Cowboy Bear's Fate (Cowboy Brother Bears Book 3)

by Harmony Raines

  He smiled. “More than that.” He took a breath and then spilled the words he wanted to say from his mouth. “We have a connection. With the person we are supposed to spend the rest of our lives with.”

  “A connection?” she asked. “You mean like love at first sight?”

  “Something like that. Only more. Stronger. I have that connection with your mom. It’s like we are meant to be together. Fate decided.”

  “I see.” She knew how close her parents were, how they worked together to make their relationship strong.

  “Jon might have that same bond with you.”

  Her face paled and she felt the room spin. “We’ve only just met. There’s no way he can think we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.” However, Monica could not forget the way he looked at her. The fact that he had followed her back here, just to make sure he knew where she lived. That wasn’t something a person did to a casual stranger, even one with the same surname as you.

  “To him it would feel as if he has been waiting an eternity for you to come into his life.”

  “Crap.” She brushed her hair back from her face. “I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that.”

  “Which is why I figured I needed to tell you. I don’t want to interfere. But just because he thinks you should be together, don’t let him push that on to you. Make your own decision, lead your own life.” He looked over his shoulder. “Ethan is calling me, I need to go.”

  “Sure. You go. Have fun.” She stood watching him leave, and then called out, “What would you have done if Mom didn’t want to be with you?”

  He turned back to look at his daughter. “I would have followed wherever she went.” He shrugged. “That’s the point: if you are mates, he will want what’s best for you.”

  Monica stood in the kitchen doorway, looking out across the garden. All too soon, she heard the sound of tires on the gravel. Jon, her shifter, was here. Racing upstairs, she grabbed the photo album off the bed and ran back down to meet him. She reached the back door just as he was about to knock.

  “Hi,” he said brightly. “You look great.”

  “Is that sarcasm?” she asked, looking down at her clothes. Her dad was right, she should have made a little bit of an effort.

  “No. No, not at all,” Jon said, stammering over the words. “I like a girl in jeans.”

  “OK, that really did sound as if you were making a dig. I should go and put on some clean clothes. We’re still going to your sister-in-law’s place, right?”

  “Yes. She has an alpaca farm. So you will fit right in…” He shook his head. “I can’t seem to say the right thing.”

  She patted him on the arm, intending to soothe him, but he jumped at her touch and Monica was sure she felt sparks fly between them. “Sorry, some kind of static residue.”

  “It’s OK. It happens.”

  “Because we’re mates?” she asked, and watched the shock spread over his face.

  “So you do feel it too?” He took a step closer to her and sniffed. “It’s weird because I can’t smell your other side.”

  “That is because I don’t have one. But my dad was telling me that if you did… have another side, then you would know if we were supposed to be together.” Her face reddened. “I told him this wasn’t even a date. I mean … It’s not a date. Is it?”

  “It’s wherever you want it to be,” Jon said. “I can’t lie to you. We are mates. I just didn’t know if you knew about it.”

  “My dad just told me.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “Another secret I never knew. My parents are fated mates, meant to be together, and they never said a word to me. It’s like I never knew them.”

  Chapter Six – Jon

  Jon didn’t need to be Monica’s mate to understand how upset she was. “You didn’t know about any of this?” he asked. He needed to know what she knew, so he could help her. He hated the thought of saying the wrong thing and making it worse for her. He’d been brought up around shifters, knew everything about them. The shift was as natural to Jon as breathing; it was a part of his genetic makeup.

  “I didn’t know my dad was a shifter until a few months ago. It’s still a shock.” Monica rubbed her eyes, scrubbing away unshed tears.

  “Come on.” Jon offered her his hand and she took it; the sensations filling his body were almost too much, but he took deep breaths and told himself not to overreact. But having her hand in his excited him, and not just on a sexual level. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll show you around and you can show me that picture of yours.”

  “That sounds good.” She walked with him to the truck and he opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. “Thanks.”

  He nodded, and shut the door, going around the truck and yanking his door open in a bid to get close to her as fast as he could. Now that he knew she was aware of the mating bond, it was almost impossible to resist her.

  “I told Lynn we were coming over to say hi. But first we could go see the mountains? This old truck is good at climbing some of the more stony trails. It means we can go and get a good view of things. If that’s what you’d like?” Jon asked.

  “Yes. I’d like to have some fresh air. I’m such a blubbering mess.”

  “You know what is good for blubbering messes?” he asked.

  “No.” She smiled at him. “I’m thinking you are about to tell me.”

  “I am.” He backed the truck up and turned around, heading out on to the road and turning toward the small town of Black Bear Ford. “There is this little shop. It’s tucked away down a side alley.”

  Her smile widened. “This sounds as if it’s going to be something shady? You know, like bear drugs.”

  He grinned. “Close.” He put his foot on the gas and the truck sped along the back roads. He knew them like the back of his paw. “Honey cake.”

  “Honey cake?” She frowned. “Is this for us, or your bear?”

  “Both. What feeds one, feeds the other.” He took the turn down the hill toward the ford. They splashed through and out the other side. Quickly pulling into a parking space on the side of the road, he switched off the ignition.

  “I don’t know if I have ever eaten honey cake,” Monica said.

  “Then prepare to be amazed.” He waved his hands in the air, and Monica laughed, a sound he liked, and wanted to hear more of.

  “You are building it up. I hope it lives up to expectations.”

  “It will.” He opened the truck door and sprang out, going around to help Monica out, but she was already standing on the sidewalk by the time he reached her.

  “Lead the way. I may get some and take it home with me. To the ranch,” she corrected.

  “I’m sure they will love it. Is it just your dad who is a shifter?” Jon asked absently, his mind on honey cake.

  “No. My brother too. That’s why we moved here.”

  Jon pushed the door of the small cake shop open and held it while Monica went inside. His bear started to drool as the sweet scent of honey reached him. “How many do you think we need?”

  “Four for me.” She pulled out her purse. “I’ll buy them.”

  “No, my treat,” Jon insisted.

  “No, really, I’ll pay.”

  “What can I get you, Jon? The usual?” a man asked, coming out of a door behind the counter.

  “A bigger order today.” He counted on his fingers. Some for him and Monica, some for her parents, some for his parents, and some for Lynn. And he must not forget baby Joshua. “Make it a whole tray, Andrew. Between us, none of it will go to waste.”

  “How much is that please?” Monica asked.

  “Let me pay,” he insisted.

  “No.” She shook her head and frowned.

  “I’m an old-fashioned kind of a guy.”

  “And I’m a modern kind of a girl.” She shook her head as he gave her the puppy-dog eyes. “OK, halves, and that is the best offer you are going to get.”

  “Halves it is.” He took his wallet o
ut and took out a note, which he put together with Monica’s, and then handed them over the counter to Andrew. “I told Monica that your honey cake was legendary.”

  “I’ve been told that more than once,” Andrew said, his eyes going from Jon to Monica in an enquiring way. “You two together?”

  Andrew emphasized the word together, leaving Jon in no doubt he was subtly asking if they were mates. Oh well, there was no need to keep it a secret. “Yes, we are.”

  “In that case, it’s on the house. And take my best wishes with you too,” Andrew said.

  “I couldn’t accept the whole tray as a gift,” Jon said.

  “I’d be offended if you didn’t.” Andrew’s face was set firm.

  “I would have ordered less if I knew you were going to do this,” Jon said.

  “Go on. Go and enjoy your honey cake.” Andrew thrust his hand over the counter at Monica, who still had her purse out. Her mouth was open as if she were about to protest, but then she shut it again and took Andrew’s hand and shook it. “Enjoy your honey too.” Andrew winked, and then his face broke out into a beaming smile.

  “Thank you so much,” she said.

  “We’ll see you around, Andrew. And next time you need a bale of hay, or some beef, you know where we are.”

  “I sure do,” Andrew smiled at them and watched them leave the shop. As he shut the door, Jon gave him a small wave.

  “What was that all about?” Monica asked.

  “It’s a shifter thing,” Jon began. “He’s happy I’ve found my mate. It’s a big thing. You know.”

  “I’m starting to,” Monica said. She looked up at the sky. “It’s such a beautiful day.”

  “Which is why we are going to go sit on a mountain, and eat honey cake.”

  They got back into the truck and he passed Monica the tray of cakes. She carefully balanced the tray on her lap while he drove out of town, and took a right turn, heading toward the road that led high into the mountains. At the top, the road ended, and gave way to a wide-open trail, that was only just passable when the weather was good.

  This is where he took Monica, the truck straining to find a grip on the stones more than once, but eventually, they made it to a place where he could park the truck and they could get out and sit on the grass, looking down over the town and the valley below.

  “Is this where you bring all your women?” she asked. Jon had spread a blanket out for them and they were sitting side by side looking out over the valley. It all seemed so far away, so distant. Right here, right now, for Jon, they were the only two people on the world. He longed to lay Monica down on the blanket and make love to her.

  He chuckled. “Are you teasing or trying to push me away?” he asked. “I’ll stay at arm’s length, for now, if that is where you want me to be.”

  He took some of the honey cake he’d removed from the tray, which was still back in the truck and offered her a piece. She took it and said, “Thanks.” Monica paused before taking a bite and added, “I’m sorry. The last few months have turned my head around. And every time I think I’m coming to terms with it, something else hits.”

  “Like learning you are the fated mate of a shifter?” he asked, taking a bite of the honey cake and groaning in intense satisfaction. “Try it, I guarantee you will feel better.”

  Monica laughed. “So the way to a bear shifter’s heart is through their stomach?”

  “We do take eating very seriously. There’s a big strapping bear inside me who loves anything with honey.”

  “Will you show me?” Monica asked. “My dad and Ethan have never… shifted in front of me.”

  “Sure.” Jon crammed the rest of his honey cake into his mouth and stood up. “Are you ready?”

  “Not really.” She took a deep breath and then said, “Yes. Go for it.”

  “OK.” Jon felt kind of nervous as he let his bear take over. He wanted to tell her not to be afraid, and not to run when his bear shimmered into the world in front of her. But bears couldn’t speak.

  “Wow. It’s like some kind of magic,” Monica said, and reached out her hand to touch him, as if she thought he would disappear or her hand would go right through him. But her fingers closed around his fur, and she stroked him. “You are amazing.”

  He sniffed her fingers, and she laughed, then held out her honey cake for him. Of course, there was no way his bear was ever going to say no to honey and cake. No way at all.

  His bear took the cake, slowly, and carefully, aware of how big, and sharp, his teeth were. It went down in one bite, and then he licked her fingers clean, and kept licking, even after every last scrap of honey was gone. His bear had found a new favorite thing, something sweeter than honey. Their mate.

  OK, I think you have spent enough time licking Monica, Jon said.

  His bear shook his head, but when Jon shifted, his bear didn’t fight it.

  “Wow. I could feel the static electricity in the air.” She looked confused. “It’s like magic. Is it magic?”

  “I don’t know. For us it just is.” Jon shrugged. “It’s as natural to me as walking or talking.”

  “So why is Ethan having trouble shifting, or at least controlling it?” Monica asked.

  “You lived in the city. My guess is it’s been pent up inside him, and he just needs to let it out. Once his bear can roam free, it’s easier to control.”

  “So moving here was the best thing they could do for him?” Monica asked.

  “Yes. The freedom of the mountains. It’ll straighten him out.”

  “And you?” she asked.

  “What about me?” Jon asked.

  “We’re supposed to be together forever. And yet we live in different worlds.”

  “Let’s not think about that now,” he said, but Jon felt that time was ticking. In two days’ time, Monica would disappear out of his life, at least in the short term, unless he could persuade her to stay. But would staying in Black Bear Ford really be the best thing for her?

  If not, he would be forced to leave the home he loved to be with her. If she would have him. Samuel was right, life was not easy.

  But at least he had a shot at making things work out. At least he wasn’t still looking for her.

  For now, he could allow himself to feel blessed.

  A mate and honey cake, his bear said. Sitting on the side of the mountain. We are blessed.

  Yes, we are, Jon agreed.

  Chapter Seven – Monica

  “Here is the photo of the ranch.” She opened the photo album, having wiped her sticky honey-covered fingers first. Jon had passed her another piece of the honey cake, and he was right, it was amazing. Monica had been half expecting Jon to offer to lick her fingers clean just as his bear had.

  Jon took the photo from her and instantly said, “This is the Hawkins Ranch.”

  “It is?” she asked excitedly.

  “It is.” He nodded, but looked kind of cagey.

  “What is it?” Monica asked.

  “Before we go there, I should tell you something of the history, as we know it.”

  “The history?” she asked. This sounded like her kind of thing.

  “Yes.” He handed the photo back to her. “The Hawkins Ranch originally belonged to Al Williams. He lost it in a bet to Lynn’s Uncle Freddy. That’s when it became the Hawkins Ranch.”

  “Jerry Williams gambled it away?” Monica asked. “And do you think Jerry Williams is my grandfather””

  Jon looked away from her, his eyes scanning the horizon. “I believe Jerry Williams and Al Williams are one and the same, yes.”

  “What aren’t you saying?” Monica asked.

  “The ranch has belonged to Freddy Hawkins for decades, before it passed to Lynn.” He paused, looking down at his hands, searching for the right words.

  “Oh, that’s what’s wrong. You think we might have a claim on it.”

  “I don’t know. Is that what your parents think?”

  “No. No not at all. Honestly, that never crossed my mind
.” She shook her head. “Goodness, we have enough on her hands without starting a feud with your family. Especially since we are mates.”

  He blew the air out of his cheeks, looking relieved. “I am glad to hear that. The whole thing has already caused one feud between the families. I, for one, do not want to start another one.”

  “Me neither.” She stood up, and offered him her hand. “Does that mean we can go and visit Hawkins Ranch now? Since you know I’m not going to demand Lynn hand over what belongs to my family.”

  Jon’s face dropped, and she laughed. “Don’t even joke about it. My father spent so much time trying to track Jerry, or Al, down, so that the two brothers could be reconciled.”

  “So it caused trouble for everyone, when Jerry gambled away the ranch?”

  “Yes. It was originally part of the Williams Homestead.” Jon stopped abruptly and then said, “The past is the past. Let’s leave it there.”

  “Fine with me,” Monica said.

  Jon slipped his hand into hers and she felt a frisson of electricity pass between them. The faint buzz reminded her of the static electricity that filled the air when he shifted. It tingled across her palm and up her arm, before threading its way through her body. She might not be a shifter, but there was no denying the pure primal attraction she had for Jon.

  Maybe it was his big broad shoulders, or his well-toned chest, which his T-shirt clung to in all the right places. Or maybe it was the dimples that appeared on his cheeks when he smiled. And he smiled a lot. Monica liked that in a man. He didn’t take life too seriously. A lesson she might need to learn from him.

  “So, let’s go and meet my sister-in-law, or at least one of them. My mom is ecstatic that you have come along, because I was the only remaining bachelor among her sons.”

  “How many sons?” Monica asked.

  “Four, including me. All boys. She had her hands full when we were kids, that’s for sure.”

  “Four bear cubs,” Monica said. “I can just imagine the things you got into.”

  “We had a good childhood. We lived in Bear Bluff most of the time I was growing up. Then my uncle passed and my dad took over the ranch.” He opened the truck door for her and she got in.