by Moxie North
“And no one there to take a picture, damn,” Rain said with a laugh.
“Shit, it was not my finest moment. My animal wanted me to throw her over my shoulder and run off into the woods with her. She’s older than me. She has her own home and a career. What the hell can I offer her?”
Rain sighed into the phone. “Well, as I understand it, unlimited love and devotion? That’s what my brother goes on and on about. What that man wouldn’t do for his mate. She’s got him wrapped around that pint size finger of hers. And those babies? I mean, don’t get me wrong, my niece and nephew are probably the cutest kids I’ve ever seen, and I don’t even like kids. But Cash would move to Belize and live in a hut if his mate asked him to. He’s happy, beyond happy. That’s going to be you, Angel. How great is that?”
Angel liked that idea. Becca with him, setting up house, having kids together. He’d never even put any thought into children. But now they seemed like a real thing that could happen for him. And it could be something in his near future. If he could get Becca to talk to him.
“I don’t even think she likes me. Eddie says I need to show her I’m the one for her. I have no idea how to even start that process. I had to look her up online to figure out her last name, and I think I know where she lives by the picture she posted of her house on Facebook.”
“That sounds so fucking dodgy. It’s a good thing we can blame our stalker behavior on our inner beasts. Poor humans have no one to blame but themselves. I wouldn’t show up at her house if she’s skittish. Maybe stop back in at her work. It’s a public place; no reason for her to worry you are going to kidnap her, no matter how great your bear thinks that plan is. Then ask her out. Take her to the diner. Offer to meet her there so she can be in charge of driving herself. Keep arranging for her to be in control. That will let her worry less about whether you’re nuts and more on if you’re a good guy.”
His friend was making good points. Keeping her in control of their courtship would free up her attention to other things. Of course, that meant he had to show her he wasn’t nuts and that he was worth a second and third date, followed by forever.
“This is good. Helpful, thanks.”
“Hey, you have it in you to be a great mate. How fucking lucky are you that you get to spend all of your life with your mate? No long decades searching and hoping to meet her. You hit the jackpot. Stop worrying, and trust that the fates picked her for you for a reason. Your faith is going to be the guide. I know you will do what’s right for her. She’s your mate. You’re a lucky son of a bitch. Just keep reminding yourself of that.”
He really was. Luckier than a lot of those in his clan that were much older than him and still hadn’t found their mates. He’d known his mate for all of a day and couldn’t imagine being without her. Maybe it was one of those situations that you don’t know what you’re missing until you have it in front of you.
“I think I should just head home and wait until tomorrow. Maybe stop by her work and see if she wants to go to lunch with me. Should I pack a picnic?”
“Did you just say picnic? What are you, a girl? No, don’t attempt to cook and please don’t go out and buy a little basket. You’ll never live that down. Just take her to someplace casual, if she says yes that is.”
“Right, I don’t think Spaghetti-o’s travel well.” Angel was a fast-food, convenience store, momma’s cooking kind of eater. He didn’t cook, unless you counted pouring a bowl of cereal as cooking.
“No, they don’t. Shower and put on something clean because you are undoubtedly wearing yesterday’s clothes, and think before you speak.”
“I should write this shit down,” Angel groaned.
“Good luck, buddy.”
“Thanks, bye.”
Hitting end on his phone, Angel let his head fall back against the seat. Keep it simple, clean up, invite her out. Don’t scare her away. Seemed like a small list, but everything was riding on it.
Chapter 21
Angel catnapped after laying awake for most of the night. When he’d returned to his place, he started cleaning up as if Becca would stop by at any moment. He had dirty clothes all over the floor, pizza boxes stacked in a tower in the corner, and enough gaming equipment to open his own shop laying out.
Picking up the massive amount of clothing made him aware that the clean clothes part of his plan could be in question unless he did something about it. Grabbing his hamper, he crammed as much as he could into it and practically ran down the steps on the outside of his parents’ garage. The back door of the house was always open and lucky for him was also the mudroom and laundry room.
He pulled open the machine and found it empty. Grabbing a handful of clothes, he started stuffing them in. There was no rhyme or reason to what he was adding; he figured it would all get clean anyway.
The door to the house opened, and his mother stood in the doorway wearing a robe and carrying a baseball bat.
“Angel Rochon, what the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
His mom was short and compact but the meanest bear he’d ever met. He was pretty sure she was the reason they coined the phrase momma bear.
“Sorry, I need clean clothes,” he explained grabbing the bottle of soap off the shelf.
Dropping the bat, she took the soap from him. “I could have bashed your head in. I thought you were an intruder.”
“If you thought I was a robber, why didn’t dad come down?”
“He said it was probably just a wild animal breaking in, and if it was, I could handle it. Lazy s.o.b. didn’t want to get up,” she said this with no malice in her voice.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. Just wanted to get a load started before tomorrow.”
“Well, you can’t just cram it all in there. You have all your colors mixed up. Separate it out, or you’re going to end up with pink underwear,” she warned.
“Show me?”
His mom paused and looked at him strangely. “You want me to show you how to do laundry?”
“Well, you can’t keep sneaking in and doing it for me. What about when I move out? I’ll end up naked and shaming the family.”
His mother gave a snort. “That would cause a riot. All those girls in town that have been trying to snag you. You’d be showing them the goods for free. They’d never stop then.”
Angel had no intention of telling his mom about Becca. It wasn’t a done deal yet, and he had too far to go before he could introduce her to them. Right now they would tell her all the shitty things he used to do and what a screw up he’d been. Angel needed to win her over, so those stories were just funny anecdotes instead of giant warning signs.
“Well, let’s do a dark load since most of your clothes are either jeans or black t-shirts.” His mom started pulling out what he’d already put in the machine and showed him how to keep his whites together and gave him a long-winded speech about putting his underwear in the bleach load because as she said, “Boys are gross.”
He couldn’t deny that, so he just nodded and paid attention.
“Now this will take a while to wash. It needs to be switched over to the dryer, or it will get skunky. I’ll be up around four because for some reason as you get older your body thinks four or five hours of sleep is plenty but then expects you to take a nap during the day.”
“Tough life, Mom,” Angel said grinning at her.
“Oh shut up, you. Your next loads are on you, though. I’ll leave them in here, but I expect them gone in a reasonable amount of time. Your father will end up tripping on them and whining that he can’t walk. He’s such a baby.”
“I thought he was a son of a bitch?”
“That too. Goodnight, honey,” his mom said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks,” he said then went back to his room. He loaded up the rest of the empty boxes and took them all out to the trash can. He found he had a set of clean sheets and put them on his bed. He’d need to vacuum tomorrow, but that would require another trip into the
house. He was twenty-one and didn’t own his own vacuum. All of a sudden, that seemed kind of pitiful. But things were changing. His focus was now on providing a solid home for his mate.
That meant a conversation with his Alpha in the morning. He needed Cage to know that tomorrow was a new day, and he was a new man. All those annoying tasks that his cousins had asked him to perform took on a new meaning. They were for the greater good of not only the company but the family. Everyone’s livelihood depended on the success of the family companies. All those mates and cubs were part of the bigger picture.
Running errands and checking on permits wasn’t just a job to keep him busy anymore. It was how he earned his money to support his mate. Sure, she had her own job and didn’t need him financially, but together they would build their life together. If his mate got pregnant, he’d want her to be able to take a leave knowing he could support her, or if she wanted to quit, that he’d provide that for her too.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked around the dark, shabby room. He’d spent the last three and half years living in here like he was still in high school. That time seemed so wasted now that he’d had a kick in the face by the fates. His music had been all he could think about and how to do something with it.
Now, it meant something different to him. He still loved his music, but it wasn’t the same. He knew without much effort he could sit around and pen lyrics about his mate’s hair, her eyes, those ruby red lips.
“Jesus, who the hell am I?” The room didn’t answer him. He couldn’t even be so annoyed at the change in his personality. He was happy. A question he hadn’t even known he needed the answer to was shown to him like a gift. Sure, his bear was anxious being away from her. Worrying about her, hoping she was all right without him. The other side of him knew that he could find her if he needed to. Show up at her door, catch a breath of that delectable scent. Like a junkie, that tiny taste would hold off his animal long enough to plan their next encounter with her.
Lying back on his bed, Angel stared at the ceiling and replayed every moment he could of the night before. Now that he knew who she was, the encounter went from hot to nuclear. One thing he knew for sure was it had been too short. They’d only had sex a few times; she only had four or five orgasms. That wasn’t nearly enough for his mate. She deserved every second of his time and every ounce of his effort.
Angel closed his eyes and tried to recall how she looked laying beneath him. His memory was fuzzy, but he could still see her. Soft and curvy, she was perfect, and she was his. That body was going to be his for the rest of his life, if only he could win her over.
Chapter 22
The fact that Angel was waiting in his office as he walked in the door wasn’t the biggest thing that caught Cage by surprise the next morning.
It was that Angel was wearing clean clothes, he’d combed his hair, and he was wearing cologne that made his bear want to sneeze. He was also sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk, his leg nervously bouncing up and down. Clearly, he’d been waiting for a while.
“Good morning,” he said, greeting his clan mate.
“Morning, Cage.” Angel looked up at his Alpha with wide eyes that looked like they needed a little more sleep.
“How long have you been here for?”
“Uh—” Glancing up at the clock. “An hour?”
“I’m guessing you’re not just here to make sure I still want you with Wyatt today. So what can I help you with?”
“No, I already sent him a text to see where he wanted me to meet him. I haven’t heard back yet. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about not putting one hundred percent in around here. I realize I’ve been less than enthusiastic. It is great that I have this opportunity. I guess I was just floating by and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Now I know that I need to take this chance and prove myself.”
“What’s different? This is the Angel I knew was inside but have never met.”
“I guess you could say I had an epiphany recently.”
Cage stared at him for a moment observing the young man. He was rigid, anxious, but didn’t look to be in pain or upset. He was just incredibly tense.
“An epiphany, huh?”
Angel wasn’t making eye contact with him; his eyes skittered around the room.
“Are you on something?”
“What? No, I’m just ready to get to work.” Angel tried to slow his breathing down. He wasn’t putting on a very mature face for his boss. This was not how he had envisioned his new life starting. “I’m here to do whatever job you want me to do. I’ll put in the hours, show you that you can count on me, and you can trust me with whatever task you want to throw at me.”
Cage studied him a little more, and his bear told him that something about this young man was more familiar. Cage’s bear could sense that Angel’s bear was different. His animal wanted his Alpha’s approval on something, an acknowledgement of the change in their circumstances.
Sensing that Angel wasn’t ready to share the reason for his change yet, he didn’t tell him that he knew why the young man was all of a sudden so keen on growing up.
Angel couldn’t stand the scrutiny any longer, so he finally spoke. “Her eyes are blue,” he said quietly.
He looked up to see his Alpha’s eyes widen, and he grinned. Then those eyes softened in a hard ass way that only a Kodiak bear could pull off. All soft but still scary. He didn’t want to get into a deep conversation with his Alpha at this moment, and he hoped Cage picked up on that.
“Okay, well I think that Wyatt can do without you since it was just busy work he needed done. I’ll have someone else cover with him. One of the crew is on light duty and can help him out. How about you hang out with me here today instead? I’ll show you what I do, how the company runs from the spreadsheet and numbers side. It would be nice to have someone that actually knew the business beyond the trees. My brothers love being out there but would rather cut their own paw off before being stuck in this office. You seem to be able to spend time away from the woods.”
“My bear likes to run, but I’m not drawn to it like the others are. I’d be happy to spend time in here. If you don’t mind, I was going to take lunch a little early. I have an appointment.” It wasn’t exactly untrue; he just didn’t know what time Becca took lunch and didn’t want to miss her.
“I don’t see a problem with that. I’ll be having lunch here. Sophie’s cooking.”
Angel knew that was code that after the lunch hour, Cage was probably going to be shacked up with his mate in the old mess hall apartment. That would give Angel an extra hour at least.
“What is she cooking today? Something I should stay for?”
With a chuckle Cage said, “Well, I think her plan was for some Thai soup that probably won’t go over with the guys that well. They’d never say they didn’t like it, though; they all love her too much.”
Angel knew that was true. Cage’s sweet British mate had won over all the gruff loggers that worked for the Rochons.
“Maybe she’ll save me some,” Angel said, smiling up at his Alpha.
“I’ll see to it. And Angel, you can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?”
Angel was never happier that Cage was the one leading their clan than right at that moment. His Alpha was always in tune with all of the clan, and Angel was sure that Cage probably had a pretty good idea why Angel was so interested in working all of a sudden. But Cage never pushed anyone; he didn’t need to.
“I know, thanks,” Angel said, giving his chin a lift.
They spent the morning going through their current cuts and projected the raw material that would be harvested. Just the amount of paperwork that went into deciding where to cut and when was mind boggling. The Rochon family had their own property that they cut timber on, people would often pay them to clear timber on privately owned land, and the U.S. government also allowed timber harvest on their lands.
Luckily, this was interesting to Angel. It was a complica
ted puzzle that, although tedious, had a huge reward. It wasn’t unlike a complicated musical piece. Everything had to fit together to make it come out right. He had been looking over the numbers on a completed project to see how their estimates had matched up with their actual take when Cage caught his attention.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to take lunch a little early?”
Looking up from the laptop he was working on, he glanced at the wall clock. It was just after eleven. They had been working for almost four hours, and time had flown by.
“Thanks, man. I’ll be back later.” Angel jumped up and saw Cage smiling at him. Angel paused at the look he was getting. Shaking his head, he heard Cage chuckle as he left the office.
Jogging out to his truck, he hopped in and realized that no matter how much he’d enjoyed learning with Cage, his bear had been doing all the worrying about Becca for him. It was amazing that no matter how much he was concentrating on something else, his mate was always in his thoughts.
The drive into town didn’t take long. He pulled up to the county building and parked. He couldn’t help himself from smiling like a giddy teenager when he walked up to the counter.
The woman at the counter was the one from the previous day that gave him the inappropriate look. “Do you have a number?”
“No, sorry, I was just coming by to see if Becca was available?”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I was just stopping by to see if she wanted to go to lunch. I was hoping to surprise her.”
“I don’t think she’s here. At least, I haven’t seen her,” the woman said, not even trying to hide the fact she was checking him out.
“Angel?”
Turning around, Angel saw the woman he talked to the other day.
“Hey, uh—”