Rachel
She heaved herself up out of the cab and to her feet, using the roof of the blue and white vehicle for support. Her stomach was huge now, almost ready to pop. Less than a month to go, and boy was she ready by this point.
Totally done with pregnancy…for now. Bring on motherhood!
The two of them had yet to have an ultra-serious conversation about it yet, but both she and Hector had expressed at one point or another the desire for more children. But for now they wanted to concentrate on the one they had. A daughter.
Rachel hadn’t wanted to find out the sex, but a slip of the tongue by the doctor at her last appointment had unfortunately spoiled it for them. Not that either of them were upset. The look on Hector’s face when he realized he was going to be the daddy to a little girl had been utterly precious, something she would cherish the rest of her life.
Now she headed up the steps to their new home. Like all of the shifters who were starting to establish a life for themselves in Cloud Lake, they’d had to do so quietly. But as she’d found out, there was quite the little community starting to spring up on the north end of town. It was well hidden from the general populace—she’d never even had a clue it existed until Hector had told her—but it was coming close to double digits in shifters now.
There were the Koche brothers, whom she’d all met, the original inhabitants, and the ones who had started the construction business that now employed several others. They were also the ones who had built her new home, to which she now walked inside.
“Darling, I’m home,” she called, enjoying the sound of the words as they flowed off her tongue. She simply loved being able to use that phrase.
There was a moment of silence, and then footsteps began to work their way down the stairs.
“Hello, Beautiful,” Hector said as he came into sight, sweeping forward to wrap her up in a hug, careful to be gentle about it and yet somehow still squeeze her as tight as he could.
Rachel nearly melted into his touch, grateful as always to have someone like him not only in her life, but as her partner through all its trials and troubles. Hector had amazed her ever since they’d gotten things settled with the fire. He’d risen to the task of being there for her through her pregnancy, doing whatever she needed, and even some things she didn’t.
“What are you doing?” she asked, eyeing his clothes.
He was wearing his usual gray T-shirt and dark brown pants combination, but he was covered in what looked like dust and…paint?
“Is that paint on your clothes?” she asked, frowning. “That stuff is impossible to get out.”
Hector snickered.
“What was that?”
He grinned. “Are you listening to yourself?”
Rachel thought back over her last few sentences, and found herself starting to laugh as well. “Okay, that was pretty ridiculous. We’ve been together for how long now, and I’m already bitching about not being able to get stains out of your clothes?”
Her mate laughed loudly, a cheerful sound originating in his belly as he came closer again and kissed her. It was a good kiss, soft and warm, but also passionate. She knew exactly how he felt about her from that one kiss alone.
Hector pulled back just enough to rest his forehead on hers so he could look at her in the eye. “That’s all the more reason why I love you,” he said softly, then kissed her nose and took her by the hand.
“What? Where are we going? I’m hungry,” she protested.
“I know. We’ll get lunch in a moment. Just come with me,” he said, tugging at her hand.
Rachel followed him up the stairs. At the top the master bedroom opened up to their right, while a hallway went to the left and then cut back, with doors to three bedrooms and a bathroom. Hector took her to the first room.
“This is—”
The words stopped as she entered the room. It was going to be the nursery, but they hadn’t gotten around to it yet, what with actually talking to the Koche brothers and finding if they had a house ready for them. They’d lucked out on that front—though Rachel still thought Gray had mentioned something to them, but she had no proof of it—and a house had been already in the works, only a few weeks away from completion. They’d taken a look at the design and jumped at it, buying it right away. Then there had come the wait, and then the move itself.
All of that had left little time for preparing the nursery. But it seemed Hector had found time. She’d been gone all day at her various support groups. The numbers were dwindling in some as women started to give birth, and increasing in others as those with their babies started to outnumber those still expecting. Changes were coming, and Rachel had been nervous to be a part of it.
But now she wasn’t. The entire room had been painted a very soft shade of pink. On one wall hung a picture of a forest. Across the top of the wall to her right he’d painted the baby’s name in a glittering white that seemed to shimmer as if it had sparkles within the paint or something.
Karlie.
The left-hand wall was decorated with…
“Oh my God,” she breathed, stepping closer. It was decorated with cards. Dozens, and dozens of cards, all written by the women in her groups.
“Did you do all this?” she asked, whirling on Hector.
He was grinning from ear to ear. “I asked Angela and Ella if they could collect a couple. I meant like, a couple. They meant a couple of dozen.”
“There has to be what, fifty, sixty cards here?” she asked, looking at the wall.
“Seventy-five, by my count,” he said.
“Hector…it’s beautiful,” she said, extending a hand to him.
He reached out and took it, coming closer to hold her as they looked around the room together. There was a plush rocking chair in one corner, and the crib in another, along with a well-equipped changing station as well. It had everything.
“I want our daughter to have the best things in life,” he said. “I’ve not had any excuse to spend my money before now. This seemed like something worthwhile to spend it on.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder.
Our daughter. Our.
It was perfect. Life was perfect.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Hector’s rumble ran down her spine.
“I love you too.”
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This concludes Big Bad Bear Daddy. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Although this story is over, there are more adventures to be had. To get access to my newest stories at the introductory price of just 99c, and for other exclusives, sign up for my newsletter!