Cowboy Bear's Fate (Cowboy Brother Bears Book 3)

by Harmony Raines

  “Sure,” Jon said. “If that is OK with you all?”

  Her dad looked worried, and he glanced up at her mom, who gave a brief nod. Monica hated that her mom turned away from her daughter, but when she raised her hand to her face, Monica realized her mom was trying to hide her own tears.

  “Let’s go then, Ethan. You like horses? We have to feed them, and maybe turn them out. If you want, you can sit on one. Ever sat on a horse?”

  “Nope.” Ethan sounded excited, and Monica was glad he wasn’t going to be here to see this. By her parents’ reaction, she had a good idea they knew what was coming. Which nearly made her not ask the question burning in her head.

  Her dad moved first, opening his arms to her. There was a brief moment when she wanted to pull back and fold her arms across her chest like a barrier. But Jon’s words rang in her head. This man was till her dad, the same man who had raised her. “I’m sorry you’re upset,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  “Will you tell me the truth…?” She took a big shuddering breath. “The honest truth.”

  “We will,” her dad said. “I’m sorry.”

  Her mom turned and came to hug her too. “We knew there was a risk you might find out when we moved here. But we had to, for Ethan.”

  “I know.” She let herself stay in their warm arms for a few minutes more, before she pulled back from them. “Am I adopted?” she blurted out.

  “Oh, honey. It’s not what you think,” her mom said, tears running down her face. She placed her hand on her heart, and tilted her head to one side. “I’m your mom. Your real mom.”

  “But you aren’t my dad,” Monica said. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. She was still sad, but at least she wasn’t a total outsider to the family.

  “No. I’m not.” His voice was choked and he had to cough to clear it before he could speak again. “I wish I was. I wish more than anything that I was your biological father…”

  “And my … other father?” Monica asked. “What happened, did you leave him when you found out you were mates?”

  “No! Oh, no, Monica, your biological father didn’t want to know about you. I told him I was pregnant but he tried to insist you weren’t his.” She shook her head and her face reddened. “I was a little wild when I was younger. I slept around.” Her mom put her hand over her mouth and sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Monica broke down and flung herself at her mom. “It’s OK. These things happen.”

  “I was so stupid and immature. I thought I knew everything, when really, I was a stupid girl, playing grownup, and then I got pregnant with you.” She sobbed, unable to speak.

  “It’s OK, Mom, it’s OK.”

  “I just want you to know that I don’t regret having you. My parents wanted me to … give you up. But I couldn’t. It was so hard, just you and me, and then Ken walked into my life and told me I was his. And he gave me this perfect life, and he loved you as if you were his own.” Her mom took a deep breath. “He helped reconcile the differences between me and your grandparents. Somewhere along the way we just forgot you weren’t both of ours.”

  “It’s never mattered to me that you weren’t mine, Monica. You are part of the woman I love. You belong to my mate, which means you belong to me too. We are family,” her dad said.

  “Thank you,” Monica said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

  “We wanted to give you a brother or sister, but it never happened,” Ken said. “I guess there’s something wrong with me. So when we heard Ethan was a shifter and needed a family, we jumped at the chance. He needed us. We never really figured in the lies we were storing up.”

  “Wait! Ethan is adopted?” Monica said. The world spun around, and she felt faint.

  “Yes, you were too young to remember that we brought him home from the hospital rather than your mom giving birth.”

  “I know we shouldn’t ask you to, but we want to keep it from him, just a little longer, until he settles down,” her mom said.

  “Of course.” Monica sobbed, and then hugged her parents again. “I thought he was yours.”

  “No. My name, my bloodline, stops with me,” her dad said.

  “Hey, I never regretted a thing,” her mom said, hugging her dad.

  “But you wanted a house full of kids, and it was the one thing I couldn’t give you.”

  “You gave me the world, Ken. You took us in and made us a family. Not many men could have opened their hearts like you did.” Her mom hugged her dad, and he held her so tight, Monica thought he would crush her.

  “I’m going to go,” Monica said, backing away.

  “Monica, no,” her mom said, holding out her hand to her daughter.

  “Not, go, go, but you two need some time alone. I am going to go and see Ethan. I’m sure the Williams Homestead isn’t that hard to find.”

  “Are you sure? I could make you something to eat.”

  “No. I need to get my head around this, and you two… Well, you look as if … well, you know. Mates and all that.” She turned around and walked away, taking big gulping breaths to stop the tears that threatened.

  Digging her hand into her purse, she pulled out her car keys and got in her little car, feeling small after the morning spent in Jon’s truck. Quickly turning around, she headed toward Black Bear Ford. She could ask someone for directions. But after around half a mile, she pulled over and sat for ten minutes, sobbing, trying to get the shock out of her system. When she finally had her emotions under control, she was horrified to see her red, blotchy face staring back at her in the rearview mirror.

  “Great first impression,” she told herself. What would Jon’s family think of her?

  Chapter Ten – Jon

  “You are doing a great job,” Jon told Ethan, as the boy heaved a bale of hay across to Moonlight’s stable. “If you have some free time, and need to work off some of that energy you have all pent up, you can come over whenever you want.”

  “You mean it?” Ethan asked.

  “Sure. We’re family,” Jon said.

  “Just because we have the same name doesn’t make us family,” Ethan said rolling his eyes.

  “I know that.” Jon rolled his eyes back at Ethan. The boy had an attitude, that was for sure, but no more than Jon or his brothers had at that age. “What I mean is that your sister and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other.”

  “Like boyfriend and girlfriend?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes, something like that. You know about fated mates, don’t you?” Ethan said.

  “Some. I know my mom and dad are fated mates, and my dad said one day I would know who the right person was for me. Because of my bear.”

  “Right, well, your sister and I are fated mates just like that. Which means one day we will get married and we will be family.” They put the hay in for Moonlight, who began munching on it right away. “And I know just because we have the same name, doesn’t automatically make us family, but your grandpa and my grandpa might just have been brothers.”

  “Cool,” Ethan said. “My dad doesn’t have any family, so that’s good for him.”

  “It is. It also means we can go over the mountains sometimes, you and me. Two bears, hanging together.”

  “Great. You might be more fun than my dad. He is trying to teach me everything about being a bear, when I just want to have fun.”

  “Dads are like that. But it’s because he cares so much,” Jon said. “You know that, right? We sometimes get overprotective of the people we care about.”

  “Does that mean you are going to be overprotective of Monica?” Ethan gave Moonlight a tentative pat and then they left the stall, closing the door behind them. “Because you are going to have a hard job when she goes back to the city.”

  “That’s true,” Jon said with a sigh.

  “You could ask her to move here. I know she wants to, but Mom and Dad keep telling her to think of her career.” Ethan shrugged. “There has to be a museum around here she can
work at.”

  “There are a couple, but they aren’t very close,” Jon walked out of the barn, with Ethan following. “I’m going to have to come up with a big idea, to get your sister to move here, and still keep doing what she loves.”

  “So open a museum,” Ethan said.

  “You can’t just open a museum,” Jon said.

  “Why not?” Ethan asked.

  “You need old stuff to go in it.”

  “And there isn’t old stuff around here?” Ethan asked. “My dad said bear shifters have been living around here for hundreds of years, they love the mountains so much. Why not make a museum around that? Other people, ordinary people can come look too, they just won’t be in on it.”

  “In on it?” Jon asked, musing over what Ethan was saying.

  “Yeah, you know, like if it’s an inside joke… You are in on the joke.”

  “That is a brilliant idea, and I know just who to speak to about it.”

  “Great. What’s next?” Ethan asked, looking pleased with himself.

  “What’s next is that your sister is here,” Jon said, looking up the road leading to the ranch to see Monica’s car crawling along it. “Why don’t we go meet her, then we can go inside and say hi to my mom. She was making apple pie earlier and believe me, there is nothing quite like my mom’s apple pie.”

  “Great. I have worked up an appetite,” Ethan said, his hand on his stomach.

  “Said like a true bear,” Jon said. “Come on,”

  They walked across the courtyard, as Monica pulled up beside his truck. One look told him she had been crying, a lot, but he didn’t want to make a fuss for Ethan’s sake. “Hi there. Ethan is the newest ranch hand on the Williams Homestead. We’ll soon make a man out of him.”

  “Sounds like you two have been having fun.” Monica’s voice shook as she spoke. “I thought you were doing chores. And chores are not meant to be fun.”

  “These are, we fed the horses.” Ethan looked at his sister, his eyes narrowing. “Are you OK, Monica?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Just sad that I’m going to be leaving here tomorrow.”

  “We have a plan…”

  “Why don’t we get that apple pie?” Jon asked, cutting him off and giving him a conspiratorial wink. “Then we can tell Monica about our plan for you to come up and do some work for us. Keep him out of mischief while your mom and dad are getting the store set up.”

  “That would be great,” Monica said. She stopped, and her face paled. “I can’t believe I’ll be going home tomorrow.”

  “Me neither,” Jon said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, it looks as if you could do with some apple pie too. My mom’s pie is the ultimate in comfort food.”

  “That sounds like just what I need.” She rested her head on his shoulder and took a breath that shuddered through her.

  “Are you sure you are OK?”

  “Yes, a bit shaken up. And I look like a complete mess, what will your mom think of me?” She wiped her face, but nothing was going to hide the fact she had been crying.

  “I warned my mom when we first got here that you were having a tough time. No details, but she will understand. And not ask questions.” He pulled her closer. “She’ll spoil you rotten, but won’t ask, unless you want to talk about it.”

  “I don’t. Not here.” She tilted her head toward Ethan, hoping Jon understood what she meant.

  “Later. When we are alone,” Jon said.

  “Good.” She put a smile on her face and said, “So, apple pie. Sounds yummy.”

  “Apples from our own orchard,” Jon said. “We all pitch in and pick the apples in the fall. Another job you can help with, Ethan.”

  They went into the Homestead, and the sense of being home hit him. It was going to be impossible for him to leave here. Somehow, he was going to have to persuade Monica to move to Black Bear Ford. But would Ethan’s idea of a museum really work?

  He would have to pay Zoe, his other sister-in-law, a visit to ask for help. This job was too big for one lone cowboy.

  Chapter Eleven – Monica

  “Would you like another piece, Ethan?” Jon’s mom, Judy, asked.

  They had been sitting around the kitchen for twenty minutes or more, eating pie and drinking coffee. Monica was feeling so much better, and a little relieved to find her mother-in-law-to-be was so nice. Not only had she welcomed Monica into the family, which, in itself, seemed strange since she had only known Jon for a day, but she had welcomed Ethan too, plying him with homemade lemonade and apple pie.

  “I’ve missed having a child around… sorry, young man around the Homestead. I love the little babies, but waiting for them to grow up enough to spoil is testing my patience.” Judy laughed and loaded Ethan’s plate with a generous piece of pie.

  “Thanks, Judy,” Ethan said.

  “Yes, thanks, Judy.” Monica ate the last forkful of pie and set it down on her plate. “That was delicious.”

  “Thank you.” Judy took the empty plates to the sink.

  “Why don’t I wash those?” Monica said, getting up.

  “No. I tell you what, Ethan can help me when he’s finished eating, and then I could show him around my garden. And while we are doing that, you could go upstairs and start cleaning your room?” She winked at Jon. “Boys, they never grow out of a messy room.”

  “Good thinking,” Jon said, and took Monica’s hand, dragging her out of the kitchen.

  “What was all that about?” Monica asked as they headed for the stairs. She wasn’t sure about going up to Jon’s bedroom, but she did need to talk to him alone.

  “My mom knows how much boys hate cleaning their rooms. My guess is, it was the one thing she figured Ethan would not have offered to help with.”

  “Ahh, so that is where you get your brains from?” Monica said.

  “Probably, but don’t tell my dad. He thinks we get it all from him.”

  He took her up a long sweeping staircase, then turned left, and they headed down the hallway to the third room on the right. “This house is massive.”

  “It’s big, for sure. It used to feel full too, but now, except for my mom and dad, I’m the only one living here. My brothers have all moved out to live with their mates.” He opened the door and took her into his bedroom, which was surprisingly not masculine. Monica was not sure what she expected, but it certainly was not the light, airy room he presented to her.

  “I thought you were supposed to be coming up here to clean?” she joked, looking around the room, which did not have a thing out of place. “You don’t even have dirty clothes on the floor.” She looked around the bed. “Not one single sock.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you. Like I said, my mom raised us right.” He grinned. “She knew how to threaten us.”

  “Threaten you?” Monica asked thinking back to the woman downstairs who was so kind to her and Ethan.

  “Yeah, she said if our rooms weren’t clean we wouldn’t be able to go out on the mountain. My bear made sure my room stayed clean, I can tell you.”

  “Clever, take away the thing you like the most,” Monica said. She walked over to the window and looked out. The view was incredible. From his room, Jon could see the fields in front of the house, filled with cattle, and then in the distance, the mountains loomed large and inviting. A continual reminder of what he would miss if he didn’t keep his room clean.

  “Are you ready to tell me what happened?” Jon asked.

  She kept her back to him as she said, “It wasn’t exactly how I thought it would turn out.”

  “In what way? Are they your parents? Did we get it wrong?” he asked.

  Monica liked the way he spoke about we. It made her feel not so alone. And right now she felt alone. Today’s events had rocked her to the core. Everything about her life felt like a lie.

  “My mom is my real mom. My dad isn’t,” Monica began.

  “Ahh, OK, that isn’t so bad,” Jon said, coming to stand next to her. There’s a but though, rig
ht?”

  Monica dropped her voice, scared Ethan might hear, even though he was still downstairs. “Ethan is adopted.”

  “Holy cow,” Jon said, genuinely shocked. “Did you have any idea?”

  “No. I thought… Well, you know because he was a shifter, and I wasn’t…” She turned to look at him, noting his dimples appeared when he frowned too. Monica raised her hands and touched one of them, and then drew her fingers across his lips. “They don’t want him to know.”

  “I can understand that, the kid’s got enough on his plate.” He took her hand and kissed her palm, his tongue making small circles across her skin. She watched him, all of her concerns falling away. It was just the two of them in this moment.

  Then he let her hand go, leaving her breathless. His bed was there, right next to them, it would be so easy to fall onto it and make love. Let him chase the ache in her heart away with their lovemaking.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Monica said.

  “What do you want to do?” Jon asked.

  She gave a short humorless laugh and turned away from him once more. “I have spent the last few years making our family tree. At least my mom’s side. My dad’s is a mystery. Or was. When you said we were related, I thought great, now at last I can complete it. Only it’s not mine.”

  “Does this mean you want to find out who your real father is?” Jon asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Yes.” Monica shook her head and turned back to Jon. “Do you think it’s selfish? It’s going to break my mom and dad’s hearts.”

  “I think it’s natural to be curious. Of course it is.” Jon took a step toward her and she felt the heat of his body, and wanted him to hold her. She leaned forward, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “But if you do. Let me help you. Let me come with you.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that, we…”

  “If you tell me I can’t come with you because we have only just met…” Jon began.

  “No. It’s not that.” She pulled back and looked up at him. “You have the ranch, your chores. I don’t know how long this will take.”

  “I haven’t had a vacation for five years. And it’s summer, the best time to be a man down.” He tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted it so she had to meet his eyes. “And they will understand. My parents are both shifters. They will tell me to go. My place is by your side.”