22. Birdie
22
BIRDIE
I don't know why I'm so nervous seeing Gray and Aster again.
I've seen Aster many times before. She knows me by name and sends an email note every time she's passing through Timber Falls to catch up for coffee. This isn't even the first time I've been to her house before.
However, this time, I feel strange. It feels like something monumental is coming… or maybe that's just wishful thinking.
It could have something to do with the fact that the higher we got up the mountain, the more powerful the pull toward Will became. It's a constant squirming feeling beneath my skin and it's making it hard to sit still. Add to that my heart butting up against my ribs like a jackhammer and I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything else.
I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind! So much so, I don't even realize we've arrived and that Case and Sutton have already jumped out of the truck.
Will reaches over and rubs his hand over mine. "Are you OK? You've been quiet the whole drive up?"
I look out the front windshield to where Aster and Gray's large designer cabin sits. "We need to go. They're expectin' us."
Will turns my hand over to lace his fingers with mine. I glance up from where his skin is branding mine to find his eyes locked with mine, a flush covering his skin that looks as hot as mine feels. His breath is thready, mine is coming faster and faster the longer we sit there watching each other. I'm fighting not to jump into his arms and beg him to make me his just like he said he would.
"I don't know what's goin' on…" he says. "It's stronger up here. I feel–"
"Me too," I whisper.
I can't help but think that this could be Call-related. I've felt different ever since we drove into town, but now that we're on Cooper land, right where the prophesy began, it's like I'm losing all self-control.
"Birdie?" Will says in a half-question, half-plea, our bodies leaning closer as if we're being pulled together by a magnet. I'm just about to say 'screw it' and jump him anyway when a knock on the window next to my head startles me.
Snapping my head around, I catch a grinning Case waggling his brows through the glass.
"C'mon, lovebirds. There's time for whatever you're thinkin' of doin' later. Let's not keep our long-lost cousins waitin' while you two make out again, yeah?"
My snickering turns into giggling, and by the time Will joins me, we're almost bent over with laughter. That earns us confused frowns from Case and Sutton, who stare at us through the window.
"What's so funny? Sutton asks, switching his gaze between the two of us.
Will meets my eyes. "Chemistry," he says.
At the same time, I say, "Fate."
Will freezes in place, his hazel eyes boring into mine and for the second time in minutes, it's like my whole being wants to imprint myself on his.
"Hey!" A voice calls out, cutting through the air. We all turn to see Aster standing on the wraparound porch with a toddler on her hip. "Are you guys goin' to stay out there all day or can I tempt you with some hot cocoa and freshly baked white chocolate brownies?"
"I ain't the type of man to turn down good ol' mountain hospitality," Case replies with a grin as the twins walk side by side toward the cabin.
"Well, I'd hope not," Aster laughs. "You are Coopers, after all. If there's one thing I've learned about all of you, it's that you never say no when food's involved."
Will and I walk behind his brothers hand in hand. By the time we reach the landing, Aster's husband Gray has joined his wife, taking their youngest child off her hands.
"Cayson?" Gray asks Sutton, which earns him a smirk.
"Nope. That's him," Sutton replies, grinning as he elbows Case.
"Damn twins are the bane of my existence," Gray chuckles. "Got my own twin brothers. Bet you know just how much they like to try and play the ol' switcheroo as kids."
Will snorts, shooting an amused gaze his brothers' way. "These two were still doin' it into their twenties."
Case and Sutton look at each other, lips twitching identically. It's so freaky that both Gray and Will grunt out a laugh, turning to each other with matching 'see what I mean' expressions.
"Birdie! So good to see you again," Aster says, pulling me in for a big hug. What I don't expect is for her to bring her mouth near my ear. "You've been more patient than I could ever have been," she says before pulling away and sending me a pointed look that I can't for the life of me understand.
More patient?
When I shiver, more from confusion and uncertainty than the cold, Will doesn't miss a beat. "How 'bout we move inside? I think Birdie here needs some of that hot cocoa you mentioned."
Aster's eyes crinkle at the sides as she looks between us. "Absolutely. It's time you met the rest of our tribe, anyway. But be warned, if you think your twin brothers are something, they've got nothing on the rest of your Moose Mountain family."
We make our way into Gray and Aster's cabin, and it soon hits me that she's not lying. It's not just Gray's siblings here to meet Will and his brothers, but all of the other Coopers from town too.
One by one, we're introduced to Gray's three brothers as well as town doctor, Judd, and his wife, Lottie. There's also Rhys, a helicopter pilot, and his wife, Amber, search and rescue coordinator Max, and his cute-as-a-button librarian wife, Lucy. Then there's the town's fire chief and veterinarian. Lastly, the only female cousin on this side of the family, Marta and her husband Van.
Not surprisingly, I feel like I know them all already. That happens when you've read about their love stories over and over again.
With so many people to talk to, Will and I get separated. Eventually, I find myself gathered with the women in a large den at the back of the cabin. The room overlooks the backyard and I can't help but snicker when I spot an axe sticking out of an old trunk in the ground, reminding me of a scene Aster wrote about a sexy, shirtless man chopping wood while the heroine sat back and enjoyed the show.
Marta comes up next to me, bumping my shoulder. "There's no doubt in my mind now that you're one of us now."
I cock my head, brows so furrowed they're nearly touching my nose. "What do you mean?"
"You're lookin' at that axe like you remember just how hot Aster's woodchoppin' scene with Gray was. He's my cousin, and I won't ever see him any other way, but I know mountain men are hot, and–"
" All of the Cooper men are hot," I say, laughing when she screws up her face.
"I'm more of a Coldwell man fan myself. Well, only one of them. My father-in-law…" She looks like she's just eaten something bad. "But yes, I know my cousins and brothers are objectively good looking. I wasn't just meaning that though."
"What were you meaning then?" I ask curiously.
"You and Will. Sometimes, even without a Seer's guidance, or knowing what the spirit might have planned, you can just sense it happening."
"Really?"
She nods. "The moment Aster said you were coming to visit–and we'd be meeting our Timber Falls family–I knew there was more to it."
It's strange to hear someone talk about a mountain Seer outside of Aster's fictional world. That's how I learned that a Seer is a person the mountain spirit chooses to communicate with, usually to help guide the soulmates along their journey to complete the Call.
Aster is one. Gandalf, from Bear Mountain, is another. Kendra is the Seer for Eagle Mountain and Leah for Bull. They each communicate in different ways with the spirit. Some get visions, some hear voices in their head–that one always made me laugh–and in Leah's case, she would dream scenes that seem like they're straight out of a movie. Gandalf is a little different. He goes up the mountain top and chats with the spirit there all the time.
"OK…"
"You do know what I'm talking about… right?" Her expression turns guarded.
I lean in and drop my voice to a whisper. "I do . But Will and his brothers don't . Like at. All.'
Marta's eyes widen. "Nooo… How is that even possible?"
"They haven't been told and although Will has been readin' the books with me, we're only getting up to Eagle Mountain and he hasn't said anythin' to me about it yet."
"Nothing?" she asks quietly.
Shaking my head, I sigh. "I feel it. Like, oh do I feel it. But I can't get a read on whether Will knows there's somethin' different happenin' between us or not."
"Now forgive me for being so forward, but you do know how the Call is completed, right ?" Marta's eyes are as pointed and direct as her words are.
"We haven't–"
" Oh … well now," she says, straightening as a wide grin curves her lips. "Then all you need to do. Then you'll be tied together forever and the prophesy–at least for you two–will be finished."
I can't do that to Will–not the making love part, that I can and want to do. I just don't want to move ahead with the physical side of our relationship until I know he feels what I feel–that he knows deep down that I'm his soulmate.
"He has to know first," I say, shaking my head.
"Aster said he already does," she says with a shrug. Everything stops. It's like the world stops spinning. He knows…
"He knows ?" I shriek, not realizing how loud my voice is.
Moments later, Will comes storming into the room looking like he's ready to wrestle a bear for me.
All I can think about is what Marta let slip.
He knows about the Call…. he knows about the Call…
Will comes straight to my side, concern written all over his face. "Honey, what's wrong?"
Marta's eyes soften as she looks me over, making sure I'm OK before slowly stepping back.
Will's gaze roams my face, his hands doing the same, running down from my shoulders to my hands as if trying to soothe me. Instead, I stand there feeling even more puzzled.
Why has he not told me?
"Told you?" Will says, shocking me even more.
My eyes jump as wide as saucers. "Did I say that out loud?"
He jerks his head from side to side. "No. But I heard it. I swear I heard it…"
What the ? —?
"I think now would be a good time for us to go and have a bit of a chat… " Aster says, appearing out of nowhere. "Seems someone is taking it upon herself to speed this thing along."
Without another word, Aster leads the two of us through the middle of the house and through to another wing–yes, this cabin has 'wings'–until we join her and Gray in her office.
Any other day, I'd be oohing and aahing over her office. It's wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor bookcases on three sides, filled to the brim with not just Aster's books, but other romance and writing craft books she loves. Her desk is a dark warm brown, a beige chair covered with a cream fluffy throw behind it. All of it facing toward a huge bay window with matching wood trim. Outside are the gardens I was just admiring before Marta rocked my world with her little slip.
Gray closes the door and moves to Aster's side as the woman herself pins Will with a stare.
"I knew you two were next in line, and when you emailed me, I was hoping you were just trying to find out everything you could. Not , that you hadn't talked to her at all . Your One needs your support just as much as you need hers. This Call stuff is not easy. Believe me…" she says.
Will reaches out and slides his fingers between mine, his grip firm and reassuring as he watches me closely. The fact he's not blocking the door is a good thing because it means that there's some part of him that knows I'm not about to go running for the hills–or in this case–further up the mountain.
"I had planned on tellin' her tonight," he grinds out, not looking away from me for a second.
That gets my attention. "You were?"
"Yeah." His brows bunch together and it's hard not to melt a little. "Didn't our chat outside the BnB make that clear?"
I think back to what he said. All I can remember is the hot-as-hell kiss he laid on me and the promise of a date. I thought he was just being his normal, sweet, attentive self. "You said you wanted us to go out."
"Yeah. A date where I was going to tell you that I've been talking with Aster and Gray by email for a couple of days now. That was after I connected the dots and linked all of her books to the Cooper family tree in some capacity. That's when I knew–I knew –why things felt so different between us." He releases my hand, lifting his arms so he can cup my jaw. His gaze turns so soft and sincere that I forget everything and everyone and lose myself in him. "I didn't want you to ever think I was only with you because of the Call."
It's then I remember what he said.
'I choose her.'
"I'm takin' you out because you deserve to be wined and dined, I want to treat you like a queen before we come back here. And if we stay in, then we won't leave for a good long while and I want to do right by you."
"Then, honey, I'm goin' to make you mine."
Will flexes his fingertips ever so gently over my cheeks and for a moment, I swear he can read all of the racing thoughts running through my head. Closing my eyes, I take a slow, deep breath before opening them again, meeting his smoky-green gaze that I really hope our future children get from him.
He chuckles as it hits me that I just said that out loud. "Dammit," I sigh. "I need to stop doin ' that."
"No, you don't." Will smiles. "But you do need to know that the only reason I waited to tell you was so that I could prove to you–show you–that I would want you to be exactly where you are, exactly where I want you to stay, regardless of whether there was some ancient family prophesy or not."
"Will…"
"And that's because the minute I laid eyes on you; I was caught in your spell. I don't know exactly when it happened, but honey, you need to know that there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I love you."
Forget the world stopping to spin, I think the earth beneath my feet tilts on its axis.
Upside down is suddenly right side up. My lips part, my heart feels like there's a dance party in my chest, and my mind is blank of anything other than Will. Because my sole reason for being right now is standing in front of me, telling me he loves me.
"Don't think they need us here after all," I hear Aster whisper to Gray.
He chuckles. "They rarely ever do. Let's leave them to it."
Moments later, the office door closes behind them, leaving Will and I alone.
"Honey?" His gaze is the softest I've ever seen, his expression warm, his hands gentle as his thumbs sweep over my cheeks. "Say somethin', please… ?"
That's when I snap back into reality, the fuzzy glow of his confession vanishing into a clear-as-day reality that I knew deep down in my soul that I wasn't misreading.
"I love you too," I say, throwing myself into his arms, loving the way he takes my weight and holds me tight, keeping me safe the way I know he always will. "I think I might've been half in love with the idea of you before you even stepped foot in town."
He pulls back, staring down at me with twitching lips. "Nah. You wanted a mountain man book boyfriend of your own. It just so happens that you managed to snare yourself a Cooper city boy turned mountain man. You might just have to wait awhile for the transformation to be completed and I can add 'book boyfriend' to my list of credentials."
"Don't you dare. You're perfect, Will Cooper. Perfect ."
Unable to hold back any longer, I kiss him square on the lips, teasing them with the tip of my tongue before he does exactly what I want him to. He takes over, his hand drops down to tug my hips into his. Then he really kisses me, tilting his head and consuming me like we're the last two people on earth.
It's the best, most intense, spine-tingling, toe-curling kiss I've ever had in my entire life. One I know I'll remember every time I touch my lips. The one I'll be wanting from Will every day for the rest of our lives.
"Thought I had it bad in the truck," he says in between kisses. "Now it feels impossible. Don't think I'm ever goin' to want to let you go," he rasps.
"Then don't. Let's go."
He kisses me again. "They'll understand." kiss. "Right?" Another kiss, a little longer this time.
"Yeah." I kiss him back, my hands gripping his shirt, not wanting to let go. "It's fine." Kiss. "They'll." Kiss. "Understand." This time when I kiss him, I keep doing it until I start feeling lightheaded.
"OK. We've got to go. Need you alone and want to take my time. I don't think it'll make a good first impression if we defile Aster's office."
A snort escapes me before I bury my face in his shirt and giggle. "I don't… think… she'll… mind…"
Will starts laughing too before cupping my shoulders and gently pushing me back so he can look down at me. "I love you, Birdie Walker."
"And I love you , Will Cooper."
"Good. Now let's go. We have somethin' to do." Then, without a moment to lose, Will grabs my hand and walks me out the door.