“Well, I would tell a man who could make beer like that to quit yacking, and set up his own brewery,” Walt said.
Carter nearly choked on his beer. “A brewery?”
“Why not? I have some bees, I could bring you the honey. Hops you could order in. Your secret ingredient… Well, I’ll leave that up to you.”
“Will Frasier is already going to grow me some hops,” Carter said.
“There you go, then, start small and scale up. You have the money, you said you had the time. Make something of your own.”
“I’ve never done that before,” Carter confessed.
“Done what before?” Caroline asked, walking around the side of the house and finding them sitting in the shade drinking beer. “I see you have found a friend. Hi, Walt.”
“Hello, Caroline. You caught me,” he said, drinking the last of his beer and getting up. “I’m sorry, I got caught up talking to Carter. I’m on my way over to help you out right now.”
“Oh, if you have been talking sense into Carter, then you have been helping me out already,” Caroline told the old man.
“We’ve been making plans,” Carter said.
“Plans?” She looked out across the overgrown yard and the land behind it. “That sounds great. This place is worse than I thought.”
“Ah, we can soon have it shipshape,” Walt said. “I’ll be over tomorrow, Carter. You get what we need and we can get started.”
Caroline watched the old man leave before she asked, “What have you been planning?” She sat down next to Carter and passed him a sandwich and a cupcake. “I thought you might need feeding.”
“I do.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Thank you.”
“For lunch?” she asked.
“No, for coming and getting me.”
She stroked his hair. “You look happy.”
“I am.” He nodded and ate his sandwich, not really tasting it as his mind explored possibilities.
“Are you going to tell me your grand plan?” she asked.
“Bear Creek Honey Beer,” he said boldly.
“I like it,” she told him at once.
“You do?”
“Yes. That beer of yours should not be kept a secret.”
“Are you teasing me?” he asked.
“No. I mean it.” She paused and then added, “But this means you won’t be able to hide away. You know that?”
“I do. And I’m OK with it.” Carter ate his sandwich in silence, mulling over what needed to be done. Regulations. There were bound to be lots of them. Which meant he was going to have to give up his dreams of no cell phone, and living a quiet life. But this meant a lot to him.
“Hey,” Caroline said. “If you need Captain Bossy to lend a hand, I’m here for you.”
“Captain Bossy, is that your new name?”
“It might as well be,” she replied. “Because I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure this is a success for you, Carter.”
“For us,” he corrected.
“For us.” The smile on her face was enough to tell him this was the right thing to do. He was going to build something that he could be proud of, something that his children might one day inherit. Something more than a movie about space monkeys.
Chapter Thirteen – Caroline
“How many people?” Carter asked Caroline as they ate breakfast. It was Saturday and unbeknown to Carter, Caroline had been rounding people up to help with his Bear Creek Honey Beer project.
“Around twenty. Maybe more…” She grinned at him. “You are supposed to say thank you.”
“I don’t need volunteers, I can pay,” Carter said.
“You will pay. I promised them a party when your first beer is ready.” She put her spoon down. “Listen. Until you get your finances figured out, then you will have to make do with charity.”
Carter sighed, and she understood his frustration. When he started withdrawing larger sums of money than usual, which wasn’t hard since he had only used his bank account sparingly over the last couple of years, he had set off some kind of fraud detector and his bank accounts had been frozen.
After several phone calls, it was all figured out, but they were insisting on sending him new cards, and so for now he was living off Caroline’s goodwill. At least, that was what he’d called it. What’s mine is yours only worked one way for Carter. He had a streak of pride a mile wide, it seemed, and now it was dented.
“It will be fun,” Caroline told him. “I mean it.”
“OK.” He begrudgingly drank his coffee and then stood up. “Shall we get started?”
“Yes, although we need to stop off at the store too. We’re going to need plenty of drinks. Nonalcoholic, and some food. Although Fiona is bringing… Well, I’m not sure what she is bringing, but apparently, since we are joint godparents of little Richard, she feels she has to be supportive.”
“And Fiona is the dragon?” Carter asked.
Caroline smiled. At first Carter would not believe that there was an actual dragon shifter living amongst them. Or just outside of town. Caroline had no idea where exactly Fiona lived; neither did anyone else, but she always seemed to be in Bear Creek, so there was speculation that she had moved closer to the town. Jamie said it was so she could keep an eye on him and the kids, but Caroline was sure it went deeper than that.
Knowing what it was like to live on the fringes of family, Caroline suspected that Jamie, Dani, and the children were becoming her surrogate family. It was sweet. If a dragon could ever be called sweet.
“Fiona is the dragon,” Caroline confirmed. “And as prickly as a porcupine, so watch what you say or else she might just singe your beard.”
“I thought you’d like that,” Carter said, rubbing his freshly trimmed beard. That was as close as Caroline was going to get to having a clean-shaven man as her mate. Although settling into life in Bear Creek had been a lot easier than he thought. After a week, everyone had gotten used to the new celebrity resident and was far more interested in the brewery than in the movie star who made it. The most amusing thing was that if anyone from the press stopped by, the residents would send them to all contradictory locations, when asked for directions to Carter Eden’s house.
“Walt is convinced the brewery will put Bear Creek on the map,” Caroline said as they got into her car. It was only a short distance to the house, but the stop at the store for supplies and the tools in the trunk made driving more practical.
“He might be right,” Carter said. “Is that a good thing?”
“I suppose. The town could do with more trade, and perhaps tourists might come here for beer tasting.” She turned the key in the ignition and the engine fired into life. “It’s that good, maybe people will make a pilgrimage here just to say they have visited the source of Bear Creek Honey Beer.”
“Are you laughing at me?” Carter asked.
“Maybe just a little,” Caroline told him, her face perfectly straight.
A couple of minutes later they were parked outside the store, and heading inside to collect the selection of drinks Caroline had ordered. Bottled water, sodas, coffee, and milk. They could make coffee, but little else, since the house had no appliances. They weren’t due to be installed until next week.
“Thank you,” Caroline said as she paid the store owner, Betty.
“You are welcome. Looks like you are going to have a fine day for it,” Betty said, with her usual smile.
“It does,” Caroline agreed.
“I’ll sell your beer in my store when it’s ready,” Betty said to Carter.
“Thanks, Betty. You’ll be the first store we stock.”
Betty glowed with appreciation, or was it the crush she had admitted she had on Carter? At the height of his career, Betty had a signed photo of Carter on her nightstand and used to kiss it every night before bed. Caroline was well aware of the effect Carter had on most single women. Only the mating bond stopped her from getting jealous. That and the knowledge that most of them knew she was ex-army and could
put them in a headlock in seconds.
Caroline had yet to find out where that rumor had begun, but she had a suspect.
“Fiona,” Caroline said as they arrived at the house to find the old dragon waiting.
“Thought I’d get here early and see how you were,” Fiona said after Carter had opened the gates and she had driven in.
“I’m good,” Caroline said, getting out of the car.
“Good.” Fiona smiled, but her eyes didn’t light up.
“What’s wrong?” Caroline asked.
“I was surfing the internet last night…”
“And?” Caroline asked, her voice betraying her fears.
“There was an article about a girl. A teen.”
Caroline hooked her arm under Fiona’s. “We’re just going to take these into the house.” Caroline thrust a box at Fiona. But before they could go inside, Dani and Jamie arrived.
“Want a hand?” Dani asked, running over to them. “Jamie and Carter are going to get started.”
“Where are the children?” Fiona asked.
“They are with Kayleigh. She isn’t coming, not when her baby is so young, and so she offered to look after the kids. Although I think digging and weeding is easier than looking after so many children.” Dani grinned. “I should know.”
“Thanks, Dani,” Caroline said as her sister-in-law picked up a box of snacks. “Let’s go inside.”
“Are you OK?” Dani asked.
“Yes,” Caroline answered, but she wasn’t sure for how long. She hated the thought of ruining today, if Carter’s past was about to come back and haunt him.
They went through to the kitchen. Caroline placed her box on the counter and immediately turned to Fiona, who began to talk in a low voice. “The article was about a police report, there was a young girl, Fern Jacobs, who was questioned about an incident with…”
“Carter Eden,” Caroline finished.
“You know?” Fiona asked. “Oh, thank goodness, I did not want to be the bearer of such news. It shows strength of character that he has already admitted the incident.”
“There wasn’t exactly anything to admit,” Caroline said hotly.
“Will someone tell me what is going on?” Dani asked.
“This stays strictly between us,” Caroline said, looking pointedly at Fiona. “You don’t tell your journalist friend Teagan either.”
“I swear I will never repeat what you tell me in confidence,” Fiona said. “And a dragon is nothing, if they do not keep their word.”
“You know I’ll keep whatever you say to myself. I won’t even tell Jamie if you don’t want me to,” Dani said.
“It might be better to tell Jamie too. But not now, not today.” Caroline leaned back on the counter. “Carter went up into the mountain because of something that happened.”
“With Fern Jacobs?” Fiona asked.
“I don’t know her name, but I suspect this must be the same person,” Caroline confirmed. “She had a crush on Carter and turned up at the place he was filming and somehow got into his trailer.”
“Oh my. Poor Carter. Poor Fern. These teenage crushes can be terribly hard to see in perspective.”
“Indeed,” Caroline agreed. “Especially when Carter went berserk, he was worried about his reputation and called security.” She closed her eyes, feeling bad for both of them. “Anyway, a couple of days later, she tried to kill herself.”
Dani paled and put her hand to her mouth; even Fiona looked shocked. “Oh my dear. Poor child.”
“She lived,” Caroline said. “Which brought Carter to the conclusion the world was better off without him, because every time the poor girl saw his face, she would be reminded of what happened. I think if he could have pulled all of his movies, he would have.”
“I can see how that would take the joy out of his career,” Dani said. “And what else did the article say?”
Fiona placed a hand on Caroline’s arm. “It said that Carter was making a comeback.”
“He’s not,” Caroline replied quickly.
“I think it was a phishing article. Some lowlife journo with nothing better to do than rake up dirt.”
“There have been some strangers hanging around town. Word is starting to get out that he is back. Carter even had a call about doing an interview, but he turned it down. My guess is someone is stirring things up. Trying to make him become a public figure again.” Caroline’s eyes misted with tears, which she quickly wiped away. Crying was not going to help in this situation.
“Hey, Caroline,” Dani said softly, pulling her into a hug. “It’s OK to get upset. And don’t worry, we will get through this. You and Carter are family now.”
“Yes, you are,” Fiona said savagely. “And I will not see some lowlife journalist hurt you. Any of you.”
Caroline smiled weakly at Fiona. “Thanks. But I’m sure we can handle it.”
“If you can’t, let me know. I have eaten smaller fish for my dinner,” Fiona said, her eyes glowing green as her anger bubbled up. “But I will say one thing. Sometimes it is better to be proactive.”
“What do you mean?” Dani asked.
“I mean you release the information you want the press to know. Instead of keeping away from them, you set up an interview and tell the truth. At least the truth as you want it to be known.”
“With someone like Teagan?” Caroline asked acidly.
“Caroline, I am not suggesting it to further Teagan’s career, even if I do think she is more than capable of showing the human element in all of this. She is young enough to relate to Fern, but mature enough to give it the gravitas the story deserves.”
“You must think a lot of Teagan,” Dani said.
“I do. I met her when her family was going through a difficult time. That is all I will say. It isn’t only your privacy I protect.” Fiona folded her arms across her chest. “I will leave it for you and Carter to decide.”
“I don’t know if Carter will. Not if he thinks it might hurt Fern.”
“This child is the key to it all,” Fiona mused.
“Although she would not be a child anymore,” Dani stated. “She would be over eighteen.”
“Compared to me, she is a babe in arms,” Fiona mused. “As innocent as a flower.”
“OK. I’ll talk to Carter, and think over what you’ve said, Fiona. But I am not going let this spoil today,” Caroline said as the sound of more people arriving reached them. She wiped her eyes and smiled brightly. “We have some dirt of our own to dig.”
Chapter Fourteen – Carter
“You know I was worried Caro would never meet the right man,” Jamie said as he and Carter moved the logs Walt had cut up from an old tree, which had fallen down across part of the garden.
“And you think I am the right man?” Carter asked.
“I do. I mean I didn’t, if am being perfectly honest.”
“I prefer perfect honesty,” Carter reassured Jamie.
“When I met you and I realized you were the man from the mountains, I had my reservations.”
“But now?” Carter asked, lowering the log down off his shoulder and adding it to the neatly stacked pile he would split to get ready for winter.
“I like what you are doing,” Jamie said. “You’re doing something for the community. At least for Walt. I’ve seen him looking through those gates so many times.”
“Yes, he is my main regret. I was selfish, only thinking of how I felt when I went off on my adventure.”
“We can’t always see everything from all angles,” Jamie said. “We can only do what we think is best at the time. Which is why you left, isn’t it?”
Carter hesitated and then bent down to pick up another log. “I thought so.”
“That’s all that matters. That and Caro’s happiness.”
“She told me about Rich. Your best friend.”
“Ah, I’m glad.” Jamie shrugged. “It was never meant to be, she knew it, he knew it, but she still ended up tying herself up in knot
s over it when he died.”
“No closure,” Carter murmured.
“What was that?” Jamie asked.
“She never got any closure.”
“No.” Jamie lowered his log. “Makes you realize that you should never go to bed on an argument and always tell the ones you love how you feel. Don’t expect them to know.”
“Good advice,” Carter said, his eyes straying over to where Caroline was working with Jordan to take out a tree stump. “She’s quite a woman.”
Jamie chuckled. “I hope you still think that after you’ve lived with her for ten years. She is an opinionated woman.”
“That’s exactly what I like about her,” Carter said.
“Well, you are biased. And I’m her brother. We have clashed so many times; she is obstinate and determined. And I couldn’t be more proud.”
Caroline looked up and squinted against the sun. It was late, they had worked all day, on and off, maybe it was time to stop and enjoy the evening. “This is the last of the wood. Shall we go and find something stronger than soda to drink?” Carter suggested.
“Sounds good to me.” He dumped his log and then looked at his watch. “We have an hour before we have to pick the kids up. I bet Kayleigh will be more exhausted then the rest of us.”
Carter and Jamie went over to Caroline, and between them they unearthed the tree stump. A sense of achievement swept through them as they met back at the house, surveying the work they had done.
“Here. I have a cooler full of beer,” Fiona said. “Help yourself. Or there is wine. And food, plenty of food, I know how you bears like to eat.”
“You are an angel, Fiona,” Will said giving her a kiss.
“I have been called many things in my life, but angel is not one of them,” Fiona told him.
“How old are you exactly?” Will dared to ask.
“Old enough,” Fiona replied tartly.
“Will, you should never ask a lady her age,” Freyja chided.
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve been called a lady before either,” Fiona said with a laugh.
“I’ll come over on Monday with the ATV. I can leave it here for you to use,” Dylan said. “We won’t miss it for a few weeks.”
Mountain Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 2) Page 8