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  “Are you OK?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yes. We should go. We have to pick the car up, and I wanted to talk to Dylan about something.”

  “Oh?” she asked.

  “It’s about the job he offered me.”

  “You’re going to take it?” she asked, stunned.

  “Yes. You’re right. I need to get back to normal. Or at least find what my new normal is. Life goes on, and I intend to lead my life to the fullest. On my own terms.”

  She laughed. “That is the soldier in you talking. Welcome back, Sergeant.”

  “I have a good nurse. She’s good at setting me straight.”

  “You are the quickest success story I’ve ever had.” She got up and brushed her jeans down.

  “There’s still a lot I’m going to need your help with,” he said.

  “I know, but we’ll get there.” She looked at the ATV. “First thing we have to do is get you back on the quad. I’m going to have muscles to rival yours soon.”

  She moved around to hook her hands under his arms, and the sense of weakness, of being vulnerable, came rushing back to him. He pushed it aside. If their roles were reversed, she would expect her to allow him to help her. For this to work, he had to embrace any offer of help he needed. He needed to be independent, but he also needed to let go of his obstinacy.

  In his job, rebuilding communities, he had often met men who felt powerless to help their families after war or natural disasters had taken their toll. How many times had he watched those same once-proud men and women learn to rebuild their lives by accepting help they would rather not have to receive? This was his turn to be the one powerless, and allow others to help him rebuild.

  So, with some struggle, and a lot of pushing and pulling from Skyla, he finally sat astride the quad, and they made their way back down across the lower slopes. He followed Skyla’s directions, impressed that she was getting her bearings when it came to navigating her way around Bear Bluff.

  “My Sergeant Major would have been proud of you. One of the things he hammered into all of us when we landed in unknown territory was how important it was not to get lost. You seek your landmarks, triangulate them, and you will always know where you are.”

  “I go by the Bluff,” she answered. “Everything is north or south of it, then it’s a matter of adding in how far west. We need to turn right up ahead.”

  The sign up ahead read Bear Bluff Construction, and he guided the ATV into the yard. He remembered it from years ago; then it had been disused, falling to pieces, now it held stores of timber, neatly piled and waiting for use. The scene brought back memories, and he wondered if he would actually be able to go through with working for Dylan.

  “Shall I go and see if Dylan’s around?” Skyla asked.

  “Of course.” He had no choice but to stay on the ATV, frustration mounting that he couldn’t get up and walk around like everyone else. Jordan closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before letting it go. He was alive, and all these small inconveniences were nothing compared to what the families of his friends must be going through. He was here, he was alive; he would always be grateful for that.

  “Sleeping on the job?” Dylan’s voice called from across the yard. He was coming out of a building, which Jordan presumed was the office. In its past life, it must have been a barn, stone-built and robust. It was good that the whole place was getting renovated and cleaned up.

  New beginnings, he thought. He’d fit in well here, if Dylan really wanted Jordan to work for him, and he hadn’t just been nice.

  “It’s been a hard day,” Jordan said, glancing at Skyla and wondering if she had spoken to Dylan about him, either now or when she came earlier to fetch the ATV.

  “What can I do for you?” Dylan looked at Jordan and then to the car. “Do you need me to carry you to the car?”

  “No,” he snapped.

  Dylan held his hands up. “I was just checking.”

  “We can manage getting to the car, I can reverse back so Jordan can slip in. It’s my fault; I never thought it through. I should have dropped Jordan back home first. But…” She glanced at Jordan, encouraging him with a small smile.

  “I came to see if the offer of the job still stood. If it was a legitimate offer,” he added.

  “Legitimate?” Dylan nodded. “Of course it was. I’m here to make money, I’m not a charity.”

  “Then I’d like the job.” Jordan pointed to the neat piles of timber. “Although you seem to have it all together.”

  Dylan huffed. “You should see inside the warehouses. We need everything cataloged and placed in some kind of order. I’ll take on someone to help you. I need this yard run with military precision. Which is why you would be ideal. I heard of what you did when you were in the Army. You have the knowledge and experience to make this work.”

  “When do you want me to start?” Jordan asked.

  “Eager, I like that.” Dylan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Give me a week. I’ll ask around, find someone who needs the work.” He nodded his head thoughtfully. “Look, you know my past. So I have a favor to ask.”

  “You want me to do you a favor?” Jordan asked.

  “Yes. It’s just…” Dylan turned and looked at the mountain, and then around the forests; he looked thoughtful, not the same Dylan that Jordan had known when they were growing up. “I want to give someone a chance.”

  “Isn’t that what you are doing with me?” Jordan asked.

  “No, I know you are fit for the job.” He turned his attention back on Jordan, his hands on his hips. “I went to juvie, you know that.”

  “Yes.”

  “When I got out, my grandpa told me I would be better off getting a job away from here. I did. I got lucky and someone gave me a chance. I worked hard, and look at me.”

  “Nothing like a bragger,” Jordan joked, waiting for Dylan to get to his point.

  “I want to give someone else that same chance. I’ll speak to Declan, see if he knows of anyone who needs a second chance.”

  “I didn’t know you were so soft-hearted.”

  “I’m not where business is concerned, but this is close to my heart.” Dylan held out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”

  “Let me get this right. You want me, a cripple, to work with a young offender?” He kept his face blank, watching Dylan frown, and then nodded.

  “That’s about it.”

  Jordan broke out in a grin. “I think that’s a great idea.” He pushed his hand into Dylan’s. “Let me know what time you want me in, boss.”

  “I’ll be in touch.” Dylan held out his hands. “You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

  “We can manage,” Skyla, who had been silent through the whole exchange, said, stepping in the way of Dylan. “I don’t want you to fire him before he’s even started work.”

  “I was joking.” Dylan said. “But seriously, any time. Anything you need. You know where I am.”

  “Thanks for the use of the quad,” Skyla said, as she walked over to fetch the car.

  “She is a fine woman,” Dylan said.

  “I know. I’m blessed, and I never thought I’d say those words again.”

  “Things happen for a reason, Jordan. You may not see it now, but one day it will become clear.”

  “I hope so. No legs and no bear is not a good place to be.”

  “No bear? You can’t shift?”

  “Didn’t Skyla tell you? That’s why we used the quad, to go up into the mountains, she hoped I might find the missing part of myself there.”

  “Did you?”

  Jordan shook his head. “No. At least… not really.”

  “But you felt something?” Dylan asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe it was my imagination.”

  “And maybe it wasn’t. I’m sure your bear is still there.”

  “Why? How can you be so sure?”

  “Because, in the same way you would want to die without Skyla, you probab
ly would die without your bear.”

  “You really think so?” Jordan asked.

  “I believe it. You are one with that mangy black bear inside you, or wherever he is. Maybe the connection just went down.”

  “The connection went down. I’m not a jumper fuse.”

  “We don’t know how this bear thing works. So who knows?”

  Skyla pulled up next to the ATV and got out of the car. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes.” Jordan looked at Dylan. “I’m going to think about what you said. Then I might be back.”

  “For what?” Dylan asked.

  “I’ll let you know. If you’re around tomorrow, I might come over.”

  “If it’s bear stuff, come up to my house. It’s on the same plot as my grandpa’s.”

  “Thanks. I will.”

  “Sure you don’t need a hand?” Dylan asked, pointing to the car.

  “We’ve got this,” Skyla said, coming around to stand by Jordan. “But thanks for everything.”

  “My pleasure.” He pointed at Jordan. “Tomorrow, I want to know what kind of harebrained scheme you have in your head.”

  “I’ll work out the details and let you know.” Jordan watched Dylan walk back to his office.

  “So what’s this big idea that’s put a smile on your face?” Skyla asked.

  “Just something Dylan said has given me an idea.”

  “Care to share?” she asked, as she helped him into the car. “I am getting the hang of this.”

  “Thank you. For today. For yesterday.”

  “You’re welcome. Now let’s go home and eat.”

  Chapter Thirteen – Skyla

  “That was yummy, again,” Skyla said, as she placed her knife and fork down on her empty plate.

  “Wait until you taste dessert,” he said, wheeling himself backwards and opening the fridge. Jordan had shut her out of the kitchen, telling her to go and have a bath or enjoy some free time doing whatever she wanted, while he cooked their evening meal.

  She had to admit, he had changed. Something had come over him, a new confidence, a new sense of peace. He wouldn’t tell her what his big plan was, the one he had been discussing with Dylan, but whatever it was, she was now even more convinced that was the reason for his change in mood.

  “You are spoiling me,” she said. Jordan placed a chocolate cake down on the kitchen table. It was covered in thick chocolate frosting and made her mouth water just looking at it. She’d thought she was full, but there was no way she could refuse something so heavenly.

  “My mom used to make this recipe.”

  “So it’s a black bear recipe?” Skyla asked.

  “Yes, from black bear country,” he joked.

  “I’d like to meet your family,” she said. Jordan’s hand paused before cutting the cake, and she knew she’d hit a nerve. “Don’t you think we should go and see them—if I’m really your mate, don’t they deserve that?”

  “You really are my mate,” he said, setting a piece down in front of her. “But… They came to see me when I was in the hospital. It was difficult.” He cut another piece for himself, but didn’t eat it; instead, he clasped his hands in front of his mouth, resting on them. When he was ready to speak, he placed them on the table. “It saddened them. To see what I was.”

  “Saddened?” she asked. “Did that make you feel guilty?”

  “No. It made me feel miserable.”

  “Right, because they were sad?”

  “Because it was me who had made them sad.” He toyed with his cake and then said, “They knew them. The men who died. Knew each and everyone one of them. So I think they felt guilty I was alive and so many other parents, wives, and children had lost someone they loved.”

  “If you don’t see them, then they will have lost their son or brother,” she said. “You can’t avoid each other.”

  “I know. They know. We talk on the phone, but I’m not ready to see them again. Not yet.”

  “Not until you and Dylan have your scheme underway.”

  “It’s not a scheme.”

  “Of course it isn’t.” She began to eat her cake. “This is heaven.”

  “It is,” he said, and she was sure he didn’t mean the cake.

  “Maybe now you have found a mate, they might be happier. You know, something positive in all this.”

  “I’m sure they will.” He smiled. “Just give me a couple of weeks, then we can go and visit. My mom would love you. My dad would talk to you about cows all day.”

  “You come from a cattle ranch?”

  “My dad has been in cattle his whole life. He taught me how to be practical. How to use my hands and build things. He always assumed I would follow in his footsteps; he was disappointed when I joined the Army.”

  “Ahh, I see. And are you sure that isn’t where you should be moving back to? You don’t think instead of working for Dylan, you should be out there rounding up cows?” Skyla asked, eating the last mouthful of her cake.

  “What good would I be there?” he asked.

  “You have the motorized wheelchair arriving any day. Or you could use an ATV.”

  “You are always full of good ideas, I like that. But really, I joined the Army and moved away because I knew my future did not lie in the price of beef.”

  “Farming isn’t for you?” she asked. “Why?”

  “I never enjoyed it. I enjoyed repairing stuff, the roof, the walls. I liked decorating. If you want paper hung, I’m your man. But chasing cows all day? No. Not me.”

  “What did your dad think of that?” Skyla asked. “Is there a rift?”

  “No.” He laughed and wiped his mouth. “I have three brothers. They are all ranch men, all of them could talk beef all day. So I figured, even though I was the eldest, and the farm should pass to me by rights, I would leave and go and find my own life. And I did. I found the Army. So, if I go back now, where does that leave everyone?”

  “In a whole heap of confusion.” She nodded.

  “Exactly. My dad will feel obliged to leave the farm to the man who is least worthy of it, my brothers will be resentful, and I’ll be unhappy.” He shook his head. “That is why I came back here. My dad moved here when he met my mom, but black bear country is where the best grazing land is. So eventually, they moved back to his hometown. They waited until we all finished school, but my dad needed the open prairie. It’s where good honest cattle are raised, or so he’d have us all believe.”

  Skyla sat back in her chair. “Families. Mine is about as small and uncomplicated as it could be. Just me and my dad, until my stepmom came on the scene. Then, bam. I didn’t have a home; I was the outsider.”

  “Wicked stepmother?” Jordan asked.

  “No, it would have been easier if she was. My stepmom, Dorothy, is about the nicest person on the planet. But I was used to having my dad to myself. The house I grew up in had always been our home, and then suddenly, it was their home.”

  “And you moved out?”

  “Yes. For completely different reasons to you, yet the outcome is the same. I could not move back there. My dad and Dorothy are happy. That’s all that matters to me. I visit, but we are all relieved when I go away again.”

  “You have a home again, Skyla. Here, with me.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “I want you to know what’s mine is yours.”

  She blew the air out her cheeks, wanting to let go of the emotion boiling up inside her. “Thank you, Jordan. I’ve missed having somewhere to call home.” She wiped her eyes, although she was sure she wasn’t going to cry. But speaking of her childhood, of her dad, had brought up feelings she had squashed down into a box, which she’d then put the strongest lock she could find on to keep them in.

  “I guess when my mom left, I felt abandoned. Then when my dad met Dorothy, I felt abandoned all over again.” She looked up at him and smiled. “But if they only feel one tenth of what I feel for you, then I can let it go.”

  “Good girl.” He pulled his hand away fro
m her. “More cake?”

  “No, I am stuffed. Why don’t you go and take a shower, or whatever else you want to do, while I do the dishes?” She stood up. “Then I’m going to have to start thinking of what I plan to do.”

  “About what?” he asked, maneuvering himself out from under the table.

  “A job. I am being paid to look after you. Once you start work, I’m going to find it hard to justify being paid to be here, without feeling … cheap. And I don’t want to feel that way about our relationship”

  “We’ll figure something out.” He paused on his way out of the kitchen, and then half turned his wheelchair back towards her. “You are giving up living in with your patients, aren’t you?” he asked.

  She smiled. “I told you I never wanted to leave Bear Bluff.” She began to run the water into the sink. “And I guess I want to never leave your side either. Well, not your side, exactly, but you get the picture.”

  “I do. It’s the same picture I have.”

  Chapter Fourteen – Jordan

  He hadn’t asked her to share his bed; he didn’t have to. Skyla had gone upstairs to her bedroom to change, and then she had come back down again, dressed in that cute nightshirt with a kitten on the front. It pulled just tight enough across her breasts for him to experience a feeling of tension in his body, that spread into parts he thought dead of feeling.

  “Do you know, I’ve never shared a bed with a man two nights in a row,” she said, resting her head on his chest.

  “Then I am honored,” he said, absently stroking her shoulder. He sighed, and then added, “I’ve never shared a bed with a woman for one night without there being sex involved.”

  She chuckled, her body pressing against his. “Is that a not so subtle hint?”

  “No,” he said, mortified she would think that. “I’m not pressuring you into anything. Obviously, because…”

  “I was joking,” she said. “I just need a little time to get used to how quickly everything has happened, and to be sure I’m not rushing you into something. You know in case you’ve latched on to me, using me as a crutch when you are vulnerable.”