53. Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Three
Raif
“ Y ou okay, baby?”
He can’t help but ask her. Things seem like they’d gone well with her talk with Sam, but that doesn’t mean she’s not upset.
He didn’t know what to do when he got her text that Sam was at her house.
He wanted to race over, pull Sam out the door, and demand he leave Ash alone.
But he knows Ash can hold her own. They are best friends, and that friendship means a lot to Ash.
He knows she doesn’t want to throw it away, that she wants to fix what happened between them, so they can both heal, and it seems like that’s what happened.
Ash is in his arms in an instant. Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her. He goes willingly. The front door is still open from when Sam left, and he doesn’t care enough to shut it. She’s not crying, doesn’t seem distressed, and he buries his face in her soft chestnut hair.
“I’m good. It was good to see him.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
He shuts the front door, and she leads him to the family room and sits with her feet tucked up under herself, facing him.
He holds her hand as she tells him everything she and Sam talked about.
That he was sorry for how he acted at the station.
That he didn’t really have feelings for her and was projecting what happened onto her.
That he’s getting help, which is the best news of all.
“I’d like it if you two could be friends.”
He nods in understanding.
“I can do that, of course, Ash. Anything for you.”
“How’d I get so lucky with you, Raif?”
She strokes his cheek, and he closes his eyes.
The intimacy with her is easy. He can’t believe how much his life has changed over these few weeks.
How he went from being the town’s grump to having a mate he adores completely.
He likes this new version of himself, he’s softer, kinder, more loving.
Not afraid to show the world the soft parts of him, not afraid to be open.
He takes her hand and kisses her palm.
“I’m the lucky one, Ash. I never thought I’d get to have this. You’ve helped me grow as a person. I can never thank you enough.”
There are tears in her eyes, and he leans forward to kiss her eyelids gently.
They just look at each other for a moment.
He tries to relax his face so his brows aren’t drawn tight, and she smiles at him softly.
He loves her so much in this moment, and wants to keep her here forever in their happy bubble, but life doesn’t work that way.
“Ash, I have to talk to you about something.”
“What’s up? Everything okay?”
“A few months ago, we got two visitors to the lodge, they were from an organization called the Harvey Development Group. They wanted to buy the lodge and the surrounding land. They offered a lot of money, but we didn’t want to sell.”
“Sure, the lodge has been in your family a long time.”
“It wasn’t doing well, we barely had any money, and then Chloe came on vacation and looked through the books.”
“That’s when you found out the accountant had been stealing?”
“Yeah. Maury took millions, and when we finally tracked him down, we found out he was in league with the Harvey Group, they had threatened him, and he went along with it and extorted us. Maury ended up going missing, most likely by the Harvey Group, but we don’t have any proof.”
“Oh, wow.”
“The big fire, where I saved you. We believe they started it. There were cameras inside, and they took pictures of me, incriminating pictures.”
“Of what?” She squeezes his hand hard, and he hates that he has to bring her into this.
“Of me using my super strength to lift crates, me without my aspirator on and an empty tank. Things that are suspicious of me not being fully human.”
“So what? I mean, people get adrenaline in those situations.”
“There’s more. The day I took you into the forest and showed you my bear form, they have pictures of that, too. There’s none of me shifting, but there’s pictures of me as a man, me as a bear, and then me as a man again. Also, you’re in the photos.”
He hears her suck in air through her teeth.
“I’ll protect you, Ash, with everything I can.
Harvey Group sent another contract to buy the lodge with the second group of pictures.
Axel says we stand firm, don’t sell, and try to beat Harvey Group at their own game.
But Ash, I would die if anything happened to you.
I can’t keep the lodge in good conscience, I’m going to tell Axel I want to sell. ”
“Don’t you dare, Raif Henderson."
He can feel his eyes go wide at her tone.
“They are bullies, a company, but still bullies. You don’t sell.
Axel is right, stand your ground. What’s the worst they can do?
Photos can be edited, video can be edited.
Hell, I can do it on my phone. They have no substantial proof that you are anything other than human. Don’t sell Raif, don’t do that for me.”
He nods his head and looks down at his lap, where they’re holding hands.
He’s not sure what to think. He thought if he could convince Gunner and Chloe that selling was the right thing to do, then Jack and Axel would follow, and this would all be over.
He doesn’t want to sell the lodge and knows how important it is to his family.
And he always imagined bringing his mate to live there with him and his brothers, which brings up the other issue.
“Axel says...I think...I know…”
“What is it, Raif?”
She looks so earnest and kind. She squeezes his hand, and he takes a deep breath.
“I know you love this house, and you’ve put time and energy and money into fixing it. And I don’t like to ask this of you.”
“What?”
“I’d like you to come live at the lodge with me in my cabin.
Just for a while, till this whole thing with the Harvey Group blows over.
I know it will be a longer drive to the station for you, and I know you’ll have to leave some of your things here.
But I’ll do my best to make you comfortable in the cabin. ”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she says, laughing.
“What?” he’s shocked.
“What did you think was going to happen, Raif? I mean, we’re getting married, right? I’m your soulmate. Did you expect that we would live apart?”
“I figured for a while, till you were ready. And then maybe I’d move in here.”
She leans forward and takes his head in both her hands.
“I love you, Raif, but sometimes you’re clueless. I’m ready. I’m ready to live with you, whether that’s at the lodge, this house, or a whole new house for the two of us. I’m in Raif, all in. I want this life with you, all of it.”