Page 12 of His Determined Bear

* * *

I looked down at the list to make sure I had everything. My stomach chose that moment to rumble, reminding me that I hadn’t grabbed anything for dinner. I was almost certain my fridge was empty.

I could go over to either Papa’s or Kian’s for dinner, but I dismissed that idea. I need to be at the cafe early tomorrow morning since I’ll be short-handed. One of my bakers had asked for two days off to visit his sister in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where his den was originally from. And I knew if I ended up at either place tonight, a quick exit would not be in my future.

A steak sounded good, so I doubled back to where it was located. I grabbed a T-Bone and headed over to the produce section for some potatoes that would go well with it.

I was about to walk by the spice aisle when I realized I wasn’t sure if I had any steak seasoning. I definitely wasn’t ever up for eating bland steak, so I decided to stock up. I knew the pantry that held my baking ingredients like the back of my hand, but the rest of my kitchen cabinets, not so much.

As I pushed the cart into the aisle, I heard a voice say, “This is so not turning out to be the short trip I planned. Yup, she’s definitely getting married.” There was silence, then the same voice said, “Trust me, my mom is all lovey-dovey, and I’ve never seen her like this.”

My eyes narrowed, and I followed the sound of the voice only to realize it was coming from another aisle. There was something about the voice that made my bear sit up.

“I thought I would spot his flaws quickly and rush mom out of there, but so far, he’s in the running for Mr. Perfect.” There was a snort, “I just have to dig a bit deeper. There must be something in that house to find. Seriously, what kind of Home Economics teacher lives in a luxury cabin? I’m not buying it.”

It hit me there in the spice aisle at World Foods that he was the bratty son Aaron told me about. This guy was the one trying to stand between Aaron and his new mate.

I must have made some sound that told him he wasn’t alone because he spun around, and our eyes met. I stumbled backward like I’d been struck as his scent hit me. It was gingerbread, cinnamon, and something else my nose couldn’t quite place.

My eyes widened because this omega, this man that was hellbent on ruining Aaron’s second chance at a happy ever after, was my mate.

Fuck on a cracker! What was I supposed to do now?

Before I could even speak, Cooper—the name sounded even better to my ears— pointed at me and said, “Don’t you know how rude it is to eavesdrop on a conversation?”

“You do know this is a public place, and you weren’t exactly being quiet. For your information, everyone and anyone walking by could hear your conversation. Besides, don’t you know how rude it is to point?” I said with a raised brow.

Cooper’s eyes narrowed on my face, and his eyes widened before he backed away, before spinning around and hurrying away as fast as his legs could carry him.

I moved quickly to follow him but stopped myself. I didn’t want to scare him off when we hadn’t met yet. We would see each other again soon. He could go for now.

A smile spread across my face, even though I really wasn’t sure why. My mate has just run from me like I had the plague. But the simple fact remained that I had a mate. I finally had a mate.I wondered what it was going to take to convince him that he was meant for me.

Chapter 5

Cooper

I read through the notes I’d made on my phone again, then scanned my laptop screen. I shook my head at what I’d written and deleted the last chunk. Fuck! What was wrong with me? It felt like my brain was doing its best to sabotage me.

I had to send this review in tomorrow, and it wasn’t close to ready yet. I sighed and put my phone down on the table beside me before pressing my finger to my eyes.

Why was I so distracted?I thought being alone outside on the upper deck would help me focus on this magazine article.

I opened my eyes and stared out at the mountain peaks. Okay, so I had to admit this place… there was something about it. It was so tranquil and picturesque.

Distracted by my wayward thoughts, I suddenly felt two familiar arms wrapping around my neck. I looked down and recognized the hands and the familiar scent of vanilla and roses. “Hey, mom.”

“How’s it going?” she asked.

I blew out an exasperated breath, “It’s going.”

“Isn’t this just the best place to work? The air is so fresh and clean out here. Can you believe there are no traffic sounds?” She sighed happily, then added, “Aaron said he could convert the back room with the double doors into an office for me. How amazing is that?”

Unwrapping herself from me, she walked over and took a seat on the empty chair next to the side table, sighing contentedly as she stared out at the view. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Mom loved it here. And she looked and sounded so happy all the time. She literally radiated joy that I’m not sure I’ve seen in years. I don’t think she has stopped smiling since we’d arrived.

It was hard not to be happy for her. It really was great to see her so content and blissfully happy. I guess the goal now wasn’t to get her to leave Asheville but to make sure that this happiness she had found didn’t end once I left. Some people were good at putting on a good show while others were around to watch. Now I had to make sure that Aaron was as good a man as he seemed. That he actually deserved my mom and he would treat her right.

“That’s amazing, and there’s a fireplace in there too, right?”

---