Second Chance Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 3) (6 page)

It was a peculiar drug, unique in the way it affected shifters. It made them imprint on the first person they saw after it had been taken. That would have been Louisa’s fate, they later found out. But it never worked. Because she had already found her mate, the chemical reaction didn’t take place.

In some ways this truth made Liam feel so very guilty. If they had never met, if he had never known Louisa, she would have imprinted on a man, and lived her life. Instead, Connell had killed her, after torturing her to find out the reason she was immune.

Strangled and tossed in a ditch. That was not the way Louisa should have died. Slipping painlessly from this world, surrounded by their children, that should have been her fate.

Liam’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. His anger bubbled over; he couldn’t help it. Then Carla’s face came to him, and he let the anger go.

Would it ever get any easier? Or would he live this double life, one of regret, one of hope, neither of them being complete, always stuck between the two?

Heading home, he showered, dressed in clean clothes and went in to work. He wanted to talk to Joel, to get some perspective on things. Although he understood Joel’s reasons: as a shifter himself, he knew the pain Liam would be experiencing. However, Liam couldn’t help but blame him for these incredibly mixed-up feelings.

Liam only hoped he wouldn’t feel compelled to rip Joel’s head off when the next wave of guilt swept over him.

“Hi there,” Joel said as soon as Liam walked through the door.

“I’m guessing you’ve been waiting for me,” Liam said coolly, breathing in deeply and then letting it go slowly in an attempt to keep his temper under check.

“I was worried. I thought about trying your cell, but then thought I might be interrupting something.” There was no innuendo in his voice, only concern.

“What were you thinking?” Liam said, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

“That I didn’t want to lose you too.” Joel frowned. “I don’t know. I thought you were going to do something stupid.”

“I probably was,” Liam conceded.

“I couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you gave me Niq It,” Liam stated.

Joel shrugged. “I don’t know of anything else I could have done. Remember, I’ve been at your side every day through this. I’ve watched you hold it all together. And then I watched you unravel. Last night, it was obvious I had to do something.”

Liam dragged his hands through his hair. “It’s done now. I suppose I’m going to have to make the best of it. I only hope I can make Carla happy.”

“You will.” Joel looked down at his shoes. “There is one more thing.”

“What?” Liam asked.

“This came for you.” Joel passed him a letter.

“It’s unopened.”

“Because it’s addressed to you.”

“But you know what it is?”

“I know who it’s from. Has a name and address on the back.” Liam looked at the envelope, still not comprehending. “Louisa’s surname was Branson. Right?”

The world spun around Liam. “How do they know about me?”

Joel shrugged. “I didn’t tell them. I didn’t tell anyone.”

Liam ripped the letter open. “Well, someone did.” He looked up at Joel. “They want to meet me, they want to give me some of her things.”

“Shit, man.”

Shit
was right. He knew he had to go, he had to try to gain some closure, but he didn’t want to hurt Carla. He didn’t want her to think he was running out on her. Yet that was exactly what he felt he was doing.

“So how did last night go?” Howie asked as soon as she entered the bar.

“Was a busy night, good tips,” Carla said, avoiding his eyes; they both knew that was not what he was asking.

“Eloise said you went home with the party pooper, you sure upped his mood,” Howie said, coming around the counter to stand in front of her, arms folded across his chest. “You OK?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“You sure? Because if you need me to have a word with the guy…”

“Howie, he is twice the size of you. Anyway, it was me who asked him to take me home.”

“That’s what Eloise told me, I could hardly believe it. She’s passing on her bad ways.”

“I heard that,” Eloise said, coming into the bar area. “My, haven’t you got a healthy glow in your cheeks.”

“Fresh air and exercise,” Carla said, trying to hide the grin on her face.

“Are you telling me you didn’t go home and have some good old-fashioned sex?” Eloise said, sounding disappointed.

“There was nothing old-fashioned about it,” Carla said, to be met with howls of laughter from Howie and Eloise.

“Where is your shame?” Howie asked, feigning shock.

“I bet he’s got a real smile on his face this morning.” Eloise moved away to begin wiping down tables. “I can’t believe the change that came over him, when he first got here I thought he was fit to slit his own wrists. You must have a magic touch.” She wiggled her fingers as if casting a spell.

“I’ll go get ready,” Carla said, and headed out back to put her purse away. While she was out there, Howie came up behind her, making her jump. “Hey, Howie.”

“Don’t get your heart beaten up,” he said quickly. “Eloise does the one-night stand thing, but that’s not you.”

She turned to face him. “It’s sweet of you to be concerned, but I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can. But you forget I know what it was like for you growing up.” He hugged her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They had been friends since eighth grade; he was more like a second brother than a friend.

“I have to take risks, and live my life.”

“I know, but that doesn’t stop me worrying.”

“Thanks, Howie.” She kissed his cheek, “I’m probably going to have to ask for those days off too.”

“Mike still not settled into fatherhood?” Howie asked, pulling back from her.

“I don’t know about fatherhood. It’s more messed up than that. I think they are both struggling, and maybe if they had some time together, they might be able to resolve things, so I’m thinking of heading out there for a couple of days. Soon.”

“Not going to spoil this budding romance of yours, is it?” Howie teased.

She sighed. “Probably. But what can I do? I know Tammy and Mike were meant to be. And I know they were so looking forward to the baby, once they got over the initial shock. They just need to straighten it all out. And maybe come back here.”

“Ouch. That will smart.”

“You mean all of those people who
I told you so’d
them,” she said, looking at Howie coolly. “One word from you like that and I will be skinning you alive.”

“I don’t doubt it, but I told them there is no place like home.”

“There is a wider world out there than Broken Creek,” she said firmly. “I don’t blame them for wanting to escape.”

“And yet you will never leave.”

She closed her locker and leaned against it. “Maybe I should. Maybe sleeping with a man I don’t know is a sign I need to move on, that this place is too small for me.”

Howie laughed. “Sure, trust you to read so much into it.”

“You know what I mean, I grew up with most of the boys in town, their appeal hasn’t changed since high school. So I slept with the first man to ask me, who isn’t also on the list of boys who pulled my pigtails.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, you never know, it might be fate that brought him here.”

“Just like it was fate that made my parents split up, and is now threatening to destroy my brother’s life. Well, fate can take a walk.”

“Talking of walking, that guy you went home with last night is here to see you,” Eloise said, peeking around the door.

“Liam?” Carla asked.

“Never caught his name. But yeah, the party pooper.”

“Stop calling him that,” Carla asked.

“Look on his face, that’s what he’s back to being.” Eloise went back out to the bar, leaving Howie looking at Carla with raised eyebrows.

“What? If he’s here to dump me, it’s still going to be the longest relationship I’ve had for the last two years.” She pushed him out of the way, not wanting to see the pity on his face, and needing to hear what Liam had to say. She told herself no matter what, she would not cry.
He would not make her cry,
but the prickling in her eyes told her otherwise.

Eloise was right, he did look like the party pooper again. Damn, maybe he was manic depressive or something. One minute up, the next minute down. She wasn’t sure if she could cope with that right now, but when he saw her and his eyes brightened, almost glowing, she knew she wanted to try to work though whatever problem it was he had.

“Hi, Carla, sorry to turn up at work like this.”

“It’s OK, shall we go outside?” she asked, placing her hand on his arm and feeling him tense, his muscles bunching up as if she had shocked him.

“Sure.” As her hand dropped, he took hold of it in his giant hand and held it tight, which reassured her a little.

She pulled him away from the diner, heading out towards the road, which was quiet this time of day and would give them some privacy. Carla could almost guarantee that either Howie or Eloise, hell, maybe both of them, would be listening in if they could. Not for any other reason than they were both protective of Carla. In the same way she would be protective of them if the roles were reversed.

“What can I do for you, Liam?” Carla asked.

“Nothing. I mean…” He looked apologetic and said, “I have to go away for a few days.”

“OK.” Was this his way of saying he had given it some thought and didn’t want to see her again?

“I wanted to tell you, rather than just disappearing.”

“And now you have.” Did that sound defensive?

“I thought you deserved and explanation.”

“Hey, look, Liam,” She placed her hand on his arm. “You don’t owe me anything, I had fun last night and if it was just a one-off, then that’s cool.” She pulled away from him, and crossed her arms across her chest, trying to look relaxed. The fixed smile she saved for customers was firmly fixed on her face, even if the prickling in her eyes was becoming more intense. She longed to head back into the diner and head for the toilet and have a good cry. This should have been easy, should have been expected. This was how one-night stands worked. She had read too much into it. A woman who would sleep with a man on the first date was obviously not a keeper.

“Is it cool?” he asked studying her. “Because it’s not cool of me.”

She frowned, not knowing how she was supposed to answer. “Listen, you don’t owe me anything,” she repeated, more to convince herself.

“Carla. I’m not blowing you off. Well. I am, but not in the way you think.” He took a long breath, which shuddered through him. “I want to see you again, when I get back, I want to make this work. It’s important to me. More important than you could ever imagine.” His face was earnest, but he was back to being only one word away from freaking her out. He sounded like a stalker, he was so intense.

“We’ve just met; how can you be so sure our relationship will work out?” she asked.

“I’m going to try my hardest to be the kind of man you need.”

“I’ve never needed a man before. I can take care of myself.”

“I can see that.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I’m making such a mess of this. Look, I told you about the person who died, Louisa.” Carla nodded. “Well today, when I went into work there was a letter waiting for me. Her brother wants to meet me.”

“Oh. I see.” She shook her head feeling foolish. “Of course you need to go.”

“If it was anything else, I wouldn’t. But I need to do this, he deserves some answers.”

“Of course,” she said, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “You need to go.” However, seeing him here, seeing the emotions raging within him, she wanted him to owe her everything.

“I’ll be back in a couple of days. And when I return, I’d like to explain everything to you.” He pulled her to him, his lips hungry for hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as if she needed him, to live, to breathe. Her stomach curled up into a tight ball, a mixture of arousal and fear he wouldn’t come back to her.

Pull yourself together,
she chastised herself as they parted and he walked off, his hand raised in a slight wave before he got in his car and drove out of her life.

“Well, don’t you pick ’em,” Eloise said when Carla walked back into the diner. “Aw, honey.” Eloise enveloped her in her arms, and hugged her.

“First time is always the worst, right?” Carla said, wiping her eyes. “By the time I’ve had as many one-night stands as you, I’ll be able to sweep it aside as if it was nothing.”

“Thanks,” Eloise said, hurt in her voice.

Carla lifted her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. I only want to know if it gets easier. Because otherwise I might just give up on men completely.”

“He’ll be back,” Eloise said gently. “I’ve had enough one-night stands to know that one looked at you as if you were a keeper.”

“I hope so.” Then Carla straightened up. “You know, this might be a good time to go and see Mike.”

“Good girl. You go and sort him out. That young love needs preserving. I’ll cover your shifts.”

“Thanks, Eloise.”

“Anytime, honey. You know that.”

The drive to Louisa’s brother’s house took two days. He could have gotten on a plane, but he wanted the time to think and put things in perspective. It worked. The pull in his heart told him he had left his mate; the anxious pacing of his bear inside his head confirmed it. Even if it wasn’t natural, wasn’t fate, as it had been with Louisa, it
was
as real, at least to his body and his soul. Only his mind was still filled with confusion.

By visiting Louisa’s brother, he hoped to be able to settle that part of him too. Because the betrayal was all too close to the surface, ready to bubble up and hit him so hard it took his breath away.

The GPS on his dashboard told him to turn left. He was on a quiet back road, and his destination was close. It was nice here, a mountain, with trees coming down to meet the road. He could imagine Louisa growing up here. Not that she had said a lot about home. Their mating had not been long, and other things had seemed more important. Like sex. Lots of sex, her need for him matching his need for her. As two shifters, the need to procreate was strong for both of them, although she still wanted a career.