Chapter 10 #2
I lean back into the rocking chair with a smile. “Were you waiting for that?”
“Yes.”
“For me to stop working?”
“Yes.”
I turn my head to look at him. “You’re ridiculous.”
His hand slides higher on my thigh, warm and possessive. “And you work too hard.”
“Somebody has to keep your business from falling apart.”
“That’s true. Have I thanked you for that lately?”
I laugh. “Nope.”
We both know he was doing just fine before he met me. I may have organized things, but he was already a success.
“Well, I’ll have to fix that,” he says huskily.
Logan leans forward, kissing me quickly before he pulls away and scans the creek for our daughter. She’s standing at the edge, staring down at the water. I swear she’s part fish with how much she loves it.
“You know,” I murmur, looking back out over the yard, “sometimes it still hits me.”
“What does?”
“That this is my life.”
The wind stirs the trees. Rosie crouches near the grass, apparently narrating something to her wooden bear.
Logan is quiet for a moment. Then he asks, “Still hard to believe?”
“Sometimes.” I rest a hand over my stomach.
“Not in a bad way. Just… I don’t know. There are moments when I remember what it felt like to run through those woods, thinking I was going to die.
And now…” I glance around the porch. The cabin.
The workshop. The yard where our daughter is playing. “Now this is home.”
Logan’s fingers tighten slightly on my leg. “You were home the second you landed in my yard.”
Emotion rises so fast that it makes my throat ache. Five years later, and he can still do that to me. Say one rough, simple thing and completely undo me.
I turn to him, smiling a little shakily. “You always know what to say.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is with me.”
His green eyes lock on mine. “I only tell the truth with you.”
My chest squeezes. God, I love this man.
He reaches up and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “You tired?”
“A little.”
“Then come here.”
I laugh softly. “I am here.”
“Closer.”
I shift in the rocking chair as he stands, then crouches in front of me again, like he did earlier. Only this time, instead of arguing with me about work, he gently takes my hands and spreads them over my belly. Then he presses his forehead there.
For a second, I stop breathing. The sight of him like this, my huge, dangerous bear shifter bowed over me with such tenderness it hurts to look at, cracks something open inside me every single time.
His beard scratches softly against the fabric of my dress as he turns his head and kisses my stomach. “You takin’ care of my girl in there?”
“Daddy,” Rosie shouts from the yard. “The baby’s a boy.”
Logan glances up at me with a smirk.
I chuckle. “Apparently, that’s been decided.”
He kisses my belly again, then looks up at me, his eyes so full of love that I can barely stand it.
“Come on. I’ll make us something to eat and then rub your feet while you read.”
“Ah, my perfect evening,” I sigh.
He smiles. “Anything for my mate.”
He pulls me to my feet, and I push up on my tiptoes to kiss him slowly and sweetly. He bends to meet me halfway, one hand braced on the arm of the chair while the other settles on the back of my neck.
By the time we pull apart, I’m smiling. Something flashes in his eyes, something fierce and soft and wholly mine. Then he nods and heads over to the creek to get Rosie.
I watch as he gathers her up in his arms and carries her back to the house. He tickles her, and she giggles, squirming in his hold.
My heart melts in my chest as I watch my mate and my daughter.
The late afternoon sun glows warmly through the trees, painting the yard in honeyed light. The rocking chair moves softly beneath me, and for a while, I sit there with one hand on my belly and let gratitude wash over me.
Five years ago, I had nothing. No home, no safety, no plan or idea of the future I wanted.
Now I have more than I ever knew to dream of.
A mate who still watches me like I’m the center of his world.
A daughter who fills every corner of this cabin with laughter.
Another baby on the way. Friends who became family.
A purpose that matters. And a place where people arrive broken and scared and leave knowing they aren’t alone.
Midnight Haven isn’t just where Logan found me. It’s what we built together after. It’s a refuge, a home, a promise.
I follow Logan and Rosie inside and pause as I stare at the photo from our wedding day hanging in the living room. I think about the woman I used to be. The girl who ran into these woods was terrified, bruised, and desperate for escape.
If she could see me now, I think she’d hardly believe it.
I smile, following my family into the kitchen.
For the millionth time since Logan claimed me, I’m grateful that I decided to stay and give this a shot.
If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have all this. The perfect partner, the perfect daughter, the perfect home, the best friends, and a job.
All this is thanks to my guardian angel.
As if he can sense me thinking about him, Logan looks over at me. Our eyes meet and lock, and he gives me a slow smile, one that’s full of promises.
I eagerly return it, knowing that whatever he has planned will be perfect.
* * *