Page 5

Things were not going well with Colton. He loved me unconditionally. I felt that deep in my soul. He was walking on eggshells around me, though. I had him feeling that uncomfortable. I hadn’t meant for him to see me like that, all broken. I tried to hide. I just wasn’t strong enough. Not anymore. This infertility thing ate away at what fortitude I had left.

“Mateo.” Colton called from the door of the pantry. “I brought someone to meet you.” Behind him stood a younger man, no more than early twenties, his eyes a brilliant green reminiscent of the sea, his hair all messy and wet, most likely from the snow, his coat still on. His coat was very much not enough for this weather.

“Want to come in or me to go out?” Colton hadn’t called me to the front and I had a feeling that meant that this was private to some extent.

“Here is good.” They stepped inside the decent-sized room lined with shelves. “This is Scotty. He’s looking for a job, and I thought maybe we could give him a temporary one until the crew is gone?” What wasn’t he telling me? Colton wasn’t one to pressure me like this, not about anything. Not even when I needed the push.

“We do have a lot of people here. What kinds of work are you familiar with?” I asked, thinking it a generic question. Instead of a list of past jobs, he tore out my heart.

“When I was young, I was in charge of the den bathrooms. You know, scrubbing them and such. And, as a teen, I had laundry added on. Not everyone’s, just the Alpha family. And after Mama Flora died, I took on kitchen work. So, you see, I know how to do an awful lot of helpful things.”

He scented of fur, wet fur, and I couldn’t place what kind of bear he was, but I wanted to find that den and give them a what for, my protective side needing to do something for this man. To be working as he did at such a young age. Cleaning the den’s bathrooms before he was even a teen. Did he have no childhood?

“Mateo.” Colton grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “What do you think? We need to do all those things.” And we did, daily. It was wearing us down.

“Yes. Of course. I don’t think we’ll have full-time work once they leave, but for at least a month we can use the help. You could start as soon as tomorrow.”

His face lit up at my words.

“I was wondering, since this is a B&B, if it would be possible for me to get a room as part of my salary. I have money for a little while, if not. I just thought—” His gaze fell to the floor.

“I just booked the last room,” Colton said. “But maybe I could call the Red-Tailed Inn?”

“Or, if you don’t mind,” I put in, “you can stay with us. We have a pull-out couch. It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s a place.”

“Thank you,” Colton whispered close to my ear. I knew he’d agree. He wanted to help this man out, too, which was why he brought him here, to the pantry, for a sorta kinda job interview.

“I’ll take it, and I’ll work really hard. I promise.”

“How about you promise me you’ll work just hard enough?” I suggested, and he looked at me quizzically.

Colton said, “How about I show you to our apartment and then the three of us can figure out a plan for what to do when all these guests are stuck in the B&B because of the snow.” He was right. It wasn’t an if. It was a when. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

5

COLTON

I had to get outside, despite the weather.

“Look after the front desk for me, Mateo?” Normally I would have given my mate a kiss or added the word please, but I was being strangled. Not by a pair of hands, but with a scent.

“Where are you going, Colton? It’s freezing out.”

“Need to check on something,” I muttered, though I suspected the wind carried my voice away. “Be back soon.”

While I wasn’t a jogger, I was pretty fit. Working on a yacht all those years made sure of that. And so I ran. It was a weird time for exercise, but I pushed myself, pounding on the slippery streets until my heart couldn’t take it anymore and there was hardly any breath in my lungs. I skidded to a stop and caught sight of myself in an empty shop window. Snow was sprinkled in my hair, on my brows and my skimpy jacket, and I had a snow beard.

But the exertion had one positive effect. It got me away from the B&B and Scotty’s scent. I’d not reacted to any shifter that waysince the first time I stumbled on Mateo. All the years we’d been apart, neither of us wavered, knowing the other person was the one.

And now we were mated and trying for a family, and damn it we were happy. We were. We are. I’d heard stories of couples drifting apart when one mate wanted children and the other didn’t. I didn’t understand how that could happen because the mating bond was so strong. And we were both looking forward to becoming dads.

But I couldn’t ignore the gaping chasm that was separating us and getting wider while neither of us talked about it.

Now that I’d stopped running, the cold was seeping into my bones, but one of the few places open this time of year was a diner farther down the street. A cup of coffee and piece of pie would warm me up and ready me for the jog home.

Hiding!

That much was true. My turtle was calling me out on my BS. He knew all about hiding away, having a shell which did exactly that.