Boarlander Bash Bear

by T. S. Joyce

  “What if we can’t get the marriage license in time?” Emerson asked.

  “Mason and Damon are taking care of that. We just have to get there in time to do the paperwork,” Harrison murmured, texting furiously on his phone from the back seat.

  “What if we don’t get there in time?” Emerson asked in a rush. “What if there is a herd of goats in the way, or an avalanche, or—”

  “Stooop,” Audrey drawled out. “We’ll make it.”

  “I have to call my parents and my sister. You might want to plug your ears if you don’t want to hear them screaming.”

  “With joy?” Audrey asked.

  “No.” With disappointment and curse words. When she’d told them about Bash, they hadn’t been on board. In fact, they’d called this another one of her questionable decisions, but again, it was her life, and if they didn’t like it, tough shit. They hadn’t liked any of her ex-boyfriends, didn’t consider freelance editing a “real job,” and hadn’t supported her decision to have artificial insemination, so somewhere along the way, Emerson had learned she had to depend on her own opinions to chase her happiness. She loved them, but they were too rigid in their belief of what “normal” was. She would never fit that mold. Emerson slid her hand over Bash’s and returned the smile he gave her. Maybe that’s why they worked so well. Neither one of them fit a mold. They were two oddly-shaped lumps of clay that somehow fit together to make something great.

  With a steadying breath, Emerson pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her parents’ landline.

  “Hello?” Mom said in a sleepy voice. Oh crap, it was still early in the morning.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry I woke you.”

  “What is it, Emerson? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is right. Can you put dad on the phone?”

  “Dan,” Mom said tiredly. “Dan, wake up. It’s Emerson, and she sounds like she’s on drugs or something.”

  On drugs? Audrey snorted from the back seat as if she could hear the muffled conversation. And knowing her heightened shifter abilities, she probably could.

  “Emerson?” Dad asked in a hoarse voice.

  “Hi, Dad. No, I’m not on drugs. I’m actually calling to tell you I got engaged.”

  “What?” Mom asked, her voice pitching painfully high.

  Emerson winced and pulled the phone from her ear by inches. “Bash asked me to marry him, and I said yes, and before you go crazy, I just want to say I love him, and he is very good to me, and I’m happy.” She pulled the phone farther away. “Now you may yell at me.”

  Dad sighed deeply. “He makes you happy?”

  Hope blooming in her chest, Emerson rushed out, “He makes me devastatingly, breathlessly happy, Dad. He’s the one. I knew it from the first time I talked to him, and he knew it, too. I want a life with him, a family, the whole nine yards. And I really, really want you to be happy for me.”

  Mom sniffled. “How did telling us this news make you feel, honey?”

  “Scared,” she admitted.

  “See, that’s not what we wanted, and that’s our fault for not being more supportive. It’s scary to us that you are in love with a shifter, and this all has happened so quickly.”

  “But when Amanda fell in love and got engaged right away, you were so happy, Mom. You were so excited to plan the wedding, and she was only twenty-one at the time. I’m twenty-eight, and I know Bash is it. I’ve waited a long time for him. I want you to be happy for me, too. And I want you to come to the wedding.”

  One of her parents sighed loudly into the phone. “When?”

  “Today.”

  “What?” Mom said, too loud.

  “We don’t have a choice. The shifters are being stripped of rights, and if Bash and I don’t get married before noon today, we won’t be allowed to legally wed.”

  “That’s awful. Not the wedding, I mean them not being able to marry.”

  “Yeah. It was a big blow. My friends…well, it was a really bad night for the shifters in Damon’s mountains last night.”

  “I’m so sorry, honey. I had no idea you were dealing with so much stress. You should be allowed to be with the man you choose, and Dad and I haven’t made this any easier on you either. This isn’t the wedding I imagined for you, but you’re also a grown woman. And Emerson, I haven’t heard you this happy in…well…ever. Every call from you over the past couple of weeks has lifted my heart, and if part of that is Bash’s doing, well, you have our blessing. Where should we meet you? I can bring something borrowed and blue.”

  “Saratoga City Hall. We’ll be there soon.”

  “Okay, call your sister and tell her your news. Dad and I will be there.”

  Emerson wrapped her arms around her middle and swallowed her emotions down. “Really?” she asked in a small voice.

  “Of course,” Mom murmured, her voice quavering. “We wouldn’t miss your big day.”

  “We love you, honey,” Dad said. “We’ll see you in a little while.”

  “I love you, too,” she croaked out. “Bye.”

  She ended the call and stared at her phone. Well, that went about a thousand times better than expected.

  Audrey sniffled from the back seat, but Emerson didn’t turn around to console her because if she saw her friend crying, she was going to lose it and have smeary-mascara-raccoon-eyes for her wedding. And sure, Bash would probably find a way to make her feel cute anyway, but her future husband was a solid ten on the sex-appeal scale, and she wanted to be in top form next to him for pictures today.

  As she looked out the window at the piney woods blurring by, it hit her. She was really getting married today to the man she loved more than anything. She would be surrounded by friends who were happy she would be a part of the Boarlanders now, and her parents would be there as she said her vows, supporting her. There was no more room to worry that something could go wrong because Bash looked calm and collected beside her, and Harrison was in the back seat on his phone purchasing a rush-order wedding cake in the shape of a bear from a local bakery like everything would be okay.

  And if her crew—her crew—was this confident that today would go off without a hitch, well, it was time she started trusting the fates who had done so well getting her here.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Emerson was getting married. The drive to City Hall had stretched on and on, each minute dragging, but when they’d arrived, it had been chaos. Happy, lovely, beautiful chaos.

  All of the things she’d feared never came to fruition, and now she was here, surrounded by the Boarlanders, flanked by Audrey, who was newly registered with the crew, and her parents, who donned smiles on their faces. Emerson was in this incredible moment, looking up into Bash’s clear green eyes. She could see her reflection there, from her trembling smile to her tear-streaked cheeks, when she said, “I do.”

  Bash lifted her up in a bear hug, but the officiant said, “Wait, wait, wait, you’re not done yet.”

  “Oh,” Bash said. “I got excited.”

  With a giggle, Emerson slid back down to the floor and nodded to the officiant.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

  Bash grinned big, his eyebrows arched high, and God, she loved him more than anything.

  The officiant dragged it out with a teasing smile, but at last he said, “You may now kiss your bride.”

  Her new husband came at her fast, but in true Bash fashion slowed just before his lips touched hers. He sipped her softly, his tongue barely brushing the closed seam of her mouth. Gentle bear, but only with her.

  He lifted her off the ground to the cheering around them, and she crossed her ankles and hugged him up tight when he ended their kiss. But where she expected him to be smiling when he eased away, her Bash Bear’s eyes were rimmed with moisture, and he buried his face against her neck quick. She blinked hard to clear her vision as she looked from Harrison’s smile as he whistled long and loud, to Audrey who was wiping her eyes with the back of he
r hand, to Mason who took pictures with a disposable camera he’d picked up from somewhere, and Kirk, who was clapping, to Clinton, who stood with his hands in his pockets. He nodded to her as though she’d done well. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t gotten the big wedding she’d thought she wanted as a kid.

  There was no way anything could match this moment.

  Bash sniffed and set her down, and then Harrison drew him into a manly, back-slapping hug. She hugged her parents, and they were so sweet and supportive, and when it was Audrey’s turn to embrace her, she held Emerson for a long time, rocking gently.

  “I’ve always wanted a friend like you,” Audrey whispered. “Welcome to the crew.”

  Emerson squeezed her shoulders and eased back to dab her cheeks with a tissue. The officiant shook her hand and said, “I’m sorry this was rushed. I don’t agree with what is happening to you and your people. I wish you a long and happy life with your mate.”

  And just like that, her disappointment in people vanished. Last night had shaken her to the core. It had made her feel picked on and jaded, but the human officiant and his kind words reminded her that there was more good than bad in this world. That people could be understanding and accepting.

  The world just needed to be made aware that there was no reason to fear shifters. She thanked him and turned to see Bash talking and laughing with her parents. They liked him, she could tell. How could anyone not adore Bash? He was sweet and funny and cared more than anyone she’d ever met. Emerson made her way to him and slipped under his outstretched arm, the grin on her lips feeling permanent. Today had been one of those days that had turned out to be unimaginably happy, and what a way to start their lives together.

  Bash kissed the top of her head and told her, “I just invited your parents to the after-party.”

  “What after-party?” she asked, baffled. She’d figured they would take the cake back up to the trailer park and hopefully order some barbecue from Moosey’s. Nothing big or flashy, since this had been about as rushed as it could get.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  Her mom was smiling, and her eyes were rimmed with tears, her dad hugging her tight against his side. Amanda hadn’t been able to make it last minute, but at least her parents were starting to see the magic of these people. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Okay,” Emerson said, feeling numb as Bash ushered her out the double doors behind the rest of the chattering crew.

  A short drive later, and Bash parked his pickup in the gravel parking lot of Sammy’s Bar. Harrison and Audrey slipped silently out of the truck and shut the door.

  “Remember this place?” Bash asked.

  “Yeah, this is where you had your Meet-A-Mate Bash.”

  He leaned over the console and drew her knuckles to his lips. “And I did. You. This was the place I figured out you were mine. My bear picked you here.”

  There were people piling in through Sammy’s doors. She recognized some of them from the crews she’d met over the last couple of weeks. Brooke and Tagan of the Ashe Crew. Kellen, Skyler, Bruiser and Diem, Drew and Riley, and others. Willa and Matt waved before they went in, and Beaston nodded his chin at them as he helped his very pregnant mate, Aviana, through the door to Sammy’s.

  “But…I thought everyone was working up on the landings today.”

  “Being C-team paid off. The Ashe Crew and Gray Backs don’t have job sites because we’re so fuckin’ behind cutting their trees. Kirk called Kong and Layla, and they opened the bar early and went to work. Damon gave everyone a day off. They came here for us. For you.”

  She would not cry again, she would not cry again. Swallowing hard, she opened the door and slid out of Bash’s truck, then took his hand and followed him across the parking lot.

  As she stepped inside the bar behind her new husband, Kirk lifted his beer and yelled out, “Mr. and Mrs. Kane of the Boarlanders!”

  The bar erupted in applause, ear-splitting whistles, and cheers. It looked like all the crews were here, children and all, like one big family. And in the center of them were Mom and Dad clapping the loudest. Denison Beck got on the mic and lifted a shot glass. It was damn early to be drinking, but that didn’t have any bearing on this party. “You all lift your glasses. Last night, we got some rough news, and it was hard, and it hurts. But none of that matters today because Bash married his lady, Audrey registered to the Boarlanders, and today is a great day.”

  “Hell yeah!” Kong yelled from behind the bar.

  Denison laughed with the others and lifted his glass higher. “To Bash and Emerson. Welcome to the family!”

  And as the others drank a toast, Bash dragged her out onto the dance floor and hugged her close. Brighton Beck plucked some slow notes on his old guitar before Denison belted out a first, soulful note. Emerson melted into Bash’s embrace as he rocked them back and forth.

  The bar was loud, crowded, sticky-floored, and perfect. There was a bear-shaped cake on a table near the stage where a couple of kids were swiping frosting. She thought Willa was going to chase them off, but the spunky redhead only took a swipe of her own and shushed the kids’ giggling. Beside Emerson and Bash, Beaston danced with his Aviana, and Mom and Dad were slow dancing near them, too. Today had been beautiful. It had been one of those days that had the potential to make an entire lifetime. It had been a fork in a long road. She’d taken a risk and it had paid off. She’d found the path paved with joy.

  “You smell happy,” Bash murmured, his cheek against her hair.

  “I am. I was really lonely before you, and now look what you’ve given me.”

  “Sex and pizza rolls?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Those and so much more.”

  Bash looked so handsome in the dim lighting of the bar. “Remember that time you told me you like everything about me?”

  She slid her hands up his chest, hooked them around the back of his neck and nodded. “It’s still true.”

  “No one ever said that about me before.” His lips twitched into a smile, then fell. “I feel like that about you. You make it easy to breath, Emerson. I think you’re my air.”

  She bit her trembling lip and rested her cheek against his chest. “You’re my air, too, Bash Bear.”

  Epilogue

  In a daze, Emerson emerged from the trailer she shared with Bash and stumbled toward his waiting truck. The last week since the wedding had been complete and utter chaos with trying to get her name changed, her address changed, moving out of her duplex into Bash’s trailer, and writing her first article for submission.

  In all the commotion, she’d missed something vital. Something amazing.

  “Light a fire, woman,” Kirk called from the bed of Bash’s truck where he had piled in with Mason and Clinton, who was now staring at her with an obnoxious, knowing grin as though he was a damned psychic.

  Ignoring them, she crawled into Bash’s truck and buckled in. When she turned and met his gaze, his dark brows were furrowed with concern. “What’s wrong? Is it Clinton? Do you want me to bleed him?”

  “No. No, I’m fine. I’m just…surprised by something and need a minute to think.”

  “You want music to think to? Heavy metal helps.” He turned the knob on his stereo and blasted a heavy beat.

  “Ten bucks says Beaston won’t even let us hold him,” Audrey said from the back seat.

  Harrison snorted as Bash pulled out of the trailer park. “He probably doesn’t even let Aviana hold him.”

  Beaston’s call that his mate had given birth to their raven boy this morning was what had triggered a series of realizations. After her negative pregnancy tests, Emerson had been sure she would start her period at any moment, but then her life had gone chaotic with the wedding and the aftermath, and she’d forgotten about it completely. But now she was definitely a week late, and the test she’d just taken had two bold lines.

  She was pregnant.

  Pregnant.

  She couldn’t help her smile, and her heart p
ounded against her chest.

  The million things that had to come together to make a miracle like Clinton had said…well…she and Bash had done it. Emerson pulled her oversize purse closer against her stomach, now carrying a tiny, fragile life.

  She was going to be a mommy, and he was going to be a daddy, and she was utterly overwhelmed with emotion right now.

  “You’re making the air weird,” Bash said suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re okay? If you don’t want to go see Beaston’s baby—”

  “No! I really, really want to see his little boy.” And cuddle him and smell him and cry over him because she and Bash would be holding their own cub soon.

  Bash pulled to a stop at the main road. On the left, in the shadows of the evergreens, sat the new cabins where Holman and Brackeen were posted, an ominous symbol of the changes that were slowly affecting life here. But to the right lay the road to Grayland Mobile Park. And there, cradled in the arms of Beaston, lay something no one could take away from the shifters here. Hope.

  The truck tires rattled over the wooden bridge that crossed the river fed by Bear Trap Falls, and gravel kicked up as they blasted down the road and under the Grayland Mobile Park sign.

  Bash parked in front of a bricked-in fire pit, and as a crew, they walked past the other trailers and into the woods where Beaston’s house was. His woods were flooded with shifters and humans alike, paying their respect to the newest inhabitant of Damon’s mountains.

  The dragon himself stood by his mate, Clara, holding his young son and talking quietly with Tagan James, alpha of the Ashe Crew. The crowd parted as Harrison led them up to the trailer, up the porch stairs, and inside.

  Beaston and Aviana’s house reminded Emerson of the inside of a tree with bark walls and colored cloths over the lamp, muting the light, but their bedroom seemed like a different world. It was simple and clean. Aviana looked beautiful, tired but smiling as she lay under the thick comforter beside her mate. Beaston sat on the edge of the bed, staring at a tiny bundle in his arms.

  When he looked up, his glowing green eyes were raw. “He’s a raven, just like I dreamed. He’s a raven like my Ana.”