They left the trees, and in the distance, she saw the lights of a house, and smelled the wood smoke of an open fire. They were nearly home; she would be able to flop down into bed, and sleep.
Theo slowed the ATV to a crawl, the sound of the engine diminished. When they were a few hundred feet away, he switched off the engine completely and got off. Zara started to follow him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I don’t want to wake the children,” he said, and then added, “You stay there, I can push it with you on it. You can steer.”
“Do you trust me?” she asked.
“Yes. But only because we’re going to be going at like five miles an hour.” He still showed her where the brake was, and she made sure she was alert and aware of their surroundings and the terrain as she guided the ATV down the last part of the trail, and headed for the barn behind Grandpa’s cabin.
Carefully opening the doors, they pushed the ATV inside and parked it.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Zara said, pulling the barn doors shut behind her.
“My pleasure.” He pulled her close and under the light of the moon and the stars, he kissed her. She leaned into him, feeling his warmth and his strength, and his tongue probing her mouth. Zara met him, stroke for stroke, her tongue entwining with his, tasting him, teasing him, until they both broke away, breathless.
“I should go in,” she said, looking at her watch. “It’s half past eleven.”
“I told Dylan it would be midnight,” he said, kissing her again.
Zara felt her senses slipping away, he overpowered her emotions. She wanted to tell him to pick her up and carry her to bed, and once there they could slowly undress each other, and then make slow, passionate love.
But she was exhausted. “OK, I need to go.” She put her hands on his chest. “I am going to go inside, and you are going to go home and get some sleep too. Then tomorrow, I’ll help Steph with the children, and then once I’ve done my last-minute shopping, we can meet up.”
“So this is what it’s like having a mate,” he said lightly. “Someone to organize your life.”
“Get used to it, buddy. I am going to have you on a leash.”
“Yes, please,” he said, and kissed her again. “I’ll walk you into the house, and hang the keys up.”
“I’d like that,” she said, taking his hand and not wanting to let go.
Chapter Fourteen – Theo
Theo woke the next morning with butterflies in his stomach and a thrill in his veins that he hadn’t felt since he was a kid on Christmas morning. And it was only Christmas Eve.
Which meant he had one day to find Zara the perfect Christmas gift. That meant a quick phone call to Steph, who would have a good idea of what to buy a woman whom you knew nothing about. Maybe he should have spent last night quizzing her on what she would like in her stocking, instead of showing off his bear.
His bear grumbled at that, he was still in a daze at having finally met their mate. So much for a big, growly beast.
Showering, he checked the time. The last thing he wanted to do was wake the kids, but it was eight, they would all be up. Going to the kitchen, he put on a pot of coffee. He dialed Steph’s number while he waited for the coffee to brew.
“Hey, Steph. I wanted to ask a favor,” Theo said.
“Go for it,” Steph answered. He could hear the sound of Rory in the background.
“You sure? It sounds as if you are busy.”
“I’m feeding the tribe,” she answered.
“Is Zara with you?” he asked.
“No, she’s gone for a walk with Dylan. She’s decided to accept his offer, and they are making plans. I told him it could wait until after Christmas but you know Dylan once he gets an idea in his head. And I think Zara wanted some fresh air. She’s babysitting these two beasts this morning.”
“Beast. Rarrr.” Rory’s voice was clear.
Steph laughed. “Rory wants to be a lion, much to Dylan’s disgust.” Steph dropped her voice. “I nearly bought Rory a lion costume for Christmas, but I figured it might scar him for life when he realizes he has no chance and he has to put up with being a bear. Do you think that’s bad? I mean, people have gender-neutral children, but we can’t have species-neutral kids. They don’t have a choice.”
Theo laughed. “You overthink this far too much.”
“I do, don’t I? Maybe I’ll pick up a costume when I’m out today.” Theo heard her tell Rory to sit and have his breakfast, and then asked, “So what’s your question?”
“What do I get Zara for Christmas?”
“Oh, that’s a tough one. I don’t know her at all, you should maybe ask Dylan. He knows her the best out of us all, but even then, he hasn’t seen her for years, people change.”
“So I have to guess. Or buy her something neutral. What about jewelry?” Theo hadn’t seen Zara wearing any jewelry, though. No rings, bracelets or necklaces. This was going to be tougher than he thought.
She paused, and then said, “An engagement ring.”
“That is a great idea.” He would love to put a ring on her finger. “You don’t think it’s rushing things? She said she needed to take it slow.”
“I don’t think so, she buys into all our fated mates stuff, so she knows you’re the one. Get her a ring. Just don’t propose in front of everyone, because she might freak. Do it privately, the two of you. And not in bed, because that would be weird.”
He laughed. “I still need a gift for her to open.”
“Listen, I’ll think about it, and ask Dylan too.”
“Ask Dylan what?” Dylan said in the background.
Steph thought on her feet. “If Theo can borrow the ATV again some time.”
“Well, he still has the key,” Dylan said. “So he can help himself.”
Theo only caught the first part of what Dylan said. But he told Steph, “I don’t have the key, I hung it up when I said good night to Zara.”
“Theo left the key on the hook,” Steph relayed.
“Yes, I saw him,” Zara agreed.
Not knowing what was going on there was frustrating. “Is the key gone?”
“Dylan’s just checking. I’ll call you back.” The call ended and Theo was left waiting; he poured himself a coffee and stood staring at his phone. When it rang again, Dylan was on the other end.
“ATV’s gone.”
“What?” Theo said. “We shut it in the barn and hung the key up. If it’s gone, it has to be someone who knew it was there and that your door is always open.”
“Any ideas?” Dylan asked. “A few of the guys were at the yard when you came for it.”
“We need to narrow it down.”
“Then let’s start calling them, or visiting them. Someone had better have a damn good reason for this. I trusted them. All of them.”
“I’ll start calling now,” Theo said, and ended the call with Dylan.
There was a worm of an idea in Theo’s brain and he was hoping he had it wrong. But there was one person who knew that he was borrowing the ATV, knew that the door was never locked at Dylan’s, and had been acting in a way that made him the prime suspect.
He dialed Dominic’s number; it went straight to voicemail. Damn it. Grabbing his coat, he headed out of his cabin, jumped in his truck and sped down the track, and out onto the road. He was heading for Bear Bluff, and if he found Dominic had stolen the ATV, there was going to be trouble, Christmas or not.
The roads were busy, lots of people were out doing last-minute shopping. When he arrived outside Dominic’s place, Theo’s temper was cranking up to near-explosion level. Taking a moment, he tried to calm down. He had to hear the kid’s side of the story first. Hell, he might even be wrong about the whole thing.
Stepping out of the truck, he went to the door and knocked. No answer. He tried again, and then began calling, no answer at all.
Did that make Dominic guilty?
“What’s going on, Theo?” Theo turned to see Amanda coming up the road
, shopping bags in hand.
“I’m looking for Dominic. The ATV has gone missing from Dylan’s,” he quickly explained. “I’m worried Dominic has something to do with it. But I don’t know what. I mean he might want to sell it. Maybe he needs the money. He talked about getting out of here when his probation was over. But why do something this stupid now? We’re looking out for him, looking after him. Why would he do something like this, when he has no one else, no other family?”
Theo turned to bang on the door again, his frustration evident in the dent he left there.
“Hey, listen, I’m not sure what Dominic told you, and I am supposed to keep these things private.” She took a deep breath, looking around, before she spoke. “What makes you think he doesn’t have family?”
“There was a photo. When I asked him, he said his family were gone.”
“Maybe his family is gone. But perhaps they are not all dead,” Amanda said. “And if they aren’t all dead, then maybe he has gone to see someone he loves at Christmas.”
Theo’s shoulders sagged. He had no idea, but this would explain why Dominic always seemed so restless. “Do you maybe have an address?”
“I may be able to find it.” She winked at Theo. “I may have to go into work this morning, and I may leave that file on my desk while I go to the bathroom.”
Theo kissed Amanda on the cheek. “May I give you a ride?”
“You may.”
Chapter Fifteen – Zara
Meet me outside xoxo
Zara looked at the text; it was from Theo. Dylan and Steph were in the kitchen, each of them calling around to try to establish who had taken the ATV, which made slipping out of the house easy.
Theo was waiting for her by her car, his expression answering the question she was about to ask him. Something was wrong.
“Dominic took the ATV.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Almost a hundred percent.”
“Almost?” She asked. “You have to be absolutely sure before you take this to the police.”
“I know. Which is why I don’t want to. By leaving Bear Bluff alone, he’s broken his probation. Especially since he’s done so without telling anyone. If he got permission, he’d be good, but he’s run and he’s taken the ATV to get where he’s going.”
“Which is where?”
“Ash Springs. It’s about an hour away.” Theo ran his hand through his hair. “His brother is there in foster care.”
“What?” she asked, stunned. “I thought he didn’t have a family.”
“So did I.” He turned to her, his face twisted in sadness. “The family was involved in a car accident, a truck hit them. The two boys lived. But they were separated. Dominic’s younger brother, Robert, was injured badly, and had to spend a few months in the hospital. He wanted to see his brother, and so he ran, or at least tried to run. Dominic ended up assaulting Robert’s foster parent.”
“Oh, shit. So they sent him to juvie.” She hugged herself, knowing how much it must have hurt to be apart from his only surviving family member. She knew what that was like; she knew how deep it cut into your heart.
“They did, and when he got out, there was an order placed on him not to go near his brother.”
“Why?” Zara asked.
“Because his brother is in foster care, and they didn’t want Dominic going over there and causing trouble. They were afraid he would do something stupid. He threatened to kidnap Robert, and take him somewhere where they could be a family again.”
“Oh, that’s what he wants to do? It’s Christmas and he wants them to be together.” She nodded, it all made sense. “I know what it’s like to be alone at this time of year. I know how much you crave to be with someone who loves you.”
She hiccuped and a sob escaped. “I know what it’s like to know that will never happen because you screwed up.”
“Hey, you didn’t screw up, and you aren’t alone anymore.” He wrapped her in his strong arms, holding her close to him. Zara laid her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his big heart, and cried. She cried for all the times she’d worked ridiculous hours over the holidays, just so she wouldn’t have to think about how her mom had pushed her out of her life completely. She cried for Dominic and his brother. For the way they would never be a family again.
And she cried because the dam of emotion in her heart had finally had a hole kicked in it so big she would never be able to stop the flow again.
“OK. I’m OK.” She pulled back from him, and wiped her eyes.
“It’s OK to cry.”
“No, it’s not. Not when Dominic is about to ruin his life. He has a chance here, a chance to make a life for himself. So we have to get out there and find him. You have an address, right?” she asked.
“I do.”
“Then let’s go.” She turned to run back into the house for her purse. “Damn, I said I’d look after Dylan’s kids.”
“I’ll go alone,” Theo said. “I’ll go alone and bring him back.”
“No. I’ll go square it with Steph, tell her I’m sorry.” She stopped, looking up at the sky; it was a clear, beautiful morning, full of promise, even if it was freezing cold. “We have to tell Dylan.”
“Wait, no,” Theo said.
“We have to, he’ll understand, and they can’t spend the day looking for something they’ll never find. It’s Christmas Eve, they should be enjoying it with their kids.”
Zara ran into the house, and Theo followed. Together they stood in the kitchen explaining everything to Dylan and Steph.
“Are you sure?” Steph asked, sipping her coffee, looking pale.
“Yes. Well, almost.” Theo ran his hand through his hair, and shook his head. “I want to give him a chance, I want to see if we can find him and bring him back.”
“Before anyone else finds out?” Dylan asked.
“You know what’s going to happen as soon as the police find out he’s left Bear Bluff.”
“Yeah, if Declan had found him we might be able have some leeway, but if he gets caught outside of Bear Bluff, especially knocking on the door of the brother’s foster home, then he’s going to be in trouble.” Dylan turned to Steph. “What do you think?”
Steph stood up, and placed her hand on Dylan’s arm. “He’s one of ours, Dylan, we have to try to fix this.”
“We’ll go. You can deny knowing if the police come and question you,” Zara said. “How were you to know the ATV had been stolen?”
Dylan stood up. “I’ll stand by him, no matter what.”
“We don’t want there to be any setback on the project,” Theo said.
“But if you get caught, Zara, it might be difficult for you to join us. And what about your career?” Steph said.
“I’ll be the one who gets caught, if anyone does. He was my responsibility.” Theo said firmly.
“Theo…” Zara began.
“It’s OK. I can take the blame, and if I have to get a new job away from the project, then I’ll do it. I’ll be the bad influence, the one who covered everything up.” He put his arm around Zara and pulled her close. “Or maybe we start that family sooner than we thought and I’ll be the house husband.”
“I’m OK with that,” Zara said. Standing there, with Theo, a man who was willing to do whatever it took to get Dominic back here and stop him from getting into trouble, she knew he was a man she could depend on, a man she could trust, and a man she would be more than willing to spend the rest of her life with. And whose children she would bring into the world.
“Then let’s go,” Theo said.
“Keep us posted. Especially if you find him,” Dylan said.
“We will,” Zara said, grabbing her purse as they left the house.
“OK, this is not how I was planning on spending Christmas Eve,” Theo said, as he reversed his truck and then headed off down the track at an alarming speed, gravel spraying as he took the corner too fast, but the truck’s tires gripped the road and they sped along the b
ack roads and out onto the highway.
“You are going to drive more carefully when we have kids, right?” Zara asked.
“Yes. Of course. This is not how I usually drive, but we are hours behind him.”
“But Dominic is on an ATV, so he won’t go along the highway, surely?” she asked.
“My guess is he went over the mountain and then onto the back roads. The ATV isn’t as fast as the truck either, so we should make it there first, or at least not too far behind him. Ash Springs is a small town, so if he’s got any sense, he’ll dump it and walk, so no one takes any notice.”
“You’ve thought it through.”
“I’ve been kicking myself for not getting Dominic to open up to me. I should have been able to get him to talk, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Hey, don’t blame yourself. You tried.”
“Not hard enough,” Theo said regretfully.
“Hey, you are the man who left his newly found mate to go and spend the evening with him. Don’t you beat yourself up over it.”
“I know. It’s Christmas, though. I don’t want him to end up in a jail cell over the holidays. Because no court is going to sit through this, are they?”
“No,” she agreed, and stared sadly out of the window.
***
Ash Springs was a small town; it had a few shops and a primary school. That was it. If Dominic came roaring through here on an ATV, people would notice, so it stood to reason he would walk. But scouring the streets would be impossible, even in a town this small.
“What do we do?” Zara asked, after they driven around once, and then found where Robert’s foster home was. It was a new house, built on a small new housing development. There were kids running up and down the street, full of Christmas spirit. “I wonder if one of those is Robert?”
“I could go and see if I recognize Robert from the photo,” Theo said.
“You don’t think we should just wait?” Zara asked.
“For what?” Theo asked. “I was thinking of going to knock on the door and speaking to the foster parents.”
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