A teenaged Christian glared at his parents, Anthony and Christy Bear. Mimi and her family had walked out of their lives. Permanently. Just twenty minutes earlier, Mimi had reassured him that she would contact him. But he was angry to have been excluded from such a monumental secret. It caused his blood to boil.

"You knew they were moving!" he screamed at both parents. "You both knew, and you purposely didn't tell me. I want to know why?"

Anthony stared angrily at his son and without breaking his gaze said in a low whisper, "Christy, why don't you get Daisy ready for bed? Christian and I will finish this conversation in the garage."

Still staring at his father, Christian realized his seven-year-old sister Daisy may have been within earshot. He lowered his voice and said, "Something isn't right. You used to ask Mimi to babysit, and I don't believe for a second she got too busy. You didn't want us to hook up, and now I know why. You knew they were moving. And you didn't want me to know that. Why?"

"Don't be so hard on him, babe," Christy said to Anthony as she gave her son an understanding yet sad look. She knew that beneath the anger, Christian was feeling the pain of unrequited love. She had watched him silently pine over Mimi for years. And he was right. She and Anthony had discouraged any contact between the teens since last year. They even let Christian sit in jail for one of his minor stunts longer than necessary to keep him distracted and away from Mimi Dillon. And they'd had a very good reason. They knew the day would come when Ginny would move away from Florida. Their friend would be disconnecting herself from everyone and everything associated with her past. It was imperative that she leave the state, and the reason behind it was huge. They also knew it was something they could never share with another soul, and that included their sons, Slade and Christian.

Mimi's mother, Ginny, had a secret that would've been impossible for her to continue concealing. Especially in South Florida. Anthony and Christy felt they needed to respect the family’s decision to move away and cut themselves off from their old life in Florida. The family had to sever all ties. And that would include ignoring the feelings they knew Christian had for Mimi since they were children.

They were standing in the kitchen, and as Christy walked away, she saw Anthony roughly shove Christian toward the door that led out to their garage.

"If you ever raise your voice to your mother like that again, I'll knock your teeth down your throat. You got—"

Anthony's voice floated away as he shut the door behind them.

Storming into the garage, Christian swung around to face his father, fists clenched at his sides. Anthony Bear was an imposing man. He was a full-blooded Native American with a muscular build who stood at six feet six inches tall. He was covered in tattoos and had jet-black straight hair that reached his belt. The slight streaks of gray at his temples were the only thing that contrasted his dark skin, hair, and eyes. Right now, those eyes were boring into his son's.

Nearing six feet tall, a soon-to-be eighteen-year-old Christian Bear wasn't intimidated. Just as dark and foreboding as his father, it was Christian's blue eyes that contrasted his dark features.

"I'll apologize to Mom later,” he huffed. "But you two were wrong to keep this from me. I can't believe they're moving to Montana so that Aunt Ginny can be with some jerk named James. And why all the secrecy? What's the big deal, Dad?"

"You know the horrors that family has been through this past year. You know that Mimi's real father, Grizz, died on death row. You know the only father she's ever known, Tommy, was killed in a robbery gone wrong. You know that before Tommy died, he was being dragged into some court case involving the murder of Blue's ex-wife. And I sure as hell know you know that Mimi was almost raped last year."

"Of course I know all that. And about Mimi's attempted rape—if it wasn’t for me, it would've happened. And besides, I'm the one that told you about it!" Christian growled.

"Can you blame Ginny for wanting to move, Son?" Anthony asked.

"I didn't think Aunt Ginny knew what had happened to Mimi," Christian replied, his tone calmer.

"She doesn’t know, and she never will. Breaking ties with us, and from South Florida, will guarantee that. She wants to start over, and we're respecting her wishes, Christian. It's your own fault for slacking for so long in the romance department. Maybe if you'd been more aggressive with your feelings for Mimi, things might be a little different. Maybe you'd have been trusted with their specific destination. You're taking it too personally." Anthony crossed his arms and leaned back on Christy's car.

"Tell me how I can get in touch with Mimi. What's their new address in Montana?" Christian demanded.

Anthony didn't answer.

"Fine. Mom will give it to me," Christian said haughtily.

"Your mother and I don't know it," Anthony countered.

"Bullshit!" Christian replied, his voice going up an octave.

"Christian, we don't have a forwarding address. Ginny left no way for us to contact her. When and if she's ever ready, she'll be in touch with us." Anthony would never tell Christian that Ginny told them they could be contacted through her friends Carter and Bill. The Bears would only use this resource in the case of an emergency. Unfortunately, Christian's broken heart didn't qualify.

"Why do I have the feeling if I were Slade asking you this, I'd be getting a different answer?" Christian demanded, his voice cracking.

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Slade would be getting the same answer you're getting. We don't know how to get in touch with her. And what is your problem with your brother? Are you still mad that he didn't put Mimi’s attacker in the hospital?"

"Damn straight, I'm mad!" Christian hissed. He stood taller and took a more assertive stance, thrusting his fists on his hips.

Anthony pushed off the car and stood to face his son, looking down into his angry blue eyes.

"Your brother was smart. Smarter than you," he said in a low voice. He watched Christian wince in reaction to the words.

"So, because he's in college he's a big damn deal to be worshiped and adored?"

"First, he was taking college courses at night while still in high school. When he moved out to start at the university, he already had an associate degree under his belt. Does that make him smart? Yeah, it does. But it means more than that. It shows he has ambition. He has drive. He's willing to work for what he wants.” Anthony stopped and pointed his finger at Christian. “Second, should you be worshiped and adored for screwing up with Axel and losing your mechanic job? Or for sitting in jail for stealing Escalade hood ornaments that you could sell to your idiotic friends to wear around their necks? I don't think so, Christian." He lowered his hand and moved closer to his son, giving him a look that dared him to challenge his last comments.

"The hood ornament crap was stupid. It was nothing, and I still don't know who tipped off the cops resulting in me getting pinched. I never get caught," he sneered. Then he recognized a look in his father's eyes. "Shit, Dad! It was you, wasn't it? You tipped off the cops. You're the reason I went to jail, and you let me sit there too!"

Anthony didn't deny it, and before he knew it, he was deflecting a punch aimed for his face. In a flash, he managed to twist his son around and slam him hard against the hood of the car, pinning his right arm tightly against his back.

"Your temper is your biggest weakness, Christian. You keep this up, and you'll be stealing car parts the rest of your life to get by. If you don’t spend it in prison." Anthony had bent to whisper in Christian’s ear, his voice deep and serious.

"You were the leader of a motorcycle club in Naples. I know what you're capable of," Christian growled over his shoulder. "And you prefer a son with a college degree who's going to sit behind a desk and take orders from some snot-nosed corporate shit?"

Anthony released his son and took a step back as Christian turned around. He was impressed. He knew that he was close to breaking Christian's arm, but Christian never flinched, whined or gave any indication that he was in pain.

"I prefer a son who uses his brains to be successful, and more importantly, knows when to use his brawn and when not to. I'm not telling you not to be physical. I'm telling you to be smart about it. Anything done in haste and anger will come back to bite you."

Christian gave a derisive laugh. "In other words, you want a son who's a wuss?"

Anthony didn't reply. He shook his head as Christian pressed the garage door button and headed toward his motorcycle parked in the driveway. "I don't need anything from you or Mom. Mimi said she'd be in touch with me and I believe her," he called out over his shoulder. "And there's nothing you can do about that."

Anthony watched Christian jump on his bike and speed off.

"You don’t know how wrong you are, Son," he said to no one as he took a deep and calming breath before heading inside to kiss his little girl goodnight.