Page 72 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

She could make my little girl laugh on the hardest days, turn the simplest outings into grand adventures, and love her with a fierceness that rivaled my own.

Penny was forever baking Rosie goodies that just knocked my baby’s socks off. Making each holiday a special one for my girl.

The past couple of weeks without her had been hard.

Too hard.

We hadn’t talked since our falling out.

Life had felt lonelier, harder to navigate without Penny by my side. I didn’t even realize how much I relied on her until she wasn’t there anymore.

And now, with everything happening, I felt that absence more acutely than ever.

I missed my friend.

I missed the easy way we could talk about anything, the way she could make me laugh even when I wanted to cry. And right now, I could really, really use her.

Actually, I could use more than just her.

Jezebel was part of the Crew now, and she’d been a surprisingly bright spot since I’d formally met her.

Maybe it was time to let her in, too. To expand my circle and embrace the kind of support I so desperately needed.

Because if there was one thing I was starting to realize, it was that I couldn’t go through life alone. Rosie deserved better than that. So did I.

We both deserved the biggest, best family we could have.

That meant Dante. And Penny. And Max. And Jez. And Emmet. And all the rest of the Crew.

No, we didn’t have to be alone anymore. And we wouldn’t be.

Rosie and I had finally found our home.

Now, I just needed them to come back. And I was so damn glad I had company while I waited.

“I’m, uh, gonna blame my dumb mouth on pregnancy hormones, but you think you can forgive me?” she asked.

“Oh, Pretty Penny,” I murmured, and sobbed when she opened her arms and hugged me.

“I’m so sorry I came off as a judgy bitch. I didn’t mean to be,” she cried.

“Oh, you two are gonna make me cry!” Jezebel said.

I grabbed her and turned our twosome into a three way hug. We sniffled and chuckled, and I told them both everything that had been going on.

“So, you love him then?” Penny asked me.

“Oh my God, Pen. I love him so much, it’s driving me crazy,” I said and laughed, wiping my eyes.

“Have you told him?”

“Not yet. I will though,” I said and meant it. “Right after I find out how long he’s been keeping Rosie’s secret from me.”

I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I mean, it was obvious to me now that Dante hadn’t been shocked like I was about Rosie’s transformation.

And yes, I went back over everything I knew about Shifters and figured out that Rosie didn’t catch it or anything like that.

She was born a Shifter. Which meant either I or her father carried that gene.

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