Return to Bear Bluff Complete Series

by Harmony Raines

  “Want to go into town for takeout?” she asked.

  “If you’re buying,” he said. “I still have no money.”

  “What, you’ll actually let me buy you dinner on our first real date?” she said, fetching her purse.

  “When I get my first paycheck, that will be our first real date,” he said, kissing her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  They left the cabin, and he made sure all the doors and windows were secure before they got into her car. The drive into town took ten minutes, and Amanda followed his directions to the Pizza Pizzazz, where Don made the best pizza Jed had ever tasted.

  “And I’ve been around enough to have tried lots of different pizza,” he told Amanda as they collected the boxes and he led her to the small park in Bear Bluff, where they sat on a bench and ate.

  “I have to agree,” she said, taking a bite and savoring it. He loved the small sigh of contentment that escaped her mouth. “You know, so far I haven’t found one thing I don’t like about Bear Bluff.”

  “Good. Because it’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives. I want us to make a home for our family here.”

  “So I was thinking. Maybe it is time for us to renovate the cabin. If we’re going to have kids, we will need to extend. It suited my grandma and her husband; they never had kids. But I want a whole den full.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He leaned back on the bench. “But there’s no rush for kids. If it happens, it happens. And when it does, I’d like us to be more financially secure.”

  “I have a better idea,” she said, licking her lips. “Along with the cabin, I was left a sizable inheritance. Enough for us to live off for a few years.”

  “What do you plan to do with it?” he asked.

  “I thought that we could invest it.”

  “In?” he asked.

  “Your sisters’ and brother’s future. And there might even be enough left over to allow us to buy another house, which you could renovate. Start our own little property empire.”

  “If you didn’t need to work, why did you get the job with Dylan?”

  “Because, as you pointed out, I came here to be part of something. And for that I needed to interact.” She closed her pizza box and turned to him. “And maybe it was fate.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Maybe it was.”

  “Let’s not question it.” She snuggled next to him, her eyes wandering to the Bluff in front of them. “He’s not likely to die out there, is he?”

  “Mason? Probably not. Unfortunately.” Jed would very much have liked to have killed the bastard. But a murder was not the best way to start the rest of your life.

  “Shall we go home?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He got up and they walked hand in hand back to her car, and then drove home, talking about their future together. And the family they would raise in the little cabin her grandma had left to his mate.

  “I can’t believe how things have turned out,” she said.

  “Neither can I. Two days ago I was a poor, broke man looking for a job, now I think I’m the richest man alive. Even without your inheritance.”

  “Good, because I’d hate to think you were marrying me for my money,” she said, as they pulled up outside the cabin.

  “You have something much more valuable than that, Amanda.” He kissed her. “You have my heart.”

  Chapter Nineteen – Amanda

  “I’m exhausted,” Amanda said as they sat down on the porch.

  “But it’s finished,” Jed said, coming to sit beside her, his arm encircling her shoulders and pulled her to him.

  “It is. We did it.” She turned around to look at the small house behind them. It had been transformed from a ramshackle shack into a home. “All we have to do now is sell it.”

  “Indeed, although I might have already done that.” As he spoke, she could see a car coming along the track towards them. “That’s lucky, they’re early.”

  “What’s going on?” Amanda asked.

  Jed stood up, and offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet. She was grateful for the help; her baby bump was making things more and more difficult. Which was why she was so pleased they had completed the renovations on the house they had bought with her grandma’s money.

  “I have a buyer for our house.” He grinned, and walked forward to meet the car, which she now recognized.

  “Tilly?” she asked.

  “Yes, she and Ron were looking for a house to move into. The apartment they’ve been living in above the deli in town isn’t exactly the best place to raise a young bear cub.” He pulled Amanda close to him and kissed her, his hand stroking her swollen belly. “It will be like old times, our child, Tilly’s child and Dylan’s son all running over these mountains together.

  Amanda leaned her head on his chest. “I like that thought. I want our child to grow up in a community, to have other children to play with.”

  “When we have our next child, then he or she will have a brother or sister too.”

  “Our next child? I have to get through this one’s birth first!” she exclaimed. But he was right, they wouldn’t stop at one child, she wanted a houseful.

  “But look at all the fun we had making this one,” he whispered, his hand caressing her bottom, before he pulled away from her and went to talk to Tilly and Ron.

  “It looks fabulous,” Tilly said, her face flushed with excitement.

  “It is. It’s like new,” Jed said.

  “Your brother has worked so hard on the house. Sometimes, I think he loves it more than he loves me,” Amanda teased.

  “Never,” Jed replied. “Why don’t we go inside? I can give you the guided tour.”

  Amanda took Jed’s hand, smiling at him, and how happy and proud he was of what he had achieved. “Why don’t you let Tilly and Ron go and have a poke-around on their own?”

  “But…”

  “They don’t need to know all the intricate details of how you uncovered the original tiled floor.”

  “He’s already told us,” Ron said.

  “Twice.” Tilly hugged her brother. “Do you mind?”

  “No. Go ahead.”

  Amanda knew it took a lot of self-control for Jed to stay outside while his sister and her husband went around, what had become his life outside of work, for the last six months. Six months of them both working through the long summer evenings, while the child in her belly grew.

  “Why don’t we take a walk instead?” Amanda asked, looping her arm through his.

  “Sure,” Jed agreed, looking over his shoulder once before they walked across the grass and out onto the lower slopes of the mountain, to look down over Bear Bluff.

  “I’m proud of you,” Amanda said. “Of what you’ve achieved.”

  “What we’ve achieved,” he said. They had stopped to watch the birds. Some were busy with their young families, and she absently stroked her stomach, feeling the baby kick her hand. She took Jed’s hand and placed it there, watching his face as it broke into a smile of wonder at the feel of the new life inside her.

  “What we’ve achieved,” she agreed. “Do you think they’ll buy it?”

  He turned to look at the pretty house; it looked so cozy, nestled against the backdrop of trees that were showing the first signs of fall. “I think so.” He looked at her sheepishly. “Although I may have to knock a couple of thousand off the price.”

  “Jed.”

  “She’s my sister…”

  Amanda shook her head. “I know.” For a moment she wanted to remind him of how many hours they had put into the renovation, but then she let it go. “They’re family.”

  “They are.” He kissed her head. “Thank you.”

  “Like I said before, I can live without money.”

  “I can live without everything apart from you.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his lips filled with an unquenchable thirst for her. “You are the air I breathe, the water I drink.”

  “You m
ake me sound as if I’m one of life’s necessities. And I’m not. I’m as lucky to have you as you are to have me. Fate. Remember? It works both ways.”

  “You are one of life’s necessities to me. And my bear agrees.”

  She giggled. “A bear’s necessity. I like that.”

  “And I love you, Mrs. Creswell.”

  She looked at the rings on her finger, holding her hand up so the sun’s rays caught the small diamond in her engagement ring. “Mrs. Creswell. I really am part of your family.”

  “Yes, you are.” Behind them Tilly and Ron were coming out of the house, looking happy, and he took Amanda’s hand. “Let’s go make them happy.”

  “Come on, then. Happiness is better than money.” She meant it, although in truth she was richer now than she ever had been, just in a different way. A way she preferred, and she planned to keep it that way for the rest of their lives, no matter what came their way.

  ***

  Black Bear Down

  Return to Bear Bluff - Book Three

  When his army helicopter crashes in the Himalayas, killing his comrades, Jordan Williams loses much more than his friends. He loses the use of his legs, and his bear. Two months later, he is transferred to Bear Bluff, where he grew up, but he isn’t interested in life. Not until Skyla walks into his hospital room.

  She’s his mate. But how is he supposed to deal with that, when his life no longer makes sense? With his bear gone, and unable to walk, what kind of man is he? How can he provide for her like a bear shifter should?

  He should just let her walk out of his life. Hell! If he had any sense, he would push her out of his life.

  However, in a short space of time, he realizes she is his own hope of salvation. She brightens up his world, which has become dark and soulless. Can this curvy woman pull him out of the darkness and back into the light?

  Chapter One – Skyla

  “Hello, I’m Skyla Martin.” Skyla offered her hand to the extremely pregnant nurse who was leaning against the desk in the reception area of the hospital. This was Nurse Beth, whom she had previously spoken to on the phone, and had arranged to meet at 11:00 a.m. It was 10:55, Skyla always liked to be early.

  “Hi, Skyla, good to meet you.” Nurse Beth straightened up and took Skyla’s hand, shaking it warmly. “Sorry, they might be sticky. I’ve just been eating gummy bears, can’t get enough of them with the baby.” She rubbed her hand lovingly over her large baby bump. “It was chocolate with my last one, a girl, so I think I might be expecting a boy this time.”

  “One of each, that would be brilliant,” Skyla said, smiling at Nurse Beth as she waddled towards the elevator.

  “I can’t make it up the stairs more than once a day.” Beth pushed the button and while they waited for the elevator to arrive, she said, “You are aware of Jordan’s condition?”

  “Fully. I read the notes you sent. Terribly sad, a man cut down while serving his country.”

  “Incredibly.” Beth looked at Skyla, as if debating something, and Skyla knew to let her have some space; Beth would say what was in her head when she was ready. “Did you read the psych report too?”

  Skyla looked up at Beth, studying her for a split second, gauging what her body language and expression said. “You think it’s all in his head?”

  “I think the psych report is flawed. That’s all I’m saying. It was done before he came back here, so it didn’t take into account…”

  “His other… what do you call it… side?” Skyla asked. There was a reason she had been chosen to look after Jordan while he moved into his new home and learned to be independent again. She held sufficient qualifications: her training, gleaned from working with many injured men and women over the last few years, was on the job, but the real reason she had been chosen was because she knew about shifters. The people who lived among normal people, but who were uniquely able to turn from a human into an animal and back again.

  Skyla had heard Bear Bluff was full of these shifters, and that and the lure of the mountains were why she was here. Growing up, she had been best friends with a boy, Donnie, who was a shifter. They were inseparable, with Skyla being the witness to his first shift, around the time he reached puberty. She vividly remembered running her hands through his thick fur coat—and she remembered when he met his mate for the first time. That was the day their relationship changed forever.

  Not that Skyla was his mate. He’d known that from the moment of his first shift, and so had she. Donnie had told her all about how a shifter found his mate. How it was love at first sight, a love than went deeper than any other. Whereas theirs was a love forged by friendship and childhood escapades.

  That relationship stalled when he found his true love. There was no room in his life for her, not when he suddenly became obsessed with having kids and building a future for them. But she had watched the instant attraction, seen how he would do anything for his mate, and she knew that was the kind of love she wanted. Evergreen, endless. Unlike her parent’s marriage. If she ever settled down, she hoped it would be with a man as loyal to his woman as Donnie.

  “He’s a bear. A shifter.” Beth took a breath, letting it out slowly. She was preparing to share something else. Skyla smiled encouragingly.

  “Whatever you say, stays in these four walls.” She looked around the elevator car. “Tell me what you think, and I’ll bear it in mind when I meet Jordan.”

  “He hasn’t been able to shift since it happened. Since he was shot down.” Beth looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know if he’s afraid and won’t attempt it, or if he physically can’t.”

  “It takes time to get over the trauma of what he’s been through. When I read his medical file… I wonder how he survived.” Skyla had read the description of the accident, set down in black and white, and felt sickened. It was an unemotional, factual, blow-by-blow account of how an Army helicopter, carrying ten men on a rescue mission to set up a water filtration system to help those affected by an earthquake high in the Himalayas, had crashed, killing everyone on board except Jordan.

  “Shifters are stronger than ordinary men.” Beth kept her voice low as the doors opened and they left the elevator to walk down a corridor, past doors where other patients were eating their lunch. Visiting would begin soon; the wards were filling with friends and relatives of the sick and injured.

  “Is this not a good time?” Skyla asked, keeping her pace slow to walk by the side of Beth, who must be due to give birth imminently. “Jordan will be eating, and what about his visitors?”

  “He barely eats, and he hasn’t had many visitors.” Beth stopped, glancing at a door twenty feet away. “He has family, but he asked them not to visit. Ben, my husband, checks in on him when he can, they knew each other growing up. But apart from that… he’s refused to see anyone.” Beth shook her head and looked tearful. “Stupid hormones.” She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “It’s OK. Once he’s home, and starts to get out in the fresh air, he’ll feel better. I’d appreciate it if you and Ben could swing by and visit him. I know it’s his choice whether he has visitors or not, but unless he turns you away at the door, it is important for him to see faces he knows.” Skyla gave Beth a moment to compose herself. “Do you want me to go in on my own?”

  “No, I think Ben’s in there, he said he’d spend his break with Jordan. And give us a hand to get Jordan into his wheelchair.”

  “I can manage,” Skyla answered.

  “Jordan is a big man. Most bears are,” she said conspiratorially and winked at Skyla, who tried not to blush. “Sorry, inappropriate.”

  “I have heard a lot worse,” Skyla said. “I’ve helped countless soldiers with their rehabilitation, and the language goes with the territory.”

  Beth smiled kindly at Skyla. “Thank you. For moving here to look after Jordan. It can’t be easy to move around the country.”

  “I’m used to it. My mom left when I was seven, and my dad raised me.” Skyla caught the tremble in Beth’s lip. “D
on’t worry, I had an amazing childhood, my dad is an incredible man.”

  “But…” Beth knew how to read people too, it seemed.

  “But three years ago he met the woman of his dreams, and a fifty-five-year-old man does not need his daughter around to cramp his style.” Skyla smiled, but she couldn’t infuse it with warmth. Damn, she was selfish: she wanted her dad to be happy, of course she did, but she missed the close relationship they used to have. When her stepmom moved in, things changed.

  Not wanting to hurt her dad, or make her stepmom feel as if she had driven Skyla away, she had stayed. Holding on to her old life, to her old memories, until a chance encounter with an Army doctor led her to a career change, or at least a step to the side.

  Helping men and women hurt while serving their country was the most fulfilling job she had ever done. She had traveled around the country, and to other countries she would never have ventured to alone. However, coming to live in Bear Bluff had to be the highlight. And fate.

  She let that thought go; it would do her no good to go hunting for a shifter to be her mate. It didn’t work like that; Donnie had told her it just happened. She could meet every man in Bear Bluff, and neighboring Bear Creek, but if they weren’t true mates, then their relationship would lead nowhere.

  You didn’t come here just to find love, she reminded herself, you came here to help Jordan walk again. That must be your main focus.

  “Ready?” Beth asked. “And please don’t be offended if he’s a little rude. I don’t think he means to be, he’s just—lost.”

  “It’s OK, I’ve experienced every emotion from those who’ve been injured. Anger, grief, resignation, I can deal with it.”

  But when she pushed the door open, and saw Jordan for the first time, Skyla wondered if that were true. Their eyes locked, and for an instant there was a sign of recognition, and hope, pure, exquisite hope, and her heart lurched in response. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be. Could he?