Headlights shined across the front window of the cottage and Grace tried to pry up the corners of her mouth into a smile. She hoped she was successful but she wasn’t going to check. She wasn’t going to be able to look herself in the mirror without giving her reflection a serious glare or a nice big bird. She wasn’t that much of a fan of the person in the mirror, not tonight.

Sure, she’d packed up her pretty things and even brought her favorite perfume. It was going to be simple. Sure, like the old adage, close your eyes, think of England.

She could barely feel her heart beating in her chest.

A moment later, numb turned to worry.

Worry to panic.

And then panic became a moment of clarity.

Survival. Ever since she was a little child, she did what it took to put one foot in front of the other. Her father’s death, her mother moving them to Grayslake to stay with her aunt and uncle. Befriending Noah, who knew her pain, but doubled because he’d lost both parents at one time, and losing him in the move to Arizona. And the long line of ‘forever loves’ that came and went in the revolving door of her mother’s life.

She’d survived it all only to end up back in Grayslake so determined to stop just long enough to catch her breath and move on. Prove that all of those things didn’t ruin the rest of her life, whatever the universe had planned for her.

And now, as she was staring at the front door, waiting for Noah to step inside, she knew this wasn’t where she was supposed to be. That this wasn’t the man… the bear she was meant for.

And meant for was exactly what she was.

As the door opened up she stood, covering her chest with her hands, shaking as she looked up at Noah.

“You’re here.”

He gave her a curious look. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. Look, I-”

“Noah, I-”

They both stopped and waited for a moment.

“We should-”

“I need to tell-”

Noah laughed, but Grace didn’t. “I need you to keep quiet for a minute.”

He nodded, fighting back the laugh, succeeding when he caught sight of her face. “Okay. You got it.”

“I’m making a huge mistake. You are too.” She let the words rush out, determined to say what she had to. “I know you said that we could just do this and make everyone happy.”

Noah couldn’t quite smile, he barely managed a hesitating nod. “That was the plan.” He looked her over from head to toe and let out a sigh. “But even though you look amazing, I’m guessing that this is where you let me down easy?”

“I know this isn’t what we agreed to, but it’s what I need to do. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

He grinned at her. “You’re the one who didn’t want the alternative.” His smile faltered. “I know you’re not saying the whole ‘Dead Humans Tell No Tales’ choice. So it must be the bear from Arcadia?” Noah’s tone was a little dry.

“Yeah. Travis,” she felt her heart turn over in her chest. It wasn’t fear. It was a thrill, a rush, and she tingled all over, but sobered when she saw Noah’s tight expression. “I know this is crazy timing and I didn’t mean to spring this on you at the last minute. It’s just that I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about this for days and then I was sitting here by myself and all I had to do was think and-“

“Grace.” Noah grabbed at her hands and held them still. “Calm down. You don’t have to explain.”

“But I told you I would-”

“I was trying to give you an out with Ty. I know you don’t like to feel cornered. You always do what you need to get by and find a way to make things work. I just wanted to give you a chance to keep some kind of freedom.” He swallowed hard. “It’s not your fault you found out about us. You have a right to live your life, Gracie. But I came tonight to ask you to reconsider. To think about Travis.”

“Really?” She couldn’t help the little bit of laughter in her voice. “You want me to be with Travis, but I thought-”

He gave her hands a squeeze. “I said… that I wanted you to think about Travis. This… this thing you guys have-”

“I feel it with you, too. You and I are close. ”

“No,” he lifted his hands, bringing hers with it, “not the same way you don’t.” He moved closer and leaned in close to her face. “Do you feel it now, Grace? Do you feel the same thing you feel when you’re close to him?”

Grace leaned in and touched the tip of her nose to his chin, breathing in his scent. She felt warmth, she felt comfort, and an echo of pain from the old scars on her arm. She felt friendship and laughter, but it wasn’t the same thing she felt with Travis. Not even close.

Looking up into Noah’s face she managed a little smile even as her eyes prickled with tears. “So you’re okay with this?”

Noah leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘You’re my best girl, Gracie. It was never about me. If you found the guy that’s going to make you happy, really happy. I would never stand in the way.”

“Can you take me to see him?”

Noah let go of her hands. “Sure, get dressed, I’ll call the bed and breakfast and have them call up to his room. Unless,” he gave her a shrug, “you know his cell phone?”

Grace shook her head. “We never really got to phone numbers.”

“You mean you got all up close and personal, but you didn’t exchange numbers?”

“I wasn’t trying to date him,” she rolled her eyes, “I was trying to stay away from relationships. Getting his phone number kind of seems like the wrong move.”

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone. Scrolling through the numbers he dialed and brought the phone up to his ear. “Then get some clothes on so we can mess up your travel plans and- Hey! Hi, this is Noah, yeah, it’s nice to talk to you too and we’ll talk later, but can you do me a favor and transfer this call to Travis Owen’s room?”

Grace had one leg in her pants and was struggled to balance against the side of the bed to put the other leg in beside it while she listened into the phone conversation.

“He left?” Noah sighed. “He went out for dinner? No, he left left? Bag and everything?” Reaching into his pocket, Noah yanked out his keys. “When?”

The wide-eyed panic on Noah’s face was enough to scare Grace out of her pants, literally. Bringing her foot down on the hem of the leg she had managed to tug on, she pulled her leg free. She started for the car, as she passed Noah she grabbed onto his sleeve.

Noah continued to talk on the phone as they jogged down the steps and over to his car. He gave her one questioning look about her clothes but stopped when she gave him a determined glare.

Sliding in behind the wheel, Noah started up the car, and gave Grace a pointed look. “Seatbelt.” He put the car in gear. “No, not you, my friend with the deathwish in my car. Okay thanks, I’ll try to find him on the road.”

They pulled a tight turn and headed back down the slope. He handed the phone to Grace. “Hit speed dial number 2 and give it back.”

She nodded, forgetting that he couldn’t see her. “Okay. Here.”

He took the phone in his hand and held it up to his ear.

“Who are you calling?”

Noah spared her a glance as the car hit the country road with a heavy bump. When he unclenched his jaw he gave her a big grin. “The cavalry.”

* * *

Travis reached out and turned off the radio. His head was so full of nothing that he couldn’t even hear the music anyway. A quick stop at the gas station and a handful of coins from the unused ashtray in his truck had provided him with enough gas and questionable snacks from a vending machine to make it through the night or as far as he could make it until he had to pull over and get some sleep. With his strength and stamina, he’d probably run out of gas first.

He followed the road as it curved around through a heavily forested area. A quick look in the rearview mirror told him all he needed to know. There was nothing behind him. Any lights that might have been on in Grayslake were far enough behind him that he couldn’t see them.

Still he couldn’t escape the feeling that he should turn around. That he was making a big mistake. Probably the worst mistake of his life.

“It’s what she wants,” he told himself and turned back around only to stomp on the brake to avoid the car parked across the road. A long line of expletives burst from his lips, continuing even when he saw the logo on the side of the car.

Setting the truck in park, he turned off the engine and sat back against the seat. “I can’t win, can I?” The empty truck didn’t answer back and he reached for the window handle and started to crank it down. “I just can’t win for losing.”

* * *

“Hurry up,” Grace clutched the door handle with one hand and the dash with the other, “or you’re not going to catch him.”

Beside her and behind the wheel, Noah sighed. “Would you sit back please. I can’t see the side mirror.”

Grace didn’t take her gaze off of the dark road ahead of them. “It’s a two lane road,” she grumbled, “no one’s going to come up on the side.” She saw something in the darkness on the right side of the car and squinted her eyes looking into the thick bank of trees. “There’s something coming up,” she leaned closer and bumped her forehead on the glass window, “wait!”

The car kept going.

“What if he went down that road?”

“That road, as you so generously call it,” he explained, “isn’t wide enough to fit a car. It’s the path of an old railroad line. All the rails and ties are still there, it only manages to keep the center of the tracks open.”

“Oh, sorry.” Grace sat back in her chair, but she still tried to see out into the darkness. “I just don’t want to mess this up again.”

Noah spared her a glance, she saw his smile out of the corner of her eye. “I’m glad you changed your mind, Gracie. You know I love you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, but if you’d gone through with it, I think you would have started to hate me and I couldn’t lose you, not forever.”

She reached out and gave his thigh a pat and felt how calm and at ease he was. “And I’m glad you’re helping me find him. I wouldn’t want you to get tired of me.”

“Tired?” His short laugh was punctuated as he gripped the wheel a little tighter and managed a curve in the road. “Nope, we would have had marathon games of Cards Against Humanity since we were finally in the same place, but now,” he gave her another quick glance and smiled, “we can still do that. I’ll just be the third wheel. Crap!”

He came up short just after another bend in the road. A familiar truck was pulled halfway off the road, a Grayslake Police Cruiser blocking the road in front of it, blue lights on but stationary. With a short jerk of the wheel, he pulled in behind the truck and the headlights illuminated the two men standing off to the side.

“What’s Van doing here?” Grace winced at the thought.

Noah’s tone was as dry as her throat. “That’s the cavalry.”

“Will wonders never cease.”

* * *

Grace slid from the passenger side of the cab and winced as the bottoms of her feet paid the price. Travis saw the flash of pain on her face and closed the distance between them in a few ground-eating steps. “Grace? What are you doing here?” He had his hands on her waist, lifting her gently and setting her down on the grass beside the back country road. “What happened to your shoes?”

She blushed and shook her head. “Never mind my shoes, I-”

He was only half listening to her, the other half was looking down the neckline of a barely-there silk sheath with lace revealing tantalizing glimpses of her full breasts.

Under his intent gaze, her nipples hardened and her breathing sped up. His bear approved of the view so did other parts of his body, making his comfortably worn jeans feel several sizes too small.

Pulling her closer, Travis saw the widening of her eyes, before he lowered his head and scraped the stubble on his cheek against the shell of her ear and he swore he could hear her shiver in his hands. “What the hell are you wearing?”

And then it sunk in. Grace was wearing a nightgown, one that was meant to stay on for a few minutes and then hit the floor if the man knew what he was doing. She was trying to answer him, but he knew a faster way to get the answer than waiting for her to stop stammering. He leaned his cheek against her shoulder and took in a deep breath. He could barely scent Noah on her skin.

His bear was very pleased and tried to urge Travis to carry her off seal the deal before something else came between them and their mate, but Travis told the big grumpy furball to give him a minute. First things first.

“Why did you come after me?”

He had a hope, but he wasn’t going to assume a damn thing. Not ever. Not with Grace. He was never going to take her for granted.

He felt her arms lift and he loosened his hold on her and was rewarded when she set her hands lightly on his chest.

The bear was all for physical contact, but he was hoping for naked skin and sooner rather than later. He quieted down at an inward growl from Travis.

Her fingers moved a little, as if she was searching for something through the soft cotton of his t-shirt. When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide and wondering. “I came after you because it was the only thing I could do, Travis. I couldn’t let you leave without telling you...”

She stopped talking and he resisted the urge to hold onto her arms tighter. This had to be her choice, he already knew what he wanted.

Her.

Grace turned to look at Van leaning against his cruiser, Travis followed her gaze and listened as she spoke to Van first. “Thanks for stopping him.”

At first there was only silence from the officer and then Van Abrams cracked a smile. “You always were a pushy little thing.” With a nod he turned on his heel and headed for the cruiser.

Leaning toward the officer, Grace smiled and Travis felt some of the tension bleed from his shoulders.

She called after Van. “You finally remember me, don’t you?”

He held up a hand and gave a wave that almost looked like a one-fingered salute. “Get your crap figured out, Spacey Gracie, if you chase him away again, I’m not going after him.” He was gone moments later in a squeal of rubber on black top.

Travis saw Noah retreat to the side of his truck, his eyes facing off into the dark woods along the side of the road. He felt hands fist in his shirt, giving him a tug until he looked down at Grace.

“I needed to tell you that I finally figured it out.” Her expression held a hint of a flustered blush on her cheeks and across the pale flesh of her breasts that weren’t covered by the scrap of lace that was barely clinging to her beneath the robe.

Travis took hold of the front edges of her robe and pulled them closed. The bear inside of him and everything below his belt enjoyed the feel of her skin against his knuckles. “Tell me,” he begged her, “so I can get you inside somewhere. You’re going to catch your death and I-”

She pressed herself flush against him and he swore he could feel every inch of his body come alive inside and out.

“I didn’t understand what was happening. I didn’t understand what you felt. I’ve heard people make promises before but they were only words, but what we have, what you’ve said, are different.” She closed her eyes and a single teardrop slipped down her cheek.

He brushed the tear away with a soft sweep of his thumb.

When she opened her eyes, he finally started to breathe.

“And I know who I want. Noah’s my friend. He always will be. I couldn’t ask for someone to do more for me than he has, but you offered to walk away. You just wanted me to be happy.”

“That’s why I was leaving.” Travis smoothed his hands down over her arms.

“And why I came after you. You’re the only one I could be happy with.” She leaned closer and he breathed her in. The heady scent of her skin and warm spice of her arousal pulled him in and his bear was only too happy to second her suggestion. “Let’s go, Travis. Somewhere we can be alone.”

Travis reached out and opened the passenger door to his truck with an odd little smile on his lips. “I know just the place.”