Page 21 of Bearly Ever After (Bear Creek Forever #5)

Klein adjusted his grip on the picnic basket, its weight a reminder of the momentous event that had taken place under the trees.

Me, his bear said happily.

It could not have gone any better, Klein said with much relief.

As he turned back toward Nicole, her eyes caught his with an intensity that was hard to ignore. His pulse quickened, a sudden awareness sparking between them. Without speaking, she tilted her head slightly, a barely-there smile playing on her lips—a subtle challenge or perhaps an invitation.

An invitation he would never refuse.

He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, to lay her on the soft grass, and make love to her right there under the trees, with only the babbling spring and the whisper of the wind as their witnesses.

It was hard to resist this primal need to claim her, to make their bond deep and unbreakable.

But resist, he must. He couldn’t push her too fast, not when everything was still so new, not when she had only just come to understand the truth about him.

Nicole has a lot to deal with already today, his bear agreed. After all, it’s not every day you learn that shifters exist and you’re a mate to a man you just met.

Klein nodded. But that does not stop me from wanting her, now, in every way.

Klein exhaled slowly, his fingers tightening around the picnic basket. Yet, a part of him still worried that something might go wrong, that something could come between them.

It’s natural, his bear soothed. To fear losing her, to be afraid this could slip away. We spent so long wondering if we’d ever meet her. If she’d ever accept us.

But Nicole was here. She had already accepted him. He needed to hold on to that.

Nicole’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Klein?” she said, her tone hesitant, as if she sensed his internal struggle.

Because she is surely experiencing that same internal struggle, his bear said. She might have accepted us, but that does not mean it’s easy to understand the bond we share.

But then she stepped forward and closed the distance between them, her hand resting on his chest, her eyes searching his. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes as she pressed her lips to his.

Klein’s heart stuttered, and in one fluid motion, his free arm slid around her waist, pulling her close. The kiss was immediate, intense, like a dam breaking, unleashing everything he had tried to hold back.

This wasn’t just passion, it was a raw connection, a recognition of something that had always been meant to happen.

As they kissed, the world around them seemed to fade away—the rustling trees, the gurgling spring, everything but the two of them. He felt her breath quicken, and he answered her with the same urgency, the same hunger.

When they finally broke apart, she rested her forehead on his chest and said, “I wanted to give you something to remember me by.”

“I could never forget you,” Klein promised her, his voice rough with emotion.

Nicole’s smile deepened, but there was something almost wistful in her eyes. “Then maybe I wanted something to remember you by. Something that will remind me that this isn’t a dream.”

“It’s not a dream,” Klein reassured her, his hand cupping her face, his thumb brushing over her soft skin. “It’s real, Nicole.”

She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. “I’ll hold that thought when I’m tucked up in bed tonight,” she said.

Damn! How he wanted to be tucked up in bed with her.

One day soon, his bear rumbled softly.

Nicole slipped her hand into his, and they both turned away from the spring and headed back through the trees toward the vineyard. The air felt different now, as if everything had shifted into place and there was no turning back. What they’d just shared had cemented a future that neither of them could deny.

Not that he would ever want to deny Nicole anything.

As they walked hand in hand through the towering pines, Klein couldn’t keep the smile off his face. The day could not be more perfect. Life could not be more perfect.

But as they neared the edge of the trees, Klein’s senses flared. There was someone nearby.

“What is it?” Nicole asked as his hand tightened around hers.

“Nothing.” He chuckled and looked down at her. “My aunt and uncle are close by.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “Your aunt and uncle? Where? How do you know?”

Klein tapped his nose with a grin. “Shifters have enhanced senses, remember?”

“So that’s what you are doing when you get that look ,” she said.

“That look?” he asked.

“Yes, you get this faraway look. Like you are looking way into the distance,” she explained. “Which in a way you are, but you can’t see what’s there. You can sense it.”

“Yes,” he said. “That first day when you drove up to see Tammy with the puppy, I could sense you. I knew who you were, what you were before I set eyes on you.”

“Ah.” She gave a knowing nod. “That explains it.”

“Explains what?” he asked as they stepped out of the trees and the vineyard, in all its glory, was laid out before them.

“You seemed a little…odd,” she said.

“A little odd.” He tugged his brows together. “Then I’m lucky I didn’t frighten you away right then.”

“I don’t frighten that easily,” she replied. “Because despite the oddness, there was something about you. And when we shook hands, it was like I could feel a connection between us. An instant attraction. Which was kind of awkward because I thought you and Tammy were together.”

“I remember,” he chuckled.

“So, I guess I sensed you, too.” She grinned playfully. “Though my senses are decidedly less keen than yours.”

Klein chuckled. “I don’t know. You seem to have a pretty good read on me.”

Nicole squeezed his hand. “I’m trying to understand all of this.” She gestured between them. “What it means to be your mate.”

“We have the rest of our lives to figure it out,” he said. “And I plan on enjoying every moment of it.”

Me, too, his bear said happily.

“Oh, I see Leanne and Hugo,” Nicole said as she tilted her head to one side and stared at a row of vines, behind which Leanne and Hugo were tending the grapes.

Or pretending to, his bear said with some amusement.

“They are not exactly subtle, are they?” Nicole whispered as Klein’s aunt and uncle peered through the vine leaves.

“They’re invested in our relationship,” Klein told her. “They want to see us happy. It gives them hope that one day soon their sons might find their mates.”

“Me, too,” Nicole replied. “I mean, I know I have not met them all, but I want everyone to feel the way I am feeling right now.”

“Me, too,” Klein agreed. “Come on. We should put them out of their misery and let them know things went well.” Klein paused. “If that’s okay with you?”

Nicole nodded, her hand tightening around his. “I’d like to thank them for the wine. It was wonderful,” she said. “And I want to thank your mom and your brothers’ mates for the picnic. I cannot wait to meet them all.”

“They can’t wait to meet you,” Klein said. “And once they find out you know everything, it will be difficult to keep them at bay.”

“That is fine by me,” Nicole told him. “Now, let’s tell your aunt and uncle.”

“Uncle Hugo! Aunt Leanne,” Klein called out.

“Oh, hi there!” Hugo called, stepping out from behind a tall vine. “We didn’t see you there!”

Leanne peeked around the same vine. “We were just pruning the vines.”

Or pretending to prune, Klein’s bear teased.

“She knows,” Klein announced, and Leanne and Hugo gave a collective sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness!” Leanne rushed forward, her arms open as she embraced both Nicole and Klein in turn.

“I thought Leanne would burst like a ripe grape,” Hugo teased as he watched his wife with obvious love and affection.

“A ripe grape?” Leanne arched an eyebrow, looking up at Hugo. “It’s a good thing you have a fated mate, or you would have stayed single for all your life.”

Nicole laughed, her hand covering her mouth to stifle the sound. “You sure make me hopeful for the future,” she said. “ Our future,” she added as she glanced at Klein.

“There’s nothing quite like knowing you’re with the person you were always meant to be with,” Leanne said, glancing sideways at Hugo. “It makes it somewhat easier to tolerate their little foibles.”

Hugo grinned, “See? Any other woman would think I had big foibles.”

“Do you want to come in for some coffee?” Leanne asked, changing the subject.

Nicole glanced at Klein before answering. “No, thank you,” she blurted. “I should go check up on Mila. We’ve been longer than I planned, and I don’t want to impose on Tammy.”

“Of course, your daughter. You must bring her here for a visit. She is part of the family, too.” Leanne’s eyes softened with understanding.

“She’d love that,” Nicole said. “I’d like to talk more about promoting the vineyard. The wine we had on our picnic was wonderful. The taste of the grapes, the subtle undertones of strawberries, and I think…honey?”

“You’re right,” Hugo said enthusiastically, a wide grin on his face. “The strawberries are from a wild mountain variety, and the honey comes from a local source.”

“We’ll talk soon,” Nicole said.

“You know where we are.” Hugo slipped his hand into Leanne’s.

“And Klein,” Leanne added, “don’t be a stranger now that you’ve found your mate.”

“I won’t,” he replied, giving her a quick hug. “And thank you both. For everything.”

“We’re just happy to see you happy,” Leanne said, kissing him on the cheek.

“There must be something in the water over at the Thornberg Ranch,” Hugo teased. “I’ll have to send our boys over. It would be wonderful to see them all mated.”

Klein laughed, feeling lighter than he had in ages. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad to expect them,” he replied. Then, tugging gently at Nicole’s hand, they turned toward the truck. “Bye.”

“Goodbye,” Nicole said as they walked on through the vines, leaving Hugo and Leanne to go back to their chores.

Once they reached the truck, Klein opened the door for Nicole, helping her in before leaning in for one last kiss. She turned her head, cupping his face in her hands as their lips met once more.

Like a dream, Klein murmured.

A dream come true, his bear rumbled contentedly.

The truck’s engine rumbled beneath them as he drove back along the winding roads, through familiar stretches of meadow and forest. He glanced at Nicole every so often, a gentle smile tugging at his lips whenever their eyes met .

As the truck rolled to a stop outside Tammy’s house, Nicole turned to Klein. “Thank you for today. For everything.”

“It was my pleasure,” Klein replied, wishing this day would never end.

But as he leaned forward to kiss her, Mila and Finlay appeared, running across the yard, the scruffy puppy darting between their legs, tail wagging madly.

“Looks like they’re having fun,” Nicole said and reached to open the passenger door.

“They do,” Klein murmured wistfully, yearning for the day when there would be no goodbyes, when they would finally share a home together, their lives intertwined forever.

Soon, his bear said.

Klein got out of the truck and went to Nicole, just as Tammy emerged from the examination room. She wiped her hands on a cloth, smiling as she approached. “Back already? Did you enjoy the vineyard?”

“Very much so,” Nicole replied, with a sideways glance at Klein.

He found himself grinning like a fool at Tammy, who raised her brows. But if she’d guessed the truth about what had really happened at the vineyard, she kept it to herself.

“Mom!” Mila came to meet them, the puppy cradled tenderly in her arms. “Hey, did you have a good time?” Nicole asked and scratched the puppy behind the ears.

“Oh, yes, it was so interesting!” Mila’s words tumbled out. “We visited a bunch of animals on Tammy’s rounds. There was Old Ma Hinchcliffe’s bull—he’s huge, but so gentle!”

“A bull?” Nicole asked eyebrows arched with mild surprise.

Klein chuckled. “Think of him as an overgrown puppy,” he assured her. His bear rumbled in agreement. The old bull was as placid as a summer lake and had once played a starring role in how Tammy and Dougray first met.

That bull was the reason Tammy came here, his bear agreed.

And it led them to Finlay, Klein added.

It was a reminder that in Bear Creek, nothing was ever quite what it seemed. Because fate liked to play its own games in this small mountain town. Bringing people together in unexpected ways.

“Sounds like you had quite an adventure,” Nicole said as Scruffy licked her hand.

“We did.” Mila grinned, launching into a quick story about a mare with a slight limp, and the grumpy old farm cat that lived in Shirley’s barn.

Mila had as good a time as us, his bear said.

You’re right, Klein agreed as he watched the two people he cared about most in the world share their accounts of the morning.

Although Nicole omitted the most important part of her day. Meeting a bear!

When Mila finished, she glanced over at Tammy, her voice going a little higher with excitement. “Tammy said I could sleep over tonight! We’re going to catch fireflies!”

Klein sensed Nicole stiffen slightly, that protective edge surfacing. But before Nicole could respond, Tammy stepped forward and touched her arm as if to reassure her.

“I promise to keep her safe,” Tammy said. The look they shared was long and meaningful, and Klein could almost feel the understanding passing between them. Two mothers, each caring deeply for a child—one by blood, one by choice.

Nicole let out a long breath and nodded, smiling at Tammy. “I know you will,” she said, turning to Mila. She pulled her daughter in for a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Thanks, Mom!” Mila beamed and spun around, the puppy scrambling in her arms, and darted back to Finlay. “Mom said yes!”

“Thank you, Tammy,” Nicole said as she watched Mila twirling around, as carefree as the wind.

“No need to thank me. Mila’s wonderful company and it’s good to see Finlay acting like a child,” she said. Then, her gaze flicked to Klein and Nicole with a sly smile. “Why don’t you two make the most of an evening alone?”

Klein wasn’t usually one for blushing, but the tips of his ears turned red at Tammy’s words. Not that he minded.

No, his bear said. An evening alone with our mate is exactly what we need.

It would be the perfect end to a perfect day, Klein agreed.

Or so he hoped.