Chapter Sixteen – Cal

“What are we doing?” Teagan asked Cal as he drove up to Walt’s place. Even though Theo and Fern lived there too, Cal still remembered it as Walt’s place from when he was a kid.

“It’s a surprise.” Cal hadn’t been this way since he had returned to Bear Creek, and he had forgotten how beautiful it was up here high above the town. The trees grew tall, stretching up to the sky, interspersed with pockets of open ground where you could look out onto the world below.

“I get that. But what kind of a surprise?” Teagan asked.

“The good kind,” Cal assured her.

“That makes me feel so much better,” Teagan answered.

“Good.” He grinned at her. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

The car mounted the last section of steep road leading to the house on the hill. As the house came into view, Cal could not believe the changes. “Wow.”

“Theo extended it when he moved back here,” Teagan told him. “Looks good, doesn’t it?” Teagan leaned forward in her seat and peered out of the window. “Why are there so many cars here?”

“Because we are going up the mountain.” Cal’s bear shuddered in excitement. Cal had fought to contain him since they had made plans to go into the wild for a few hours with his mate and a few other bears.

“We?”

“Yes, my family, some friends. We thought we’d go and explore our old haunts and introduce you to a few new ones.” Cal glanced across to Teagan. “Is that OK?”

“Yes! I haven’t been over the mountain very much.” Her voice barely contained her excitement. “I’ve been so busy with the brewery and the newspaper, I’ve put off going much further than the lower slopes.”

“So Fern was telling us.”

“Wait, how is Fern going to come with us?” Teagan asked.

“She’s not, she offered to babysit so that Carter and Caroline can come with us too.”

“On her own?” Teagan asked.

“No, Walt will stay here, and Dani too. She’s Jamie’s mate, isn’t she? I haven’t met her yet.”

“She is. Dani is the first-grade teacher at the school.” Teagan smiled happily. “Your brothers and sisters, and your mom and dad?”

“It was my mom’s idea.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I told her about your mom, and your dad, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Teagan said. “We’re family, right?”

“We are.” He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a box. “Which reminds me.”

“What are you doing?” Teagan asked.

“Proposing.” He got out of the truck, dashed around to her door, and pulled it open. Then he got down on one knee. “Teagan, will you marry me, please?” He’d beg if he had to.

Teagan slid out of the truck and landed in front of him, tears in her eyes. “You didn’t have to.”

“Yes. I did. I want you to know I’m in this forever. I will never leave. Ever.”

“I know that.” She reached out and stroked his cheek, before dropping to her knees and hugging him. “Yes. If you are sure, then yes, yes a million times over.”

Cal kissed her, the ring forgotten as they held each other close. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”

“I think I do.” She smiled, and to Cal it was as if there were two suns shining down on him, the one in the sky, and the more radiant one who was his mate.

“She said yes?” His mom and sisters appeared from the side of the house.

“Were you spying on us?” Cal asked.

“No, just looking in this direction,” Ronni countered.

A round of hugs ensued, during which he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Teagan’s finger. It was a simple design, the gold band twisted and mounted with a diamond solitaire.

“It’s beautiful, Teagan,” Fern said, coming to join them. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Teagan hugged her. “Who would have thought we would both find our Prince Charmings?”

“Prince Charmings aren’t all they are cracked up to be,” Fiona said with a snort. “But I think on this occasion you have the real thing.”

“Thanks, Fiona,” Teagan said. “Are you coming with us?”

“No.” Fiona shook her head. “I don’t want to breathe fire on you all.”

“One day you are going to have to show us your other side,” Teagan said.

“One day, but not today.” Fiona hugged Teagan. “I’m so pleased for you.” She looked a little tearful when she let Teagan go. “I have work to do. I only came to say congratulations.”

With that Fiona left, and the rest of them all headed toward the house.

“Are we ready?” Cal asked. His bear was itching to be free, to run until his lungs burned and his heart thumped in his chest. He longed to feel the dirt beneath his paws, his claws digging into the ground as he climbed the mountain, muscles straining, fur stirred by the wind.

“We are,” his dad said, taking his mom’s hand. They looked like two lovers on a date.

One by one, they shifted into bears and made their way up the mountain trail. Cal and Teagan waited until last, wanting to see each other in all their furriness.

“Have fun.” Fern went inside to join Dani and the children.

“We will,” Teagan said. “After you.”

Cal let his bear free. The air buzzed with static electricity as he disappeared from this world, to reappear on four short legs, his snout raised to inhale the scent of their mate as a bear. She smelled delicious to his bear, but when she shifted into her bear, if it were possible, that deliciousness increased tenfold.

Grinning like a foolish bear, he nudged her with his short snout and then ran off, listening to her paws hitting the ground as she ran after him. They followed the trail, the scent of the others telling him which way they had gone. All the time they climbed, he let his senses roam. Cal’s bear could hear and smell her, but something more; as if he had his own personal radar locked onto her, he could sense her presence.

His strong legs carried him up the mountain trail, which wound right and then left, tight curves leading to long, steep climbs as it followed the contours of the mountain. Several times he stopped, and turned to look out over the world below them. They could see Bear Creek nestled in the valley below, the silvery creek in which they had first met, meandering through it before disappearing into the distance. Teagan stood next to him, and they brushed against each other, body against body, fur touching fur. This was perfection. His mate, his fiancée, by his side.

Fiancée, that made his bear grin. Cal stood in contentment by her side. Neither of them in a rush to break their connection, until a roar from above told them to get moving. The others were waiting.

He turned back toward the trail and began to climb: there was a wide plateau not far above them, and that was where they found the others, all lying on the ground. Jax and Davy were play-fighting, while a bear whom he thought must be Jamie was rolling on his back, feet in the air. The rest of the bears were lying or sitting down, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun.

When Cal and Teagan reached them, they got up, ready to go. His dad led them through a narrow gully and out the other side, before turning to climb a steep, rocky path. Teagan looked at him questioningly but followed all the same. Cal wanted to reassure her, to tell her the journey was worth it. Their destination was a waterfall tucked away between two steep-sided rock faces. The water spilled down off the mountain and filled a pool, which was famous among the bears in these parts as the best place to swim on a warm day.

They reached the top of the path and walked single file along a narrow trail. Cal mused how odd they would look to any human observer who knew about bears. This little adventure, if caught on camera, would likely raise a debate as to how bears lived in the wild. Known as solitary creatures, this outing would definitely throw all that up for debate.

He raised his head and sniffed the air. If he wasn’t mistaken, there were no humans for miles. They had privacy, and they planned to enjoy it.

Reaching the pool, Jax and Davy jumped straight in, their bears ducking under the water, before resurfacing, snouts just above the surface as they took in air and treaded water, going around and around in circles. Ronni and Fleur joined them, and a great deal of splashing ensued.

Cal tapped Teagan on the shoulder, and she followed him around to the edge of the pool. Putting his head down, he picked up the trail he needed to follow. It was awkward, and narrow, but he’d been this way many times. Slipping and sliding over sharp rocks, Cal led Teagan behind the waterfall.

There he shifted back into his human form and Teagan did the same. “I wanted to show you this.”

Teagan turned around, and gasped. The wall of water came thundering down from above them, filling the pool with white foam, which sprayed up into the air. The angle of the sun overhead was perfect, making the droplets appear as a rainbow.

“This has always been a magical place for me. My brothers and sisters played up here as kids. And I wanted to share it with you.” He grinned at the sound of the others playing in the water, the shouts and screams of family and friends enjoying themselves. “I want to share everything with you.”

“I love you, Cal.” She held her ring out in front of her. “I can’t believe I’m engaged.”

“You won’t be for much longer.” Cal pulled her to him, and kissed her lips. “I want us to be married as soon as possible. I want the whole world to know you are my wife.”

She laid her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. “I’m so blessed to have all of this.”

She was thinking of her mom, he could tell by the way she breathed, long and slow, a slight shudder at the end. “Hey, this is a day for happiness. Tomorrow we figure out how to change your mom’s life for the better. Maybe if we give her something to think about that’s outside of her. Outside of her thoughts of your dad.”

“That’s a great idea.” Teagan put her hand on her stomach. “And if we do have a child…”

“When.”

“When we have a child. Maybe that will give her something to love. She missed out on me growing up, I hope she won’t miss out again.”

“We can hope.” He took her hand. “Now, let’s go do some bear dunking.”

“Bear dunking?” Teagan asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s a game, the last bear to not get dunked, wins.”

He took her back out into the open air. Before he shifted into his bear, Cal called out, “Let the bear dunking begin.”

And it did, they played and laughed, and played some more, until late afternoon, when they all returned back to Walt’s house for food. It was a wonderful day. A day that made him certain this was where he was supposed to be. Cal would never leave Bear Creek again. No job, no promotion, would ever be worth it.