Epilogue

“Hello, Teagan,” Carter said to the young woman standing looking nervous at the front door of the big house he and Caroline had finally moved into a month ago.

“Hi, Carter.” She grinned, and then quickly asked, “What did you think of the article?”

“Do you want to come in first?” Carter asked. After talking about what happened with Fern they had finally contacted Teagan to write the article. Teagan was what Fiona called one of her children, and as soon as Carter sat down with her, he knew it was the right decision. Teagan had a deep well of emotion and it came out in her questions, while her enthusiasm and optimism gave the article a feeling of optimism.

As for Carter’s relationship with Fern, it had mutated from movie star and greatest fan, to more brother and sister, something Fern desperately needed. Her childhood had been unhappy, and his movies became a focus of a future she craved, where someone looked out for her, when her own family did not.

After her attempted suicide, she had been taken into foster care. Now, as an adult, she longed for a stable life, and that he could help her with. He’d rented her a small cottage, and Will had given her a job, until she decided what she wanted to do with her life. She dreamed of becoming a therapist, but Fern lacked the confidence, and the qualifications. But everyone in Bear Creek was trying to help her achieve her goals. It really was the best place in the world, and Carter Eden had seen a lot of the world.

“That depends on what you thought of the article,” she answered brightly.

“I thought you covered both sides of the story perfectly,” Carter said. “You gave it a sincerity that I had not expected.”

“Great,” Teagan replied, her body language softening as relief swept over her.

“Come on in. We’re all ready to watch the commercial,” Caroline said, coming to the door and handing Teagan a bottle of beer. “Here, try some.”

Teagan took the bottle. “Thanks. Oh, the labels look fab. Bear Creek Honey Beer.”

“Thanks for designing those too,” Carter said. “You are a woman of many talents.”

“But not as good an actor as Carter Eden,” Teagan said.

“You might change your mind when you see the commercial,” Caroline said.

“It’s a great commercial,” Carter told her bluntly.

“Sorry, Captain Orang. I forgot I was supposed to take this whole thing seriously.”

“You revived the character?” Teagan asked, sounding suitably impressed.

“At a price,” Caroline said.

“Which is?” Teagan asked.

“A sequel,” Carter said. In truth, once he had cleared the air with Fern and realized he had completely overreacted, and that she held a tremendous amount of guilt about his abandoned career, he had started to listen to some of the offers being sent his way.

“Space Monkeys?” Teagan asked overjoyed.

“Yes. They made me an offer, and I could not refuse it.”

“OMG!” Teagan jumped up and down on the spot.

“Hey, it’s going to be coming on any moment,” Will called from the sitting room.

“Coming.” Carter walked into the room with a woman on each arm. His heavily pregnant wife, who was the only person not drinking his beer, and Teagan, the woman who had written a wonderful article setting forth the truth about Carter and Fern, and the effect that day had on their lives.

He had decided to donate a percentage of the profits from Bear Creek Honey Beer to a young people’s mental health program. Carter Eden felt free, despite being tied to a three-movie Space Monkeys deal.

“Here it is.” Freyja sat forward in her chair, watching as Carter, AKA Captain Orang, walked onto the screen holding a bottle of honey beer.

“Here I am,” Freyja bounced excitedly as she shuffled on, dressed as Corporal Chimp. “That’s me.”

“Which one is you, Will?” Caroline asked as three or four more space monkeys came into the shot, all monkeying around, pretending to be bears to get the beer. It was a stupid advert that captured the whole Space Monkey vibe perfectly.

“That’s me.” Will pointed at the screen. “Officer G. Short for gorilla.”

Caroline laughed, but Carter knew how proud she was, especially because he had orders coming in from all over the country, from stores wanting to stock his beer.

“Happy?” she asked as she turned to him, tears on her cheeks from laughing so much. She stroked his clean shaven face, and pressed her lips to his smooth skin. The mountain man had retreated for now, in his place was an older, wiser, man.

“Happy.” In truth, this was the happiest he had ever been in his life. Everything fit together now, he was older and wiser, and with Caroline to ground him, he would never feel like running for the hills again. Except for when their child was born, and then he would take his little bear cub all the way up onto the mountain and tell the story of how mommy and daddy bear met.

Or maybe, he could act it out.

***

Have you read Return to Bear Bluff?

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