Chapter Three – Sian

Sian helped Ella and Rachel put their coats and scarves on as they stood in the entrance of the museum. She also had one eye on the parking lot, scouring the area for any sign of Peter. He might have left the museum, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t out there waiting for her. His behavior toward his wife and daughters had never been what was expected of a husband and father, it was as if he missed the memo on compassion and empathy. But tonight, it was the unknown she feared. She didn’t care that he’d tried to embarrass her in front of everyone, it was the fear that he might be here to cause hurt to Ella and Rachel that bothered her.

“Are you all right, Mom?” Ella asked as Sian pulled on her gloves.

“Yes, just a little tired.” Sian’s feet ached, her voice felt hoarse and all she wanted to do was sink into her comfortable sofa with a mug of hot cocoa and her feet tucked under her. The elation of reaching their target for the auction had rapidly waned, leaving her drained. “Let’s get home.”

A flurry of snowflakes blew toward them as they made their way down the museum steps and across the parking lot. Sian’s teeth chattered. She’d bought new winter coats for Ella and Rachel when they moved to Bear Creek, but her meager funds had not stretched to the extravagance of buying one for herself. Perhaps a visit to the thrift shop might be a good idea. Otherwise, she was going to freeze this winter.

A knot of anger coiled tightly in her stomach. If Peter had paid her the money from her share of the house like he was supposed to, she could have bought herself a nice thick winter coat. But instead of paying up, he’d dragged the whole sorry business out, forcing her to take him to court.

But even then, he hadn’t paid her. If he didn’t give her the money by Christmas, she’d have to consult a lawyer again. Would he really rather be held in contempt of court than pay her?

A gust of wind buffeted them and she held onto her daughters, despite them being old enough to fend for themselves. They were all she had and she wanted to protect them from the world and the weather, and anything that might hurt them. Even though she knew this wasn’t healthy for any of them. She relaxed her grip.

“We’re okay, Mom,” Rachel told her as they reached the road.

“I know. I still find myself forgetting you aren’t my little girls anymore.” Sian smiled. Or tried to smile, but her teeth were locked together to prevent them from chattering with the cold.

As she looked left and right, preparing to cross the road, a large, very expensive black car slid to a stop beside them. As the window rolled down, she saw the impossibly handsome face of Matthew Lewis looking out at them from the warm interior of his car. “Why don’t you get in? I can take you all home.” His offer, made by anyone else, would have been snapped up. But Sian wasn’t sure how she felt about him.

Yes, they might be mates, but that did not mean she had to fall at his feet.

A stronger gust of wind buffeted them again, and more snow fell. Was this some kind of conspiracy?

“Mom?” Ella pulled on her sleeve. “Please.”

“We’re not supposed to get into cars with strangers,” Rachel reminded them all.

“I’m not exactly a stranger,” Matthew explained. “I’ve just donated a large amount of money to the animal shelter, they have all my bank details…”

“If you are sure it’s not too much trouble.” Sian caved in as a wave of fatigue swept over her.

“Never.” The truth and honesty in Matthew’s voice won her over.

“Thanks. Girls, get in the back and make sure you buckle your seatbelts.” Ella and Rachel got in the back seat, Ella muttered something about them not being five-year-olds and Rachel stated that she still wasn’t sure Matthew wasn’t a stranger.

“Ready?” Matthew asked.

“Yes.” Sian pulled her thin coat around her, grateful for the warm heat filling the car. “You need to go left up here.”

Matthew followed her directions. “So how long have you lived in Bear Creek?”

Sian gave him a sidelong glance. “A couple of months.”

“Are you planning on making this your home for good?” He kept his expression neutral, which was kind of infuriating. Sian longed for a man who wasn’t afraid to show his true self. Not his lying, cheating self, but his true, loyal, passionate self. Could Matthew ever repair her injured heart, could he restore her faith in men?

“We are,” Sian confirmed. Although a shadow of doubt crept across her mind. Why was Peter here? Did he plan to interfere in their new life? “And you?”

He glanced sideways at her. “I didn’t intend to move here, no. But my plans might change.”

“Just like they changed after you attempted to adopt a puppy from the shelter?” Sian asked sweetly. This comment raised interest from her daughters.

“Are you adopting a puppy?” Ella asked excitedly. “We’re adopting two kittens.”

Matthew sighed heavily, which confused Sian for a moment before the reason hit her smack in the forehead. “You don’t like cats?”

“I’m not a pet person,” he admitted.

“So why did you go to the animal shelter to adopt a puppy?” Rachel asked in her usual suspicious manner. Ever since the breakup of her parent’s marriage, she’d been untrusting with people. All except her mom and sister. It broke Sian’s heart to hear the mistrust in her daughter’s voice.

“Because I wanted to buy the land the shelter is built on and that was the only way I could get a close look at the place.” Matthew eyed Sian with a small smile. “I could have lied. But I never want to lie to you.”

Color rose in Sian’s cheeks and she glanced in the side mirror at Rachel in the back seat, expecting her to be formulating a scathing retort. However, she seemed satisfied with Matthew’s honesty.

“So why did you bid so much money for my mom?” Ella asked. “That doesn’t make sense. Not when you almost single-handedly saved the shelter.”

“We would have saved the shelter without Matthew’s money,” Sian insisted.

“I’m not asking for a refund.” Matthew turned right when Sian indicated the road they lived on. “Neither do I regret the amount of my bid. It was totally worth it.”

“It’s this one here.” She wanted to get out of the car and disappear into the small house she rented and never see him again. Matthew Lewis confused her like no other man she’d ever known. “Thanks for the ride.” Sian unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door. But neither of the girls moved. “We’re home.”

“Matthew didn’t answer Ella’s question,” Rachel commented. “We’d like to know.”

“I bid on your mom because I had a change of heart. Before the auction started, she told me how much the animal shelter meant to her since you moved here. I could also see how much it meant to everyone else at the auction and I didn’t want to be the bad guy.” Matthew cast a glance in the rearview mirror.

“So you decided to be the hero instead?” Ella asked. At thirteen, she was easily moved by romantic comedies where the asshole always found his true self and saved the day. That was not what was happening here. If Sian wasn’t Matthew’s mate, he would have stomped all over the feelings of everyone at the museum and all the animals at the shelter.

“Was that your plan, to be the selfless hero?” Sian asked, her eyebrows disappearing into her hair she raised them so high.

“Not selfless. But a hero, yes.” He gave her a wide smile. It was the most genuine thing she’d seen or heard from Matthew Lewis all evening. And damn him for his mature good looks. Her fingers itched to run through his salt and pepper hair and caress his neck and kiss his lips.

“Okay, you have your answer. Let’s go. I need to get to bed.” Sian slid out of the car, but when she leaned down to thank Matthew, she was met by an expression that said he would love to get to bed with her. “Goodnight,” she said stiffly.

“Until we meet again.”

“That is so cheesy,” Sian replied, although she couldn’t help but smile at him. Which was wrong. So wrong. She had to pull herself together. She was committed to her children, she was committed to her life without men.

“I’m out of practice.”

So am I. “Well, goodnight then.” Sian pulled back and shut the door. She should have said more. At least a thank you. But she didn’t trust herself to say anymore. Matthew Lewis left her in turmoil and she needed some time to think things over.

Sian didn’t look back as she followed the girls to the front door. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her door key and tried to stop her hand from shaking as she inserted it into the lock. As the door opened and she stepped inside, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Do you two want some cocoa?” Sian asked as they all took off their coats. She shivered and hugged herself as she went to the kitchen. “It’s cold in here.”

“Has the boiler shut off again?” Rachel asked as she followed her mom to the kitchen.

“It’s freezing,” Ella agreed. “I’m going straight to bed.”

“Good night. I love you.” Sian opened her arms and Ella gave her a hug.

“I love you, too.” Ella pulled away and looked at her mom. “Why did Matthew pay so much money for you?”

“As he said, he wanted to help save the sanctuary,” Sian said evasively.

“But why did he spend so much money on you? He could have bid on something he at least had a use for,” Ella pressed for an answer.

“Because…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“At least he shut up the jerk that bid so low,” Ella said. “Maybe that’s why he did it, since he doesn’t have a pet.”

“Maybe it was.” Sian nodded. Of course, she’d been so caught up with Matthew, she’d forgotten about Peter. The girls hadn’t seen him. They didn’t know it was their father who had tried to humiliate her in front of the whole town.

“Maybe he’s planning on adopting a pet from the shelter, then he’d have a pet to pamper.” Ella drifted toward the doorway. “Night. Love you guys.”

“Goodnight.” Rachel pulled off her boots and slipped her feet into her fluffy slippers, reminding Sian that her daughter might be hard on the outside, but she was still a little girl underneath her tough exterior.

“Cocoa?” Sian asked.

Rachel nodded and padded to the doorway. Sian took out a pan and poured milk into it before setting it on the stovetop. Taking out two mugs, she set them down on the countertop and spooned in the cocoa. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her daughter.

“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” Sian asked as she set the mugs down on the table.

“It was dad, wasn’t it?” Rachel asked as she sat down across the table from her mom.

Sian closed her eyes and nodded. “I didn’t know if you’d seen him.”

“We were talking to Ronni’s mom and dad, but I recognized his voice.” Rachel wiped a tear away. “Do you know why he’s here?”

“No.” Sian wished she had answers. At nearly sixteen, Rachel’s disappointment in her father had been hard to watch. It had grown with each passing year from when she was a small child, trying to make her father proud in a school play, to studying so hard at school to be the top of her class that she nearly had a breakdown. Coming to Bear Creek had been as much for Rachel as it had been for Sian. They’d all needed a change of pace, to reset their lives and recharge their batteries.

“It’s not for a family reunion, is it?” Rachel smiled brightly and looked at the Christmas decorations that they’d brought with them from their old house. “This family is broken.” She arched her eyebrows and added, “This family was always broken.”

Sian slid her hand across the table and took her eldest daughter’s hand. “No, it’s not. We’re still a family. You, me and Ella.”

Rachel’s eyes swam with emotion. “Do you really believe that?” she asked quietly.

“I do. We’re stronger now, we have each other...”

“He can’t hurt us?” Rachel fixed Sian with a stare, trying to read the answer in her mom’s face because she didn’t trust her words.

Sian gave a short, humorless laugh. “I’m not going to lie. Until the divorce is through, he can still hurt us. At least in a material way. But he can’t hurt the love we have for each other and I’m damned sure he is not going to hurt either you or Ella with his actions.”

“Which is what he tried to do tonight.” Rachel cupped her cocoa in her hands and took a sip. “So what’s this Matthew Lewis’s angle?”

Sian arched an eyebrow as she sat back in her seat and surveyed her daughter. “Does everyone have to have an angle?”

“Seriously. After what you went through with dad, you’re just going to accept that a man you don’t know had a moment of conscience and flipped his viewpoint one-eighty?” Rachel asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Sian gave a nod of her head to reinforce her belief. “I do.”

“And your proof?” Rachel asked.

“Fate.” Sian got up from the table. How was she supposed to explain Matthew’s behavior without telling her daughter about shifters? Not that Sian planned to keep it a secret from her daughters. She’d made a pact with herself, and with them to be open and honest in everything they faced as a family.

But it was late, and Sian needed time to process the evening’s events before she told her daughters the truth about Matthew.

“Next you’ll be telling me you still believe in Santa.” Rachel finished her cocoa and got up from her chair. “I’ll help you wash the cups and then I need to sleep.”

“You go. I can do this.” Sian hugged her daughter tightly. “Don’t let your father taint your life and relationships. There are good people in the world, people who are kind and giving. People who can change when a new future is put before them.”

“I know.” Rachel took a shuddering breath. “But I’m not ready to believe.”

Rachel kissed her mom’s cheek and walked away, leaving Sian with a heavy heart as she ran the hot water, that just only made it to lukewarm. She’d give anything to help Rachel but Peter arriving in town was sure to complicate matters.

As for Matthew Lewis? Sian wasn’t sure if she was ready to believe in miracles yet either.