Frostbite (BearPaw Resort Book 3)

by Cambria Hebert

  I nodded. “After the man who saved his life. After all the men who protected him.”

  Holly started crying again and went to Liam to hug him. “Your father would love that.”

  “He would,” he said, hugging her back.

  “Alexander?” Alex exclaimed. “You giving that baby my name, too?”

  “First I’ve heard of it,” Liam muttered.

  I glanced at him and smiled. “I think it’s fitting.”

  He smiled back. “Me, too.”

  “This calls for champagne!” Mom proclaimed. “And cider for the pregnant lady.”

  I never thought I’d be toasting to celebrate the death of a man, but here we were.

  And I wasn’t sorry.

  Liam

  I was standing on the balcony, gazing out over the kingdom that was left to me. A kingdom I fully intended to earn.

  The champagne in my hand was forgotten because I didn’t need to celebrate the death of my enemy. It was good enough for me that he was dead.

  Alex walked out across the deck and took up position beside me, both of us staring over the place we ruled.

  “I don’t have to go after him now,” I said.

  “You belong here with your wife and kid.”

  “You did this.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, tipping his glass to his lips.

  That box on my steps wasn’t sitting there when he showed up. He’d brought it with him. He hadn’t been anxious to see what was inside because he already knew.

  “What did this cost you, A?” I asked, serious.

  “Nothing.”

  I turned my head to look at him then. He looked back.

  We did that thing Bellamy accused us of all the time, having a conversation without any words.

  You aren’t a killer, Liam.

  I do what I have to do.

  You didn’t have to do this.

  Neither did you.

  I didn’t.

  But you know who did.

  He glanced away then, our secret conversation over, and I knew we’d never speak of this again.

  We didn’t have to.

  “Think Bellamy knows?” Alex whispered after a while.

  “If she does, she’ll never say.” She didn’t have to. Her adding his name to our son’s was loud enough.

  We drank the champagne, and Alex made a face. “This shit is for girls.”

  I laughed. Movement out of the corner of my eye made me turn. Bellamy was standing near the window, laughing at something one of our moms said. Her hand lightly rested on our child.

  “Thank you,” I told Alex.

  He slapped me on the back, and we went back to overlooking our kingdom.

  After a while, I exhaled, feeling like, finally, everyone could begin again.

  Bellamy

  Winter Olympics, Colorado

  The massive crowd was hushed. The tension and anticipation filling the air was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. The sky was clear and bright. The sun shined down, reflecting off the snow and nearly blinding everyone.

  But the games wore on.

  This was it.

  The final run in the men’s halfpipe for this Winter Olympics. Liam was down just slightly behind the last boarder who’d just completed his run. I looked up to where Liam stood, readying himself for a run I knew he thought of as the defining moment of his career.

  If he nailed this, he would win the gold.

  He’d worked so tirelessly for this the past year. Him and Tom Joiner both put everything they had into getting him here. And he made it.

  And it all came down to this.

  The crowd began to rumble and cheer as Liam bounced around and adjusted his goggles, readying himself. Joiner was standing beside him, and they pounded it out before Liam turned back and a look of determination and concentration transformed him.

  He pushed off, sailing down as people cheered and yelled. I watched with bated breath as he went down into the pipe, sailed up into the air, and nailed his first jump.

  “You got this,” Alex whispered beside me, and my stomach clenched.

  I was so nervous and excited it made me nauseous.

  The crowd went wild as he perfected another jump and then gracefully but powerfully went into the next.

  When his board finally hit the ground, he pumped his fist in the air in celebration. Everyone went wild. I cheered and screamed, knowing I’d just witnessed his perfect run.

  He slid across the snow a little farther and then stopped and unstrapped his feet. He would remain there in the center, separated from the crowed by colorful partitions, as we all awaited his final score.

  The man who was slightly ahead stood nearby, also waiting to find out his fate. Liam paced, anxious to see if everything he’d done was enough, then stopped abruptly and turned to where I was standing in the crowd.

  We locked eyes and smiled, nodding.

  The scratch of the intercom came over everything and read off his final score.

  Everyone erupted, and Liam jumped up before bowing to his knees in elation. He’d won. He’d reclaimed the title stolen from him before.

  I cheered so loud my throat went hoarse. Tears streamed down my face, threatening to freeze where they fell. Around me, our moms and Alex went crazy as someone handed Liam the American Flag and he held it up to wave above him.

  He was smiling the biggest smile I’d ever seen when our eyes locked again.

  He took off, running across the snow, the flag waving with his momentum. From behind, Alex picked me up, lifting me over the partition, and I rushed forward, colliding into his chest. Liam spun me around, both of us laughing.

  When my feet hit the ground, he put his arms around me, wrapping us both up in the flag, and claimed my mouth with a kiss that probably wasn’t television appropriate.

  I kissed him anyway.

  This wasn’t anyone else’s moment but his.

  When he pulled back, his eyes were bright.

  “How’s it feel to have another gold medal to add to your collection?” I asked.

  “Damn good,” he replied, grinning.

  “I’m so proud of you, and I know your father is, too.”

  “Thank you,” he said, pulling me close again. “Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you for loving me.”

  “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Even though the crowd was going nuts and people were vying for Liam’s attention, I still heard the familiar cry cut through it all.

  Instantly, I turned toward the sound, my instincts sharpening. “Too much commotion,” I said, reluctantly leaving Liam’s embrace.

  He pulled me back, lifted me into his arms, and the crowd went wild again. He carried me over to our family and reached into the baby carrier Alex was holding.

  “Hey there, little man.” Liam soothed, unstrapping Shaw and gently lifting him out. “No tears today. Your daddy just got something shiny.”

  Shaw stopped fussing and turned to the sound of his father’s voice. The sun was so bright the baby recoiled, and I hurried to pull the thick hat on his snowsuit lower so it shielded his face.

  Liam held his hand up, blocking the sun and smiling down at the baby who looked just like him.

  “I love you,” he said, cradling him close.

  My heart turned over. I honestly never imagined I could have loved him more than the day we married. And then the day our son arrived.

  During the last four months since little Shaw was born, Liam’s interaction with his son melted my heart. Watching him walk the floors, cradle him close, and sing off-key in the middle of the night was literally the highlight of my life.

  I truly couldn’t ask for anything more.

  And even though getting to this moment was so incredibly hard, I would do it all ten times over to end up exactly here again.

  “Mattison, come get your gold!” Joiner hollered.

  I laughe
d and took the baby, shifting him against me. Liam leaned down and carefully kissed his soft cheeks and then rose to kiss my lips.

  “I love you, Mrs. Mattison. I love you more than any gold I’ll ever win.”

  “I love you, too.” I smiled. “But you should still go and claim it.”

  He laughed. Before running off, he pounded it out with Alex—who, I might add, was a giant softy when it came to babies. Or at least the one who carried his first name.

  Although we never got around to talking about Alex’s past with the army, I knew it was intense. I also knew, without ever asking, the reason Liam and I finally got free from the mob was because Alex used his self-proclaimed “skills.”

  I could live with that.

  We would all live with it, happily.

  Liam returned to us a short while later with an impressive, glistening medal around his neck. He pulled me and our son close, lowering to kiss me once again.

  “Does this mean you’re finally coming back to work?” Alex quipped.

  Liam lifted his head and grinned. “I was thinking about it.”

  “I know you own the place and all, but this sense of entitlement has got to stop,” Alex cracked.

  “You own part of it, too,” Liam pointed out.

  “Which is why I’m telling you to get your ass back to the office!”

  Liam flashed his teeth. “See you Monday?”

  Alex nodded. “Wear sweatpants. It sure gets a rise out of the suits.”

  Liam snickered. “Can’t wait.”

  “You two are terrible,” I proclaimed, rocking the baby lightly.

  “That’s why you love us,” Liam told me.

  He was right.

  I leaned up on tiptoes to kiss him again, and Alex made a sound. “Give me my nephew. You all are gonna traumatize the kid.”

  Carefully, I placed Shaw into Alex’s arms, smiling at the way he always seemed to concentrate so hard when he held my son.

  As soon as Shaw was secure with his uncle, Liam picked me up and spun me around, people close by cheering once more. We kissed in the center of the crowd, the gold hanging from his neck and the sun shining down.

  Even though we were standing in the snow, the bite of frost was gone. All that remained was a lifetime filled with joy.

  THE END

  Stayed tuned for Alex’s story in BearPaw Resort #4…

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Let me share a little secret with you. I’m seventy-two thousand words into this book, and I still have no idea how to end it. That’s right. I’m skipping ahead to write this because I don’t know what else to write.

  Here’s hoping the end of this book is not lame.

  Up until this point, the story came along fairly well. I focused on putting their relationship back together after things sort of went to hell at the end of Blizzard. I actually was kinda surprised at how long it took to do it, as in how much of the book I dedicated to it. There was a lot to mend and a lot to reveal. I think it was good, though, fleshing out Liam and Bellamy’s relationship. They’ve really been tested, so it was good to see them pull each other close again.

  I also felt it was important for Liam to work out some of his demons. Maybe not slay them totally, but put them back in their place where they belong. Having him go back to boarding and go out on his terms was important to me. He does so much for other people and carries the weight of everyone he loves so intensely. I really wanted him to have something for himself.

  I’m pretty happy with the way Bellamy evolved as well. Going from a paranoid woman on the run to standing tall and staring down death (numerous times) and not letting it force her out of her life again. I liked that she grabbed for her dreams (going to work at The Inn) and then discovered that maybe her dreams weren’t what she wanted after all. Maybe in the midst of all her life-changing trauma, she discovered another side of herself. I think it’s relatable that she changes her mind, and not because people are mean to her, but because she evolved and so did her life. In my own life, I’ve often felt like changing course with a dream is a little like throwing in the towel or admitting defeat, but it’s really not. It’s about following a winding path that hopefully leads to exactly where you should be.

  Wow. For someone who can’t seem to write an ending to a book, I’m sure full of thoughts and wisdom, aren’t I?

  Geez.

  I hope that you as a reader enjoyed this last chapter of Liam and Bellamy’s story. They were quite the challenge to write. They burn hot, love fiercely, and barely stop between all the suspense. As a writer, it was hard to keep up with. Hard to maintain to its full potential (if I was even able to!). Several times while writing these three books, I felt as if I wrote myself into a corner and have struggled to get out. Writing the mob is no joke, people. I honestly can’t think of anything harder to get out from beneath that doesn’t involve death.

  And for those reading this and thinking, Oh no, it’s the last BearPaw book… I want Alex! slow your roll, as he would say. I’m writing a book for Alex. That will be the last BearPaw book. Hopefully, he will be easier to deal with than Liam… Ha.

  Thank you for reading, thank you for leaving a review, and thank you for all the support. Now I guess I should scroll back up and actually finish.

  Edited to add: I’ve come back now that I have finished this book at a little over ninety thousand words. This was tough. I would like to add a GIANT thank-you to Adrienne Ambrose, because if it wasn’t for her, I would likely still be sitting here trying to figure this thing out. Either that or I’d have killed everyone off and ruined my career. Seriously. Adrienne is a hero.

  See you next book!

  XOXO,

  Cambria

  ABOUT CAMBRIA HEBERT

  Cambria Hebert is an award-winning, bestselling novelist of more than forty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.

  Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of birds (including chickens). You can often find her painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails) or walking her Chihuahuas (the real rulers of the house).

  Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. She has also written romantic suspense, science fiction, and male/male romance. Her favorite genre to read and write is contemporary romance. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, GearShark Series, Text, Amnesia, and Butterfly.

  Recent awards include: Author of the Year, Best Contemporary Series (The Hashtag Series), Best Contemporary Book of the Year, Best Book Trailer of the Year, Best Contemporary Lead, Best Contemporary Book Cover of the Year. In addition, her most recognized title, #Nerd, was listed at Buzzfeed.com as a top fifty summer romance read.

  Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.

  You can find out more about Cambria and her titles by visiting her website: http://www.cambriahebert.com.

  Please sign up for her newsletter to stay in the know about all her cover reveals, releases, and more: http://eepurl.com/bUL5_5.