Chapter 3 Emma
Emma
I stared up at the Callaghan house and wondered if I’d made a mistake.
My flight was delayed, and my rental car reservation had been messed up, so I’d missed the memorial at the community center.
I felt bad for showing up now, but at least I’d have a chance to offer my condolences to the family and let them know just how much Blaze meant to me.
Plus, it was too late to turn around now.
As I stood in the large driveway that already held several trucks, limousines, and town cars, my bear relaxed.
A growl of content rumbled low in my chest, a sign that she needed to be here.
The voices coming from the house sounded friendly and in the distance, someone played a fiddle.
The notes carried over the vast landscape, the Callaghan acreage reaching from the shores of the bay to the tops of the surrounding mountains.
And I breathed it all in. While I’d spent the last year living in relatively open space, nothing compared to the vastness of Alaska. I missed the smells of the salty sea, the crisp glaciers, and the luscious pines. I missed the smell of my home.
That realization shook me to the core. How could I miss a place that had brought me so much anxiety?
I’d felt trapped. My bear had felt trapped.
Our life was planned out for us before I’d even reached puberty.
And although we’d both wanted that future at first, the fear of losing ourselves had won out in the end.
“Well, holy shit. I think I see a ghost.”
I turned toward the familiar voice coming up behind me and couldn’t hide my smile. “Bodhi Callaghan.”
The youngest of the three brothers rushed forward and lifted me in his burly arms. While I certainly wasn’t a petite woman, his grizzly size dwarfed my frame.
He’d let his hair grow out along with the stubble on his face.
If one were to look up the definition of a mountain man, his picture would be right beside it.
He kissed my cheek before setting me down, but still held on to my shoulders. “You know I don’t like Bodhi,” he teased.
“Too California for you, right?”
“Exactly.” Stepping back, he eyed me closely. “You look good, Emma.”
“Thanks. You too.” He wore a tailored suit that I’m sure had only graced his body a handful of times. It fit him well and he knew it. Yet there was still a sadness cloaking his features today. “I’m so sorry about your dad.”
Bo grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Yeah, it sucks. But I’m really glad you’re here. Dad would have liked that.”
While I wasn’t so sure about that sentiment, I kept my lips pressed together in a small grin. “Did you just get here?” I asked.
“Nah, but I couldn’t be in there any longer.” He shivered as though he could rid himself of all the emotions. “What about you? I didn’t see you at the memorial?”
Shaking my head, I tried to rein in the tears. “Delayed. I just got here now.”
“And where are you staying?”
“I was going to get—”
He covered my mouth with his hand. “Don’t even finish that sentence. You’re staying here.”
“Bo, I can’t.”
“You can and you will. I believe we still have your room available.”
I swallowed hard. My room wasn’t really my room, but it was where Brandt and I would stay when we needed to be here on clan business…which was often. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What about Brandt?” It was the first time I’d said his name out loud.
“He’ll get over it.” Bo picked up my bag and pulled me toward the house. “Come on. Everyone will be happy to see you.”
“I doubt that,” I mumbled under my breath. But Bo heard, and he let a light chuckle fill the air around us.
We climbed the stairs to the front deck.
The log-cabin-like house boasted three floors, each one with some type of deck on it, several windows, and a small creek running alongside the north edge.
I used to sit outside and let the bubbling water ease me into a trance whenever my bear was acting up.
And as though she remembered, I felt her settle even deeper into her cave. She wasn’t threatened here.
At least not anymore.
Trying to stall, I continued the conversation with Bo. “So, what have you been up to?”
He stopped walking and smiled, knowing exactly what I was doing. “Well, we fought off some rogue vampires in New York recently, so that was fun. And then I spent a few weeks in Florida with…someone.” Bo hung his head, and I swear I saw him flush.
“You haven’t changed at all, have you?” I laughed. “Every day for you is a new adventure, am I right?”
Bo kissed my cheek. We had grown up together and he’d always felt like a little brother to me. I only had three years on him, but sometimes that was enough to make him seem like he needed my protection. “Life would be way too boring if it weren’t.”
“So, you were with a woman in Florida? A shifter?”
Biting his lip, Bo stared off at the mountains over my head. “No. She’s not a shifter. I’m not really a fan.”
“Of women?” I teased.
“Of shifter women,” he replied with a smirk. Bo would never give up his love of women. “It’s too…complicated. With the bear and all.”
I knew exactly what he meant. The bear would choose for you when it came to finding a mate. All of the time. And if the bear wasn’t happy, it would exhaust us until we finally gave in. My bear had chosen many years ago, despite my human need to be on my own.
“You’re stalling,” he said, pulling me back to the present.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I looked up at him. “Seriously?”
“I know you think everyone is mad at you, but you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” He reached for my hand, but I pulled back.
“Does he hate me?” I whispered, tears building in my eyes.
Bo knew I was asking about his brother. He shrugged.
“He could never hate you, Emma. He’s loved you forever.
He was mad. Hurt. He didn’t understand why you left.
” Bo held up a hand to stop my words. “And you don’t need to tell me the reason, but that is a conversation the two of you should have while you’re here. ”
I liked that Bo didn’t assume I was staying for good. That’s why we’d always gotten along so well. No drama and simple, straight talking. I smiled at him. “Thanks, Bo. I did miss you.”
He reached forward and wrapped his arms around me again, squeezing hard enough to break a normal human. “I missed you, too. We all did.”
My stomach clenched, birds clawing around inside like caged beasts.
The guilt I’d felt the first few months on my own came rushing back in a wave of pain.
The Callaghan clan had always been there for me.
Blaze taught me how to be a female grizzly.
And Brandt had given me his heart. I left all of that behind because I’d felt trapped.
But now that I thought about the reasons why I ran away, it all seemed so trivial.
“Come on,” Bo said, finally letting me go. “We can’t stay out here forever.”
“We can’t?” I asked with a sad smile.
“Let’s go.”
Bo held open the door, allowing several humans to leave before we stepped inside.
The smell of fresh bread, roasted chicken, and a plethora of other scents assaulted my nose.
My stomach was way too upset to even think about eating, but my bear perked up when she recognized the room.
It was the largest open living area I’d ever seen in a house.
Reminding me of a ski lodge, the second and third floors had decks that overlooked the space, and a grand stone fireplace stretched up and out of the cathedral ceilings.
Most of the furniture had been moved to the sides to allow for several tables of food and drinks to be displayed down the center of the room.
And the place itself was crowded with people.
Both humans and shifters, although mostly just humans.
This was the show for them. I imagined the private shifter funeral would happen tonight.
Since Blaze had so many businesses and the clan had been connected to them for a long time, there were a lot of important people from the state here to pay their respects. I even thought I spotted a congressman.
“Hello, Emma.” Dixon’s gruff voice made my bear cower. We were still standing on the landing near the front door, constantly being pushed aside to let people move in and out. “Nice of you to finally join us.”
Shocked by his angry tone, I snapped my head around to respond, but then noticed him glaring at Bo. “I—”
“I’m speaking to Bo, not you.”
Dixon and Bo continued to have their stare-down.
Bo may have been the alpha’s son, but Dixon was the clan’s second in command.
I watched Bo struggle to acquiesce to the older man.
Bo was never very good at submitting or following clan rules.
But he did have respect for his elders, and after a tense minute, he finally dropped his gaze and tilted his head to expose his neck—an acknowledgment of Dixon’s authority.
“I’m going to drop your bag off, Emma. I’ll be back soon.” Bo walked away before I had a chance to beg him not to leave me alone.
Focusing on Dixon, I felt the need to say something. “Thank you for finding me.” I was surprised by the words, as I’d never thought I would say them, let alone mean them. And I never thought I’d thank Dixon. For anything.
Instead of responding, he just let out a huff and crossed his arms to survey the crowd again.
I followed his gaze. I didn’t know most of the people here, but I did see Brennan in the far corner talking to a person I thought was in the local government.
He was facing sideways, but the resemblance to his brother was uncanny and made my heart jump.
Brennan was the middle brother—the sensible and overly cautious one.
He and Brandt were super close, so I feared I would feel the wrath of Brennan long after Brandt forgave me. If he ever did.
“How long will you stay?” Dixon suddenly asked, startling me.
“I have a flight back in two days.”
Dixon turned his commanding stare on me. Although approaching a hundred years old, he still looked like a human in his late fifties. “You should stay longer.”
Stunned by this comment, I couldn’t help but ask. “Why?”
He shrugged and returned to his position watching the crowd. I didn’t think he was going to answer until he jerked his chin to the far corner of the room where someone had just walked in. “Because he’s going to need you.”
With a tight chest and a new round of tears threatening to break free, I watched Brandt play his role.
His brown hair hung freely over his brows, his light brown eyes etched with a hint of yellow, his chiseled jaw, massive body—he couldn’t help but exude sex.
Brandt hadn’t made it five feet before several men in suits were on him, surrounding him like an injured elk and waiting for him to show weakness.
But he smiled in a way that let me know he was just gritting his teeth and pushing down the bear.
Shaking the hands of everyone, they did the friendly chuckle and shoulder taps as Brandt tried to break free.
Yet just a few steps later, a female approached him.
With her tight black dress with the low-cut back, I instantly felt the surge of jealousy raging inside.
Every time she touched his arm, I wanted to rip her throat out.
Dixon shifted beside me, and I felt him toss a glance in my direction.
I didn’t care what he thought. My bear said that he was mine, and the human needed to keep her hands off.
With that thought, I looked more closely at Brandt.
Still just as handsome as ever, he hadn’t changed at all.
And even though the slight gray under his eyes revealed the stress, I couldn’t remember why I ever wanted to leave.
Tall, muscular, and manly. A suit that hugged every curve of his defined muscles.
Eyes that looked more animal than human.
And a face that put every man in this room to shame.
Dixon flared his nostrils, trying to clear the scent. My scent, no doubt. I knew what attraction smelled like, and I knew my bear was giving off the pheromones as freely as she had in the past. “Yeah,” he said with a small cough to hide his laugh, “you definitely need to stay longer.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn’t. The pull I felt right now had never been so intense. My bear growled, low and controlled. She wanted her mate back. And she wanted him now.
“Easy there,” Dixon said, a command in his throat that my bear understood.
I hadn’t looked at him yet—I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Brandt.
I felt the wetness in them, threatening to run down my cheeks.
I didn’t care. He tried to walk away from the woman, but she was persistent, touching and prodding to see just how far she could take it.
As though she’d forgotten we were at a funeral, she took every opportunity she had to get Brandt’s attention focused on her.
And when she reached up to hug him, I made a small noise in the back of my throat.
At that instant, Brandt looked up and met my gaze. His eyes widened at first and then went back to their regular state of curiosity. My heart pounded against my ribs, and as he gently pushed the woman away and started walking toward me, my knees threatened to give out.
“I’ll give you two some space,” Dixon said and turned on his heel. But he stopped his departure and shot a nasty glare at me. “Don’t run away again.”
Between Brandt’s impending approach and Dixon’s obvious doubt of my character, I felt as small as an ant right now.
I knew I’d messed things up, and now I had to face the truth.
And that truth was encompassed by a six-foot-five grizzly shifter whom I’d never stopped loving and who had almost reached my side.