“He has money.” Donald cast a smile her way. “You could do worse.”
“What?” Color rushed to her cheeks.
“You must have seen the way he looked at you?” Donald chuckled. “And I saw the way you looked at him.”
“I did not!” Lana’s face burned. “Okay, so he’s an attractive man. But I am not looking for a man.”
“One thing I’ve learned in life is that just because you aren’t looking for a thing, doesn’t mean the thing isn’t looking for you.” He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.
“Well, the things that usually find me are not things I want or need,” Lana retorted.
“Are you sure?” Donald asked. “Because sometimes we just don’t like to admit it.”
“They’re on the move.” Lana steered the car back onto the road as Jake’s sleek car purred past. As she followed behind, her stomach flipped over in excitement, reminding her of the nights before Christmas when she was a little girl.
Whatever lay ahead, whatever was at the end of the road, her gut told her life was about to change.
She only hoped it was for the better.
Chapter Five – Jake
“Wow, fate, huh?” Heather sank back in the plush leather seat of his Porsche and sighed. “I can see why you’ve kept the car. These seats are so comfortable.”
“I’ll be trading it in the first chance I get.” Jake glanced in the rearview mirror at the car following behind. “Lana has a child. I have a child. I need a family car.”
“Wow, Jake Harrison, look at you.” Heather chuckled and reached for her phone. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell on you. I think you should be the one to tell your brothers the great news.”
“I wonder what their story is?” Jake glanced at Heather. “What did she say to you?”
“Hi, I was passing and saw you stopped. Do you want some help?” Heather ran her hand over the leather seats. “Are these heated?”
“They are. Do you want me to switch them on?” Jake grinned as Heather nodded eagerly. He was ridiculously happy. Yet, also ridiculously nervous. This was it, the day he’d been waiting for his whole adult life. He’d met his mate. What happened if she didn’t like him?
How could she not when you are so charming and easy to get along with? His bear rolled his eyes. You’d better unearth your charm and charisma. Or we’re doomed.
“Oh, that is nice.” Heather sank lower in the seat and closed her eyes. “I’m going to tell Tad I’m sleeping in your car from now on.”
“You’re ditching him for heated seats?” Jake asked as he glanced in the mirror once more.
“He’ll understand. He loves me.” Heather’s expression sobered as she placed her hand on Jake’s. “It’ll be okay, you know it will. Fate brought her to you. You can do the rest.”
“Are you sure she won’t see straight through me and realize I’m a shallow, money-grabbing ho?” As Heather erupted in laughter, Jake appreciated her belief in him.
“Have you ever been called a money-grabbing ho?” she asked through her laughter.
“Not exactly those words.” He forced himself to watch the road ahead, but his gaze kept straying to the rearview mirror.
“Listen, Jake. The person you are in business is not the same person we see at home. He’s not the same person who adopted Milly or who worked his ass off to keep his brothers together. Never forget that. Never lose sight of the real you.” She chuckled again. “And that man is not a money-grabbing ho.”
“You know I love you, Heather?” Jake asked and his sister-in-law’s eyes misted at his words.
“Yeah. I know.” She pressed her lips together and swallowed hard. “And you know we all love you. Every one of us has been willing fate to give you a break over these last few months. And it seems our hopes have been answered.”
“Thanks.” He coughed. “I’m not good at expressing my feelings. So, I wanted you to know. I love you and the kids and Josephine. You are family and I’d do anything for you.”
“Like build us all houses?” Heather asked as the turnoff to the Harrison house came into view.
“That might have been for selfish reasons,” Jake admitted. “I didn’t want you to move out and leave me alone.”
“And now that you have a mate?” Heather asked.
“Nothing has changed. We all need each other. With the children…” He thought of Max and Josephine and their long journey to be approved for adoption. “Especially now. Max and Josephine are going to need us.”
“They’ll manage just fine, I’m sure. But I am looking forward to them having a child of their own. Not that Milly isn’t theirs.”
“But Milly belongs to us all.” Jake understood what Heather meant.
“So. What’s your plan?” Heather asked as Jake turned toward the house.
“Plan? With Lana?” He shrugged. “I have no clue.”
“Is that how you go into a business meeting? With no clue?” Heather asked.
“Business is something I’ve done all my life. A mate is something completely different. It’s new and exciting and terrifying.” He clenched his jaw.
“Well, my advice is to take it real slow. Get to know Lana, find out what she’s doing in Bear Creek since she hasn’t come for the beer festival.” Heather glanced over her shoulder. “Do you think she knows about…you know…shifters?”
“I don’t know. Her granddaughter’s named Ursula, which means little bear, but that could be a coincidence.” Jake stopped the car next to Max’s truck. “I’m going to tread very carefully around the subject. I don’t want to scare her off.”
“Just don’t tread too carefully. There’s taking it slow and there’s appearing disinterested.” Heather placed her hand on the door handle, but before she opened the car door, she added, “Be yourself. Your true self and she won’t be able to stop herself from falling for you.”
Heather leaned across the car and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations, Jake.” She winked as she pulled away from him. “Fate knows what it’s doing. You have to trust in that.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” Jake rested his head on the headrest and steadied his nerves. “At least I can see how right fate was with my brothers and their mates.”
“Very right.” Heather got out of the car. “You three guys lived all alone for so long and now you have a houseful of women.”
“Hey.” He caught hold of Heather’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you. You and Josephine. And your mom and Lillian. You’ve all been great.”
“You are welcome.” She winked and pulled away from him. “I’ll get these unloaded and then I am going to shower and check up on Tad and the kids.” She inclined her head toward Lana’s car. “While you spend time with your new family.”
“It’s a pity they don’t know they are my new family.” Jake opened the car door and swung his legs out, placing his feet firmly on the ground while his head was still floating around on cloud nine. He’d found his mate and he needed to hang on to that thought even though Lana had no idea of the enormity of their meeting.
“They soon will.” Heather went around to the trunk of his car and opened it up. “Can you give me a hand carrying these inside? Then it might be worth you finding the others. Tad said Max was home now. You should tell them your news. And tell them to behave.”
“You don’t think I should stay with Lana and her family?” His need to be with his mate and not let her out of his sight was almost too much. He didn’t see why Heather should get to spend time with Lana. She was perfectly capable of talking to Max and Tad.
Jake shook his head as if trying to shake the fuzzy sensations from his brain. Perhaps he did need a few minutes away from Lana so that he could clear his head and compose himself.
“I was going to persuade them that we are sane and rational people and that they should stay for dinner, and preferably the night. Since the rest of Bear Creek is likely booked solid.” Heather arched an eyebrow at Jake. “Unless you think you can d
o a better job? Although, that faraway look you get in your eyes every time Lana looks at you might make her think you are a little cuckoo crazy.” Heather pointed her finger at her left temple and wound her finger around and around in a spiral.
“Okay. I get it. You win.” Jake held his hands up in surrender. “I think you will have more success.”
“Thank you.” She nodded and pulled out the large fairy which was wrapped in bubble wrap. “If you could, take this into the house and put it on the kitchen table. I’ll figure out where I’m going to store it all until the morning.”
“Why don’t you put everything in my office?” Jake suggested. “I’m not going to use it for the rest of the day.”
“I suppose you aren’t since you have a mate to impress.” Heather’s eyes danced with merriment. “Wow, Jake Harrison taking a night off from work. Who would have thought it?”
“Funny. Very funny. Now I’m second-guessing leaving you to persuade Lana to stay.” He carried the fairy toward the house, although he could not help glancing at the other car and the passengers inside. “I’m not sure if they are planning on making a run for it.”
Heather looked across to the car. “I’ll deal with everything. Just go and warn your brothers that you may be acting a little more odd than usual.”
“I don’t act odd,” Jake insisted.
Heather shooed him away. “Go and tell them your news. And also tell them not to come rushing over to stare at your mate.”
“You really think I’ll be able to keep them away?” Jake asked as he went inside the house.
“No.” She shook her head and turned to approach their guests.
Jake hurried through to his office and placed the fairy statue down on his desk before taking a quick look around the room. It was clean and tidy. Jake wasn’t OCD but he did like to be organized and keep his workspace uncluttered.
As he turned to leave the room, his eyes rested on a photograph of Milly. She was about to get a third mom to go with her three dads. It was strange how life turned out. And how life turned around.
Before Milly came into their lives, the Harrison brothers were all bachelors waiting for their mates. How things had changed. How life had changed.
Aren’t you counting your chickens before they hatch? his bear asked.
No. Lana is our mate and we will spend the rest of our lives together. If we can do big business deals, we can surely make the woman who is destined to be ours forever love us. Can’t we? Jake’s sudden optimism waned.
Almost certainly, his bear agreed.
Swinging around, he left the room as the sound of Heather and their guests filtered through from the front door. Jake ducked out through the kitchen door and closed it carefully behind him. He stood for a moment, his senses stretching out as he tried to locate his brothers. However, the nearness of his mate overwhelmed him. She consumed his senses, blocking out everything and everyone else.
As Jake headed for the door leading into the back yard, he reveled in the new sensations flooding his body. It was like being drunk on the finest of wines.
“Jake?” Jake jumped guiltily as Max walked across the back yard toward him. His brother was dressed in hiking gear and looked tired from a day on the mountain. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Fine. Really good.” He nodded and looked around. “Is Tad around?”
“Yes, he’s in his studio.” Max came to stand next to his brother. “Are you sure you are okay?”
“I am.” He pointed toward the building Tad used as a studio for his sculptures. “Come on.”
“You want me to come with you to the studio?” Max asked, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his brother. “Something is wrong. You look flustered.” His brow wrinkled. “Did something happen to Heather? Tad said you were going to collect the artwork she had in her car. She told Tad she’d arranged for the tow truck and everything and insisted she didn’t need us to go get her.”
“It’s not about Heather.” Jake grabbed hold of his brother and dragged him toward Tad’s workshop.
“Then what is this about?” Max asked as he yanked his arm away from Jake.
“I’d rather speak to you both together.” Jake stopped walking and turned around to face Max. “Please, would you just do this for me? Will you just come with me to see Tad, because I asked you to and without all these questions?”
Seeing his brother’s frustration, Max nodded. “You only had to ask.”
Jake bit back his reply and stalked off with Max trailing behind him. As he walked, he tried to make sense of what had happened and how his life was about to change.
For the better, his bear reminded him. Our lives will change for the better.
“Tad!” Max called as they reached the old stone building Tad had converted into a workshop for his sculptures. “Jake wants to talk.”
“Coming.” A chair scraped across the stone floor and the sound of footsteps grew nearer as Tad came to join them. “What’s up?”
“I met my mate.” Jake’s words were met with shocked silence. He grinned. “I believe this is the first time I’ve ever been able to silence you both at the same time.”
“I… How? Where?” Tad was the first to speak and he grabbed hold of Jake and pulled him into a bear hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Who is she?” Max asked as he joined in the brotherly hug.
“I have no idea,” Jake answered. “I mean I do. Her name is Lana, but why she is in Bear Creek and what she’s like or what she does…I have no idea, which is both terrifying and exciting.”
Max lifted his head and listened for a moment. “She’s here? I can hear voices, but I had no idea it was someone important.”
“She’s here?” Tad asked as he took a step away from his eldest brother.
“Wait.” Jake held up his hand. “Heather is trying to persuade Lana and her family to stay here for the night.”
“Wow, you do move fast.” Tad thumped Jake in the arm. “All you know is her name and you’re asking her to stay the night.”
Jake’s brow creased in frustration. “You know it’s not like that.” He sighed. His brothers were flushed with excitement. He had a feeling this would not end well. “Lana didn’t realize the beer festival was on in town this weekend. She hasn’t booked accommodation and it’s doubtful she’d find anything suitable since she’s traveling with her father and granddaughter.”
“Wait. If she has a granddaughter, that means she must have a child,” Max began.
“Wow, look at you with your knowledge of basic reproduction,” Tad remarked.
“Funny. But you know what I’m trying to say.” Max looked at Jake for an answer.
“The answer is, I don’t know if she has a husband or boyfriend or any significant other.” He shrugged it off, not wanting his brothers to see it bothered him. “All I can hope is that fate didn’t decide to play a crappy joke on me. But if it did and Lana was happy, then I would let her walk out of my life.”
Max shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Do you honestly think Jake Harrison would let his mate go? I’ve seen you in action in the boardroom. You don’t let anything go if it’s what you really want.”
“This is different,” Jake insisted. “If Lana was in a happy relationship and she has a family who loves her, I would not hurt her. I’d let her go.”
“We know you would,” Tad said gently. “But let’s hope that isn’t the case. Fate hasn’t put a foot wrong yet. I know you think you’re special and all, but I don’t think fate feels the same way.”
“Thanks.” Jake frowned. “I think.”
“Come on. Let’s go meet her.” Max took a couple of steps toward the house.
“And if Heather hasn’t persuaded them to stay the night, Max and I will let the air out of her tires or steal the starter, so they have to stay.” Tad put his arm around Jake’s shoulders. “You can count on us, Jake.”
“I know I can.” Jake slid his arm around his brethren’s shoulders and pulled him into a bear hu
g. “And that is what scares me.”
Tad slapped his brother on the back. “We will be on our best behavior. I promise.”
“I trust you to keep your promise.” Jake hoped his trust wasn’t misplaced. But Max and Tad had never broken a promise to him, and he didn’t expect them to start now.
However, that didn’t stop his stomach from doing backflips as the three brothers went to meet his mate. This was as far out of his comfort zone as he’d ever ventured, and this was just the beginning of his new life with his mate.
Chapter Six – Lana
“Nice house,” Donald commented as he got out of the car and stretched his old bones.
“It’s okay,” Lana reluctantly agreed.
“Ah, come on, this is your perfect kind of house, with the wide-open views and the mountains in the distance. When you were a little girl, you used to draw pictures of houses like this and tell your mom and me that was where you would live one day.” Donald studied his daughter closely as he looked toward the two people at the foot of the porch. “Man like that would be a good catch.”
Lana arched an eyebrow. “Pity I don’t have my rod with me. If I did, I could hook him on a line and reel him in.”
“The way he was looking at you back on the road, I don’t think you need a rod or a net.” Donald grinned as he shut the car door, stretched his arms over his head and breathed in the clear mountain air. “Smells good.”
Lana shook her head and went to the back of the car and opened the door. “Come on, Sula. Let’s stick together.”
“I saw a pony!” Ursula kicked her feet with excitement. “Do you think Heather would let me go and pet it?”
“I’m sure she would.” Lana unbuckled Ursula’s seatbelt and helped her slide out of the car. “But if you go and pet any of the animals here, including the ponies, you must have an adult with you. Understand?”
“I understand.” Ursula’s feet crunched on the loose stones under her feet as she spun around, taking in their surroundings. “People actually live in places like this!”
Jake Page 4