by Ally Summers
“Sheriff, this is enough, don’t you think?” I intervened.
But he wasn’t distracted. “Ma’am?”
“Willa. Her name is Willa.”
“I’d like to see her,” he announced.
“She’s still sleeping,” Gabi protested. “I really don’t want her to be disturbed.”
“Right. Right. Because of the fever?” He raised his eyebrows.
I put my hands on Gabi’s shoulders. There wasn’t anything we could do.
“She’s down the hall.” I pointed to the last room beyond the staircase.
“But please don’t wake her up.” Gabi attempted to lurch forward, but I slid my fingers through hers.
Whatever happened, I wanted her to know we were in this together. I would do whatever I could to make sure she was safe. I’d make sure Clarence didn’t charge her with anything. She shouldn’t have to pay for something I forced her to do.
We stood several feet behind Clarence. He opened the door. The room was dark. Gabi must have closed the blinds and curtains when she put the cub down for her nap. I peered past the sheriff’s shoulders. My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly.
Gabi squeezed my hand and didn’t let go. I could feel her rapid pulse beat against the flesh of my palm. Damn. She was terrified.
The sheriff took a step inside.
“Please don’t let him take her,” Gabi whispered. “He can’t take her, can he?”
“Shh.” I watched as Clarence moved to the other side of the bed to study the girl’s face. Her back was to us. She must have known we were there because her eyes opened and she started to cry.
“Mama,” she wailed. “Mama.”
Sheriff Parks looked uncomfortable. “Now don’t do that.” He waved his hands in front of her. It only terrified the cub more.
Gabi ran to the bed, scooping up the cub. “Shh. Shh. Mama’s got you. You’re ok, Willa. You’re ok. It was just a bad dream.”
Damn. The woman was fast on her feet and smart as hell. The cub wrapped her hands around Gabi’s neck and buried her face in her shoulder, muffling her sobs.
“I think that’s enough, Parks. Don’t you?” I looked at him from the other side of the bed.
He huffed. “I guess so. I’m sorry to have awakened your daughter, Ms. Aprils.”
Gabi ran her fingers through Willa’s hair. “I think you should leave, Sheriff.”
I’d never seen that man hang his head before, but that’s exactly what happened as we walked out of the room. I knew he hadn’t had a chance to see her face, but Clarence Parks wasn’t the kind of man to admit he was wrong. Or that he was ever bad at his job.
“I’ll show you out,” I volunteered.
Clarence returned his hat to the top of his head on the porch. “That child might not be the missing bear kid I’m looking for, but I still have a job to do.”
“Understood. I’ll ask my clan. If I hear anything I’ll let you know.”
He stopped at the top of the stairs, leaning hard on the hand railing. “I didn’t mean to scare her. Will you tell Ms. Aprils that for me?”
I folded my arms. “I will. I better get back inside.”
“You do that.” He took another step and sauntered to his patrol car. I waited until he had disappeared in the tree line before I walked back inside.
I found Gabi wiping away more tears.
“He’s gone,” I explained. I turned on a lamp close to the door.
“I can’t believe it.” Gabi looked at me. “I can’t believe any of this. That was so close. He didn’t see her face.”
I shook my head. “No. He didn’t.”
“If he has a missing child report that means there are going to be pictures of her in town. I can’t take her there. How am I supposed to keep her disguised in Twilight Hollow?”
I rubbed my beard. My eyes fell on hers.
“You can’t. I guess you’re going to have to stay here.”
Ten
Gabi
I blinked. Three times.
“Here? You want me to stay here? With you?”
Willa climbed out of my lap and ducked under the covers. She seemed happy under there. I watched her root around in a circle, making a funny lump.
“Until I have a way to sort out this mess. Yes. You’re staying here.”
“Are you asking me if I want to, or telling me?”
He huffed. “It makes sense. Don’t argue with me about it.”
“We had a meeting scheduled to talk about the Fall Festival. I’ve missed half of today’s appointments. Now I’m someone’s pretend mother. I’m lying to the sheriff. And you and I are…”
“We are what?” he challenged.
I didn’t like the way my body fired with heated lava every time he looked at me that way. It was as if I could fall into his arms and kiss him until I didn’t have a breath left in my body. My impulses to touch him and kiss him were completely illogical. And I was constantly fighting myself to do the right thing.
“I-I don’t know. But the porch—I mean. What is going on?”
He crossed the room toward me, sitting on the edge of the bed. Willa popped her head out of the covers.
“Hi little cub.” Suddenly Boone was like a giant teddy bear. And my heart melted a little more.
She smiled at him for the first time.
“Is it all right if we call you Willa?” I asked. She reached toward me and I scooped her up. “Just for a little while?” She nuzzled closer to me. I felt this incredible warmth wash through me. I wondered if it was something she did. If this little girl had a way of making me feel safe and happy.
Boone’s hand landed on my knee. “Stay here tonight. Because I want you to.” He paused. “And because you want to.”
I nodded. “All right.”
I heard Willa yawn. I looked at Boone. “I think she’ll go back to sleep. Her nap wasn’t long. Can you give me a few minutes?” I asked.
He ruffled Willa’s hair and stepped out of the room so I could try putting the cub down for a second nap. He turned the light off on his way out.
I combed her long locks and pulled the covers to her shoulders. After another yawn, her eyes closed. I watched her sleep for a few minutes and then quietly left to find Boone. He was in the kitchen.
I sighed when I saw him.
“Is she asleep?” he asked.
“Yes. Like a bear,” I teased.
He chuckled. “I guess so.”
“I don’t want to leave her, but if I’m going to stay, I need to get my things. And I still have work to do. The Fall Festival is going to happen. I can’t let everyone down. Not to mention, if this event fails, I’ll lose my job.” I buried my face in my hands. How had everything gotten so complicated so quickly?
“Take my truck.”
“What?”
“Just take it into town to pick up your car. I’ll stay here with the girl until you get your work done. I can run the orchard from here today.” I remembered walking past an office in the hallway earlier.
“And what about the sheriff? What happens when he wants to see her face? What happens when we both go to work tomorrow? What are we going to do? She’s helpless. What’s going to happen to her? None of this is going to work.”
I pushed away the tears, but they were dying to break free. I wasn’t going to cry in front of Boone. I wouldn’t break like that in front of him.
I’d never felt a pull like this. Every part of me was being yanked in a different direction. Work had always come first. I was proud of the events I had organized. But now there was a tiny person who depended on me. I hadn’t known her long, but in that time, I had fed her, bathed her, and held her. There was a budding bond I couldn’t ignore. It already seemed more important than making sure contracts were signed.
And then there was Boone. A man who had somehow made me feel like he was my whole world in only a few hours. I knew it wasn’t possible.
“Twilight Hollow is going to be filled with thousands of tourists. H
iding Willa in plain sight isn’t going to be a problem. I’m a clan alpha, something you don’t know anything about, but I promise I can handle a bear cub.”
Maybe I just needed fresh air to remember who I was. I needed to get back to doing my job to regroup.
“Keys?”
He reached in his back pocket. It was hard to ignore how the jeans fit him. The man filled them out in every way.
“Here you go. You know how to get back to the main gate?”
He dangled the truck keys in front of me just out of reach.
I leaned to take them, but instead Boone’s lips caught mine. He pulled me against his chest, kissing me hard. I struggled to breathe. I was losing gravity again. His tongue seared along mine. I sighed, feeling my body respond like jelly in his arms.
“Tonight,” he growled.
“What’s tonight?” I asked, finding enough space to back away. If I didn’t leave now, I might not get any work accomplished today.
“Tonight, I promise I’ll show you what it means to be my mate.”
The blood drained from my face and I lost my voice. My knees shook and my core hummed like it never had before. Holy shit.
I ran out through the garage before Boone could say another word.
I didn’t know why, but I believed he was a man of his word.
Eleven
Boone
The house already felt different without Gabi in it. I shook it off. I had seen the look in her eyes. She’d be back tonight.
I walked into the office. I had to call Charlene and let her know I was working from home for the rest of the day. I hadn’t checked my phone since lunch. There were probably ten missed calls.
I dialed the main building’s number.
“Boss, is that you?”
“Yes. I’m in the home office.”
“Did you see Sheriff Parks? He was in here questioning everyone. I didn’t have any choice but to let him through. Did he find you?”
“It’s ok, Charlene.” I didn’t need the sheriff to be any more suspicious than he already was. She had done the right thing. “He found me. Everything is fine.”
She exhaled. “That’s good. We don’t need anything to go wrong before the hay day. I’ve sold more tickets this year than I ever have before.”
“Good. Good.”
“I never saw that festival organizer again. She took the apple cart.”
Shit. I had forgotten about that.
“It’s parked at the base of the pinnacle.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. Gabi needed my truck. I volunteered it for the festival. The McScott contribution. Send Cutler to pick up the cart, and forward my calls here for the rest of the day.” I didn’t want any more questions. Charlene had worked the front desk at the farm for more years than I could remember, but she also liked to tally up gossip. That didn’t help any of us right now.
“You sound like you’re in a worse mood than usual.”
I groaned. “I’m not in a bad mood. There’s a lot of work to do to get ready for this damn thing.”
“All right, boss.”
“Thanks, Char. Call me if you have any problems.”
I hung up and sat behind my desk. I needed to bring Holden in.
Every alpha needed someone they could trust. Someone who could take over. For me, that second in command was my brother.
I knew he was somewhere on the farm. I hoped his phone was on. He had a bad habit of turning it off when he didn’t want to be bothered.
It rang a few times before he finally answered.
“What’s up, brother?”
“I don’t think we can talk on the phone. Can you meet me at the house?”
Holden growled. “I’m in the middle of something.”
“You’re always in the middle of something. Get up here. It’s important.”
“If it’s about the festival,” he started to argue.
I snarled. “It’s not about the damn festival, Holden. I need your help.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I hung up. I knew my brother wasn’t serious about much, but if I needed him, he was there for me.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive at the cabin. I heard his heavy footsteps in the hall and looked up to see him in the doorway. His boots were muddy and his shirt was covered in dirt. There were grease marks trailing along his forearm.
“What in the hell were you doing?” I asked.
“Trying to get the tractor ready for the hayride. I told you I was busy, but you had that alpha sound. So I left the tractor open, guts and all, and ran over here.”
“Why isn’t Hank working on the tractor instead of you?”
“Because Hank is stringing lights in the barn for the Harvest Ball,” he explained. “Everyone is doing ten jobs right now.”
I huffed. “I know. I know. It’s always like this in the fall.”
Holden nodded. “So, what’s the emergency?”
“Look in my guestroom.”
“Huh?”
I pointed. “The guestroom. But be quiet,” I warned.
I waited for him to take the short stroll a few doors down. He returned. His eyebrows high on his forehead.
“What the fuck is that?”
“A little girl. What do you think it is?”
He shook his head and slouched into the leather chair across from my desk. “What in the hell are you doing with a kid?”
“I found her this morning in the orchard. Right by the pinnacle.” I paused. “She’s a cub, man. She’s from one of the clans on the other side of Twilight Hollow. Axel McMasters reported her missing.”
“Then what are you doing with her? Give her back.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“She’s a gypsy cub.” My eyes settled on his while the recognition set in.
“Shit,” he whispered. I didn’t need to explain to my brother the implications of sending the cub back to her family. Her life would be ruined.
I pressed forward on the desk and rose to my feet. “It gets more complicated.”
“Already seems like we have a huge problem.”
I paced around the room. It seemed easier to think this way. “I met a woman this morning. Actually, she’s in from Atlanta. The festival coordinator.”
“And? What does she have to do with the cub?”
“Nothing. Except she knows about her. She was there right after I found her. And, it turns out...” I took a heavy breath. I was about to drop a bomb on him. “She’s my mate, Holden. I met my mate this morning.”
“Damn. That’s not what I thought you were going to say.”
I grinned. “You’re not the only one who is surprised.”
“Well, where is she? What happened? And can we at least have a drink if we’re talking fated mates and cubs?” He looked around the office and spotted the bar in the corner.
I walked over and poured us two straight bourbons, filling the glasses to the top. We needed them full. And we were probably going to need more than one by the time we finished this conversation.
Twelve
Gabi
I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to talk to local Twilight Hollow businesses about adding money and donations to the biggest raffle they’d ever had at the festival. Everything they funded would go back to the community. I was supposed to convince them to contribute to an education fund. I hadn’t even made it that far in my conversation at the McScott orchard. Every time I gave the pitch, I knew I sounded like a robot. My mind was anywhere but in the moment.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Willa and Boone.
I think it was Boone’s last statement that made my heart race. He was going to show me what it meant to be a mate. What in the hell did that mean? I was excited. I was scared. I was distracted.
I left another meeting not remembering if I had a signed contract or not. I slid behind the wheel of my rental car and turned on the air c
onditioning even though it was brisk outside. Every time I thought about Boone’s words my body instantly overheated.
I had two more appointments before I could pack up my bags at the AirBnB I had rented for the week.
The next stop was the bakery downtown. Sweet Treats was like something out of a movie. The bell jingled overhead when I walked inside.
“Hey there,” the woman behind the counter greeted me.
“Hi. I’m looking for Jackie,” I explained.
“You found her.” She grinned. She wiped the flour off her hands with a kitchen towel and met me at the low part of the counter. “How can I help you?”
“I’m Gabi Aprils, the event coordinator for this year’s festival.”
“Oh, well in that case, how about an apple muffin or pumpkin croissant on the house?”
I shook her off, even though it sounded delicious. I was suddenly aware of how precious the seconds were between now and when I made it back to the McScott orchard. I was willing to cut some meetings short.
“No. Thank you. I just needed to give you your festival packet.” I handed her a folder with instructions on everything she needed to do for her social media sites. “Everything is in there, and if you have any questions, my business card is in the pocket.”
“Thank you.” She flipped it open. “This is impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever had a file before.” She giggled.
“And the other thing I wanted to discuss with you is the grand prize giveaway this year. As you know, the festival is a huge tourism driver for the town.”
She nodded as I went through my speech.
“If you could contribute to the scholarship fund, it would be huge for the raffle and great for your business. With some feel-good stories like these, I’m hoping we can start to make Twilight Hollow a national name when it comes to local festivals.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I don’t mind helping with a scholarship fund, but I don’t know if everyone really wants all this attention.”
“Why not?” I asked. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it? Drive in an economic boost for all the businesses, and maybe add to your population a little bit every year.”