Page 28 of Snatching Jackie (Wintermoon Shorts #5)

JABARI

Epilogue—Big Jackie’s The Tourist Island

Two Months Later

J ackie grins at me as I help her from the ferry onto the docks. I can’t help myself—my hands immediately move to her belly, desperate to feel our boy cub growing within her. Even though it’s early in her pregnancy, my heightened senses can detect that our son is developing strong and healthy.

She thinks we’re heading to the tourist island to pick up her new sewing machine.

She’s fallen into a slight depression lately, though she tries to hide it behind smiles and casual conversation.

I see it in her eyes when she thinks I’m not looking—that longing for the life she left behind.

Despite finding joy in clan life, in me, in our growing family, there’s still something missing for her. Today, that changes.

“Why do we have to go all the way to the sheriff station to get it?” she asks, her voice tinged with irritation. “I want to go home and take a nap.”

She’s been more tired lately, the pregnancy taking its toll even this early. Our cub is strong, drawing on her energy as he grows.

“This is important,” I tell her, my voice gentle but firm. “I’ll carry you up there myself if I have to.”

She narrows her eyes at me but starts walking anyway, her gait slower than usual.

I fall into step behind her, my eyes drawn to the sway of her hips.

Despite her pregnancy fatigue, she still moves with a grace that captivates me.

She catches me staring and a giggle escapes her lips, breaking through her grumpy mood.

I match her pace, walking beside her now. “It won’t be long, baby,” I promise, reaching for her hand. “And if it’s too cold, stay close to me. I’ll keep you warm.”

Jackie grabs my hand, her fingers intertwining with mine. “Our son is keeping me warm,” she reminds me, her free hand moving to rest on her belly.

I smile at this—she’s already taking on some of the shifter traits during pregnancy. The increased body temperature is just the beginning. Her senses are sharpening, her strength is growing, and she craves only water like all the shifter mates do when carrying cubs.

The tourist island is quiet today, the winter season keeping most visitors away.

A few brave souls wander the streets, bundled in heavy coats and scarves.

Jackie has been settling into the routine of clan life—working at the spa, preparing for the baby, participating in clan activities—all while hiding her sadness.

She wants her business back, and today, I’m going to give it to her.

I almost told her about my plans two months ago, but after she claimed me, she said she didn’t want to know whatever I was working on. She was willing to wait for the right time for me to tell her. And she never brought it up again, never questioned why I was working such long hours.

“I want to make my own gown for our vow renewal,” Jackie says suddenly, looking up at me. “That’s why I wanted the sewing machine.”

I smile down at her. “I’ll carry it home for you.”

“Are the fabrics here too?” she asks, suspicion creeping into her voice.

“Yes, they’re across the street,” I reply, excitement building as we near the sheriff station.

Her eyes narrow at me. “What is going on, Jabari?”

I can’t help the wide smile that breaks across my face, happy that she’s finally catching on. Jackie follows my gaze across the street, her hand tightening around mine as she spots it for the first time.

“Big Jackie’s”—her small business has just relocated to Wintermoon. The sign hangs proudly above the storefront, the windows large and bright. The building is new, constructed from the ground up according to the specifications I gave Levi and his brothers.

She looks back at me, then sucks in a breath as tears well in her eyes. Her gaze returns to the retail space across from the sheriff station.

“I knew it,” she whispers, her voice thick with emotion. “I knew you were going to keep your promise. I knew this is why you were gone all the time.”

I pull her into my arms and let her cry against my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt. I don’t mind—these are tears of joy, of relief, of dreams realized.

“I told you,” I murmur against her hair. “I just want the privilege of being in your company while you live in your greatness.”

She pulls back, wiping at her eyes. “If I weren’t pregnant, I’d let you put me through the mattress again.”

I give her a sheepish laugh, the memory of that night sending heat through my body. “Raincheck?”

She grabs my hand and pulls me with her across the street to her building. Her pace is quicker now, excitement giving her renewed energy as she takes in the sign bearing her name.

“There’s a small apartment upstairs,” I begin to explain, “big enough for us to live in sometimes. But?—“

Jackie reaches up on her tiptoes and places a finger to my lips, silencing me.

“Hush. You really did this for me.” The way she says it makes me want to do a hundred more things just like this.

“Let’s not worry about that right now. I love my home with the clan, but this will work if I have a project that requires overnight work. ”

I open the door for her, a small bell chiming above us.

Jackie steps inside, her breath catching as she takes in the space.

It’s mostly empty, with just some racks, her computer register from her old location, and boxes of her belongings lined up against the walls—waiting for her to arrange them as she sees fit.

The light streams through the large front windows, illuminating the wooden floors that still smell of fresh polish.

Suddenly, Kade and Leah teleport into the space. Jackie doesn’t even flinch, merely fanning away their mystical cloud of smoke as if it’s a minor inconvenience. Kade is holding the sewing machine, and Jackie’s eyes fill with fresh tears at the sight.

“Stop crying,” Leah says, throwing an arm around Jackie’s shoulders. “You know you deserve it. You’re like the best hair stylist and makeup artist in Wintermoon. The ladies at the spa are going to have a fit about you leaving for your retail space.”

Jackie runs a hand over her belly, the gesture becoming more frequent as her connection to our cub grows stronger. Kade sets the sewing machine on the counter, then approaches Jackie and pulls her into a hug.

“We can’t lower the price for more humans to gain access to Wintermoon,” Kade explains, her tone gentler than usual. “We keep our rates high to limit the radical activity.”

“I understand that,” Jackie nods. “Maybe I can just run an online business and this will be my physical location.”

She looks at Kade, understanding dawning in her eyes. “I know it was you too.”

Kade looks to me and glares, but there’s no real heat in it. “We wanted you to have nothing but the best. How many times do I have to tell you that you’re a daughter of Wintermoon?”

The bell above the door chimes, and Silas and Damon enter, Silas holding a folder in his hands. My brother’s eyes meet mine briefly before turning to Jackie.

“And Kade’s been taken care of as well,” Silas announces. “We’ve just ordered not one, but two cruise lines for your tourist agency.”

Jackie looks to Kade with a bright smile, surprise evident in her expression.

“Frost Clan has paid in full for you to have a second,” Silas adds, pride evident in his voice. My bear swells with gratitude for my brother and clan, for how they’ve embraced Jackie as one of their own.

Kade falls quiet, then places her hand on Jackie’s belly, sniffling a little. “Now you’re going to make me cry.”

Jackie laughs and pulls Kade into another hug, but Kade pulls back, wiping at her eyes. “I know you have a niche for your brand, but can you help me with my pants sometimes?”

“I’m glad you asked,” she says with a warm smile. “I have a special place in my heart for my plus size girlies and I’m always going to show out for them, but I’m rebranding. My shop is for everyone now.”

“Well, I’m glad for the rebrand,” Kade says, then teleports out, only to reappear seconds later holding a stack of folded pants. “I need a hem, desperately.”

Leah slaps Kade’s arm. “Your timing is horrible.”

Kade shrugs. “What?”

Jackie rubs her belly, the gesture almost unconscious now. “I love all of this, what you all went out of your way to do for me. I don’t think I’m going to open up right away, though. I want to put my baby first, my family.”

She looks up at me, and I’m stunned by her words. This woman, who fought so hard for her independence, is choosing our family first. My bear rumbles deep within me.

Jackie approaches me, taking my hand and placing it on her belly. I lean down and kiss her cheek, inhaling her sweet honey scent that now carries the subtle undertones of our cub.

“My pregnancy is high risk, you know how that goes,” she continues. “But, when I’m settled into my life as a mother, I’d like to come back and open my retail space. If that’s okay.”

Damon walks around us and hands Kade a manila folder with documents for the new cruise ships. “This is your space, Jackie. You decide when you open and when you close. We’ll keep it well maintained for you.”

“Really?” Jackie asks, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“You’re growing a strong bear cub,” Damon says simply. “We need more bears.”

Jackie looks up at me again, and I feel my heart swell with love for her. My bear, usually restless and demanding, is sound asleep for hibernation season and completely at peace thanks to Jackie’s claim.

Leah walks over and places a hand against my arm. “You’re looking mighty handsome there, giving Silas and Tristian some competition.”

I blush at her words, unused to compliments about my appearance. Jackie has been helping me take better care of myself—keeping my beard trimmed, my clothes clean and fitting properly.

“Our women have a way of changing, taming our bears in ways we never thought possible,” Silas says, his voice l aced with something I can’t quite place.

Jackie blushes at his words, but I notice the forced smile on my brother’s face.

He’s sulking inside—I can tell. His bear is also in hibernation, making us all more vulnerable in our human state.

I realize he envies the bond I have with Jackie, the way she can command my bear. Jewel can’t do this with his bear.

It’s a strange reversal. I’ve gone from envying my cousin clan to now being the envied among the bear shifter community—the shifter with a fully tamed bear.

“All this time since I’ve been here, I’ve been thinking about something missing, my business,” Jackie says, looking around the empty store. “But now that it’s here, I really see what matters. All of you. I have a family now.”

“I’ve gotten in contact with your parents,” Damon interjects. “They’re willing to visit the tourist island to see their grandson. We’re working things out with immigration on the Canadian border.”

“Really?” Jackie’s eyes fill with tears again.

She hasn’t seen her parents in a while, their contact reduced by busy lives and distance.

“This is a blessing from Mother Fate. I’ll be careful not to rub it in within the community.

I know a lot of the women that come here don’t have families that are accepting. ”

“I am happy to meet your parents,” I tell her, already thinking about making a good impression on the people who created my wonderful mate.

Jackie looks at me with such love. “I love you, Jabari.”

I take my fingers and trace them down her forehead, over the tip of her nose, and brush them over her lips. “I love you too,” I say aloud.

Silas suddenly chimes in, breaking the moment. “One day my woman is going to chase my bear too.”

Kade and everyone burst into laughter at his sulking. “Oh, you’ll get over it,” Kade tells him. “Everyone sulked hard when Gabriel had the best, biggest claim mark out of all the shifters in Wintermoon. Got over that quickly.”

“Want to leave this stuff here and come back later?” I ask Jackie, noting the fatigue beginning to show in her eyes again.

Kade places her clothes on the counter next to the sewing machine. “Yes, I’ve got some changes I want to make if that’s okay.”

“Give me a list and I’ll get on it,” Silas offers.

“Wait...” Jackie says, stopping everyone. “I have an idea.”

We all turn to hear her out.

“Since we have two ships, we can lower the prices for the cruises. And maybe I can give quarterly seminars to the less fortunate, still help women who can’t get on Wintermoon?”

Kade sucks in a sharp breath and looks at me. “So he can sink my ship again? Oh hell no.”

Damon rolls his eyes and everyone falls into laughter. “That sounds like a lovely idea, Jackie,” he says once the laughter dies down. “We’ll work out the logistics after you deliver your cub. The ships won’t be here until next summer anyway.”

She smiles at that, then breaks away from me to pull Damon into a hug. The vampire looks surprised at first but then embraces her gently.

“You were so sweet to me when I first arrived,” she tells him. “I was so scared and sick from the teleportation. You made me feel like a woman. Like family.”

Damon smiles down at her. “You are family, Jackie. All of you are.” He plants a kiss on her forehead and then steps back. “Go back to your clan and let us know when you’re ready.”

Jackie walks back into my arms and looks up at me with the most loving smile I’ve ever seen from her. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

I just smile back at her, my heart full. I want to give her the world, and I’m going to try. This is just the start.