“We’ve just met,” Ruth mumbled.
“It’s okay, I don’t need you to say it back to me.” Michael’s heart ached for the woman who sat in front of him. He meant what he said, he didn’t need her to say it back to him. He was a patient man.
“I do.” Ruth looked him directly in the eyes. “I do. It’s just…so fast.”
“Welcome to the life of a shifter,” Frankie said, lightening the mood in the room. “No control over these emotions inside. Especially when you have the creature in your head that has a mind of its own.”
“My bear likes to howl like a wolf,” Michael admitted, his hand still wrapped around Ruth’s.
“That I’d like to see. And hear.” Ruth spoke lightly, but she still held him in her gaze. Like a deer in headlights, he was at this woman’s mercy.
“Later tonight. Or tomorrow. Or any night.” Michael’s bear stirred in his head. “He wants to meet you.”
“I’d like that. A lot.” Ruth turned her attention to her dinner. “This really is wonderful, Frankie.”
“I’ll cook in return for you letting me stay,” Frankie offered. “Not forever. Just for a few weeks.”
“You aren’t heading for some amazing country with amazing people to fill your blog?” Ruth asked.
“I’d like some down time.” Frankie concentrated on her food.
Ruth stopped chewing and looked sharply at Frankie. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Honestly. I just want to be here for you. For both of you.” Frankie pushed her food around her plate. “I miss you.” She put her hand over her eyes. “I miss our family.”
“Frankie, we haven’t gone anywhere.” Ruth stroked her sister’s back, soothing her.
“In a way you have. Everyone is so busy, jobs, lives, and…” Frankie shrugged. “I’m such a child.”
“No, you aren’t.” Ruth’s forehead wrinkled, her eyes searching Frankie’s face. “You can stay for as long as you want. Maybe base your blog here in Bear Creek for a while. It’s an amazing place.”
“I’d like that. If you’re sure I’m not going to be in the way.” Frankie smiled weakly at her sister.
“Not at all. There is one condition.” Ruth turned into a mom right then.
“Which is?” Frankie asked with a sigh. “I told you I’m all right.”
“I haven’t told you the condition yet.”
“You want me to go to the hospital and get checked out.” Frankie didn’t quite roll her eyes, but it was close. “I’ll make the appointment. You can come with me if you really want to.”
“I do.” Ruth leaned around the table and hugged her sister. “I can’t lose you.”
“You aren’t going to.” Frankie hugged Ruth back, and then sat up straight. “So, this wedding.”
“Not so fast!” Ruth exclaimed, excitement in her voice.
“Why not? Jason and Jenny are waiting to be part of our family,” Frankie pointed out. “And the sooner you two are married, the more respectable you’ll appear to the adoption board.”
“Frankie is right. But I don’t want us to get married because of that. I want us to get married because we love each other and it’s what we both want.” Michael didn’t want to push Ruth so hard she ran away in the opposite direction.
But Ruth wasn’t the kind of woman who ran away. “We’ve already established that we love each other.”
“And Ruth has always wanted to get married,” Frankie whispered to him, from behind her hand.
“I have not!” Ruth replied.
“Please. Don’t you remember when Kelly and I used to play dress up? You were always the bride, and we were always the bridesmaids.” Frankie winked at Michael. “She wore the dress, and the tiara…”
“I was keeping you entertained,” Ruth protested hotly.
“Yeah. Of course, you were.” Frankie giggled. “We had some good times.”
“We did.” Ruth reminisced with Frankie, while Michael listened. Their conversation gave him a unique insight to the woman his mate truly was. It laid bare the hurt and pain she shared with her sister, more acute because she’d been older. Ruth had lost her mom. Frankie had lost a woman she had never met. But Ruth had given Frankie the most precious gift. She’d shared her own memories of her mom with Frankie, made her a living, breathing person.
“Mom would love to be here and see you get married,” Frankie said as they drank coffee.
“She’ll be looking down on us. Just like she did when the others got married,” Ruth replied, no longer shedding tears at the mention of her mom.
“Will you wear her ring?” Frankie asked.
Ruth shook her head. “No.”
Frankie didn’t ask why, she simply stared at her coffee cup, before changing the subject. “When can I meet these two children of yours?”
“Why don’t we walk over to Dean and Elizabeth’s house now?” Michael suggested. “I’ll give Dean a quick call, and check that they aren’t busy. Then tomorrow I’ll make that appointment with Fiona.”
“Yes.” Ruth got up and went to the sink to wash the dishes. “Washing or drying, Frankie?”
“You know I hate washing.” Frankie grabbed the towel.
As the two women washed the dishes, Michael went to the living room and called Dean. After arranging for them to visit, Michael stood and looked out the window. The moon crested the mountain, and he said a silent prayer.
If Ruth’s mom was out there somewhere, looking down on them, he prayed that she would always watch over Ruth and her family, both old and new. That his luck would hold, and they would be happy, and together, for all of their long lives. And for eternity.
Chapter Fifteen – Ruth
“Hi there.” Dean opened the door to Ruth, Michael and Frankie, welcoming them into his home.
“This is my sister, Frankie.” Ruth introduced Frankie, as they all entered the kitchen.
“Hello, I’m Elizabeth, this is Dean.” Elizabeth sat at the kitchen table, sorting seeds.
“Can I help?” Frankie asked, sitting down next to Elizabeth. “I once stayed in a village in Peru. It was harvest time, and it fascinated me how they left a certain amount of their crops to go to seed so they could plant them the next spring. I was so used to simply walking into a store and buying what I needed.”
“Sure. These got jumbled up.” Elizabeth showed Frankie how to tell the difference between the seeds.
“Got it.” Frankie sorted the seeds, reminding Ruth of when she was a child and she would sit patiently for hours sorting beads according to their color or size.
“Coffee? Or beer?” Dean asked.
“Beer, please,” Michael replied. “You should try it, Bear Creek Honey Beer, it’s brewed locally.”
“I keep forgetting you are new in town, Ruth.” Dean got the beer bottles out of the fridge and handed them around.
“Not for me, thanks,” Frankie said when Dean offered her a bottle.
“What can I get you instead?” Dean asked.
“Water is fine, thanks.” Frankie went back to sorting the seeds.
“Health kick?” Elizabeth asked.
“I try to keep as healthy as I can.” Frankie looked down at the seeds. She worried Ruth, there was something off. Ruth couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Are you here about Jason and Jenny?” Dean ventured as he sipped his beer.
“We are.” Michael glanced at Ruth, and she nodded, wanting him to ask questions, for them to find out more about the two children they wanted to bring into their lives. “I spoke to Fiona this morning. I’ll make an appointment tomorrow for Ruth and I to meet with her. But before that, we wanted to learn more about Jason and Jenny.”
Dean looked toward the kitchen door, as if checking no little ears were listening. “They are good kids. Not perfect, but what kid is?”
“Has the issue with Reece been resolved?” Ruth asked.
“Reece’s mom thinks her son is an angel, and that Jason must have started it,” Dean replied. “Mrs
. Carlisle hasn’t bought that version of events. Instead, she decided to treat both boys as guilty. Or innocent. Whichever way you look at it.”
“No punishment?” Ruth asked, surprised. Mrs. Carlisle was not soft when it came to the behavior of the students at the school. Ruth learned that on the first day working there. The principal had a firm, guiding hand, she praised when it was deserved and punished when needed. But the punishment was always considered and tailored to the crime.
“Yes. Reece and Jason have to clean out the old sports shed,” Elizabeth replied in amusement. “Together.”
Ruth looked puzzled. “Am I missing something?”
“Mrs. Carlisle showed us the sports shed.” Dean smothered a smile.
“They are going to have to work together to get some of the equipment out,” Elizabeth explained.
“Then they get to put it all back in again.” Dean took a long slug of his beer while the others in the room exchanged confused looks.
“She didn’t mention that,” Elizabeth said.
Dean shrugged. “That would spoil the surprise.” He chuckled. “Kit told me. He fostered a kid once who got the same punishment. Mrs. Carlisle calls it relationship bonding.”
“She is a sly one.” Ruth grinned as she sipped her beer. “I wonder what she does to her staff who don’t behave.”
“Let’s not find out, you have to have an exemplary work record.” Michael nodded when she turned her confused expression on him. “I’m a man who sits in a forest and talks to trees, one of us has to impress the adoption board.”
Ruth laughed. “Goodness, what am I getting myself into?”
“Michael is one of the best, Ruth. We’ve known each other for a long time.” Dean nudged his friend. “You know all Jason and Jenny talked about yesterday was those deer treats and your secret recipe.”
Michael shrugged. “A little mystery never hurt anyone.”
“Dean told them the fairies who live in the forest gave you the recipe,” Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. “I wonder who the biggest child is in this house sometimes.”
“Sorry. Jenny has been upset for a few days after Jason told her there was no tooth fairy.” Dean shrugged. “Children are allowed to believe.”
“Some kids are forced to live in the real world, where there’s no make-believe,” Frankie responded.
“You don’t think I should have told them I believe in fairies?” Dean asked.
“I’m just saying that Jason and Jenny have had to grow up too fast.” Frankie looked up at Ruth. “I was lucky, Ruth never let me stop believing.”
“Ruth raised her siblings after her mom died,” Michael explained.
“You can relate to Jason and Jenny on a level none of us can,” Elizabeth’s voice filled with admiration. “I was a single parent, I know how hard that was. But I was an adult. You couldn’t have been more than a child yourself.”
“I wasn’t. But you learn and adapt. Just like Jason and Jenny did. I hope it goes in our favor, with the adoption, and we can give them their new permanent home, where they can be kids,” Ruth replied. Perhaps, in some crazy way, her unconventional life would help Jason and Jenny.
“I’m sure it will,” Dean said confidently. “What else do you want to know? Favorite food? TV show?”
“All of it,” Ruth replied. “But we also want to keep it a secret. I don’t want to get their hopes up. We might not even be eligible since were older.”
“You spoke to Fiona. She told you to make an appointment. If she’s on your side, I think the adoption process will be a formality.” Dean lifted his bottle of beer. “Here’s to new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings,” they all chorused.
“Jason will be right about one thing. He said he wouldn’t be here long,” Elizabeth said.
“Can you imagine living like that?” Michael asked. “Moving from one foster home to another?”
“We would have fostered them for as long as we could. But, and I never thought I’d say this, I am going to be happy when they leave.” Dean chuckled and slapped Michael on the back. “I knew it. As soon as I saw you together, I knew you were meant for each other.” He looked across the kitchen to Ruth. “I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
The sound of a child crying reached the kitchen, and Elizabeth got up from the table. “My turn.”
“Haley usually sleeps through the night. She must have heard us,” Dean stated, walking to the kitchen door and pulling it shut after Elizabeth left.
“We should go. Leave you in peace,” Michael said. “I wondered if I could persuade you to come for a run in the forest sometime soon?”
Dean stretched. “I am going to need to unkink some of my muscles soon. But it’s difficult to leave Elizabeth and the kids. Another week or two and they should all be settled in.”
“Call me when you are free.” Michael drained his beer, and Ruth did the same, experiencing a buzz in her veins as the alcohol seeped into her system. “Thanks for the beer. It is good.” She didn’t normally consume beer, she preferred wine, but Bear Creek Honey Beer was smooth and sweet. Just the kind of beer a bear would like.
“Seeds are sorted.” Frankie got up, looking satisfied with her hard work. “I’d love to come for a run, too. I am a bear, don’t forget.”
“I thought you two were sisters?” Dean asked.
“Half-sisters. I’m the non-shifting half.” Ruth never usually felt left out, but she wished she had the freedom to run through the forest and over the mountain with her bear shifting mate.
“Ah. I see.” Dean opened the kitchen door as they got ready to leave.
“Say goodnight to Elizabeth for us. Thanks for the beer,” Michael said as he left the kitchen. But as the others followed, a cry from Elizabeth stopped them dead.
“They’re gone!” Elizabeth stood at the top of the stairs with Haley in her arms. “Jason and Jenny aren’t in their rooms.”
“Have you looked everywhere upstairs?” Dean asked, taking the stairs two at a time until he stood next to Elizabeth.
“Yes.” Elizabeth’s voice trembled but she didn’t cry. “Have they run away?”
“Why would they?” Dean asked. “Nothing happened.”
“Do you think it was the punishment from school?” Michael asked.
“No, Jason seemed happier after he learned he wasn’t being singled out. I mean he complained about cleaning out a dumb sports shed. But nothing more.” Elizabeth turned to Dean. “Have you ever had a runaway before?”
“This is not the first time. But the kids I fostered before were all older. They could take care of themselves.” He paused. “I’m going to check the rooms up here again. Only because my bear might pick up on something a human might miss.”
“Of course. Go.” Elizabeth looked down at Ruth, Michael and Frankie. “Can you look downstairs?”
“Sure.” Michael organized a search of all of the downstairs rooms, but the children weren’t to be found. A rising panic filled Ruth. Where could they have gone? And why?
“What if their father came for them?” Ruth asked suddenly.
Dean and Elizabeth were coming down the stairs, and they all met in the hallway to devise a plan. “He hasn’t been seen for months. But just in case, why don’t we sweep the garden for any trace of a stranger?”
“Sweep, as in as bears?” Elizabeth asked in a hushed whisper, even though there was no one else to hear her.
“Yes,” Dean replied. “It’s dark enough, no one will see us. Michael, will you take the front yard, and I’ll take the back?”
“Sure.” Michael followed Dean outside.
“What do we do?” Ruth asked Elizabeth.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Wait.”
“I’m not good at waiting,” Ruth confessed, walking to the front door and looking out into the darkness. She could see a shadow moving across the driveway and onto the lawn to the side of the house. Although she longed to meet Michael’s bear, she didn’t want to go outside and risk sp
oiling the scent trail.
“They’ll be all right.” Frankie placed a comforting arm around her sister’s shoulders. “That’s what you used to tell me when I was lying in a hospital bed waiting for an operation.”
Ruth placed her hand on Frankie’s. “And I was always right.”
“You were.” Frankie rested her head against Ruth’s. “You never take full credit for what we went through.”
“I wasn’t the brave young woman who had a heart transplant.” Ruth’s voice was soft as she spoke.
“All I did was lie helplessly in bed while others did their job.” Frankie sighed. “I needed to come see you, Ruth. I needed to feel loved.”
“Did something happen?” Ruth asked as they stared out into the darkness.
Frankie shrugged again. “I don’t know. Not for sure. I just had this overwhelming need to come here.”
“But you are healthy?” Ruth asked.
“Totally.” Frankie straightened up as Dean and Michael, in their human forms, returned to the house. “Anything?”
“No suspicious scent. But we did pick up a fresh trail leading away from the house. Jason and Jenny, alone. They went out onto the road.” Dean pointed down the driveway.
“I’m sorry, if we hadn’t come tonight, you might have heard them leave,” Ruth said.
“It’s not your fault. If they were going to run, they would have found a way to sneak out.” Dean went inside and they all followed. “We just have to figure out where they are going.”
“Bus station? Would they be trying to catch a bus home?” Frankie asked.
“Possibly.” Dean grabbed the phone and dialed a number. “I have to tell Fiona.”
“Is this going to cause trouble for you and Elizabeth?” Ruth asked. “Will Jason and Jenny be taken away from you?”
“Not if we can find them and figure out why they ran,” Dean said. “Fiona. It’s Dean.”
The others moved away from Dean while he spoke to Fiona. Ruth couldn’t believe this was happening, the children seemed so happy. What could have sparked this sudden need to run away?
“Fiona and Harlan are on their way. Sapphi is out of town, and Ruby is going to stay with Harlan Jr.” Dean raked a hand through his hair. “We need to take the cars and begin a search of the town. We can’t risk going out on the streets as bears unfortunately, so this is going to need eyes and ears.”
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