“I can only imagine,” she said, and went to the kitchen as he headed out the door.
“At least the coffee is good,” she said to herself as she sat at the kitchen breakfast bar, and waited for Tammy and Sophia to return. While she waited, she went over the same thoughts that had filled her brain on her drive here. Namely, Liam.
She wondered how he was, and wished they had traded cell phone numbers, which they hadn’t. It has all happened so fast. He was there, then he was gone, and she realized she didn’t even know his last name.
Her hand went to her stomach at the thought of that. If she ended up pregnant, she would have to track him down to tell him. Not going to happen, she told herself. The chances of her being pregnant were so slim. But she had learned her lesson; she would carry a condom with her wherever she went from now on. No, she probably wouldn’t. One-night stands were not her thing.
It might not be a one-night stand.
Carla was relieved when the front door opened and Tammy came in; it put a stop to the thoughts that had circled her brain for hours. Useless thoughts about a possible future, when right now she had to deal with the present.
“Hi, Tammy,” Carla said, getting up and going to meet her. “Want me to pour you some coffee?”
“Hello, Carla. Thank you so much for coming. It’s nice to see a friendly face.” She took Sophia out of the stroller, and held her in her arms. “Coffee would be wonderful. I sometimes wonder if that is what this little one drinks, she can stay awake for hours and hours.”
“Mike said you were taking her for a walk to see if you could get her to sleep.”
“No chance. She was so wide-awake, looking at all the bright signs above the stores. Listening to all the noise.”
“Sounds like you would be better off back home.” Maybe if she planted the seed in each of their brains, while they were out tonight they might connect on the same level and at least have the conversation Mike was avoiding.
“Mike loves it here. He loves the cafes and the restaurants. The theaters.”
“All of which are within driving distance of Broken Creek. Maybe not these ones, but there are plenty in Garston, and it’s only a half an hour drive away.”
Tammy sighed, and took the cup that Carla offered her. “I don’t know. We rented this place; we both got good jobs. I’m not sure about leaving it behind.”
“Are you happy here?” Carla asked.
Tammy put her cup down, and a sob wracked her body. “Oh, Carla, I miss my mom. I want her to be nearby, so I can visit her every day instead of talking to her on the phone. But I don’t want to lose Mike by saying I want to go home. I feel like it’s either my dream or my sanity that’s at stake.”
“Oh, Tammy.” Carla hugged her sister-in-law. “I think Mike would live anywhere as long as he is with you and Sophia and you are all happy. Talk to him about it.”
“I’m scared.”
“Don’t be. If there is one thing I know about my brother, it’s that he loves you. Since that first day he came running into the house, telling me the prettiest girl with braces on her teeth had started school, he has been totally in love with you.”
“That was so long ago. Our lives have changed so much. The dreams we had… It all seems to have washed away.”
“You know the good thing about dreams?” Carla asked, taking Sophia from Tammy and handing her a cup of coffee. “You come to your Auntie Carla. The good thing about dreams is you can always make new ones. They never run out, and they are not fixed in stone.”
“Thank you for coming here, Carla. You are right, we’ve forgotten how to talk to each other.”
“That’s another thing that’s easy to fix. Why don’t you go and have a nice bath, and then we can fix your hair? You need a date night with your husband.”
Tammy’s face brightened. “Are you sure?”
“Yep. Now, go run your bath while I get reacquainted with my niece.”
“I am not going to argue with you,” Tammy said, kissing Sophia on the cheek, and heading off to the bathroom, looking a whole lot brighter.
“There, you have two happier parents already. And maybe they will come back to the town I grew up in, and I’ll get to see more of you.” She smiled down at Sophia, who stared at her with her big blue eyes that she had inherited from her daddy. “I just want you to have a happy home, and happy parents.”
Walking around the small sitting room, rocking Sophia in her arms, she thought about what it would be like to have a child of her own. It was something that had barely crossed her mind until she had met Liam. She hadn’t expected things to happen so quickly.
“Are they happening at all?” she asked Sophia. “Or is he just telling me what I want to hear?”
Carla looked out of the small window onto the street below, watching people go past. They looked so small; the apartment left her feeling out of touch with the world below. Was she out of touch with what Liam really wanted in the same way?
“If only life came with a GPS,” she said, looking down at Sophia, who was closing her eyes and threatened to drift off to sleep. Carla kept up the same rocking motion, finding it strangely therapeutic herself.
Now her mind had calmed down, she realized she didn’t have to rush things with Liam. If it was meant to be, they would find a way to work things out. He was right where he was supposed to be. This woman, Louisa, was important to him, and until that was resolved, there was a chance he would never be Carla’s.
And she wanted him. Him and the promise of a family life. Or was that all just wishful thinking?
Chapter Twelve – Liam
Liam stood, breathing in the cold mountain air, looking out across the valley below. He felt on top of the world. Even if his heart was heavy. Coming up here with Beau, he had thought to make some kind of connection to Louisa, to the mate he had lost. Being in the house she had grown up in, surrounded by pictures of her happy, smiling, had brought her back to him, and threatened to break the tenuous bond that connected him to Carla.
Only when presented with the threat of losing this new bond, did he acknowledge he wanted to hang on to it, to strengthen it, and make it endure. Carla offered him a future. One filled with happiness, not sadness.
Beau, in his bear form, came up to stand beside him. It had been his idea to come up here. Liam suspected it was because he wanted to talk to him privately, he hoped it wasn’t because he wanted to throw him over the edge of the mountain. He smiled at the irony. Only a few days ago, he would have welcomed death as a way of ending the pain in his soul, but not now.
Liam’s fur stood up on end as the air filled with electricity, and Beau shifted into his human form, to stand looking out over the mountain below. “We used to play here as children.”
Liam shifted too, at first not knowing what to say. Then he replied, “I am truly sorry I let her die.”
Beau looked at him sharply. “You didn’t let her die. I knew Louisa better than anyone. You wouldn’t have stopped her doing what she wanted, not if she thought it was the right thing to do, if she thought her actions would save others.”
Liam chuckled. “She was headstrong. I only wish I had known her for longer. It was less than a month. And a lot of that time she was away from me.”
“I wish I had made her stay home. But I didn’t, because she was her own person, with her own mind.” Beau turned to look at Liam. “I wish she had told me about you. It was only when we caught up with O’Dowd that we found out she had a mate.”
“I knew him as Connell. A piece of garbage who I hope suffers for eternity.”
“He will.”
“When she died, I wasn’t in any fit state to talk to you or anyone. I buried the pain and carried on with my job. I couldn’t have faced you and your sorrow. Even now, after all this time, it is still raw, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Very raw. But life goes on. I have Elise, and Connor, and our baby on the way. But you? What do you do now? I cannot imagine the loss you feel.”
“You
wouldn’t want to. It doesn’t make it easier knowing this is probably how Connell feels, living without you, but it helps to know he will suffer.” Liam shook his head. “I still can’t get my head around him imprinting on you.”
Beau shuddered. “I don’t like to think of it. Ever. How a drug can have that kind of an effect on someone is beyond me.”
Liam stood in silence, knowing he had to put into words what had happened. How he had been drugged with Niq It. “I don’t know how it works. All I know is that it does.”
“But now it’s off the streets?” Beau asked.
“Yes. It’s taken a long time, but we finally tracked down the source and it’s gone.”
“I hope no one else ever has to suffer the effect of Niq It. Can you imagine what it must be like imprinting on someone who is not your true mate?”
“Yes. Yes, I can. In fact, I’ve experienced it.”
“What?” Beau’s eyes flashed. “With Louisa? It wasn’t real?”
“No.” His voice caught in his throat. “Not Louisa. She was real. But our bond must have been fractured in some way when she died. It’s still there. But now…”
Beau’s face turned dark with rage. “You took the drug? To forget her!”
“Someone put it in my drink. Someone who knew both Louisa and me. He thought he was saving me.” He took a deep breath and plunged on. “And in so many ways, he has.”
“What happened?” Beau demanded. “I invited you here because you are her mate. Have you forgotten Louisa already?”
“No. Never. It feels as if I am stuck in limbo, stuck between Louisa and another woman. Carla.” He raked his hand through his hair. “When I’m with Carla, I can almost forget. But then I remember and the guilt is almost too much.”
“I’m sorry.” Beau turned away from him, and for a split second Liam thought he was either going to punch him, or turn into a bear and tear his throat out at the betrayal of his sister and her memory. “But I know one thing. Louisa would have wanted you to be happy. To have a second chance.”
“I don’t know if I can ever be happy. Now I’m here, surrounded by pictures of her, I know I can never forget.”
“Tell me, does Carla know?”
“No. It’s new. Only just happened.”
“I think you should tell her. Share the memories you have of Louisa, and then allow yourself to be happy. Just as I know Louisa would have wanted you to be happy.”
“You don’t think it’s a betrayal?”
“The only betrayal would be for you to give up and let your life slip from you, as I have heard happens to those who lose a mate. Even for me, before Elise came here, I would spend days in the mountains, the call of my bear too strong for me to ignore. I would have come here one day and never returned if it was not for her. You have a second chance, and you owe it to Louisa to take it.”
“I thought you would be mad.”
“I was. But I also know that you loved her, and if things were the other way around, would you not have preferred Louisa to have carried on breathing, eating, loving, rather than shriveling up and dying?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“And that is what she would have wanted for you. I am certain of it.” He turned to Liam, and put one hand on each of his shoulders. “Take hold of your life, Liam. Take hold if it and fight for what happiness, what love you can. Do it for Louisa, so she will live on in all of our memories.”
Liam dropped his head to stare at the ground. “You are right.”
Beau punched him on the shoulder. “Then why are we still standing here? Let’s get down off this mountain. I have some things of Louisa’s I’d like you to have, if it isn’t too painful. Then you need to get in your car and go get your woman. Your mate.”
It seemed strange hearing Beau talk like that. But he was right, his mate was out there somewhere in the world, and she was worth fighting for, and he wanted to find her, tell her everything, and then beg her to be his.
In one fluid movement, Beau shifted into his bear, and Liam followed, racing him down the side of the mountain at breakneck speed. He embraced the danger, he embraced life, and he embraced his new future, whatever that might bring.
Chapter Thirteen – Carla
Carla opened the kitchen cupboard to get out a packet of cookies. She had just finished her shift at work and her feet ached. A cup of tea and a cookie would do her the world of good; only the cookies weren’t there anymore.
She sighed. There was no way she had the energy to walk to the store; she’d have to make do with a cup of tea and a sit-down for five minutes. At least her brother eating all the cookies was going to do her waistline good, even if it didn’t help her mood.
Three adults and a baby living under one roof was not exactly her idea of heaven, although she was so happy they had come back with her. It had taken a week to straighten everything out. Mike had managed to get transferred to Garston. It meant a half-hour commute, but they already seemed happier, Tammy’s depression thankfully being no more than homesickness.
Carla took her tea into the sitting room overlooking her garden, and sat down, only to jump back up and nearly spill her cup when Sophia’s squeaking bunny rabbit emitted its high-pitched noise. She smiled. They were only living with her for four weeks while Tammy’s parents rearranged their large house to make an annexe for the young family. In some ways Carla couldn’t wait to have her peace and sanity restored; in others, she was going to miss them.
Especially Sophia, whom she had become very attached to. Closing her eyes, she let her body relax. Peace.
Until there was a knock on the door. With a groan, Carla got up, placing her tea on a side table and walking barefoot to the door. “I wasn’t expecting you back just yet,” she said as she opened the door … to see Liam standing there.
“Have you moved on to another man?” he asked, grinning at her.
“Liam,” she said, taking in his relaxed stance. The tension seemed to have gone from him. “You look well.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I feel better.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” The words were blurted out before she could stop them. Not that they weren’t the truth. He had been gone for over two weeks. No word, no message.
“I told you I would come see you when I was back.” He stepped closer and put his hand up to cup her cheek. “It just took longer than I thought.”
“And is it over? Whatever you had to do.”
“I don’t think it will ever leave me. We all have baggage, don’t we?” he asked.
“Yes.” She looked into his eyes. “But I need to know if you are with me, then you are with me because I am the most important person in your life. Well, the most important woman… you know what I mean.”
“You are. I promise. I … I’m not ready to talk about it, not yet. But one day soon, I want to explain everything to you.” He came closer, his arm going around her waist and he pulled her close. “I have been longing to kiss you.”
“Then don’t wait any longer.”
He lowered his head and his lips met hers, sending thrilling sensations through her body. She had missed him, missed the way he made her feel. Having almost given up on him coming back, she had come to terms with it, but now he was here, she realized how sad she had been. Seeing her brother and Tammy together had made her realize that no matter how much her parents’ separation and messy divorce had scarred her, that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth taking a risk and giving someone the chance to share her life.
Liam was a good place to start. She didn’t love him. Love at first sight was Mike’s thing. But she was ready to fall in love with him. It just seemed they had started their relationship backwards. Wasn’t sex supposed to come after at least one date?
His hand moved lower, and he cupped her bottom, pulling her closer. His arousal was evident, but she wasn’t ready for this kiss to end in sex.
“Tea?” she asked, pulling away.
“Sure,” he answered with a wry smile. �
�Wow. If I wasn’t mistaken, I would say you had a baby in the house.”
“You’re not mistaken.”
“You weren’t heavily pregnant last time I was here; I think I would have noticed.”
“My brother and his wife, plus their baby, Sophia, they came back here with me. I left the day you went away. They were having problems, and I went out to see them and they moved back to town. They are here for a few weeks.”
“Then we may have to go back to my place.”
“For what?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.
“To fool around,” he said, coming up behind her and kissing her neck. “I wanted to invite you to dinner.”
“Dinner would be great,” she said coolly. “But I want you to know, just because we slept together once, does not mean it’s going to happen again. Not soon anyway.”
He grinned. “That’s fine with me. I’d like us to get to know each other. Really get to know each other.”
She nodded once. “As long as we have that straight.”
“Very straight.” His grin widened and she picked up a cushion and threw it at him.
“And the first thing you reveal is a violent streak,” he joked, and picked it up and threw it back at her.
“Which is mirrored in you.” She dodged to the side, being an old hand at these kind of wars. Mike had been an excellent playmate as kids, but he had a temper too, one other facet of their personalities they didn’t share.
“No. That was me proving to you that I see us as equals.”
She giggled. “I will remind you of that. Often.”
“Very often. I hope.” His eyes darkened and became deep pools of lust, which set her insides aflame, but she was determined to resist him. She needed to know for sure he wasn’t just interested in sex. Even if that sex was incredible, and earth-shattering on a scale she had never known.
“Tea?” She turned from him so he didn’t see the look in her eyes, which was an open invitation to go to bed.
“That would be great. It’s been a long day.”
Second Chance Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 3) Page 6