Cursed Bear

by Raines, Harmony

  He fixed a smile on his face and ushered them into the dining room, which served afternoon tea between the hours of two and four. Tourists flocked here in the summer months. After a morning hiking in the mountains, what better way to relax and unwind than with tea and delicious cakes and sandwiches?

  Julius smiled. He’d pitched that line to so many guests. When he added in a smile, and a twinkle of his eye, the thought was irresistibly planted in people’s minds. Julius had a knack for persuading people it was exactly what they needed. Would he be so lucky with Catherine? Not that he wanted to persuade her to order afternoon tea; he did want to persuade her that he was something she should not resist.

  However, as he meandered through the tables set out in the dining room, he mentally slapped himself across the face. Hadn’t he heard Beverly’s words? Catherine was here to visit her son for the wedding. His mind dragged up the image of Cath, over thirty years ago, her belly swollen, the arm of her fiancé around her shoulders as they rushed into the town hall to get married.

  He did not want to cause her pain by trying to seduce her away from her husband.

  Julius half turned, his gaze dropping down to Catherine’s left hand. Her wedding ring was gone. His mood shifted, his heart racing as he considered this new possibility. However, he then recalled learning that Liam was an eagle shifter. Which meant Catherine had been bound to another, not just by marriage but by fate. This made no sense. Was he truly cursed? He’d never heard of a person having two bonded mates.

  “Mr. Harrison.” Beverly’s voice once again interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to face her.

  “Yes,” he said, his tone hard.

  “Could we sit in a window seat?” Beverly asked, frowning at Julius’s attitude.

  “Of course. My apologies, I forgot myself for a moment.” He forced the smile back onto his face, and turned ninety degrees to head toward a table near the window with the best view of the mountains. “Here?”

  “Perfect,” Catherine said, giving him a shy smile, brighter than the sun in the sky on a summer’s day. He stared at her for a moment, his heart racing, then he snapped back to attention and pulled a chair out for his mate.

  She wasn’t his mate, he reminded himself.

  Yes, she is, his bear insisted.

  She belongs to another, Julius replied.

  His bear fell silent. They truly were cursed if she was another man’s mate.

  “Let this be my treat,” Julius said as he handed them the afternoon menu. “For the safe delivery of the anchovies.”

  “No, we can pay,” Catherine said quickly.

  “I insist.” His eyes flashed, he would more than insist, he would demand! He coughed, that was no way to treat their mate. But his whole world had tipped on its axis, and he didn’t know what to do, or how to act. His mind was a whirl of confusing thoughts. This was not how it was supposed to be.

  Yet it was the knowledge he had lived with for years. Fate had somehow decided to have its wicked way with him.

  “Thanks, Mr. Harrison,” Beverly said, her expression sharp as she looked from Julius to Catherine. She was an astute young woman, and he was certain she had picked up on the tension in the air.

  “Julius, please.” He nodded. “I will send someone over to take your order, when you are ready.”

  “Why don’t you join us?” Beverly pulled a chair out and patted the seat. “We could do with some male company, couldn’t we, Cath?”

  Catherine looked up from her menu, her eyes wide. “Of course.” She did not look certain, and Julius knew he should leave them alone. He had so much to do. But the temptation was too great.

  “If you insist.”

  “We do,” Beverly answered quickly, her eyes flashing with mischief as she glanced over her menu at Cath.

  Julius summoned a waitress to take their order, ignoring the questioning look on the young woman’s face. As a hotel owner, he never sat down with guests, preferring to keep his distance. It was safer that way. Julius wasn’t the kind of man who allowed himself to get close to people. His heart was firmly closed off to love.

  Until now.

  He frowned as he cast an appraising look over Catherine. She was just as beautiful as the first time he’d seen her; the years had been kind to the woman he had never forgotten. Yes, she had a few wrinkles, and when she swept her hair back from her shoulders, the sunlight through the window caught the silvery strands of hair that blended into the golden blonde. But Julius didn’t see these as flaws, he saw them as signs of experience, of a life lived.

  “Julius.” His name on Cath’s lips was as soft as summer rain, and just as revitalizing, as if he had lived in drought for the whole of his life. “Can you tell me about the hotel?”

  “What do you want to know?” Julius asked as the waitress returned with their order. “Thank you, Sian.”

  “You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Sian asked, looking speculatively from her boss to the two ladies seated either side of him. He could imagine the talk in the kitchens. This was as rare an occurrence as snow in July.

  “No, I think we have everything,” Cath replied, looking at the sandwiches and cakes. “It’s all perfect, thank you.”

  “Thanks,” Beverly also replied. “This looks amazing.”

  “What did you want to ask, Catherine?” Julius savored her name, earning a questioning look from both Cath and Beverly.

  “About the history of the hotel. It looks old. Or is it a new building made to look old?” Catherine asked.

  “The hotel was built two hundred years ago as a family home. But the family fortune dwindled, and the house fell into disrepair. Finally, around thirty years ago, the family decided to sell what was left of the once-magnificent building.”

  “And you bought it?” Catherine asked.

  “I did. I needed a project, something to distract me.” He sighed as he stared out of the window, remembering the day he set eyes on the house. It was broken, in the same way that he was broken, his heart forever torn in two by the sight of his mate, belly swollen, walking down the aisle to be joined with another man.

  “Distract you from what?” Beverly leaned forward, listening intently. “You always seem so together, as if you knew exactly what you wanted in life.”

  Julius nodded. “You are correct, I have always known what I wanted. But knowing what you want, and getting what you want, are two entirely different things.”

  “Now I’m intrigued.” Beverly picked up her cup and sipped her tea, while next to him, Catherine sat entranced as he spoke, her food hardly touched.

  “The house is said to carry a curse, and I, too, believed I was cursed. We seemed to be a good match.” He looked up at the ornate ceiling of the dining room. “This is where the family would have dined together. The story goes that it was in this very room that news of the merchant ships carrying a rich cargo had sunk in a storm. As I heard it, the captain of the ship was the eldest son and heir to the fortune. But he had gotten himself into some trouble at the last port and a witch had cursed him and everything he touched.”

  “Really!” Beverly’s eyes gleamed, while Catherine was filled with sympathy for the plight of the family.

  “That’s terrible,” Catherine said. “And so began the family’s fall?”

  Julius nodded. “The facts are real. I researched them locally when I moved here. The father had a stroke on hearing the news, and the second son had no business sense. He had neither the skill nor the wherewithal to rebuild the family’s fortune. He made bad investments until there was barely enough for the family to afford to live in the house, let alone keep it in good repair.”

  “It must have cost you a small fortune to renovate the house and turn it into a hotel.” Catherine picked up her tea and sipped it, while keeping her eyes on Julius.

  “I made my fortune on the stock market when I was young and thought I knew everything.” He smiled sadly. “Then one day, I realized that my life would be hollow and empty if
I did not fill it with something.”

  “And your mate? You said she was lost to you.” Beverly asked. Julius managed to swallow his mouthful of tea before he sprayed it across the table.

  “She was.” He would make a good politician. He’d evaded the question without actually lying. Beverly, however, narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him as she bit into one of the small sandwiches. But if she had any further questions, she kept them to herself.

  Julius allowed himself a couple of stolen glances at Catherine, and shifted the conversation to Bear Creek and the businesses Beverly and her fiancé Liam ran. They were a hard-working couple, and he admired that.

  Catherine spoke about her son with pride, and as they finished their tea and he watched his mate walk out of his life once more, he was struck by how unfair fate was. Liam should be Julius’s son. Instead, Catherine had borne another man’s child.

  The question that presented itself was whether that man was truly her mate. Because after this second chance meeting, Julius knew beyond a doubt that Catherine was his mate.

  So, was Catherine’s first husband an opportunistic liar, or was fate perhaps not as infallible as shifters presumed? He was determined to find out.

  Chapter Three – Cath

  “What did you think of Julius?” Beverly asked Cath the next day as they shared an early morning cup of coffee in the small café in Bear Creek.

  “He’s a nice man,” Cath replied noncommittally.

  “Nice man!” Beverly snorted. “He’s more than nice.”

  Cath sighed and toyed with the handle of her coffee cup. “I’m not interested in men, Beverly. If you are trying to play matchmaker.”

  Beverly sat up straight and studied Cath. “Liam never talks about his dad.”

  Cath pressed her lips together. “I brought the boys up alone from a young age. I often wonder if their dad had been around, Mike might have turned out…less of a criminal.”

  Beverly placed her hand on Cath’s and squeezed it affectionately. Beverly was a warm soul, she enjoyed making other people happy, but she was smart too. Cath couldn’t have chosen a better mate for Liam if she’d tried. “People make their own choices. One parent or two. What Mike did was a choice. His choice.”

  “That’s what Liam said,” Cath replied, a lump of emotion in her throat. “And I do remind myself Liam turned out OK.”

  “OK?” Beverly grinned, her eyes wistful. “He’s more than OK.”

  “I’m so pleased you are happy together.” Cath picked up her cup and sipped the hot, bitter liquid, waiting for the buzz from the caffeine to fill her veins. She hadn’t slept well last night. Cath closed her eyes, shutting out the memories of the images that had kept her awake as she lay in bed last night. Julius had been much more than nice.

  “We’re mates. Destined to be together forever,” Beverly said, her gaze like a laser pointer on Cath. “Did he die?”

  Cath wanted to shy away from the question. She tried not to think about Liam’s father. And never talked about him. Not even to Liam. “No, he didn’t die.”

  “You left him?” Beverly asked gently. “Wait. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  “No, this is a family matter and you are family now.” Cath placed her cup down carefully. “Liam’s dad, Hector… He left me.”

  Beverly’s cup clattered down onto the saucer. “But he was a shifter!” She covered her mouth and looked around, but luckily the café was empty and no one heard. “He was a shifter, wasn’t he?

  Cath nodded. “My two boys get their gift from their father.”

  “But if you were mates….” Beverly looked totally confused. “He couldn’t leave…Could he?”

  Cath shrugged, and the hole in her heart, where her love for Hector once lived, opened up like a wide chasm. “That’s what he told me. We were mates. Together forever. I was the other half of him, the half that made him whole. Those were his words until the day he left.”

  “And you had two sons. How could he leave?” Beverly shook her head and stared at her cup. “I’m so sorry, Cath.”

  Cath forced a smile on to her face. “It’s all so far in the past.”

  “Do you ever think you’ll date again?” Beverly asked gently.

  “I don’t think so. I’m happy as I am.” Cath set her cup down on the saucer. “What I really need is a little business venture.”

  Beverly understood the conversation was ended for now. That was the other thing Cath liked about her son’s fiancée; she didn’t push too far, she instinctively knew when to back off, and Cath appreciated her empathy. “What did you do before you moved to Bear Creek?”

  “I don’t know that I have moved here.” Cath was undecided as to whether Bear Creek was going to be her new home for good. She’d rented her house out short-term while she stayed with Liam. If she were truly committed, she would have sold it and cut all ties with her old life.

  “Oh. I thought you would. Especially since Liam is dead set on giving you grandbabies as soon as possible.” Her face lit up at the prospect. “After the wedding, of course. I am not walking down the aisle looking like a meringue or a balloon.”

  Cath chuckled. “Oh, maybe I could be persuaded to stay around. But I still need something to do.”

  “So?” Beverly prompted. “What did you do?”

  “I was a seamstress, and a baker, I’ve also worked in a bank. And picked up some shifts as a waitress when things were really tight. No husband meant I was the sole provider as well as the sole parent.” Cath allowed herself a moment of pride. Despite Mike’s waywardness, she had done her best to raise her boys. There was little they had wanted for. She never sent them to school in hand-me-downs, and they always had wonderful birthday parties and gifts under the Christmas tree.

  “It sounds as if you could turn your hand to anything,” Beverly said. “There has to be something you can do here in Bear Creek.”

  “I like the idea of an online store,” she admitted. “Seeing how Liam runs the one for the mountain store, I quite like the thought.”

  “That’s a start.” Beverly looked at her watch. “I have to go to work. My shift starts in ten minutes and I can’t be late, Dad wants to run through some stuff he needs me to take on after the wedding.” She pulled a face. “Honestly, we’ve already gone over everything ten times.”

  “You go. I’ll finish my coffee and then see if Liam wants a hand with anything.” Cath already knew he wouldn’t need her help. He and Leona, his assistant, had it all under control. They had a routine and all jobs got done on time. Cath didn’t want to interfere and mess up their system, but she was going stir-crazy with nothing to do.

  Beverly got up to leave. As she put her jacket on, the door of the café opened and a woman in her late thirties came in. “Hi, Sandra.” Beverly waved the woman over.

  “Hi Beverly, how are you?” Sandra asked. “Nervous about the wedding?”

  “I’m trying not to think about it.” Beverly’s face paled. “It’s coming around so fast.”

  “You’ll be fine, and the cake is going to look amazing, I promise you,” Sandra said with a comforting tone.

  “Oh, I forgot you two don’t know each other. Sandra, this is Cath, Liam’s mom and soon to be my mother-in-law. Cath, this is Sandra, who is making the wedding cake.” Beverly looked at her watch. “I have to run.”

  “See you soon,” Sandra said as Beverly rushed out of the door. “Oh, to have that kind of energy.”

  “I remember the days when I could run around like that all day.” Cath indicated the chair Beverly had vacated. “Do you want a coffee?”

  Sandra looked at the chair and then at Cath. “I’d love a cup.” She took her coat off and sat down. “Everyone is so busy, and I’m at a bit of a loose end.”

  Cath rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. I seem to get under Liam’s feet.”

  “Kids, they grow up and don’t need their moms so much,” Sandra said.

  “Two more coffees,” Cath asked the waitress.
“And why not throw in a couple of those chocolate donuts.” She leaned forward and said to Sandra, “Let’s be devils.”

  Sandra nodded in agreement. “Let’s. No one cares if a few pounds go on my hips.”

  “No one cares?” Cath asked.

  A shadow crept across Sandra’s face. “I’m a widow.”

  “Recently?” Cath asked. “If it’s too painful…”

  “No, I’m getting better at speaking about it.” She looked down at her hands, which gripped her purse tightly, the whites of her knuckles showing, before she consciously relaxed. “My husband died just over a year ago.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Cath said gently.

  “Thank you.” She sighed heavily. “When you expect to spend the rest of your life with someone and suddenly they aren’t there…”

  “I understand completely. Although my ex-husband isn’t dead. At least I don’t think he’s dead.” Cath took a deep breath, as if she were about to make a huge announcement, which in some ways she was. Today seemed to be the day she shared the news with the whole world that her ex-husband, who swore he’d never leave her, had done just that. “My ex-husband walked out the door one morning and never came home.”

  “Oh goodness. Did you ever find out what happened to him?” Sandra asked as the waitress brought the coffees and donuts.

  “He left a note. In it he said he’d made a terrible mistake and that I belonged to another. Yet here I am, twenty-five years later, still alone.” There, she’d admitted the truth.

  “That’s terrible.” Sandra’s gaze flicked up to Cath’s face and then she looked away. “Are you a…?”

  “No, he was.” Cath pressed her lips together. “He said we were meant to be together, and I believed him.”

  “I can’t believe a shifter would lie like that. I’m so sorry.”

  “We were together for six years, married for five of those years, and had two children. I thought we had a good life together. Perhaps he got bored of me. Bored of being a family man.” Cath picked up a donut and took a bite. “That is good.”