Page 10 of Guard Bear (Return To Fate Mountain #5)

Chapter

Nine

Joy dipped the metal ladle into the melting pot, watching golden beeswax flow like honey. The double boiler required constant attention, but her mind kept drifting to the night before. Her fingers rose to her lips without conscious thought, tracing where Andre's mouth had almost touched hers.

The workshop filled with the sweet scent of beeswax and the sharper note of lavender. Too late, she realized she'd added the essential oil to what should have been an unscented batch. Her mountain lion paced restlessly beneath her skin, muscles coiling and releasing with each breath.

Her phone buzzed against the worktable, and Andre's name lit up the screen.

"Good morning. Hope you slept well. No more goat jailbreaks?"

Joy stared at the message. The casual check-in felt loaded with meaning, weighted by everything unsaid between them.

Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, but no words came.

What could she say? That she'd barely slept, replaying that almost-kiss until dawn?

That her lion had prowled her dreams, searching for its mate?

The rumble of an engine pulled her attention to the window. Her mother's truck bounced up the dirt drive, dust swirling in its wake. Maria rarely visited during work hours. Joy's stomach tightened with the particular anxiety that came from mothers who knew their daughters too well.

She set the ladle aside and stepped out to meet her. Maria climbed from the truck carrying a cloth shopping bag. The morning sun caught the silver threading through her dark hair.

"Thought you might need some real food after yesterday's chaos." Maria opened the cloth bag to reveal a carton of eggs, wrapped packages of beef, and a plastic bag with bright red tomatoes and lettuce from her garden.

"Thanks, Mom." Joy accepted the bag. "You didn't have to drive all the way out here."

"Of course I did." Maria's sharp eyes swept over her daughter.

They moved back into the workshop together. Maria put the cloth bag into the refrigerator while Joy returned to her candles. The thermometer read perfect pouring temperature, but she stared at it anyway, unable to focus.

"You've been watching that thermometer for five minutes, mija."

Joy's hands stilled on the ladle. The lie rose automatically to her lips, some excuse about being tired, about the stress from the goat escape. But when she met her mother's knowing gaze, the truth spilled out instead.

"I found my mate."

The words hung in the air between them as Maria settled into a stool beside her. "Tell me."

Joy poured the story out while she poured candles into waiting mason jars. The mate.com notification that changed everything. Andre appearing at the farmers market like fate itself had arranged it. His overprotective intensity at their first coffee meeting.

"He's Bear Patrol." Her voice caught on the words. “Mom, can you not tell Aunt Rosa yet? You know how she is. She'll tell Uncle Heath, and then the whole department will know, and..." Joy trailed off, uncomfortable.

Understanding flickered across Maria's face. "And you want to figure out what this is before everyone starts watching," Maria finished. "I understand. Your secret's safe with me."

"This whole thing is still… a trial for me. He… he went through my property records. Made security plans without asking." Joy's hands trembled as she filled another jar. "But then the goats got out, and he was there. He helped me search all night. When he held that injured kid goat..."

The memory stole her words. Andre's massive hands so gentle on the small, bleeding animal. The way he'd wrapped it in his own shirt without hesitation. How he'd carried pregnant Clementine from the mud, muscles straining but voice soft with reassurance.

"I don't know which version of him is real."

Maria picked up a finished candle, breathing in the lavender honey scent. "They're both real. The question is, which one will he choose to be?"

She set the candle down with care. "You know what Alex Terry did to me." Maria's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "How he gave me the changing bite without my consent."

Joy nodded. She'd grown up with this story, but something in her mother's tone made her listen with new attention.

"What I didn't understand then was how trauma makes you see danger everywhere.

" Maria's hands folded in her lap. "After your father found me, feral and lost in the woods, he helped me remember how to be human again.

But in those early days, he'd hover. Check on me constantly. Walk me everywhere. He meant well."

"But one day I broke down. Told him his watching felt like Alex's control all over again." A sad smile touched her lips. "The look on his face... like I'd gutted him. He never hovered again."

Joy found herself gripping the ladle.

"That's how I knew he was different. He heard me. He changed." Maria reached across to touch her daughter's hand. "The next time he asked permission. Every time after, he asked first. A good mate learns. A bad one just finds new ways to control."

Joy thought back to the coffee shop, Andre's obvious frustration when she'd rejected his security plans. But he'd backed off. Hadn't he?

Maria's hand was warm against hers. "You're stronger than I was. You know your worth from the start. Trust your instincts. Both human and lion."

Joy's phone buzzed again. She glanced at the screen, then showed it to her mother.

"Would you like to have a picnic at Lake Fate this evening? I promise no security talk. Just... us?"

Joy typed her response before she could overthink it. "Yes. 6 o'clock?"

His answer came immediately. "I can’t wait!”

The rest of the day passed in a blur of familiar routine.

Joy finished her candle batches, testing each scent with the focus of someone trying not to think about the evening ahead.

Pine Forest with its sharp evergreen notes.

Vanilla Bourbon, warm and comforting. Honeysuckle Bloom that captured summer in a jar.

She labeled each candle with careful strokes, the repetitive motion soothing her nerves. But as afternoon shadows lengthened, anticipation crept back in. Her mountain lion practically vibrated with eagerness.

Joy stood before her small wardrobe longer than necessary. She put on the blue flannel that brought out her eyes. She brushed her hair until it shone, then left it loose around her shoulders.

Fifteen minutes later, Lake Fate stretched silver in the evening light, its surface mirror-smooth.

Andre was already there, of course, leaning against his truck.

He straightened when he saw her, and something warm bloomed in her chest at his obvious nerves.

A woven basket sat on the tailgate beside a checkered blanket.

"I brought dinner." He lifted the basket, suddenly shy. "Nothing fancy. Just sandwiches with some bread I made this morning. And cookies. Chocolate chip. Tommy's favorite recipe."

They found a grassy spot near the water's edge, spreading the blanket under a towering pine. The setting sun painted everything golden. Andre unpacked the basket with careful movements, revealing thick sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, a container of cookies, and bottles of lemonade.

"Turkey and Swiss with honey mustard," he said, handing her one. "Unless you're vegetarian? I should have asked..."

"It's perfect." Joy unwrapped the sandwich, inhaling the yeasty scent of fresh bread. "You really made this?"

"Baking helps me think. My hands need something to do when my brain won't settle." He settled beside her on the blanket, close enough that their knees almost touched. "Started at four this morning. Couldn't sleep."

Joy took a bite, the bread's crispy crust giving way to soft interior. "This is incredible."

They ate in companionable silence, watching the sun sink toward the mountains. A family of ducks paddled past, leaving ripples that caught the fading light. When they finished the sandwiches, Andre produced the cookies with an almost shy gesture.

"My nephew Tommy loves the extra chocolate chips I put in these. He says they are the best cookies in the world. Who am I to argue with a five-year-old?" His smile made dimples appear. "I owe you an apology." Andre's voice dropped, serious now. "Several, actually."

Joy waited, watching his profile as he gathered his words.

"I've been treating you like a problem to solve instead of a person to know." He turned to face her fully. "My bear knows you're my mate. But I want to know YOU. Not just how to keep you safe. Who you are. What you dream about."

The sincerity in his voice made her throat tight. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." The word came out fervent, then he caught himself.

So, Joy told him. About the meditation of pouring candles, watching liquid wax become something solid and useful. How each batch of soap was a small chemistry experiment, variables balanced until perfection emerged.

"My bees aren't just livestock. They're partners. I provide homes and care, they share their abundance." She leaned forward, enthusiasm blooming in her chest. "Everything I make comes from that partnership. Honey, wax, even the goat milk soap. It's all connected."

Andre listened with complete attention, asking real questions. Not about security vulnerabilities, but about her favorite scent combinations. Whether she named her queen bees. If the goats had personality quirks.

"Clementine thinks she's a dog." Joy found herself laughing. "She follows me around the yard, tries to come in the house. I'm hoping the kids inherit her sweet nature."

"When is she due?"

"Any day now. Probably twins, from the size of her." Joy's voice softened with anticipation.

The sun painted the lake in shades of gold and amber. A breeze stirred Joy's hair, carrying the scent of pine and approaching evening.

She shifted on the blanket, turning to face him more fully. "I've been thinking about yesterday." Her hand found his chest, palm flat against his heartbeat. "At my house. Before the lights..."

"Joy." Her name emerged rough, barely controlled.

"I'm choosing this."

She leaned in slowly, giving him time to pull back. He didn't. His hand rose to cup her cheek, thumb brushing her cheekbone with devastating gentleness. Their breath mingled in the shrinking space between them.

Their lips met. Joy sighed into the kiss, feeling her tension melt away.

Andre's hand slid from her cheek to tangle in her hair, the slight tug sending sparks down her spine. Desire ignited in her core. This was a kiss. Every kiss she’d had in her past had been a pale shadow compared to this.

Joy’s entire body buzzed with awareness of her mate.

She pressed closer, her fingers curling into his shirt. The fabric was soft beneath her hands, but the chest underneath was all hard muscle and barely restrained power. When she parted her lips, inviting him deeper, his groan vibrated through both their bodies.

His tongue swept against hers, hot and demanding.

The taste of him flooded her senses—chocolate from the cookies, the tang of lemonade.

Andre. Her mountain lion rose beneath her skin, wanting to mark him and claim him.

She fought the urge to bite, to sink her teeth into that strong throat and make him hers forever.

Andre's other hand found her waist, fingers spreading wide as he pulled her against him. She wanted to climb into his lap, to feel all that solid warmth pressed against her. When she nipped his lower lip experimentally, the growl that rumbled from his chest made her thighs clench.

His hand tightened in her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss.

She could feel his bear just beneath the surface, could taste the wildness he kept leashed.

His tongue stroked against hers with devastating skill, each slide sending heat pooling low in her belly.

She made a sound she'd never made before, needy and desperate.

They broke apart only when oxygen became critical. Andre's eyes had gone dark, pupils blown wide with desire. His chest heaved with each breath. The hand in her hair trembled slightly, as if it took everything he had to keep from pulling her back for more.

"Joy." Her name came out rough, raw with want.

She could see the battle in his eyes—desire warring with restraint. She could feel her lion prowling, ready to take him right here. The air between them crackled with barely contained need.

"I want to do this right," he said roughly. “Make it special.”

"Me too," Joy said, her voice croaking. “This probably isn’t the time or place.”

They gathered up the remains of the picnic and walked back to her truck as twilight settled over the lake. Their hands brushed with each step, not quite holding but maintaining connection. At her vehicle, Andre caught her fingers in his.

“When can I see you again?” he asked. “When can we…”

“Soon…”

One more kiss, soft and sweet with promise, before Joy climbed into her truck. She drove home with her lips still tingling from Andre's kiss.