Gray
He finished packing the last of their things, and looked back and forth between the two piles.
On the left were his items. Two suitcases of clothes, and three boxes of miscellaneous items he’d picked up over nearly six months of living in Cloud Lake.
To the right of them, in a mound, was all of Kelly’s…stuff. There was really no better way to describe the nine boxes, three bags, two suitcases, purse and…and…he wasn’t even sure what the other thing was, besides being a bag. A shoulder bag?
“Is something wrong?” Hector asked.
Gray turned to his right and regarded his friend. Then the pile of his mate’s things. Then Hector, and back again.
“I’m sensing that something is,” the other shifter half-laughed.
“She’s been here three weeks,” he complained. “And look at how much stuff she’s already managed to accumulate!”
This time Hector did laugh, not bothering to hold it in. Gray punched him in the shoulder, but it didn’t stop the laughing. Hector reached out a hand to brace himself on the wall as he howled with laughter. Gray stood there, giving him an evil glare, but it still took several minutes for Hector to recover. That’s when Gray hit him with his counter.
“I’m sure Rachel will be glad to know you’re okay with this much stuff.”
Hector’s jaw snapped shut abruptly. “Not funny, man.”
Gray laughed, but the hostility in Hector’s eyes shut him up. “What’s wrong? I thought you were fawning over her like no tomorrow?”
His friend looked away. “I was. Until she stopped responding. I haven’t seen her in days now. Over a week even.”
“Shit, sorry man,” Gray apologized. “I didn’t know.”
“I know, I haven’t told anyone.” Hector sighed. “Sorry I snapped. Not your fault.”
Gray shrugged. That was all that was needed; there was no need for a long conversation about everything. He shouldered Hector and reached down for the bags. Together they carried them downstairs to where the waiting truck sat out behind of the embassy in the loading yard. Gray rarely came out this way, preferring the front doors, but it was convenient now. He’d hoped to be able to avoid using such transportation, but the reality of the matter was, it made sense for him to rent a vehicle for an hour.
“So where’s Kelly at?”
Hector finished putting the last box into the truck as Gray pulled the sliding door closed and ensured it was securely closed. They weren’t going far, but no sense risking it.
“Getting spoiled,” he said. “I sent her to go get her hair cut as well as the nail things girls always like, for her hands and her feet. I forget what the person called them, but Kelly was over the moon about it, so I think I did okay.”
“Nice.”
Gray nodded. “Yeah, they said it should keep her occupied for about three hours. I bought the works, so she’s getting a full shampoo and massage while she preps for her hair, that whole thing.”
His friend whistled. “You weren’t kidding when you said spoiled.”
“Nope, I wasn’t. She’ll come back, and I’ll take her out to show her the new place. It’ll be perfect.”
Hector nodded. They split around the truck and hopped in, both a little nervous. Hector, because he was unused to riding in vehicles, and Gray, because he was unused to driving them. He knew how—he’d taken lessons—but it had still been an…interesting drive to the embassy.
Come to think of it, Hector might have been a little nervous because about that as well. Gray hadn’t crashed them, but there had been a close call or three.
“Don’t worry, I’m going around the town to get there, not through it,” he said as Hector strapped himself in quickly and braced himself.
“That’s a relief.”
He socked him in the arm again for the sarcasm in his reply. Then he fired up the engine and guided the truck out into the streets.
“So she has no idea?”
“None,” Gray said with a grin. “I think. If she does, she’s really, really good at not letting me see that she knows.”
The two of them chuckled and settled back into the drive. Sort of. Gray’s head kept swiveling around, looking everywhere, while Hector tried to be as surreptitious as possible about holding on tightly and not jumping every time Gray tapped the brakes.
***
“Where are we going?”
He grinned, holding her hand as they strolled through the streets. “Your hair looks fabulous, love.”
Kelly blushed and shook her head slightly, sending the glossy tresses of her brown hair bouncing. “Thank you. I love it.”
The stylists hadn’t done much to it. They’d taken a few inches off, but it had been treated with some product or another that made it straight and shiny. Gray had listened, and even made a credible effort to understand what she was talking about. Unfortunately, the information had fled him at some point. Probably when she’d kissed him, but he couldn’t remember. It was all a blur.
Now though, he was back in command, guiding her through the town as he held her hand, taking her out to show off to everyone, letting everyone know that she was his, and that he was proud to have her.
They were also meandering closer to their final destination, not that Kelly had any idea. This was a secret he’d kept from her, and also managed to get Harden to keep from Erika, so that the two friends couldn’t spill the details. He hoped. Even if they had made their way to her through the various grapevine chain of one of the Koche brothers’ mates, to Erika, to Kelly, she hadn’t made a connection, which was good.
“This is really nice and romantic,” she said, leaning into him and walking with her head resting against him for several paces.
“It’s nice to be able to just spend time with you like this,” he agreed, giving her hand a squeeze.
She squeezed back.
“Thank you for spoiling me today. I mean, you do every day naturally, but you know what I mean.”
He grinned. “You’re welcome, darling. I hope you enjoyed it.”
“I did. It’s been so long since I’ve spoiled myself like that! I wouldn’t have been able to anytime soon either, so I really appreciate you stepping in. I feel so relaxed and happy today.”
They walked along for some time after that, making their way across town. They took frequent breaks, and even got ice cream at one point, a particular favorite of his, and all shifters. The number of ice cream parlors back in Cadia was the highest per capita of any store.
“Where are you taking me?”
He covered his reaction as best he could, looking over at her with a carefully assembled look. “What do you mean?”
Kelly smiled. “I mean, where are you taking me?”
“On a walk.”
She lifted both eyebrows, her face screaming disbelief. “Uh-huh. And this walk has an end destination, does it not?”
Gray put on his best condescending face. “Well of course. I don’t intend for us to walk forever. So of course we’re going to stop at some point.”
The back of Kelly’s hand hit his upper bicep. “No. That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
He laughed. “I know, I know. We’re just about done, then we’ll head home, I promise.”
Kelly eyed him sidelong, but didn’t press the subject, much to his relief. After all, he didn’t want to explain to her ahead of time that “home” was no longer where she remembered it.
They went off the sidewalk and took a manicured path through a little woodlot, emerging on the other side on the road that marked the unofficial northern edge of Cloud Lake. The sun was starting to set in the west, lighting up the Quicksilver Mountain range to the east that separated Cloud Lake from Cadia. The view from this part of town was incredible, the ground sloping slightly upward compared to the center.
“It’s beautiful,” Kelly said softly, stunned by the visage in front of them.
“That it is,” he echoed, but his eyes weren’t fixed on the landscape.
Eventually Kelly noticed him staring at her and she flushed a rosy pink and got up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You’re sweet.”
He stroked his hand down her cheek, but didn’t respond, enjoying the silence while looking into her eyes. A smile tickled his lips, twitching them upward slowly, but before it could blossom he leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her several times as he hugged her tight.
“Come on.” Gray took her hand and tugged her along. They were extremely close to their destination.
“What? Where are we going? I thought we were going back?”
“I never said that,” he replied, pulling her gently in his wake.
“Yes…yes you did!” she protested. “You said we were going home.”
“I know,” he said cryptically.
Kelly stared at him oddly, and he pulled her off the side of the road and down a roughly hacked path in the forest on the north side of the road.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, resisting his pull some more.
“Exactly where I said I was.”
Almost.
“But you said you were taking me—”
The trees cleared in front of them, and Kelly came to a stumbling halt.
“Home,” he supplied as the words stopped coming out of her mouth.
Before them was a gorgeous two-story home made entirely from huge timbers. Massive trunks formed beams that held up the frame, supplemented by horizontal logs for the walls, all stained a gorgeous dark orangey-brown color. The roof was a uniform black color, contrasting sharply with the design.
Windows and doors had been cut here and there into the frame of the building, turning it into a house instead of a cabin. The front doors were the pièce de résistance however, with their two-story-high glass windows and peaked archway supported by two massive logs that stretched from the ground all the way up to the top, carved into dueling bear motifs on the front.
“But we don’t live here,” Kelly said, her voice tight. “Gray, we don’t live here. We live at the motel. The embassy. We…” she turned to look at him, and her face lit up.
“We live here now,” he said.
“I…Gray…I don’t know what to say. It’s beautiful!”
Behind them the sky turned shades of orange and red as it dipped below the horizon. The light show playing out on the mountains was visible, but neither of them were looking at it. Their attention was only for each other now.
He smiled and took his mate by the hand.
“Come with me. Let me show you our new home, where we’ll start our lives, and our family, together.”
*******
This concludes Bad Bad Bear Dad. 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!