His to Seek
Page 15
“It’s amazing, Bree. Thank you. She’ll cherish it when she’s older.” Harper laid the stocking next to the sleeping infant.
Bree turned back to her sack and pulled out one gorgeous stocking after another, handing them to everyone in turn until everybody in the room held a beautiful, handcrafted Christmas stocking.
“Bree, they’re absolutely amazing.” Natalia, who was one of Bree’s newest friends, pulled her into a tight embrace. “Thank you. It really means a lot that you included us in this.”
“Are you kidding?” Bree swiped at a tear on her cheek. “I meant it when I said it, Nat. You’re like family. All of you and I know especially you with your brother and…I’ve never met him, but…”
“Maybe you will.” Nat took Bree by the hand and led her over to the table to give her a cup of eggnog and also to take her out of Cyrus’s earshot. It wasn’t a secret. In fact, it was something they’d both discussed at length, but although he’d agreed to it, Cyrus still wasn’t happy about it. “Liam is going to be coming for Christmas.”
“What?” Her new friend looked genuinely shocked. “But I thought that he tried to—”
“He didn’t mean to hurt me.” When Liam had apologized, Natalia knew without a doubt, that it had been sincere. He’d never intentionally hurt her.
Cyrus still wasn’t completely convinced, but Natalia insisted on compassion. They were surrounded by family and love, and if there was ever an important time for that kind of connection, it was during the holidays. Which was why Natalia had insisted that Liam join them.
“In fact,” she said to Bree, “I asked him to come to the tree trimming. So you might actually meet him—”
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. The entire room grew quiet, and they all turned to watch the door open. Liam stepped inside, looking more than a little unsure about being there.
Behind her, Natalia heard Bree gasp. She looked from her brother to Bree. “Are you okay?”
The other woman nodded, but nothing about her looked certain.
“Bree?”
“Is that your brother?”
“It is.” She narrowed her eyes and watched the other woman for a moment. There was something about the way she was looking at her brother. Something almost instinctual. But that didn’t make sense. Bree wasn’t a shifter. She was human. She’d grown up around shifters, so she knew all about them, but she never missed an opportunity to remind them all that she was definitely human.
Natalia looked again to her brother, who hadn’t moved from the doorway. He stared directly at them.
No.
Not them.
He stared directly at Bree.
What the…
“Bree? Don’t you have a stocking for Kira?”
Her friend shook her head as if out of a trance and stared at Natalia blankly for a moment before blinking hard.
“Yes,” she said. “And I have some for the twins.”
“Maybe you want to take them to her, or would you rather I do it?” She lifted an eyebrow and tipped her head in Liam’s direction.
Bree laughed uncomfortably before picking up the stockings. “You know what? If it’s all the same to you, I think I should take them to her.”
Before Natalia could answer, Bree had taken the stockings and was gone, leaving her standing there wondering what the hell had just happened.
“Nat?”
She turned to look at her brother. For a moment, she thought she saw Liam’s eyes follow Bree out of the room, but then he was looking at her, his eyes full of regret and uncertainty.
“I’m glad you came, Liam.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She pulled him into a hug to prove it. “I want to move forward.” Over Liam’s shoulder, she saw Cyrus watching them intently. He’d be protective, and he’d be worried, but she wasn’t concerned about him pulling any more of his caveman antics. “We’re family and I love you.”
“Nat, I really am…” Tears welled up in her big brother’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Nat. I never meant for it to go so far. I don’t know what happened. I just—”
“Enough.” They’d had the same conversation at least three times. She didn’t need to keep hearing it. “I accept your apology, Liam. I think it’s you who needs to accept it now.”
Liam glanced over his shoulder and jabbed his thumb in Cyrus’s direction. “I think he needs to accept it now.” A small smile turned up on his lips.
“He will.” She laughed and handed him a glass of eggnog. “But it’s the holidays and you’re part of this family.”
“You are,” Axel said as he joined them. “It’s good to see you, cousin.”
They shook hands and Natalia relaxed a little. “I asked Mom to come too. Maybe she’ll come for Christmas dinner. I don’t want her to be alone in that house for the holidays.”
Liam stiffened, his glass poised halfway to his lips. He lowered it and looked at her intently before looking at Axel.
“What?” Nat tried to laugh off his intensity, but Liam wasn’t smiling.
“I thought you knew.” He looked around at the room full of people who had begun stringing lights on the tree. “I thought you all knew.”
“Knew what?”
“Nat, Mom’s not alone. She’s there with her sister, Tonia.” Liam shook his head and fixed his gaze on his cousin. “Axel, your mom’s back.”
I hope you enjoyed Cyrus and Natalia’s story! It’s Christmas time at Grizzly Ridge! Not only is there all kinds of festive fun to be had with the entire Jackson clan, but there is one more cousin who still needs to find his mate! Read Liam’s story in Hers for the Season (Available November 2019) and see what family friend Bree Brooks has been hiding all this time!
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About the Author
Elena Aitken is a USA Today Bestselling Author of more than forty romance and women’s fiction novels. Living a stone’s throw from the Rocky Mountains with her teenager twins, their two cats and a goofy rescue dog, Elena escapes into the mountains whenever life allows. She can often be found with her toes in the lake and a glass of wine in her hand, dreaming up her next book and working on her own happily ever after with her very own mountain man.
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To learn more about Elena:
www.elenaaitken.com
elena@elenaaitken.com
Also by Elena Aitken
Bears of Grizzly Ridge
His to Protect
His to Seduce
His to Claim
Hers to Take
His to Defend
His to Tame
His to Seek
Bears of Grizzly Ridge: Books 1-4
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The McCormicks
Love in the Moment
Going for the Moment
Only for a Moment
One more Moment
In this Moment
From this Moment
Castle Mountain Lodge
Unexpected Gifts
Hidden Gifts
Unexpected Endings - Short Story
Secret Gifts
Mistaken Gifts
Goodbye Gifts
Tempting Gifts
Holiday Gifts
A Castle Lodge Collection (Books 1-5)
Copyright © 2019 by Elena Aitken
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in th
is manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
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