“That’s why I still aim to put Ginny through college.” He hugged his mom. “Let me make sure at least one of us has a shot at making a real difference.”
“Oh, Jed,” his mom said, her voice breaking. “Do you have any idea how much of a difference you’ve already made to this family?”
He buried his face in his mom’s shoulder, just as he had when he was a kid. Her hair might be grayer, her face wearing wrinkles etched deeper through the stress of the hand life had dealt her. But she was still one of the strongest women he had ever met. “I love you, Mom.”
“And I love you, Jed. Now, Liam is working for the Tullivers for a couple of hours and Darla and Kes are probably out in the meadow, so sit down and tell me all about this woman of yours. And when can I meet her?”
***
Dinner had been the usual loud affair; it was the one thing he had missed about his family while he was working away. His brother and sisters always shared their day with their mom and dad, it was family time.
“So, Jed. Mom says you have found your mate?” his dad asked slowly.
“You haven’t?” Darla asked excitedly. “Who is it? Do we know her?”
“Her name is Amanda, she’s old Mrs. Orson’s granddaughter. From over Pinehill way.”
“I remember her. We used to think she was a witch,” Kes said. “Do you remember, that time she made us gingerbread and we thought she was the witch from Hansel and Gretel?”
The two girls collapsed with laughter. “We were sure she was going to open her big oven and shove us in.”
“Oh my, did all of my children drive that poor woman mad?”
“She liked seeing us,” Kes insisted. “She always seemed lonely.”
“Her husband died and Amanda visited rarely, must get lonely on the mountain when you’re old,” Jed said.
“So you never met Amanda when she visited?” his mom asked.
“Oh, how romantic if you had.” Kes sighed, along with Darla, caught up in teenage fantasies of love. “All those years you were fated to be together, and you never knew.”
“Come on, eat up, you two.” His mom winked at Jed. “Fate works in strange ways. Maybe you weren’t meant to meet then, but now you are perfect for each other.”
“You are still a romantic,” his dad said. Jed hoped that he and Amanda would never have to go through the same stresses his parents had, but if they did, they would still look at each other with love and hope.
“I just want them all to be as happy as we are,” his mom answered, leaning forward to kiss his dad.
“Yuck. You two should not do that in public. And at the dinner table too,” Kes said.
“That makes you on dish duty,” their dad said, with his lopsided smile.
Jed tucked into his dinner. He was happy to be home. His family meant everything to him. He only hoped Amanda liked them too.
“You look happy, Jed,” his dad said.
“I am starting to get there.”
Today really had felt like a new beginning, and he liked it.
Chapter Seven – Amanda
“I thought you would want me to go out to the house renovation with Jed,” Amanda was saying to Dylan when Jed walked in.
Dylan looked up from his paperwork. “I am going to go over there with Jed. I managed to talk to the timber merchants last night and they are delivering the first load of wood. I want to get started on the place. So you will have to stay here and hold down the fort.” He saw her face drop. “Sorry.”
Amanda turned to leave, her eyes catching Jed’s and sensing his disappointment, which made her feel ridiculously happy. And just plain ridiculous, because he had caught her in the midst of trying to persuade Dylan to let them spend more time together. Ever since yesterday, her cabin in the mountains had seemed lonelier, her life emptier, and only one man could change that, and he was standing here in front of her.
His dark auburn hair was wet, slicked back as if he had just stepped out of the shower. He wore a faded black T-shirt with some band name she had never heard of across the front, and faded blue jeans, which were tight in all the right places.
Come to think about it, Dylan was probably right not to let them go back to the house together. Jed might end up showing her more than just his bear. She smiled to herself, and he smiled with her.
“I glad I make you smile. That’s a good thing, right? Or are you laughing at me?” he asked, his expression changing and he looked down at himself, his self-assuredness gone.
“No. I was thinking…” She smiled openly. “I was thinking just how damn sexy you look this morning.” She blushed, what had come over her?
Jed looked down at his clothes again. “As my mate, I have to believe you. But personally, I don’t see it.”
“Good, that means you aren’t conceited. Although it might mean you are blind. You do have mirrors in your house, don’t you?” she asked.
“We do. And I also have two sisters at home, who always make sure I am well-grounded when it comes to my looks. And the red hair in school was enough to put most girls off.”
Amanda glanced into Dylan’s office, to see him collecting plans or something off his desk, so she sidled up to Jed and said, “I would love to run my fingers through your hair.” She hesitated and then reached up, feeling the wet slick strands in her fingers.
He bent his head down, his mouth close to hers. She licked her lips, longing for him to kiss her, but this wasn’t the time. She couldn’t work out why she found him quite so intoxicating, but she did. Letting his hair go, she said, “You can tell your bear, his fur is softer.”
“He can hear,” Jed whispered in her ear, the hairs on her neck standing on end.
She cleared her throat and stepped back. “Does he hear everything?”
“Mostly.” Jed grinned. “We’re one and the same. One consciousness in two bodies, almost.”
“That is going to take some getting used to,” Amanda said.
“OK,” Dylan said, coming out of his office. “I’m ready to go, and you have my cell number if you need me.”
“I do,” she said.
“Then we will see you later.” Dylan looked from one to the other of them and then left them alone in the office, going out to the truck.
“He is subtle,” Amanda said.
“He is,” Jed agreed, his body leaning into hers.
“So… I guess I’ll be eating my picnic lunch alone,” she said.
“You brought lunch?” he asked.
“Of course, I figure the best way to a bear’s heart is through his stomach.”
“Ahh, so you planned to feed my bear, not me?” he asked.
“You have me,” she said. “Now I’ll have to eat on my own.”
“Or save some for after work. I could come back to your place and we could share your picnic on the mountain.” He looked outside. “It promises to be a perfect day.”
“Yes. Yes, it does,” she agreed.
“Then I’ll see you back here.” He leaned forward and quickly pressed his lips to her cheek, before leaving the office.
Amanda stood still, watching him get into the truck, and then watched the truck disappear from view. She sighed and turned to tackle her inbox, which had doubled overnight, she was sure.
***
The day passed slowly. As a new startup, the phone didn’t exactly ring off the hook; in fact, the only time it did ring was when Dylan called to check if everything was OK, and to ask her to phone the local hardware store. He needed some more goods added to the order that was arriving tomorrow. Amanda was sure they were going to bankrupt the store of its four-inch nails, but Jeff at the store seemed to have it all under control.
Amanda found herself counting down the hours until Jed was due back at the office. At lunchtime she resisted the urge to go and check on them; Dylan had left her in charge and she couldn’t abandon her post. So she sat outside in the sunshine, and ate alone, listening to the sound of birds in the trees, and thinking she must have been trul
y blessed when her grandma left the cabin to her.
She knew she could be happy here, with Jed. If only her past stayed in the past. She sighed, looking up at the vivid blue sky, watching soft cottony clouds float by. If she wanted a life with Jed, she wanted to know all about his past. She needed to know there were no sword-wielding skeletons in his closet that would burst out one day to tear their lives apart.
That meant she had to be truthful with him too. She had to tell him about her past. She had to tell him about Mason. Damn him.
Her appetite suddenly gone, she packed her sandwiches away and stowed them back in the cooler with the rest of the picnic. She had wanted this evening with Jed to be perfect, but the ghost of her old lover had risen up to spoil it.
Putting the cooler into her car, she headed back to the office and worked hard, using sorting out the paperwork in her inbox as an excuse not to think about how she was going to tell Jed she had been in jail.
Amanda felt like a hypocrite. When she had first met Jed, she had been put off of him due to the incident over the lunch money stolen from a thirteen-year-old boy. But she had been charged with something worse. A six-month prison sentence, the hardest months of her life, had been handed down for the crime she was accused of.
That crime would follow her, her whole life; it was the reason she had changed her name. Well, one of the reasons. The other was that she hoped to leave Mason behind. If he couldn’t find her, he couldn’t cause her any more trouble. Not that she expected him to come looking for her. After all, he had gotten what he wanted from her, and then left her to rot in jail.
The sound of the truck arriving was a welcome relief. Having Jed around consumed her senses, leaving no room in her head for another man. She itched to go out and meet them, but she wanted Dylan to know she had been working hard. Although her empty inbox should be proof enough.
“How did it go?” she asked as her boss came in, and she hid her disappointment that Jed wasn’t with him. “Everything OK?”
“You mean where is Jed?” Dylan asked.
She pressed her lips together. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yes.” He grinned. “I dropped Jed off at home, he wanted to shower before your hot date.”
“It’s not a hot date,” Amanda snorted.
“Are you sure?” Dylan asked.
“Positive, there is nothing hot about a picnic.”
“You never know. Some sandwiches, a glass of wine…” Dylan smiled at her. “Go. Get home and have a great evening.”
“Thanks, Dylan.”
“Oh, any messages?” he asked.
“On your desk,” she replied, grabbing her purse and heading out of the door. “Any queries, give me a call.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, I might be interrupting something,” he replied, sitting down at his desk.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, poking her head around the door.
“On time.”
“Of course,” she said, swinging around and heading for the door. She practically skipped out to her car, her tiredness slipping away. This was going to be a good evening.
Getting into her car, she started the engine, put it in drive and began the short journey home, singing along to whatever song came on the radio. It didn’t matter what it was, everything sounded better, everything looked better. Doesn’t it always when you are in love?
Her mood slipped. Yes, it always did when you were in love. That was how she had been sucked in by Mason. All because she was totally smitten by him, and she thought he returned her affection.
How wrong she was. That led her to another thought. Was she wrong about Jed?
Or would he be wrong about her? Would her confession break up their new relationship? She reminded herself about the bond. But it was no good.
“To hell with it,” she said out loud. “That man is not going to ruin my life anymore.”
She turned the radio up louder and sang tunelessly along, not caring if half of Bear Bluff heard her. She was happy, she was in control, and she was going to have a great date, with a great man.
And God help anyone who might stop her.
Chapter Eight – Jed
A picnic. It sounded innocent enough, only he didn’t want it to be innocent. He wanted it to be, well…
“That is what you are wearing on a date?” Kes asked as he came out of his bedroom.
“Yes.” He looked down at his clothes. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Did you actually change when you came home from work?” she asked, folding her arms and leaning back against the wall.
“Yes,” he said, emphasizing a nod.
“I doubt Amanda will be able to tell. This is supposed to be a romantic picnic, not a working lunch.”
“Thank you so much for your input, Kes, but this will have to do.” He walked past her and started down the stairs.
“Don’t you at least have some jeans that aren’t so worn?” Kes asked. “Or a shirt that doesn’t have a heavy rock band on the front?”
He turned midway down the stairs and said, “No. I don’t. It might surprise you to know I have better things to spend my money on than trendy shirts.”
Kes let her hands drop to her sides. “Sorry, Jed, I just wanted you to look your best.”
“Hey.” He held out his arms and she came and hugged him. “I appreciate your advice, but I’m afraid until you have all been though college, worn jeans and T-shirts are going to be all I can afford. I want you all to have a shot at a better life.”
“I know.” She kissed his cheek. “I hope Amanda knows what kind of a man she’s lucky enough to have as a mate.”
He laughed and let her go, starting down the stairs again. “If she doesn’t, she soon will. Poor, with no fashion sense.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Kes called after him.
“I know,” Jed said as he reached the bottom of the stairs and went to the kitchen to say goodbye to his mom.
“Don’t you look handsome.” His mom looked up and smiled, a sad look in her eyes. “Listen, Jed, I know you said you would pay for all of your sisters and Liam to go to college. But Kes should get a full scholarship, and Liam isn’t sure about college. It’s not his thing and old Mr. Tulliver said he would take him on at the farm.”
“If that happens, great. But I promised them all. And I intend to keep that promise. I asked Dylan today to let me have as many hours’ overtime as he can. I’ll work hard, and make it work.”
His mom smiled. “Always have an answer, don’t you?” She went back to kneading the dough on the table in front of her. “Say hi to Amanda for me. We can’t wait to meet her.”
“I was going to ask you about that.” He hesitated. “How about I bring her home tomorrow?”
“Of course. Invite her over for dinner. I’ll send Liam out with his rod to catch some fresh fish, and ask him to see if Mr. Tulliver has any of his wonderful potatoes. We can have fish and chips.”
“I’ll ask Amanda.” He kissed his mom goodbye and left her mentally going through what they would have for dinner tomorrow. Going out of the house he breathed in the fresh mountain air, and then headed across the road and up along the lower slopes, following a trail he had used so many times he knew it by heart.
As kids, they may not have had much money, but they had each other. He and his brother and sisters would play on these lower slopes. Sometimes as bears, sometimes as humans. Hide and seek was a great game whatever form your body took.
Slipping under the trees, he breathed in the scent of pine, and then shifted into his bear, running through the prickly needles, trying to keep his balance when the ground slipped away from him as he ran. This was his idea of life. Freedom.
He didn’t mind how hard he had to work as long as the hours in between were filled with things he liked to do, like running on four paws, and visiting his mate.
Faster, his need to be with her building up inside him, until he struggled to breathe, he raced across the lower slopes, the trees givin
g way to open meadows, where he caught glimpses of the setting sun. This was going to be a picnic by candlelight.
Romantic, after all.
He smelled the wood smoke before he saw the fire. Breaking out of the trees, he saw she had set out a blanket on the ground. The food was on a low wooden table, and on the opposite side there was a small open fire. Enough to keep the chill evening air off them, and to give them enough light to see by.
Shifting back to his human form, he walked towards her. She sensed him, her head lifting and then she turned to watch him, a small smile on her face. “There you are. I was going to start without you.”
“Sorry. My sister was giving me fashion advice.”
“Really?” Amanda asked.
He grinned. “Yeah, that’s pretty much the look she gave me.”
Amanda laughed. “You know, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
“Or I could strip off my jeans and T-shirt,” he offered, watching her eyes drop down to his crotch, and then she blushed. Which he liked, a lot.
“No, that’s OK. I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate on eating if you were naked.” She turned and resolutely headed back towards the blanket she had laid out. “And I am starving. So sit, eat, and enjoy the evening.”
She passed him a plate, and he helped himself to roast beef sandwiches, some salad, and some kind of fancy things in pastry cases that seemed to melt in his mouth. “These are delicious. I’ll have to get the recipe so my mom can make some.”
Amanda coughed, and he wondered what he had said wrong. Maybe it was the passing the recipe to his mom that had done it. He forgot he was a grown man, and that was not what a grown man should say. He should be independent, not living under the same roof as his parents and brother and sisters.
“Sorry,” she said, recovering herself.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m not exactly a good prospect, am I? I don’t have a penny to my name, and can’t even provide for you. I mean, as a first date, I feel kind of cheap.”
His Bear's Necessity: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Return To Bear Bluff Book 2) Page 4