Silverbacks and Second Chances

by Raines, Harmony

  With Jenny and Jason directly behind them, Frankie and Ruth reached the entrance of the building and paused. There waiting for her, in the place they had shared breakfast only hours earlier, was Adam. Next to him stood Julius, and filling the domed room were their immediate friends and family.

  As she walked up to Adam and took his hand, Ruth let her go. But Frankie knew they were always going to be joined by love. Not as strong as the mating bond, but equally as important were those who loved you, from the cradle to the grave.

  Frankie placed her hand on her heart. At last, it didn’t feel restless. As she said her vows, she finally felt whole, complete. And loved. Very, very loved.

  Epilogue

  “Was it your idea?” Frankie asked Elise as they sat in the garden under the shade of the trees. Their newly-built house in the forest was perfect, and when she had the energy, Frankie intended to create a garden filled with flowers, a mini oasis amidst all the trees.

  “Was what my idea?” Elise asked, sipping her tea.

  “St. Lucia? Was that your idea?” She stroked Fingal’s head as the old dog lay beside her. He was her constant companion, they had adopted him as soon as they returned from their honeymoon. The old dog looked up and thumped his thick tail on the ground.

  “For your honeymoon?” Elise asked.

  “Yes, I never asked you.” The months since their wedding had passed by in a blur. Frankie had hardly had time to think about everything as life rocketed along at breakneck speed. But here they were, they had weathered the storm.

  “Yes. I spoke to Julius, showed him the photographs of Terence and Delia. I thought it would help you finally put it all behind you. Lay their ghosts to rest.” Elise smiled and looked off into the distance. “I hope you enjoyed it.”

  “We did, we visited the place they first met. The place in the photographs.” Frankie reached out for Elise’s hand. Her energy was slowly returning, she was feeling more herself every day. Which was good, because she was going to need every ounce of her energy in the coming months.

  “Hello, ladies.” Adam came outside, a baby cradled in each arm.

  “Here they are.” Elise’s face lit up as Adam passed one of the little girls to her and then settled the other gently in Frankie’s arms. He kissed her lips lightly, his face no longer full of concern as it had been in the days after the twins were born.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stroking her hair back from her face as she stared down into the face of her tiny daughter.

  “Yes.” The pregnancy and births had been rough, but with the help of the doctors and midwives, Frankie had given birth to two healthy daughters. Ruth had been her rock, never wavering in her support, just as she had throughout Frankie’s life. Neither Adam nor Ruth had left her side during the birth, although Frankie would never forget the fear on her sister’s face. Fear that she would lose Frankie in childbirth as they had lost their mother.

  “They are so beautiful,” Elise cooed. “Yes, you are.”

  Frankie took hold of Adam’s hand. “We have decided on names.”

  “You have?” Elise was besotted by the small baby in her arms.

  “We wanted you to be the first to know.”

  That got Elise’s attention. “That’s… Why?”

  “We thought since we have twin girls…” Elise's face paled, and she put her hand to her mouth. Frankie nodded. “We would like you to meet Delia and Elise.”

  Elise sobbed as she looked down at her sister’s namesake. “Hello, Delia.”

  “We also wanted to ask you to be a godmother. Along with Ruth. Michael and Julius are going to be godfathers.”

  “Thank you.” Elise hiccuped as she swallowed her tears. “I want to be part of their lives. If that’s okay?”

  “More than okay.” Adam put his arm around Frankie. “In so many ways, we owe our happiness to you. And Delia.”

  “It was fate,” Elise said simply.

  And Frankie could not argue with Elise’s conclusion. She only hoped fate was ready to give them all a happy ever after. Especially the two little girls, who had made her world complete.

  Song Bear

  Silverbacks and Second Chances

  (Book Four)

  Elise has known loss. Now she’s ready to love.

  Moving to Bear Creek was a big decision for bear shifter, Elise. She left behind a life, a career, and a mountain of memories. However, the thought of watching Frankie’s children grow up, and the chance to open a new organ transplant coordination department at the hospital in Bear Bluff, persuaded Elise it was the right decision.

  Then, on a morning run in the mountains, she hears a song. Not just any song. And not just any singer.

  Elise lost her heart to Hank Rivera when she was fourteen. She used to lie on her bed, listening to his heartbreakingly deep voice soar with emotion. He was hers. And she was his. It didn’t matter that every other girl on the planet thought the exact same thing.

  Then he disappeared. Until now.

  Could it be that the Hank Rivera truly is hers?

  Hank left behind a career he loved. Instead, he traveled the world, he built schools, helped those in need, and generally forgot about the world of music. Until he arrived in Bear Creek.

  One morning, he picked up his guitar and strummed the notes of an old song.

  His mate heard it like a siren’s call. Now she’s here, in his cabin, and his whole life is about to change.

  But can this song bear make a comeback and help Elise raise much-needed funds for the transplant department? Or will he live in obscurity, overshadowed by the events of the past?

  Chapter One – Elise

  Elise perched on the cliff edge and looked down over the town of Bear Creek below. The town was her home now, although she still wasn’t certain moving here was the right thing.

  Her life was elsewhere. She’d built a career, matching sick shifters in need of transplants to the available organs they desperately needed.

  And you can do the same here, her bear reminded her.

  She was right, of course, the prospect of setting up a new department in the hospital in Bear Bluff was exciting and fulfilling. So why did the pull of her old job, and her old house, make her heart ache?

  Memories, her bear told her. And Elise knew just which memories her bear meant. Memories of growing up with her sister, Delia. Memories of Delia and Terence. Memories of their deaths.

  Living in Bear Creek didn’t mean giving up those memories, but it did mean moving on. Time had passed by and softened the pain, she should be ready. But she wasn’t. The loss of a twin would never go away. Yes, it faded, but the ache in her heart was still there. Although two small babies, newborn twins named after Elise and Delia, eased the ache a little more each day.

  Shifting into her bear, Elise made her way down the trail leading to Bear Creek. The cool breeze on her face and the warm sun on her back lightened her mood. Perhaps it was time to move on, time to put the past behind her. But she didn’t want to forget. Couldn’t forget the twin she’d been connected to on a deep level. As deep as the mating bond, Delia had once told her. It was shortly after that Delia met Terence and Elise had been so incredibly happy for her sister, but also scared. Scared she would lose the person who had always been by her side.

  A tear trickled down her bear’s cheek. Delia had told her not to worry, their bond was strong enough to defeat even death. Neither of them expected that statement to be tested so literally.

  But they had cheated death, in a small way. Delia’s heart beat in another woman’s chest.

  The circle is complete, her bear said.

  Maybe her bear was right. A fresh town, a fresh job, a fresh start.

  With a sense of excitement thrumming through her body, she picked up speed. Racing down the steep trail, dirt puffed up where her large bear paws hit the ground. Delia wouldn’t want Elise to live in the shadow of her death, she’d want Elise to go out there and live her life. To hunt for her mate and settle down, enjoying her o
wn happiness, instead of mourning the loss of her sister.

  With a promise whispered on the air, Elise reached the top of the trail before it narrowed and dropped down onto the lower slopes of the mountain range. She would walk from here. Shifters were not common knowledge and with the height of the tourist season on them, she didn’t want anyone to see her bear, let alone see a bear shift into a woman.

  Walking down the trail on two feet was a lot slower than four paws, but she wasn’t in a rush. Elise had a couple of hours to spare before she was due at Frankie and Adam’s cabin in the woods. She had promised to babysit their twin girls, so the couple could go out on their first date night since the birth of their daughters. Elise couldn’t wait. The two babies had woken up the maternal side of her nature, and she took every opportunity to spend time with them.

  As she walked, her thoughts were lost on the first small smiles from two beautiful babies, and the way they hugged each other when asleep, sharing the same connection as Elise and her sister. Then a sound pulled her back to the present. The sound of a strummed guitar reached her and awoke a new memory, long since buried under all the others. Elise frowned, she recognized the tune, it was half-hidden in her past. She lifted it out and cleaned it off.

  Elise and Delia had been fourteen, it was the year before they learned to shift, and the song was on the radio all the time. The summer was hot, and Elise would lie on her bed and fan herself with the latest edition of her favorite pop magazine while dreaming of being the woman Hank Rivera fell in love with. They had a connection, she could feel it in each agonizing refrain of his first hit single “Loving You Forever.”

  Each line Hank sang was for her. Every hitch in his voice a pining for a love he was yet to meet. He knew she was out there. Elise knew it was her.

  Elise wasn’t stupid or naïve. Every female listening to the song thought the same thing. But for Elise it was different. He was hers, she knew it from the bottom of her heart. And Delia teased her mercilessly. A smile crossed her face. Whatever happened to Hank Rivera?

  As the strum of the guitar grew louder, Elise left the well-worn trail and ducked under a low hanging tree branch. Small twigs cracked beneath her feet as she made her way toward the music, as if played by the Pied Piper himself. The strumming stopped suddenly and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She’d invaded someone’s privacy, she shouldn’t be here.

  But she couldn’t turn back, couldn’t walk away until she knew who was playing her song.

  “Who’s there?” His voice, deep, filled with suspicion, reached her through the trees. Elise stopped, her breath caught in her chest as she figured out if she should turn right around and leave.

  “Dammit.” She took another step and then another, the sensations in her body almost too much as she moved forward to face the man who belonged to the voice.

  She reached up, brushed the low branch out of her way and broke out from under the trees to stand in the open, gazing across the large clearing at a man she recognized. Hank Rivera. In the flesh. And it was that flesh she was interested in. That flesh and the heart that beat inside it. Beat for her and her alone.

  “Who are you?” Hank took a step closer, standing on the edge of his porch, holding the neck of his guitar in his hand. Suspicion clouded his face. “This is private property. If you’re a reporter.”

  “I’m not.” Elise held up her hands and stepped closer. “I heard you playing...”

  He lifted the guitar and said, “It’s one of my favorites. Or used to be, I haven’t played it for a long, long time.” There was sadness in his voice, and she longed to reach out and touch him, to soothe away his worries.

  That would surely make him call the cops, her bear’s amusement was plain.

  Good point. Elise had to act like an adult, and push the teenage fan, who would once have raced forward and dragged the shirt off his back, out of the way.

  “Mine, too. I remember hearing it on the radio. A long time ago.” Elise didn’t approach, she stood in awe of the man she had daydreamed over for months. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

  Hank laughed, a deep belly laugh. “I’ve changed a lot.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I have silver in my hair, and it’s a constant battle to stop the extra pounds creeping on to my waistline.”

  She laughed a coquettish tone that belonged to a young, starry-eyed girl. “You look just fine from where I’m standing.” Elise put her hand to her throat, her voice was breathy, and light. “Sorry. I just...”

  Feel so hot, her bear supplied with a good-humored grunt.

  “No problem. Not many folks around here know who I was.” He stared at her, his eyes caressing her body, and she knew he felt the same way she did. Which meant only one thing...

  Mates, her bear said longingly.

  After all this time, her dream had come true.

  A wave of guilt swept over her. Was it fair that she should get her happy ending when her sister was no longer here? They should have grown older together, shared stories of mates, and children. But it wasn’t to be, and Elise needed to stop living in the shadow of her sorrow.

  “Would you like some tea?” Hank asked, leaning his guitar against the side of the cabin and stepping down off the porch. He approached slowly, as if she were a deer who might run off if startled, but she wasn’t running anywhere. She couldn’t, her legs wouldn’t move even if she wanted them to.

  Elise looked back the way she came. She had time. Frankie wasn’t expecting her for an hour or two. “Yes, please.”

  Hank closed the space between them. He stood before her, tall, handsome, just like she remembered. Her heart fluttered in her chest and the years melted away. He smiled, and the sun shone more brightly, the birds sang more sweetly, and her legs turned more to jelly. Oh, something like that... He was the songwriter, not her.

  “Are you okay?” Hank asked gently.

  “Uh huh. I’m just basking in your glow.” She tilted her chin upward and stared into his face. Then she lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. “Just checking that you are real.”

  He chuckled. “It’s been a long while since anyone knew my name.”

  “Oh, I know your name and the words to every song you ever wrote.” Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips. “How I long for a taste of bittersweet honey.”

  His lips tugged up at the corners. “Tell me you’re my number one fan.”

  Her eyelashes fluttered, and she smiled coyly. “I’m your number one fan.”

  He sighed, his fingers entwined in her hair. “I could write a million love songs about you.”

  “Please do.” Elise leaned forward, feeling the heat of his body emanating from him as his heart beat hard and strong in his chest.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He inclined his head, his lips barely an inch from hers. “But I don’t want to stop.”

  “Then don’t. Let’s dance the midnight tango beneath the stars, because no other love could be as deep as ours.” As their lips met, her world exploded, and in amongst the shower of shooting stars and thunderous seas of longing, her bear was shouting something. What was it? What important message was her bear trying to convey?

  Stop quoting lines from his damn songs!

  Chapter Two – Hank

  Their lips fit together perfectly, just as he knew they would. He dreamed about this moment, fantasized about this moment, and it was better than anything his mind could conjure up. His tongue snaked out and licked her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth for him. For one sweet taste of your honey lips. Unwritten lyrics flew into his head. Words of love, of longing, of the feel of his mate in his arms.

  Hank pulled back, his hands on her upper arms as her legs swayed beneath her. “That was incredible.”

  “I thought I was the groupie.” Her eyes came into focus on his face, and she smiled dreamily.

  “What’s your name?” he asked his mate.

  “My name?” she asked as if it wasn’t important.

  “Yes. I wan
t to know what to call my mate.” He kissed the line of her jaw and she groaned and leaned into him again.

  “Elise, my name is Elise.” At least she didn’t ask him what a mate was. That meant she knew, right? Or was she swooning at his feet because of who he was, a country singer, rather than because she felt the same way he did?

  “Good to meet you, Elise.” Hank inhaled deeply, her scent made his mouth water, but in amongst the messages bombarding his brain, which mainly focused on how he would do anything for her, was one truth. She smelt of the forests, of good honest dirt and bear. “You look like you need tea, or something stronger.”

  “Give your strength to me,” she whispered. “Underneath the wishing tree.”

  He smiled down at her dewy-eyed expression. “I think you got a double dose of the mating bond, don’t you?”

  Elise shook her head as if trying to shake off a dream. “Maybe because I’ve been in love with you since I was fourteen.”

  He arched an eyebrow and kept one hand under her arm as he guided her toward the cabin. “Thing is, you were in love with a man who didn’t exist. I’m not the fairy tale pop star you think I am.”

  “That doesn’t mean I was wrong. I swear I knew, even then, that you were the one for me.”

  Hank stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “Do you mean it?”

  She nodded and placed her hand over her left breast. “In my heart, I knew. I just forgot somehow.”

  “That’s a long time to carry someone in your heart.” Hank gazed into her face. Elise was a beautiful woman, her brown eyes, flecked with gold, held a lifetime of memories. Laughter lines told him they were good memories, and yet there was a sadness in her, deep within her, deeper than her eyes—soul deep. Yet laced with that was hope. And he wanted to be her hope.

  “I have a big heart.” She grinned, looking young once more. “Cheesy, I know, but lately I’ve learned that your heart is always ready to expand and let in new people, new love.”