However, just as Julius put his hand on the doorknob, the air in the room crackled with static electricity. He let go of Catherine’s hand, and swung around just in time to see Frank Millar shift into a small brown bird.
Julius didn’t hesitate, he shifted, lightning fast, his huge bear paws planted on the carpeted floor, his claws tearing through the carpet to leave long gashes on the floorboards as he launched himself into the air, jaws open wide.
Like something out of a cartoon, the bird flew at the door, aiming for the narrow opening. But he wasn’t going anywhere. Julius’s bear kicked out a back leg and slammed the door shut, his gaping wide mouth sucking the small bird in. The bird realized what was happening too late. He tried to use his wings to reverse direction, but it was no good, the massive bear jaws clamped down around him.
Cerys Millar screamed, Catherine gasped, and Liam stared in shock at the bear. Declan was on his feet, kneeling down in front of Julius’s bear, a bemused expression on his face. “Please tell me you didn’t really eat him.” Julius’s bear peeled his big lips back and bared his teeth, showing the caged bird to Declan, who looked instantly relieved.
“He killed him. That monster killed him.” Cerys’s wails verged on hysterics.
“No, Frank is quite safe. For now.” Declan sat down. “Is there anything you want to add before I take you to the station? Your husband was more than willing to fly away and let you take the heat for this.”
Cerys looked in horror at the bird fluttering around in Julius’s mouth. The bear was going to have to spit him out soon, Frank’s feathers were tickling his throat.
“I don’t know anything,” Cerys insisted. “Frank said he had to collect some merchandise from an old friend in Bear Creek. He promised me a short vacation in a fancy hotel.”
“What kind of merchandise?” Declan asked, writing in his notebook.
“I don’t know,” Cerys replied, still shaken by the bear in the room.
“Drugs?” Declan asked.
“No,” Cerys insisted, but her face flushed pink.
“And this old friend?” Declan pushed for more information.
Cerys shook her head. “I don’t know his name. All I know is Frankie read an article about this guy who was responsible for catching some egg hunters.” She leaned forward. “But Frankie doesn’t deal in stolen goods.”
“No, just illegal ones,” Liam murmured.
“OK.” Declan got up and moved back toward Julius’s bear. “Let him out.”
His bear coughed, and the bird shot across the room to land in a soggy heap. He squawked, before staggering up onto his thin legs and trying to ruffle his feathers, which were coated in bear saliva.
Cerys was on her feet, purse in hand. “I’ve got a good mind to clobber you, Frankie Millar. Trying to fly off and leave me like that!”
“Frank Millar, you are under arrest.” Declan read him his rights. “Now, you are going to shift back to your human form. I am going to cuff you.” Declan took the cuffs from his belt. “And I’m also going to tie a rope around your foot. So, if you try that again, I’ll still have hold of you. Got it?”
Frank nodded. “Liam, would you go down to my truck and get some rope out of the trunk. Thinnest there is. Then maybe you can accompany me to the station while I process these two.”
“Sure.” Liam turned to his Mom. “I’ll see you back here. OK?”
Catherine nodded. “I’ll wait with Julius and then we can go home together.”
“Look after her, Julius,” Liam said with concern.
“Like my life depended on it,” Julius replied, because in so many ways it did. She was his. And always had been.
He took a dazed Catherine to his apartment and poured her a glass of Scotch. “Here, this will make you feel better.”
“Will it?” Catherine asked hoarsely, but took the glass from him and drank, wincing at the taste.
“I know it’s been a shock, but it’s over.”
“We’ve been on a roller-coaster of emotions for nothing. Just so that man could get his hands on drugs. No wonder he was shocked to see me. Liam wouldn’t have known what his dad looked like. That’s what he gambled on.”
“At least no one got hurt.” Julius flinched. No one had been physically hurt, but both Liam and Catherine had been emotionally wounded.
“How could Mike have told this man about the drugs?” Catherine asked.
“People talk. He probably bragged about how he had some drugs stashed away.” Julius put his arm around Catherine and led her to the bed, her blue eyes startling against her pale skin.
“Mike should have told the police it was hidden there,” Catherine said sharply.
“Shh. Wait until we have all the facts before you blame Mike.” Julius held her close.
“You’re right.” She sighed. “If anything has come out of this whole sorry episode, it’s that I need to find Hector. Liam and Mike both need to know what happened to their dad and why he never came back to see them.”
“Are you prepared for what you might find?” Julius asked gently.
“Yes. Anything. I need to know the truth.”
Julius turned her to him. “The truth is sitting here, right in front of me.”
Catherine stroked his face and kissed his lips. “I love you, Julius. That is my truth.”
“I love you, Catherine. So very much.” He kissed her, pouring all his love, all his need, into that one kiss. He would stand beside her, no matter what she found. Because she was his Catherine, and always had been.
Chapter Nineteen – Cath
“Are you sure?” Cath asked Liam when he returned to the hotel after accompanying Declan to the sheriff’s station.
“Yes. Frank Millar was behind the drug smuggling operation Mike was involved with. The drugs in the sofa were his. Knowing where they were hidden, he visited the store a couple of times to case the joint, although I don’t remember him. But he never saw a chance to retrieve them. When he saw the article in the papers about the egg hunters, he couldn’t let it rest. Somehow, maybe from Mike, he realized I was estranged from my father, which gave him the idea of how he could get into my private apartment.”
“And so, he decided to impersonate him?” Cath asked.
“Yes.” Liam sighed. “He didn’t know you were in town. He figured he’d manage to dupe me long enough to get what he came for.”
“Why didn’t he just break in?” Julius asked.
“Because for the first few months Liam moved to Bear Creek, he hardly left the place,” Cath replied.
“True. Plus I fitted a state of the art alarm system as the business grew. I don’t want anyone breaking in and stealing my stock.” Liam put his arm around his mom’s shoulders and spoke gently, “I don’t believe Mike was directly involved in this. He didn’t plan it. And as far as I can tell, he didn’t know what was happening.” Liam kissed the top of her head.
Cath nodded, relieved it was all over, and Mike had only been guilty of not telling the truth about the drugs. “Stupid boy.”
Liam nodded. “I’m going to tear the store apart to make sure there are no other hidden surprises.”
“Or you could just ask Mike,” Julius suggested.
Cath agreed. “I’ll go and visit him. Tell him what’s happened and ask him if there’s anything else we need to know about.” She took hold of Liam’s hand. “We have to find a way to trust him once more. And to force him to take responsibility for himself.”
“I trust your judgment, Mom. You have always made the right decisions.” Liam stretched. “Home.” He swung around to face Julius. “Good catch, the whole bird thing.”
“Oh, I really thought you’d swallowed Frank,” Cath said as they walked out of the hotel.
“I was tempted to bite his head off,” Julius told them as he waved to Adam. “I’ll take you home, and then come back to take over from Adam.”
Liam rode his motorbike back to Bear Creek, with Cath and Julius following behind in Julius’s car. �
�What a day!” Cath was still trying to get her head around it all.
“What a day indeed,” Julius agreed. “You certainly have turned my life upside down.”
Cath gave a short laugh. “It all began when you walked into my life.”
“I think you walked into my life,” Julius corrected.
“This time,” Cath reminded him. “But you found me first.”
“I did.” Julius nodded. “What happens about Hector?”
“What about him?” Cath asked.
“Do you think Liam will want to find his father too? This might have stirred up a need to know what happened to his father.” Julius turned onto the main street and parked outside the store. It was midafternoon, and the sun was shining. A perfect day in Bear Creek.
“He might. And if he does I’ll support him.” Cath turned to face Julius. “The anger and disappointment I held on to for so long have gone now. We all need closure.”
Julius reached out and stroked her cheek. “If he hadn’t left, we might never have found each other. And this is right. This is real, I promise you.”
“I know that now. I understand why Hector left. He couldn’t live a lie. But it was a lie he made.” She shook her head, it was like a puzzle she would never be able to solve. “He said I belonged to another, and he was right. My love for Hector is a pale shadow of my love for you, Julius. And I do love you.” She leaned forward and kissed him.
“I love you, Catherine. With all my heart.” He leaned back and looked at her, the amber flecks of his eyes bright as his love shone through. “Always.”
“Let’s go and get some of Liam’s coffee and fill Leona in on what’s happened. And Beverly, I’m sure news of what happened spread to the grocery store.” Cath got out of the car and they walked hand in hand across to Bear Creek Mountain Store.
Julius opened the door, and Cath went inside, immediately sensing something was wrong. “Liam?”
Liam was standing next to Leona and Beverly, when they heard Cath’s voice, they all turned to face her. “Mom. There’s someone here.”
Cath frowned. “Who?” It couldn’t be Mike, he was not due for release for months.
Liam stepped back, and she saw the face of the man she’d once loved. “Hector.” There was no mistaking the face of Liam and Mike’s father. He looked the same, only grayer, much grayer. Hector was a lot older than Cath. When they were together, the age gap hadn’t seemed so big. Now it did.
“Cath.” He smiled, the smile she remembered. “I didn’t know you were here in Bear Creek until I introduced myself and Beverly here told me.”
“He has Liam’s eyes,” Beverly said. “I figured this was the real Hector.”
“What are you doing here?” Cath asked, her fingers holding on to Julius’s so tight she might cut off his blood circulation.
“I saw the article about Liam in the papers. Chip off the old block.” Hector’s eyes looked up at his son with admiration. “I thought it was time I came by and said hello.”
“You thought it was time?” Cath asked in disbelief.
“Yes.” He nodded and looked at Julius. “I didn’t want to intrude on your lives.”
“Our lives?” Cath frowned. “You left us. You left me and your children, with just a note saying we weren’t mates and I belonged to another.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.” Hector looked up at Liam. “I’m sorry I missed you growing up. But when I saw Julius that day…” His face crumpled and then he recovered and said, “I knew I had to step aside and let you be with your true mate.”
“You saw Julius?” Cath asked, even more confused. “When? The day we married?”
“No, later than that,” Julius admitted. “I sometimes used to come by where you lived… Just to see you.”
“And you met Hector?” Cath asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We didn’t meet.” Julius shook his head and held on to her tightly. “It was a passing glance.”
“A fraction of a second, but I knew then the mistake I’d made. I saw the unmistakable look in his eyes. He was your true mate,” Hector said. “I left so that you could be happy. With your true mate. And here you are.”
“Dad,” Liam said the word as if it was foreign, unknown to him. “Mom and Julius have only just met.”
Hector’s face paled. “But you were there, twenty-five years ago.”
“When I saw you. I realized I had to walk away. Let Catherine be happy. I didn’t want to come between you both.” Julius’s voice cracked with emotion.
Cath sighed as she understood how all the pieces fit together. “We’re together now, Julius. That’s all that matters.” She turned to face him, her heart heavy with the weight of the past.
“Why don’t we go and get some coffee?” Liam said to his father, with a backward look at Cath. He smiled, at her. “You and Julius might need a private moment.”
“Good idea,” Beverly said brightly.
Hector nodded and followed Liam toward the stairs leading up to the apartment above. Beverly started to follow, but then came across to Cath and Julius. She hugged Cath tightly, before stepping away.
“Are you OK?” Beverly asked. “I know Liam is in shock. I mean you wait a lifetime for your dad to show up, and then you get two in two days.”
Cath nodded. “I’m OK.” She looked up at Julius. “We’re OK.”
“Good. Will you come up when you’re ready?” Beverly asked. “Liam needs you.”
Cath reached out and touched Beverly’s cheek. “He has you now.”
“He’s always going to need his mom,” Beverly replied.
“Beverly’s right,” Julius said. “He’s always going to need you.”
“What about you?” Cath asked.
“I’m always going to need you more.” He hugged her close, as Beverly left them alone, and Leona began sorting through boxes of new stock.
“This is our beginning.” Cath looked into his eyes. “We’ve had a long journey to get here. But we have the rest of our lives ahead of us.”
“And I know just the place for us to live. It’s a house on the hill, halfway between Bear Creek and Bear Bluff. It has a porch, where we can sit and grow old together watching the world around us.”
She kissed his lips. “I’d like that. Although I don’t know if I want to just sit and watch the world. I want to be part of it. I want to help at Will’s project. I want to make a difference. This is our chance, a second chance, let’s live life to the full.”
“Whatever you say, as long as you marry me.” He pulled back away from her. “Or are you still married to Hector?”
“No, I divorced him on the grounds of abandonment. I never heard from him again.” Cath slid her arms around his neck. “We’ve come so close to being together. Our lives have brushed up against each other. But I don’t want to live with regrets.”
“Me neither.” He kissed her lips. “But I promise you, I’m never going to let you go again.”
“I can live with that,” Cath said and kissed his lips.
“True love’s kiss, that’s enough to break any curse,” Julius murmured.
“From now on we live a life that’s blessed.” Cath rested her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, knowing this was where she belonged. Their lives had led them down winding paths, but they had arrived at their destination.
Epilogue
“Two weddings in a month,” Leona said as she helped Cath zip up her dress.
“I hope you’ll be as happy as we are.” Beverly handed Cath her bouquet of flowers, made up of roses and forget-me-nots. An image of herself standing outside the town hall, waiting for Hector, came to her. What if she’d turned around that day and seen Julius?
But she didn’t. They’d come to terms with the way they were swept apart that fateful day. Might-have-beens and what-ifs had no place in their future together.
“I hope so too,” Cath told Beverly. “You and Liam deserve every happiness.”
Beverly looked d
own at the gold band on her finger. “I love you like the morning sun as it peaks over the mountains, giving warmth and life to the world below,” Beverly recited a line from the vows Liam had written for her on their wedding day.
“Liam has the heart of a poet,” Hector said, standing in the doorway.
All three women turned to look at him. “Hello, Hector,” Cath greeted the father of her children.
“May I speak to you alone, Cath?” Hector asked.
“Of course,” Cath replied nervously.
“Don’t worry, I’ve only come to wish you happiness,” Hector reassured her.
Leona, Beverly, and Sandra, who were there to help her get ready and give moral support, left the room. Cath turned to face Hector. “Do you remember I had a bunch of forget-me-nots the day we got married?”
“I do.” Hector smiled sadly. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for…everything.”
“It’s in the past.” She looked down at her flowers. “Where did you go?”
“To the mountains.” He looked out of the window toward the Bluff. “I lived as an eagle for the first few years. Lost myself to the wind and the elements. I’m not proud of the way I behaved. But I was always a free spirit. I want you to know that I honestly loved you. I thought that I would never meet my mate, but I could be happy and have a life with you. Right or wrong, I made my choice to leave because I thought it was best for you.”
“I didn’t know.” Had he mourned his family?
“How could you, Cath?” Hector walked to the window. “The wild still calls to me now.”
“But you won’t leave again?” Cath asked. “You’re going to stay and build a relationship with your sons. Both of them.”
“I am,” Hector said. “If you want me to.”
“If I want you to?” Cath asked.
“I came here not knowing the full details. Certainly not expecting to learn you’d spent so many years alone.” He turned to face her. “I don’t want to hurt you again, Cath.”
“The only way you’ll hurt me, is by hurting our children. I’m over the rest of it. I’m over you,” Cath admitted.
“Be happy,” Hector said as he slipped out of the room, leaving Cath breathless, as sorrow threatened to bubble up inside her. She let it go, this was her day, the happiest day of her life, after the birth of her children.
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