Page 17 of Cowboy Bear’s Hope (Motley Crewd Shifters #3)

H aving Avery and Rosie at my place all weekend was amazing. But Monday morning rolled around, and I fucking hated dropping them off.

“I’ll be back after school to pick you up,” I told her after we saw Rosie inside.

“Oh? I just thought you’d be back Friday,” she said, and her cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink.

“Avery, you’re my mate now. I want you at the cabin with me. Look, if you don’t like how it’s decorated you can change everything?—”

“No! It’s not that,” she said, and the smile on her face eased the sudden panic brewing inside my chest.

“I just didn’t want to assume,” she murmured, looking down art her lap.

I gripped her chin, tilting her face so she had to look at me.

“Honey, being my mate is the same as being my wife. You and Rosie are my family, I want you with me. At the ranch. I’m already seeing to your car so you can have your space, or freedom, or whatever you need. I don’t mind driving you, though. And I can work my schedule around school.”

“Oh,” she replied, eyes wide.

“I’m doing this wrong. I should have asked you, and I’m sorry for bumbling, but I am asking you now. Live with me? Stay with me? Marry me, Avery?”

“You mean that? You want to marry me?”

“I want you in every way, in any way I can get you,” I told her honestly.

“Yes. Oh yes, I want that, too,” she said, and my heart damn near beat right outside my chest.

“Okay,” I said, kissing her hard on the lips before making myself let go.

This was where she worked, and I saw one too many people stop and stare at us already. My Bear growled, and Avery pressed her hand to my chest, soothing the animal inside me.

Good mate. Mine.

“Oh, um, maybe we can get some stuff from the house after school and start moving more stuff before Rosie’s birthday this weekend?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.

“Okay. Bye, Dante,” she whispered, still smiling as she turned away.

I stood there like a damn statue, just watching as she said hello to a few kids and their parents as she walked inside the building. She looked back at me a few times, and I nodded, letting her see I was there, making sure she was safe.

That was when I noticed a man in a suit glaring at my woman. Compared to me he had a slight build, but I didn’t care for him either way. And I sure as fuck didn’t like how he watched Avery once she was inside.

He turned back and looked shocked to see me still standing there. In fact, I’d moved closer to the glass door.

The clear pane would do nothing to protect him from me if I chose to go through it. I wouldn’t. Not yet. But if this prick looked at my woman again, he was going to get to know me up close and personal like.

I straightened my posture and bared my teeth in a snarl that was nowhere near human. He just blanched and grabbed at his tie.

I see you, fucker.

I waited until he backed away, scurrying down the hall like some rat abandoning ship. A feeling of unease crept up my spine, but this was a large, public school. Avery and Rosie would be fine.

I grabbed my phone and shot her a text though, just in case.

Dante

Honey, I want you to make sure you call or text me anytime during the day if you need me, okay?

Honey

Sure. But why do you say that?

Dante

Nothing. No reason. I love you. Have a good day.

Honey

You, too. I’ll see you after school.

S he didn’t text that she loved me back. The silence stung, just a little, like the faint burn of a fresh scrape. But that was okay. We’d get there, eventually.

I just had to remind myself to be patient.

Love didn’t always move at the same pace for everyone, and Avery had her reasons.

Going back to work on the ranch was harder than usual after drop off this morning.

The image of that creep—his leering face, the way his eyes had lingered on my girl—kept creeping into my mind, stoking a slow-burning fire in my chest.

But I trusted Avery. She’d let me know if she needed anything. She wasn’t the kind of woman to shrink away from a problem.

No damsels here. Just pure grit.

Goddamn, she is something all right. Firecracker.

Hell, she’d been a nurse at Dry Creek Elementary for years before we’d even met.

That kind of work took guts, patience, and a heart big enough to handle it all.

Avery wasn’t a shrinking violet. She was strong and independent.

She’d had to be.

Life hadn’t handed her any favors, and she’d risen to the challenge every time. It was one of the things I admired most about her.

And there were a lot of things I admired about her.

I’d move heaven and earth to keep her safe. To see her smile. To make sure she felt the kind of love she deserved every single day.

If some asshole in a baggy suit thought he could crowd my woman, he had another think coming.

My Grizzly stirred under my skin, snarling and snapping in the back of my mind, ready to tear the bastard apart for even thinking about Avery.

It took everything in me to keep the beast at bay. This wasn’t the time for claws and fangs—not yet.

Instead, I put my energy into taking care of what I could.

First stop, Lance’s Auto Repair & Body Shop to deal with her piece of shit mode of transportation.

Her compact car had crapped out on her the first time we met, after the whole bat to the brain incident.

It’d been irking me for months that it wasn’t up to par. Something I was going to fix right now.

Dion greeted me with a knowing smirk, grease-streaked hands gripping a clipboard. It didn’t take long for him to confirm what I already knew.

Avery’s car was a rolling death trap. A total piece of shit.

Still, I didn’t want to be bullheaded about it.

Avery might have sentimental attachments to the damn thing, so I told Dion to hold on to it, just in case she wanted anything from it before I had it squashed into something that could pass for modern art.

From there, I headed straight to the local car dealership.

I knew exactly what I wanted for her. Hell, I was so psyched, I shivered with anticipation at her reaction upon seeing the brand-new SUV I was buying just for her.

It was top of the line, of course, with every safety feature money could buy.

Heated leather seats, automatic starter, WeatherTech mats, all-wheel drive, the works. I chose gunmetal gray for the exterior—practical but sleek—and black leather for the interior.

But I didn’t stop there.

I asked the salesperson to customize the interior with pink LED lights and accents as a surprise for Rosie.

My little girl deserved to feel special, too. The custom job would take a few extra days, but they promised to deliver it straight to the ranch once it was ready.

One final stop. The jewelry store.

I didn’t need anything flashy, just something meaningful. Something that would remind Avery every day that she wasn’t alone anymore, that she was loved.

And I found it too, tucked away in a section marked antiques. The platinum band was shaped like a vine, tiny intricate leaves carved out of metal. I could see it now, swirled around her finger. She was so tiny, my mate. Delicate, but not fragile.

Platinum was the perfect metal for her. Strong. Timeless. And the design showed that even the strongest things needed care.

The solitary diamond that sat dead center was eye catching in its stunning simplicity. It was one of a kind.

Just like Avery.

I took that, a plain platinum band for myself, and a child-sized necklace with a small pink stone set inside a heart-shaped pendant.

With my errands done, I drove back to the ranch, feeling lighter than I had all morning.

Sure, Emmet would bitch about me taking time off, but the Demon Wolf could shove it. This was more important.

I had to get everything ready for my girls.

The past weekend felt like a dream, one filled with promises and possibilities. But today was where real life began, and this was where the true test started.

I wasn’t afraid.

Because I had Avery. And for her— for both of them —I’d pass any test life threw my way.