“It’s not your fault,” Jordan assured her. “You didn’t know.”
“And I came rolling in here, talking about babies and honeymoons,” Mia added helplessly, her eyes filling with tears. “Sorry. Hormones.”
“Hey, you don’t have to feel bad about being happy. I’m happy for you, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to worry about telling me stuff just because you’re worried I’ll get my feelings hurt about stuff that is out of my control.”
Mia squeezed her hand, then asked gently, “But isn’t everything that’s going on with you and Ty now within your control?”
Jordan stopped herself from ripping her hand out of Mia’s grasp, even though she really wanted to, instead telling herself that her friend was newly married and in that zone where she wanted everyone to be happy.
“I’ve explained all of that,” she protested.
“I know, Jordan, but weren’t you the one who told me that these shifters mate for life? You said it, you know it, so why don’t you seem to care?”
Hurt and suddenly very angry, Jordan stood up and crossed to the door.
“I really need to get back to work,” she said to Mia as she opened the door, steeling herself from the hurt that flashed on her friend’s face.
It was better to have Mia leave now than say something that she wouldn’t be able to take back.
That’s what Jordan told herself as Mia walked out the door.
Before Jordan could close it, Mia turned and said softly, “I think you’re making a mistake.”
Jordan nodded her head, acknowledging her friend’s opinion, then shut the door and leaned her forehead against it as she fought back tears.
Tyson
Ty’s first instinct when he woke up to find Jordan gone after their night together was to go after her and drag her back home where she belonged.
Knowing Jordan, however, he listened to the man instead of the bear, and decided it would be best to give her some space. Their night together had been heavy with emotion and passion, and they’d talked through a lot of stuff.
Ty figured she needed time to sort herself out, so he was giving it to her.
It was a struggle, though, and he’d been throwing himself into work to try and keep his mind and body occupied.
“Tyson.”
Turning toward the hallway where Mika had just walked in, Ty responded, “What’s up, brother?”
“I need you to come with me,” Mika said simply, his face not giving anything away.
Knowing his longtime friend the way he did, Ty got up and gathered his things without answering any questions. Whether Mika needed him for business, something with the clan, or something personal, Tyson knew that he wasn’t one to waste time. That’s why he followed the well-known tracker out of the station and got into Mika’s SUV. No questions asked.
They rode in silence, each deep in thought and comfortable enough with each other to not have to fill time with words.
Ty was wondering if he’d given Jordan enough time, if he should try stopping by the Luncheonette or her apartment when they returned, when Mika cleared his throat.
“I’ve been thinking about your problem… with Jordan,” Mika clarified, turning slightly to look Ty in the eyes. “I’ve heard rumblings of a place for years now… An orphanage of sorts for unwanted shifter kids. I did some digging, asked around, and found out that it’s true. The place exists.”
His eyes widened as the meaning behind Mika’s words penetrated.
An orphanage…
Unwanted shifter kids…
He and Jordan could adopt.
“Where?” Ty asked.
“It’s about two hours from here. I checked it out myself first, to make sure it was legit. I thought you’d like to do the same before deciding if this was something you’d want to discuss with Jordan.”
Mika’s gaze turned back to the road briefly before shifting back to him.
“I hope I didn’t overstep…”
“Shit, Mika, no. I can’t believe you did this, brother. It could be just what Jordan and I need,” Tyson assured his clan mate. “Whether it works out or not, it means the world that you’d do this. Seriously.”
A small smile ghosted across Mika’s lips, then he cleared his throat and schooled his features once again.
“I’d do anything for the clan, you know that.”
“I do, Mika, and I appreciate it.”
They were silent the rest of the drive. Mika didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself, and Ty was lost in thought and possibilities.
“The property starts here,” Mika said suddenly, breaking the silence. “They have over a hundred acres for the kids to run.”
“Who owns it?”
“An older couple. I guess it started about ten years ago with one kid, and it’s grown so much now that they have about eighty. It’s sad, really. I mean, not the place, it’s top notch, but the fact that there are so many shifter kids that have been left behind…”
After about two miles of driving down a long single lane road, the trees broke and a large rambling plantation home stood tall and proud.
“Wow,” Ty muttered, impressed.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction. It’s a great place. Property’s even better. And the owners are really nice. You can tell how much they care.”
They parked in front of the house, and Ty followed Mika up the steps. He could hear the sounds of children inside. Sounds of laughter, arguing, and even some singing. All of which caused Tyson to smile, which was what he was doing when the door opened.
The woman was probably in her early sixties, and tiny compared to the two bears, but seeing the hulking men on her doorstep didn’t intimidate her in the slightest.
“Mika, it’s good to see you again. Is this the friend you were talking about?” she asked, smiling warmly at them both.
“Yes, Mrs. Kline, this is Tyson. Ty, this is Mrs. Kline.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Oh,” she sighed, her grin widening. “A man with manners, that I like. Please, won’t you both come inside, I think Harold is in the kitchen. Probably stealing cookies again.”
“Am not!” a voice shouted from the back of the house, followed by soft, feminine giggles.
They followed the small woman into the kitchen, passing kids reading, kids playing video games, and kids playing quietly on the floor, all of whom watched them walk through with curious and hopeful gazes.
It broke Ty’s heart to think that these kids had all been abandoned, but at the same time, he could already tell that they were lucky to have been taken in by the Kline’s.
They rounded the corner to find a tall, thin older man, whose hand was indeed in the cookie jar, with a four or five-year-old girl sitting on the counter with chocolate smeared all over her face.
“Harold, you’re going to ruin Betsy’s dinner,” Mrs. Kline scolded, and Tyson had to struggle not to laugh at the sight of the five foot nothing woman admonishing her at least six-foot-tall husband.
Mr. Kline had the decency to look sheepish at the reproach, but Ty didn’t miss the wink he gave little Betsy.
“Nah, Glenda, Betsy promised she’d eat all her dinner. Even the peas… Isn’t that right, Betsy?”
Betsy nodded, although she’d lost her grin at the mention of peas.
“Come now, Betsy, you go on and play, while Mr. Harold and I talk to these fine gentlemen, all right?”
“Yes, Ms. Glenda,” the girl said sweetly, then hopped off the counter and scurried out of the room, glancing back quickly before she was gone.
“Harold, you remember Mika,” Mrs. Kline said as she opened the refrigerator. She waited while he and Mika shook hands before adding, “And this is his friend, Tyson.”
“Ty,” Tyson amended as he shook the older man’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, son, please, have a seat.”
They all sat at the large dining room table and Ty saw Mika bite back a grin when Mrs. Kl
ine put a glass of milk and a plate of cookies in front of him.
“So,” she said once they were all settled. “Mika says that you and your mate might be interested in adoption…”
Tyson leaned forward and admitted, “Actually, Ma’am, I never even considered it a possibility until Mika told me about this place today. I’ve never heard of an orphanage for shifters, and even though my mate is human, their orphanages don’t like to place humans in shifter homes.”
When the Kline’s both nodded, Ty continued, “But now that I know you’re here, and that there’s a chance Jordan and I could adopt, I’m… well, I’m…” Ty was surprised to find himself getting emotional. Once he’d regained his composure, he said, “Yes, I’m very interested.”
“Well, we’d have to know that you were both interested, that you’d claimed each other,” Mrs. Kline began, then Mr. Harold added, “And that’s just so we know that the kids are going to a home with parents who are committed for life. We want them to have stability.”
“Of course,” Ty said. “I’ll want to bring Jordan here so she can see the wonderful home you have for herself. How do things typically work?”
“We’ll introduce you to children who have black bears in their lineage. Of course, we have no way of knowing if they’ll ever shift or not, but we always match children with their own animals. Then, you’ll get the opportunity to spend time with them and see if there’s a connection. Now, I know with bears you’re used to having a litter at once, but we won’t tell you how many children to adopt. Whether you connect with one child, or five, that’s totally up to you and your mate. Next, we’ll set up scheduled visitation to see how they fit into your home, your community, your clan. Finally, if everyone agrees that it’s a match, we’ll start adoption proceedings.”
Tyson nodded as he tried to take in everything she was saying. It all made sense, as he’d never want to force a relationship that wasn’t there. That would just be cruel.
“It’s a long process, son,” Mr. Kline added. “And it can be very difficult at times, but I can promise you, it’s worth it in the end.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, how’d you start this place?” he asked.
“Our children are all grown and mated, have been for years,” Mrs. Kline began, “and Harold and I were having a fine time being alone together, but we both agreed that something was missing. Then one day, Harold heard of this young cub who’d been left behind by her pack. We never did find out if it was intentional or not, but no one wanted to raise a child that wasn’t their own, especially one that was a different breed, so we discussed it and decided to take her in ourselves. Word got around, and we started getting calls whenever there was a child of a shifter that had been abandoned for whatever reason… Dead parents, parents who didn’t want a female child, sometimes just lost. We did what we could to find their families if there were any to be found, and if not, we kept them with us. Eventually, we were getting calls from all over the country from people who heard about what we were doing. Some wanted to tell us about children who needed help, while others asked if they could adopt.”
“We didn’t know that one child would turn into hundreds, but we’ve never regretted our decision,” Mr. Kline said. “We’ve placed one hundred and eighty-seven children into happy homes. We keep in touch with all of them.”
“That’s amazing,” Mika said, and Tyson agreed.
“Hopefully, your home will be numbers one eighty-eight, eighty-nine, and ninety,” Mr. Kline added with a wink.
Tyson left with the promise to return, and as he and Mika made their way back to the SUV, Ty turned to his friend and said, “This is more than I can ever repay.”
Mika opened his door, looked at Ty over the top of the vehicle, and replied, “The only repayment I need is to see one or more of those kids, laughing in your house with you and your woman.”
God, I hoped that happens, Ty thought, the picture perfect in his head.
Jordan
She was sitting on the edge of a bed in a motel room, wondering if she was making the second biggest mistake of her life.
Everyone Jordan cared about seemed to think she was… Mia, Dixie, Ty… maybe the only thing standing in the way of her happiness was herself.
Vicious meowed in protest as he settled on one of the pillows at the head of the bed. He’d turned his nose up as soon as he’d seen their accommodations for the night, and Jordan knew that even her cat wasn’t a fan of her moving away.
The keys to her apartment had been turned in, she’d said goodbye to everyone at the Luncheonette, and the U-Haul filled with her belongings was parked outside the motel on the outskirts of Spring Creek.
She’d done everything she needed to do, so why was she still in town? Why hadn’t she driven further before stopping for the night? Why was it so hard for her to actually leave?
Tyson.
He was the thing that was keeping Jordan from following through with her plan. The thought of leaving without saying goodbye seemed unnecessarily cruel. And cowardly.
Was she afraid he’d talk her out of it? Afraid that he was the one person who had the ability to?
Jordan threw herself back onto the bed and let out a small scream of frustration.
“What am I doing, Vicious?”
The cat didn’t answer, but seconds later, there was pounding on the door.
No one knew where she was, so Jordan was contemplating not answering when she heard Tyson’s voice.
“I know you’re in there, Jordan. Open up.”
Rushing more eagerly than a person who was certain about leaving would, Jordan opened the door and watched Ty stalk inside.
Her eyes took him in greedily, as if she hadn’t seen him in months rather than days, and she was trying to commit every gorgeous part of him to memory when his angry gaze hit her with full force.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked as Jordan shut the door behind her.
“Moving?” Her answer came out as more of a question than a statement, causing Ty to raise his brow in question.
“Where?”
“Texas,” she squeaked as his face darkened.
“No.”
His command put her back up, causing Jordan to stop cowering against the door and step toward him, hands on her hips.
“No? No? Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I can and cannot do?” Jordan asked, displaying the attitude that only Ty was able to bring out in her.
“I’m your mate. The man you’re going to marry and spend the rest of your life with, that’s who.”
The marry part made her falter, then she found her gumption and asked, “Says who?”
“Dig deep, Jordan… Says you… Says me… Says the powers that be and anyone who’s ever seen us together.” The fight went out of Tyson’s eyes. “I love that you love me so much that you want my happiness, but don’t you see that by keeping yourself from me, you’re taking away the only chance at happiness that I have. Yes, I want to have children, to have a family, but there is no family without you by my side.”
“I’m so sorry that I can’t give that to you,” Jordan replied softly, all traces of attitude gone.
“What if I told you that we could have it all?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, hugging her arms to herself.
“Mika found a place. An orphanage for shifter kids,” Tyson took her hands in his and looked down into her face, a wide smile on his. “I’ve been there and seen it for myself. Over a hundred children that need good homes. Happy homes with parents who’ll love them.”
Jordan’s stomach clenched even as her heart leapt with something she hadn’t felt in four years. Hope.
“Are you serious?” she asked, searching his eyes, even though she knew he’d never be so cruel as to tease her about something so important.
“Yes, Jordan, don’t you see? We can have it all. Please, don’t leave. Stop fighting the inevitable and stay here. Stay with me, forever.”
Lett
ing out a cry of relief, Jordan reached up and pulled Ty down to her, and said softly against his lips, “I love you so much.”
Ty growled and claimed her mouth, showing her how pleased he was to have her back.
Joy soared through her as she realized that they could have the life they’d always wanted. The one they’d planned before her surgery. She kissed him back with all of the heat and passion she had within her.
Suddenly, clothes were flying and the small room was filled with the sounds of pleasure. Grunting, groaning, moaning—they were wild with need for each other.
Jordan held onto his shoulders as Ty’s fingers plunged inside of her, and she ground her hips against him.
“So fucking good…” she breathed as she reached between them to take his long, hard cock in her hand.
Tyson fucked her with his fingers as he thrust his hips forward. She ran her thumb over the head of his cock, then grasped him tightly and jerked him off as she rode his hand.
“I want your cock,” Jordan cried when she felt the pressure building within her. “I want you inside me when I come.”
Ty granted her request.
Moving them both toward the wall, he put his hands on her ass and lifted. Once her legs were wrapped around him and her back was against the wall, Ty looked Jordan in the eye and drove inside.
“Yes!”
Nothing felt as good as having Tyson inside of her, his hips bucking as he thrust in and out.
Jordan held onto his shoulders, her head falling back as she reveled in the moment. The way his hot skin felt under her hands, the smell of their sex filling the air, and the sounds of pleasure that were emitting from her man.
It was glorious.
Perfection.
“Hold on,” Ty grunted, his hands holding her bottom securely as he maneuvered them from the wall and sat down on the small wooden desk chair.
Moaning from how much deeper he was in this position, Jordan began rocking against him as soon as her feet hit the floor.
With her straddling him in the sitting position, her clit hit his pelvis perfectly with each thrust.
Her Bear To Keep (Second Chance Shifters 5) Page 5