Love, A Curvy Girl’s Guide (A Curvy Girl’s Guide to Shifters)

Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

H aley’s hands tightened around the steering wheel as they drove away from the lodge. She wasn’t sure if it felt any better this trip than it had when she left just a few days earlier. The tension from Garrick’s words still echoed in her head, a relentless reminder of what was at stake. She was also worried about her dad and wanted to be by his side. Ian sat in the passenger seat, silent but watchful. His presence was steady, grounding even, but it didn’t stop the storm of anxiety brewing in her chest.

“You’re quiet,” Haley said, her voice tight.

Ian glanced at her, his sharp blue eyes softening. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” she pressed, needing a distraction.

“About how we’re going to fix this,” Ian replied, his tone calm. “And about you.”

Haley blinked, startled. “Me?”

Ian’s lips curved into a faint smile. “You’ve been carrying a lot, Hales. Your dad, the pack, Verity... it’s a lot for anyone. But you’re still here, still fighting for us. That’s pretty damn amazing. I kinda wonder what I did to deserve it and if you might decide I’m just not that worth it.”

Her throat tightened as she focused on the road ahead. “I don’t feel amazing. I feel like I’m drowning. But I’ll always fight for us, Ian. I was a fool to ignore what was right in front of my face.”

Ian reached over, his hand resting lightly on her arm. “Then let me help. Pull over for a minute.”

Haley frowned but did as he asked, pulling the car to the side of the quiet country road. The engine hummed as she turned to face him, confusion and frustration mingling in her expression.

“Why are we stopping?” she asked.

He cupped her face in his large hands and kissed her. It wasn’t the impassioned kiss from the night before. This one felt comforting, humble, and oh so very tender.

“You’re killing me, Johnson,” she whispered against his lips.

Ian smiled, something she felt more than saw. “At least I am getting through. Sometimes you hold everything so tightly inside that I worry you are going to explode.”

Haley’s eyes began to shine. “I feel like I am going to explode. It’s not a very nice feeling to have.”

“Take some deep breaths with me?” Ian asked. After a moment, he added, “Can we make a stop before we meet Verity? There is something I need to do.”

Haley’s stomach twisted. “Ian, we don’t have time?—”

“We do,” he interrupted gently. “You’re no good to anyone if you’re running on empty. Let’s check in on your dad and then we can go figure out things with Verity.”

Haley’s eyebrows shot up. “You would do that?”

Ian hesitated, his gaze steady. “I would do anything for you, Haley.”

Her breath caught in her throat. The sincerity in Ian’s voice, the weight of his words, left her momentarily speechless. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

“I love you, Haley Wheat,” he said, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Let’s go.”

The hospital was busy when they arrived. It was just about lunchtime, and between the visitors, hospital staff, and registering patients, they could hardly hear themselves think. Once they had gotten to the oncology floor, the noise diminished to just the nurses’ station and the beeps from various hospital monitors.

She led Ian into her dad’s room where he lay in the hospital bed dozing. He looked almost the same as two nights ago when she’d left him and learned the news that Verity had betrayed her. How could it seem like so much time had passed when it was barely forty-eight hours?

“Haley-girl,” her dad said, as his eyes flickered open. “What are you doing here, Bug?”

“Just checking on you, Dad,” Haley said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “And Ian wanted to see you.”

Her father’s eyebrows rose as he looked past her to where Ian stood. “Son? Well, now. This should be interesting.”

Haley’s cheeks warmed, but Ian stepped forward, his usual confidence tempered with a quiet respect. “Mr. Wheat. I’m sorry to come barging in here like this.”

A faint smile creased his weathered cheeks. “Ian Johnson, you are a good man. I know you and Haley haven’t always seen eye to eye. But from where I stood, I knew you would work things out one way or another. You are welcome, son. Welcome to be here, and if I am not being too bold, welcome to the family.”

“Daddy!” Haley cried out, a term she hadn’t used in years.

Her dad laughed. It sounded rusty and ended with a cough, but there was a twinkle that had caught in her father’s eye. “Haley, why don’t you check with the nurse what time my next pain meds are due? I want to have a little chat with your young man.”

Haley’s face was aflame with embarrassment. “He’s not my young man.”

They spoke at one time.

“I’m not?” Ian teased.

“Yes, he is,” her dad insisted.

Haley hesitated, her gaze flicking between them. “Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”

Her dad shot her an exasperated look. “Go on, Haley-Bug. I won’t eat him. We’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, she retreated to the nurses’ station just outside the room, although her ears strained to catch snippets of their conversation.

Ian sat on the chair next to the hospital bed, his hands clasped as he tried to work out what to say.

“You’ve got something on your mind, son,” Haley’s dad prompted. “Spit it out.”

Ian smiled. “Haley means everything to me, sir. I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember. But... there is something you need to know.”

“You’re a fledgling werewolf and you and Haley are in hot water with the Alpha.”

Ian stared open-mouthed at Mr. Wheat. “But how… How could you know that?”

“Your dad came by earlier today,” he admitted. “But it takes a big man to tell me face to face.”

Ian cleared his throat. “Um, there is a little more.”

“Well, then?”

“Haley is my mate. I don’t know if Dad explained it all to you. But a mating bond is to wolves what marriage is to humans, only it’s not something that can be broken, even in death. I am committed to Haley, and will always be. But I was also raised by Frank Johnson, and I know a man is supposed to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

“Are you planning on marrying Haley?” Mr. Wheat asked.

“Yes, sir, I am. But I’d like your permission and to know you are okay with it. If we can get things cleared up with the Alpha, maybe we could have the ceremony in the chapel here at the hospital?”

For the first time, the smile on the older gentleman fell. Tears clouded his eyes and his voice shook as he answered. “I’d be honored, Ian. You have my blessing, not that you need it. I may not be well enough to walk my baby down the aisle, but being there would mean the world to me.”

When Ian and Haley left the hospital an hour later, Haley’s heart felt a little lighter. She didn’t know what Ian and her dad had talked about. But when she’d returned with the nurse, the men seemed to be having a bonding moment. It meant the world to Haley that Ian had spent that one-on-one time with her dad. Ian’s quiet confidence as they walked to the car reassured her about the man she was choosing in a way she hadn’t expected.

“What did you two talk about?” she asked as they climbed into the car.

Ian smiled, his eyes soft. “Just man-to-man stuff.”

Haley huffed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. “Fine. Keep your secrets.”

As they drove toward Verity’s, the tension crept back in, but this time, Haley felt a spark of determination. Whatever lay ahead, she wasn’t facing it alone.