Page 46 of The Bear's Forever Mat
“We came to celebrate the holidays with you, of course.” James shrugged. “Not much use in having a pilot in the family if you don’t take advantage of it.”
“When we got the word you’d arrived and Amber had found her brother, we were all pretty excited,” Alex said. “Gramps insisted we come and join you so it could be a real family celebration.”
Of course the old man had insisted. The meddlesome, conniving man had been doing everything in his power to get Cooper hooked up with Amber. Bless his heart, in the good way.
A sudden clatter rang out from behind them, and the bottom panel fell out of the plane. Three lanky figures tumbled to the ground with shouts and groans.
Lara pinched the bridge of her nose before planting both fists on her hips and glaring at the stowaways. “Seriously, dudes? In what universe did you think this was a good idea?”
They all popped to their feet, Dixon’s familiar face in their midst. He stepped forward, still brushing snow off his pants. “Heard you were going on a bit of an adventure. Thought you might need some backup.” He turned toward Amber and grinned hugely. “We’retotallybuilding you that statue. You rock. So hard.”
Nothing but amusement bubbled up from his bear side, which Cooper was grateful for. He ignored the wolves because they were Lara and Alex’s problem.
Instead, he slapped a hand on his brothers’ shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here.” He turned to where Mason and Marianne were waiting at the edge of the gathering, offering them a huge smile. “It’s time to get ready for that celebration. Put us to work.”
OceanofPDF.com
19
As parties went, the day rated right up there as one of Amber’s best memories.
Not only did she have Cooper at her side, she had her best friends, Lara and Kaylee. There were Mason and his wife to rekindle memories with and build new ones.
Their small house was filled to the brim when you added James and Alex,andDixon and his friends.
Little Bram looked around with wide eyes, lifting his hands with imperial dignity as he demanded to be passed from person to person for hugs and cuddles. Dixon turned out to love kids, and eventually it was the two of them—the enthusiastic wolf and the nearly-a-toddler, ensconced together in a corner of the house where childish laughter rang out over and over, bringing smiles to everyone’s faces as they worked.
“You’ve been so good to open your home to us,” Amber said to Mason in the middle of one of the calmer moments.
“You’re a miracle worker for finding enough food to feed us all,” Cooper added.
“That was all Marianne.” Mason glanced at his mate, that tender expression in his eyes flashing again. “And the rest of the clan. I hope you like fish.”
“You don’t even have to cook it,” Amber teased, dancing out of Cooper’s reach.
The entire day was like that. Little bursts of conversation, time spent with her friends. A sweet moment post-lunch when she cuddled with Bram as he grew heavy-lidded then fell asleep on her with complete trust.
Amber didn’t move. Just stared down at the beautiful child in her arms and let deliciously happy thoughts drift through her brain.
A big set of arms wrapped around her, and another layer of delight arrived like icing on the cake.
“Hey, Cooper.”
“Hey, darling. How’s your holiday going?”
She gazed into his eyes. They still hadn’t experienced whatever mystical magic needed to occur for the matingwoo-woo, but she had faith it would happen when it was supposed to.
Butthiswas supposed to happen right now. She used her free arm to catch Cooper around the neck, tugging him toward her so he could kiss her.
The catcalls were quiet to avoid waking the sleeping baby.
At different moments, couples vanished then returned, taking time to stretch their legs or return to their rooms to nap. The sun was only out for a short period of time, and everyone made sure to go outside and enjoy the brief blast as it rose just in line with the horizon.
The day vanished, and so did the food that had been on the dinner table, causing it to groan under the weight. Bears and wolves and seals all ate until the bountiful spread was nearly vanished. Then they pushed back their chairs, hands falling over stomachs that were just a little too full.
“I wish I hadn’t finished that last piece of pie,” Dixon said gloomily.
Alex nodded at the young man. “You’re learning. Overindulgence is sometimes a mistake.”
