Page 84 of Bear Creek Valentine
Aiden got up and went down the hallway to the spare bedroom. When he returned, he was wearing a tight smile and carrying an old cardboard box. Dash sat up and Aiden set it down on the bed between them. Dash sniffed the air, and his eyes widened.
“What is that? It smells like my parent’s house.”
Aiden slid his hand into Dash’s, intertwining their fingers.
“It should. They’ve been keeping it for you since Harv died.”
Dash growled and tried to pull away, but Aiden held on tight.
“Just listen for a minute. Harv was hiding your Valentine’s Day gifts in this box, buried in his closet. Your folks discovered it when they helped you move out of the house and never found the right time to give it to you. They asked me to decide, and now I’m letting you choose. You can see what’s in there and get some closure, or I can toss it in the trash and we move on.”
Aiden knew this would be difficult for his mate, and a bear’s deep-seated sense of curiosity would surely push him to open the box and see what he’d missed years ago. Aiden tried to make the choice a little easier.
“Let me ask—why do you hate Valentine’s Day? You enjoy receiving gifts, and knowing someone loves you is never a bad thing, so what is it?”
Dash huffed in distress and Aiden felt terrible for pressing the issue. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Dash closed his eyes and lay down. His answer was barely audible.
“It was our special holiday. After Harv died, I couldn’t stand reliving the memories every year while everyone else was happy and smiling. They were celebrating, and I was grieving my mate.”
Aiden’s heart ached for the man.
“We could just agree to ignore Valentine’s and the hurt, but that hasn’t worked out very well, has it? We have each other now, so why not choose to enjoy the holiday instead? Wouldn’t that be better?”
Dash emitted a reluctant growl but wasn’t sure how to move forward. He opened his eyes and sat up to scan Aiden’s face.
“Sure, it would be better, but how? What does it look like?”
Aiden’s stress dropped a notch, and he pecked Dash’s lips.
“We don’t have to decide right this minute. Let’s think about what we want or don’t want and discuss it later, all right? The key here is that we’d both find a way to enjoy Valentine’s instead of dreading it. Gifts, flowers, fun stuff—whatever we can agree on.”
Dash seemed to like the idea, mind busy with possibilities until his eye caught on the box.
“What should I do withthat?”
Aiden received a sudden flash of insight, taking him out of the equation.
“That’s between you and Harv. Why don’t you talk to him about it?”
Dash gave him a puzzled look.
“What? Where are you going?”
Aiden picked up the book he’d been reading and walked toward the bedroom door.
“You need some privacy, so I’m going downstairs to the family room and read for a bit. I love you, mate.”
Aiden softly closed the door and Dash listened to his footsteps all the way to the basement. Was he really going to do this? He’d talked to Harv lots of times since he died, so why not now? Dash pulled the box closer and opened the lid. There must have been a dozen wrapped gifts inside, along with a sealed greeting card. He’d searched for Harv’s hiding place that year but never found it. Aiden said his mother discovered it inhis closet—the perfect place to hide nearly anything since it was always a mess and drove Dash crazy.
The first few things were little trinkets, things Harv knew Dash might like but didn’t stand on their own as a gift: a recipe holder for the kitchen, a little flashlight for his keyring, a package of smoked almonds, and a framed photo of a much younger Bram wearing a ridiculous Halloween costume. That one brought back memories, and he spoke softly.
“Bram would have a fit if he saw this. You always knew what made me laugh, but trying to coax one out ofyouwas almost impossible. Stinker! I think you enjoyed making me work for it.”
Dash opened a few more; two theater tickets, a pair of thick socks, a book entitledBirds of Pennsylvania, and a small desk calendar with a beautiful nature picture for each month. Dash opened it up to find that Harv had marked the birthdays of every member of Dash’s family, their unofficial anniversary, and other events they enjoyed celebrating. Valentine’s Day was inscribed with the words,Love Alwaysand surrounded by tiny red hearts. Dash brushed the tears from his eyes and spoke again.
“From the very first day, I never questioned your feelings for me. I still love you, even now. I suppose you know about Aiden. It took a long time to find him, and yeah, he’s human, but he has so much to give. We’re a good fit, you know? Just like it was with us, my bear knew he was mine the first time we met. Scared me, but I can’t imagine being without him now.”
Dash opened the last few and then the greeting card. He didn’t expect anything sappy, since Harv wasn’t really the romantic type. That he did anything at all for Valentine’s Day was because he knew Dash enjoyed being fussed over. The outside of the card was covered with red hearts and he opened it to find a picture from a magazine pasted inside. It showed a pair of wedding rings resting on a lacy paper heart. Below, he’d scribbled “want to?”
