She increased the firmness of her hands, curling her fingers under to scratch Derek behind the ears. The humming grew louder until it was reverberating throughout his body.
“Who knew Derek Holt was a bear,” she whispered softly. Her voice sounded warm, no longer fractured with fear or shock, but just a gentle acceptance that touched Derek to his core.
“It doesn’t change anything for me. I still love you, Derek. Maybe, knowing what you did for my son, I love you a little bit more.”
Derek Holt was humbled, completely and utterly for the first time in his life. Those words seemed to have the power to take away a lifetime of pain and suffering, to replace the evils he’d suffered as a child and the almost constant fear of being found out that he carried with him on a daily basis and reduced them to nothing but bad memories.
He took a long breath, his body slowly morphing back into his human form.
Audrey embraced him, burying her head in his neck.
“I love you,” she whispered again. “I love you.”
“Audrey,” Derek replied tenderly. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please.”
Derek sunk down low onto one knee, taking her hand in his.
“Mary me. Let me love you forever. You and Zach, for as long as I’ve got breath in my body. I’m not interested in a life without you by my side. I’m tired of fighting how I feel about you, tired of not being the man I want to be when I’m with you. Say yes.” Derek laughed out of nervousness, “Please, say yes, Red.”
Audrey sank down, tears in her eyes.
She clutched his hands with her own.
“Yes, of course, yes!”
Epilogue
They sat around a roaring fire, sleepy after a huge meal and too cozy and comfortable to move.
Derek had Audrey in his arms, her legs stretched out across the sofa, her head leaning against his chest. Zach sat on the floor, playing with Legos.
Tanner and Heather sat on the other sofa with Chloe curled up on an armchair reading a book.
The had spent a day on the ski slopes. Everyone skied except Chloe who was into trick snowboarding. As a result, her backside was feeling tender, and she cradled a thick hot chocolate.
Derek looked around the room with peaceful contentment. He couldn’t believe that this was his life now, an existence that was far beyond his wildest dreams. After the summer, Audrey had quit her job, preferring to enjoy a part-time role volunteering in Zach’s first grade class. She was over the music industry, and now, with Derek as her husband they both had their fill of it.
Derek still toured, but quite a bit less now. He spent more time in the studio, which he found far more fulfilling creatively. He also found that being around his family was most fulfilling thing in his life. Zach had swiftly become his best friend. He never tired of the kid’s vast imagination or inquisitiveness.
Their home was full of laughter. Audrey telling him tales of odd or amusing things the children had said, or Zach telling them the (often embellished) lessons he’d learned at school. They lived in Chicago for the most part, but Derek had kept the cabin, purchasing it off the elderly couple, and now spent most of their summers refurbishing it. For Audrey, the negative events that had taken place that first summer were outweighed by the love that had sprung up between them, and the hope their future held.
This Christmas they had returned to Jackson Hole, mainly because Audrey wanted to spend time with Heather and Chloe, and Derek’s bear got restless in Chicago.
“Oh, Chloe,” Tanner broke the silence, “Wesley called earlier. Asked how you were doing. I’ve got a number if you want to call him back.”
“No thanks,” Chloe replied sharply.
Everyone looked over at her. Chloe adored Wesley, always had and she rarely snapped at anyone.
Derek kept quiet. He was the only one who had seen Wesley since he left. He called Tanner occasionally to check in, but that had been all. Derek suspected that Chloe was broken-hearted.
“Are you okay?” Heather asked.
Chloe put her book down and smiled sadly, “I’m fine. I’m sorry. Just sleepy I guess.”
“We should all get some shut-eye,” Derek agreed. Sleeping was the last thing he wanted. He and Audrey were trying to have another baby, and trying to impregnate Audrey was one of the most enjoyable exercises Derek had ever taken part in.
“Can I have a ride before bed?” Zach asked, “please?”
He looked up earnestly at Derek, his eyes pleading.
“It’s pretty cold, buddy,” Derek replied, looking at the trenches of thick snow outside.
“I’ll put on my scarf, and my coat. Dad, please.”
Audrey laughed. “Zach, if you are going out you need to put on your snow suit.”
“Yeah, I will!” He jumped up, realizing that his mom was agreeing, and now Derek would be a complete push-over.
“Chloe, are you coming?”
“I think I’m a bit too old,” she smiled. “I don’t want to break dad’s back!”
“I can take it!” Tanner laughed. “I’m not that old and feeble. Am I?”
Despite the cold, the whole group tromped outside. Derek ran around the side of the house, leaving his clothes in a neat pile and shifting. He approached Zach, walking on his hind legs and mock-roaring. Zach found it far more entertaining when Derek first pretended to be ferocious.
Next, Zach clambered on Derek’s back, to generous applause from everyone. Derek marched him around as Zach tugged on his hair to turn him left and right. When they were done, and Zach was too cold to continue, Audrey lifted Zach off the bear and gave Derek a kiss on his muzzle.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered. “Soon you’ll have another little one to give rides to. I’m pregnant.”
Derek pawed at the ground in joy half infuriated his wife had told him the news when he was in bear form and couldn’t reply. He nudged her instead, delirious with joy.
“I love you too,” she replied happily. “I hope it’s a shifter, like you.”
Derek nuzzled her stomach, still flat, but soon to be growing. Derek couldn’t wait, he just wanted to give Zach a sibling and he and Audrey one more person in the family to love.
THE END
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Enjoy A Free Sneak Peek…
THORN: Bears of Burden Book 1 (SNEAK PEEK)
Chapter 1
Hawthorne
“Check out the blonde in the pink dress.” Sterling Mallory whistled under his breath. “Da-yum, she’s a looker.”
I’d already noticed. I’d also gone back to her place the week before.
I stretched back in my chair and flashed a wide grin. “Go ahead, call her over. It’s been what? Twenty minutes since the last time you struck out with a woman? ‘Bout time for you to try again.”
Sterling’s big brother, Hutch, clapped me on the back and huffed a laugh. “Twenty minutes? Hell, you must’ve missed that bouncy little redhead not ten minutes ago.”
Sterling shook his head. “She was a lesbian. Don’t count as striking out.”
It counted. I slid a glance towards the bar. Abram, my assistant manager, nodded. Everything was fine, which meant I could stay and relax for a bit longer in my favorite chair at the corner table with my lifelong buddies, Sterling, Hutch, Sam and…
“Where’s Wyatt?”
Sterling ignored me and left his chair to approach the blonde, who was eyeing me, a coy smile playing at the corners of her lips. I just shook my head and tipped my old John Deere cap at her. Sure, she was a beauty, but I wasn’t about to give false impressions. I didn’t go back for seconds.
“Last I knew, Wyatt was headed up the mountain with another group of would-be survivalists.”
A shudder ran do
wn my back. “How he deals with some of those crazies, I’ll never know. I swear that bear attracts the nut-jobs.”
Hutch nodded and then nearly snorted out his beer. The pretty blonde had just slapped the hell out of Sterling. “Another strike out. Looks like little brother is going home alone tonight.”
“Nah. He always manages to find himself a pity screw.” Even as the words left my mouth, a tall brunette came up to Sterling and cupped his bright red cheek. “See. I don’t get it, but some women love the wounded ego thing.”
The ear-splitting sound of shattering glass echoed through the place followed by a collective groan from a group sitting at one of the tables up near the juke box. As the crowd parted, I spotted Cammie rushing to clean up a massive mess of spilled beer and broken mugs. From what it looked like, she’d dropped an entire tray of drinks. Damn.
Sam Jennings chose that moment to plop down in his usual seat beside me. He followed my eyes to Cammie and her disaster and shook his head. “What’s that? The fourth time this week?”
I pushed off from my chair and stretched out my legs. “Fifth. I don’t think this is going to work out.”
I left them sitting there and joined Abram at the bar. He’d been my assistant manager for years and knew what I wanted before I did most of the time. “What’s the deal with her?”
His eyes went to Cammie then trailed over to Sam. “Your buddy bedded her and hasn’t called her back.”
Fuck. I had a strict policy about my friends staying the hell away from my waitresses. It was hard enough to keep good help around, what with dealing with a bar full of drunk shifters, and humans alike, day after day. I glared over at my best friend and decided I was going to bleed him later.
“Think she’ll bounce back?”
Abram expertly shuffled a few beers into customers’ waiting hands. “Not a chance. She’s already told me tonight’s her last night.”
I grunted. At least she was going to finish her shift. That was more than they normally did.
As if she’d heard my thoughts, Cammie plunked the tray she’d been carrying onto the bar and without a word, without even meeting my eyes, yanked the apron off her hips, and tossed it on top of the tray before turning and sprinting out the front door.
“Dammit.”
Abram laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. He slid another couple of beers down the bar and shook his head. “Looks like you just got a promotion, Boss. I don’t reckon that apron is going to fit you, though.”
I tossed the apron towards the bin of soiled towels and picked up the tray. “Do we have some resumes left over from last time we hired?”
“I’ll figure it out,” he nodded, “You just get your cute little butt out there and earn you some tips!”
I flipped him off and grabbed several beers, assuming that’s what most of my patrons would be drinking. When I stopped by my table, Sam looked up at me with a hangdog grin.
“Sorry, Thorn. I didn’t expect her to run.”
I smacked him on the back of the head and handed a beer to Hutch. “Keep your fucking dick away from my waitresses, Sam. This shit is getting old. I got a business to run.”
He still didn’t manage to wipe the grin off his face. She must’ve been worth my ire. I shook my head and headed back to the bar, ready for what would no doubt be a long night.
The little blonde cut me off and smiled up at me. “Hey, Thorn.”
The pink dress she had on certainly did hike up her girls, and I found them distracting as hell. “Hey.”
“I haven’t heard from you so I thought I’d stop back by and say hello. I had a lot of fun the other night.”
I let a crooked smile tilt my mouth. “Me too.”
She rested her hand on my arm and batted her eyelashes. “I’m free later tonight.”
Damn. I looked around the bar and saw how busy it was. By the time the night ended I’d be exhausted and cranky. I decided that it’d be kinda nice to have a little something soft and warm waiting on me. I slipped my arm around her side, brushed my lips against her ear, and growled, “I’ll come around to your house after I close up.”
She shivered and pressed herself against me. “I’ll be here. Just find me when you’re finished.”
I watched her saunter over to her friends before I turned back to the bar. Abram had been observing with a grin on his face. When I got back to the bar, he just laughed.
“You’re just as bad as Sam. Only difference is you don’t screw the waitresses.”
Which is the point.
Chapter 2
Allie
Texas. Hmm… not exactly where I’d planned on ending up, but, then, I didn’t really have a plan to speak of. Who knows, this might just be the hand of fate guiding me, right here. Burden, Texas. Hell, the name alone seemed to foreshadow my destiny.
I’d run out of gas on the side of the road with absolutely no money left in my bank account. My sporadic road trip was just that - completely and utterly sporadic. I’d thrown a few things in the back of my old Mustang and just headed the old girl west. What I hadn’t done was make sure I had the finances for my travels.
My phone died somewhere in the middle of Arkansas and I’d left the charger back in North Carolina. The snacks I’d packed had been depleted in Tennessee. I’d grown tired of sleeping in my car the first half of Texas.
I’d gotten off the interstate in Arkansas to enjoy the scenery and crossed over to Texas in the same way, on back roads. Going through the small towns had been stunning, until I found myself on the side of the road, stranded with not another soul in sight.
I’d just passed the sign for Burden when the damn car sputtered to a stop. I looked around and rolled my shoulders. The outskirts of Big Bend National Park had spectacular views. Burden was at the bottom of the far west side of Texas, on the Mexican border. I’d driven far off the beaten path for a chance to see Big Bend and now, here I was, stranded in what was potentially a ghost town.
I wasn’t entirely sure it was abandoned, since I didn’t actually know the first thing about Burden, Texas. I think I remembered seeing it on the road atlas I’d studied at a gas station outside of Austin. But, I’d driven through several ghost towns that had also been listed on the atlas, so the prospects of Burden actually being inhabited was somewhere around fifty-fifty.
Anxiety started to wear at the edges of my consciousness. I snatched my backpack from the trunk and tossed it over my shoulder. I’d hike through the park and hope to find a park ranger. Hiking the last thirty miles into Big Bend hadn’t been my plan, but then again, I didn’t exactly have a plan. And besides, this trip just might be my very last taste of freedom. The last chance I had to throw caution to the wind. My final hurrah as it were.
It was May, so not the hottest month of the year, but the daytime temperature was still in the high nineties. I’d dressed in simple, loose cotton shorts that morning that stopped just below my ass and a spaghetti strapped tank top. My clothes were perfect for the weather. My flip flops sucked for hiking. No matter, I tied my hair out of my face with a bandana and marched on.
This might be an unexpected hiccup, but I wasn’t one to let something like this get me down. Sure, it sucked to break down. Even more so outside a place called Burden, a place that was probably just some rugged land with a few abandoned adobe style structures on it. But, technically I was still on the road, which had been the point of leaving in the first place. To experience an adventure. I wanted to see everything. I wanted to spend as long as I could seeing everything.
It had nothing to do with me running scared from the marriage proposal my boyfriend had sprung on me. Nope. Nothing at all.
Summer hadn’t taken over yet and wildflowers were still blooming on each side of the road. As I walked, the blooms charmed me and I couldn’t help but smile. Green grass blew in the hot breeze. In the distance, the road dipped and I lost sight of whatever it was that I was walking towards. Only when I got closer, could I see the town spread out in the v
alley below.
Burden looked like a perfect little town. I could see enough movement to convince me that it wasn’t an abandoned ghost town. Awesome luck!
With a pep in my step, and my flip-flops slapping the soles of my feet, I headed towards this little slice of salvation. The first structure I came across was a large log cabin style place. A rustic wooden sign mounted over the door read ‘The Cave’. I peeked in the window, and the sight of neon beer signs made me feel like I’d won the lottery. Looks like I wasn’t gonna die from heat stroke or dehydration out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas after all.
A few cars dotted the side lot, enough to indicate that the establishment was open. I stepped up onto the wide porch that wrapped around both sides of the cabin, and as I did, I felt an air of familiarity swirl around me and waft its way over my senses. An intimacy settled over me and I stood still for a second to try to make sense of it. I’d never been to Texas before, what was it about The Cave that felt so incredibly like déjà vu?
Worn planks of wood stretched out under my feet and creaked when I shifted my weight back and forth. I caught the slight whine of an old country song, along with the aroma of pine and grilled steak which elicited a loud growl from my stomach. I had no business feeling homesick for a place like this one, but there it was. I was feeling homesick for a place I’d never been.
It had to be a mind trick. That was it. My mind was finding comfort anywhere that wasn’t back home. Anywhere that wasn’t filled with chaotic, plaguing thoughts and fears. Yep. This was simply a town that didn’t threaten my piece of mind, a town where I could pretend that I had no problems or worries. Except an empty bank account and an empty gas tank.
I shrugged my backpack higher on my shoulder and pushed through the front door. The Cave was surprisingly dark for midday. Natural lighting from the windows lit the front of the place, casting long streaks of light across wooden tables and chairs and leaving the untouched areas in shadow. Old chandeliers hung from the ceiling, unlit, and a large jukebox took up part of the corner opposite the bar.
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