A tear fell from his face and splashed onto the table. “Gillian, when I saw you, I have to say you did remind me of her and it did cross my mind that you might be my child but when I saw Matilda, everything in my body tingled and I knew this was the child I’d made with your mother. I’ve always sensed we’d made a baby and he or she was out there somewhere.”
“Martin, I’m so sorry. My grandparents were strict, old school in thinking that a witch in line to lead should marry into a family with a strong wizard and that was definitely my father,” said Gillian.
“I’m just glad we found one another. You might already know that Sally and I don’t have children. We tried and tried but she couldn’t get pregnant. So, to know we have a daughter who we can love and one day, grandchildren to spoil, we’re both so happy.”
Gillian looked at Matilda, her eyes were full of tears.
“You can open the store again, Gillian. It’s your destiny.”
“How about we both open the store? We can work together. Give Aunt Louise a break now and then so she can be with Eddie.”
“She didn’t get hurt because of my antics, did she?”
“No, she’s fine, just some burned hair and eyebrows.”
“I love the idea that you two will be working together. You’ll be like a daughter to me too. I mean you’re a product of my first love.”
“Hello, I’m back,” shouted Sally.
She entered the kitchen with two bags of groceries.
“Gillian, will you stay and have a meal with us?” she asked.
“I’d love to but I’m eating with Bear and Hannah. How about I take a raincheck.”
“We can all go out to eat one night. Someplace fancy,” said Martin. “Sally, you have a birthday coming up. And Gillian, we can celebrate your and Cade’s engagement.”
Gillian looked at her hand, even though the gloves, she remembered her ring had melted.
“Tell him I’m sorry and please don’t be angry with him,” said Matilda. “He’s your destiny and what’s happened shouldn’t stop it.”
Gillian stood and so did Matilda. Silence fell for a few seconds and then they walked toward one another and hugged.
“I feel like I should be saying, look at our two girls,” Martin told Sally.
“Just think of all the grandbabies we’ll be spoiling and babysitting. Oh, which reminds, me there’s a new doctor heading to town soon, I think he’ll be perfect for Matilda.”
“Watch out because my wife loves playing matchmaker. What is it, five couples you’ve paired up,” said Martin.
“Six,” she corrected him.
Gillian smiled. “It was wonderful to meet you and I know we’ll be getting together a lot more in the future.”
She and Matilda walked to the door.
“Give me a call when the store’s open again and I’ll stop by. And if the offer to be in your wedding is still open, I’m in.”
Wedding, yeah, she had to put things right with Cade.
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Chapter 30
Cade had not idea that Gillian was going to be at Hannah and Bear’s house for dinner until he walked in and saw her sitting there playing a card game with Sam.
“Cade,” she said, looking up and seemed just as surprised to see him.
“Come on Sam, let’s go take a walk while Cade and Gillian chat,” said Hannah.
They both watched as Sam got his jacket and walked outside with his mother.
“I was winning,” Gillian heard Sam telling them.
She smiled and turned to face Cade.
“He’s a cute kid,” said Cade.
“And he cheats at cards,” Gillian whispered.
Cade laughed. Those dimples were on show again, her knees buckled like they had the first time she’d seen them.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for lying to you like I did.”
“I talked to Matilda this afternoon, and as I left, I told her life is all about forgiveness.”
“Does that mean…”
“Yes, it means you’re forgiven. It was my fault too for agreeing to the ban on shifting without consulting you. I guess I didn’t realize what a big deal it is for shifters.”
He pulled her into him and kissed her.
“So, the wedding’s still on. For a second, I thought you were going to break my heart.”
“That’s never going to happen, but this might break your heart. My engagement ring got melted in the melee with Matilda.”
“If that’s our biggest problem, then we don’t have any. Engagement rings can be replaced, mates can’t.”
“But it cost you a fortune.”
“I’ll just have to sell more bikes.”
“You still okay with December 21st? It’s only three weeks away?”
“Three weeks until your mine.”
*****
Finding someone to walk her down the aisle hadn’t been as hard as she’d first believed. She’d gotten the idea to ask Martin on the night they’d all gone out to dinner.
They’d opted to be married in the same venue as Ian and Eve but just not outside. The orchard had a beautiful barn where they’d sat up seats and flowers over an arch under which she and Cade would exchange vows.
It had started to snow early that morning. She, Matilda and Martin had left early so they could get ready at the venue. She wasn’t going to let Mother Nature get her stranded in a snowstorm and stop her from marrying her dream bear.
Ian and Trey would follow with Cade. And Aunt Louise and Eddie were escorting her grandmother.
They had an extra guest they hadn’t counted on when they’d sent out invitations. Hannah had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Emily Anne, five days ago.
“You look like a princess,” Martin told Gillian as Matilda put the tiara on her head.
“I crown you queen of the witches,” she said, laughing.
She was so happy that her and her sister could now laugh and joke, and they had the whole rest of their lives to connect and make up for lost time.
“Well we are ruling together now,” Gillian told her.
“We’re almost ready for you,” said Aunt Louise. She handed Gillian her bouquet. “Make sure you throw that thing my way,” she said, winking.
She knew she wouldn’t need to do that because Eddie had let Gillian into a little secret. He was going to propose to her aunt on Christmas Eve. Maybe she’d let fate decide who caught it but at the same time use a little witchcraft to steer it in the way of Matilda.
There was talk of the new doctor being drop dead gorgeous and after all, she and Matilda would be consulting at the shifter clinic on tinctures and remedies for patients. Plenty of time for Gillian to play matchmaker. Yeah, she’d give Sally a run for her money on finding her sister a husband.
The music began to play and Gillian knew that was her cue to start walking toward her groom. Martin offered her his arm as Matilda set out in front of them.
The place was beautiful, the view at the front, breathtaking as Cade stood in his new suit, complete with bowtie, waiting for her.
Eve had told her to try and remember every part of the ceremony because it went by in a flash. She’d tried but the next thing she knew the judge was telling their guests to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Cade Mallory.
“Can you believe we did this after all those roadblocks,” Cade whispered to her as they headed down the aisle waving to the guests.
“I can’t but I guess it’s true what he just said. The bear and the witch are now husband and wife and just in time.”
Cade glanced at her. “Do you mean?”
She winked at him and nodded.
The End.
Look for the next installment of the Kalispell Shifters series in the spring of 2021.
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This is the work of erotica and therefore intended for a mature audience.
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