Chapter Four – Matthew

Matthew breathed in the fresh morning air, the scent of the mountain drifted down on the ice-cold breeze that prickled his lungs as he took the short walk from his house to the animal shelter. Time to mend bridges and conquer mountains.

His bear chuckled. This is going to be interesting.

Glad you find it amusing, Matthew replied shortly.

Just saying, you are not a mend-bridges kind of a guy. Usually, you just blow them up and ignore the casualties left in your wake.

Matthew inhaled deeply and ignored his bear.

You know I’m right.

A man can change, Matthew told his bear firmly. Although he wasn’t sure he believed it himself.

“Hello there.” Ronni stood outside the reception office of the animal shelter, her arms crossed and her feet hip-width apart.

“Howdy, neighbor.” He cracked a smile at her bold stance.

“You know you’re trespassing on animal shelter land.” Ronni put her hands on her hips as she watched him defiantly.

“I do.” He nodded and took a couple more steps forward. “I wasn’t sure if I should bring a white flag of surrender.”

“It might have been a good move.” Ronni cocked her head on one side. “Come on in. We need to talk.” She spun around and walked into the office.

Matthew hesitated. “Is this some kind of ambush?”

Ronni ducked her head back outside. “The only lethal weapon in here right now is yesterday’s coffee.”

With a chuckle, he entered the office. “I do come in peace.”

“Oh, I know.” Ronni went to the room behind the office and made a fresh pot of coffee. “You have a lot riding on this meeting.”

“And you intend to use that to your advantage?” Matthew asked, leaning against the door frame.

“I do.” She looked over her shoulder, assessing him. “Don’t worry, I don’t want your checkbook.”

“I should hope not. The shelter has profited off me quite enough for one day.” He accepted the coffee mug she handed him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t poisoned it.” She gave him a sweet smile. “Let’s go sit down.”

Matthew backed up and sat down in the chair across the desk from Ronni. “Good coffee.”

“Thanks.” Ronni took a sip of her own coffee and set it down on the desk carefully. “I need to know what your intentions are toward Sian.”

Matthew nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee. “My intentions? What are you, her mother?”

“Worse, I’m one of her best friends in town.” Ronni leaned forward as she spoke. “Listen, she’s had it tough the last few months, and she’s settled here in Bear Creek and she’s happy. She fits in.”

“And you don’t think I’ll fit in?” Matthew asked.

“I’m not so worried about you fitting in, you’re a shifter after all. But you don’t exactly seem to be a team player.” Ronni had a point, not that he was going to admit it.

“I’m used to working solo, that’s true.” He took a deep breath as he accepted the enormity of what happened last night. He’d found his mate. After nearly fifty years of being alone, of only having to take care of himself, he was suddenly committed to another person. A person who had two daughters who depended on her.

“I know what it’s like to be hit over the head by the mating bond. It takes a while to find your equilibrium again.” She looked down at her hands which were splayed out on the desk. “Just think carefully how you proceed.”

“Think carefully how I proceed?” His brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“Don’t be reckless with Sian’s heart.”

Matthew appreciated Ronni’s bluntness and part of him wanted to rail against it and deny he would ever be reckless with something he held so dear. But he was reckless with other people’s emotions every damn day. How could he ensure this was different? He never wanted to hurt his mate, but was he capable of living a different life?

“I appreciate your candid response.” Now he sounded as if he were in a board meeting about to take over someone’s beloved business and rip it to shreds for profit.

“That’s not the answer I was looking for.” Ronni tilted her head to one side. “She deserves the best. This is her second chance and I want you to make it the best second chance anyone has ever had.”

“That was her asshole of an ex-husband last night, wasn’t it?” Matthew asked, shifting the focus off himself.

“Peter. Yes. Unfortunately, he is not her ex-husband yet.”

“I remember, she said.” Matthew had been too shell-shocked at meeting his mate that he hadn’t taken in everything that was said last night.

The fact our mate is still married is one of those things you should have remembered, his bear told him flatly.

Ronni hesitated. “If you weren’t Sian’s mate, I wouldn’t be telling you any of this. I’m certain he’s come to town to hurt her in whatever way he can. From what Sian said there is a divorce deal on the table and my guess is he’s here to renegotiate.”

“Renegotiate. You mean rip her off?” Matthew’s grip on his cup tightened until he made himself consciously relax. His good guy persona was about to slip.

“No one ever renegotiates upward, do they?”

“You have a point.” He nodded. “But Sian has the children living with her. Surely he wants them to have a secure future.”

Ronni’s face broke into a genuine smile. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there is hope for you after all.” She cocked her head to one side. “Perhaps if Santa sprinkles a little Christmas magic on your head, you might actually be the good guy here.”

He gave a short laugh. “Christmas magic has passed me by my whole life. I don’t expect that to change now.”

“I don’t know. We all need to believe in miracles.” Ronni stood up. “Look at this place. Only yesterday we were trying to figure out if we would raise enough money to buy the land and then some fairy godfather bid an astounding amount of money for a pet grooming service when he has no pet.”

Matthew smiled and drank his coffee. “Miracles do happen.”

“I hope you sincerely believe that. I really do. Because I don’t know about you, but they deserve it.” Ronni’s eyes misted with tears and she picked up her coffee and took a gulp to hide her emotions.

Matthew got up from the chair and walked to the door of the office. He stared out at the mountain in the distance and took stock of his life. He’d come here to knock down the shelter and build large, comfortable houses that he could sell as vacation homes to wealthy shifters. With that view, he could have charged a premium. Weirdly, he didn’t care that his plan had been foiled.

“Thank you.” He turned back to face Ronni.

“Thank me? For what? Accepting your money?” she asked sarcastically.

“No, thank you for being there for Sian. It sounds as if she needed a friend.”

“Needs a friend,” Ronni corrected. “I’m not going anywhere. I just want you to know that Sian and the girls are settled here. The town has been good for them.”

“It’s a good thing I bought a house then, neighbor.”

Ronni rolled her eyes. “If I hear one complaint from you...”

“You’ll what?” Matthew asked and then straightened, the conversation forgotten as his senses twitched. She was close, his mate was getting nearer. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared as he sensed her. Without thinking, he walked outside to stand in the parking lot, waiting for the first sight of her.

Sian drove up the short driveway leading from the road. The car slowed when she saw him but then she accelerated, turning into a parking space before she switched off the engine and got out. “Waiting for me?” she asked, her voice high.

“Yes.” He raked a hand through his graying hair. “Well, I came to make peace with Ronni. But I hoped I might see you.”

“Make peace.” She cast a glance over his shoulder. “And did you?”

“Did we what?” He frowned, a look of confusion on his face. “Oh, make peace. Yes, I think so.”

“Although I threatened to take him to the veterinarian and get him castrated if he hurts you,” Ronni called as she left the office and headed toward the kennels.

Sian smothered a smile. “It went well, I see.”

“She’s very protective of you.” He watched, enraptured as color spread across her cheeks.

“Ronni and the other volunteers have been very kind to me.” Sian hitched her purse higher on her shoulder. “I need coffee.” He watched her walk toward him. “You need to stop doing that.”

“What?”

“Staring. You bought a pet pampering session last night. You did not buy me.” She entered the reception office and put her purse down on the desk.

“I know I didn’t buy you,” he insisted, following her inside.

“Then stop looking at me as if you own me.” She turned to face him with her arms folded in front of her, as if to ward him off.

“Sorry. This is new for me.” He rubbed his jawline which was unshaven since yesterday and the stubble prickled his hands. “I’ve never...connected with another person before.”

The air puffed out of her lungs. “What do you mean you’ve never connected with another person? I doubt you’ve gotten to your age and had no connection with a woman.”

“Not really. Not ever.” He shrugged. “I don’t mean I’m a virgin or anything.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve never cared for anyone else?”

“No.” Now he did feel like a virgin, a forty-something-loser in love.

“Your parents?” Her gentle voice moved him.

“My uncle raised me. And believe me, he was not the kind of man you spent any longer in a room with than was absolutely necessary.” He grimaced. “I’m not good at sharing.”

“None of us are. It takes practice.” She pressed her lips together. “Love is the greatest thing in the world, Matthew. Without it, I don’t know where I’d be.”

“Do you still love your husband?” Matthew asked. “The guy from last night?”

Sian’s shoulders sagged forward. “Oh, him. No, I don’t still love Peter. I’m not a jilted wife who wants her husband back at any cost to her soul. But that’s not to say I’m not sad my marriage broke down. I loved Peter when I said I do. It just took a while for me to figure out the man I thought I said I do to didn’t really exist.”

“Do you know why he’s here in town?” Matthew asked, although it was none of his business. He would have to earn the right to be a part of Sian’s life.

“Nope.” She shrugged it off, but her expression was wary.

“If he causes trouble...” Matthew wanted to tell Sian she could call him any time, day or night, and he would gladly rip Peter’s head off his shoulders, but he decided to keep it less melodramatic. “Just call me. I have great lawyers.”

“Matthew...” Sian moved closer toward him and the honesty in her expression made his heart wrench. “I don’t know what you are looking for exactly and I have no idea what I can give you. When I came to Bear Creek, I was ready to face the rest of my life alone.”

“And now?” he asked hopefully. How cruel fate would be to take away the one thing he wanted in this life, to deny him the one thing he craved. After all the things he’d done for business and profit, was this some kind of payback?

“I honestly don’t know.” A frown creased her brow as she fought to find the right words. “I know what this means to you. We’re mates, aren’t we?” For a moment she looked unsure, as if scared she’d got it wrong.

“We are mates. I assume you know what that means even though you aren’t a shifter yourself.” Ronni and the guy she hung around with were true mates. Was he wrong in thinking they had explained the whole process to Sian?

“I didn’t know shifters existed until two weeks ago. Ronni met Lucas and I saw it... Love at first sight. At least that’s what I called it. Then Lucas showed me his bear and Ronni explained the mating bond.” She wobbled her head as if reliving the moment. “It was a shock, believe me.” She held up her hand as if to stop him in his tracks even though he was not moving. “The girls don’t know. I thought I should tell you. I have no idea how or when I’m going to have that conversation with them.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “I’m just happy you plan to even have that conversation with them.”

“I can’t promise when. And I have no idea how they will react.” Sian sat down heavily in her chair. “As they grew up I knew I’d have to have certain conversations with them. Boys, drugs, online security. But shifters. I did not see that one coming.”

“What do you see?” he asked as he took a couple of steps closer to her.

Sian clasped her hands in her lap and stared down at them for a couple of moments. “I honestly don’t know.” She looked up at him suddenly. “Something. Nothing. I don’t know. You have a reputation for getting what you want at all costs. So all I do know is that the same behavior is not going to work here.”

He hunkered down in front of her and took hold of her hands. An instant flash of recognition passed between them. “I promise you that I will honor and respect you and your children. I won’t do anything to hurt you, or push you into a decision you might regret.” He rubbed his thumb over her fingers. “But I want you to know that this is real. We are destined to be together.”

As he held her hands and looked into her eyes, his only hope was that one day, he would find a way to prove to her that his intentions, for the first time in his life, were pure.