Page 39 of On Tap for the Bear
"Dorothy? The woman who runs Between the Pages?"
"Yeah. She moved here about twenty years ago. The land called to her the same way it called to you."
Quinn's quiet as I add the vegetables and cheese, folding the omelet with practiced ease. I plate both omelets and slide one in front of her with a fork.
She takes a bite and closes her eyes. A small sound of pleasure escapes her throat—the same sound she made last night—and heat floods through me.
"This is incredible," she murmurs.
We eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. I watch her savor each bite, the way her expression softens with different flavors. She looks content. Happy. Not like someone about to run.
Maybe this won't be as bad as I think.
"Eli," Quinn says eventually, setting down her fork. "You said the land brought me here. What did you mean?"
Here it is. The opening I need. I set down my own fork, meeting her eyes.
"Redwood Rise sits on a convergence of ley lines. Old magic, like I told you. But it's more than just energy in the ground." I choose my words carefully. "The land is... aware, in a way. It recognizes people who need sanctuary. Who need healing. Who need to find something they didn't know they were looking for."
"And you think that's me? That I needed to find this place?"
"I think you needed to find yourself again," I say quietly. "The person you were before everything went wrong. Before you lostyour taste and your career and your trust in people. The land gave you that opportunity."
Quinn looks down at her plate. "By letting me taste food again."
"By giving you a place where you could be safe. Where you could rebuild." I reach across the counter, covering her hand with mine. "Where you could belong."
"Do I?" Her voice comes out small. "Belong here?"
"What do you feel when you're here?"
She's quiet for a long moment, her fingers curling around mine. "Like I can breathe for the first time in months. Like the static in my head finally went quiet. Like...” She stops, biting her lip.
"Like what?"
"Like I found something I didn't know I was missing." She looks up at me, vulnerable and uncertain. "Is that crazy?"
"No." My thumb traces circles on the back of her hand. "That's exactly how you're supposed to feel."
"So the land thinks I belong here?"
"I think the land brought you here," I tell her. "Same as it brought Cilla. Same as Anabeth. Same as everyone else who's found their way to Redwood Rise when they needed it most."
"For what?" Quinn asks. "Why did it bring me here specifically?"
This is it. The moment where I either tell her the truth or let the lie grow bigger. The bear pushes at me, demanding honesty. Demanding I claim her properly, tell her what she means to me.
But the words stick in my throat. Because once I say them, once I tell her about shifters and mates and the fact that my bear has decided she's ours forever, there's no taking it back.
"For us," I say finally.
The words hang between us, heavy with meaning. Quinn's eyes search mine, looking for something. Understanding, maybe. Or confirmation of what she already suspects.
"Us," she repeats.
"Yeah." My voice comes out rougher than I intend. "The land doesn't just call people who need healing, Quinn. It calls people who are meant to find each other. To build something together."
"Like soulmates?" There's skepticism in her tone but also hope. Fragile and tentative.
