Page 7 of His Determined Bear

It was my turn to clear my suddenly tight throat.

“Thanks, Aaron. That means a lot to me,” I replied, getting just a little choked up at his words.

“With that said, Kelly and I would be honored if you would bake our wedding cake,” Aaron said.

“I would be honored to do that for you, Aaron.” I held his gaze, ensuring he saw how much this meant to me. A frisson of excitement went through me, and I already had several ideas come to mind. I couldn’t wait to sketch something. Aaron deserved the happiness he had found. He was a good man, and if his new stepson couldn’t see what a gift Aaron was and intended to be a pain about the wedding, I would do everything to make sure that Aaron and his new mate got their happy ever after.

What kind of brat didn’t want their mother to be happy?

Chapter 3

Cooper

“Seriously, mom, this is so far away from California. Does that mean if I want to see you, I have to drive over twenty hours?” Under my breath, I added, “you didn’t even give me time to come to terms with it. You just sprang it on me.”

Mom flinched at my words, but she firmed her lips and didn’t reply.

“What if you end up hating Montana? It’s really cold, you know, like actually freezing,” I added. She still didn’t reply, but at least she was listening. Not that she had a choice since we were in her car driving to Asheville. Asheville! I’d never heard of it before a few days ago. I wouldn’t have been able to point to it on a map. Now I was driving there with a U-Haul attached to her Buick Enclave.

“You’re a California girl. Do you even own any winter clothes?” I asked. “I’m not talking about a light coat for when it gets chilly. I mean one of those huge puffer coats, gloves, and earmuffs. I don’t know why he couldn’t move to California. You just finished the house and everything—”

With that, she did glance at me, so I continued on.

“And I know you gave it to me, but I just bought my condo….” I whined, “Do you know how weird it’ll be not to be able to drive over to your house in like half an hour? What about brunch and dinners? I can’t believe we’re going to end up as one of those holidays only families.”

“Cooper!” my mom’s voice was sharp, “Enough. You’ve made it clear how you feel. Do you know how hard this is for me? Do you think I want to leave you? You have your own life to live, Coop, and Aaron makes me happy. Is it too much to ask for my son to be happy for me?”

I squeezed the steering wheel to channel my anxiety. She was right, but all my brain seemed to know was I was losing my mom. All my life, it was her and me. She was always there when I needed her. Always just a few minutes away when I needed to see her or talk to her about anything and everything going on in my life.

What was I supposed to do without her?

“I just don’t understand why this has to happen so quickly,” I muttered. Although truth be told, I wasn’t sure there was any pace that would have made it easier for me.

She sighed deeply again and went back to staring out of the window. When she spoke this time, she wasn’t looking at me, “If you don’t already know that I would never abandon you,” she sniffed and pressed her lips together. That small gesture ripped my heart apart. She shook her head, and her voice was stronger when she spoke.

“You know I would never just pick up and leave you. You know it. But if you continue to question my choice Cooper, you can turn right around and go back to California once we arrive. I want you here, but I also won’t allow you to cause problems for Aaron and me. You’re my son and have been my whole world all your life. I really want you here with me as I take this next step in my life, but not if you can’t be happy for me.”

I squeezed the wheel even tighter and told my brain to shut the fuck up. I didn’t want to alienate her from my life, and the fact was I was happy for my mom but also very sad for me. But maybe you should let her know you’re happy for her. I would do that as soon as I stopped being nervous for her. Sure, Aaron had checked out. From what I could find, he was very well-liked by his student. He had a great credit score and was a widower after being married for over twenty years.

None of that screamed serial killer to me. As a precaution, I had scheduled an email to be sent if no one heard from us in five days, or I couldn’t go online to cancel it.I refused to end up as one of those Dateline stories.

I glanced at my mom from the corner of my eye and saw how tense she was. I reached out with one hand and gently squeezed her joined hands. My mom looked down at our hands before squeezing back, and I released a heavy sigh. I really hated fighting with her. Even though I had several good friends, my mom really was my bestie.

After all the digging I had done, Aaron really seemed like a nice man, and all I really wanted was for my mom to be with someone that deserved her. And she seemed to be totally besotted, and from the looks of it, Aaron was too.

I was still worried about the other thing. From what I could tell, unless the man was like savant level at special effects, he was actually a shifter. I was doing my best not to think about that because I wasn’t sure what to make of it. My brain was still processing that a grown man could have the ability to change into a large cat. But at least I didn’t have to check my mom and me into the nearest psych ward since Aaron has shifted—yeah, that still didn’t feel real to me – when he was on a video call with mom.

“I am happy for you, mom. It’s just taking me some time to get used to all this sudden change,” I said.

“I know you are, baby, and I love how protective you’re being,” she replied. She squeezed my hand tighter, “You know this doesn’t mean we won't see each other. We’ll chat everyday and FaceTime with each other. You know you can come out here any time you want, and Aaron already promised we’ll spend most holidays together. You’re my baby, and nothing can ever change that.”

My throat tightened, and I had to swallow before I could get a word out, “I love you, mom.”

“I know Coop. Love you to the moon and back.”

I was still going to keep my eyes open because looks could be deceiving. Until I was positive Aaron wasn’t trying to steal everything my mom owned and disappear, I would have my eyes on him.

* * *