by PA Vachon
“Hey, babe. I missed you.”
“You too, love,” Johnny replied, smiling slightly and heading towards me. He gave Trevor a chin lift in greeting and then bent at the waist and took my face between his hands before capturing my lips in a sweet, soft kiss.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I deepened the kiss, trying to get closer to his warmth. Being in the hospital was like being in a walk-in cooler all the time. They didn’t seem to believe in heaters. And two thin ass blankets just weren’t cutting it. Johnny’s left hand went to the back of my head. Threading his fingers through my hair, he maneuvered me into a better position to take our kiss even deeper, slowly swiping his tongue into my mouth where we tussled for dominance. I heard Trevor loudly clear his throat to get our attention. Giggling, I pulled back and looked at Trevor. Johnny groaned softly at the back of his throat, which caused my giggle to become a full-blown laugh.
“Man, must you do that in front of me?” Trevor asked in slight disgust.
“Well, yeah,” Johnny replied on a husky laugh. Grabbing my hand, he sat on the edge of the bed and draped his other arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer and hugging me to his side.
“Johnny, I have something to tell you,” Trevor started to say. I could feel dread rising in me, knowing what he was about to say and hoping that Johnny didn’t feel as if he had been cheated out of finishing his mission.
“I have to say something to Regan first, if that’s ok?” Johnny said. “Regan, sweetheart. I’m done with the mission. I left Janet’s hodge podge of bears. I chose you, you and Rory.”
“Why? How did you decide?” I asked him in confusion. Did he already know about Janet?
“I was driving back to the house and I knew that I needed to be just with you and Rory. I mean, I still haven’t even met my daughter yet… And I was worried about Janet and my mission. Now I see exactly what I need to do,” Johnny explained. “I need to be with my family.”
“I have waited two years to hear those words from you, but you need to listen to Trevor,” I said.
“What’s up, man?” Johnny asked Trevor.
“Janet’s dead, Johnny,” Trevor said without preamble. “She and several others attacked us as we were sleeping early this morning. I didn’t have any other choice.”
“Well, of course you didn’t,” Johnny replied. “I would have done the same if she’d come for my mate and my family.”
“I know you would,” Trevor said.
“Trevor, I have to tell you something as well,” Johnny said. “I found Lisa at the house when I went for my things.”
“What was she doing there?” Trevor asked.
“I don’t really know. Jeff was there too,” Johnny said. “That’s why I look like this. We fought. But you need to know, I think she was there to start trouble.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Trevor replied. “I’ll talk to her the next time we go to visit the house.”
“Yeah, that isn’t going to work,” Johnny said. “I found her at the house, but she was dead.”
“Dead? What? How?” Trevor sputtered. “What the hell am I going to tell Rebecca?”
“Calm down. It didn’t look like she suffered,” Johnny lied, hoping to spare Trevor from having to tell Rebecca the grisly details of what he’d seen. “I know that’s no consolation.”
Trevor stared at Johnny for several seconds, still in disbelief. Then he turned for the door and left without a backward glance. His thoughts in turmoil, he left the hospital and went to find Rebecca.
Johnny watched Trevor leave. He felt bad about the way he had blurted out the news. But what else could he have said? Lisa was dead.
“Baby, don’t worry about Trevor,” I said. “My dad is on his way here with Rory.”
“I’m ready to meet my girl,” Johnny said through the emotions clogging his throat.
“I figured you would be,” I said. “I get to finally go home today as well.”
“That’s great news!” Johnny said. “Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I was waiting for Trevor to leave,” I said. “Plus I wanted you to be prepared for my dad’s arrival.”
I started to laugh, knowing that Johnny was quietly freaking out on the inside about my dad coming and bringing our little cub.
“Sorry doesn’t mean anything unless you mean it…”
Chapter Twelve
Johnny
I watched Regan smiling at me as I was slowly going nuts inside my head. What the hell was I going to say to her dad? Better yet, what was I going to say to the daughter that I didn’t even know?
“Baby, what do we need to do to get you ready to blow this joint?” I asked Regan. I knew if I kept busy, my freak out would stay in the background of my thinking.
“I need to put on my own clothes, which my dad is bringing with him,” she replied. “I also need a shower, but a nurse is supposed to be back soon to help with that.”
I wiggled my eyebrows at her, laughing I said, “Babe, I can help you with a shower.”
Just as I finished my sentence, a loud voice behind me said,
“I don’t think so, young man.”
Oh shit. Regan’s dad had arrived as I was openly flirting with her, just my luck. Rolling my eyes skyward, I sent up a prayer and turned to introduce myself to the man who had raised my mate. But before I could say hello, my eyes fell on the absolutely perfect little girl at his side. She was the image of her mother, except she had my eyes and hair color with just a touch of red, making it an amazing strawberry blond. I was in awe of this little girl that we had created. I had missed too much already and in that moment, I knew I would never miss another moment, no matter what happened.
Falling to my knees I just looked at Rory, not sure what to say or do. I watched her little hand drop from her grandfather’s and one finger of her opposite hand went to her mouth, probably a comforting measure on her part. She looked back at me, then looking up at her grandfather, she watched as he gestured for her to come forward. She walked towards me. At the last minute, she changed her mind though and headed straight for Regan. Jumping up on the bed next to her mom, she started talking nonsense words about a million miles a minute.
“Son, let’s go outside while these two talk. Rory’s missed her mom,” Marcus said to me. I looked up at him and got up off the floor. Marcus -- one, Johnny -- zero.
I followed Marcus out into the hallway, we let the door close to keep Rory in the room in case she decided to follow her Grandpa Marcus. We stopped a few doors down from Regan’s room. I leaned against the wall and waited to see what Marcus was going to say.
“Boy, you have a lot to make up for,” Marcus began. “What the hell were you thinking, getting my little girl pregnant and then leaving her? You didn’t even claim her. No bullshit, either. I know you’re her mate. She wouldn’t have decided to be with you if you weren’t.”
I let his words sink in. I wasn’t about to tell him that his sweet innocent little girl wasn’t pure. Not that there was anything wrong with her having experience. Not even close. It made our sex life so much hotter. But he definitely didn’t need to know any of that.
“I understand what you’re saying, sir,” I replied. “All I can say is I’m sorry and I’ll never leave either of them again.”
“Sorry doesn’t mean anything, unless you mean it,” he said. “And at this point, it’s not enough for me.”
I watched as Marcus turned back to Regan’s room, leaving me there leaning on the wall like a dick. Well, fuck. Now what do I do?
I followed behind Marcus and entered Regan’s room to see her and Rory cuddled up together. Rory had her eyes closed and Regan was holding her, smoothing her hair back from her face as she slept. I smiled at Regan, loving how she had taken such good care of our precious little cub. I was still amazed that this was real. When I spoke to Trevor to warn him of Janet’s plans, all I had planned was to be able to leave town with a clear conscious. I now had more than I had ever dreamed. I had Regan a
nd I had Rory. I had everything I could have ever wanted. I couldn’t wait to get my girls home, where we could begin to be a real family.
“Regan, are you ready to go home?” Marcus asked. “I’ve got your things here so you can get ready to go.”
Marcus pointedly ignored my presence in the room, which at this point wasn’t a bad thing. I could feel the animosity coming from him as he spoke to Regan. I was sure she could feel the tension too but was staying quiet about it.
The nurse came back in and helped Regan up to go into the attached bathroom and assisted her in getting cleaned up and dressed. While she was in there, Rory sat with Marcus, occasionally looking over at me in confusion then going back to playing an imaginary game with her grandfather. It was funny to watch, that was for sure.
Regan came back out of the bathroom within minutes, dressed in jeans and a light blue tee shirt. She looked amazing, considering she’d been in an explosion only a week before. She was still bruised up, but her broken bones were healing nicely.
We waited for the doctor to come in and give us Regan’s release papers, then we headed out of the hospital. We got to my car, and as I was about to ask Regan if she would ride with me, Marcus spoke up and said,
“Regan, I’ve got the car seat for Rory. Let’s go in the truck, sunshine.”
Regan looked over at me to gauge my reaction, I’m sure. I waved her off towards her dad’s truck with a smile, calling over the roof of my car,
“No worries, darling. I’ll see you there.”
Marcus glared at me for several minutes before shaking his head. He helped Rory into her seat, buckling her belts and then getting into the truck. Starting the engine, he waited for Regan to get in and close her door. She turned and smiled over at me and then climbed in, closing her door. Her dad took off and left the parking lot heading for the family compound. I followed behind him until we reached the turnoff for the compound. Once we were inside the gates, I pulled up near what was once the main meeting building. I still couldn’t fathom what the hell Janet had been thinking, blowing up a damn building, hurting my mate in the process. Someone could have been killed. She never was one for thinking ahead.
Marcus shoved his door open and stomped over to where I was standing waiting for Regan. I was glad she couldn’t hear what was said but I knew she could tell they were angry words on her dad’s side. I watched as Marcus cocked his fist and let it fly, hitting me in the nose, which was still bruised from my run in with Trevor. I winced as I tilted my head back to stop the blood flow that was running freely down onto my shirt.
I watched as Regan gingerly exited her father’s truck and headed over to where I was standing, leaning against the bumper of my car. She stopped in front of me and laced her arms around my waist, laying her head on my shoulder, where she gave a deep sigh.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked her.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied, but there was something in her voice that said that something was definitely wrong.
I stroked her back as she held on to me tightly and lightly rubbed her cheek on my shirt. I reveled in the feeling of having her in my arms again.
“Baby, are you going to introduce me to Rory?” I asked quietly, hoping to keep her father from hearing me. I was pretty sure they’d had words on the way here.
“Yes, right now, if you want,” she replied, looking up at me with a smile.
“I’d like that a lot,” I said.
“Love doesn’t always make sense, but when it does, it’s magic…”
Chapter Thirteen
Regan
I looked back over my shoulder, smiled at Johnny, and then got into the truck with my dad. I knew they had talked in the hallway, although it wasn’t a very long conversation. My dad was upset about the whole thing, and I could tell that this was going to be a long drive home by the way he was grinding his teeth.
“Regan, that’s the man who left you to have Rory alone?” Marcus asked angrily.
“Yes, that’s Johnny, Rory’s father,” I answered him softly.
“Why didn’t he stay?” my dad questioned further. “When he found out about Rory and that you were mates?”
“He didn’t know about Rory, Dad,” I replied. “I never told him I was pregnant. I didn’t want him to feel trapped, and at the time, I thought he was just happy to hang with that bunch of idiots that followed Hatchet.”
“And now?” he asked me. “Is he still following that bunch of idiots?”
“Daddy, there was a reason he was there,” I said on a sigh, “but I can’t discuss it with you. Suffice it to say, the clan is no longer a problem between us, and not just because Janet is dead and gone.”
“That’s good, but I still think he’s an asshat for leaving his mate,” Dad said. “And he’s going to have to work to make it up to you and to that amazing baby girl napping in the backseat.”
“Dad, he doesn’t need to make it up to us. He just needs to be in this with me the whole way,” I replied. I was starting to get steamed. I understood my dad’s point of view; I did. I just wished he’d keep it to himself. We drove up to the compound and Dad pushed the button on his dash to open the outer gate. We drove through and pulled up to our cabin. I looked over at my dad. I could see the concern on his face, the anger in his eyes, and I knew at some point, there was going to be a confrontation. My dad was the sweetest man, but he was also a very dominant grizzly bear.
Dad shoved his door open and stomped over to where Johnny stood waiting for me. I couldn’t hear what was said but I could tell they were angry words on my dad's side. I watched as my dad cocked his fist and let it fly, hitting Johnny in the nose, which was still bruised from his run in with Trevor. I winced as Johnny tilted his head back to stop the blood flow that was running freely down onto his shirt.
I watched Johnny for several moments then walked over. I stopped in front of him and laced my arms around his waist, laying my head on his shoulder, I gave a deep sigh and then took a deep breath in to capture his scent. I stood like that for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only minutes. He held me and stroked my back up and down in a soothing gesture. I missed this, being able to just be with him. Hold him in my arms and just be.
“What’s wrong baby?” Johnny asked.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I replied, but there was something wrong; my dad had just given me the third degree when it came to Johnny’s and my relationship.
Johnny stroked my back as I held onto him tightly and rubbed my cheek on his shirt. I loved the feeling of being able to just hold him if I wanted. Johnny looked at me with nervousness in his eyes. I knew this would be hard for him, as he’d missed so much. But I knew we were going to change that right now.
“Baby, are you going to introduce me to Rory?” he asked me quietly.
“Yes, right now, if you want,” I replied, looking up at him with a smile.
“I’d like that a lot,” he said.
I took his hand and lead him to the small playground. I gave a slight push when we got to the bench we had installed.
“I’ll be right back,” I told him. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“I won’t,” he replied. “I’ll be right here waiting.”
I walked towards the house, entering the kitchen. I gave my dad ‘the look.’ You know, the one that says ‘don’t mess with me’.
Walking slowly down the hall toward my room, I daydreamed of what our lives would be like now. Now that Rory’s dad was in our lives. I dreamed of our claiming, becoming one. I came to my door. Quietly pushing it open, I saw Rory still curled on one side, her eyes open and bright. She saw me too. Calling to me, she stood in her crib and raised her arms, saying,
“Mama, up!”
I picked up my sweet girl and cuddled her to me, breathing in her sweet baby scent. I walked back to the kitchen and out the back door, heading back to the play area where I had left Johnny waiting.
“Rory, baby, there’s someone I want you to meet,” I said to the light of my l
ife. “This is your daddy.”
Rory lifted her head and gazed into Johnny’s eyes in awe, eyes so like hers. I could see the colors swirl as they looked at each other. Rory smiled her little mischievous smile and then reaching her arms towards Johnny, she said,
“Daddy, up.”
My girl knew just what to do to melt her daddy’s heart. I watched Johnny, a bigger than life, full grown grizzly male, take his little girl in his arms and through a watery smile, he said,
“Hey, peanut. Sorry I’m late.”
Rory looked at her daddy and said,
“It’s ok, daddy,” making us both laugh out loud.
Johnny sat back on the bench and held our girl on his lap, almost like he was afraid she’d disappear if he wasn’t holding her. I sat beside them and gave a happy sigh. Rory started to squirm, her attention captured by the swing set that was just beyond where we were sitting together. Johnny let her down and she toddled over and got into the small swinging seat we’d added when the babies were able to walk and climb on their own. Watching our little girl act as if the appearance of her dad was an everyday expected occurrence made me realize that this was turning out to be one of the best days of our lives together. And it could only get better from here.
Johnny took my hand in his and raised it to his lips, gently placing a kiss on my palm. He gave my fingers a little squeeze, let me go, and wandered over to push our little girl on the swings. Sweetest sight ever right there.
“Where there is hope, there is love…”
Chapter Fourteen
Johnny
I watched as my little girl played and laughed, knowing this was the start to the rest of my life. I would protect Rory and Regan to my last breath for the rest of my life. This is what was most important. I just forgot along the way. My mom used to say where there is hope, there is love. And that’s so true, but I also believe that where there is love, there is hope and a future. A future for us all to be together and know that we are forever.