“Heidi and the kids will be fine. Good night, Robert.” Charles left just as Heidi came into the kitchen.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yup. Jackie is okay, she just needs to take it easy. Charlie wants to know your views on a double wedding?”
“Jackie and me?” He gave her a nod. “What does Jackie think about the idea?”
“I don’t know. Charles hasn’t asked her yet. I know he wants to wait and have the ceremony after the baby is born. If you don’t want to, it’s okay.” He gave her a hug. “Our friend Bill is getting married on Christmas Eve. There will be a bonding ceremony. I would like us to go through the bonding ceremony. Would you like that?”
Heidi got a big smile on her face. “I would like that very much.”
“Good, so would I.” He kissed her forehead. “I think we’d better go to bed. I have to get up early in the morning to go to Sacramento.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go, but I understand. Those kids need their things. I will miss you.”
Robert locked the doors, and turned out the lights, and they headed for bed. Heidi made a quick stop and checked on the kids. They were all sound asleep.
Chapter 23
Robert was up before dawn, preparing to leave for Sacramento. Heidi slowly woke and watched him move about the room. She loved to watch him. His muscles rippled as he moved. He was the most handsome man she had ever met. His stood there shirtless, contemplating what to pack. She wanted to run her hands over his bare chest.
He noticed her watching him and pretended he hadn’t seen her. He walked around to the other side of the bed, out of her line of vision. He quickly slid into bed and grabbed her around the waist, making her squeal. He snuggled up to her back.
“Good morning.” He whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He kissed the back of her neck and felt her shiver. “Are you cold.”
“No. I shiver with anticipation of your kisses.” She turned to face him. “I love you. How much time do you have?” She kissed him.
“Mmm. Not enough.” He kissed the tip of her nose. She amazed him, but he worried about her. When she was awake, things were wonderful. When she was asleep, she would whimper and cry out. She was haunted by the past. He hoped one day the memories would fade away.
“I’ll make it up to you when I get back.” He gave her one more passionate kiss and released her so he could get up.
“I’ll miss you.” She scooted down under the covers to keep warm. She never took her eyes off him as he finished dressing. When he was done, he sat on the bed beside her and brushed her hair back. “Take care of Jackie.”
“I will. I’m so glad Charles proposed to her.”
“Yeah, me too. I have to go.” He leaned in and gave her one last kiss. “I love you.” He grabbed his bag and left the room.
Heidi ran to the bathroom to take care of business. She put on one of Robert’s favorite t-shirts and ran back to bed. She snuggled down under the covers and pretended to be asleep. She knew it wouldn’t be long before Colin came into their room. She knew he would forget to knock. She heard the door open.
Colin had watched Robert leave. He carefully climbed onto the bed. He slowly lifted the covers to see if Aunt Heidi was awake.
“Rrraaaaah!” Heidi growled at Colin and he screamed in surprise. She grabbed him and tickled until he cried for her to stop. She finally gave in and gave him a hug. “I didn’t hear you knock, little bear.” She snuggled him under the covers.
“I forgot Aunt Heidi, I’m sorry. Peas don’t tell Uncle Robert?”
“I won’t tell him this time, but I won’t be able to save you if you forget when he’s home.” Simon and Elyse came running into the room.
“Can we get in bed with you too, Aunt Heidi?” Simon asked.
Heidi held up the blankets so they could all join her. “Hurry, it’s cold out there.” They climbed into bed where it was nice and warm. It was still dark outside. “What are you all doing up so early?” Heidi whispered.
“There were noises. It woke me up,” Elyse told her.
“Well, you’re not used to this house. I can understand that.”
“No, it wasn’t the house. There was a howling.”
“A howling? You mean like a wolf?” Elyse nodded.
“Well, we can ask Uncle Charles about it later. Right now, we are going to keep warm and go back to sleep.” They all cuddled under the blankets.
“Aunt Heidi, this is like the first time we spent the night together. Do you remember?” Simon asked her.
“Yes, I remember.” She gave him a hug. “It’s still dark outside, try to go back to sleep.” They all snuggled together and went to sleep.
Heidi thought about that night they spent in the cave. She had had such a strong feeling that something terrible was going to happen when Robert had been called to work on Thanksgiving Day. Something terrible did happen, but not to Robert. It happened to the parents of these wonderful children.
*****
Next few days flew by. Robert took care of business in Sacramento and cleaned out the Olson’s apartment. The woman that had reported the Olson’s missing, lived next door to them. Judy Parks had been a close friend of the Olson’s for many years and was heartbroken when she heard of their deaths. She offered to take care of everything in the apartment after Robert had removed what he felt should go to the kids and packed all their clothes.
With everything taken care of, Robert headed home. He missed Heidi. He had called her every night and could hardly wait to see her again.
Heidi spent her days while Robert was gone, watching the children and helping Jackie. Charles finally went back to work.
“Jackie, did you know there is going to be a bonding ceremony, after your friend’s wedding on Christmas eve?” Heidi asked.
“I’m sure there will be. I hadn’t given it much thought. Why?”
“Robert asked me to go through the ceremony with him. I was wondering if Charles had mentioned it?”
“Not that I recall.” Jackie started to fidget.
“All right, don’t go getting all hyper,” Heidi told her, “now that Charles has asked you to marry him, what would you think about a double wedding?” She instantly came to the conclusion Charles hadn’t talked to Jackie about either idea. “It’s totally up to you. I know that Robert and Charles are very close, maybe they would like that. After the baby is born, that is.” She added quickly. “Unless you’ve made wedding plans already.”
“No, I haven’t. I’d love it. Would you like to have a double wedding?”
“I would be honored to stand with you and take our vows together. I’d like you to stand with me at the bonding ceremony as well.”
“It’s settled then. We’ll have a double bonding ceremony and a double wedding.” Jackie gave Heidi a big hug. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to share my wedding with, my new sister.” They spent the rest of the afternoon going over ideas for a double wedding. When Charles got home after work, the girls informed him of their plans.
After dinner, Charles thanked Heidi when they had a few minutes alone.
“I know you had something to do with that. Thank you.”
“Why didn’t you ask her before this?”
“I don’t know, Jackie had mentioned something about a fairytale wedding and a double wedding didn’t seem to fit into that.”
“Oh.” Heidi looked at Charles. “She didn’t mention that, but you know what, we can still make it a fairytale wedding. Don’t worry, Charles, everything will work out. It will be beautiful.” She smiled up at him. “We have plenty of time to make plans. Oh, you and Jackie are going to join Robert and I for the bonding ceremony.”
“We are?”
“Yup.” She gave him a big smile. “Jackie and I have already made plans.”
“How was she today?” He asked with concern in his voice.
“Different as day and night. She’s okay.” Charles gave a sigh of relief.
“One other thing,
before I forget. The kids said there has been a wolf howling outside the last few mornings. Have you heard it?”
“I did the other morning. I think it was one of the Wolf brothers. You say they’ve heard it every morning?” Heidi gave a nod. “I’ll ask James about it when I get to work in the morning.”
“Thank you. Now, go to Jackie. I need to take care of the kids and get them ready for bed.”
“Would you like me to take care of the twins?”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. It’s good practice for me, besides, I’m going to miss my nightly soakings.”
That made Heidi laugh. The twins could be a handful and she was usually drenched from head to toe, when their bath was done.
“You’ll have your own soon enough. You’re going to be a great dad”
Charles got a big smile. “I can’t wait and thank you.” He gave the twins a yell and told them to get ready for their bath.
Chapter 24
The next morning, Heidi slowly woke to a wonderful warmth snuggled up against her.
“Robert, when did you get back?” she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were sleeping so peacefully, I hated to wake you. I will admit, I wanted to.” He moved her hair aside and kissed the back of her neck. “I missed you.”
“Mmm, I missed you, too.” She slowly rolled towards him so she could welcome him with a passionate kiss. She couldn’t wait to climb all over him.
“How was the trip? Were you able to take care of everything?”
“Everything went fine. I don’t want to talk about that right now.” He continued to kiss her neck and move to her breast. He instantly stopped when he heard a knock at the door. He let out a groan and Heidi giggled.
“Who is it?” Robert growled.
“Sorry to bother you,” he was surprised to hear Elyse, “but there is a wolf outside howling and it won’t stop. It’s scaring me, uncle Robert.”
“It’s been going on every morning for the last couple of days,” Heidi whispered. “Charles was going to ask James about it at work this morning.”
Robert listened carefully and finally heard the wolf’s melancholy howl. “That sounds like something is wrong. I’d better go check it out.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Elyse, come and get in bed with Heidi and keep warm. I’ll go see what the problem is.” Robert ran to the bathroom and threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, then left as the girls cuddled up together.
Robert quietly went outside and headed towards the sad howling in the woods. A gray wolf sat on the rise of a small hill behind the house.
“David?” Robert looked at James’ brother. “David, what are you doing. Your howling is scaring the kids.”
David shifted and sat his naked ass in the snow.
“My mate was here and I didn’t get a chance to meet her. Now she’s gone.
“Your mate? Who?” Robert asked.
“That’s just it, I don’t know. I caught her scent on the other side of the lake and I followed it here.” He looked up at Robert. “When did you have kids?”
“I’ll explain later, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“I’m sorry, Robert. I was visiting some friends up north for a while and I just got back. I thought I might meet my mate, only to find out she was here.
“Here? No one has been here… wait, we had company here for Thanksgiving, but I got called away. I didn’t get a chance to spend much time with them. Do you have your clothes with you?” David shook his head.
“Come back to the house and I’ll get you something to wear.”
Robert headed back to the house. David shifted back to his wolf and walked beside him. When they reached the house, Robert ran upstairs to tell Heidi what was going on, grabbed some clothes for David and went back to the kitchen. Robert made coffee while David got dressed.
“So, tell me, who was here?” David sat down and accepted a cup of coffee.
“Well, there was Bradley Fletcher, but he’s definitely not your mate, unless there’s something you want to tell me.” That made them both laugh. “Jackie’s cousin Franny, and two friends, Becky and Heidi.”
Heidi walked into the kitchen just as Robert mentioned her name.
“David, I’d like you to meet Heidi, my mate.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. David was speechless. “Close your mouth, David. Heidi, this is David. James is his brother.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, David.” She went to him and shook his hand. “If you will excuse me, I have to see to the children.” She kissed Robert’s cheek and went upstairs.
“Children?” David gave Robert a questioning look. “She’s beautiful, by the way.”
“Oh, it’s not what you think. We took in three orphaned cubs. Their parents were killed just before Thanksgiving. My brother, Mack, is going to adopt them.” He had a big smile. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Is she a shifter?”
“You aren’t going to believe this, David, she’s a panda. She’s the cutest bear you’ll ever see.”
David shook his head. “So, what about the other two that came to visit?”
“Well, there was Franny, she’s a bobcat and Jackie’s cousin. The other one was Becky, she’s a….” Robert paused.
“She’s a what, Robert?”
“She’s a gray wolf. Your brother, James, met her. He wanted to take her to the Peak to meet the rest of your family. I think he wanted her to meet you and your brothers. He had to have suspected she was a possible match to one of you. She is also Holly’s best friend.”
“It has to be her. Did she go around the lake?”
“Every day. Becky and Fletch would go for a run together every morning.”
David started to growl and he bared his teeth.
“Whoa, down boy. They’re only friends. They were all part of that group that were rescued by Charles and Jackie in Oregon. Heidi was among them, also.”
“Sorry.”
Just then Heidi came into the kitchen with the twins. “Simon and Colin, say hello to Mr. David. He is a friend of Uncle Robert.”
Simon stepped up first and shook his hand. “Hello sir, my name is Simon and that is my little brother, Colin.” He pointed to his brother.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Simon.”
Colin walked up to David. “Was that you we heard howling? You sounded very sad. It scared me.”
“I am very sorry if I frightened you.”
“Are you happy now?” Colin asked.
“Colin, what have I told you about asking questions?” Heidi scolded. “Now apologize.”
“Sorry Mr. David.” Colin hung his head.
“Apology accepted, Colin.” David gave Heidi a wink.
“Will you join us for breakfast, David?” Heidi asked.
“Thank you, I’d love to.”
“Sweetheart, David picked up a scent on the other side of the lake and he thinks it might have been his mate. I’m thinking it might be Becky.”
“I wish the scent had been stronger, that way I could be sure.” David remarked.
Heidi thought for a few minutes, then whispered something to Robert.
“I’ll be right back.” Robert ran to their room to retrieved the coat Heidi had worn when she snuck out after Robert. It belonged to Becky. When he returned, he handed the coat to David.
“What’s this?”
“It’s her coat. Heidi has worn the coat, but her scent might still be on it.”
David picked up the coat and held it to his nose. He closed his eyes. His body tingled from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. “It is her. Who is she and where can I find her?” He buried his nose into the collar of her coat. He imagined snuggling her neck.
“Her name is Becky Brooks, she’s a gray wolf and she’s in Bend, Oregon.” Heidi told him.
“Is she coming back to get her coat?” That made Heidi laugh.
�
��I don’t think so, not for a while, anyway. I’m sure she’ll come for the wedding,” Heidi told him.
“When’s the wedding?” He mumbled into the collar of the coat.
“We haven’t set a date yet, but it won’t be until after the baby comes.” David gave Robert a questioning look.
“Heidi and Jackie are planning a double wedding and we have to wait until Jackie has her baby.”
“I can’t wait that long.” David wanted to leave for Oregon right away. It was almost Christmas and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere until after the New Year. “Fuuu…” David stopped and looked down at Colin, who had a huge grin on his face.
“You were going to say a bad word,” Colin chimed with a giggle. “Aunt Heidi gets mad if you say that word.”
“Colin, go sit at the table and behave.”
“Yes, Aunt Heidi.” Colin shuffled over to the kitchen table and took a seat.
“Sorry.” David apologized.
“Would you like her phone number?” Heidi asked.
David’s jaw dropped. He stuttered a bit. “Do you think it would be okay to call her? She doesn’t know me.”
“Would you like me to talk to her? I could tell her about you and give her your number.”
“Maybe that would be better.” David had always been teased about being shy. He stuttered when he got nervous.
Elyse came into the kitchen. Introductions were made and Elyse helped Heidi with breakfast. After cooking up stacks of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast, everyone settled down and enjoyed breakfast. It wasn’t long before Charles and Jackie joined them.
“Robert, when did you get back?” Charles asked.
“Very early this morning.”
“Where did you find David?” Charles asked as he said good morning to David. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you around lately.”
“I was up north visiting friends,” David answered.
“You wouldn’t know anything about a wolf howling around here lately? I was going to ask James later, but you’re here now.”
“Yeah, that was me, I’m afraid,” David told him.
Bearly Saved My Life: Madison Range Shifters (Quake Lake Bears Book 2) Page 13