“Thanks. Anything else?” Thomas puffed as he lifted his suitcase.
“Why don’t you use the handle, buddy?” Hunter asked as Thomas staggered backward.
“He says handles are for girls,” Laurel informed Hunter as she pulled out the handle of her own suitcase and then took one of the grocery bags in her free arm.
“No,” Hunter told Thomas. “The handle just means you can carry more stuff.” Hunter winked at Cynthia as he took her suitcase out of the trunk and pulled out the handle. Then he took a couple of the grocery bags Cynthia offered him. “See.”
Thomas studied Hunter for a moment, then pulled out the handle of his suitcase. “I can carry something else.”
Cynthia handed Thomas the last grocery bag. “Thanks, I’ll grab the rest of the stuff from the trunk.”
Hunter pulled Cynthia’s suitcase toward the house, with the two children following. When he left the house this morning, he had no idea he would be returning with his mate and her children. Strange how life could spin you around and spit you out somewhere completely new.
He took his key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Kicking the door open with his foot, he hauled the groceries and the suitcase inside. Thomas did the same, and Laurel followed behind. “Okay, let’s put your luggage at the bottom of the stairs for a moment and take the groceries to the kitchen.”
The children followed his instructions, and Cynthia came in behind them and shut the door. “Nice place.”
“I like it.” He put the groceries on the counter and then helped Thomas and Laurel.
“I like it, too,” Laurel said approvingly.
“Have you lived here long?” Cynthia put the rest of their gear at the bottom of the stairs and entered the kitchen.
“Five years or more. I bought it as a retreat from the world, but when I came to work for Guy and Flint, I renovated the place and installed modern conveniences. Of which I hope you approve.”
“I do.” Cynthia nodded. “It’s a great house.”
“Big enough for a family.” He clapped his hands together. “Do you want to see your rooms?”
“Oh, this might end in World War III,” Cynthia warned him.
“I think I can handle it.” Hunter picked up the suitcases from the bottom of the stairs, all three of them, and carried them upstairs, with the children following.
“You might have handled pop stars and movie stars, but two kids, it’s not as easy as I make it look,” Cynthia warned him.
“Are you challenging me?” Hunter called down from the top of the stairs.
Cynthia shook her head. “I’m confident you can sort it out. After all, fate brought us together. And fate knew I had two children.”
Thomas paused on the stairs. “Laurel and I won’t argue.”
“We might if one room is super big and the other is teeny tiny,” Laurel admitted.
“Well, lucky for us, the rooms are the same size, with practically the same view.” Hunter led them along the hallway to the first doorway and flung it open. “See, this room and the room next door are almost exactly the same.”
Laurel and Thomas went inside and ran straight to the window. Cynthia dropped the stuff she was carrying and stood in the doorway surveying the room. “Nice.”
“Isn’t it?” Hunter beckoned her to the doorway just along the hallway. “This is the second room.”
“They are almost identical. Whoever owned this house must have had two kids and a keen sense of self-preservation.” Cynthia patted Hunter on the arm. “And you must be a wise man for buying a house like this.”
“I always figured I’d have a couple of kids.” His eyes darkened with desire as he looked down at her. “But I might have to extend the house since I would love us to have a child of our own.”
She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “That is a conversation for another day.”
“Sorry.” His brow creased. “That was careless of me.”
“No. It’s something we should talk about.” She leaned against the doorframe looking drained. “I can’t believe I’m just accepting this as real.”
“Our relationship?” A sudden chill threaded its way through his body. He’d taken it for granted that she would be his mate and live with him for the rest of his life. But she already had a life. Would she simply give up her independence to come live with him here?
“Our relationship, the mating bond.” She ran a hand through her hair. “It’s just hit me how surreal this is.”
“Real,” he corrected.
“If someone I know came up to me and said they were planning to spend the rest of their lives with a man they just met, because he could shift into an animal and there was this thing called a mating bond, I’d have told them to get out of there as fast as they could. It sounds like a cult or some kind of brainwashing method.” She hugged herself, pulling away from him.
“Hey, we can take it as slow as you want. We can date, do all the things normal couples do.” He reached for her and pulled her back toward him. “All I’m asking for is a chance. A chance to make you see how perfect we are for each other.”
She nodded. “That I can do.”
“So it’s too soon to give you a ring?” He gave her a lopsided smile which she returned.
“Maybe we should wait at least until we’ve known each other for twenty-four hours.” She backed away from him as Thomas and Laurel came running toward them.
“The rooms are the same,” Laurel said.
“Does this mean you have chosen who is sleeping where?” Hunter asked.
“Nope,” Thomas said with a cheeky grin.
“Let’s toss a coin.” Cynthia held her hand out to Hunter. “Do you have a coin? My purse is downstairs.”
Hunter took a coin out of his pocket and handed it to his mate. “What’s mine is yours.”
Cynthia took the coin but made no comment. “Okay, Laurel, you choose. Heads or tails.”
“Why does Laurel get to choose?” Thomas asked.
“Because someone has to choose,” Cynthia replied.
“I choose heads.” Laurel watched as Cynthia flipped the coin and it caught it in her hand.
“Please be tails, please be tails,” Thomas repeated over and over as Cynthia opened her hand.
“Heads,” Cynthia called and showed them the coin.
“Oh.” Thomas sighed, his shoulders slumped forward.
“Which room?” Cynthia asked.
“You said I get to choose,” Laurel told her mom, who nodded. “I choose whichever room Thomas doesn’t want.”
Thomas stared at his sister, mouthing her words to himself. “You’re letting me choose?”
Laurel shrugged. “I got to choose when we moved to the last house. So you should choose this time.”
Cynthia’s eyes opened wide. “I’d forgotten that.” She hugged her daughter. “That’s very generous of you to remind us.”
She shrugged. “The rooms are pretty much identical. As long as I can put some pictures on the wall, I’m okay with it.”
“So which is your choice?” Hunter asked, proud of Laurel for her generosity.
Thomas looked from door to door. “That one.” He pointed to the first room.
“Then let’s get you settled. Don’t unpack, since you’ll only be here for one night.” Cynthia picked up Thomas’s suitcase and carried it back to the room he’d chosen while Hunter took Laurel’s suitcase into the second room.
“Did you have a favorite room?” Hunter asked out of curiosity.
“Not really. But I like this one.” She walked over to the window. “I can see the town over there.” She pointed to the tops of the roofs in the distance.
“And the mountains over there.” Hunter pointed to the high peaks in the distance. Snow still clung to the slopes, and a mist was flowing down into the valleys as the afternoon turned to evening.
“Yes, that’s the pass between Wolf Valley and Bear Creek, isn’t it?” She pointed into the distance to a gap between the
mountain peaks.
“Yes, it is.”
“When it’s summer and you and Mommy have found those children, will you show me the mountains, please?” Laurel asked quietly.
“I will. We can explore them all. Maybe go camping.”
“Or we could stay in Walt’s cabin again. I liked it there.” She turned away from the window. “Is this really our new home?”
“I hope so. Do you like it?” Hunter asked. In all of the plans he’d had racing through his head, he hadn’t stopped to consider what the children thought about coming to live here with him.
“I do. I really do.” She shuffled her feet, her toe digging into the carpet.
“Is there something wrong?” Hunter asked quietly. Cynthia and Thomas were in the other bedroom, their voices muffled.
“I just want Mommy to be happy. And I want us all to have a home.” Laurel wiped a tear from her cheek. “I want us to be a real family.”
“You’re okay with me being part of your family?” he asked. “If that’s what your mom wants, of course.”
“I’d like that. You could do boy things with Thomas. He likes boy things.”
“I can do that. But I can also do girl things, too.”
Laurel frowned and gave him a strange look. “Like what?”
“I’m good at braiding hair and makeup. I once had to apply makeup for Sasha Fallan.”
“The Sasha Fallan?” Laurel asked.
“Yes. Her makeup artist didn’t arrive on time, and she was due to go on stage, so I had to help her out.”
“You’re one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, Hunter,” Laurel told him.
“I’m nothing special,” Hunter replied. “But I will be here for you and your mom and Thomas whenever you need me.”
“You are our Bear Creek Protector.” Laurel laughed and then flopped down on the bed. “Can I have stars on my ceiling, please?”
“You sure can.” He walked toward the door. “I’m going downstairs to make some coffee. Call me if there’s anything you need.”
“I will.” Laurel pushed herself up on one elbow. “Thanks, Hunter.”
“You are very welcome.” With that he left his new family to get acquainted with his house, while he went downstairs to prepare for the trip to the forest. He only hoped the outcome would be successful.
But more than that, he also hoped they would figure out who was behind the threatening letter. One thing for sure, they were losing focus on why Cynthia had come here in the first place.
And maybe that was the point.
Chapter Nine – Cynthia
“You’re saying we shouldn’t go?” Cynthia asked Hunter as they drank coffee at his kitchen table, while the children played outside
“I’m saying we should consider that the letter was supposed to point us in the direction of Michaela and her son. Anyone who knows you and has followed your career knows you would go and try to find him if there was a chance he was alive in the forest.” Hunter had a point, although she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“You think I’m being set up.” Cynthia glanced nervously at the doorway, hoping the children couldn’t hear.
“They’re still in front of the TV.” Hunter’s super senses were a little freaky. But damn useful.
“So we ignore Horatio and any other children who might be in the forest?” Cynthia asked. “And stay here and wait… For what? What if nothing else happens? Are we supposed to live our whole lives looking over our shoulders?”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying. We just need to look at this from all angles and make sure if it is a trap of some kind, we don’t walk into it blindly.” Hunter’s bodyguard training and experience gave him a different perspective on this, she got that, but was this really a setup?
Cynthia rubbed her forehead; her brain was ready to explode and all she wanted to do was lie down and switch off for a couple of hours. Once refreshed, she would see the problem from all sides. Right now, she was still dealing with uprooting her family at a moment’s notice and getting them on a plane because of a letter.
“What if I overreacted? This might be nothing. Just someone making a joke, trying to scare me.” She twisted her coffee cup around and around in her hands.
“And what if it’s not?” He reached out and covered her hands with one of his large, warm, strong hands. Capable hands. Hunter was a capable man.
“I want to do what’s best for my family, my children, but I also need to know I did right by Horatio and Michaela. And right now, I don’t.” Cynthia ran a hand through her hair. She couldn’t afford to get this wrong. Never had the pressure of her job weighed so heavily. Until Cracol, no one had threatened her family or drawn them into her work.
Surely, he was behind this. Cracol had long arms and they could reach far outside of his jail cell.
“We go ahead with the plan. Jenna and Flint can take care of the children, along with Sheriff Brad and his deputies. Bear Creek is the safest place for them.” Hunter was convinced of this, which soothed her nerves.
“I trust you.” Cynthia raised her eyes to his. “This is what you do, isn’t it? Risk assessment for your clients.”
“It is.” He nodded, his hand still firmly clasped around hers. “I know how much the children mean to you. And I also know you need closure for Michaela. So we go ahead as planned, but we go on high alert. If there is danger in the forest, then we will be ready for it. We need to remember that just because the police have moved on from the farmhouse and the forest, the people working for Cracol might not. But I agree, this needs dealing with now.”
“Thank you.” She pulled her hand out from under his and dashed a tear off her cheek. “That’s what I needed to hear.”
“I’ll keep you safe, Cynthia. I promise.” He pulled his hand away and stood up. “We should get ready for dinner.”
Cynthia got up from the table and helped Hunter wash and dry the cups. The kitchen was neat, tidy and unlived in. Reminding Cynthia of how much Hunter worked away from home. Would that change if they lived together and had a child of their own?
If not, would she be happy raising another child almost solo?
“Do I have time to shower?” Cynthia asked after she’d checked on the children.
“Sure, the bathroom is at the top of the stairs.” He hung the dish towel from a hook and turned to look at her, looking faintly sheepish. “We never discussed where you were going to sleep.”
“I figured I’d share a room with you. Isn’t that where you put my suitcase?” Her forthright answer was met with a slightly bemused look from Hunter. “We can sleep side by side. I trust you.”
With that she turned around and left the kitchen. Climbing the stairs, she examined how she felt about sharing a room, and a bed with Hunter. Since her relationship with Connor, she’d lived a solitary life, only occasionally taking a man into her bed, and never at home. Affairs were something she shielded the children from, but that was about to change.
Luckily, they liked Hunter. The fact he was a bear shifter helped, she was certain. However, it was more than that. Hunter was a good man, an honest man. The children were good at picking up on these traits, she’d taught them how to make their own judgments where other people were concerned, she’d taught them to use their instincts and trust them.
Now she had to follow her own advice and trust her instincts. Instincts that told her Hunter was right, they were about to walk into a trap, but she could see no way around it. If there was the remotest of chances that Horatio or any other child was in the forest, she had to go there and find them.
Or she could let someone else go. There was a choice. She could stay behind, sit this one out.
No, she couldn’t. She needed this over. Even if she put her own life at risk.
She needed to make sure the children were safe. Then, after the threat was neutralized, she would take her career in a new direction and help reunite children with their parents. Runaways, those kidnapped by bad people, there were many ch
ildren estranged from their families for various reasons and she’d like to be the catalyst who brought them back together.
“You look pretty, Mommy.” Laurel watched her mom walk into the sitting room with a look of approval on her face.
“Thanks, Laurel. I thought I’d better wear a dress.” Cynthia spent most of her life in jeans or combats, teamed with a T-shirt or polar fleece. “Why don’t you and Thomas go and get ready? We need to leave soon.”
“Okay. Come on, Thomas.” Laurel raced out of the room, with Thomas hot on her heels.
“They’re good kids.” Hunter got up from the chair where he’d been working on his laptop.
“They are,” she agreed.
“And Laurel is right, you do look pretty.” He kissed her cheek and placed the laptop down on a side table.
“Homework?” Laurel indicated the laptop.
“Something like that. I’ve been using Google Maps to get a good look at the area we’re going to tomorrow.” Hunter headed to the kitchen and she followed.
“And?” Laurel asked.
“Guy gave me the location of the farmhouse Cracol used. It’s extremely remote, with miles and miles of forest surrounding it on all sides. There are woodland trails leading deep into the forest, which might have been used to transport the children.” He hesitated.
“It’s okay, I also know the forest is a perfect place to hide a dozen bodies or more.” Cynthia wasn’t naïve, she understood the realities of the situation. “Until you said that some men don’t have the stomach to kill children, I was convinced they had either been murdered or disposed of in some other way. I believe that’s why the police moved away from the area and prioritized their resources where they would get better results.”
“I don’t want to give you false hope.” Hunter turned around and wrapped his strong arms around her. “But I also want you to live in hope.”
“I know. It’s okay, I’ve seen enough of the world to know happy endings are never guaranteed.” She gave a wry smile. “Actually, I’ve seen enough of the world to know happy endings are rarer than unicorns.”
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