“I know it’s been a shock, but it’s over.”
“We’ve been on a roller-coaster of emotions for nothing. Just so that man could get his hands on drugs. No wonder he was shocked to see me. Liam wouldn’t have known what his dad looked like. That’s what he gambled on.”
“At least no one got hurt.” Julius flinched. No one had been physically hurt, but both Liam and Catherine had been emotionally wounded.
“How could Mike have told this man about the drugs?” Catherine asked.
“People talk. He probably bragged about how he had some drugs stashed away.” Julius put his arm around Catherine and led her to the bed, her blue eyes startling against her pale skin.
“Mike should have told the police it was hidden there,” Catherine said sharply.
“Shh. Wait until we have all the facts before you blame Mike.” Julius held her close.
“You’re right.” She sighed. “If anything has come out of this whole sorry episode, it’s that I need to find Hector. Liam and Mike both need to know what happened to their dad and why he never came back to see them.”
“Are you prepared for what you might find?” Julius asked gently.
“Yes. Anything. I need to know the truth.”
Julius turned her to him. “The truth is sitting here, right in front of me.”
Catherine stroked his face and kissed his lips. “I love you, Julius. That is my truth.”
“I love you, Catherine. So very much.” He kissed her, pouring all his love, all his need, into that one kiss. He would stand beside her, no matter what she found. Because she was his Catherine, and always had been.
Chapter Nineteen – Cath
“Are you sure?” Cath asked Liam when he returned to the hotel after accompanying Declan to the sheriff’s station.
“Yes. Frank Millar was behind the drug smuggling operation Mike was involved with. The drugs in the sofa were his. Knowing where they were hidden, he visited the store a couple of times to case the joint, although I don’t remember him. But he never saw a chance to retrieve them. When he saw the article in the papers about the egg hunters, he couldn’t let it rest. Somehow, maybe from Mike, he realized I was estranged from my father, which gave him the idea of how he could get into my private apartment.”
“And so, he decided to impersonate him?” Cath asked.
“Yes.” Liam sighed. “He didn’t know you were in town. He figured he’d manage to dupe me long enough to get what he came for.”
“Why didn’t he just break in?” Julius asked.
“Because for the first few months Liam moved to Bear Creek, he hardly left the place,” Cath replied.
“True. Plus I fitted a state of the art alarm system as the business grew. I don’t want anyone breaking in and stealing my stock.” Liam put his arm around his mom’s shoulders and spoke gently, “I don’t believe Mike was directly involved in this. He didn’t plan it. And as far as I can tell, he didn’t know what was happening.” Liam kissed the top of her head.
Cath nodded, relieved it was all over, and Mike had only been guilty of not telling the truth about the drugs. “Stupid boy.”
Liam nodded. “I’m going to tear the store apart to make sure there are no other hidden surprises.”
“Or you could just ask Mike,” Julius suggested.
Cath agreed. “I’ll go and visit him. Tell him what’s happened and ask him if there’s anything else we need to know about.” She took hold of Liam’s hand. “We have to find a way to trust him once more. And to force him to take responsibility for himself.”
“I trust your judgment, Mom. You have always made the right decisions.” Liam stretched. “Home.” He swung around to face Julius. “Good catch, the whole bird thing.”
“Oh, I really thought you’d swallowed Frank,” Cath said as they walked out of the hotel.
“I was tempted to bite his head off,” Julius told them as he waved to Adam. “I’ll take you home, and then come back to take over from Adam.”
Liam rode his motorbike back to Bear Creek, with Cath and Julius following behind in Julius’s car. “What a day!” Cath was still trying to get her head around it all.
“What a day indeed,” Julius agreed. “You certainly have turned my life upside down.”
Cath gave a short laugh. “It all began when you walked into my life.”
“I think you walked into my life,” Julius corrected.
“This time,” Cath reminded him. “But you found me first.”
“I did.” Julius nodded. “What happens about Hector?”
“What about him?” Cath asked.
“Do you think Liam will want to find his father too? This might have stirred up a need to know what happened to his father.” Julius turned onto the main street and parked outside the store. It was midafternoon, and the sun was shining. A perfect day in Bear Creek.
“He might. And if he does I’ll support him.” Cath turned to face Julius. “The anger and disappointment I held on to for so long have gone now. We all need closure.”
Julius reached out and stroked her cheek. “If he hadn’t left, we might never have found each other. And this is right. This is real, I promise you.”
“I know that now. I understand why Hector left. He couldn’t live a lie. But it was a lie he made.” She shook her head, it was like a puzzle she would never be able to solve. “He said I belonged to another, and he was right. My love for Hector is a pale shadow of my love for you, Julius. And I do love you.” She leaned forward and kissed him.
“I love you, Catherine. With all my heart.” He leaned back and looked at her, the amber flecks of his eyes bright as his love shone through. “Always.”
“Let’s go and get some of Liam’s coffee and fill Leona in on what’s happened. And Beverly, I’m sure news of what happened spread to the grocery store.” Cath got out of the car and they walked hand in hand across to Bear Creek Mountain Store.
Julius opened the door, and Cath went inside, immediately sensing something was wrong. “Liam?”
Liam was standing next to Leona and Beverly, when they heard Cath’s voice, they all turned to face her. “Mom. There’s someone here.”
Cath frowned. “Who?” It couldn’t be Mike, he was not due for release for months.
Liam stepped back, and she saw the face of the man she’d once loved. “Hector.” There was no mistaking the face of Liam and Mike’s father. He looked the same, only grayer, much grayer. Hector was a lot older than Cath. When they were together, the age gap hadn’t seemed so big. Now it did.
“Cath.” He smiled, the smile she remembered. “I didn’t know you were here in Bear Creek until I introduced myself and Beverly here told me.”
“He has Liam’s eyes,” Beverly said. “I figured this was the real Hector.”
“What are you doing here?” Cath asked, her fingers holding on to Julius’s so tight she might cut off his blood circulation.
“I saw the article about Liam in the papers. Chip off the old block.” Hector’s eyes looked up at his son with admiration. “I thought it was time I came by and said hello.”
“You thought it was time?” Cath asked in disbelief.
“Yes.” He nodded and looked at Julius. “I didn’t want to intrude on your lives.”
“Our lives?” Cath frowned. “You left us. You left me and your children, with just a note saying we weren’t mates and I belonged to another.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.” Hector looked up at Liam. “I’m sorry I missed you growing up. But when I saw Julius that day…” His face crumpled and then he recovered and said, “I knew I had to step aside and let you be with your true mate.”
“You saw Julius?” Cath asked, even more confused. “When? The day we married?”
“No, later than that,” Julius admitted. “I sometimes used to come by where you lived… Just to see you.”
“And you met Hector?” Cath asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We didn’t meet.” Julius shook his head
and held on to her tightly. “It was a passing glance.”
“A fraction of a second, but I knew then the mistake I’d made. I saw the unmistakable look in his eyes. He was your true mate,” Hector said. “I left so that you could be happy. With your true mate. And here you are.”
“Dad,” Liam said the word as if it was foreign, unknown to him. “Mom and Julius have only just met.”
Hector’s face paled. “But you were there, twenty-five years ago.”
“When I saw you. I realized I had to walk away. Let Catherine be happy. I didn’t want to come between you both.” Julius’s voice cracked with emotion.
Cath sighed as she understood how all the pieces fit together. “We’re together now, Julius. That’s all that matters.” She turned to face him, her heart heavy with the weight of the past.
“Why don’t we go and get some coffee?” Liam said to his father, with a backward look at Cath. He smiled, at her. “You and Julius might need a private moment.”
“Good idea,” Beverly said brightly.
Hector nodded and followed Liam toward the stairs leading up to the apartment above. Beverly started to follow, but then came across to Cath and Julius. She hugged Cath tightly, before stepping away.
“Are you OK?” Beverly asked. “I know Liam is in shock. I mean you wait a lifetime for your dad to show up, and then you get two in two days.”
Cath nodded. “I’m OK.” She looked up at Julius. “We’re OK.”
“Good. Will you come up when you’re ready?” Beverly asked. “Liam needs you.”
Cath reached out and touched Beverly’s cheek. “He has you now.”
“He’s always going to need his mom,” Beverly replied.
“Beverly’s right,” Julius said. “He’s always going to need you.”
“What about you?” Cath asked.
“I’m always going to need you more.” He hugged her close, as Beverly left them alone, and Leona began sorting through boxes of new stock.
“This is our beginning.” Cath looked into his eyes. “We’ve had a long journey to get here. But we have the rest of our lives ahead of us.”
“And I know just the place for us to live. It’s a house on the hill, halfway between Bear Creek and Bear Bluff. It has a porch, where we can sit and grow old together watching the world around us.”
She kissed his lips. “I’d like that. Although I don’t know if I want to just sit and watch the world. I want to be part of it. I want to help at Will’s project. I want to make a difference. This is our chance, a second chance, let’s live life to the full.”
“Whatever you say, as long as you marry me.” He pulled back away from her. “Or are you still married to Hector?”
“No, I divorced him on the grounds of abandonment. I never heard from him again.” Cath slid her arms around his neck. “We’ve come so close to being together. Our lives have brushed up against each other. But I don’t want to live with regrets.”
“Me neither.” He kissed her lips. “But I promise you, I’m never going to let you go again.”
“I can live with that,” Cath said and kissed his lips.
“True love’s kiss, that’s enough to break any curse,” Julius murmured.
“From now on we live a life that’s blessed.” Cath rested her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, knowing this was where she belonged. Their lives had led them down winding paths, but they had arrived at their destination.
Epilogue
“Two weddings in a month,” Leona said as she helped Cath zip up her dress.
“I hope you’ll be as happy as we are.” Beverly handed Cath her bouquet of flowers, made up of roses and forget-me-nots. An image of herself standing outside the town hall, waiting for Hector, came to her. What if she’d turned around that day and seen Julius?
But she didn’t. They’d come to terms with the way they were swept apart that fateful day. Might-have-beens and what-ifs had no place in their future together.
“I hope so too,” Cath told Beverly. “You and Liam deserve every happiness.”
Beverly looked down at the gold band on her finger. “I love you like the morning sun as it peaks over the mountains, giving warmth and life to the world below,” Beverly recited a line from the vows Liam had written for her on their wedding day.
“Liam has the heart of a poet,” Hector said, standing in the doorway.
All three women turned to look at him. “Hello, Hector,” Cath greeted the father of her children.
“May I speak to you alone, Cath?” Hector asked.
“Of course,” Cath replied nervously.
“Don’t worry, I’ve only come to wish you happiness,” Hector reassured her.
Leona, Beverly, and Sandra, who were there to help her get ready and give moral support, left the room. Cath turned to face Hector. “Do you remember I had a bunch of forget-me-nots the day we got married?”
“I do.” Hector smiled sadly. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for…everything.”
“It’s in the past.” She looked down at her flowers. “Where did you go?”
“To the mountains.” He looked out of the window toward the Bluff. “I lived as an eagle for the first few years. Lost myself to the wind and the elements. I’m not proud of the way I behaved. But I was always a free spirit. I want you to know that I honestly loved you. I thought that I would never meet my mate, but I could be happy and have a life with you. Right or wrong, I made my choice to leave because I thought it was best for you.”
“I didn’t know.” Had he mourned his family?
“How could you, Cath?” Hector walked to the window. “The wild still calls to me now.”
“But you won’t leave again?” Cath asked. “You’re going to stay and build a relationship with your sons. Both of them.”
“I am,” Hector said. “If you want me to.”
“If I want you to?” Cath asked.
“I came here not knowing the full details. Certainly not expecting to learn you’d spent so many years alone.” He turned to face her. “I don’t want to hurt you again, Cath.”
“The only way you’ll hurt me, is by hurting our children. I’m over the rest of it. I’m over you,” Cath admitted.
“Be happy,” Hector said as he slipped out of the room, leaving Cath breathless, as sorrow threatened to bubble up inside her. She let it go, this was her day, the happiest day of her life, after the birth of her children.
“OK?” Sandra asked gently, coming back into the room.
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Cath crossed the room and looked at herself in the mirror.
“You look beautiful. And Julius is out there waiting for you.” They were getting married on the grounds of The Catherine Hotel, with the picturesque Gothic lodge as a backdrop to the ceremony. “Hector didn’t upset you?”
Cath shook her head. “Not really. He still makes me want to slap him for leaving. Even if he did think he was doing the right thing. But I’m not going to waste one more moment of my life on him. I have something special. And he’s waiting for me.”
Cath swung around, the full skirt of her wedding dress skimming the floor. The ivory silk dress, with its fitted bodice, might be a little much for a woman her age, but she didn’t care. Just like Beverly, she wanted a wedding of her dreams, because this time around she knew it was forever.
“Ready, Mom?” Liam smiled broadly as she met him downstairs in the hotel lobby. He handed her a glass of champagne. Cath had decided against bridesmaids, or matrons of honor, all she wanted was her son to walk her down the aisle.
She took a sip of champagne. “Perfect.”
“It’s going to be hard giving you away,” Liam said. “You’ve been the hand that’s guided me all my life. The rock I always knew I could cling to.”
“I still am,” Cath assured him.
“Liam. Cath.” they looked up as the door opened and Brad entered the reception area. Next to him walked a man in a pale gray suit.
“Mike!” Cath
rushed forward and hugged her son. “This is a surprise.”
“A good one, I hope?” Mike asked cautiously.
“It’s always good to see you,” Cath assured him. “But how?”
“Declan pulled some strings, since Mike was so forthcoming with information on Frank Millar. That guy is going away for a long time. He was in charge of a major drug ring, which is now busted.” Brad nodded to Liam. “We’re going to join the others.”
“I’ll speak to you later,” Cath told Mike.
“Good luck, Mom. Julius is a good man.” Mike left the building, and Cath gulped down her champagne, the bubbles tickling her nose. “Maybe we were cursed, and true love’s kiss lifted it.”
“Maybe we were, Mom. Or maybe fate had its own plan for us. If Mike hadn’t messed up, neither of us would have come to Bear Creek. And then where would we be.” He kissed her cheek. “Julius will be thinking we’re not coming.”
Cath nodded. “I’m ready.”
As she walked on her son’s arm, out of the hotel which bore her name, she was filled with joy. Julius was, at last, going to marry his Catherine, and his Catherine was going to marry the man of her dreams.
Cath looked up as she neared the altar. Her eyes locked with Julius’s and the world stopped spinning. As they said the words I do, and Julius kissed his bride, Cath held onto him. He was her second chance at life, at love. And she was never going to let him go.
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Cursed Bear Page 12