Grizzly Flying Home (11 page)

She closed her eyes and snuggled tightly against him, enjoying the feeling of being safe and protected in his arms. Emily grew sleepy as the worries and fears of the last few weeks fell away. She slowly drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep, and, for the first time in months, she was able to truly rest.

Emily woke up to the sound of her phone alarm insistently beeping at her. She had set it last night before she had even gone to dinner to make sure she didn’t forget, but now she wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to get up and walk across the room to shut it off, and she definitely didn’t want to wake up yet. She wanted to stay here in this warm bed all day and snuggle next to Chance. But, as Emily reached over for Chance, she realized that he wasn’t there anymore.

She sat up with a start and looked around, blinking her eyes against the bright sunlight that was now streaming through the windows. Chance must have opened the curtains when he got up. She looked around for a note or something from him, and was disappointed to realize that he hadn’t left one. She tried not to read too much into the fact that he’d left already. They were supposed to be flying out today, so he probably wanted to make sure all of his things were ready. Emily took in a few deep breaths to try to wake herself up, then started searching around the room to see if there was a coffeemaker. She wasn’t a big fan of cheap motel coffee, but she wanted a hot beverage to start off her day, and she didn’t have a lot of time to go searching for a fancy coffee shop.

Spying a cheap coffeemaker on the dresser, she got up to get a brew started. But as soon as her feet hit the floor, she heard a knock on the door. She felt a rush of excitement, thinking it must be Chance. You wouldn’t think she would get butterflies in her stomach over a man she had just seen a few hours ago, but she couldn’t help herself. He drove her crazy. A quick look through the peephole confirmed that it was him, and she did her best to smooth out her disheveled hair before opening the door. She knew full well that her effort was pointless, though, and she told herself not to worry about it. If things continued to go well between them, he was going to be seeing a whole lot more of her morning bedhead, anyway.

“Hey, you,” Chance said as he stepped into the room. “I wanted to make sure you were up.”

Emily’s eyes lit up when she saw that he was carrying two to-go cups of coffee and a paper bag that smelled suspiciously like fresh muffins.

“I just woke up, thanks to my phone alarm. Oh my god, did you read my mind? I was just craving some good coffee.”

Chance smiled. “I thought you might want some. I got a couple different muffins, too. Hopefully there’s one in there that you like.”

“I’m not picky,” Emily said as Chance handed her the bag and one of the coffee cups. When she looked inside the small sack she saw what appeared to be a blueberry muffin, a banana nut muffin, and a chocolate chip muffin. She chose the blueberry one and handed the bag back to Chance.

“Thank you so much. This is an awesome surprise,” she said, taking a bite of the muffin and closing her eyes to savor the flavor. The muffin was still warm, and the taste of fresh, juicy blueberries burst warmly across her mouth.

“My pleasure,” Chance said. “I got your coffee black. That’s how you like it, right?”

Emily nodded, looking up at Chance in surprise. She was touched that he had noticed that, and remembered. He’d only seen her order coffee a few times, so she certainly would have forgiven him for not knowing how she liked it. She’d been with Scott for years and he could never remember that she drank her coffee black. Emily was slowly beginning to see that she’d sold herself short for way too long. Not only did she deserve much better than she’d had with Scott, but there
were
actually men out there willing to treat her well. Fortune had definitely smiled on her the day she met Chance.

Chance grabbed the chocolate chip muffin and sat down on the foot of the bed, taking a huge bite of it and chewing thoughtfully. He furrowed his brow, and then looked over in Emily’s direction. She was still standing near the door, taking bites of her food and long sips from her coffee cup.

“So, you’re supposed to go to Kodiak today,” Chance said. The words sounded almost like a question.

Emily nodded. She felt her heart rate speeding up as she watched Chance take another bite of his muffin. She’d been dreading the moment that they would part ways, and, now that they’d taken irreversible steps in the direction of a relationship, she was dreading it even more. She’d wanted to ask Chance again whether she could move to Frost Peak with him, but she was worried about what his reaction would be. Emily knew she wouldn’t handle it very well if he again told her it wasn’t a good place for her. She understood now why he hadn’t wanted her to move there—after all, a human in a city of shifters could cause some uncomfortable situations. But, surely, now that she knew the truth, he would want her to move with him, wouldn’t he?

For one awful, long minute, Emily stood there and forced herself to wait patiently while Chance pondered the situation. He couldn’t possibly be thinking of sticking to their original plan of living in different cities, could he? She would be crushed. She didn’t want a long distance relationship, even if the distance wasn’t that great. She didn’t want to be limited to seeing him when he could find time to fly to Kodiak on the weekends. What kind of a relationship would that be? Emily found herself rehearsing in her head all the reasons that would be a terrible idea, and she was ready to make her case to Chance if he suggested that they live apart.

But when he finally spoke, Emily realized that she wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Chance looked uncertain, too.

“Em, I know it’s a lot to ask, but do you think you’d be willing to move to Frost Peak with me? It’s a different kind of community, sure, with all the bear shifters. But you’ll adjust quickly, and I know the clan will love you. I understand if you’re nervous about taking such a big step, but I want you to move in with me. I don’t want you to live far away in Kodiak. I don’t even want you living next door to me. I want you living with me, sharing my home and every part of my life. If you think it’s too soon I understand, but—”

“Stop,” Emily said, cutting off Chance’s anxious ramble. “Just stop. You don’t need to plead your case. My answer is yes. I don’t want to live far away from you, either. In fact, I was sitting over here worried that you weren’t going to want me to move to Frost Peak.”

Chance’s eyes lit up and his face broke into a grin. “Really?”

Emily laughed. “Yes, really. I know it’s going to be an adjustment. But I’m excited about it. I’m excited to learn more about your hometown and your clan and your life. I’m in this for the long haul, Chance. Your people are my people now. Don’t think I’m going to run in the other direction just because it’s something new and different. You’re stuck with me now.”

Chance jumped up and ran to Emily, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around.

“Careful,” she squealed, laughing as he stopped and bent down to kiss her forehead. “I don’t want to spill this delicious coffee.”

“I can buy you another one,” Chance said. “I’ll buy you a hundred more if you want. Anything you want is yours, babe. I’m just so excited that this is actually happening. I have to pinch myself to believe it. How did I get so lucky, that the most beautiful girl in the world wants to move in with me?”

Emily blushed and laughed again. “I don’t think a hundred coffees will be necessary,” she said. “But I do have to say that I feel like the lucky one. Up until a week ago, my life felt bleak and hopeless. Now, it’s filled to overflowing with possibilities and love. Things sure did turn around quickly.”

Chance kissed her again. “Well, let’s just agree that we’re both lucky. And let’s get going on packing our stuff up. Sawyer will be here soon, and I can tell you from past experience that he’s never amused when I make him wait.”

Emily grinned. “Alright. I’m gonna shower and get ready. See you downstairs in about thirty minutes?”

“Sounds good,” Chance said, then bent down to kiss her softly on the lips. “I can’t wait to show you my hometown.”

With that, he was gone, leaving Emily alone in her room holding a cup of coffee, and holding a finger to her lips where he had just kissed her. The tingling heat of his touch lingered on her body, making her wish that they didn’t have to be in such a rush this morning. She would have loved to spend some time snuggling with him.

But, snuggling would have to wait. Right now, she needed to get ready for the next unplanned stop on her adventure.

“Frost Peak, here I come,” she said aloud with a grin before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

Chance paced back and forth across the small lobby of the motel, looking up every few seconds to see if Sawyer had arrived yet. It was still fifteen minutes until his alpha was supposed to arrive, but Chance couldn’t stop looking for him. He was worried about how Sawyer was going to react to the news that plans had changed, and Emily now wanted to move to Frost Peak. Sawyer was generally easygoing, but Chance had heard horror stories about even the most laidback of alphas flipping out when a clan member wanted to bring a human into the community.

Emily arrived downstairs with her bags a few minutes later. She was excited and full of energy, which made Chance happy. Cleary, she was looking forward to the change of plans. He just hoped that Sawyer’s reaction wouldn’t force her to put a damper on her enthusiasm. He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss, then resumed his pacing. If she noticed that he was nervous, she didn’t say anything. She had sat down on one of the stiff chairs in the lobby and was looking over some of her camera equipment, making plans for how she was going to use it to take pictures once they arrived in Frost Peak.

Chance glanced at his watch again, then out the sliding glass doors, and he saw a black pickup truck pull up. He recognized the truck as the crew car that one of the smaller, local airstrips loaned out to pilots who flew in and needed to get around town for an hour or two. Sawyer was here. Time to find out what his reaction to Emily would be.

Chance turned and glanced at Emily, who was squinting down at the viewfinder of her camera.

“Hey, Em, Sawyer is here. I’m gonna run out and talk to him for a second, if you don’t mind. Just hang tight here for a minute, okay?”

Emily frowned slightly and furrowed her brow, perhaps realizing for the first time that Chance’s mood was a bit on edge. But she didn’t say anything, just nodded and shrugged her shoulders. Chance gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile, and then he went outside to meet Sawyer.

As he stepped out of the motel, Sawyer stepped out of the truck and turned around. As soon as Chance saw him, his feelings of trepidation melted away. The sight of one of his best friends in the world, waving at him with a huge grin, instantly made Chance forget his worries. He crossed the parking lot in several long strides, and threw his arms around Sawyer, clapping him on the back roughly several times.

“Good to see you, man,” Chance said. His voice broke a little, but Chance didn’t care. Maybe he was being a little over-emotional, but he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t realized until that moment just how much he actually missed being in Alaska.

“Welcome home, buddy,” Sawyer said, clapping Chance on the back as well. “I’ve missed the hell out of you.”

Chance stepped back and grinned. “Anderson doesn’t give you enough trouble? You wanted me back, too?”

Sawyer threw his head back and laughed. “Anderson’s too busy to give me much trouble these days. Between Lexi and Silver, that boy is whooped. He’s got another little one on the way, did he tell you?”

Chance’s eyes widened in surprise. “No, I haven’t talked to him in a months. That’s exciting news. How is he handling it?”

Anderson’s first wife had died in childbirth, so Chance was a little surprised that Anderson had wanted a baby with his new wife, Lexi. Chance was pretty sure that if he’d lost a mate to childbirth, he would never want to take a chance at going through that again. But Sawyer smiled and shrugged.

“He’s excited. Obviously worried, but he knows the odds are pretty low that he’d lose Lexi the same way he lost his last wife. He told me he just hopes the baby is a boy. If he has another girl he’s going to be hopelessly outnumbered.”

Chance laughed. “Yeah, three against one doesn’t sound ideal. Although I’m sure Silver would love a sister.”

“Yeah. She’d love a brother, too, though. She’s just excited to have a sibling. What about you, man, when are you gonna join the old guy club and get married and have kids?”

Chance felt the nervous feeling return to the pit of his stomach. “Well, uh, maybe sooner than you think,” he said slowly, watching Sawyer to gauge his reaction.

Sawyer raised an eyebrow in Chance’s direction. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, um, there’ve been a few new developments since I talked to you a day ago. And, uh, if you don’t mind we won’t be needing to make a stop in Kodiak. You can just fly Emily and me straight back to Frost Peak.”

After the longest three seconds of Chance’s life, understanding dawned on Sawyer’s face. Sawyer broke into a huge grin and let out a big whoop. “I knew it! You insisted she was just a friend, but I knew she was more,” he said, jabbing his index finger into Chance’s chest for emphasis.

Chance winced at the jab, and tried to explain. “Well, she was just a friend. We only decided last night to try to make a go of things. But I swear she was really planning on moving to Kodiak until just a few hours ago.”

“Bullshit,” Sawyer said. “You’ve been into her the whole time. I could hear it in your voice every time you said her name. Welcome to the old guys’ club, buddy. Settling down ain’t so bad, once you get used to it.”