“I heard that,” Eloise said, coming into the bar area. “My, haven’t you got a healthy glow in your cheeks.”
“Fresh air and exercise,” Carla said, trying to hide the grin on her face.
“Are you telling me you didn’t go home and have some good old-fashioned sex?” Eloise said, sounding disappointed.
“There was nothing old-fashioned about it,” Carla said, to be met with howls of laughter from Howie and Eloise.
“Where is your shame?” Howie asked, feigning shock.
“I bet he’s got a real smile on his face this morning.” Eloise moved away to begin wiping down tables. “I can’t believe the change that came over him, when he first got here I thought he was fit to slit his own wrists. You must have a magic touch.” She wiggled her fingers as if casting a spell.
“I’ll go get ready,” Carla said, and headed out back to put her purse away. While she was out there, Howie came up behind her, making her jump. “Hey, Howie.”
“Don’t get your heart beaten up,” he said quickly. “Eloise does the one-night stand thing, but that’s not you.”
She turned to face him. “It’s sweet of you to be concerned, but I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. But you forget I know what it was like for you growing up.” He hugged her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They had been friends since eighth grade; he was more like a second brother than a friend.
“I have to take risks, and live my life.”
“I know, but that doesn’t stop me worrying.”
“Thanks, Howie.” She kissed his cheek, “I’m probably going to have to ask for those days off too.”
“Mike still not settled into fatherhood?” Howie asked, pulling back from her.
“I don’t know about fatherhood. It’s more messed up than that. I think they are both struggling, and maybe if they had some time together, they might be able to resolve things, so I’m thinking of heading out there for a couple of days. Soon.”
“Not going to spoil this budding romance of yours, is it?” Howie teased.
She sighed. “Probably. But what can I do? I know Tammy and Mike were meant to be. And I know they were so looking forward to the baby, once they got over the initial shock. They just need to straighten it all out. And maybe come back here.”
“Ouch. That will smart.”
“You mean all of those people who I told you so’d them,” she said, looking at Howie coolly. “One word from you like that and I will be skinning you alive.”
“I don’t doubt it, but I told them there is no place like home.”
“There is a wider world out there than Broken Creek,” she said firmly. “I don’t blame them for wanting to escape.”
“And yet you will never leave.”
She closed her locker and leaned against it. “Maybe I should. Maybe sleeping with a man I don’t know is a sign I need to move on, that this place is too small for me.”
Howie laughed. “Sure, trust you to read so much into it.”
“You know what I mean, I grew up with most of the boys in town, their appeal hasn’t changed since high school. So I slept with the first man to ask me, who isn’t also on the list of boys who pulled my pigtails.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, you never know, it might be fate that brought him here.”
“Just like it was fate that made my parents split up, and is now threatening to destroy my brother’s life. Well, fate can take a walk.”
“Talking of walking, that guy you went home with last night is here to see you,” Eloise said, peeking around the door.
“Liam?” Carla asked.
“Never caught his name. But yeah, the party pooper.”
“Stop calling him that,” Carla asked.
“Look on his face, that’s what he’s back to being.” Eloise went back out to the bar, leaving Howie looking at Carla with raised eyebrows.
“What? If he’s here to dump me, it’s still going to be the longest relationship I’ve had for the last two years.” She pushed him out of the way, not wanting to see the pity on his face, and needing to hear what Liam had to say. She told herself no matter what, she would not cry. He would not make her cry, but the prickling in her eyes told her otherwise.
Eloise was right, he did look like the party pooper again. Damn, maybe he was manic depressive or something. One minute up, the next minute down. She wasn’t sure if she could cope with that right now, but when he saw her and his eyes brightened, almost glowing, she knew she wanted to try to work though whatever problem it was he had.
“Hi, Carla, sorry to turn up at work like this.”
“It’s OK, shall we go outside?” she asked, placing her hand on his arm and feeling him tense, his muscles bunching up as if she had shocked him.
“Sure.” As her hand dropped, he took hold of it in his giant hand and held it tight, which reassured her a little.
She pulled him away from the diner, heading out towards the road, which was quiet this time of day and would give them some privacy. Carla could almost guarantee that either Howie or Eloise, hell, maybe both of them, would be listening in if they could. Not for any other reason than they were both protective of Carla. In the same way she would be protective of them if the roles were reversed.
“What can I do for you, Liam?” Carla asked.
“Nothing. I mean…” He looked apologetic and said, “I have to go away for a few days.”
“OK.” Was this his way of saying he had given it some thought and didn’t want to see her again?
“I wanted to tell you, rather than just disappearing.”
“And now you have.” Did that sound defensive?
“I thought you deserved and explanation.”
“Hey, look, Liam,” She placed her hand on his arm. “You don’t owe me anything, I had fun last night and if it was just a one-off, then that’s cool.” She pulled away from him, and crossed her arms across her chest, trying to look relaxed. The fixed smile she saved for customers was firmly fixed on her face, even if the prickling in her eyes was becoming more intense. She longed to head back into the diner and head for the toilet and have a good cry. This should have been easy, should have been expected. This was how one-night stands worked. She had read too much into it. A woman who would sleep with a man on the first date was obviously not a keeper.
“Is it cool?” he asked studying her. “Because it’s not cool of me.”
She frowned, not knowing how she was supposed to answer. “Listen, you don’t owe me anything,” she repeated, more to convince herself.
“Carla. I’m not blowing you off. Well. I am, but not in the way you think.” He took a long breath, which shuddered through him. “I want to see you again, when I get back, I want to make this work. It’s important to me. More important than you could ever imagine.” His face was earnest, but he was back to being only one word away from freaking her out. He sounded like a stalker, he was so intense.
“We’ve just met; how can you be so sure our relationship will work out?” she asked.
“I’m going to try my hardest to be the kind of man you need.”
“I’ve never needed a man before. I can take care of myself.”
“I can see that.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I’m making such a mess of this. Look, I told you about the person who died, Louisa.” Carla nodded. “Well today, when I went into work there was a letter waiting for me. Her brother wants to meet me.”
“Oh. I see.” She shook her head feeling foolish. “Of course you need to go.”
“If it was anything else, I wouldn’t. But I need to do this, he deserves some answers.”
“Of course,” she said, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “You need to go.” However, seeing him here, seeing the emotions raging within him, she wanted him to owe her everything.
“I’ll be back in a couple of days. And when I return, I’d like to explain everything to you.” He pulled her to him, his lips hungry for hers, and she wrappe
d her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as if she needed him, to live, to breathe. Her stomach curled up into a tight ball, a mixture of arousal and fear he wouldn’t come back to her.
Pull yourself together, she chastised herself as they parted and he walked off, his hand raised in a slight wave before he got in his car and drove out of her life.
“Well, don’t you pick ’em,” Eloise said when Carla walked back into the diner. “Aw, honey.” Eloise enveloped her in her arms, and hugged her.
“First time is always the worst, right?” Carla said, wiping her eyes. “By the time I’ve had as many one-night stands as you, I’ll be able to sweep it aside as if it was nothing.”
“Thanks,” Eloise said, hurt in her voice.
Carla lifted her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. I only want to know if it gets easier. Because otherwise I might just give up on men completely.”
“He’ll be back,” Eloise said gently. “I’ve had enough one-night stands to know that one looked at you as if you were a keeper.”
“I hope so.” Then Carla straightened up. “You know, this might be a good time to go and see Mike.”
“Good girl. You go and sort him out. That young love needs preserving. I’ll cover your shifts.”
“Thanks, Eloise.”
“Anytime, honey. You know that.”
Chapter Ten – Liam
The drive to Louisa’s brother’s house took two days. He could have gotten on a plane, but he wanted the time to think and put things in perspective. It worked. The pull in his heart told him he had left his mate; the anxious pacing of his bear inside his head confirmed it. Even if it wasn’t natural, wasn’t fate, as it had been with Louisa, it was as real, at least to his body and his soul. Only his mind was still filled with confusion.
By visiting Louisa’s brother, he hoped to be able to settle that part of him too. Because the betrayal was all too close to the surface, ready to bubble up and hit him so hard it took his breath away.
The GPS on his dashboard told him to turn left. He was on a quiet back road, and his destination was close. It was nice here, a mountain, with trees coming down to meet the road. He could imagine Louisa growing up here. Not that she had said a lot about home. Their mating had not been long, and other things had seemed more important. Like sex. Lots of sex, her need for him matching his need for her. As two shifters, the need to procreate was strong for both of them, although she still wanted a career.
A jolt hit him in the chest. He hadn’t asked if she was pregnant when she was murdered. He should have, but the body had been taken to a special morgue. One where they knew about shifters. It meant the results that came back to the department were all kinds of doctored. To have seen the real thing he would have had to reveal his identity, tell them he was her mate. Joel had agreed, if that had happened, they would have taken Liam off the case. That was not going to happen. He swore to her memory, that he would see it through to the end.
He didn’t realize he had tears on his cheeks until he pulled up outside a large house, with a big front yard. A vivid green lawn, well-kept and filled with baby toys, greeted him. Her brother had a child. She’d never said. Did she know? Was this another facet of her life she hadn’t shared with him? He wished they’d had more time to talk, to share what their lives were, whom they loved.
The front door opened, and a large man, with huge shoulders, came out, followed by a woman holding a baby. A very pregnant woman. A glimpse of what he had lost flittered across his brain. This time it was swiftly followed by the face of Carla. He had been given a second chance.
Wiping his face, he got out of the car, and stood stretching for a moment; it gave him time to compose himself, to steel his nerves for this encounter. He had been a cop for a long time, long enough to deal with some hellish situations, to break news to families that no one should ever hear. Yet this threatened to be the hardest.
“Hello,” the young woman said. The guy, Beau, he had signed the letter, just stared at him. Liam stared back. “I’m Elise.” She thrust her hand out to him, the baby in her arms smiling.
“Hi, Elise. I’m Liam. Thank you for inviting me over.” Like they were going to sit down for afternoon tea, not talk about the dead woman who had been his mate. His eyes flickered across to Beau’s, and he saw his own distress and pain mirrored there.
He let out a breath, a breath he had been holding for so long. From before he got the letter, before they broke the drug ring, and before he had sworn to avenge his mate’s death. The breath had been inside him since the moment he realized she was dead, since his bear had moaned like a deep wound had damaged his heart irreparably.
“Liam.” The two men held each other’s gaze. And then Beau took a step forward and hugged him, a weird feeling, and for the first nanosecond, Liam froze, and then he let himself relax. No words were going to be needed, no interrogation where he had to prove he was Louisa’s mate. The loss in his eyes was enough.
“Thank you for coming to see us,” Beau said at last.
“Shall we go inside?” Elise said, her voice choked and tears streaming down her face. Only the baby in her arms was happy, smiling and chattering in the way babies do, telling everyone about the world with such innocence, such wonder.
Liam nodded, not trusting himself to speak, he didn’t want to blub like a baby in front of them. His tears were a thing for private moments. Beau walked in front, looking out across the trees and to the mountain. Elise moved closer to Beau and slipped her hand in his, leaning against him, giving him strength.
That was what a mate was for: comfort, strength, love, loyalty.
He followed Beau and Elise inside, and there was almost a sense of her there, as if Louisa was here waiting for him. The house was old; it had been standing here in the shadow of the mountain for years, generations. How many more ghosts walked the hallway?
“Go through to the sitting room, I’ll bring some coffee,” Elise said, handing the baby to Beau. “There, Connor, you go to Daddy.”
Beau took Connor, and then said, “Through here.”
“How long have you and Elise been together?” Liam asked, by way of saying something.
“Seven months,” Beau said, settling Connor down on a play mat. He looked up at Liam. “Connor isn’t mine.”
“Oh…” Liam said.
“He’s not Elise’s either.” Beau sat down next to Connor, and pointed at a chair for Liam. “Sit, please. Connor is Elise’s twin sister’s baby. Or was. She died.”
“I’m sorry.” He looked up as Elise came in with a tray of coffee and cake.
“And we’re sorry too. About your loss,” she said gently. “Beau didn’t know. About … you know.”
“Us being mates…” The words were strange on his tongue. “We kept it a secret. We were working the same case, and she knew one of us would have been taken off it.”
“Why didn’t you tell them? She might not have ended up…” Beau’s voice was infused with blame.
“Beau. Let Liam finish.”
“I wish I had. But I was certain it would be me who would have been transferred. Louisa was too deeply involved in the case already. I was dispensable, she wasn’t. I thought I would be able to keep her safe.”
“I’m sorry, Liam.” Elise came and sat beside him. “We both are.”
He couldn’t look at Beau, but he heard him get up and leave the room, and he wished he had never come here, never opened the wound that he thought was healing.
Chapter Eleven – Carla
“How was the drive?” Mike asked, taking her luggage from her and carrying it inside of the small apartment he called home.
“It was OK.” She looked around, and figured anyone would get depressed living in a small, almost windowless, box. “I can’t say I’m a fan of the city.”
“I know what you mean.” Then he quickly added. “But you get used to it.”
“Do you?” Carla asked, placing her hand on his upper arm. “You can always come home.”
“That was before you had Sophia.” She listened for a moment, and asked, “Where is she?”
“Tammy took her down to the shops to see if she could get her to take a morning nap. If Sophia sleeps now, she tends to sleep through the night, a later nap means we get a disturbed night.”
“Babies, huh?” Carla looked at her brother more carefully, noting the lines that had appeared under his baby blue eyes, and the paleness of his once golden-tanned face. “Come home, Mike.”
“What if Tammy doesn’t want to? What if I say I want to go home and she says no? It’ll be one more bone of contention between us. And I don’t think our relationship can take that.”
“Have two you actually talked about it?” Carla asked.
He shook his head. “We only ever seem to talk about Sophia these days.”
“Right. In that case, you are going to plan a date. I want you to reserve a table somewhere you both like, and book yourselves into a hotel.” She held up her hand as he was about to protest. “I’m paying. And I don’t care if you spend the night sleeping, or doing other things, I want you to have some time together.”
He relaxed a little, his eyes brightening. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“How hard can it be? If my baby brother can cope without sleep, then so can I. You have cable, right?”
“We do.”
“Then if I need to, I’ll watch movies all night.”
“Thank you,” he said again, and hugged her. “Right. I have to go to work. I’ll arrange it all. Can we make it a surprise? Only if Tammy knew, she would most likely talk herself out of it.”
“Sure. Whatever you want, Mike.” She kissed his cheek. “Can I help myself to coffee?”
“Yes. Help yourself to whatever you need,” he said, and grabbed his jacket, ready to go.
“Let me know what you’ve booked and I’ll call and pay for it,” she said.
“It’s OK. I have money. You looking after Sophia is worth more than anything. It’s been tough, without family. And we never had time to make friends, friends we could trust with a baby, before Sophia came along. Having a kid is a big responsibility.”
Second Chance Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 3) Page 5