by Amelia Jade
He reached the area where the drivers stored their cars. Robyn's car was nowhere to be found, and her truck and trailer were not where he had found them the first few times either.
"You're too late."
"So it would seem," he muttered, turning to face the speaker.
Amy was standing across from him, the two of them an island of calm amidst the frenetic pace of the fair.
"I was out of town," he growled in response to the unspoken question hidden in her arched eyebrows.
"Well, you should have been here. You should have seen her."
Amy gave him one last look before turning away, leaving him to stand there, alone and lost in his thoughts.
"Yes. Yes I should have," he said to no one in particular, staring with unfocused eyes at the empty competition circle as it was being dismantled.
Chapter Twelve
Robyn
She waited.
Wind strung her hair out and pushed it into her face, but she didn't care. The skies overhead were grey, overcast, though she knew it wasn't going to rain. Not in the literal sense, at least. There had been plenty of rain cast on her life in the past few days.
Most of it was her fault.
Robyn waited.
She waited for the elation of a victory that had eluded her for years to fill up her soul, make her buoyant enough to float away on the stiff breeze. There was supposed to be a feeling of success and accomplishment, a final acknowledgement to her departed sister finally achieved. In her head, she had planned for a raucous celebration of this ultimate victory. Instead, she held the trophy limply in one hand, uncaring.
She waited.
For him. The man she knew she loved, that if he would just give her the chance, she would ask for forgiveness for what she had done, and promise to be devoted the rest of her life. Robyn was a woman who knew how to be independent, and she would never submit to someone. But she would happily merge her life with the one she wanted to be her mate, allowing their lives to become intertwined and mutually supportive.
Nothing came to pass. Andy did not magically show up to save the day. Friends she did not realize she had did not throw her a surprise celebration party. The skies did not hold up their end of the bargain, instead beginning to spit rain down lightly as if to spite her earlier thoughts. What she hoped would have been a fairytale ending, flickered and died within her, ending as abruptly as the derby.
The competition's final round had passed in a blur. The moment the light turned green she had flown out of the gate. Her focus and fury had seen car after car removed from competition by her ruthless execution and disregard for safety. In the end, she had been the last one left standing, though the smoking, rattling piece of metal that she had exited from could barely be called a car.
"You're a silly twit, Robyn. The victory is appreciated, but you shouldn't have made it happen at the expense of a man who would do well by you."
Her sister's voice sounded in her head, echoing the thoughts of her own mind, as if she could read them. Robyn snorted at that. Of course she could read her mind, they were her own thoughts, after all. It was the same reason that all week her sister and her own mind had been beating her up over her decision to run and hide from everyone until the last day. Even then, she had shown up barely in time to compete.
"You can't run from love."
There it was again. That one word that changed everything. Robyn was falling in love with Andy. She knew it, but it hadn't been until Charlie had handed her the trophy, that she realized it. Looking out over the crowd as they clapped and cheered her on, the only thing she had wanted to see at that time, was a larger-than-life shifter standing somewhere toward the back of the bleachers with a smile on his face.
But as she had scoured the stands row by row, trying to spot him, she had known it would never happen. He wasn't there then, and he wasn't here now. She would have to move on without him. It all came back to being her fault again. By outright ignoring his attempts to see and talk to her, Robyn had driven him away.
With a sigh, she turned and headed back to her truck. This was likely the end of her career. She would have to take a grunt job until they passed by the next big city, where perhaps she could find a job and try something else. With the car being wrecked beyond repair, it did not seem plausible that she would be able to compete on the circuit again. Perhaps with access to Andy's junkyard she could make it whole again, but there was no way she could afford the prices of anywhere else.
Easing her truck out through the gates, she got in line with everyone else trying to leave, both townspeople headed back home and the early crews for the fair that were headed on to the next spot to begin work there. They would arrive hours before the first major trucks, having set up designated zones for everything, to help ease the congestion once the masses of big-rigs began to arrive.
The sun was beginning its descent, having just crested the peak a short while ago. The next location was over five hours distant. Robyn put on her battered shades and began to drive. It would not be long now before the sun was filtering through her rear window and blinding her through the side mirrors.
Thirty minutes later she came upon another little town. Glancing at her gauge, she decided to stop for fuel. Until Charlie paid her the victory bonus she had earned, it was almost all of the money left to her name, just to fill the truck enough to get to her next station.
That thought filled her mind, bringing any remaining spirits she had from winning and throwing them down onto the dirty pavement. Her eyes began to sting, liquid forming in the corners as she blinked furiously, trying to hold back the tears. She was stronger than this! Yet after a moment, she realized the futility of holding back, and simply let the tears fall. There were no sobs, no gut-wrenching shudders. Simply a moment as she pictured what she had given up.
Although the tears stopped after a few minutes, Robyn knew it wouldn't be that easy. There had been something special, something unique, between her and Andy. She couldn't explain it, but both she and her bear, the huge, powerful, and surprisingly emotional animal within her, knew that they had lost something that very few ever had a chance to attain.
A true soul mate.
Her chest heaved with a sigh of regret as she pulled the truck back out onto the road, the engine chugging along as she slowly built speed with the fully loaded trailer attached. It was not a particularly busy stretch of road, so when someone started honking at her from behind because she wasn't doing the speed limit, Robyn frowned.
"Just go around me, asshole," she muttered to the person. The trailer was blocking enough of her view that she couldn't see what type of vehicle it was over the headlights. A truck of some sort, nothing too out of the ordinary for the area.
Eventually, despite its honking, the truck swung out into the oncoming lane and accelerated. It didn't take too much for it to come alongside her. She saw it beginning to slow, and not wanting to take her eyes off the road, tossed the driver a one-finger salute, figuring they were doing the same to her. There was no other reason for them to be almost parallel with her.
The other driver laid on their horn again, a long, continuous blast. Finally, she looked over.
It was Andy, waving manically at her, gesturing, trying to indicate that she should pull over, that he had to talk.
Her surprise turned to horror as she saw Andy look forward and all of a sudden he was gone. She followed his gaze to see an oncoming truck flying at them from around the corner. A scream tore from her throat as the other truck shot past her.
It missed Andy by mere inches as he wrenched the wheel back into her lane, dropping in behind her own truck. With her heart racing, slamming against her ribcage as the fear began to fade from her, she pulled off the road, taking the truck slowly into the flat field next to the road, so that they weren't around anyone.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she shouted at Andy as she exited the vehicle.
"Trust me, I don't want to ever scare myself like that again
," he said without smiling.
She could tell he was rattled by the close encounter, more than he was willing to admit. There was also nervousness in his eyes that was unrelated to what had just happened.
"Hi," he said, starting their conversation over again.
"Hello," she replied, stiffer than she had imagined.
"Where have you been?" he asked simply, getting straight to the point without belaboring it.
"I—" she started, then stopped abruptly. The excuse that was on her lips faded. Now was not the time to make up something polite. This, she realized, was the time to tell the truth. No more miscommunications, no more lies and falsehoods. Just plain old truth. "I did something stupid that I couldn't forgive myself for, let alone ask you to."
"And?"
"And I ran away to hide my embarrassment and guilt. It was easier that way, so that's the path I took."
"Oh," he said, caught off-guard by her bluntness. "What...what did you do?"
She could tell he was reluctant to ask, and didn't blame him. Nobody wanted to hear that someone had done something that would hurt them. But she had to tell him, to get it off her chest, and to try and move forward from it.
"When you dropped me off, I went to Charlie. I was upset that you had pushed me away. I wanted to feel close." She stopped speaking for a moment to prepare herself for the next sentence. "I kissed him. Or he kissed me. Either way," she said, shaking her head, "we kissed."
"And?"
"He tried to go further, I came to my senses and ran out."
"That's it?"
"Yes," she said, blinking in confusion.
It was her turn to be caught off guard. Andy did not seem bothered by what she had said at all. A small sliver of something awoke inside of her. She wanted to term it hope, but she wasn't willing to let it ignite just yet, so she quashed it.
"We all make mistakes, Robyn. That's a fact of life. It's what comes next that truly makes a person."
"I ran and fled without talking to anyone," she said bluntly.
"Yes, yes you did," he replied with a chuckle. "But just now, you told me you couldn't ask me for forgiveness before you could do so yourself. And you were straightforward and blunt about it. That is what matters. You recognized you made a mistake, and you stopped it from becoming a bigger one."
He licked his lips, his eyes flicking around while he searched for words. Robyn stayed quiet, content to allow him to continue to speak.
"From what I've been told, when shifters find their mates, it's a very tumultuous time. Emotions, hormones, and things I don't think we'll ever quite understand are all in flux, which can lead to rash decisions that we come to regret later."
"I may have been drunk when I did it, but I can't use that as an excuse. I'm fairly positive if I was sober I never would have, but obviously part of me wanted something, and was willing to go to him for it."
"Well, if you'll let me, I'd like to give you everything you want."
"What are you saying?" she whispered, unable to believe the conversation was heading in the direction it was.
"I would like it if you would stay with me, Robyn Mills. I believe I am very much in love with you."
She stared at him for a moment.
Brakes sounded behind them before she could respond. They turned to face the noise.
"Sonofabitch," she heard Andy muttered at the same time she saw Charlie's truck.
"Could he have worse timing?" she replied, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Wait!"
Andy was striding toward Charlie, and she could tell by his body language he didn't intend to do anything nice. Throwing herself forward she ran in front of Andy, turned, and put her hand up. "Stop right there, or you aren't the man I want you to be."
He froze solid.
"This is mine to deal with. Understood?" she said firmly.
Andy stared at her. She could practically see him fighting with his bear to establish control. Finally he nodded at her, though he didn't move.
"Robyn, there you are, dear! I've been worried about you," Charlie said, walking toward her with his arms outstretched, oblivious to the towering mountain of angry muscle only a few yards behind her.
"Hi Charlie."
"Uh oh, I don't like that tone, what's going on? And why is he here? I thought you and I were a thing now..."
"I'm not really sure how you thought that," she told him.
"Well, you came to me the other night. You seemed content then. I admit, I pushed things too far," he said, glancing over at Andy as a furious growl washed over them. "But I mean, we've been a great duo for so long now. I think we could be even greater if we took our relationship to the next level."
"Charlie, you confuse me. Sometimes you act like a real person, like now. Other times you act like an idiot, and other times you act like a complete moron. Now, that alone is just too much for me to sort out. But I'm with Andy now. That's the way it has to be, okay?"
Charlie was getting angry now, rage visible in his eyes. "No, no it's not okay. This big idiot has treated you like you're nothing, pushing you away because he thinks you're too fragile to touch. But now you're just running back to him. That's ridiculous."
He grabbed her arm as she turned away from him, yanking her back to face him.
Robyn's fist connected solidly with his face.
"Do not ever touch me like that again. I am not yours, you do not own me. I am a grown woman who can make her own decisions. And, as your broken nose is now reminding you, I'm also a fucking bear shifter. Leave us alone, Charlie. Whatever you and I may have had, as convoluted as it was, is done."
She heard a snigger of laughter behind her. A quick peak over her shoulder showed Andy doing his best not to break out into laughter. He quickly mouthed 'I love you' to her before she turned back.
"Get up," she said, reaching down and hauling Charlie to his feet. "Are we clear?" she asked him.
Instead of replying, he shook his head, glaring at her and Andy in turn before going back to his truck, blood streaming from his as he tried to stop the flow with his shirt.
"You are feisty. I like that," Andy rumbled, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.
"Better watch it, mister. Or else I'll pop you one, too," she said, waving her fist in front of his face.
"Is he going to be okay?" he asked, nodding in Charlie's direction.
"That's very uncharacteristically caring of you, Andy Hawes," she said in surprise.
"You broke his nose. Which, I admit, is amazing because he always rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know how you ever saw anything in him."
Robyn shook her head. "Sometimes he could be extremely nice and tender. Then other times, a complete ass. I don't pretend to understand it myself. But yes, I did break his nose, didn't I?"
As Charlie's truck came to life and swerved back onto the road, Andy put his hands around her waist. Nerves fluttered, because she had one more thing to ask.
"Andy, what about cubs?" she said, waiting for the sudden realization and subsequent rejection from the man she desperately wanted to be her mate.
"What about them?"
"I can't give them to you, remember?"
To her shock, Andy smiled.
"Well, the way I see it, we'll just keep trying for one. If it happens, an amazing miracle. If not, well, I think I can make sure it's fun anyways," he said with a suggestive grin.
Without waiting for her to say any more, he picked her up and headed for the back of her truck and the camper there.
Epilogue
"Okay you two, what did you call us all here for?" Calan shouted, quieting everyone down.
"Well," Andy began as attention turned to him and his mate, Robyn. He glanced down at her, nodding subtly for her to go ahead.
"First, I wanted to say thank you to everyone here for accepting me into your little band."
"Here, here!" Tanner shouted, raising his glass of beer.
The others followed suit. Calan and Harley. Kailee and Jet. Tanner
and Alyssa. Dylan and Devon. All the mated pairs were at the Quencher at the request of both Andy and Robyn.
It had been over a year since they had found each other, claimed each other and begun a life together. So much had happened in that time, they found it hard to believe.
Robyn had opened a Driving School, aimed at teaching experienced drivers more aggressive tactics, which had become a hit, with people driving in from all over to sign up for her courses.
Other changes had happened to their group in that time. Calan and Harley had had another child, and she was already pregnant with the third. Kailee was set to welcome a second bundle any day now, while Tanner and Alyssa were expecting their first. Dylan and Devon had adopted a pair of twin girls as well. The community was swelling, and Robyn loved every moment of it.
But not as much as she loved being able to say what she was about to.
"Well, it's rather difficult to say," she started, trying not to enjoy the sudden change in mood as everyone began to expect bad news.
"And it's going to affect everyone. We're both going to need all your support."
"You'll have it, of course," Harley said without hesitation.
"Good, because you've been through it twice now, and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."
"I've been—" Harley started to say before comprehension dawned in her eyes. "Wait, do you mean?"
"Yes," Robyn whispered.
"You guys are going to have a baby?!" Harley shouted, unable to contain her excitement.
The room erupted. Robyn couldn't remember what happened over the next few minutes, as it was a blur of hugs, handshakes, high fives, laughter, tears, and more emotions than she had ever thought herself able to experience. She truly was part of a family here.
"This calls for a toast!" Jet said, standing up on a chair to be heard over the adults and children.
"To our family," he decided.
They all raised their mugs.
"To the Bluff Bears!"
THE END
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