Chapter Eighteen – Leo
There’s another shifter scent here, Leo said.
Dragon, his bear ground out as his hackles went up.
Leo curled his lip. His bear was right. Estelle had not simply spoken to Fiona on the phone.
The dragon shifter paid our mate another visit, his bear said.
But was she invited? Leo clenched his jaw as he climbed the porch steps, bracing himself for what he might find inside. Although his senses told him that even though Fiona had been here recently, she was not here now.
Do you think she came uninvited? his bear growled, protective instincts rising. Is that why she wanted the number?
I don’t know, Leo replied. But I intend to find out.
He knocked twice and waited, his concern growing with each second.
“Come on in, it’s open,” Estelle called from inside.
At least she sounds okay, his bear said, some of the edge leaving his voice as Leo opened the door and stepped inside.
“Estelle? Adara?” he called. It felt strange entering the cottage without Estelle opening the door. This was Estelle’s personal space. She had made that clear from the start.
“We’re in here,” Estelle answered from the kitchen.
Leo followed her voice, his bear alert and watchful within him. But what he found wasn’t what he had feared. Estelle stood at the counter making tea, and Adara sat at the table coloring with intense concentration, with Fizz propped beside her.
“Hi, Leo!” Adara said without looking up from her drawing.
“Hey there,” he replied automatically, his eyes fixed on Estelle.
She looked... different.
Not exactly carefree. But not on alert either. Something in her had eased. The tightness he had come to expect around her mouth was gone. Even the way she looked at him felt different.
Something’s changed, his bear observed, settling slightly.
“You got my text with Fiona’s number,” he said carefully.
Estelle nodded, pouring hot water into a mug. “I did. Thank you.” She glanced up, meeting his eyes directly. “She came over. But you already knew that.”
Leo dipped his head. “I did.”
A faint, wry smile touched Estelle’s mouth. “She had quite a lot to say. Her opening gambit was that she’d expected I would either come to my senses and call her or pack my bags and disappear again.”
Leo moved closer, lowering his voice. “Did she say which one she preferred?”
“I think she’d be pleased I stayed,” Estelle said, handing him a mug.
“Well, that’s a relief.” He closed his hand around the mug and brushed his fingers against hers. “What else did she say?”
“We talked about...” She hesitated only briefly. “About staying.”
The word landed between them with unexpected force.
She talked about staying, his bear said, hope rising cautiously. She must really mean it if she talked to Fiona about it.
“And?” Leo asked.
Estelle’s gaze drifted to Adara, then back to him. “And it helped. It gave me clarity. A different perspective.”
Relief went through him so fast that it left him almost light-headed.
She found an ally, his bear realized. Someone who knows what it means to be a dragon.
“I’m glad,” Leo said, meaning it completely. “I wasn’t sure whether giving you her number was the right thing.”
“It was,” Estelle said firmly. “Although she is kind of cryptic. She also thinks that she is the reason I came to Bear Creek. But I’m certain that was you.”
Leo chuckled. “She is a piece of work.”
“Mama, look!” Adara called, holding up her drawing. “I made a fairy market!”
Estelle turned, her entire face changing as she looked at her daughter. “A fairy market?”
“For buying fairy things,” Adara explained, as though it were self-evident. “Like sparkly rocks and pretty dresses.”
Leo chuckled and moved to look. “You can never have enough sparkly rocks.”
“Or pretty dresses,” Adara informed him seriously.
“Since I only have brothers, I’ll have to take your word for it. But speaking of markets,” Leo said, keeping his tone casual, “there’s the Monday farmers’ market tomorrow.”
“Oh, can we go?” Adara asked, turning to Estelle.
“A farmers’ market?” Estelle asked warily.
He nodded. “It’s small. Mostly locals.” He kept his voice even. “I thought it might be a good way to try being out in the world a little.”
“Can Fizz come too?” Adara asked as if the decision had already been made.
“Of course,” he said. “Fizz would be very welcome.”
Adara looked delighted, and Leo saw the shift in Estelle as she watched her daughter. “I suppose we can always leave if it gets too busy.”
“Yes,” Leo said at once. “No pressure.”
She studied his face for a long moment, and he wasn’t sure which way this was going to go. Maybe he’d pushed too hard, too soon.
“Okay.”
His bear went very still.
“Okay?” Leo repeated carefully.
A real smile touched her mouth then, small but unmistakable. “Okay. We’ll try.”
He had to stop himself from looking too pleased, although he wanted to smile so wide it might crack his face.
She said yes, his bear whispered, half awed.
She did.
Leo set his mug down. “I’ll need to get there a little early to set up the stall.” He kept his tone easy. “You can come with me and help if you want, or you and Adara can join me once everything’s ready. Whatever feels easier.”
He watched her take that in. The choice mattered. He could feel that.
Estelle glanced toward Adara, then back at him. Her fingers tightened slightly around her mug, but her voice was steady when she spoke.
“No.” She shook her head once, as if correcting herself. “I mean... I want to come with you. Early. If that’s all right.”
More than all right, his bear roared.
“Of course,” Leo said, keeping his tone light. “I’d appreciate the help.”
She nodded once, more to herself than to him. “What time?”
“Eight-thirty?” he offered. “That gives us time to set up before it gets busy.”
“Eight-thirty is fine,” she said easily, although he could still see the uncertainty in her eyes.
He stepped closer to the counter until their shoulders brushed. “Thank you,” he murmured.
“For what? I haven’t done anything yet.”
“For trusting me enough to try.”
Estelle looked up at him, and then she stroked his cheek. “I trust you more than anyone else in the world.”
And he swore he would never betray that trust.