Chapter Two – Hank

Their lips fit together perfectly, just as he knew they would. He dreamed about this moment, fantasized about this moment, and it was better than anything his mind could conjure up. His tongue snaked out and licked her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth for him. For one sweet taste of your honey lips. Unwritten lyrics flew into his head. Words of love, of longing, of the feel of his mate in his arms.

Hank pulled back, his hands on her upper arms as her legs swayed beneath her. “That was incredible.”

“I thought I was the groupie.” Her eyes came into focus on his face, and she smiled dreamily.

“What’s your name?” he asked his mate.

“My name?” she asked as if it wasn’t important.

“Yes. I want to know what to call my mate.” He kissed the line of her jaw and she groaned and leaned into him again.

“Elise, my name is Elise.” At least she didn’t ask him what a mate was. That meant she knew, right? Or was she swooning at his feet because of who he was, a country singer, rather than because she felt the same way he did?

“Good to meet you, Elise.” Hank inhaled deeply, her scent made his mouth water, but in amongst the messages bombarding his brain, which mainly focused on how he would do anything for her, was one truth. She smelt of the forests, of good honest dirt and bear. “You look like you need tea, or something stronger.”

“Give your strength to me,” she whispered. “Underneath the wishing tree.”

He smiled down at her dewy-eyed expression. “I think you got a double dose of the mating bond, don’t you?”

Elise shook her head as if trying to shake off a dream. “Maybe because I’ve been in love with you since I was fourteen.”

He arched an eyebrow and kept one hand under her arm as he guided her toward the cabin. “Thing is, you were in love with a man who didn’t exist. I’m not the fairy tale pop star you think I am.”

“That doesn’t mean I was wrong. I swear I knew, even then, that you were the one for me.”

Hank stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “Do you mean it?”

She nodded and placed her hand over her left breast. “In my heart, I knew. I just forgot somehow.”

“That’s a long time to carry someone in your heart.” Hank gazed into her face. Elise was a beautiful woman, her brown eyes, flecked with gold, held a lifetime of memories. Laughter lines told him they were good memories, and yet there was a sadness in her, deep within her, deeper than her eyes—soul deep. Yet laced with that was hope. And he wanted to be her hope.

“I have a big heart.” She grinned, looking young once more. “Cheesy, I know, but lately I’ve learned that your heart is always ready to expand and let in new people, new love.”

“You’re a wise woman, Elise.” He took her hand, threading his fingers through hers and led her to the cabin. They climbed the porch together as if they had done so every day for the last ten years. Relaxed in her presence, Hank had a sense that he was coming home.

You are, his bear said drily.

You know what I mean, Hank retorted. This is right. This is where we are supposed to be.

At last, his bear declared. Hank smiled to himself. For the last thirty years, he’d been traveling the world trying to figure out where he fit into it. He’d helped build wells in Africa, he’d built schools in countries whose names he could not even pronounce, and he’d worked hard for a roof over his head and food in his belly. Although the latter was sometimes given to the child seated next to him, who looked as if he needed nourishment more than Hank.

Yes, thirty years ago, about the time Elise fell in love with his voice over the radio, Hank Rivera gave up the country singer life and filled his days with work instead of words.

“This is nice.” Elise stood in the doorway of the large living room, which held his most prized possessions, his guitars, along with treasures he’d been given on his travels. An African spear awarded to him as a symbol of his initiation into the Wiakio Tribe was his most impressive object, but the cast of handprints belonging to a child named Abdou, who became his friend as he built a new school for the children of the surrounding villages—hands down his favorite.

His bear groaned. And people pay to hear the words that come of that mouth?

“I’ve collected these from all over the world,” Hank told Elise, walking over to a collection of small stones. “I fished these out of a stream, there are gemstones mixed in with them, so small the eye cannot see them. Or so my companions told me.”

She walked across the room, her steps tentative as she reached him. Despite the fact that they were mates and equals in his eyes, she put him on a pedestal. A pedestal he needed to fall off. “I always wondered where you disappeared to.”

“I needed to be a better man.” He frowned as he looked down into the small handwoven basket of stones. “These remind me that jewels are hidden in our lives, and just because we can’t see them, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We just have to look harder to find them.”

“What happened?” Elise lifted her eyes to meet his and there was no escape. “You had it all. To the outside world, at least. But you gave it all up, didn’t you?”

“You didn’t believe the rumors about drugs and sex?” Hank wanted to dive into her eyes. The amber flecks crackled and sparkled as her eyes crinkled and she laughed, sweet and melodious.

“No.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t. I was your number one fan, remember? You could do no wrong in my eyes.”

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, needing to feel the crackle of electricity between them. She made him feel alive, as if he could conquer the world once more. “I’m not perfect.”

Elise sighed and stepped closer to him, her breasts almost touching his chest, and he fought to control himself and not kiss her luscious lips. Or stroke her body until she begged for him to take her to bed. “That was a long time ago. Now, it’s different, I’m different. I don’t wear rose-colored glasses anymore.” Her smile faded and her forehead creased as she studied him. “But I don’t believe it was because of drugs and sex.”

His body softened, and the tension left his muscles. “I’ll make that tea.” He dragged himself away from her and navigated around the sofa, heading for the kitchen. Elise followed, he could sense her presence behind him. He didn’t have to use his eyes to pinpoint exactly where she was.

“So, what was it?” Elise asked, leaning against the wall as Hank filled the kettle and set it on the stove to boil.

“It was sex and drugs.” He returned to face her, waiting for her to turn away from him. She didn’t.

“Go on.”

“My manager took advantage of a couple of groupies.” Hank pressed his lips together, his expression tight as he fought down the anger welling up inside him. “He used people. When I found out, I walked away.”

Was it that simple? Hank’s relationship with his father had always been fractious, even before he appointed himself as Hank’s manager. Hank’s dad, Lewis Rivera, was a failed country pop star who saw his son’s talent and aimed to milk it dry. The death of Hank’s mom when he was fifteen should have brought them closer, their intense grief should have been the glue that joined them together. Instead, Lewis filled the hole she left with rehearsals and tour dates, pushing his son every step of the way, until all the joy was sucked out of the songs he sang night after night to adoring fans.

So when a young woman, no older than Hank himself, knocked on his dressing room door and told him his father was using Hank’s fans, he was quick to judge Lewis, and pass sentence.

You were young, his bear comforted him.

Hank had walked away and never looked back. He’d broken a million hearts, including his own.

“I’m sorry.” Elise dropped her arms to her sides and approached him, stopping a foot away. “I can see how that would hurt. And I know how easy it would be for your manager to take advantage of girls. It robbed you of the trust and respect you had for him.”

Hank rubbed his face and smiled wryly. “It did. And I blamed myself for allowing it to happen. They were my fans, I should have been more aware. So, being young and naïve, I told myself I didn’t want to be part of a world like that. It robbed me of my trust in other people.”

Elise placed her hand on his. Her touch comforted him, made everything all right. “He was your dad.”

Hank pressed his fingers to his eyes, refusing to shed a tear for the past that was so far behind him. “Damn, I thought it couldn’t hurt me anymore.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Elise shook his hand, her words drumming into him. “We can only be truly responsible for ourselves. You were young, he should have known better.”

“I should have seen it sooner.” Hank looked down at the floor, unable to look his mate in the eyes. “When you look at me, it reminds me of the way those girls looked at me. Adoringly, as if I were special.”

“Hey, bucko.” Elise tipped his chin up and turned him to face her. “The thing is, to me, you are special.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips lightly. “And if I held up a mirror to your face, you’d see the same adoring look reflected back.”

Hank sighed. “You are special.” He brushed her hair back from her face.

“We’re all special. Some of us just hide it better than others. Like your jewels.” She let him go and pulled away as the kettle whistled, declaring to the world it was time for tea. “I used to be stuck in the past. It’s not a good place. You’ve changed, lived a full life. Maybe it’s time to forgive yourself and move on.”

Hank placed the cups on the counter, added the teabags, and poured the hot water. “With you, I’m ready to do that.”

He passed a cup to Elise, who raised it up in the air and said, “Here’s to us. To new beginnings.”

“To us.” They touched cups, and then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. “Sealed with a forever kiss.”

“That can never bring you happiness,” Elise finished the line, but Hank swore that wasn’t true. His kisses, his love would bring her happiness.