“Just follow me down the road, and I’ll take you to the cabin across the south fork.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Drew closed her door for her and walked back to his SUV, his contrasting emotions clashing with each other like a violent storm inside him.
9
Q uinn followed Drew’s SUV down the highway and onto a side road. After about three miles, they turned onto a dirt road and drove for another four miles. By the time they crossed the bridge over the south fork of the Fate River, they were a long way out of town.
Both cars pulled up in front of a rustic cabin that was surrounded by lush green trees and dense forest. Quinn parked the car and got out, hoping the inside of the cabin looked better than what she saw on the outside. It was definitely not five-star hotel quality.
As she waddled up the stone path, the little cabin came into clear view. It was made of hand-hewn logs, insulated with plaster and mud. The one modern amenity she could see from the outside was a satellite dish, clinging to a newish roof. She stopped short. Quinn had never stayed in a place like this in all her life. She couldn’t imagine staying here now, nine months pregnant.
“Seriously?”
“Levi said the key was under a garden gnome in front of an azalea,” Drew said, distractedly.
“I don’t know if I can stay here.”
Drew bent down and tilted a gnome away from the ground, pulling a key out from underneath.
“Here it is.”
“Drew, I really don’t know if I can stay here.”
“You haven’t even seen the inside.”
He walked up the stairs of the rickety old porch and shoved the key into the lock. Drew turned the handle and opened the front door. They both walked inside, and Quinn was immediately bowled over by the smell of must and dust.
“Is that mold?” she said. “Because you know mold can be very dangerous for a developing fetus.”
“That’s just the smell of the old wood,” Drew said, sniffing the air.
Quinn walked further into the small front room. There were a few items of furniture. A rickety looking futon with a patchwork quilt thrown over it. An old easy chair with a compressed cushion for a seat. There was an old-fashioned television and a very handsome looking table. The table looked completely out of place in the rest of the surroundings.
She walked into the kitchen and found some decent appliances and fairly clean counters and cabinets. As she was opening the refrigerator door, a little mouse scurried across the kitchen floor, scaring her nearly to death. Quinn screamed and jumped backwards, covering her mouth. Drew came up behind her, growling.
“What is it?” he said.
“A mouse,” she gasped.
“You screamed like that because of the mouse?” he said, sniffing the air.
“It scared me. Rats carry diseases.”
He gave her a side-eye and then walked into the kitchen, his nose twitching. Drew opened his shoulders and roared loudly. Quinn could hear the bear within him come through the man’s throat. The sound of it scared her more than the mouse had. She stepped back and folded her arms around herself. The child she carried within her would be the same as the man who had put it there.
All these months, Quinn had been battling with herself over the reality of her predicament. She had loved her child from the first moment she found out she was carrying him. But deep in the back of her mind, she knew the child was a shifter, a grizzly bear, who would grow into a full grown grizzly someday. In some ways, it was like having a monster in her belly, growing off of the nutrients she provided it. That small part of her liked to remind her of all of the horrible things her parents had always said about shifters.
Quinn refused to let her parents’ prejudices turn her against her own child. But those messages were too hard to turn off completely when the reality of her life was so foreign and frightening. She rubbed her stomach, feeling the baby kick at the sound of his father’s roar.
“I think you frightened the baby,” she said.
Drew turned to her, worry in his eyes. “My cub isn’t afraid of my roar.”
“I think he is.”
“He?”
“It’s a boy.”
“I’m going to have a son.” Drew turned away, hiding his expression from her eyes.
Quinn could feel the storm of emotion coming from Drew. He was just as confused as she was. All these months she’d spent in hiding, Quinn had been able to feel Drew’s feelings all along. The mate bond was ever present, even at such a distance. But now that they were together, in the same room, the bond was even stronger. She knew exactly how hurt he was. She also knew that he could feel how hurt she was as well.
The two of them together with their conflict and emotions, feeding off each other—it wasn’t a healthy environment for her child. As much as she felt for Drew, she knew they needed to keep their distance from each other. The pain and the hurt was just too much. It would be stressful for her baby, and that was the last thing she wanted.
While she’d been in hiding, she didn’t have to deal with anyone or anything from her old life. She didn’t have to explain to her parents that she was having a shifter child. She’d been able to keep herself in a fairly stress-free environment. But she was out of money and had to come out of hiding. She’d now have to deal with all of the feelings she’d been running away from all this time. And those feelings were coming at her in intense waves that she couldn’t deflect or hide from.
“I’ll go get the groceries,” Drew said, walking out of the kitchen and through the living room to the front door.
Quinn was exhausted from driving all day and processing all of the emotions she suddenly had thrust upon her. She walked into the living room and sat down on the old futon. There was a fireplace on one side of the living room that was cold and empty, reminding her of her life. Maybe Drew would build her a fire and warm her heart and mind enough to get through the night.
He walked back through the front door with handfuls of grocery bags and took them into the kitchen. Quinn didn’t stand up. She was so exhausted, her feet were swollen in her shoes, and she simply did not want to get up again. She didn’t even know what the bedroom looked like. She didn’t even care. Quinn could have fallen asleep right there on the rickety old futon.
“Do you want me to put these things away?” Drew asked, peeking his head out the kitchen door.
“If you don’t mind,” Quinn said weakly.
She hated continuing to ask Drew for help, but she was so exhausted she really couldn’t stand up again. If he wasn’t going to put her things away for her, she would have just left them on the counter until later. Quinn began to push off the rain boots.
It had been raining all month on the coast, and it appeared as if it had been raining just as much up in the mountains. It had been clear since she’d arrived in Fate Mountain Village, but the storm clouds had moved back in since arriving at the cabin. She knew the sky was about to open up again, and she would be here alone during another downpour.
She could hear Drew putting things away in the kitchen. Quinn let out a deep breath and curled up on her side on the futon. She could smell the dust in the musty room, but she couldn’t even bring herself to be upset by it. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she was definitely a beggar.
Drew stepped back out into the living room a few moments later, announcing that everything had been put away. She opened her eyes and looked up at him looking down at her.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
“I’m so tired. My feet are really swollen.”
“They do look swollen. Let me rub them for you.”
He walked across the room and sat on the futon beside her, reaching out to grasp her foot in his hands. He began to massage her feet and ankles, eliciting a deep involuntary moan from Quinn’s throat.
It felt so good to have her swollen feet massaged. It felt even better to have Drew touching her. Quinn hadn’t been touched in months, and she wasn
’t aware until just then how starved she was for affection. Drew wasn’t just anyone. Drew was her mate. His touch sent sparks of desire and need throughout her body. There was something intensely comforting about having him so close.
“That feels so good,” she said in a soft purr.
“Good,” he said, the words rumbling in his throat.
They sat together in silence while he rubbed her feet. Quinn felt herself becoming deeply relaxed. The swelling started to go down, and her anxiety level began to subside. But the little cabin was cold, and she began to shiver. Drew pulled the patchwork quilt down over her body and stood up.
“I’m going to build you a fire,” he said.
“That would be really nice,” she murmured.
Drew walked over to the fireplace and arranged logs in the hearth. A few moments later the fire began to crackle and burn, casting a warm glow over the entire living room.
“I’m pretty sure this place has central heating,” he said, looking around the living room for thermostat. “Here it is.” Drew turned up the heat and then sat down beside Quinn again on the futon.
“If you’re okay, I should probably get going now.”
She looked at him over the hem of the patchwork quilt she had tucked up under her chin. She didn’t want him to leave. As inappropriate and weird as it was, Quinn wanted him to stay. In fact, she had wished he had invited her to stay with him in his house. It was much more comfortable, modern, and cleaner than this cabin. She hated the idea of staying in this place alone. Just the thought of it brought a tear to her eye.
“Do you have to?” she said, her voice coming out in a whimper.
“I have to get back to the brewery. I’m opening tonight and I don’t have anyone to cover for me.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He patted her leg and stood. “There’s no landline or cell reception out here, but you can connect your cellphone to the satellite internet. That way, you can text me if you need anything.”
Quinn let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, feeling the tears ready to well up and overflow. She didn’t want to be alone. Now that she had come to Fate Mountain and out of hiding, her need for human contact and support was catching up with her. She’d been on her own all this time and now all she wanted was to be with someone else.
“I don’t want to be here alone.”
“Why don’t you call Juliet? She wants to see you.”
“I’m so tired. I can’t talk to her now.”
“Suit yourself. If you need anything, just call me or Juliet or Levi. But I’ve got to go.”
“Thank you, Drew. You’ve done so much for me, and you didn’t have to do anything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. And yes, I did have to help you. Shifters do take care of their own.”
“I just didn’t realize that you would consider me one of your own.”
10
Drew made the long drive back to town in his SUV and parked in front of the brewery. He had to open the bar in less than fifteen minutes and there were already people waiting in the parking lot for him to arrive. He got out of the car and opened the front door of the bar.
As much as he loved his business, it was hard for him to leave Quinn by herself in such a state. The woman was clearly in distress and shouldn’t be left alone right now. He didn’t know what else he could do. He had responsibilities, and he hadn’t been expecting her to arrive.
In fact, Quinn was the last person that he expected to see ever again. For her to arrive at his place of work after nine months of complete silence with a full pregnant belly was beyond unimaginable. Drew knew that the two of them hadn’t used any protection the night they’d made love. Quinn had dropped off the face of the Earth. She’d never contacted him, so why would he ever expect her to be pregnant?
He went about turning on all the lights to open up the bar. A few moments later, he unlocked the front door and turned on the open sign. Customers started to funnel in as they usually did at this time of day, especially on the weekends. Being a Friday night, it was going to be a busy one. That didn’t make it any easier to leave Quinn by herself right now.
He wished that she would just contact Juliet. The two women had been friends for a long time. He knew that from what both Quinn and Juliet had said about their relationship. Quinn really needed someone right now, and that person couldn’t be Drew for obvious reasons. The two of them were going to have to work out how they could possibly co-parent a newborn when they barely knew each other.
With Drew unable to provide the kind of emotional support that Quinn needed, the most logical alternative was her best friend Juliet. But Quinn seemed reluctant to contact Juliet. Drew could understand why. Quinn had run out on her friends as much as she had run out on him. But Juliet was not the kind of person who held grudges. Drew had known Juliet for nine months, and during that entire time, she had been nothing but sweet, kind, and gracious.
Of all the people who could be there for Quinn, Juliet was the absolute best option. Drew was beginning to see that Quinn had an incredibly stubborn streak. But he could also tell she was exhausted and ashamed. Those two feelings combined into something that made Quinn’s stubborn nature even more prevalent.
Drew turned on a playlist on the jukebox and went behind the bar to start pouring beer for his customers. There was a group of human tourists who had come into town for a fishing trip. With the waters in the river so high from the constant rain over the last several months, fishing would not be as good as usual. These guys wanted to blow off some of their disappointment by sampling every kind of beer Drew had on tap.
He put the sample glasses out on the bar and the men went through each brew, commenting on which ones they liked the best. They’d come up from Portland and had a taste for local craft beer. Drew was proud of his brews and enjoyed sharing them with new people. He laughed and joked with the men until they decided to go off and play darts and pool on the other side of the room.
As Drew was wiping the bar down with a rag, he saw his crewmate Zach walk into the building. The blonde polar bear was as cheerful and energetic as usual. He slid into a stool and rapped his knuckles on the mahogany bar that Angus had built for Drew when he’d first opened the establishment.
“A pint of Fate Mountain Lager, please,” Zach said happily.
Drew pulled a cold pint glass out of the refrigerator and slipped it under the tap. He pulled back the handle, and golden liquid poured down across the glass until it was full. He set the glass with the frothy head down in front of his friend. Zach took a long swig and sighed, setting his glass back down on the bar.
“What brings you into the brewery today, Zach?” Drew asked him.
“Just having a good time on Friday night. With all the rain, I haven’t been able to give any mountain climbing lessons for weeks. Skiing season doesn’t start for at least another month. The only thing I have to do is take people out on the lake to go fishing, and sitting around in a boat all day long with tourists is not my idea of a good time.”
“Levi pays you the same no matter what,” Drew said.
“It’s not the money. I’m just bored.”
“So you came down to my establishment to get into some trouble,” Drew teased.
Zach was known among the Rescue Bears as the impulsive thrill seeker of the bunch. Drew knew that Zach got a bad rap for his impulsivity. He had saved the Rescue Bears more than once using his high energy and his numerous outdoor skills. Zach was an expert mountain climber and an expert skier, but the code name Ski Bear was what had stuck.
Zach had once been a world champion athlete. He had even competed in the X-Games as a snowboarder before the war. Nobody could touch Zach when it came to his acrobatic skill. Drew, for one, admired him for his ability. Nevertheless, Zach was a guy who had a way of stirring things up.
He worked as an exotic dancer on the side, and never seemed to lack for a female companion. Although, as far as Drew knew, Zach was still looking for his fated mate.
/> “I came down here to talk to you,” Zach said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
“What about?” Drew asked.
“I heard from Levi that Quinn is back in town.”
“She is. And pregnant as can be with my child.”
“That’s what Levi said. How are you doing with that?”
Zach was never the guy who you went to talk to about your problems. That distinction usually went to Angus. He was a giant of a bear, but the man underneath was as gentle and sweet as they came. Everyone knew they could go to Angus if they had a personal issue, and he would try to help them solve it. Zach was a guy you went to if you wanted to go to a dance party or learn a new trick on a snowboard. Drew wasn’t sure how he felt about opening up to him right now.
“Fine,” Drew lied.
He wasn’t fine. He was anything but fine. Having Quinn come back to town, pregnant with his child, was seriously messing with him. It was the last thing in the world he had ever expected to happen. Drew had spent the last nine months resolving to be alone and to never see his fated mate again.
It was a hopeless place to be, and Drew had lived in that place for a long time. He’d been there so long that he had become used to feeling hopeless. The hopelessness had become a comfort to him. Now that she was here, and he was about to be a father, he couldn’t quite feel so hopeless anymore. That didn’t mean he understood how he felt at all. Because he didn’t. He wasn’t sure about anything anymore, and it confused the hell out of him.
“You obviously aren’t fine,” Zach said, taking another swig of his beer.
Drew was quickly becoming uncomfortable with this conversation. It was hard for Drew to look into Zach’s bright blue eyes and that cheery grin of his and pour his heart out to the guy. It just wasn’t going to happen.
“Since when have you become my shrink?” Drew asked.
“Dude, you have to talk to somebody,” Zach said.