The text wasn’t from Karen. Instead, it was from Damon.
Miss Mathers, I believe in the adage of the third time being the charm. Have you changed your mind about my offer? This will be your last chance to take me up on my offer—willingly.
I swallowed hard. Willingly? What the hell did that mean? Was he going to force me to paint the picture for him?
A shiver slid along my spine. I didn’t want to think about how he might go about such a thing. I chewed my bottom lip, wondering if I should reply.
What should I even say to that?
I crammed my cell into my back pocket and tried to shake off the text, but my bear was too wound up by his threat to let it happen. After I unloaded Gran’s fishing gear into the tiny shed behind the cabin, I headed inside and put the food neither of us ate back in the fridge. Gran had already gone to her room. So, I quietly made my way out the front door and disappeared into the woods behind the cabin. Everything was starting to take a toll on my bear and me, and we desperately needed a release.
I peeled my tank top off when I was far enough into the woods where no one would see me, and then continued to undress. The instant I was free of my clothes, I gave into my bear and ran deeper into the familiar woods. I took a backseat, enjoying the weightlessness of not having to decide anything, of not having to be for a moment, and let my bear do her thing. It felt amazing to step aside, especially in these familiar woods.
It felt like finally being home.
A sense of lightness filled my bear. She loved these woods and the way the earth of this place felt beneath her paws. When the rushing waters of a waterfall trickled to my ears, I realized where my bear had taken me. Her body froze, and I knew it was because she was just as surprised to find us here as I was. Coming here hadn’t been intentional. I could sense it from her.
Nash was just on our mind too much. He’d wormed his way into our subconscious.
My bear continued toward the waterfall, mesmerized by the sound. It had been way too long since we’d been here. My mind clouded with thoughts of the last time, and remembered pain surfaced. When my bear stepped into the clearing, the sight of the waterfall had my head clearing.
I’d forgotten how beautiful it was.
Its beauty didn’t silence the memories of the past for long, though. They sprang up, threatening to pull me under. I tried to ignore them as my bear took us closer to the waterfall. She wanted to feel the spray of it misting against her fur. When she was close enough to feel it, a sigh rippled through her at the missed sensation. It made me wish I could fully enjoy the moment—that I could enjoy this place again—but I didn’t think it would ever be possible. Not with the ghosts of the memories I’d left behind still here.
“I know what you’re going through is difficult, but I need you to know I’m going through something too.”
The words floated through the air, pulling me deeper into the old memory, and I cringed as the entire scene played out in my mind.
Nash stood on the rock in front of the waterfall, his profile lit by the afternoon sun. He shifted to face me as he heard me approach. His eyes were wild, and his jaw was hard set.
“You don’t know what I’m going through, Sam, and I doubt whatever you’re dealing with can compare,” Nash muttered without letting me finish. “You didn’t lose both of your parents recently.”
My teeth ground together, and my pulse sped up. No, instead I’d lost the child we’d created.
“You’re right. I lost them a long time ago,” I snapped.
I was hollowed out, broken, and dealing with something that scared me to death. All I wanted was his support and for him to comfort me.
I needed him.
“I know, and I’m sorry, but it’s just not the same. You didn’t know them. You can’t miss someone you don’t know,” Nash said, his words stabbing me like a million tiny daggers.
My fists clenched at my sides. “I can. And I do. I miss my parents even though I didn’t know them. Same as I miss our baby, even though I didn’t know it either.” My tone was bitter, and my words were delivered with razor-sharp edges. I watched as Nash flinched when they made impact.
“Our baby?” His eyes locked with mine. Questions burned through them.
“Yes. Our baby,” I whispered.
There was a heartbeat of silence before Nash narrowed his eyes at me, and my world split apart again. “Did you have an abortion? How could you have decided that without saying something to me first?”
I stared at him, unbelieving he’d think I would do such a thing. His words stung, but it was the look in his eyes that tortured me most.
Nash wasn’t the person I’d always thought he was.
The death of his parents had changed him. He was too cynical now. Too hardened by his loss. As he walked away from me, leaving me near the rushing waterfall, I vowed I’d never return to Gem Creek again.
A twig snapped in the distance, pulling me from my thoughts and bringing me back to the present. No longer were my bear and I alone. Someone was coming. I knew I needed to find a place to hide in case it was a camper. Seeing a bear up close and personal wasn’t something most humans could handle.
As my bear inched her way off the rocks in front of the waterfall, a gentle breeze blew and she caught a whiff of a familiar scent—Nash’s bear.
It wasn’t a camper heading toward me. It was
