“I have never met Beau, but Brad says he is a good man. They have a history.”
Elise nodded, wondering where this was going.
“You know his sister got murdered?” Abbi asked, her full attention on Elise and her reactions.
“No,” Elise whispered. It explained so much about what was wrong with Beau’s house. As if it had been put into mothballs, left in the past. “I knew she was dead…”
“That is something Beau should tell you about.” Abbi’s face was pale; it was obviously not the kind of story you tell in a sunny diner in the middle of the morning. “But the man responsible is somehow linked to this man you are looking for.”
“How?” Elise asked.
Abbi shrugged. “I thought maybe you could tell me.”
Elise looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”
“Listen. Brad is very protective of Beau. So when a woman shows up on Beau’s doorstep after that man has spent the last two years as a hermit, and Beau said yes to taking on her case, then suspicions are raised. Beau thinks you are his mate. But you are denying it. Suddenly, this all starts to sound like more trouble than Beau deserves.”
“I can see it would.” Elise frowned.
“Your man, Gable O’Donnell, he said he was your mate, and then he disappeared. Was that a lie?”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Whose mate are you?” Abbi’s voice was raised a little now. “Beau’s or Gable’s? I want the truth.”
“I’m Beau’s mate,” she said and it felt such a relief to say those words out loud.
“Well, that’s step one. Step two.” She took a deep breath, and Elise could tell she didn’t want to ask the next question. “Is Connor really your baby?”
And there it was. Elise didn’t hesitate with her answer. “No.” She cradled him to her breasts, and held him close, smelling his hair, as she closed her eyes and wished with all her heart that he was, that he was her child with Beau and none of this was happening, that her sister had never met Gable O’Donnell, and was here with her now. “No, he’s not. He’s my sister’s child.”
“And your sister is dead?” Abbi asked more gently. “I’m sorry.” The pain on Elise’s face must have been enough; she didn’t need to answer Abbi. Instinctively, Abbi reached out and touched her shoulder. “I had to ask.”
“How do you know all this?” Elise asked.
Abbi sighed. “Eat your food. I’ll take Connor from you.” She looked up and smiled as Arlene came by with her large plate of food, the smell was wonderful, but her appetite was gone. “Come on. Eat. It will make you feel better. Then we can go and meet up with the men.”
“Does Beau know all this? About me?” Elise asked, picking up her knife and fork. One mouthful at a time she began to feel her normal self, ready to face whatever was in front of her. Ready to help her mate.
“I think so. I think from what Brad said he guessed you are not Connor’s mom.”
She swallowed her mouthful of food and looked down at her plate. “I should have been honest with him.”
“He’ll understand.” Abbi bounced Connor up and down on her knee. “Listen, why don’t I take Connor home with me? He can play with Sky for a couple of hours, and you and Beau can have some alone-time, clear the air.”
“I don’t know…” Elise had not left Connor alone with anyone since her sister died. She had always been within crying distance.
“It’s OK to let go,” Abbi said quietly. “I’ll take you over to Brad’s office, he can vouch for me, and then I’ll go home. Leave me some bottles and we’ll be fine. I’m not that out of practice.”
“Thank you, Abbi,” Elise said. She really did need to talk to Beau, to explain everything, and to let him open up about his own sister.
Murder. How did you deal with that? Knowing that someone killed a person you loved. In the same way she had dealt with the death of her sister; in some ways she had thought that was murder. In the darkest hours of the night, when she couldn’t sleep, and her mind filled with that overwhelming need for revenge, at those times she called what Gable had done to her sister murder. A long-drawn-out murder.
Only in the sane light of day could she reason over the different scenarios that could have led to the abandonment. Yet here was Abbi, sitting in front of her, insinuating that there might be a link between the deaths. That the same man might be responsible for her sister, and Beau’s sister, no longer walking this Earth.
Finishing her meal, she got up to settle the bill, knowing she had to see this through to the end, had to be completely honest with Beau, so that between then they made sure this never happened to anyone else again.
Chapter Ten – Beau
Beau sensed her approach, turning to look out of the window as Elise walked along the street with another woman. Brad shifted in his chair and looked up too, telling Beau this was his mate, Abbi. He had never met her before, already a recluse by the time his friend had met his mate.
Getting up from his chair, Brad went to the door. As he moved, he told Beau, “Abbi went and met Elise at the diner.”
“At your request?” Beau asked.
“Had to make sure you weren’t being duped. So far I haven’t heard of the drug being used on men, but I had to be sure.”
“Drug?” Elise asked as she entered Brad’s office.
“Elise. This is Brad, Hal and Will.”
“Good to meet you,” she said politely, but her eyes swiveled back to his. “Drug?”
“Beau, this is Abbi,” Brad cut in. “Hal is going to take her back home, with the baby, so you two can spend some time together. Elise, I think it would be best if you went with Beau and he explained it all. You two have a lot of things to talk over.”
Elise looked at Brad briefly and then her gaze fell on Beau, and he got the intense feeling that she thought he had set her up in some way. “Brad’s probably right, Elise. Let’s go. Connor will be safe with Abbi.”
Elise handed the baby bag to Abbi, and kissed Connor before handing him over too. The two women must have already discussed this, because Elise put up no argument, only saying, “Thank you, Abbi.” Then she smiled at the others. “Nice to meet you all, I hope we can catch up later.”
“Good to meet you, Abbi. When things are more settled, we’ll have to let you know all of Beau’s embarrassing secrets from when he was a kid,” Will said, and earned a laugh from Elise, a sound he realized he hadn’t heard before.
“I look forward to it.” She smiled as Beau, and then held out her hand. “Shall we go?”
The shock of having her so open to him made his legs lock and he stayed where he was, simply staring at her hand.
“She means you,” Hal said, giving him a prod.
“Right.” Beau stood up, feeling like a kid again. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Have fun,” Abbi called after them.
He lifted his hand and waved, while his other hand slipped into Elise’s and closed around it, capturing her, and feeling a sensation like static electricity pass through their skin and then travel up his arm, to bloom in his chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as they walked.
“For what?” he asked.
“Everything. Lying to you.”
“It’s OK, I can understand where you are coming from. It’s not easy when a family member dies.”
“I heard you weren’t taking on any more cases, but hoped that you might help a mother and child in distress. When I saw you were my mate, I panicked and stuck to the story, even though I should have owned up.”
“It’s OK, really. You did what you thought you had to do for your family.” He squeezed her hand. “And no matter what, Connor is family, yours and mine.”
“Thank you.” She snuck a look at him. “That means everything to me. He is my responsibility, and I think he always will be.” They had nearly reached the truck now, and he took his keys out and opened the doors, going around to the passenger side and pulling her door open, and offering
her his hand to help her climb in.
She accepted his offer, turning to look at his face as she settled in her seat. Their lips were so close, and he saw her tongue flick out to moisten them, ready for him to move in and kiss her. “Not here.”
Her eyes slid past his face to look in the diner, where three faces were all turned towards them, Arlene at the window with a big smile on her face. “Not into public displays of affection?” she asked.
“No. Not when I’m not sure where that display will end. I want you, Elise. I know we need to talk, but now we’ve admitted what we are to each other, I want you. I need to claim you.”
He watched the blush appear on her cheeks, but she didn’t deny him, didn’t tell him he was delusional. That part was over, and he sensed, as the heat flared out from her body, that she felt the same way. He knew just the place to go.
Only just stopping himself from running, like a kid for a lollipop, back around to his side of the truck, he yanked the door open and got in. Fumbling with the key, he pushed it into the ignition and turned it until the truck rumbled into life. His heart beat fast in his chest, and his breathing was ragged as he pulled out into traffic and followed the main road back through town, and then took a left turn.
The houses petered out, and then were soon following a road which meandered along the bottom slopes of the mountain. He had to slow down a couple of times as he tried to recall the turn-off he needed to take. It had been a long time since he had tramped over these paths with his brothers, and they looked different from the seat of a truck.
“There,” he said at last, and hauled his truck up a steep track which would take them higher enough up the mountain that they could shift without the risk of being seen in daylight. He glanced sideways at her, and watched as she looked around them. The green grasslands of the lush lower slopes had given way to scrub land and then trees as the forests grew thick and strong.
It was into these forests he pulled the truck, parking on the side of the track, leaving enough room for other vehicles to get past, but as far as he knew, no one else came here. Which was exactly why he had chosen this place.
Switching off the engine, he sat in silence for a second, looking out of the window, sure he could see the ghosts of children playing hide and seek in the trees. He pictured Louisa, her blonde hair flowing as she ran, her laughter filling the air.
He smiled. It was a good memory of the past, but he had to remember that was the past and the woman next to him was his future.
Chapter Eleven – Elise
He was lost to her, his gaze distant, and she let him have this moment; she could wait, wait for him to come back to her. These trees held memories for him, and those were precious things. Elise knew when a person was not there anymore, not flesh that you could touch, or call up on a phone to ask how they were, then there were only the memories. Most of them of death and decay. If he could find something more here, something that reminded him of who his sister was, not how she ended up, then she would let him have it, and hold on to it for as long as he needed.
“Shall we go?” He turned to her, a sad smile on his face. “There’s a clearing a couple of miles away, it’s on a steep slope and when you look out from it, it feels as if you are top of the world.”
“I’d like to see that,” she answered and opened her door, slipping down to the ground, scenting the trees, pine mixed with deciduous, warmed by the midday sun. It felt good to be out here in the wild; she hadn’t allowed her bear to run properly since they had gone home to her sister. At first because of nursing her, and then because she hated leaving Connor alone. He was her last link to Eleanor, and her promise to look after him was never far from her thoughts.
“This way,” he said, coming around to join her. He hesitated and then reached for her hand, which she gave willingly.
Her bear wanted to be free. With each step the struggle to keep control was harder, not least because she wanted to show off to their mate.
“Is it as difficult for you?” he asked.
“What? Your bear too?” She wasn’t sure if that was what he was referring to or not. For all she knew he could be talking about the death of her sister, but all her brain could focus on right now was stopping her bear coming out to play.
“Yes.” He stopped and looked around. “This spot was always secluded, so I think we are safe.”
With that he grinned at her, the strain melting away as his bear came forth, and all she heard, like a whisper on the wind, was, “Let’s go.”
She watched as he shimmered out of this world, and for one instant she lost him, the bond gone, before a dark shape appeared in place of the human Beau, and there stood a big brown bear, his four paws firm on the ground, supporting stocky legs so thick they could be young tree trunks. Damn, his bear was as magnificent as the rest of him.
Her own bear agreed, and there was no way she was about to miss out on the fun. With a grin of her own, she let herself go, let her brain forget everything apart from the hunt for honey or wild berries on a summer afternoon, as her bear escaped at last. In an instant she was butting into Beau, laying down a challenge, and then she ran.
As she looked back, she saw him standing there watching and the same look he had when he was staring out into the woods only minutes before crossed his face. Then he roared, low and deep, and he took off after her. She felt the ground tremble as he thundered after her, and she picked up speed, her claws digging into the damp earth as she propelled herself forward.
Freedom. Not just the act of running, but freedom from all her fears and frustrations. Things were so much simpler like this and she could understand why sometimes people shifted and never returned to their human forms.
She had no idea where she was going, so she dodged around a thicket of trees and let him run in front. He moved with a purpose, following paths that were invisible to the untrained eye, always heading in the same direction. He knew exactly where he was going; these forests were like a second home to him.
Then the trees thinned, and as he promised they burst out into a clearing on a steep slope of the mountain, and from there they looked out onto the surrounding area, with the ground dropping away so steeply it really was as if they were on top of the world.
He shifted back into his human form and she did the same, taking control back from her bear. “Come.” He took her hand and silently moved through the grass of the clearing. She followed, her eyes fixed, not on the view, but on his back, longing to know what he was thinking.
They walked to the very center of the clearing, and he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “I used to come here when I was a child, we thought we could conquer the world.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But I hate talking about it.”
“I understand.” She sighed. “It never gets easier. People say time heals, but it hasn’t so far.”
“I don’t know if I want to heal. I’m scared if I do, that I will forget her.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “You won’t.”
“Some things I wish I could forget.”
“She was murdered, that must be tough.” He looked at her sharply and she added, “Abbi told me.”
“Ahh.”
“Not what happened. She said that was for you to tell me. But they think your sister’s death, and mine…” She shuddered involuntarily. “That they are linked in some way.”
“Yes.” He nodded, and placed his hand on her arm. “I think they may be right. Brad has put a lot of the pieces together. Something I should have done, but instead I gave up looking for her killer and wallowed in my self-pity.”
“Don’t,” she said. “That does no one any good.”
“But what if I had kept looking? If I had found him, then your sister might be alive.”
“It’s done. This man, whoever he is, has done enough damage. Don’t let him hurt you forever, don’t let him kill us too.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I knew you came into my life for a reason.”
“Then let that reason be stopping this Gable, or whatever his name is, together. We’ve come this far. Let’s finish it, so he never hurts anyone again.”
“Yes.” Beau turned to her, his face close to hers. “You have given me something to live for. I would have eventually become so much like my other side, that I would have gone off over the mountain one day and never came back.”
She tilted her face to his and kissed him. “If it wasn’t for Connor, I think I would have been tempted to do the same thing.”
“But you didn’t.”
“And neither did you.”
“She was an undercover cop,” he began, his voice faltering. “On the trail of this new drug. Niq It.”
“A drug?” Elise asked.
“So Brad tells me. I didn’t know at the time. She was a god cop, never talked about the cases she was working.” He was silent, as if remembering, and Elise didn’t let the silence become uncomfortable; she moved her hand to squeeze his, encouraging him, but not pushing. “The last time she spoke to me, she told me she was close to the end of the case. I never knew that would mean the end of her.”
“How did she die?” Elise asked.
“She’d been beaten. Then strangled, and left in the bottom of a ditch. No fingerprints, no forensics. Nothing, whoever did it knew what they were doing. Or so I was told.” He shook his head. “I tried to find out more, tried to hunt the person who did it. But her unit wouldn’t tell me anything. I was a PI, a damn good PI, but that wasn’t good enough for them. I spoke to Brad briefly; he made no headway either. They closed ranks.”
“Why?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I figured they had screwed up in some way. The inquest was private, death by misadventure as if it just happened, a mistake she made. They didn’t want the truth to get out.”
“And do you know what happened now?” she asked.
He looked at her, and then raised his hand to stroke her cheek. “This drug, Niq It. They found out it works on shifters.”
Her Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 2) Page 5
