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

by Harmony Raines

  “Thank you, Iris. That’s so kind of you.”

  “You are welcome,” Iris said. “That’s your man over there.”

  “Can we take him outside?” Monica asked, looking around the room. There were big windows looking out into the garden, but it wasn’t the same as actually being out in the fresh air.

  “Sure, door is through there. But make sure you ask him first. He has a mind of his own and doesn’t like being treated as though he’s lost his mind, just because his body is failing. He is as sharp as they come.”

  “Sounds like someone else I know,” Jon said, as they headed toward Marvin.

  “Hello there,” Monica said. “Do you mind if we sit with you?”

  “Depends on who you are.” Marvin eyed them suspiciously. “If you’ve come to assess me again, you should already know you’ve bled me dry financially.”

  “No,” Monica said quickly, and pulled out her ID once more. “I’m from the museum, I wanted to talk to you about the war.”

  He leaned in and looked at her ID, and then looked up at her face sharply. “Monica Williams.”

  “Yes.”

  “How old are you?” Marvin asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Old enough,” Monica replied, sounding like a child.

  “Twenty or thereabouts. Same color hair as my son. Same eyes. He had a daughter named Monica.”

  “Busted,” Jon said from behind her.

  “How do you…?”

  “I’m old, but I still have a memory. And a photo.” He got up, letting the blanket covering his legs fall to the floor. Then he hobbled out of the day room, with Jon and Monica in his wake.

  “Are you OK?” Jon asked.

  “Yeah. I mean I never expected him to know who I was. But now I need to know how he knows.” She frowned. “My mom said my dad didn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Doesn’t mean grandpa didn’t,” Jon said.

  Marvin opened the door of a room on the right and went inside. Monica paused in the doorway. It was his room, or so she assumed. There were pictures of old planes on the walls, and medals on the night stand, which were polished and well cared for. “Can I come in?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He went to the nightstand and pulled out a box, which contained another couple of medals and some papers. And a photograph.

  She could hear her heart hammering in her chest as she took it from Marvin and looked at it. “My mom.” She touched the photo, stroking her mom’s face, and then looking at what her mom was holding. “And me.”

  “I’m guessing so. Says Monica, born June 1993 on the back. You are the spitting image of your mom.”

  “Did my dad give you this?” Monica asked.

  “Not exactly,” Marvin said, his chin quivering, before he took a deep breath and coughed.

  “Not exactly,” Monica repeated.

  “Monica—can I call you that?” Marvin asked sadly.

  “Of course.” She went closer to him and he patted the bed for her to sit. She did, while Jon took a couple of steps back, giving them their privacy, but staying close enough so that he could be there in a heartbeat if she needed him.

  “I don’t know what you know about your dad.”

  “Only that he didn’t want anything to do with me.”

  Marvin nodded. “I didn’t even know about you until he moved out, around five years ago. My health was failing.” He tapped his legs. “These don’t work like they are supposed to.”

  “We went to your old address. They told us my dad moved out and you move into a home. They said Jon wasn’t looking after you.”

  “My son was a user, just like his mom. Never cared about anyone else. I’m sorry, that’s probably not what you want to hear. But I’m done sugarcoating him. I spent years telling everyone he was just trying to find out who he was, what he wanted to do. But in the end, he left, and the world saw him for what he was.” Marvin’s voice had risen in anger, but he let it go and said quietly, “I can safely say you probably had a better childhood without him in your life. No matter how bad your childhood was.”

  “I had a good childhood.” Her voice wobbled as she added, “I have the best dad in the world.”

  “Ahh, then that makes me happy,” Marvin said. “Makes me very happy.” He took the photo back from her and looked at it again. “I searched for you, once I knew. For you, and your mom. I didn’t know about you until Jasper left. That’s when I came across the photograph. I was clearing out the garbage he’d left. And there was this. He came back for a couple more things, wanted to trade the information about you for my medals.” Marvin cast a glance to the nightstand.

  “No,” Monica said, shocked.

  “Yes. I said no, and he told me that I would never know the whereabouts of my granddaughter. I don’t know if he meant to let it slip out. See, I didn’t know for sure you were his, it doesn’t say anything about him being your dad on the photograph. I’d have given him the medals, but I figured that was probably all he knew anyway. He never had any contact with you, did he?”

  Monica shook her head. “None. My mom met my father and he adopted me. They never told me, but I found out a couple of days ago.”

  “Well, you tell your dad how grateful I am that he raised you well.” Marvin looked up as a bell sounded. “That’s lunch time. I have to go, if you’re late, you don’t get any.”

  “Really?” Monica asked.

  “Iris will say it’s a retirement home, not a hotel.” He smiled, put the photograph back in the box, and then stood up. “Any time you are passing through, you know where I am. Don’t get any other visitors, so I would appreciate it.” Marvin looked across to Jon. “But I’m guessing you are busy with your own lives.”

  “No, I’ll come whenever I can.” Monica pointed to the medals. “I want to hear the story behind those.”

  “Ahh, then it’s a date.”

  Monica kissed him on the cheek and gave him a quick hug. “It’s a date.”

  Chapter Sixteen – Jon

  “How are you feeling?” Jon asked. They were sitting outside a café, drinking coffee. Monica had to be at the museum in an hour, while Jon was going back to her apartment to pack, and then he was driving back to Black Bear Ford. But only if he was sure she was OK.

  “I’m feeling good,” Monica said. “I have some kind of closure. And I’m going to take it. My father… my biological father, never wanted me. And that’s OK. Marvin is right, I was probably happier without him.”

  “I would say definitely happier without him,” Jon said, sipping his coffee, and tilting his head back to catch the sun’s rays. “I am not going to miss the noise.”

  She smiled at him and drank her coffee. “Will you go say hello to my parents when you get back, tell them I’ll see them Friday evening? I’m working until the museum closes at six.”

  “You won’t be too tired to make the trip?” Jon asked, concerned.

  “Nope. I want to see them and spend the weekend at the ranch, before I drive back Sunday evening.”

  He groaned. “Two days is not going to be enough.” He shook his head. “You know, maybe I should stay another day.”

  “No sir, you are going to go and speak to whomever you have to speak to about this museum in Bear Bluff. Then, I can resign from the museum and move to Black Bear Ford. Although I’m not sure where we are going to live. I’ll have to sell my apartment, but that could take a while.”

  “I’ll speak to my parents about that too,” Jon said.

  “Wait, I don’t want to move in with them. In the nicest possible way. I think we need our own place. Don’t you? I mean, this has been a whirlwind romance for sure, but I still need to get to know you. And you need to get to know me. I’d rather we find out about each other’s bad habits in privacy.”

  “Oh, I’m with you there. But there are other solutions. Leave it with me.” He drained his cup and stood up. “I’ll walk you to work and then I’ll get going. I have so much to do and by the time I see you on Friday, I want to
have some answers for you.” He took her hand, and they walked along the street toward the museum. “The thought of you coming back here on Monday and handing in your resignation gives me just the right kind of impetus to get moving.”

  “Assertive. I like it,” she said, bumping into him playfully.

  “Happy?” he asked.

  “Very,” Monica answered. “It’s been a crazy few days, but it’s going to be OK. I can see that.”

  “Good.” He stopped and pulled her into his arms, kissing her fiercely. “I do not like leaving you.”

  She pressed her lips to his and said, “I’ve survived in the city for long enough. A few more days, or weeks, is not going to make that much difference.”

  “But you are supposed to be by my side.”

  “Go on,” she said, shooing him away. “Get going.”

  “Are you sure you don’t have time to walk back to your apartment with me? We could lie down for a while…”

  “I have to work, and I know it will be more than a lie down.” She pressed her body against his and kissed him one more time, before pulling away and walking the last fifty feet to the museum alone. “Friday.”

  “Friday,” he replied, and watched until she had disappeared inside the building before he made his way back to her apartment. He was not going to be sorry to leave the city, but he sure was sorry to be leaving Monica.

  Friday, he said to himself as he stood outside her apartment, feeling pleased when he reached it with only one wrong turn. Monica had given him her spare keys and after he packed his stuff, he let himself out and then pushed the key under the door, leaning on it for a moment before dragging himself away. He had things to do.

  ***

  Four hours later, he was doing one of those things. He’d called a family meeting.

  “Thanks for all coming at such short notice.” He looked around at his family—his mom, dad, Samuel and Adam, plus Lynn and Zoe, and lastly, baby Joshua. “I have some things I need your help with.”

  “Fire away, little brother. What’s up?” Adam asked, sliding into a seat next to Lynn and taking little Joshua from her, who was wriggling around, trying to get down.

  “As you know, Monica works for the museum. And this is directed at you more than anyone, Zoe, I hope I don’t offend you, and there is no pressure.”

  “Now I’m intrigued,” Zoe said, leaning forward. “But I’m guessing this is going to be more about my checkbook than me.”

  Jon grinned and reddened. “You guessed right. OK.” He took a deep breath, feeling very self-conscious. “I’d like to open a museum… Or at least, I would like us to open a museum.”

  “A museum?” Russell asked.

  “Yeah, Dad, you know where they put old things,” Samuel said, and was rewarded with a dig in the ribs from Zoe.

  “Ouch.”

  “Then don’t be rude.”

  “OK. So, thoughts?”

  “Where do you plan to have this museum?” Zoe asked.

  “I thought about doubling it up with your gallery. Although that would mean a bigger building.”

  Zoe nodded. “I could work with that. More eyes on the paintings I have in the gallery could be a win-win.”

  “Great. My other thought was to make it more about us. You know, the local people.”

  “Shifters? Like a shifter museum.”

  “Bear Bluff and Bear Creek are two of the oldest shifter towns. It would appeal to a lot of people. Boost the tourist industry too. Who doesn’t want to go to a museum and then run across the mountains where your forefathers used to roam?”

  “Wow. This is great,” Jon said. “It would boost the economy.”

  “And we could set up a tea room. I could bake.” Judy looked excited. “Now that you boys have left home, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

  “And that brings me to my next problem. Where are Monica and I going to live?”

  “You are welcome to live here with us,” Judy said.

  “They need their own space,” Russell chimed in.

  “Wow, Dad, that is insightful of you,” Adam said.

  “I can still remember when your mother and I were first married. We broke the bed, do you remember, Judy?”

  “And that is not the kind of thing Joshua needs to hear,” Adam said, putting his hands over his son’s ears, much to the amusement of the small boy who collapsed in a fit of giggles.

  “You are right,” Judy said. “But here doesn’t have to mean here, under this roof. Why not convert one of the barns into a house?”

  “Or there is the old ruin down by the stream. You know, it used to house the pigs.”

  “Or we could buy somewhere. Monica has her apartment in the city to sell, we could put a down payment on somewhere. However, I am thinking that it would be a lot for you and Dad to be the only ones living here. And since all of you have your own places, and I can’t see you moving back... Well, I was thinking me and Monica living here, or at least very close, made sense.”

  “It does,” Russell said. “I’m getting older, and one day your mom and I might want to go on a long vacation.”

  “Might we?” Judy asked expectantly.

  “I was thinking of a cruise, but then I figured we needed open spaces, so I thought a trip to Canada?”

  “I like the sound of that,” Judy said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a vacation. Not since we moved here.”

  “So we can arrange something,” Russell said positively. “Let us know when Monica is coming over and we can discuss it.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Jon said, and hugged his mom and dad. “And thanks, Zoe, I appreciate you being in on this.”

  “Oh, it sounds like fun. I know Jeremy would love to be included too. He is feeling at a loose end. Let’s make this a family enterprise.”

  “That sounds as if we all need a drink to celebrate,” Russell said, getting up and heading for the liquor cabinet. “I was also going to ask you if you would invite Monica’s family over. I’d like to meet them. I want to confirm that we are related. That kind of got swept by the wayside with everything else they have had to cope with.”

  “She’s due back on Friday night, but wants to have a talk with her mom and dad first.”

  “How did the hunt for her father go?” Samuel asked, accepting a beer from his dad.

  “We found her grandpa. And I think that is as far as the search will go. Her biological father didn’t want to know her as a child, and I doubt he’s suddenly going to want to play happy family.”

  “And Monica is OK with that?” Lynn asked, trying to take a sip of her drink while Joshua stroked the glass, liking the smooth texture.

  “Yes. She is. It’s made her realize how lucky she is to have had Ken as her father. Blood isn’t everything.”

  “No, it’s not. Family is everything,” Judy said, getting misty-eyed. “And not just the family with the same blood in their veins.”

  “To family,” Russell said, raising his glass.

  “To family,” they all agreed.

  Chapter Seventeen – Monica

  After Jon left, the week seemed to drag on and on, she couldn’t wait for Friday to come around so she could go home. Home. For Monica, home now meant Black Bear Ford.

  She managed to squeeze in another visit to see Marvin, and they had gone out to dinner. Which he had enjoyed enormously. And therein lay her sadness. When she left the city for good, she would be leaving behind this old man. Leaving him to his lonely life in a retirement home.

  From what she gathered, he was lonely too. His legs let him down, so he needed the care the home provided, but his mind was so agile, he was lost for good company and a stimulating conversation that went further than what color the Jell-O was today.

  The drive through the gathering dark had been a time to think things over, and she had. Speaking to Jon on the phone had left her optimistic that she would be resigning on Monday. Now she had to iron out the other kinks.

  “Step one, my parents,” she said ou
t loud, as she parked her car outside their ranch and got out. Before she’d even slammed the door shut, her mom was coming across the courtyard to meet her.

  “I’ve been so worried,” her mom said, her arms open as she reached Monica. “I’m sorry I never told you before. I hated you going home with this to deal with and us so far away.”

  “It’s OK. I’ve had time to think.” She pulled back from her mom. “And I’m OK with it all. I understand why you didn’t tell me.”

  Her mom wiped her eyes. “Did you find him?”

  They had spoken briefly on the phone during the last few days but they had skirted around the question of Monica’s dad. It was not a conversation either of them wanted to have over the phone.

  “No.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve gone over everything and I’ve given you everything I know, honestly.”

  “I know, don’t worry. It helped. It did. But Jasper never wanted me and he’s disappeared.” She took a breath and then said, “But I found my granddad.”

  “You did?” her mom asked. “Does he know where your dad is?”

  “No, Jasper dumped his dad too, as soon as the old man needed some help with things. He’s in a retirement home, which he hates…” Monica shrugged. “I want him to be part of my life, Mom. I don’t care about Jasper. He is not my dad.”

  Her mom broke down and sobbed. “You have no idea how much that means to me, Monica. I have worried all week that I made the wrong decision. That maybe I should have pursued him and made him be part of your life. I did my best.”

  “I know. Grandpa has the photo you gave to Jasper.” Monica shrugged. “It meant more to Grandpa than it did to Jasper.” She smiled. “I can’t call him dad any more. Ken is my real dad, in every way that counts.”

  Her mom wiped her eyes. “Will you tell him that? He’s hardly eaten all week. We’ve been worried sick that we should tell Ethan.”

  “No.” Monica shook her head. “He has the best mom and dad in the world. You moved halfway across the country for him, gave up your old lives. Don’t tell him. At least not yet.”