Chapter Eleven – Sian

Ronni’s desperation to have a house for her and Lucas to move into left Sian with a unique insight into how a shifter’s mind worked. They couldn’t wait to be together, and not in the first blush of love kind of way, but in a deep, passionate, can’t live without the other kind of a way.

And that was how Matthew felt, too. She could see it in the way he looked at her, and the way he said her name.

As she drove home, a pang of sadness hit Sian. She would never feel that way. Never experience the intense need for another person.

If only everyone was born with the same need to find their perfect mate along with the capability to know who they were when they found them. Wouldn’t life be so much simpler? There would be no mistakes. No breakdown in marriage. No divorce.

And no accidents. No Ella and Rachel. For they would have never existed if she was a shifter with the same knowledge of her true mate.

The thought of her daughters gave her comfort. She accepted her life and how it had turned out. Whether that meant she was ready to move on and allow herself to give Matthew a chance, she wasn’t sure. But she was sure of one thing. She loved her new coat. It was warm and a perfect fit.

Was she so shallow that she could be won over by a coat?

As she got out of the car she was nearly knocked sideways by an icy blast of wind. Yep, the coat had won her over, at least her bones weren’t freezing now. Wrapping it tighter around her body, Sian headed into the house, which was not much warmer than outdoors. Perhaps if she worked hard at packing what they needed to take to Matthew’s house she might warm up a little.

First, she needed coffee. And to light the fire. Rubbing her hands together to warm them up, she put on a fresh pot of coffee and made a mental list of what she needed to pack as she struck a match to light the kindling in the grate. As soon as it sparked into life, she held out her hands to absorb as much of the warmth as possible.

Half an hour, and two cups of coffee later, she dragged herself away from the fire and went upstairs to pack, telling herself the sooner she got it done, the sooner she could get back to the living room.

“What’s for dinner?” Ella asked as soon as she walked through the door after school. “I need to eat or I’ll freeze.”

Sian placed a pile of bedding down on the sofa and indicated the suitcase she’d packed full of towels and toiletries. “I was going to stick a pizza in the oven since we need to pack.”

“So, we are moving into Matthew’s house.” She slumped down on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. “I thought you’d say no.”

“So did I. But I went over there today...”

“You went over to Matthew’s house?” Ella sat up straighter. “What’s it like?”

“It needs some work, but it’s warm and cozy.” Sian shivered. “The opposite of this house.”

“Why is Matthew being so nice to us?” Ella asked as she watched her mom. “Are those the best towels?”

Sian placed her hands on top of the pile of towels she’d placed in the suitcase. “I didn’t want to leave them in the cold house.” Her breath left a cloud of vapor on the air. “Can you add another log on the fire? We’ve arranged to go tomorrow, but now I’m wishing I’d said tonight.”

Ella swung down onto the floor and picked up a dry log. With great care, she placed it on the fire and watched as the flames licked at the dry wood and heat flared across the room, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the chill in the rest of the house. This only served to confirm Sian’s decision to take Matthew’s offer.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Ella swiveled around but stayed kneeling in front of the fire.

“He’s a kind man,” Sian began. She could not exactly add, and he knows I’m his soul mate and will do anything for me. But just the thought of his depth of feeling for her warmed her on the inside. Shame it did nothing for her outside.

“There are lots of kind people in the world, but they wouldn’t all hand over their house to a stranger and her daughters.” Ella was searching for answers and it was Sian’s duty to reassure her they weren’t making a mistake.

Sian left the packing and went to sit next to her daughter, glad of the chance to warm herself by the fire. “He’s a nice guy.”

“We don’t know that.” Ella rested her head on her mom’s shoulder. “Can we trust him?”

Sian hesitated, not because she wasn’t absolutely sure that they could trust Matthew, but because she had to word her response in such a way that Ella was convinced. However, Sian could not tell her daughter how she knew with absolute certainty that out of all the people in the world, Matthew, despite his past, was the one person they could rely on.

“Mom?” Ella pushed for an answer.

“Sometimes in life, you meet people who you click with. Do you know what I mean?” Sian asked gently.

“Yes. I do.” Ella gazed into the fire. “Like Taylor and I clicked when we first met.”

Sian nodded, ignoring the twinge of guilt she experienced every time she thought of how this move to Bear Creek had caused Ella to leave her best friend behind. “Like Taylor.”

“But this is a little different than me and my friends, Matthew looks at you...” Ella didn’t finish her sentence.

“Matthew likes me. I believe he wants us to be more than just friends. But he also knows how much you and Rachel mean to me and he understands that you two come first.” Sian took a breath. “But I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t interested in a relationship with him. Even though when we moved here, I said I was staying away from men for life.”

“I know how much Dad hurt you. Not physically. But...well, you know.” Ella sat up and took hold of Sian’s hands. “If this was the other way around, you would tell us to believe in love and go out there and grab hold of it with both hands.”

Sian laughed. “I would. Because love comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be disguised in many ways. But it is the most powerful thing in the universe.” She hugged Ella close. “I know because I feel it every time I look at you or Rachel.”

“So, back at you.” Ella shook her head. “You can’t have one rule for us and one rule for you. If Matthew offers you the chance of loving again, then you should take it. We want you to be happy, Mom.”

“I want us all to be happy,” Sian confessed. “My greatest fear is that me finding love will hurt you or Rachel.”

“It won’t.” Ella kissed Sian on the cheek. “And Matthew has to be a good man, he brought us chocolate cake.”

“He did. And there is some left, do you want a slice before you help me pack?” Sian got up and went to the kitchen, with Ella following behind her.

“It’s freezing in here,” Ella said, pulling her sweater sleeves down over her hands.

“I’ll put the oven on, we can eat pizza on our laps.” Sian cut Ella a generous piece of chocolate cake. “After you’ve eaten this, can you go upstairs and pack your clothes? We can pop past and get anything we’ve forgotten when I bring you into town for school. But just in case the weather gets so bad we can’t get back here, be prepared.”

“Sure,” Ella replied as she ate her cake. “I’ll grab everything I need.” She gave a small laugh. “It feels as if we’ve only just unpacked and here we are packing everything up again.”

“Not exactly everything.” Sian wasn’t ready to admit they were unlikely to move back here. She was certain Matthew was going to work his hardest to ensure his mate and her family made his house their permanent home.

“I don’t mind. I always wanted to live in the country.” She finished her cake and put the plate in the sink. “What about the kittens?”

Sian closed her eyes, she’d forgotten about them. Which was not good considering she was a volunteer at the shelter. Although, in her defense, things had been a little crazy the last couple of days. “I don’t know. I told Ronni yesterday she’d have to hold on to them for a couple more days while the heating got fixed. This house is too cold for a couple of baby kittens.”

“But now that we’re moving into Matthew’s house, the heating is not a problem. But he might not like cats.” Ella wagged her finger at Sian. “Although, he must like animals since he donated so much money to the fund for the shelter.”

Sian liked Ella’s reasoning, even though it was flawed. Sian suspected Matthew had not suddenly become an animal lover. The only reason he’d donated the money was because Sian was his mate. That could still work in their favor, though. Matthew wanted to make Sian happy and Sian would only be happy if her daughters were happy. And her daughters would only be happy if they adopted the kittens.

“I’ll talk to him about it.” Sian looked up as the front door opened and Rachel came in. “Hi there.”

“Hi.” Rachel walked into the kitchen and spied the cake. “Is there any left for me?”

“There sure is.” Sian cut her eldest daughter a slice. “Right, I have to get the rest of the stuff packed.”

“We’re actually moving into Matthew’s house?” Rachel asked.

“Yes.” Ella headed for the kitchen door. “Mom and I have just had this conversation. And now I’m going to Siberia to pack.”

“She sounds happy about the move.” Rachel ate her cake and watched Sian as she opened the freezer and retrieved a pizza. “You don’t even need the freezer on. The food wouldn’t defrost if the power went out.”

Sian rubbed her hands together to warm them up before she removed the packaging on the pizza and put it in the oven. “You’re still good with us going to Matthew’s house?”

“I am.” She scraped her plate clean. “Any news on Mr. Wendell?”

“Not really. I spoke to his daughter this afternoon. She said they are still doing tests.” Sian checked the temperature on the oven, which was as temperamental as everything else in the house. “But he’s stable and he’s in the right place. I just hope he pulls through. There must be nothing worse than losing a loved one at Christmas.”

“And what about Dad?” Rachel kept her voice low.

“Nothing.” Sian leaned back against the counter and folded her arms.

“Perhaps he had a change of mind and decided whatever he came here for... I don’t know…that he’d made a mistake.” Rachel’s hopeful tone tore into Sian’s heart like jagged claws into flesh.

“Perhaps. Although he still should have come by and said hello to you and Ella.” The bitterness in her voice when she spoke about Peter never seemed to fade. How could it when he let them down so much? Her daughters deserved better. Could Matthew give them what they deserved, a father figure who they could look up to and respect and depend on? And maybe even love one day?

“Let’s not let him spoil another Christmas.” Rachel’s comment was from the heart. They were better off without him. But how could they get over him when he was hanging around in the shadows?

“He won’t,” Sian assured her. “Okay, I have to go upstairs and pack my clothes. Can you do yours? Plus, anything else you might need.”

“Sure.” Rachel nodded and went up to her room, leaving Sian alone.

“It’s time to take back control.” Sian went to her purse and pulled out her phone. Scrolling through the numbers, she tapped the screen and brought up Peter’s cell phone number. “Time to poke the hornet’s nest.”

Hi Peter, I saw you were in town and would like to know if you are here to sign the final papers.

Sian pressed send and then waited. Perhaps he had been passing through and was no longer in Bear Creek. But if he was, would this flush him out? Right now, not knowing was worse than a confrontation with the man who had tried to squash her love and control her emotions.

Slipping her phone into her jacket pocket, she went upstairs to continue packing.