He nodded, and with one last lingering look at Monica, he turned and they both walked back to the truck. As Samuel backed it up the dirt road, Jon stared at her through the windshield, and she couldn’t help herself, she stared right back.
“Are you OK?” her dad asked. “You don’t have to go with Jon tomorrow, if you don’t want to. When he comes to pick you up, I can say you are busy.”
“No, it’s OK. I’d like to go out and see if I can track down grandpa’s house. When I get back home, I am hoping to fill in that side of the family tree.”
“You and that family tree,” her dad said, with a short laugh. “Family isn’t all about bloodlines and ancestors.”
“I know, but I’d like to see where I fit into it all. You know? It’s my job to know about history, so I think it’s important to know my own history, and where we came from. But your side is almost empty. It’s like there’s a dam built, and I can’t wait to open it up and see what comes spilling out.”
“Not the best analogy,” her dad said. “Well, you think about it, and if you change your mind, I’m sure we can keep you busy with unpacking.”
“Thanks.” She leaned on him as they walked inside. “I love you, Dad. I wanted you to know that, I’m not sure if I’ve said it enough these last few weeks.”
“I love you too, Monica.” He kissed the top of her head and then added, “I want you to always remember that.” His voice was tinged with sadness. Maybe the fact that their family was about to be split up had finally hit him.
Monica thought of Jon, and wondered if she could ever fall in love with man who was a shifter? Because if she did, it meant there was a chance they would have shifter children. Children that could turn out like Ethan, all mixed up, and unable to live a normal life.
But life was all about chances, and risks; she could just as easily marry a normal man, and still end up with a child with some kind of hereditary disease. As she joined her mom in the kitchen, she thought of the true love her parents shared.
Marrying a shifter had worked for her mom. There was no reason it would not work for Monica.
Chapter Four – Jon
“Ken’s a bear shifter,” Jon said to Samuel as they drove away from his mate. “You got that too, right?”
“I did. But Monica isn’t. Is she? I mean I didn’t scent it on her, did you?” Samuel asked, as he steered the truck back toward Black Bear Ford. They drove through the ford, along the main street, and then out the other side of town, heading back to the Williams Homestead.
“But Ken said Monica was his daughter. So what? Adopted?” Jon asked. That would make things tricky, but at least it meant that even if Ken was a family relation, Monica wasn’t. “Do you think she knows?”
“I have no idea. But Ken sure got a little edgy when he learned we had the same surname, so maybe she doesn’t know, and he doesn’t want her to know.” Samuel nodded. “You knew you weren’t going to have it easy, Jon. None of the rest of us have.”
“What do I tell Dad? And what do I do tomorrow, take her over to the Hawkins Ranch?”
“No harm in it. If that is the place in her photo. I mean it might not be. Jerry Williams is not our relative. Al is. So he either changed his name, which explains why dad never found him, or he’s a completely different man.”
“What are the odds?” Jon asked.
“Slim,” Samuel said, and then chuckled. “My baby brother has found his mate.”
“Hey, less of the baby. I’m only a year younger than you,” Jon said, his fists clenched. As the two younger brothers, Samuel and Jon had probably had the most fights out of all the brothers. Mostly it was vying not to be seen as the weakest. They had slugged it out many times, both as boys and as bears.
“Sorry. I guess I can’t say that to you now, not when you have a mate. Wow, who would have thought it, all the Williams boys will be settled down by Christmas.”
“But settled where?” Jon asked. They had arrived at the Homestead, and while Samuel opened his door right away and got out, Jon remained where he was, staring at the place he had called home for enough years of his life to know he never wanted to leave.
Even before the family had moved to the Homestead, when Jon’s uncle had died young, leaving no heirs, they had lived in Bear Bluff, a place of open skies and mountains. A place where bears roamed across the hills and through the forests.
“Hey.” Samuel banged the flat of his hand on the roof of the truck. “Let’s eat. Mom will have lunch ready, and we can talk it over. I know she’s your mate, but I think we all need to talk over the fact that we may have new relatives in town. Before you take them over to the Hawkins place.”
“What do you mean?” Jon asked, his brain a whirl, clutching at images of a caged bear, and skyscrapers, of a concrete world where he would not be himself. How would their kids grow up in a place like that?
“I mean if they are connected to Al Williams. We need to make sure they don’t have a claim to the Hawkins Ranch.”
Samuel’s words cut through his thoughts, sharp, and leaving a bitter taste. He was right, if they did not know the whole family history of how Al gambled the ranch away, they might decide to seek legal advice and try to get the transfer from Al to Lynn’s Uncle Freddy revoked. If this happened, they would have their own family feud on their hands, between Lynn and Adam, who would stand by his mate no matter what, and Monica and her family, which would drag Jon into it. His family had always been his parents and brothers, and their mates. However, the pull of his own mate was stronger. Forsaking all others, that line had a whole new meaning to it since he’d met Monica. It wasn’t just other women he would forsake, it was everyone, or anyone, that tried to come between them.
“Can they do that?” Jon asked.
Samuel shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s way in the past, but we need to find out. This family is not going to be torn apart again over that ranch. Dad has finally let that feud go, and I sure don’t want us to spend our lives living in acrimony over it. Adam took the chance of that happening away when he agreed to share the ranch between us. I’m sure as hell not going to have to choose between my brothers.”
He kicked a stone, hard and it hit the side of the horse barn; he cursed under his breath and then strode off toward the Homestead house. Jon got out and followed, his mind clearer now. His duty was to make sure this all ended amicably. Hell, he was sure Samuel was overreacting, but before he met Monica tomorrow, they had to be certain where Lynn stood legally at hanging on to the ranch.
Families were stronger together, that was what his mom and dad had taught their sons. Jon intended to prove they were right.
He strode after Samuel, with purpose in every stride. He might be the youngest, but he sure as hell was not going to be the baby in all this. Levelheaded, and calm, that was who Jon was, OK, with a drizzle of fun that sometimes got him in trouble, but he was an adult, and he had to let go of the fun part for now. Life was all about decisions, and for that you needed a serious head.
“Sit, Jon, you’re late, food is getting cold. I’ve already told Samuel off. Lunch at one means lunch at one, not half past,” his mom said, leaving Jon feeling as though hanging onto his resolve to be a serious adult might be harder than he thought.
“We have a good reason, don’t we, Jon?” Samuel asked, nodding at him to spill his news.
“We do,” Jon said, trying to put the words together in a coherent sentence in his head.
“Are you going to tell us, since this is supposed to be a business lunch, and we’re already running late?” his dad said. “The vet is coming at two thirty to look at one of the bulls.”
“I met my mate.” The room, which had been filled with the sound of knives and forks on plates, and exchanges between Adam and Samuel over who was going to drive one of the herds across to the lower paddock, halted. All eyes were on him. “Her parents are moving into a house over on Leeside.”
“Oh my. Four sons, all with their mates,” his mom said, sitting down quickly
and looking pale. “We have been blessed.”
“There’s just one thing…” Jon caught Samuel’s eyes, and his brother gave him a nod of encouragement. “Her name is Monica Williams.”
“The same name. Who would have thought!” his mom exclaimed.
“OK, so I should have said there were a couple of things...” He stuttered along, his voice faltering. He didn’t want to hear answers he might not like, but they had to be heard all the same. “Her grandpa lived around here.”
“Grandpa?” His father had already picked up on where this was going. “What was his name?”
“Jerry Williams.”
“Jerry.” His dad sat looking at the plate of food in front of him.
“Wrong name, right?” Jon asked hopefully.
“Yes, but that might mean that Jerry changed his name. It would account for why I could not find him, no matter how hard I looked.
“So how do we find out?” Adam asked, his train of thought heading to the same station.
“I don’t know. I’ll give it some thought.” His father looked down at his lunch, but did not resume eating.
“Russell, it wasn’t your fault you couldn’t find him.”
“I know, Judy, but I would have liked to. I just hope this doesn’t come back and bite us in the ass.” Then he looked directly at Jon. “So your mate is possibly a relation?”
Jon’s appetite evaporated too. “That’s the thing. She’s a woman, obviously…”
“And,” Russell said, his face shrewd, “all of the Williams offspring have been boys.”
“Exactly. Which in itself wouldn’t make me question anything. It’s not unreasonable to assume that sooner or later there would be a girl born into the Williams family.”
“So what else?” Russell asked.
“She’s not a shifter.” Jon made eye contact with each of the people around the dining table in turn; their expressions said the same thing. “Impossible. Right?”
“Wait, are any of them shifters?” Adam asked. “I mean, that would mean they aren’t blood relatives, correct?”
“Oh, her father is, he’s a bear, I could smell him. But Monica, nothing.” Jon shrugged. “What do I do? Does she even know about shifters? If she does, does Monica know she’s not who she thinks she is? Does she know the man she thinks of as dad isn’t her father? And who the hell am I to tell her otherwise?”
“You’re her mate, you do what you need to do,” Russell advised.
“Even if it makes trouble for the family?” Jon asked. “Some son-in-law I’ll turn out to be!”
“But your loyalty is to your mate,” his mom said.
“But I’m not supposed to hurt her either,” Jon said. “And this could bring a whole lot of hurt down on her.”
“Jon, you will do the right thing. When the time comes, you will know what to do. Trust yourself,” his mom said.
His bear agreed. We will do the right thing for our mate.
I hope so, Jon replied.
Chapter Five – Monica
“Why don’t you stay and help us?” her dad asked, for the fifth time that morning. They were eating breakfast outside, the early morning sun warm on their faces as they sat on the ground eating cereal and toast.
Monica lifted her face to the sun and let its rays warm her. “We’ve gotten most of the unpacking done, and I’ll only be gone for a couple of hours.”
“But you don’t know him.” her dad said, his voice filled with concern.
“We know where they live. If you haven’t heard from me by lunch time, you can come get me.” She smiled. “I know you’re worried. But the day after tomorrow I’m going to be going back home alone. You can’t worry about me all the time.”
“We can,” her mom said, giving her a gentle smile. “But Monica is right, we have to trust in her decisions.” Nancy gave her Ken a hard stare. “And most of the unpacking is done. So why not take Ethan into the lower foothills while Monica is out? We all need a break, it’s been a crazy couple of days.”
Her dad looked at the mountain with longing. “OK. You would like that, wouldn’t you, Ethan?”
“Yes,” Ethan said, eating his third piece of toast, on top of two bowls of cereal.
“OK, well let’s get some more stuff done and then we can all have some R & R,” Monica said. “What about you, Mom? Or would you like to come for a drive with me and Jon?”
“Oh, no. If you are all out from under my feet, I am going to sit in this beautiful garden and read a book for an hour or two.” Nancy stood up and stretched. “It feels as if I haven’t stopped for days.”
“That’s because you haven’t.” Monica stood up and hugged her mom. “Please don’t overdo it.”
“I won’t. Now, I have a date with a dresser.” Nancy went inside, and soon there were sounds of boxes being dragged across the floor and the chink of china plates. The people who owned the house before had decided to leave behind an old solid wood china cabinet; it was too big for their new house. This had inspired Nancy to visit antique stores and thrift shops searching for old china she could fill the dresser with.
“I should give her a hand,” Monica said, although she was reluctant to go inside on such a beautiful day.
Ken chuckled. “Leave her to it. Your mom has been planning exactly how she wants to arrange that dresser in her head for days.”
“So what can I do?” Monica asked.
“There is a box of books that needs emptying, and then we have to empty all the clothes, bedding and towels out of the suitcases. Want to give me a hand with that?” Ken asked.
“Sure, Dad. What about you, Ethan? Are you going to help?” Even Ethan couldn’t do much damage to books and clothes.
“I’m going to unpack my room,” Ethan said getting up and heading inside.
“Good idea,” Ken said. “As soon as you have finished we can get going.” Ken turned to look longingly at the mountain. “My bear is itching to get out there.”
“You never talked about it before,” Monica said. “Never even mentioned your bear.”
Ken looked sheepish. “Bears in the city aren’t exactly natural. It was easier to keep it hidden.”
“I understand that. But from your own daughter…” Monica knew she was pushing him, but she couldn’t help it.
“I was worried you would think I was a freak.”
Monica hugged her dad. “I would never think that.”
“I know that now.” He hugged her back. “I love you so much I was scared of losing you.”
“Never going to happen,” Monica said. “Even when there’s distance between us, we’re still going to be close.”
They walked into the house, carrying all the breakfast dishes. Placing them on the counter, Monica said, “I should wash these. Then I’ll join you upstairs.”
“OK.” Her dad went upstairs, leaving Monica alone with her thoughts. The more time she spent here, the more she could imagine herself slipping into this life. Her career was important to her. So the idea spawned that she would go back home and start asking around if there was anything locally, around Black Bear Ford, that would suit her. She didn’t necessarily want to move in with her parents, but she would like to be closer to them.
Hurrying up, she dried the last of the dishes and stacked them away, wanting to spend some time with her dad. But just as she had hung the dish towel up to dry, there was a sound of running feet on the stairs and Ethan burst into the kitchen, with their dad close behind him.
“You unpacked your room already?” Monica guessed.
“I did. And Dad said we could go up over the mountain when it was done. And so I’m done!”
“He’s assured me he hasn’t simply thrown everything under the bed,” Ken said with a laugh.
“Well, you two go and have fun. I’ll go and start emptying the bedding and hanging the clothes,” Monica said, drying her hands.
Ken looked at his watch. “It’s nine thirty already. Why don’t you do the dishes and then get ready?”
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Monica looked down at her clothes. “I am ready.”
“You don’t want to change out of your jeans and T-shirt?”
“It’s not a date,” Monica said.
Ken looked at her kind of strange, and then said, “Does Jon know that?”
“Yeah, we, umm, are going to look for Grandpa’s ranch. I don’t know what that is going to entail… Climbing gates, crawling through the undergrowth… I don’t know. Don’t all cowboys wear jeans, anyway?” She gave her clothes a once-over again.
Her dad came over to her and hugged her. “Just be careful.”
“I will. Grown-up, remember?”
“I remember my daughter who called me to get a spider out of her bathroom,” he said and laughed.
“Who am I going to call now?” Monica asked and buried her face in his chest. “I’m going to have to go and buy some big girl pants.”
“Yuck,” Ethan said, pulling a face.
“Yuck, indeed,” Monica said. “Now, go on. I have to get the photos together.” Horror crossed her face. “Do we even know where the photo album is?”
“I put it on your bed,” Ken said, as Ethan pulled him toward the door.
“It’s not my bed, Dad, it’s the guest bed,” Monica reminded him.
“To me, it’s your bed.” He sighed, halfway out the door, and then changed his mind. “Ethan, do you want to go down to the stream? I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”
“What’s wrong, Dad?” Monica asked, concerned. “If you are going to try to talk me out of going with Jon…”
“No. You are right, you are old enough to make your own decisions. Even about men.” He looked down at his hands, twisting his wedding ring around, and then he looked up at Monica. “Shifters are a strange breed. Or species…”
“We’re all strange in our own ways,” Monica said.
“This is different. There is a part of us that is not like ordinary humans…”
The conversation was awkward, and she could see her father struggling with what he was trying to say. “The bear part, you mean?”
Cowboy Bear's Fate (Cowboy Brother Bears Book 3) Page 3