, I could have learned a lot about him.

  “Why not?”

  “Matt was the kind of guy that Jake fell hard for. Their relationship was rocky, and it was secret, and nobody really talked about it much. I just knew that Matt made both of you smile, and that was the kind of legacy I wanted for my son...for our son.”

  I needed to get used to the idea of sharing Cole.

  “I still lived close when the baby was born,” Dale pointed out.

  “Yeah.”

  “And you didn’t tell me.”

  “Nope.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “That I didn’t tell you?”

  “That you didn’t tell me,” he nodded.

  Yes, it bothered me that I had lied. I’d been deceitful. I’d kept this from him because honestly, I didn’t want to burden him. Apparently, that had been entirely the wrong choice, but I mean, who did that? Who got knocked up from a one-night stand? If I’d told him, I had no way to predict how he’d feel about it, and things would have gotten...messy.

  “Yeah, it does, actually,” I admitted.

  I spent most of my time trying not to think about it. The fact that I kept this man’s child from him was scummy as hell. I justified it by telling myself that the odds of him wanting a kid were slim-to-none, but the truth was that I wasn’t ready for a relationship.

  I wasn’t ready for the way Dale made me feel.

  Even back then, on that night, I had felt something incredibly strong for him. It was like there was this invisible magnet pulling us toward one another. How screwed up was that?

  I didn’t want to tell him that because I knew just how freaky and weird it was. I understood perfectly well that what we had done was supposed to be a one-time thing. Me keeping our cub to myself was...

  Well, it was a way of keeping that promise.

  One night.

  No names.

  No strings.

  “I think about it a lot,” I finally said.

  “You could have told me at any point,” Dale seemed irritated. Now that we were alone, he was letting his guard down. He’d been strong around Cole. He’d been kind and compassionate.

  Was he going to yell at me now that it was just us?

  “I know.”

  “I feel hurt and betrayed that you didn’t tell me,” Dale spoke softly.

  “Wait...what?”

  “Are you surprised?”

  “I’m surprised that you’re admitting your feelings to me instead of screaming,” I said. Most guys would have just started yelling and possibly thrown something.

  “Why would that surprise you?”

  “Most men aren’t exactly comfortable admitting when somebody hurts them.”

  “Well,” Dale looked at me carefully, “I guess it’s safe to say that I’m not like all the other boys you’ve known.”

  “I guess so,” I whispered.

  “Come here,” he murmured, and he reached for me.

  I scooted over, moving closer to him on the couch. Dale wrapped his arms around me, and he pressed his lips to my head.

  “Ruby, we’re going to get through this together, okay? I promise.”

  I nodded, and I rested my head on his shoulder. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next, but I did know one thing.

  Dale was a man of his word, and he meant what he said.

  He was going to be there for me.

  5

  Dale

  “SO,” I LOOKED AT THE little woman curled up next to me. Damn, she was lovely as fuck. “I have a proposition.”

  “A proposition?”

  “Well, more of an idea.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I want you and Cole to come stay with me.”

  “Permanently?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s quite a bit proposition,” she whispered, looking up at me.

  “I want to get to know my son,” I explained calmly. I’d missed out on some of the most important years of his life. I wasn’t going to miss out on anymore.

  “And you can’t do that if we stay here?”

  “You don’t have a job here anymore,” I said carefully. I hated bringing it up. I didn’t want to kick Ruby while she was down, but there wasn’t really anything else holding her here, was there? “Do you own your house?”

  “No,” she sighed, shaking her head. She dropped her head into her hands. “I should have bought years ago, but the time never seemed right.”

  “That’s good,” I said, looking around. The house was sparsely furnished. She didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t care about that. I had plenty of it. I had a good job. That income, coupled with my investments over the last few years, meant I’d be able to take great care of both Ruby and Cole.

  She could work, of course, if she wanted to. I’d never tell a woman I loved that she couldn’t work, but she didn’t have to, and that was the point.

  We could spend some time getting to know each other.

  “I don’t know if us living together is a good idea.”

  “I think it’s a great idea.”

  She stood up and put her hands on her hips.

  “We barely know each other.”

  I stood up and did the same. Two could play at this game. If Ruby thought she was going to scare me or freak me out, then she had another thing coming, didn’t she?

  “And whose fault is that?”

  She glared, staring at me. If looks could kill, then I’d be a dead man.

  “He’s my son.”

  “He’s my son, too,” I said gently.

  “I want what’s best for him,” she whispered.

  “I want the same thing.”

  Ruby looked toward the staircase that led to the second floor. Oh, she was so damn beautiful. She was lovely and sweet. She was adorable.

  And I wanted her.

  Craved her.

  There was a part of me that would never stop wanting her, I feared, but I’d have to deal with that. I swallowed my pride and continued with my offer, because yeah, there was more.

  “We don’t need to start anything up between us again,” I said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “As friends. We can live together as friends. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll take care of him and you and everything else.”

  “I don’t have any money, Dale,” she shrugged.

  “I have plenty of it,” I told her. “I’m happy to share with you both.”

  “Are you being serious right now?”

  “Dead serious.”

  She walked toward the stairs, turning away from me. She wrapped her arms around herself like she was guarding herself. I knew it was an act of protection. She wasn’t used to someone trying to help her.

  “You can’t just walk into my life and give me money,” she whispered.

  “I can.”

  “You can’t just walk into my life and pick up where we left off.”

  It took me two seconds to reach her and spin her around. Then I grabbed her chin and turned her face up to me. Her eyes dilated. She was shocked and a little turned on by this.

  Good.

  I wanted her horny.

  I wanted her anxious.

  I wanted to knock Miss Ruby off her game.

  This human was so used to being in control because she had to be. She had to do everything.

  Well, she didn’t have to do everything anymore. I was here now, and I was ready to help her. I was ready to take care of her. I was ready to do anything she needed me to do if she’d only let me.

  “Watch me,” I told her.

  Then I kissed her.

  It was stupid, and it was rash, and it went against everything I’d just said a seco
nd ago. I needed to kiss her, though. I needed to touch her. I kissed her and she kissed me back, wrapping her arms around my neck. I dropped my hand from her chin and settled both of my hands on her waist.

  Oh, she was just as lovely as she was all of those years ago.

  I pulled away and I looked at her. I just looked at her.

  “Ruby,” I started to say.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  “I meant what I said. We don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to pick up where we left off.”

  “I think it’s best if we don’t,” she nodded in agreement, but there was something there in the air.

  Sadness.

  I could scent the way she felt. Regardless of what she said, there was something Ruby wasn’t letting on. There was a part of her that wanted this. There was a part of her that wanted me.

  But neither one of us was going to say that.

  I couldn’t tell her I’d always thought she was my mate. Hell, I hadn’t even known her damn name until recently. I’d always thought about her fondly, but I’d thought about her as Elizabeth. That was the name she’d given me.

  Now that I was with her again, I could see that Ruby was a much more fitting name for this spitfire of a woman. Damn, she was delightful and tasty and so incredibly wonderful.

  “Well, then,” I said.

  “It’s settled,” she agreed, nodding.

  “You’ll come live with me.”

  “And you’ll take care of us,” she whispered.

  “I’m looking forward to getting to know my son better.”

  That was the truth, at least. I was excited to get to know Cole. I was excited to get to know both of them better. The three of us were going to be a family. Oh, we’d be an unconventional and possibly slightly-crazy family, but we’d be a family.

  That was what mattered more than anything else.

  “You’re going to be a good father, Dale.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “The way you helped him at the store,” she pointed out.

  “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

  “No, no they wouldn’t have.”

  Ruby stepped away and walked over to one of the little armchairs in the living room. There were two, and they were threadbare. Honestly, the chairs had probably been rescued from the side of a road or even collected from a thrift shop. They weren’t much to look at, but then again, neither was anything else in this house.

  Except for her.

  Except for the love she brought here.

  A normal person walking into Ruby’s home might think she was poor or uncultured, but I didn’t think that. Instead, I thought that this house looked like it was wildly loved. I thought it looked like she’d poured her heart and soul into this place.

  If she’d spent that much time loving this home, how much time had she spent taking good care of my kid?

  I didn’t need to worry that Cole was going to have any weird problems because Ruby was one hell of a mom. Now, as she sat in the armchair, she looked over at me.

  “This idea makes me nervous,” she said.

  “Because we just kissed.”

  “That was a damn good kiss,” she told me, “and I’m probably going to want more.”

  “What’s so wrong with us kissing?”

  “We shouldn’t be a couple, Dale.”

  I waited, wondering what she was going to say to justify this. Maybe she was right.

  No.

  She’s ours.

  My inner bear’s voice came to me loud and clear. I couldn’t always hear him. Sometimes, I ignored him completely. Being a shifter was a strange thing. Sometimes, I could sense my inner-bear’s emotions and feelings. Other times, he was dormant and silent.

  I couldn’t openly talk to him. I could only feel. When I was in my bear form, when I let that animal take over my consciousness, I was still me, but I couldn’t talk to other people. I couldn’t make wise, rational choices, either.

  My bear acted on pure instinct.

  Total instinct.

  My bear did whatever it took to stay strong and in control. He was wild, just as I knew Cole’s bear would be wild. That was another reason I wanted them to come with me.

  Raising a bear shifter in the city wasn’t a good idea. It just wasn’t. If the wrong person found out that Cole was a shifter, they could hurt him. No, poachers weren’t a huge problem, but they still existed.

  If Cole accidentally shifted at the wrong place or the wrong time, and the wrong person saw, he could be hurt. I didn’t want that for my son. That was no way to live.

  For now, I wanted him safe.

  I wanted both of them safe.

  Ruby was okay with the idea of them coming to live with me as long as I understood that our relationship needed to stay the same as it was.

  I understood it, and I’d respect it.

  As long as they were safe, I could live without dating Ruby. I could.

  I could...

  6

  Ruby

  HIS HOUSE WAS GORGEOUS.

  When Dale told me that he had this little cabin in the woods, I expected a half-assed, half-falling down sort of building. I pictured something from a horror movie with broken glass and boarded-up windows.

  Nope.

  This was a luxury cabin, all right, and I had a feeling he’d built it with his own two hands. The house was big and gorgeous with an incredible design that kind of just took my breath away. The huge porch was the kind of place I could picture myself curling up with a book and a cup of cocoa.

  Even though it was cold, there were so many trees that we didn’t feel any wind. They surrounded the area, enclosing us in our own little world, and I just really, really loved that.

  “What is this place?” I asked, stepping out of my car.

  We’d driven separately with me following. His SUV was loaded up with boxes. Everything that didn’t fit in his vehicle, we’d shoved into mine. The house I had rented had come furnished, which meant that when I gave my landlady notice, I didn’t need to worry about moving any of the furniture at all.

  Cole and I honestly didn’t have too many things to bring. I was something of a minimalist and both Cole and I collected books more than anything else. In addition to our clothes and Cole’s toys, most of the items we’d brought with us were, in fact, books.

  Dale had been lovely throughout the entire moving process. He’d actually talked with my landlady and negotiated a fair break-lease fee in exchange for helping to find a new tenant, which he had. Apparently, one of his old military buddies needed a house to rent and had been more than happy to take over my lease.

  It had been a little magical, actually, with how everything had worked out. I hadn’t planned on moving anywhere quite so soon, and I certainly hadn’t planned on moving in with Dale, but I’d learned that sometimes, life gave you opportunities that were just too good to pass up.

  This was one of them.

  What better way for Cole and Dale to get to know each other?

  At the very least, they’d get to know one another’s personalities, and they’d have the chance to catch up. They’d missed quite a few years with each other, but it wasn’t too late for them to start building a great relationship. Oh, it would take time, but they were both wonderful guys. They’d find a way to connect.

  “It’s my house,” Dale paused, looking up at the building.

  “It’s huge,” I pointed out.

  “That’s the idea.”

  “I like it!” Cole jumped up and down. He grinned, laughing. Then he started running around in the yard.

  The cabin itself had a huge, wraparound porch with chairs, a couple of tables, and a big swing. The porch looked incredible. It was like something out of a storybook. There were even a couple of windchimes hanging. Even though there was no breeze, they were beautiful. I had a feeling they were more decorative than anything else since I doubted it ever got very windy out here.

  Then there was the yar
d, which was bigger than the house Cole and I were moving from. Cole was running around, rolling in the grass. Soon snow would start falling, and that would kind of change everything, wouldn’t it?

  Instead of rolling around in the yard, Cole would be building snowmen and making snow angels. This year, maybe we’d even make some snow bears. I wasn’t really sure how everything was going to work out when it came to teaching Cole about his shifter side, but I knew that with Dale to help, everything was going to be just fine.

  “How long have you lived here?” I asked him. I leaned against my car and wrapped my arms across myself. I wasn’t guarding myself. Really, I wasn’t. I was just a little...overwhelmed.

  Beyond the yard, there were trees. There were trees everywhere, and we were in the foothills of one of the most beautiful mountains I’d ever seen.

  Why had Dale chosen to come live up here in the woods?

  It was abso-fucking-lutely the most beautiful place I’d ever laid eyes on, but I didn’t quite understand it. This was the kind of place you came to hide. It was the kind of place you came to be alone. It wasn’t the type of place you came to raise a family.

  Or was it?

  Cole was a bear. I needed to get used to that. I had come to terms with the idea that I would be a working single mother for his entire life. I pictured myself driving him to soccer practice and to sporting events, but now, everything had changed overnight.

  Now I needed to accept the fact that Cole wasn’t the normal, ordinary little boy I thought that he was going to be.

  He was something else.

  He was a shifter, and I...

  Well, I was his human mom who just didn’t understand.

  Being out here in the woods was a good choice. I understood that. Still, it had only been a couple of days since Dale had come walking into the bookshop. Oh, I’d been so damn shocked to see him.

  The most I’d expected out of the guy, honestly, was a phone call and maybe a few tips for dealing with shifters. I hadn’t expected him to claim us as his own. I certainly hadn’t expected him to invite us to the woods.

  And I hadn’t expected to go.

  Leaving everything behind and walking away had been an easier choice than I ever could have expected. Was it crazy? For sure. Was I comfortable with the decision? Absolutely. I probably shouldn’t have been as content with this choice as I had been. Then again, sometimes in life, certain things seemed to make sense for no reason at all.