“I’m sorry. About everything.” He placed his toast on the plate and rubbed the crumbs off his fingers. “I don’t deserve the kindness you’ve shown me.”
She reached out for his hand, the hand she’d once accepted in marriage. “Quentin, that’s all behind us. I know you thought you were doing the right thing when we married. Even if it was for the wrong reasons. You didn’t do it maliciously.”
“I thought we could be happy. I loved you, Tiana. I truly loved you. I still do.” He smiled sadly. “I wish it could have been different.”
“I wish it had ended differently,” she admitted.
“Do you?” Quentin asked.
“Of course I do. I wish you still had Nicky in your life. I know how much you loved him, Quentin. I think that’s what hurt the most. You never looked at me like that. Never.” A stray tear trickled down her cheek and she dashed it away. “But I’m over it. I have been for a long time.”
“We have an amazing son, don’t we?” Quentin covered his mouth with his hand and he stopped himself from crying.
“We do. And we made him. Together.” She picked up her coffee and drank. “Now eat. You’re beginning to look like a scarecrow.”
Chapter Fourteen – Mason
Mason drove to Tiana’s house after lunch, with his luggage in the trunk. He’d checked out of the hotel, after spending the morning drawing up plans on his laptop, which he hoped to show Tiana’s family when they were at the house. Experience told him it was much easier to explain things when you were looking at the building. Otherwise, when someone thought they were looking at the front of the building, they might be looking at the rear.
A slight flutter in his stomach reminded him of the nervousness that had built inside him since Tiana left this morning. Had he misunderstood her offer of cohabitation? And would her family be happy about it, too? Or would she come out and tell him she’d made a mistake?
He needn’t have worried. When he arrived at her house, Tiana, Rhett, and Philippa were all waiting.
“Hello!” Philippa waved, looking in good spirits.
“Hi.” Mason walked around the car and across the driveway to meet them. “You’re all ready.”
“We are.” Tiana kissed him on the cheek. “We’ve arranged to pick dad up in half an hour, he’ll have had his lunch by then.”
“Shall we get you all in the car?” Mason looked at the hamper next to Philippa. “Have you packed some of those wonderful cupcakes, Philippa?”
Philippa beamed. “Yes, I have. I made a batch and gave some to Quentin, too. That man needs fattening up before he fades away.”
Tiana grinned at Mason as he loaded the hamper into the trunk beside his luggage. “Aren’t we going to take your things into the house?”
Mason looked up warily. “I wasn’t sure if you told them.”
“Of course I have. Rhett, want to come and give Mason a hand with his suitcase, or we won’t fit Grandad’s wheelchair in the trunk.” Tiana looked sideways at Mason. “You thought they’d object.”
“I wasn’t sure,” he admitted. “Kids and parents can get funny over that kind of thing.”
“Thanks for being considerate, but it’s fine. We’re all adults. Even Quentin has given us his blessing.” Tiana watched for his reaction, but he was past getting jealous of her ex-husband.
“You’re right, we’re all adults.” Mason took his luggage out of the trunk and Rhett came to help him carry it inside.
“Just put it in the living room until we get back.” Tiana looked at her watch. “If we’re not careful, we’ll be late.”
Rhett led the way through the house and into the living room, which was just off the kitchen. “Put it all here, and I’ll help you carry it upstairs later. Mom’s spent all morning clearing out space for your things in her closet.”
“How do you feel about me moving in?” Mason asked Rhett as they stacked his luggage just inside the room.
“Good. I want my mom to be happy and you have put a smile on her face. She’s even cleared the air with Dad. He came over this morning and they talked things over.” Rhett put his hands on his hips and surveyed Mason. “You’ve certainly shaken us all up.”
Mason didn’t let Quentin’s visit bother him. “Does that mean I’ll be in charge when you go to college?” he asked as they walked back outside.
“You need to talk to my mom about that. She’s the one in charge,” Rhett said, patting Mason on the shoulder.
As if to prove Rhett’s point, Tiana began shepherding them all into the car.
Five minutes later, they were on the road, heading to the inpatient rehabilitation facility where Tiana’s dad lived temporarily. It was a nice enough place, with well-tended gardens and the building itself was light and airy. But Mason could see why her dad would miss his home in the mountains.
Too many people, his bear interjected. All fussing around.
They’re here to take care of the patients, Mason informed him. But his bear was right, the place was busy.
“Do you want to wait here, and we’ll go and get Dad?” Tiana asked.
“Sure.” Mason and Rhett waited outside, with Tiana’s son amusing himself with his phone, while Mason strolled around the garden area, his eyes constantly being pulled toward the mountains which overshadowed the area.
His bear longed to shift and make a run for it, scared if he stayed here too long he’d get shut away forever.
At last Tiana and Philippa appeared from inside the building. Tiana pushed an elderly man in a wheelchair. The similarity between father and daughter confirmed this was her father. Mason planned on making a good first impression.
“Hello.” Mason approached but didn’t offer his hand to shake since he knew the stroke had taken away the use of her dad’s right side.
“Dad.” Tiana tapped her father on the left shoulder. “This is Mason. Mason, this is my dad, Norman.”
“Hello,” Norman said, his speech slurred but easy to understand. “Thank you for taking us home.” He reached up with his left hand and Philippa took hold of it and smiled her appreciation at Mason through a veil of tears.
“You have a beautiful home,” Mason complimented as he opened the passenger door of his large SUV. “I’m going to lift you into the seat, is that okay, Norman?”
Norman nodded, although he didn’t look too pleased. Mason understood why. This must be a real dent in his pride. After supporting his family all his life, now he was being forced to look to others for help with things he no doubt took for granted.
Mason scooped Norman up and slid him onto the passenger seat with hardly any effort at all. Then, without pause, he folded the wheelchair and stowed it in the trunk while Tiana buckled her father in securely.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she moved to get into the back of the SUV.
“You’re welcome,” Mason said in reply and jumped in the driver's seat and switched on the engine. A quick glance around the car informed him they were all ready and he drove away from the inpatient rehabilitation facility, heading toward the house on the hill.
The drive through the wooded valleys, and the climb toward the house along the winding road had a remarkable effect on Norman. The right side of his mouth, which had been permanently turned down when he got in the car, was now tugging upwards as he tried to smile.
Mason glanced at Tiana in the rearview mirror and wished he could share what he could see with her. This was great. It meant, although Norman might never be completely back to his normal self, he would make more improvements.
“I never thought I’d see the house again,” Norman said as the house appeared before them. A tear trickled down his face, which he wiped away with his left hand.
“We weeded the garden, Dad. Shall we go and have a look?” Tiana asked.
Norman nodded and they all got out of the car. Mason went to the trunk and retrieved the wheelchair. Once he had it set up correctly, he pushed it around to the passenger side of the SUV and helped Norman out.
“Where to first, Grandad?” Rhett asked, taking control of the wheelchair.
“Roses,” Norman answered.
“Why don’t you go around the garden while we take the hamper inside?” Tiana suggested. “And then we can discuss Mason’s plans.”
Norman nodded, and Rhett pushed him toward the roses, with Philippa walking next to him. Mason fetched the hamper and they strolled toward the house, enjoying the day. It was beautiful, summer was nearly done, fall was a shadow stalking it, waiting for a moment to steal the heat from the days as the daylight hours seeped away.
Tiana opened the door leading into the kitchen and they went into the now familiar building. “Your parents seem relaxed. Does your dad know I’ll be moving here, too?”
“Mom told him. Yes. He’s just grateful to have the chance to return home.” She put the coffee on and Mason set the hamper down on the table. “You’ll have to forgive him if he’s quiet. He gets self-conscious about his speech.”
“He looks good. In the car driving up here he smiled, a real big smile. The right side of his mouth twitched. Is that something you’ve seen before?” Mason asked her.
Tiana’s bottom lip trembled. “No, I haven’t. I thought when he spoke his speech sounded clearer, but I dared not hope. I thought it was wishful thinking.”
“Maybe when he comes home, he’ll continue to get better.” Mason slipped his arm around Tiana’s waist and held her close. “I also thought about turning the barn into a gym for him. Somewhere he could continue his physical therapy without going to the hospital.”
Tiana stroked his chest, then stood on tiptoes to kiss his lips. “You are full of good ideas, aren’t you?”
“I try.” He stroked her cheek.
“Shall we go and explain your plans?” Tiana said, gazing into his eyes.
“There’s only one plan I want to explain right now,” Mason said. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a small box, then he dropped down on one knee. “Tiana, if I’m going to live with you, I’d like to make it official. Will you marry me?”
Her face paled, he’d taken her completely by surprise and for a moment he wondered if she might not give him the answer he wanted. But then her face broke into a smile and she said, “Yes. Of course, I will.”
“Wait, you haven’t seen the ring yet.” He fumbled to open the small box, his fingers didn’t seem to be his own.
“I don’t care what the ring looks like,” Tiana said, pulling him to his feet and flinging her arms around him.
“If I’d known that I wouldn’t have spent so long choosing the right one,” he joked as he finally got the box open and showed it to her.
“Oh, maybe I do care.” She looked stunned as he took out the large diamond solitaire and slipped it on her finger. “It’s beautiful.”
“Just like you.” He kissed her lips as she looked at the ring over his shoulder. “I’d like your full attention, please.”
“You know that’s never going to happen,” she replied lightly as she stared into his eyes.
“Just in this moment.” He cupped her face with his hand and stroked her cheek. “Before we go and make plans for all our futures, let’s share this one moment. Just the two of us in the world.”
She kissed him, and they lost each other in their moment. Two hearts, two souls, all that mattered in the world.
As they broke apart, Tiana said, “There will always be a piece of me that is yours and yours alone in every moment, in every breath that I take and every beat of my heart.”
He could settle for that.
Epilogue
“Good morning.” Mason kissed her neck, inhaling her scent, while his hand stroked her swollen belly.
“It’s still there,” Tiana joked as she placed her hand over his.
“It. Shouldn’t we call our baby something more than it?” Mason asked, nuzzling her neck and sending tremors through her body.
“Like what? You know I don’t want to know what sex it is until it’s born.” She turned around to face him. At only four months pregnant she wasn’t a beached whale, but her bump did make moving around more awkward. “This was much easier the first time around. Age is not on my side.”
“I disagree,” Mason told her as he wrapped his arms around her. “With age comes wisdom and experience.”
“You make me sound even older than I am,” Tiana complained. She buried her face in his chest and sighed deeply.
“You are not old,” Mason insisted. “You are perfect, in every way.”
“You keep telling me that,” she said, and she had to admit, she liked hearing it.
“Well, if you are still questioning whether I’m telling you the truth, I haven’t told you enough times. Not yet anyway.”
“Thank you.” She leaned on her left elbow and stroked his chest with her other hand. She loved waking up with him each and every morning as the sun streamed in through the window.
“For what?” he asked, taking hold of her hand and kissing it.
“Everything.” She sighed in contentment. “For extending the house so cleverly so that there’s room for mom and dad to live downstairs and for us to live on the first floor.” She kissed his lips. “And for making room for Rhett to have his own space even though we are adding a new member to the family.”
She slid her hand over her baby bump. Originally the first floor was only going to have two bedrooms, but when they found out she was pregnant, Mason switched things around so that there were three rooms, so Rhett had a place to crash when he came home to visit.
“Anything for you and our family.” He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her lips. “I’m just glad you didn’t make me build an annex building for Quentin.”
Tiana giggled. “I figured there was only so much you would put up with. Anyway, he’s happy. He has a new boyfriend, and although they are taking it slow, he seems to be getting his life back together.”
“Then we’re all happy.”
“For now. Although if I could find a good man for Haley, I’d be even happier.” She was on the lookout for a nice shifter who would sweep Haley off her feet in the same way Mason had swept Tiana off her feet in a whirlwind romance.
“There’s someone out there for her somewhere.” Mason kissed her neck and murmured, “Just as I know there’s someone in here for you.”
She giggled and slid her leg over his thigh, reaching between their bodies and slipping her hand around his hardened length, inching her body lower until he entered her.
Mason groaned as he thrust into her. The feel of him inside her never got old. Each time they made love was like the first time. He excited her. Set every nerve ending in her body on fire as he made love to her.
He cupped her breast in his hand and lowered his head, swirling his tongue over the taut bud in an endless motion that drove her wild. Tiana stroked his skin, planting small butterfly kisses along his shoulder. Mason placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer as if he could climb inside her skin.
Tiana had never been this close to another person either physically or emotionally. The bond between them connected them on a level she could not comprehend and would never fully understand. But she believed in it all the same, just as she believed in Mason, her man, her mate.
Their bodies moved in perfect symmetry, heat rising as he thrust into her. She came, her body reaching its climax first, but Mason followed, staying with her, always with her.
When at last they lay sated in each other’s arms, she knew she was in the right place at the right time. Just as she had been all those months ago when she took a chance on hope. She took a chance on love. She took a chance on her blind date bear.
Builder Bear
Silverbacks and Second Chances
(Book Six)
After a disastrous first marriage to an abusive husband, Haley is just about getting by. She has built a new life for herself and her two wonderful daughters with the help of her amazingly supportive friends, Tiana and Sorcha.
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Will a collapsed ceiling in her kitchen ruin everything?
Money is tight and she’s not sure how she’s going to get her house fixed. Then into her life walks Buck, who is prepared to fix more than her ceiling.
Bear shifter, Buck, has worked construction his whole life. Building is what he does. And when he meets Haley and her daughters he wants to build a new life, and a new future, with them. If only Haley can let him in and see that he’s the one for her.
Can Buck convince Haley that he is the one for her? Can Haley let go of the past and learn that loving Buck doesn’t mean letting go of her hard-won independence?
Find out in Builder Bear.
Chapter One – Haley
“So, what’s it like being married with a kid on the way?” Sorcha asked Tiana as she passed her order to Bobby, the chef at The Mountain View Restaurant.
“The question should be, what is it like being married to a millionaire, who loves you, with a kid on the way.” Haley joined her friends. As she passed her order over, she leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Who also happens to be a bear shifter who will always be loyal and never treat you like crap.”
“It feels good,” Tiana told Sorcha, before putting her arm around Haley and giving her a hug. She knew Haley had experience with being treated like crap. Harrison, her ex-husband, had broken Haley’s heart and her ribs. “I wish I could find you a shifter of your own.”
“I don’t think I could even persuade a shifter to take on me and my two kids,” Haley laughed. Although deep inside, she would love a man to come along and sweep her off her feet. Her tired, aching feet. “And we are definitely a package deal.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Sorcha linked her arm with Haley’s. “Once a shifter sees his woman, he can’t help but fall in love with her right there on the spot.”
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