“Can we back up a little and take it slow?” She turned to face him. “I can’t allow myself to rush into something I might regret.”
“You won’t regret anything, I promise.” He was so sincere, and she wanted to believe him. But she’d already lost her heart to a man who promised her ‘til death do us part. And look how that ended up. “But, I also see you need space to figure that out for yourself. So we’ll take it as slow as you want.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, and then turned on her heel and walked away. Ignoring the sensation in the pit of her stomach that she was walking away from one of the best things in her life.
Chapter Four – Mason
Mason stood in front of the hotel and watched Tiana. His protective side wanted to make sure she got to her car safely, his primal side wanted to run after her, grab ahold of her and take her somewhere private to consummate their mating bond.
He didn’t need to be a business mastermind to know option B would ensure she ran and kept on running from him.
This was going to be tricky. Did Tiana know about shifters?
He’d never told Haley about his other side. As far as he was aware, when they knew each other at college, Haley didn’t know about shifters. But since moving to the Bear Creek area, she might have learned of their existence. Which meant Tiana might know, too.
It wasn’t an easy subject to broach. How did you explain to someone that you could turn into a bear?
He raked his hand through his hair. When he agreed to this blind date he’d expected nothing more than an hour or two in the company of a woman. If Haley hadn’t been so insistent, he’d probably have said no. Who knew how right Haley would be about them having a lot in common?
Mason closed his eyes and recalled the scent of Tiana. When she’d brushed past him as he held the door open, he’d inhaled deeply, pushing to get past the smell of hand soap and drown his senses in her unique scent.
“Mr. Tennant, is everything all right?” a voice asked from behind him.
Mason took one last look at Tiana’s taillights disappearing into the distance and then turned around. “Yes, thank you, Julius.”
“I trust dinner was to your satisfaction?” the hotel owner inquired.
“It was more than satisfactory.” Mason couldn’t remember a single mouthful of the food he ate; his senses were too consumed by his mate. His eyes could see only her, his ears were tuned to her voice alone and…
“And your guest, was she more than satisfactory?” Julius smiled as if they were sharing a secret.
“She was perfect.” Mason looked over his shoulder and into the darkness. “Unfortunately, I don’t think she is aware of what I am and what she means to me.”
Julius stepped forward and stared into the distance alongside Mason. “My advice would be to make her aware of exactly who you are and what you are and how much she means to you. I let my mate go when I first met her because I thought it was the right thing for her. Only when we met again some years later did I realize I’d gotten it all wrong.”
“But you found her again?” Mason asked.
“Yes, I found Catherine, and made her my wife.” He smiled and gave Mason a sidelong glance. “And she made me the happiest man alive.”
“Thanks, Julius.” Mason nodded and then inhaled deeply. “I think I might go for a run.”
Julius pointed toward the mountains. “I can recommend the trail just to the northeast of here. It leads out onto a wide grassy plateau and gives a wonderful view of Bear Creek and Bear Bluff.”
“I’ll go check it out.” Mason walked back into the hotel with Julius at his side.
“If there is anything else you need, just let me know. Have a good rest of your evening.” Julius went back to the reception desk.
“And you, Julius.” Mason took the stairs and went back to his room, where he changed out of his suit and tie, opting for jeans and a T-shirt, along with a pair of comfortable hiking boots and a light jacket to ward off the chilly air on the mountain.
Then he headed back downstairs, exiting the hotel through the back entrance and jogging across the parking lot. Not that he was taking his car, his plan was to tire both the human and the bear side of his body out. If not, sleep would evade him tonight, and he needed to be awake and aware tomorrow when he set a plan in motion to win over the heart, mind, and soul of his mate.
Mason crossed the road that ran along the base of the mountain and followed it northeast as Julius had instructed. Hugging the side of the road, he kept a look out for the trail that would take him up into the mountains. His bear itched to be free, to run until his lungs burned and his heart strained with the effort.
There it was.
Mason shifted midair as he turned onto the trail and ran hard up the first section of the slope, which rose slowly out of the valley. The muscles in his short legs strained as the terrain grew steeper and the trail more uneven. Soon it twisted around on itself in a serpentine, zig-zagging back and forth under trees and around scrubby bushes.
Ahead the stars shone brightly in the clear sky, watching the bear whose life was so insignificant in the whole of time and space. But Mason did not plan on remaining insignificant, not to Tiana. He would find a way into her heart and turn her life around. He would make everything all right for her.
One day she would look back and see that this blind date was the best thing that ever happened to her. That Mason was the best thing that ever happened to her.
He stopped himself in his tracks. Literally.
Poised on an outcrop of rock, he looked down at the world below. The town of Bear Creek stood in the distance, little pinpricks of lights illuminated the streets and people’s homes. Homes where families lived, connected by blood, by love and by the bonds weaved by life. He could not expect to appear in Tiana’s life like a knight in shining armor and turn her world upside down.
No matter how much he wanted to help her, he had to be sympathetic to her life as it was now and the people in it. She had a child, she had parents that obviously loved her.
And an ex-husband who lives at the end of her garden, his bear interjected.
Okay, so maybe some things would have to change. And getting rid of an ex-husband might be one of them.
Maybe? His bear huffed loudly into the night. I’d say definitely. The man hurt her once, we can’t allow him to hurt her again.
His bear was right. But that was for the future. He couldn’t jump in bear jaws snapping at the heels of Quentin as he chased him away. Not until he’d assessed the situation.
Pushing thoughts of Quentin out of his mind, he turned and climbed higher up the trail until he reached the large open grass plateau Julius described. But he didn’t stop there, instead, he ran on, and on, climbing higher until his muscles ached and fatigue seeped into his bones. Only then did he stop.
High on a distant peak he lifted his head and roared to the world. He had a mate. At last, he had a woman to share his life with. A woman who would be his partner in life. A woman who might bear him a child of his own. They weren’t too old.
Or so he hoped.
His bear thought otherwise as they began their long descent. Mason’s human side was at peak fitness, but his bear had never had the luxury of roaming wide open spaces except for when they were on vacation. This move to Bear Creek could not come soon enough for his four-legged alter-ego.
A wave of guilt washed over Mason. He’d neglected this part of himself for too long. But he’d done it for the right reasons. When he began his business empire it had been for the sole reason of creating a fortune for himself and his mate, plus the children he’d expected to breed with his woman.
When neither mate, nor children materialized, he’d filled his days, and many nights, with work. Planning how to scale his empire until he’d amassed a fortune.
From the beginning, he’d been hands-on. The first property he’d bought had been rundown and in need of modernization. Mason had moved in and begu
n the renovations immediately. With no kitchen, he’d cooked on a camping stove and worked long hours, painting, plumbing, knocking down walls and building new ones.
The end result had been stunning and sold within two days of it going on the market. While the sale went through, he searched for the next property, and then the next, a never-ending stream of walls and roofs, all transformed into homes, but not for him. He always had other people’s idea of a home in mind.
Even today, the apartment he lived in was not a home. It was a place to sleep conveniently close to his offices, where he managed his property empire. His net worth was in the tens of millions. Yet he was unfulfilled. Until now.
Nearing the bottom of the trail, he shifted back into his human form and walked on two feet, enjoying the night air. He had to make a plan of action. He needed to see Tiana again with a burning desire that threatened to consume him.
But she’d asked for his number and said she would call. If he approached her, if he pushed himself into her life, would he frighten her away?
He’d never been so out of his depth. His life so far had been a series of well-planned and well-executed steps. This was his most important project, he could not afford to fail, and yet he felt just as he did that first night, lying on an old sofa in a drafty room, with no clue as to how it was going to turn out.
But he’d succeeded in business, there was no reason he couldn’t succeed in his personal life.
He simply needed a way in. A way to ensure Tiana needed him as much as he needed her.
Chapter Five – Tiana
“Are you all right?” Tiana’s mom, Philippa, asked the morning after her date with Mason.
“Yes, why do you ask?” Tiana looked down and realized she’d been spreading butter across the same piece of toast for a couple of minutes, while staring out the window.
“Because you’re mooning around like a lovesick teenager,” Rhett said, swiping the toast from her plate and shoving it in his mouth. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Hey, sit down and eat properly,” she told him as he headed for the door.
“I have an early class.” He hesitated, his back to the door. “Unless you need to talk.”
Tiana stared at her son for a moment and then waved him away. “Get to your class, it’s much more important than anything I have to say.”
“Are you sure?” Rhett asked, coming back to her and kissing her cheek. As he pulled back, he examined her face. “Lovesick. I can spot it a mile away.”
“Get out of here.” She shooed him away and he ran backward a couple of steps before pushing the door open and leaving the house. Tiana turned back to the toaster and took out another slice of toast and smeared butter on it before sitting down at the table under the watchful eye of her mom.
“So?” Her mom’s voice was both expectant and excited. Ever since Quentin left her for Nicky, her mom had been hoping Tiana would settle down with a new man. To tell her about Mason would be cruel, especially since Tiana didn’t know how she felt about a relationship.
“Only me!” Haley opened the kitchen door and came in, her expression mirroring Philippa’s. “So, how did it go?”
Haley went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup of coffee, while Tiana choked on her toast and her mom’s eyes widened as she sensed gossip. “How did what go?” her mom asked.
“Tiana didn’t tell you about her hot date?” Haley asked in shock as she sat down at the table and sipped her coffee.
“Don’t you have children to take to school?” Tiana asked her friend.
“They’ve gone with Shelley next door. She owed me a favor and I wanted to come around here and check on you.” She placed her mug of coffee carefully down on the table. “So?”
“I had a good time.” Tiana’s eyes flicked across to her mom. “Haley set me up on a blind date.”
It was Philippa’s turn to nearly choke on her breakfast. “You went on a blind date?” Growing up, her parents had always been super protective. Old-fashioned, they didn’t believe in blind dates.
“I did.” Tiana got up from the table and fetched the coffee, refilling everyone’s cup while her mom digested this information.
“And you let her?” Philippa turned her attention on Haley.
“Don’t worry,” Haley began, meeting Philippa’s intense gaze straight on. “Mason is one of the good guys. You know how much I love T, I would not set her up with anyone who was not five-star husband material.”
“I’m not looking for a husband,” Tiana told her mom and Haley.
“But a husband might be looking for you,” Philippa said sagely.
“And you did enjoy your date.” Haley assessed Tiana. “And you agreed to see him again.”
“Did Mason tell you that?” Tiana asked sharply. She wasn’t interested in going out with a man who talked about her behind her back.
“Don’t get defensive,” Haley told her gently. “And no, he did not tell me. I could tell from the look on your face.”
“She is mooning like a teenager.” Philippa nudged Haley and chuckled. “That’s how Rhett described her after she nearly wore a hole in a piece of toast from spreading the butter on it for too long.”
“That’s why you’re a waitress and not a kitchen hand,” Haley cackled with laughter. Tiana sipped her coffee and ignored them both. “So?”
“He’s a nice guy. I like him. But he is a little intense.” Tiana’s jaw tightened. “I just don’t want to get it so monumentally wrong again.”
Philippa reached her hand out to Tiana. “Quentin was not wrong. You have an amazing child together.”
“Then what was he?” Tiana asked.
“A phase,” Haley said helpfully. “Now it’s time for you to move on to a new phase.”
“Don’t be scared,” her mom told her.
“I’m not scared,” Tiana lied. “And what happened to your disapproval at Haley setting me up on a blind date? Without me knowing?”
Philippa looked askance at Haley. “I didn’t know you were so devious.”
“If I’d asked her, she’d have said no. And this really is the right thing for her.” Haley and Philippa murmured in agreement.
“I am sitting right here,” Tiana said bluntly. “I can hear you talking about me.”
“That’s the point, dear,” Philippa said. “Now, what are you going to do about seeing this nice man again?”
Tiana’s shoulders slumped forward. “I don’t know.” She got up and went to the sink. “When do I have time to date?” Philippa fell silent. “I didn’t mean it like that, Mom.”
“I know.” Philippa smiled sadly. Tiana left the water to run hot and went to hug her mom.
“You know I don’t mind,” Tiana said soothingly.
“That doesn’t make it any less true. Between my hospital appointments, Rhett’s exams and your visiting your father, I don’t know how you manage to find time to work, let alone date.”
“Don’t forget to add that no good ex-husband of yours into the mix,” Haley said scathingly. “Come to think of it, how is Quentin? Couldn’t he pick up some of the slack?”
“I’d rather not ask him for anything,” Tiana said. She’d depended on Quentin once and he’d let her down. She couldn’t bear the thought of asking him to help her out.
“Well, you should. It will do him good, stop him from moping around the place like a wet dishcloth.” Philippa set her face firm. “Why you ever let him back into your life, and your home, after he…”
“Let’s not go there,” Tiana told them both. “It’s a decision I made, and it’s done. Rhett likes having his dad around.”
“And what’s this new man of yours going to say about that?” Philippa asked.
Tiana went back to the sink and started washing the breakfast dishes. “He’s not my new man. In fact, I think once he knows what he’s getting himself into, he’ll run a mile.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Haley asked as she drained her coffee cup.
“We’ll see.” Tiana w
ashed a cup and placed it on the drainer, while Haley grabbed the dish towel and began drying up.
“If he doesn’t run a mile, I’d say he was a keeper,” Haley said. “Don’t you, Phil?” Tiana winced as Haley shortened her mom’s name. However, Haley was the only one who got away with calling her mom Phil. It was testament to how much respect and love the whole family had for Tiana’s best friend.
“I’ll say. And once we have Tiana off the shelf, it’s your turn,” Philippa announced.
“Oh, not me. Once bitten, twice shy,” Haley replied firmly.
“Never say never, Haley. I might find a blind date for you.” Tiana grinned as Haley rolled her eyes. Then Tiana plunged her hands in the soapy water and washed the rest of the dishes, with her head telling her she was a fool to take a chance and her heart telling her she was a fool not to.
“He’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to want to take me on,” Haley stated. “At least Rhett is grown up. I, on the other hand, have the unenviable task of getting two girls through puberty and beyond. I don’t envy any man who gets caught up in the middle of that.”
“They’ll be fine. They have an amazing role model,” Tiana was serious in her praise of her friend, but Haley wasn’t great at accepting it.
“You’re not the only one who got it wrong when it came to first husbands. I failed them big time.” Haley dried the rest of the cups. “Right, I should go. I have a shift at the store before I pick the girls up. Are you sure it’s okay for them to come over tonight? Rhett doesn’t mind babysitting?”
“No, bring them over. And mom’s here if Rhett’s out. That’s okay, isn’t it, Mom?” Tiana asked her mom who was wiping down the table and setting everything straight.
“Sure. I like the company.” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll go get ready.”
Tiana looked at her watch. “We have an hour to get to the hospital.”
“It’ll be okay.” Haley hugged Tiana and then stood back, assessing her friend. “You know he is just what you need. You deserve something of your own. Someone of your own.”
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