Chapter Twelve – Matthew

“I know we said tomorrow, but the temperature is dropping, and I couldn’t bear to think of you here in this cold house.” That’s what he told Sian as he stood on her doorstep looking into her surprised face.

It was the truth, of course, added to this was the need to see her again. Each moment that they were apart stretched out like an eternity.

“You want us to move tonight?” Sian asked, her gaze slipping past his shoulder toward the road. Was she expecting someone else? That would explain her wary expression when she opened the door to him.

“What do you say? Gus loaned me a truck, so I could collect the lumber I need for the porch. So I figured it was a good time to offer to move your stuff. We can get everything in the back and would only need one trip.” He smiled at her, trying to set her at ease.

“That’s a good idea,” Sian began. “But we’re not ready yet.”

“I can wait.” She was certainly nervous about something. Damn, was her husband in the house? Was she worried they might fight over her? “Or I can come back.”

The thought of walking away and leaving her alone with the father of her children was incredibly difficult, but he would do it if it was what she needed. Anything to get that man out of her life once and for all.

“No.” She reached out and grabbed hold of his sleeve. “It’s a great idea.” She stepped back, and he entered her house. “We are just about to eat.”

“I can smell pizza.” He lifted his nose and inhaled deeply. Not because he liked the smell of pizza, but because he wanted to know if Peter had been here.

No sign of him, his bear confirmed.

Matthew let out his pent-up breath. He wasn’t sure how he would have reacted if Peter had been here. But it wouldn’t have been pretty.

“Coffee?” Sian asked.

“I’ll make it while you pack,” he offered. “I can also watch the pizza, too.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Sian asked, already backing out of the kitchen door.

“No, you go for it. The sooner you are packed, the sooner we can get going.” He turned his back to her and took down two coffee mugs which he filled with coffee from the pot. It was reasonably fresh, and he didn’t make a fresh pot since they wouldn’t be here long.

A surge of excitement built inside him. He was taking his mate and her family home. And if he had his way they would never leave again.

That does not sound sinister at all, his bear told him sarcastically.

You know what I mean, Matthew answered.

Do I? Since we’ve never had a home before.

Matthew opened the oven and checked the pizza. It needed another couple of minutes before it was cooked. As he straightened up, he considered how quickly his new house had become a home. Was it simply because his mate was about to move in? He was certain that was it.

“Hi, Matthew.” Rachel passed by the doorway with a large backpack in her hand and a roll of bedding in the other.

“Hi. Do you need a hand with that?” he asked, crossing the kitchen and entering the hallway.

“I think I can manage.” She dumped the backpack and bedding by the front door. When she turned around, she fired her first question at him. “Why are you letting us have your house?” She opened her hand and indicated the house. “This place is freezing. Why would you give up your nice warm house?”

“You think I have an ulterior motive?” he asked.

“Oh, I know you do.” She stepped closer to him with all the confidence of a young woman in her prime. “I’m just not sure what it is.”

Matthew held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”

Rachel put her hands on her hips. She meant business. A smile played across Matthew’s lips. She was very protective of her mom and he liked that. Sian and her daughters watched out for each other.

“I’m waiting.” Rachel arched an eyebrow.

“Waiting for what?” Sian asked as she came down the stairs carrying a heavy suitcase.

Matthew leaped to help her, and their fingers brushed together, sending shockwaves through his body. Sian pulled back and almost dropped the suitcase, but luckily his hand had already closed around the handle. “I’ll take that.”

He swung around and met Rachel’s inquisitive look. “You two look like a couple of teenagers who have been caught kissing.”

“We do not,” Sian insisted, brushing her hair back from her face. But the pink tinge in her cheeks said otherwise.

“This would all seem more normal if you were seeing each other,” Rachel pointed out. “It’s much easier to believe Matthew would offer to swap houses if he were in lo...dating you.”

“We’re not dating,” Sian said quickly and then closed her eyes as she recomposed her thoughts. “Not yet anyway.”

Matthew watched the exchange between mother and daughter. He was certain Rachel would not object if they were seeing each other. But Sian was reluctant to make their relationship out to be more than it was. “I haven’t had a chance to ask your mother out on a date yet.”

“But you are going to date?” Rachel looked from her mom to Matthew and then back again. “If it makes it easier, Ella and I approve.”

Sian’s eyes widened. “You’ve talked about this?”

“Of course we have. It’s a big thing. Matthew will be the first man you’ve dated after Dad.”

Sian turned a brighter shade of pink. “Thank you for sharing all my secrets.”

“Oh, Mom. Come on, we love you and want you to be happy.” Rachel hugged Sian and then turned to Matthew. “Of course, it goes without saying that if you break her heart, we will come for you.”

Matthew chuckled. “I have no intention of ever hurting your mom. At all. Her heart is safe with me.”

“Which is more than can be said of the pizza,” Sian whirled around and ran for the kitchen as the smell of burned food reached them.

“Sorry.” He joined her in front of the oven as she opened it and used an oven mitt to pull out the pizza. “Looks good.”

“It does look good,” Sian agreed.

“I am starving.” Rachel went to the cupboard and grabbed some plates while Sian set the pizza down on the table.

“Can you call Ella, please?” Sian asked her daughter.

“Or we could eat it all ourselves.” Rachel went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled, “Ella. Pizza!”

“Coming,” came the reply.

Sian cut the pizza into slices and they all sat around the table. But before they had a chance to eat, Sian’s phone beeped. She fumbled to retrieve it from her pocket and looked up to see if anyone had noticed her behavior as her cheeks flushed with guilt.

“Everything okay?” Matthew instantly asked, picking up on his mate’s agitation.

“Yes.” She nodded as she keyed in a code on her phone and unlocked the screen. Her eyes scanned the message she’d just received, and she tapped the screen in reply. “I have to pop out.”

“Now?” Ella asked through a mouthful of pizza.

“Yes, I have to go and... It’s about one of the lots for the auction.” She slid out of her seat and went to the hallway where she retrieved her coat. The same coat Matthew had given her this afternoon.

“Nice coat. Is that new?” Rachel asked as she got up from her seat and went to her mom.

“It is.” Sian locked eyes with Matthew. Was she going to tell them where the coat came from or would it be their secret? Matthew didn’t mind, either way, he realized Sian might not want to admit she’d accepted a gift from Matthew when they hadn’t even been on that first date. “It was a gift from Matthew.”

“Was it?” Ella raised her eyebrows.

“Your mom was freezing while she was cleaning out the animals at the shelter,” he explained. “I thought with the weather forecasted to get worse, she needed a warm coat.”

“Of course, most men buy their date flowers,” Rachel mocked but secretly she seemed pleased he’d bought her mom a thoughtful gift.

“Flowers don’t keep me warm.” Sian jumped as her phone beeped again.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Matthew asked, trying to keep his suspicions out of his voice.

“Yes, I just need to get going.” She kissed her daughters goodbye.

“Are you okay?” Rachel asked.

“Yes.” Sian headed for the door. “Be good, enjoy your pizza, I’ll be back soon. I expect you to be packed and ready to go.”

“We’ll try,” Ella replied and picked up a piece of pizza. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was going out to meet a secret lover.”

Rachel’s eyes flicked up to Matthew’s and she gave him a false smile. “But we do know better.” She indicated the pizza. “Have a slice, Matthew.”

“Thanks.” He took a slice of the pizza and took a bite while he mused over Sian’s behavior. He was certain that she was going out to meet Peter. He was also was certain that if he followed her and interfered, it might do irreparable damage to their relationship.

“Do you need us to give you a tour of the house?” Rachel asked as she ate.

“A tour of the house?” His brow creased. “Oh, because I’m moving in here.” He shook his head. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“Mom changed the sheets on her bed,” Ella continued. “And the kitchen is self-explanatory.”

“It is.” Pity Sian had changed the sheets, he would have enjoyed lying in her bed surrounded by her scent.

“So since you don’t have a pet, what are you going to do with your pet pampering day?” Ella asked, the switch in conversation catching him off guard. “Or do you plan to adopt a pet like Lucas did? Jessie is the best, she looked after all the kittens when they didn’t have a mom.”

“Oh, I think there is a kitten or two left that need adopting,” Rachel suggested. “Although I’m not sure cats like being pampered.”

“I was thinking of turning the whole thing on its head and pampering your mom.” Matthew might have just told them aliens were real. That was the level of shock on their faces.

Or that shifters are real, his bear added not too helpfully. That was one conversation that needed handling carefully.

“Any ideas?” Matthew continued.

“Yes.” Ella clapped her hands together. “She would love a meal at a restaurant. It doesn’t have to be really fancy, just somewhere where the food is good, and she doesn’t have to cook.”

“Somewhere warm,” Rachel added. “Oh, but first she’d like to go for a walk on the mountain. We’ve been meaning to since we moved here but we haven’t had time, or the weather has been too cold.”

“It’s too cold now,” Ella said. “So that might have to wait until it gets warmer.”

“What about a spa day?” Rachel suggested. “Or the theater. Or the movies.”

“Or a day of doing nothing.” Ella stretched her arms over her head and sighed. “That might be her favorite thing. She hasn’t stopped since we moved. Between taking care of us and working at the shelter, and her classes on dog grooming, she doesn’t have much time for herself.”

“I can do any of those things,” Matthew confirmed. “Or all of them. But we need to prioritize what she’d like to do most. I thought of surprising her. Soon.”

“We might need to think about it,” Ella said. “Maybe sound Mom out.”

“Yes, she hates wasting time. So even though a day of doing nothing would be bliss, she might feel guilty.” Rachel looked toward the door. “Mom says she wasted enough time being married to Dad. She doesn’t want to waste a minute more. That’s why she wants to build her own business, prove to herself she can do it.”

“Dad used to run her down and tell her she had let herself and her dreams go.” Ella placed her half-eaten piece of pizza down on the plate.

“And the grooming parlor means a lot to her?” Matthew asked.

“Yes.” Rachel nodded.

“Then the perfect day might be helping her to get her business up and running.”

Matthew’s suggestion was met with smiles of approval. “I think that would be her perfect day.”

“As long as there’s food afterward.” Ella picked up her pizza and took another bite. “I like you, Matthew.”

Matthew cracked a smile. “I like you, too, Ella.” He glanced at Rachel who looked uncomfortable at the turn of conversation. “It’s great that we all have your mom’s best interests at heart.”

“Why?” Rachel asked suddenly. “Why do you care about my mom so much?”

“Rachel,” Ella warned.

“It’s a legitimate question,” Rachel asserted. “Before the auction, you’d never met Mom or any of us. In fact, you were considered the boogeyman, the person who wanted to destroy the shelter. Then you flipped.” She clicked her fingers to emphasize her point.

“Yes, I did.” He couldn’t deny the truth. His feelings toward Sian had hit him hard and he could not deny them.

“So what’s to say you wouldn’t flip again?” Rachel cocked her head on one side as she surveyed Matthew. “Worse, how do we know you weren’t sent here by our dad?”

“Rachel, that’s not fair,” Ella said, reaching out for her sister’s hand. Rachel’s face had flushed red and Matthew wished he could say something, perhaps tell her the truth about shifters so she would know his intentions were true. But he didn’t want to tell them when Sian wasn’t here to pick up the pieces if they took it badly.

“It is fair.” Matthew looked down at his hands as he tried to compose his thoughts. “I wouldn’t hurt your mom. I can’t hurt your mom. It’s not in me to do anything that would make her unhappy. She...changed me. And I will prove to you all that I’m a better person because of her.”

“Second chances,” Ella told Rachel. “We all deserve them.”

“Except Dad,” Rachel murmured.

“Even your father deserves a chance to change,” Matthew said gently. And at that moment, he knew what he had to do. He knew of the one true way he could make them all see he was a good guy with the best of intentions.