Page 78 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

“No, Baby, I am so proud of you my sweet cub.”

“Danny said I make a good Bear.”

“You do, Angel. The best Bear.”

Emotion filled me as I kissed her temple and helped her to bed, but her skin had been streaked with dirt and mud.

Rosie had been too sleepy for a bath though and the best I could do was wash her off with a warm, wet cloth and dry her and tuck her in.

I turned on the small shadow lamp Dante had given her a few nights ago as an early birthday present, not wanting to leave her in the dark.

The bulb was low wattage, and the soft yellow glow it gave off seemed like magic in the otherwise dark room.

But it wasn’t the light as much as the shadows it cast that made it so lovely.

Of course, the lamp itself was a pretty little thing, carved wood and bent metal. Dante made it himself, which made it even better if you asked me.

He was so full of surprises. So caring and sweet.

A spin of the shade sent shadow animals dancing across the walls. And I gasped when I realized what the animals were.

Two bears, one big and one small, a hulking wolf, a giant bull, a winged dragon, and a tall figure with a long face, tucked back wings, horns, and a tail perched in a tree. And if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a herd of goats being chased by a prairie dog in the background.

It was them, all the people who made the Motley Crewd Ranch the perfect place for my baby to grow up.

I knew Dante was scared right now. I could feel his nervousness and anxiety through our matebond. Of course, at first, I hadn’t recognized what that was. It took Jezebel and Penny to explain it to me.

But I knew now, and yeah, I had some talking to do with that man of mine.

But first this. First, I would let myself enjoy the complete happiness of having Rosie back home, securely tucked inside her bed.

A giggle escaped my lips, along with a single, happy tear that rolled down my cheek, but I quieted myself and brushed Rosie’s soft curls away from her face.

That child had my heart, and every day I loved her more. Learning how to be a Shifter was going to take some time.

We had a long road ahead, but for some reason, I wasn’t scared of it—of the future.

I stood up and walked to the door, casting my gaze over my daughter one more time. Dante had been building this bedroom for her for months before we’d moved in, even though he’d tried to play it off like it was merely a coincidence.

All those pale colors and pink sheets were for Rosie. And for me.

Enough time had passed, and as I closed her door gently, I squared my shoulders and readied myself to face him.

Mine.

Chapter Twenty-Four-Dante

There wasn’t much in this world that should scare a grown ass Grizzly Shifter but put me in a room with one tiny, curvy woman who just might be about to tell me to fuck off, and I was a trembling mess of a man.

“Fuck,” I growled, rubbing my hand over my face.

It had been a good half hour since all the others left and, in that time, I showered off the dirt and blood that had streaked my skin.

Most of the scratches and bites were healed by now, but I figured it would be easier for Avery to take if she didn’t have to see me with all that.

It wasn’t Rosie’s fault. She had no knowledge that she was a Shifter, and the precautions others would have taken with their young had not been taught to her.

Her first Change happened as a result of heightened emotions and that could be pretty fucking traumatic. Lucky for Rosie, her mother was who she was. Avery wouldn’t reject or subject her daughter to abuse or harm because of her dual nature.

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