Jake Read online

  “But Grandpa always says I’m like you.” Ursula bit her bottom lip before asking, “Did Mommy ever ride a pony?”

  Lana gulped down a knot of emotion and her eyes misted with tears which she quickly blinked away. “Mommy was frightened of ponies. I was never sure why.”

  Ursula looked down at her hands clasped in front of her. “I’m not frightened.”

  “Shall we go and see if we can find Bella and Zack?” Heather said, breaking the tension in the room as Jake peered around the door. “Ah, just in time. Lana, Donald, and Sula have agreed to stay for the night. Or hopefully the weekend, if we can persuade them they are not too much trouble.”

  “That’s great news.” He tried not to smile too widely but his relief was immense.

  “I’m going to go and find Bella and Zack, so they can show Sula the ponies.” Heather raised one eyebrow almost imperceptibly. “Would you unpack the rest of the pieces from the craft barn and put them safely in here, please?”

  “Sure.” Jake nodded a little too eagerly. He needed to rein it in a little if he didn’t want to scare Lana off.

  “Lana will give you a hand while I deposit Donald in the kitchen for some much-needed coffee.” Heather placed her hand on the small of Ursula’s back and guided her out of the office, with Donald close behind. “This way, Sula. Let’s go and see if we can round up the children.”

  “Is that okay?” Ursula asked Lana. “Is it okay to go with Heather?”

  “Sure,” Lana said quickly and then added apologetically, “I’ve cautioned Ursula to never go off with strangers or even get into a car with someone she knows unless she’s told me where she’s going.”

  “And since you’ve only just met us, I am a stranger, so that’s good thinking,” Heather commended Ursula.

  “Give the ponies a pat from me.” Lana watched her granddaughter leave the room with Heather. “Take it easy, Dad.”

  “I will. It’s only coffee.” Donald followed Heather out of Jake’s office, leaving him alone with his mate for the first time since they’d met.

  “Is your dad okay?” Jake asked gently.

  Lana shrugged. “He says he is. But I think he tells me what he thinks I need to hear.”

  “He’s protecting you.” Jake could understand why. He would do anything to protect his mate.

  Except lie, his bear reminded him.

  True, a shifter was always honest with his mate. It was part of their genetic makeup.

  “I know he’s trying to protect me. Which is why he worries me.” She turned her attention back to Jake’s office and the items stored there. “Shall we finish unloading my car?”

  “Yes.” His brow creased as he realized Max and Tad hadn’t brought their pieces into the office. Jake stretched out his senses and hid a smile. They were waiting along the hallway to give Jake a moment alone with his mate. “Afterwards, maybe I could show you around the place.”

  Lana’s expression brightened. “I’d like that.” She looked around the office. “It must be nice to work from home.”

  “I don’t use this office as much as I should.” He chuckled. “I spend too much time looking out of the window. The mountain calls to me.”

  “I can understand why. This is an incredibly beautiful part of the country.” She walked across to the window and looked out at the mountain range. “Ursula seemed to have an affinity with the mountains. My dad would like to move somewhere like this.”

  “Bear Creek is a great place to raise children,” Jake said eagerly.

  Lana pressed her lips together into a thin smile. “If only we could.”

  “Why can’t you?” Jake asked bluntly.

  “Baggage,” Lana answered simply then took a deep breath. “Let’s get my car emptied. Then I’d love for you to show me around.”

  “Great.” He paused and then stepped toward the doorway as Tad and Max came hurrying along the hall.

  “We can handle the rest of the boxes,” Tad said hurriedly.

  “Why don’t you go and show Lana around?” Max added.

  Lana looked at them each in turn. “Are you telepathically linked, or were you listening?”

  She laughed as they looked at each other with guilty expressions. “I’d like to thank you for your hospitality. It’s kind of you to let three strangers stay in your house.”

  “You are welcome,” Tad said.

  “And you know what they say, strangers are just people you haven’t gotten to know yet. I’m sure by the end of the weekend, we’ll all be friends.” His eyes strayed to Jake’s. “Very good friends.”

  Subtle, his bear laughed at their brothers.

  “I should finish unloading the car since I also have all our gear to bring in. At least the necessities. Some of the stuff can stay in the car.” She looked uncertain faced with the three Harrison brothers, who filled the room.

  “Why don’t you put your gear in here,” Jake suggested. “Then we can go for a look around, while Tad cooks dinner. After dinner, we can figure out the sleeping arrangements.” Which wouldn’t be as he wanted them. Lana would not be in his bed. But she would be under his roof and that was a start.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Lana agreed as she squeezed past Max and Tad.

  Tad stood back to allow Jake to follow his mate. “Baby steps, brother. Baby steps.”

  “I certainly feel like a baby,” Jake confided in his brothers. “How did you two ever cope with the stress of not being able to simply blurt out that you were mates?”

  “Well, Max did kind of blurt it out as soon as he met Josephine,” Tad reminded Jake. “But for me, keeping it from Heather and waiting for the right time was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “Great.” Jake resigned himself to keeping his secret.

  “Unless she does know about shifters,” Tad reminded his brother. “Ursula means she-bear. Do you think it’s a coincidence? But unless my shifter senses are failing, I don’t sense Ursula is a shifter.”

  “Me neither. That is just one more mystery I have told solve.” Jake left his brothers and followed the scent of his mate, which lingered on the air. They didn’t know about the other mystery he’d tried to solve.

  As he walked back along the hallway and out into the open air, the sound of Milly giggling made him a smile. A sad, sorrowful smile. Despite a good amount of time and effort, he had been unable to find out exactly what happened to Sally or who Milly’s father was.

  Perhaps that was a good thing. Milly was settled here and happy. However, Jake thought he owed it to Sally to ask questions and bring anyone responsible for her downward spiral to justice.

  Some things were best left in the past.

  Especially when his future and those of his brothers were so filled with promise.

  Chapter Eight – Lana

  Jake Harrison was definitely unsettling. What surprised Lana most was that she liked feeling unsettled. After months of trying to keep her life calm and even, she welcomed the thrill of excitement that threaded through her body each time Jake was near.

  She bit her bottom lip. The sharp pain diverted her brain from going to the dark place in her head where fear of what might have happened to Kiki lived.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Jake ran up to join her and she lifted her head and inhaled sharply to chase her tears away.

  “Yeah. Who wouldn’t be okay in a place like this?” Lana looked around, her voice bright, but her expression didn’t fool the man by her side. “It is beautiful here.” Her tone dropped down to a normal level. “Thanks for letting us stay.”

  “You are welcome.” He nodded toward the mountain. “If you don’t have any plans tomorrow, I’ll take you up there.”

  “I’d like that. Although, I do have a meeting tomorrow afternoon.” Lana cursed, she always kept her contacts and meetings secret. Yet when she was with Jake, spilling all her innermost secrets seemed like a natural thing to do. “I make it sound more important than it is. It’s just a guy my boss asked me to meet with.”

&nbs
p; “Your boss. What do you do?” As they reached the car, Jake placed his hand on the tailgate and angled his body toward her, which was mighty unsettling. Her insides squirmed and she longed to reach out and stroke his cheek. And kiss his lips.

  Her tongue snaked out and moistened her lips, ready for their first kiss. Jake stared, mesmerized by the small invitation. A small sigh escaped him and he leaned in closer, his lips parted, ready to taste her mouth. Lana’s breath halted in her chest, just like the world halted all around them. They were cocooned in a bubble of longing and desire, as if their whole lives had led up to this moment.

  “Nana!” Ursula’s voice reached her through the fog of desire wrapped around her brain. “Nana!”

  Lana blinked rapidly as if waking from a dream. “Yes, Sula.” Lana held Jake’s disappointed gaze as she took a step away from him. He’d felt it, too. He’d wanted to kiss her just as much as Lana wanted to kiss him.

  The sudden and unexpected attraction to Jake was a mystery but not as big a mystery as to why Jake would want to kiss her back. He was handsome, obviously rich, and with the air of a playboy surrounding him.

  Of course. She would be one more notch on his bedpost. Nothing more than an evening’s entertainment.

  “I need my sweater out of the car.” Sula ran toward the car, her little legs working like pistons as her face shone with excitement.

  “It is getting chilly.” A shiver rattled Lana’s bones but not as much as Jake Harrison rattled her bones and all the other bits of her body. She could sense him as he reached into the tailgate and pulled out a couple more pieces of Heather’s artwork and walked past her toward the house.

  “I’ll come back to help you with your things,” Jake said as he passed by. “Say hello to the ponies for me.” His last comment was directed at Ursula who grinned at him.

  “I will.” Ursula’s face flushed with excitement. “Bella said if it was okay with you, I could ride one of the ponies tomorrow. Heather said Tad would walk alongside me and make sure I don’t fall off.” Her eager face asked the burning question…can I?

  “Well, that sounds like fun. Can I come and watch?” Lana asked as she retrieved Ursula’s sweater from the back of the car and handed it to her granddaughter.

  “Yes.” Ursula nodded her head, her face lit up and animated as she dragged the sweater on and swung around to run back to the house.

  “Whoa! You’re as fast as a pony!” Jake dodged playfully out of Ursula’s way and Lana giggled as her granddaughter neighed but didn’t slow down.

  “She’s going horseback riding tomorrow on Bella’s pony. Tad’s taking her.” Lana watched as Ursula mounted the porch steps and disappeared into the house.

  “Tad is the horse master. He’ll look after her.” Jake joined her, searching her face with his head tilted to one side. “It’s difficult not to worry, but we have to let them grow and learn.”

  Lana’s head jerked up. “I know. It’s just…I already lost my daughter.” She frowned and shook her head. “She’s not dead. She’s just gone. She left Ursula with me and said she had to go visit a friend who needed help for a couple of days and never came back.”

  “And you are scared of losing Ursula, too?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah. I am. I said I’d look after her. I promised her mom.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Kids, they break your heart.”

  “But you wouldn’t be without them.” Jake’s mouth turned up at one corner. “I’m just learning that.”

  “Yes, you are a daddy to Milly. Is that right?” Lana asked as she went around to the back and hauled out the luggage. She’d shoved it all to the front to make room for Heather’s artwork and she practically had to climb in to reach Ursula’s backpack.

  “Here, let me.” Jake reached past her, his body brushing against her arm and a frisson of excitement passed through her. “There.”

  “Thanks.” Lana stood up, hoping he couldn’t see the flush of color across her cheeks.

  “And yes, I am one-third of Milly’s guardians.” He picked up the luggage, all of it, and walked toward the house. “I never expected to be a father. I thought that part of life had passed me by.”

  “Same. I’d been there and done that.” Lana walked by his side into the house.

  “I’ll be honest, Tad and Max had to persuade me.” He swung his head around and added. “Not because of selfish reasons. I just worried that three middle-aged men might not be what a baby girl needed. But Fiona said we were her best chance and so my brothers talked me around.”

  “Fiona?” Lana let out a slow breath and kept her breathing natural. She was unreasonably jealous of any other woman in Jake’s life. Which was absolutely crazy.

  “Yes, she works for social services. She helps decide where children should be placed. She’s helping Max and Josephine right now.” A gentle smile spread across his face. “They are about to adopt a child themselves. It’s taken a few months for them to be accepted because they are older parents. But they have finally been matched with a child.”

  “And Fiona helps in this process?” Lana asked as Jake mounted the porch steps and went into the house.

  “Yes, she has helped them every step of the way.” Jake liked Fiona and respected her. It was there in the tone of his voice.

  “That must be a very rewarding career,” Lana said to Jake’s back as he squeezed into his office with all their luggage.

  Jake carefully placed the bags and suitcases down on the floor and straightened up, the late afternoon sun shone through the window and caught on the flecks of silver in his hair. Age had enhanced his features, he was mature and handsome, and rugged. Keeping her hands off the man in front of her might not be easy.

  Her fingers twitched as if to prove the point. She wanted to run her fingertips through his hair and drag his head down, so their lips met in a searing kiss. Instead, she stuck her hands in her pockets and willed herself not to look at his full lips.

  “Fiona’s very good at her job. She does it for love, not money.” He cracked a smile. “She’s scary as hell until you get to know her.”

  “She is?” Lana asked in surprise. She’d imagined Fiona to be an elderly, matronly woman who everyone fell in love with.

  “Yes. I think that’s why she’s so good at her job. She doesn’t take crap off of anyone and if she finds a child who needs help, she is willing to do whatever it takes to make them safe and give them a happy home.” Jake turned around to face her, his eyes twinkling as he looked down at Lana. “But enough about Fiona.”

  “She sounds like the kind of woman I’d like to meet,” Lana enthused. If only so she could rule her out as competition over Jake.

  “I can introduce you some time.” He clapped his hands together. “But first, I’d like to show you around.”

  “Where do we start?” Lana held up her hand. “First, I want to check on my father.”

  “Is he okay?” Jake asked. “I mean, does he have any medical conditions we should know about? In case there is a problem in the night.”

  Her forehead creased as she shook her head. “No, not really. But the last couple of weeks there’s been something a little off. I can’t put my finger on it and maybe I’m just worrying over nothing.”

  “Come on.” Jake lifted his chin and then added, “I think he’s in the kitchen.”

  “He was going for coffee. Sometimes I think that’s the only thing that keeps him going,” Lana joked, but her fears for his health were real.

  “He shoulders a lot of your burdens, I suspect.” Jake led her out of his office and along the hallway past a couple of closed doors before finally stopping with his hand resting on the doorknob of a solid wood door. “Because that’s what parents do.” He arched one eyebrow and she nodded in agreement.

  “I don’t think a parent ever grows out of worrying about their child.” Her voice faltered and her bottom lip trembled. She was not going to cry. Not here in front of Jake. She couldn’t let him in. She needed to keep him at arm’s length
.

  He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his big broad chest. Lana sagged against him, her strength momentarily gone as she placed a hand on his chest. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  She inhaled his scent. Pinewoods, and a musky smell she didn’t recognize, filled her senses while her mind projected images of wild woods and open spaces. “I don’t think so. But thanks for the offer.”

  “It’s tough when you can’t find answers.” He kept her pinned to his chest and she didn’t fight him. “My brothers don’t know, but I looked for answers about what happened to Milly’s mom. I felt I’d let her down.”

  “What happened to her?” Lana breathed deeply; she liked the feel of his arms around her shoulders. She liked the sound of his heartbeat in her ear. Keeping her distance from Jake was not going well.

  “She was found dead in her apartment.” He inhaled deeply and the breath shuddered through him. “Of a drug overdose. Milly was there…”

  Lana’s stomach flipped over and bile rose in her throat. “Did she intend to overdose?”

  Jake shrugged. “The authorities think it was an accident. But I need more answers.”

  “Poor Milly.” Lana rubbed her hand over Jake’s chest to comfort him. They were two tortured souls, each searching for answers.

  “When Fiona brought her here, all I could think was that at least she was too young to remember. She won’t grow up with that image of her mom lying dead on the floor in her head.” Jake rubbed his jaw across her hair. “I can’t help think that someone must have been responsible for her drug overdose. And where is Milly’s father?”

  Lana pushed away from Jake. “Her father is right here. She is safe and she is loved. Don’t beat yourself up over things you can’t change.”

  “Do you follow your own advice?” Jake asked, the corners of his mouth downturned as he looked down at her.

  “Hell no!” She gave him a wry smile.

  “Because you don’t know where your daughter is?” Jake asked gently.

  Lana bit down on her bottom lip as she fought back her tears. When she finally had control over her emotions, she said, “I need to know what happened to her. Surely if she’s dead it would be better than being stuck in limbo. But that makes me feel worse, as if I’m wishing her dead.”