“Until it’s fixed, I am more than willing to take you home.” He looked at the counter. “Wow, that is a lot of gifts.”
“Yes, Alli has seen a fair few brides come through here, brides that have had children of their own and know how special each new life is.” She put her sewing basket away. “Do you mind being a courier too, Taylor?”
“Not at all. Shall I start loading them into the truck?”
“That would be fantastic. I’ll tidy up and then we can get on home.” She paused. “Sorry, back to the farmhouse.”
He smiled, sharing his own private joke, and then picked up the first of the gifts and carried them out to his truck. She could swear he was whistling. Going to the small kitchen, she washed and dried the last of the cups and put them away. As she worked, she had a sudden thought.
“Taylor,” she said, as he came back in the store. “I’ve had a great idea, about us living in Bear Creek.”
He stopped, looking at her strangely, before masking his expression and asking, “You have?”
“Yes. Well, I think I have, I would have to ask Alli, but she used to live above the store in the small apartment. I could ask her if we could move in there.”
Whatever he had expected her to say, this was not it. He didn’t answer for a moment, and then just said, “I don’t think so, Melanie.”
“Why not? It would be perfect. I’ll show it to you if you want. I have the key.”
“No,” he said quickly.
“Why? We could make it really cosy, there’s a small yard out back too.”
“No, I want to get these to Alli.”
She frowned. “I thought we were a partnership. I can’t believe you won’t even look at it.”
He set the gifts back down on the counter top. “Just not tonight,” he said, coming to her and kissing her. “Not tonight.”
“OK,” she said, feeling thoroughly deflated.
Watching him load up the truck, she wondered what was going on with him. He had seemed in such a good mood, now he was almost sullen. For the first time she questioned the whole mated bond thing. What if they weren’t suited? What if they always had these disagreements? She sighed; the pull to be with him was too strong. She would have to figure out a way of making it work. Fate knew what it was doing, right?
“Ready?”
She jumped at his voice. “Yes. I’ll just switch off the lights.” She checked the back doors one more time, and then followed him out, locking the door behind them. Looking up, she wondered if it would work, them living above the store. She couldn’t understand why he had been so against it, but then maybe living above her work wasn’t exactly what he wanted. Melanie reminded herself she had to take another person’s thoughts and opinion on board from now on.
“Snow’s clearing,” she said, trying to make conversation as they drove.
“Yes,” he said, looking out of the side window. “Another day and it will be as if it was never there. I’m taking a run up to Cougar Ridge in a couple of days. Do you think you might be able to come along? I’d like to show you around there.”
“Oh, yes. Well. I’ll try. It depends if Alli is up to a couple of hours at the shop. Or I could ask Mrs. Bury to help. Yes. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Great,” he said. “Look, your car has gone.”
“Oh, yes. I’d gotten quite used to it being there.” She looked at the spot where her car had gone into the ditch. The place where they had first met.
“It’ll be as good as new when it’s been repaired.” He looked at her, and she saw the strained look on his face and felt scared. Were they meant for each other? Had fate made a mistake?
They drove up to the farmhouse, Vic’s car was parked outside, and so was Kian’s truck. Strange, they would normally be both still at work. But then the weather was bad and Kian did have to help with Callum.
“I wonder why they are all here?” she said absently, getting out of the car. “I hope everything is OK.”
“Let’s go to the barn first,” Taylor said.
“I can’t. I have to go inside and say hello. It would be rude not to.”
“A couple of minutes alone, that’s all.”
She looked at the farmhouse, wondering if Alli had seen them coming and put the kettle on ready for them to sit down and discuss how the day had gone. Instead, she took his outstretched hand and followed him to the barn.
“Taylor, we can’t be long. I have to go in and say hello.” He swung the door open, and she stopped short. “What’s going on?”
“Welcome to your new home, Alli.” Kian came over, smiling and hugged her.
“You’re nuts. I can’t live in a barn.”
“Yes, you can. When we’ve converted it.”
She looked at Taylor, who was smiling and she punched him playfully. “You were in on this!”
“Yes. You really put me on the spot when you talked about looking at the apartment above the store. I knew they were all here waiting for you.”
She felt tears prick her eyes; she had been so wrong about him. “You knew about it?” She looked around. “You all knew about it.”
“Yes, honey,” said Alli, coming forward to hug her with Callum in her arms. “This little boy needs his auntie close by. And we knew you wanted to stay here. Taylor agreed, he and Kian came in here and drew up some plans. Between them, and with Vic’s help, they should be able to get it finished in a month.”
“A month.”
“Yes. We’ll all pitch in. Then you can get married and move in here.”
“Oh,” said Taylor. He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a small box. Dropping to one knee, he asked, “Melanie, will you marry me?”
“Of course,” she said, bending down to hug him.
He took the ring out and put it on her finger. “Thank you,” he said, kissing her.
“No, thank you. Thank all of you.”
They stood looking at the plans and discussing the work. Melanie grinned from ear to ear, and kept looking at her ring. She couldn’t be more happy. Here she was, surrounded by her whole family, planning her future house in the town she loved, with the people she loved.
The End
Fated To Her Bear
Curvy girl shifter Ciara left her home town to become a veterinarian, and live her own life, on her won terms. She didn't want to be one of those women who simply waited around for her mate to come along, she didn't want to end up full of regrets like her mom. But she's about to find out, you cannot out run fate.
And Ciara's fate comes in the shape of a handsome rancher, Ryan, who also happens to be a bear shifter. When he needs someone to look at his pregnant mare, it's Ciara who walks into his life. But can he persuade to accept the bond between them, or will his lose his true mate forever?
Has fate made a mistake, or will their bond prove too strong for Ciara to resist?
Chapter One – Ciara
Ciara looked down at the directions scribbled on a piece of paper. She was sure this was the right road. However, as the road climbed higher over the lower slopes of the mountain, she was feeling unsure. Maybe she had missed a turning. The directions were clear, though, so she carried on. When she hit a dead end, she would turn around and retrace her steps.
In the meantime, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the mountain air. It had been a long time since she had been out in the open like this. The lower slopes of the mountain were similar to the wide-open plains where she grew up. She vividly remembered running wild and free across them.
Ciara shut off that train of thought. It was the very reason she had left, to escape the life laid out before her. If she hadn’t taken control of her own life, she would probably be surrounded by a couple of children by now, instead of enjoying a successful career as a vet. By working hard, she had assured that her destiny was her own—she would never be dictated to, never told what she could and couldn’t do.
“Ah, there it is,” she exclaimed, coming out of her daydream. She turned quickly,
making the stones fly up from the road as her tires spun at the abrupt change of direction. Climbing higher, she took a moment to appreciate the position of the ranch house, nestled close to a small wood. In front of the house were meadows filled with cattle and horses. A picture of idyllic bliss.
She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She didn’t want to settle down. She had studied and trained hard to become a veterinarian; she wasn’t going to throw that all in to become a wife and mother. Not yet.
Parking her car in front of the house, she got out, shielding her eyes from the bright sun as she looked for any signs of the owner. No one around. Going to the trunk, she opened it up and took out her boots, swapping them for the comfortable shoes she preferred to drive in. Then she took out her bag and headed towards the house.
“Hello,” she called. No answer. Strange, the call said it was urgent. The office had sent her straight out here, but no one seemed to be home.
Blowing air out through her mouth, she went to the door and knocked. Still no answer. She tried again, knocking so hard her knuckles hurt. She was tempted to try the door handle, but decided against it. She wasn’t here for a house call; she was here to examine a sick horse.
Ciara headed back to her car, not sure what to do. Standing looking around, she spotted the barn, hidden away by the side of the wood. Going over and checking it out was the sensible thing to do, just in case there really was a horse in distress. With bag still in hand, she covered the short distance to the wooden barn, hearing the sound of horses moving around inside. And a voice.
Deep and very masculine, the sound sent shivers down her spine. It invited her in, not with words, but with the tone. It resonated deep in her soul. Ciara swallowed her desire to fling open the barn door and head straight in there. The pull was so strong, and it scared her to death. The very thing she had been running from was inside the barn, his voice calling to her like a siren’s song.
Flattening herself back against the side of the barn, she stood wild eyed and frightened. What was she supposed to do? She had spent the last few years supporting herself through vet school. Now, the very thing she wanted to escape was in the barn behind her.
Ciara fought with herself. She couldn’t leave; the reason she came up here had not changed. She was here to treat the man’s horse. Wasn’t that why she had become a vet in the first place—to help animals? But if she walked through that door, she would become something she had desperately tried to avoid. Damn, she had even left her hometown to dodge this. Her mate should be waiting back there for her, not in a barn on the side of a mountain in Bear Bluff.
“Steady, girl.” The voice spoke again, calm, soothing. Yet distressed.
Ciara closed her eyes, willing herself to have the courage to face the fate that was before her. She was a vet; there was no way she could simply walk away. If saving the horse in the barn meant meeting her destiny, then that was what she would do. Right now.
Rummaging in her bag, she took out a facemask. It would cover the lower part of her face, and maybe she could get away without him seeing what she was, who she was. If there was time, she would have run back to the car to fetch a cap to pull down over her eyes. Yet she knew she was out of time. The message had said it was an emergency, and she had to do her duty.
“Hello,” she called quietly, the sound muffled through the mask.
“Hi. In here.” Footsteps came her way; the barn door swung open, and he stood there in front of her. Six foot four inches of hard-toned muscle, with a handsome face to finish off the gorgeous effect. Much too good for her. She shielded her face.
“I’ve come to look at your horse,” she said, looking at his boots, which shuffled anxiously. Did he know already that she was his mate?
“Are you OK?” he asked. “I asked for a horse vet. Is that you? I’m Ryan, the person who called.”
“Yes, I’m the vet; want to show me where your horse is?” Ciara let her hair fall over her eyes, covering her face as she moved towards the open barn door. She did not want to introduce herself if she could possibly avoid it.
“This way,” he said, leading her back into the dim barn. She could feel his eyes on her, trying to figure out what lunatic was about to look at his horse.
“What seems to be the problem?” she asked, wanting to reassure him that she knew a lot about horses. A whole lot. In fact, there was probably no one in the area more qualified to examine his horse.
“She’s in foal; it’s not due for another couple of days, by my reckoning. But the mare’s not right.”
The mare: another man who just looked at horses as just a beast of burden. Typical that he would be like that, this man who held her future in his big, broad hands.
Don’t look at his hands, she told herself. Don’t imagine them on your body. Too late.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt faint. No matter how much she thought she could fight the mating bond between them, it wasn’t going to happen. Not when he was so close.
“Are you OK?” he asked, concerned.
“Perfectly,” she said, although her voice sounded strained.
“Do you want some water? You sound a little … peculiar.”
“No. No, I’m fine. Let me look at your mare.”
He went ahead of her, opening one of the stall doors to reveal a beautiful grey mare. She had dapples all over her, and her belly was swollen by the foal inside her. As he approached, she nickered to him, and he stroked her muzzle, crooning to her, telling her it would all be OK.
Ciara’s stomach fluttered. She would love him to stroke her skin like that, for him to say sweet things to her, make her feel as though she were safe in this world.
“Do you want to hold her while I examine her?” Ciara asked, stroking the mare’s neck.
“Sure, she likes being tickled under her neck too. Don’t you, Sapphire?” He stood talking to her, stroking her neck, while Ciara opened her bag and took out her stethoscope. Putting it to her ears, she listened to the mare’s breathing and heartbeat. Everything seemed perfectly normal, so she turned to examining the sounds in the mare’s belly.
“Everything sounds OK,” Ciara said, going to the back of the mare and taking her temperature. “Normal.”
She only wished her own temperature was normal, and she knew that if a doctor listened to her heart through a stethoscope, he would probably tell her she was having a heart attack. Still trying not to meet his eyes, she put her stethoscope and thermometer down and put her hands on Sapphire’s swollen belly. The foal moved against her hand, but she couldn’t tell if it was OK.
“What makes you think she’s not right?” Ciara asked.
“Just a feeling,” he said. “I know it sounds lame, but I’ve had Sapphire for about seven months. She was in a bad way, the foal came as a surprise, but I fed her up and nurtured her back to health. I’ve spent a lot of time with her. As I said, as a vet, you wouldn’t understand. But it’s a feeling I have.”
“So you have a strong bond with her?” Ciara could feel herself softening to him. That spelled danger.
“Yes. Very.” He rubbed Sapphire’s head and the mare rubbed him right back, as if comforted by his presence.
“Have you changed anything about her routine? Feed, friends, horses get very attached to others. You haven’t brought her in away from the herd she mixes with?”
“No.” He looked over his shoulder. “She’s friends with the old pony over there, Minty. He was here when I took on the farm. I put them together because he would be quiet and not bother her. They have become fine friends.”
Ciara stared at Sapphire for a few minutes. “I can examine her internally, but with nothing concrete to go on, it’s a hard call. I don’t want to hurt or upset her, or the foal.”
“Is there nothing you can give her? A pick-me-up?”
“I don’t want to treat her with the wrong thing.” Ciara moved around to the front of Sapphire, becoming very aware of the man’s presence, so close to her. “I just need to check h
er gums, see if she’s anaemic. The foal is taking a lot of goodness from her.”
He shifted one step to the side, still too close for her beating heart. And then he did something she hadn’t expected; he breathed in her scent. She closed her eyes, waiting for his reaction.
Chapter Two – Ryan
There was something about her, despite the ridiculous mask she wore over her face to stop him looking at her. It had started as a slight tingle along his spine, something he had never experienced before around a woman. It was deeper, more profound than pure sexual tension. He was sure of that; after all, she had a facemask on, and there was nothing remotely sexy or alluring about that, especially since she kept her face averted from his.
He had longed to take hold of her and make her face him, but he didn’t want to behave inappropriately towards her. She had come out here to treat Sapphire, a mare he had found tied up in a field of mud a few months back, beaten by her owner. He had paid well over her market value, just to be able to get her back to his ranch.
It had taken him some time to nurse her back to health, and then to regain her trust. But they had made tremendous progress together. He was about to start riding her, figuring she would be amazing to take up over the green mountain pastures to round up his cattle, when he discovered she was pregnant.
Now he knew there was something wrong with her; he simply needed this vet to quit messing around and take her job seriously. He knew he sounded crazy saying he just had a sense there was something wrong. But what else could he say? “I know these things because I have animal senses?”
He breathed her in, catching him by surprise. Maybe she would understand. Because her scent told him all he needed to know. It also made it clear why she had behaved so oddly. She was his mate, and she was avoiding letting him know that.
But why?
Chapter Three – Ciara
The pull of him was almost too much. He knew, she had no doubt about that. But what was he going to do about it? If she just carried on and didn’t mention it, maybe he wouldn’t either. She could treat his mare and then leave; no one would know. Would it really be that simple?
Complete Bear Creek and Bear Bluff Box Sets: Including brand new exclusive book Best Man Bear Page 69
