14. Niam
14
NIAM
“And done.” Todd closed the folder with all the paperwork in it that we’d gathered for the IRS audit interview and shut the laptop. “All that’s left is our meeting.”
I’d hardly describe it as “all.” A whole lot was riding on that interview, but at least we were prepared and had some time to spare. There had been way too many times since my father first called me that I feared we’d never make heads nor tails of the mess my brother created, but with Todd’s help, we did.
We also figured out that my brother hadn’t simply made mistakes or tried his best and failed. He actually knew exactly what he was doing. I doubted he wanted the audit, but the chaos that triggered it was 100% intentional. It was a good thing he disappeared, because if he hadn’t, I’d have wrung his neck by now.
Todd leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “I say this is cause for celebration.”
“You do, huh?” I got up and walked around the desk to him, sitting on his lap so we were face to face. “And how would you like to celebrate?”
I leaned in for a kiss, but he held my hips tightly in place. “I’m pretty sure it starts with us not getting caught making out by whoever’s coming up the stairs right now.”
Oops. He was right about that.
I wasn’t ashamed of Todd or trying to keep my time with him on the down-low. But being caught on his lap with my tongue down his throat wasn’t exactly work appropriate either.
I hopped off his lap so quickly that I nearly crashed into the desk, and he chuckled. For a second, I thought it was because he was joking about hearing someone coming.
But a second later, Andrew walked through the open door. “Hey, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but there’s a delivery, and we need somebody to sign for it. I guess they need a check too.”
It wasn’t a surprise. Some of our vendors agreed to give us a second chance after I called and explained the situation to them, but two of them required payment at the time of delivery, which I didn’t love but completely understood. “Can you tell them I’ll get that for them and be right down?”
Once he was gone, I grabbed the checkbook out of my desk and wrote a check out for the amount on the invoice he’d handed to me. “I’ll be right back.” I kissed Todd’s cheek and stepped toward the door. “Let me know what we’re doing to celebrate when I get back.”
He cocked his head and grinned. “I have to make all the decisions?”
“Um, yes, please.”
“Excellent. I already have an idea.” He pulled out his phone and shooed me away.
I hurried down the stairs into the loading docks and dealt with the delivery driver. They were nice enough, but not too happy with the situation. I didn’t blame them. These extra steps meant they were slowed down, and given they were paid per delivery, that was less than ideal for any of us.
When I got back to my mate—I couldn’t believe how much I loved that word—he was all packed up and ready to go.
“You figured something out, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“And you’re not gonna tell me, are you?”
He shook his head.
“But I’m gonna like it.” I was waiting for another nod, but instead, he held his hand out for me.
“We’ll see.” He brought our joined hands to his mouth and kissed mine.
Our first stop was back at his house so we could change. I’d been keeping more of my clothes there, and my dad didn’t mind. In fact, he appreciated it, because the more I spent time with Todd, the more likely I was going to stay in Oak Grove. Honestly, that was a foregone conclusion.
Unless Todd wanted to move to the city, I wasn’t going anywhere without him.
My PTO at work was running low, and soon enough, I’d have to make the official decision, but I was leaning on staying. Todd had a great life here and was mid project on his dream home. Asking him to give that up for my nice but not amazing apartment where his bear would have no place to roam didn’t sound like a fair request.
One thing I did figure out was that I probably wasn’t gonna work for the family business full-time. Plumbing just wasn’t my thing. And luckily, I didn’t need to. Now that Todd had worked his magic and gotten the audit and our books organized and automated, I could put in a few hours a week and we would be fine. Besides, there were enough remote jobs I qualified for that I could regroup and start a life here or anywhere else.
That was if this was even what Todd wanted. And even though I hated to admit it to myself, I wasn’t sure if it was.
The fact that he hadn’t marked me yet was starting to worry me. Cognitively, I knew it shouldn’t. He gave zero indication that he wasn’t completely falling for me, but still, it nagged at the back of my mind. Maybe being human meant I wasn’t good enough for him.
No, that was ridiculous, but that didn’t stop it from being one of my biggest fears. “Okay, I’m ready now. Why did you say I needed sneakers?”
“I didn’t.”
Ugh . Some help that was.
“Please tell me we’re not going to do something like basketball or pickle ball or whatever.” I didn’t hate sports, but I wasn’t in the mood for being competitive, even if it was a silly game. All I wanted was to spend time with him, whatever that looked like. I mean, I knew what I wanted it to look like, but wanting and having were two very different things.
“Nope. No sports for us today. We’re grabbing food and then heading to the park.”
“The park?” It wasn’t the right season for Shakespeare in the Park or anything like that, so what did that leave? Playing on the swings? Actually, that could be fun, but Todd was far too confident in the way he spoke about our day for him not to have a plan.
He rubbed his nose against mine. “Let’s go.”
Okay, so, no information was how it was gonna be.
At some point in time, he’d called ahead to the deli and ordered us a picnic basket. It wasn’t the “going out to eat” I assumed it would be. It was way better.
Go, mate, go.
Two points for keeping me on my toes and making me feel appreciated.
It was such a sweet gesture. I’d never been much for picnics—not a big fan of the bugs—but if Todd was planning it, it sounded kinda romantic.
When he said we were going to the park, I assumed he meant the one in town. I assumed wrong. It wasn’t the huge one with swings and a climbing rock and a path down to the river. He meant the state park, a place I hadn't been since getting drunk there in high school.
It took us about forty-five minutes to get there, and as we drove inside, he asked the gate agent if one section in particular was open to the public. He seemed pleased to find out that it was.
I’d been there before, but I’d always just gone through the main trailhead and walked around. Learning there were special areas, ones that were worthy of asking about, made everything just a little more exciting. It also made me curious how much my mate had planned for us, and if any of this date was impromptu at all.
We drove through the gate, and Todd knew exactly where to go until we reached his destination. He parked the car, and we walked hand in hand on a path until we reached a clearing. The sun was beaming warmly on the grass despite still having a slight chill in the air. At least it wasn’t so cold that I worried about sitting on the ground while we ate.
Todd took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. “Before we eat, I want to show you something.”
Finally! I’d been dying for this moment. “By something, do you mean your bear?”
He nodded. “If you’re ready for that.”
I grinned from ear to ear. “I’d love that.”
Todd took off his clothes one piece at a time and set them beside the basket until he was completely naked.
He looked so good, I nearly forgot why he was doing it.
“You sure you’re ready to meet him?”
“So ready.” I wasn’t sure what the process for shifting would look like, but in my head, I imagined him writhing in pain like they did in werewolf movies.
Turned out, it was nothing like that. Not even close. In fact, if I had blinked a little too slowly, I probably would have missed it. One second, I was looking at my sexy mate, and the next, there was a big-ass grizzly bear in front of me.
He was huge, and if I had run into another grizzly in the wild even half his size, I’d have been terrified. But this was Todd, and all I wanted to do was to feel his fur and hug him close. More than anything, I wanted to let him know how stunning he was.
“I’m gonna hold you now,” I announced on my way over, not wanting to startle him in case the bear was in charge. I didn’t sense that he was, though.
He still felt like Todd. My Todd.
I pressed my cheek against his furry chest and sighed because the fur was much softer than I had imagined it to be. My arms closed around him the best I could, and that was when I had my very first bear hug.
His huge paws settled on my back and held me to him as I enjoyed his warmth.
“You are absolutely stunning.” I looked up at him. “So gorgeous, my love. So fucking gorgeous, it almost hurts.”
I hated to move, but I took a few steps to the side so he could shift back. Maybe he would take his bear again after we ate and we could play. But right now, there was a lot to say. And it would all be one-sided if he didn’t have his human words.
Todd took his skin again then pulled on his clothes. A moment later, we both sat down to eat. The food was good, and I used it as a way of delaying our conversation until I could piece my thoughts together.
“You’re awfully quiet.” He popped a grape into his mouth with his gaze trained on me. “Everything okay?”
I hated that he was worried I might reject him because of who he was. But it was starting to really bother me that he hadn’t marked me yet. My insecurities were growing by the day. I knew enough about myself to know that if I didn’t say something soon, I was gonna explode at the most inappropriate time and place.
Why were words so hard?
Todd reached across the blanket and took both my hands in his. “You can tell me anything. You can ask me anything. Nothing you say or do will change how I feel about you.”
“See, that’s just it.” I closed my eyes, willing myself to find the strength to ask. “I don’t really know what that is.”
“Explain, please.” His tone was hushed, like he was almost afraid to ask.
“Why?” My voice cracked, and my eyes filled with tears. The kind that were gonna flow quickly if I didn’t pull myself together. “Why haven’t you marked me? I know that’s how you do this, this, mate thing, but you haven’t done it to me. I could really use some answers here because the ones I’m coming up with in my head are…well, they’re not good.”
Not even close.