Collision Course

by Julie Trettel

Grant wrapped an ACE bandage around my knee and made me promise to keep my weight off that leg until he spoke to our Clan doctor. Turned out he was tending to my dad so worked out perfectly for us to go see him sooner rather than later.

  Mentally, I thought I was prepared but walking into the house I’d grown up in and into his bedroom to find my father looking small and frail in his big bed wrecked me.

  Since we hadn’t seen the doctor yet, Baine was being over-protective and insisted on carrying me. I tried to argue but secretly enjoyed it. That was until I saw the look on my father’s face when we walked in and Baine carefully set me down on the bed.

  “You didn’t tell him?” I whispered.

  He shook his head.

  I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with that too. What I was expecting was to see my daughter excitedly leaping onto the bed. My dad was one of her favorite people in the entire world. Instead, she clung to Baine. It was the truest testament of just how bad he looked.

  Baine squatted down to Macie’s eye level. “I know it feels scary and he looks rough, but Grant and your Clan doctor have thoroughly checked him over. He could stand to put a few pounds back on, but I promise you he’s going to be okay. Would I lie to you?”

  She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eyes.

  “You need to be strong for him just like he’s always been strong for you, okay?”

  Dad watched the interaction between them intently as Macie hugged Baine who picked her up and settled her on the bed next to him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen my father so emotional as he watched them.

  “Are you really okay?” Macie hesitantly asked him.

  Dad softened and reached out a hand to her. “I am now that my favorite grandcub is here.”

  Macie rolled her eyes. “I’m your only grandcub, silly.”

  Baine squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll be just outside until you need me.”

  I wanted him to stay, but I didn’t argue. I knew it couldn’t be easy on him dealing with my father.

  “I may have been through quite the ordeal, but my eyes still work perfectly fine. Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Baine Landry?” Dad asked, the second Baine closed the door behind him.

  I wasn’t ready for the interrogation but I knew I needed to stand firm.

  “He’s my true mate, Dad.”

  The most magnanimous man I’d ever known sniffed as his eyes moistened.

  “I’m sorry that upsets you. It’s not my intent. It’s simply a fact.”

  “He’s my dad,” Macie blurted out. “You can’t kick him out again without banishing me, too.”

  The protective tone in my daughter’s voice surprised me. Pride swelled in my chest.

  “I always suspected,” he surprised me by saying. “My biggest regret in life will always be how I handled that situation. Still, despite it all, he came to rescue me.”

  “He didn’t want to,” I admitted.

  “The grumpy man made him do it, but we’re glad he did,” Macie explained.

  Dad closed his eyes and nodded. “He always was a good kid. I was wrong, Olive.”

  “I know, dad. It was a long time ago.”

  “You’ve already forgiven me,” he said with certainty.

  I leaned down and carefully hugged him. “Life’s too short to hold on to anger.”

  “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank her yet,” Macie blurted out. “We’re going with him when he leaves.”

  Dad squeezed me a little tighter. “I know.”

  “I’m scared, Dad.”

  He stroked my hair as he did so often when I was a little girl. “I wouldn’t step aside without argument for a lesser man. The fact that he came back, facing potential death even, to save our Clan, to save me is a debt I’ll never be able to fully repay.”

  “He was just doing his job, grandpa. You don’t owe him anything.”

  He reached over and hugged Macie to him, too. “How long until you leave?”

  Macie shrugged. “That’s up to the grumpy man, but I’m hoping it’s before my big test next week.”

  “Macie Laine,” I warned, but I appreciated the wide smile that crossed my father’s face reaching all the way to his eyes. That smile let me know he was really going to be okay.

  Dad surprised me when he requested Baine to join us.

  When I opened the door, Killian tried to force his way inside.

  “Macie, why don’t you go entertain Uncle Killian while I speak with your parents?” said Dad, firmly as a statement, not a question.

  Baine heard him and gave me a questioning look. I could only shrug. I had no idea what he wanted.

  Macie left the room without a fuss and Baine enjoyed closing the door in Killian’s face. I scowled and shook my head, but he just gave me an innocent look and winked.

  His entire body stiffened as we walked back to my father’s bed though. I reached for his hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

  “Please, sit with me a moment. I want you both to know how sorry I am for everything. Being locked in a cage and facing death head on made me realize just how short life is. It also gave me time to consider my life and everything I’ve accomplished. The biggest mistake I ever made was banishing you from this Clan. You were like a son to me and I turned my back on you. It has haunted me every day since. I made a pact with myself that if the good Lord found a way for me to escape that nightmare, then the first thing I would do was find you, Baine, and make amends.”

  Baine’s jaw dropped open and silent tears ran down my cheeks.

  “When I opened my eyes in that car and saw you sitting next to me, I honestly thought I was dead and you were my purgatory. I couldn’t even complain because I deserved that. Fortunately for me, you’re a much bigger man than I’ll ever be.”

  My dad was the biggest man I knew and it hurt my heart to hear him pouring out his.

  “Forgive me, son?”

  Baine was speechless, but he slowly nodded.

  With a smile back on his face, and the stress gone that he’d been carrying for so long, my father seemed to improve right before our eyes. He reached over and took my hand and then Baine’s and he held them together.

  “I can see you haven’t sealed your bond. I’m not sure what the holdup is, and I know you aren’t waiting for my blessing, but I want you both to know you have it. There was a light in my Olive’s eyes that dimmed the day you left. I see it’s back. Her love for you shines bright, Baine. Don’t snuff that light out again. It’s more precious than anything. And I might not be Alpha anymore and I’m certainly in no condition to challenge my son for it back, but I am still an alpha and I can sense just how strong and powerful your bear has grown. You were always a great protector of her. I know you will be even more so as a mate. I wish the both of you a lifetime of happiness together. I know it can’t make amends for the past, but I do hope you will consider visiting once in a while.”

  I hugged him. “Dad, we aren’t going to just disappear. We’ll be back for visits and there’s always video messaging. I can’t just take Macie from here. We have too many people we love here. But Mace and I are going with him. It’s a trial period.”

  He frowned and shook his head. “Trial? Is that why you’ve held off bonding? Listen to an old fool, Olive, and jump. It’s the most natural thing in the world and like I said, life is too short.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just squeezed him tighter. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too.”

  Baine

  Chapter 23

  We stuck around for three more days. Pike’s words still weighed heavily on me. I hadn’t expected redemption when I came here. I didn’t think I’d accept it so I had no idea how much I needed it. Making amends with Pike, Killian, and Kano meant the world to my mate, but it meant the world to me too, more than I was willing to admit.

  Much to Macie’s delight, the
plane arrived to take us home two days before her big test. With that stress gone, she could barely contain her excitement.

  I knew I didn’t have much to offer them. I made good money and had more than I’d ever need tucked away in savings, but I lived in the Lodge. It was really a nice hotel suite. There was no bed for Macie and I knew it was going to be too small for the three of us.

  I had called Cole and Kyle to discuss my situation. Kyle offered me a house in San Marco. Despite all my talk about how safe the wolves were, the truth was I’d never lived inside their territory. The Lodge was strategically just outside Westin Pack borders. Technically they owned the Lodge and all the surrounding land too, but it wasn’t considered part of their territory. I had no idea how the Pack would handle a family of bears moving in.

  After voicing my concerns to the both of them, we agreed on renting for a trial period and if that wasn’t working out then I had permission to build on Lodge land.

  Macie had been approved to go to school in San Marco too. There were only shifters who attended, but they were all wolves with the exception of Kyle’s nephew, Oscar, who was several years older than Macie. Suddenly I was beginning to second guess everything. Maybe it would be best if we just stayed in the Clan. I was sure I could pick up a job doing something.

  Every time that thought crossed my mind, I looked at one of my Bravo Team brothers and knew I couldn’t do that to them. I was so torn.

  On the day of our departure, I shook hands with Kano and thanked him for everything. I’d already said my goodbyes to Pike. Felix hugged me while Tori and Resa attacked Olivia and Macie.

  Killian hung back, just watching. Once I’d said goodbye to everyone I cared to, I walked over to stand next to him. We stood there quietly for a bit until I nudged him with my elbow.

  Kill shook his head but smiled. “Promise me you’ll look after them.”

  “Killian, protecting your sister has always been the most important job in my life, even if it meant leaving her behind so she wouldn’t have to face my death by the hand of your father.”

  “I don’t think it would have come to that,” he said softly.

  “You can say that now in hindsight, but in the moment, I know you would have been standing there cheering him on the whole way.”

  He sighed. “You’re probably right.” He stared across the way to where they were huddled. “I’m going to miss that kid so much.”

  I smacked his shoulder. “I have no idea what our future holds, but one thing I’m positive of is that Olivia will never let Macie grow up in a world without all of you. They’ll be video messaging so much it’ll drive you crazy.”

  “Will you let them come back for visits?”

  I snorted. “Let them? I truly don’t have a death wish, you know. I couldn’t keep them from coming back here even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. Family’s important. Not having one makes me appreciate that even more.”

  “You’ve always had a family right here. Sure, you might be the annoying black sheep, but hey, every family’s got one.” He turned and smirked at me.

  I lunged for him and wrapped him up in a choke hold. This time as we wrestled around it was with laughter and not anger.

  “Baine,” Silas barked. “It’s time to roll out.”

  “Yes, sir. Well, that’s my cue.”

  Killian pulled me into a big bear hug. “Take care, brother.”

  I had no words, but I nodded solemnly before gathering up Olivia and Macie. They were both crying as we boarded the plane.

  I showed them to their seats and sat down with a groan. “Both of you? No. I don’t do tears.”

  “With that much estrogen around you might as well get used to it,” Ben teased.

  They all laughed at my expense, but I didn’t care. I felt like the luckiest man on the planet.

  *****

  It was late when we arrived at the Lodge. They were both too emotionally drained from the day to freak out over my tiny suite. I hadn’t known it before, but the guys told me the couch in our rooms pulled out into a sofa bed. That made for a quick bed for Macie and at least a temporary arrangement for the night.

  I had to carry her upstairs from the car and she was out and snoring lightly the second her head hit the pillow.

  Olivia took a moment to look around. I could see her brain whirling but couldn’t discern her thoughts.

  “I’ve already secured a house in town on a trial basis. We’ll be renting for three months to test it out.”

  “But this is where you live?”

  I nodded. “I didn’t require much. It’s comfortable enough. There’s housekeeping and its’ super convenient for work, which is in the basement of this building.”

  Normally I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that, but mates were an exception. I didn’t care that we hadn’t officially bonded yet, and Archie would argue that fact. Olivia was my mate.

  “It’s very impersonal.”

  I shrugged. “It’s just a place to lay my head when I’m in town.”

  She sighed. “So you really aren’t in town much then?”

  “We’re in town more than I’ve liked to be. I always hated when we were stuck here for days or weeks at a time, but right now, I’m hoping we have a big break before the next away mission strikes.”

  I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.

  “O, I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make this work. If my job becomes a problem between us, I will quit. I love what I do, and I love my team. They are family to me, but you and Macie are my world now. The two of you will always come first even when I’m being called out without warning and it might not feel like it.”

  She nodded. “I really have no idea what I’m going to do here, Baine. I mean I’m trying to stay open minded and I’m excited to see the area and meet people, but I’ve worked so hard juggling everything on my own for so long.”

  I smirked at her. “You can still be super mom and do all the things if that makes you happy. We do have a salon in town. We can talk to them about taking you on if you want to work, but Olivia, I need you to know that I am prepared to support us. The Force pays for each of us to have a room here, even if we don’t use it. Grant lives in town and keeps a room here for when we return in the middle of the night or know we’re leaving at the crack of dawn. We sometimes have downtime during the regular workday and it’s nice to escape and take a shower in private after a tough workout. He thinks of it more like an office.”

  “Painter and Emma choose to live here, and she commutes into town for work. She keeps Ben’s triplets so his mate, Shelby can work. She only works over at the school. I’m sure she’d be happy to keep Macie anytime we need her. Like any family we all help each other out around here.”

  I could see that I was sharing too much too fast and she was starting to get overwhelmed.

  “We don’t need to worry about any of that tonight. Let’s just go to sleep and tomorrow will be a fresh day.”

  “Okay,” she said, but she went to the fridge and opened it to find a couple of beers, a now expired gallon of milk, and some rotten fruit.

  I cringed when she sighed.

  “I haven’t been here in a while, remember? There’s coffee and some quick grab non-perishables in the cabinet. One of the perks of living here is they do a full breakfast spread every morning. We can go down there tomorrow and then stop by the store and pick up anything you want while we take the tour and look at the house.”

  She relaxed a little and nodded. “Sounds good.”

  I grabbed some gym shorts and went to change in the bathroom. There wasn’t exactly any privacy between the living room area and the bedroom section, and I didn’t own pajamas. With Macie sleeping right there, it seemed prudent to at least wear something.

  Olivia took her turn after me and soon she was in my arms in my bed and life felt pretty close to perfect.

  The next morning Macie was up early. I groaned. I wasn’t used to waking early on return from a mission. It was one of the r
are occasions when Silas gave us all a day off. I knew I shouldn’t avoid workouts even if it wasn’t mandatory. I’d been slacking in the weeks we were away and there was going to be hell to pay for it eventually.

  Olivia was still sleeping soundly, and I knew she needed it.

  “Shh. Let your mom sleep,” I whispered.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Get dressed, short stuff. We’ll go down and grab some breakfast.” I checked the time and knew they’d be shutting down soon, but we had time if I didn’t take a shower first.

  While Macie was in the bathroom getting ready, I quickly changed. As soon as she came out, we quietly left.

  I gave her a quick tour of the place and showed her where everyone’s rooms were while we passed them on the way to the elevator.

  Down in the lobby, we were greeted by a friendly face.

  “Heard you guys got back last night,” Sondra said. “And who do we have here?”

  “This is my daughter, Macie. Macie this is Sondra. If you or your mom need anything at all, Sondra’s always willing to help, right Sondra?”

  She was gawking at me in shock. I suspected I was going to be getting that a lot over the next few days. I wasn’t exactly considered mating material, let alone father material.

  “Daughter? How long were you guys gone again?”

  I chuckled, surprised Macie didn’t have some smartass response to that. She was uncharacteristically quiet.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she finally said a little too politely.

  I gave her a questioning look.

  “Baine says there’s food down here?”

  “Right this way sweetie.”

  Sondra led us over to the smorgasbord of breakfast foods. Macie’s eyes lit up with delight. She didn’t hesitate to help herself to a heaping plate of food.

  “Cute kid.”

  “Thanks.”

  “She’s really yours?”

  “She is.”

  “Your biological child?”

  “Yup.”

  Sondra laughed. “Wow. Sorry. Just struggling to picture you as a father.”

  I groaned. “I’m doing the best I can.”