Chapter Thirteen – Louise

They drove out of town to a small café overlooking the mountains that was used by tourists. Being so early in the season meant the place was fairly empty, so they sat by the big picture windows with the best view across the lower slopes.

Louise asked if they would warm Storm’s bottle, which they did, and then Zak ordered coffee and cake. “Thanks,” Zak said as he paid for the coffee and carried it over to the table, where Louise was bouncing a restless Storm on her lap.

“She’ll settle once she’s had her bottle,” Louise replied.

“It’s beautiful here,” Zak remarked, as he took in the view.

“Did you miss it?” Louise asked, turning Storm to look out over the green fields.

“I did. I loved the places I visited, and I especially loved Australia, but Bear Creek will always own my heart.” He glanced at Louise. “Well, technically, you own it, but you know what I mean.”

“That there is a room in a heart for more than one owner?” Louise asked. “Thank you.” She looked up as the waitress brought the bottle over.

“You are welcome.” The waitress waved at Storm. “She is adorable, you are so lucky.”

“Thanks.” Louise kissed her daughter’s cheek. “And I agree, even though I am biased, she is beautiful.”

“You make a perfect family,” the waitress, who was in her mid-fifties, said, and then walked away before Louise could correct her. But what would she have said, and did it matter if everyone thought Zak was Storm’s dad?

“Over there.” Zak pointed to a high peak. “That is where I nearly fell off and broke my neck. And there is where a waterfall comes down out of the mountain to join the creek lower down. I remember seeing it frozen one winter, giant icicles hanging off the rocks. We climbed up to see if we could break them off.”

“And did you?” Louise asked, feeding Storm her milk.

“No. It was impossible, but we tried,” Zak said.

“Who is we?” Louise asked, liking to hear about Zak’s childhood. When he moved to Bear Creek, he might have gotten himself into scrapes, but he certainly didn’t hide away in the kitchen like she had.

“Me and a couple of friends from school.” Zak’s eyes danced as he recalled his friends. “When I first started school here, we kind of got off on the wrong foot, and had a fight with a guy called Gray. But Dean told me if I wanted to stay, I had to go and apologize. At that point, I did want to stay, so I did as I was told.”

“And then you became friends. That’s cool,” Louise said.

“Not quite that easy. I went over there and apologized, and Gray called me a jerk, among other things. We had another fight.” Zak shrugged at Louise’s look of horror. “Right there in his front yard.”

“And what did Dean say?” Louise asked.

“That I should go and apologize,” Zak said with a chuckle. “I swore he was trying to get me killed.”

“And you did it?” Louise asked.

“I did. And Gray called me more names, and I thought fuck it, if that’s what he wants to do, then I would call him a few names back.” He sipped his coffee. “We stood there throwing insults at each other, but there was no way I was going to fight him again, I had too much to lose, and it turned out that his dad had told him that if he threw the first punch, he would be grounded for a month.”

“And you insulted each other until you were friends?” Louise asked.

“Something like that. In the end, his dad came out and told us to take ourselves for a run over the mountain, and make friends because he wanted to watch football on TV.” He rocked back in his chair. “Gray hated sports, and so we went. That was when he dared me to jump off the peak.”

“He told you to jump and you did?” Louise asked. Did this man have any sense of danger?

“He told me to jump, and I slipped trying to look how far down it was. Gray saved me, I think because he figured that if I got injured, or killed, then everyone would automatically think he’d pushed me.”

“And that is when you became friends?” Louise asked, wondering if there was any more to this story.

“Yeah, let’s go with that,” Zak grinned.

“What are you not telling me?” Louise asked.

“Nothing. Other than it took us about a month to actually become friends. Dean and Gray’s dad made it difficult for us to avoid each other, and so we slowly got worn down until we gave in.”

“Is that what you plan to do with me?” Louise asked. “Wear me down?”

“Into accepting my money? Or my love?” Zak asked.

“Either. Both.” Louise blushed and looked away. “I feel bad that any children we have will be shifters and Storm won’t be.” She looked down at her baby’s face. “It’s the one way she will know that she is different.”

Zak reached out his hand and touched hers. “If I had a way to change that, I would.”

She let him cover her hand with his, and allowed the warmth of his touch to excite her. He was not going to have to work hard to make her fall in lust with him, but love, that was going to take some time. Louise liked Zak a lot, but she was struggling to let herself go, to let herself open her heart to another man.

“You are a good man,” Louise said softly.

“I try. The bad boy was never real. He was simply a product of my upbringing. A mask I wore.” He drew his hand back from hers. “Can I show you the mountain sometime?”

“Sure. I’ve been longing to go and explore.” She tore her eyes away from him and looked over at the high peaks. “My friend Ollie, he used to tell me what it was like to be a shifter. I used to dream of being able to change into an animal, a bird…” She looked at him quickly and then turned away; his expression was so attentive, it hurt to breathe. “I used to want to fly away, high above the clouds.”

“But not anymore?” Zak asked.

Louise looked deep inside herself before she replied. “No, not anymore.” Those days were gone, she had nothing to run from, she liked her life, and the life Zak offered her.

“Good,” Zak said.

“And you are right, compared to that life, I’m stupid to let my pride hold me back.” Louise had made a decision. “I’m not going to get hung up about money. All that truly matters is that we are all happy. It doesn’t matter who pays the bills.”

“That is music to my ears,” Zak said.

“Speaking of music,” Louise said. “Will you let me listen to some of yours?”

“Sure.” Zak drained his cup. “I was going to go and buy a guitar. If I pick one up today, I can play for you tonight.”

“Then why don’t you do that, while Storm and I go and buy the ingredients for tonight?” Louise wiped Storm’s face and sat her on her knee to burp her. “Shall we go and buy some more food?”

Storm smiled her toothless smile, her eyes trained on Louise as she spoke. Then her eyes slipped past her mommy and she stared out over the green fields that rose up to meet the trees. One day she would run across this grass, with a bear shifter or two on her trail.

Did it matter if they were different?

“Good idea,” Zak said. “You provide the food, and I can provide the entertainment, I can serenade my two ladies. Although I might have to tone down some of my songs for young ears.”

“Now I’m intrigued,” Louise admitted as they left the café and walked back to Louise’s car.

“There is nothing like building up anticipation.” Zak’s eyes caressed her body, and she wasn’t sure whether he was still talking about music, or another kind of anticipation. Whatever he meant, she was just happy he made her smile, and her heart beat faster, and her life somehow lighter. All her worries and fears were halved, knowing she was going to have him by her side.

I’ve found my mate. The words Ollie had said to her only two days ago, words that had made her life feel dark, and lonely, now belonged to her and Zak.

“I like that you look happy,” Zak said, grabbing her hand after she had put Storm into her car seat.

“I like that I feel happy,” Louise admitted. She breathed in the mountain air. “I think I could float above the clouds right now. I don’t need wings.”

Zak took hold of her other hand and entwined his fingers with hers. “As long as you take me with you.”

“Zak, this feels so crazy.”

“I know. But crazy is good.” He kissed her lips, and she kissed him back, revealing a part of herself to him. He ran his tongue along her lower lip, and she sighed in contentment, leaning into him. Zak let her right hand go, and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Louise could feel the extent of his arousal. His need for her was intense.

And that scared her. She pulled back, not knowing why. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK, I promised not to rush things.” He searched her face for answers to the questions his eyes were asking.

“Every time I think of letting go, of allowing myself the hope of happiness with you, I keep thinking of Storm’s father and how he told me I was trash. And how I proved him right when I left Storm.”

Zak cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed his lips against her ear. “All in the past, my love, all in the past.”

“You’re my second, or maybe third, chance at happiness,” Louise admitted.

“Haven’t you ever heard the third time is the charmer?” He winked at her, making her laugh away her fears.

“Third time is the charm,” she corrected.

“I’m so pleased you can see it too.” She slapped him across the arm, and he clutched at it, feigning pain. “Ouch.”

“Get in the car, you charmer,” she said and slipped into the driver’s seat.

“I am going to have to sell my motorbike, aren’t I?” Zak asked as Louise put the car into drive and took them back into Bear Creek.

“Why?” Louise asked.

“Because I can’t exactly strap a car seat on the back.” He turned to her. “I aim to be a family man, so I need a car suitable for a family.”

“I thought you had owned that bike for years.”

“I have, but that does not mean I am going to own it forever. Things change, priorities change.” Zak glanced in the back seat, where Storm’s eyes were closing as she dozed off with the motion of the car.

“Keep it,” Louise said. “Please.”

“I don’t need it,” Zak insisted.

“It’s part of you.” She looked across to him. “Do you want to know why my home life was so bad?”

Zak looked surprised at this sudden offering up of information from Louise. “If you want to tell me.”

“I do.” She paused, looking out of the car window at the trees that grew tall and straight on the lower slope of the foothills. That’s what she needed, to put her thoughts straight. “They hadn’t been going out long before my mom got pregnant. They got married in a whirlwind romance, and had me.”

“Didn’t they love each other?” Zak asked.

“Yes, they did. They loved each other a lot. That mad, passionate early love. When it faded, they blamed my birth for ruining it. They argued a lot. About money, about the time they didn’t spend together. They resented me, and that never changed, even though they rekindled their love. Then they had my sister, a child they wanted, but they never forgave me.”

“I’m sorry,” Zak said.

“It’s OK. They can’t hurt me now.” She stopped the car on the side of the road, the emotions swirling around inside her mind making her head want to explode. “I don’t want you to change for us. I don’t want you to resent us.”

“Louise, I’m a shifter, that is not going to happen,” Zak insisted.

“We don’t know that. Not for sure,” Louise replied.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll keep the bike.” He reached out for her. “As long as you come for a ride on the back every once in a while. I liked the way you wrapped your arms around me.”

“Only if you wear your leather pants,” Louise said. She could think of him in those pants all day, and maybe she should, because it was sure better than thinking of her parents and their resentment toward their firstborn daughter.

“Those leather pants are more famous than my face,” Zak said as she started the engine and drove on into Bear Creek.

Louise giggled. “Maybe you should wear them on our date tonight.”

“If you want me to.” Zak didn’t sound too convinced.

“We are going to have to cook him something extra special, Storm.” Storm was nearly asleep; Louise was going to feel guilty for having to wake her so they could get the ingredients they needed. But unless she came back to town later, there was no way around it.

The sound of a motorbike roaring toward them made Storm jump and wake up crying. “Shh, it’s OK, Storm.”

Louise pulled the car over outside of the bakery and got out, opening the door quickly to lean in and comfort Storm. Hugging her tightly, she held her daughter close and looked across the street to where the loud motorbike had stopped.

“OK, there is the music store.” Zak jumped out. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

“An hour,” Zak agreed.

Then she watched in horror as the man with the motorbike took off his helmet and looked directly at her. “Oh, hell.” It was Storm’s dad. “What does he want in Bear Creek?”

Nothing good, Louise told herself. Yet it was hard to deny it was the scene she had played out a thousand times in her head, while she was carrying Storm.

It seemed that fate was cruel, to bring Ajax back into her life just when she had met Zak.