“Don’t you say that!” I punched him in the biceps, playfully but with a little bit of serious. “You’re talking about someone very important to me. This trip with the three of you feels like a whole new life. I’ve never been through such an emotional roller coaster. Leaving home was scary, but in a good way, then we were at that campground and I thought you thought I wasn’t a good fit for your lifestyle, putting me in that glamping trailer. Then it was fun to have the campfire and best s’mores ever! Just like on the channel. I always wondered how they would taste.”
I sucked in a breath before going on. “And then I wandered off and got lost and you saved me and then we had oatmeal and now we’re going off to I don’t even know where up the mountain—”
“Thompson’s Peak,” Aldrin put in helpfully.
“Really? Cool!” I gave him a grateful smile. “But do we have enough supplies? I know you only came up the mountain to find me.”
He moved into camera range with me. “Posy, you’re on a Three Bears Road Trip. We are ready for anything.”
Chapter Twenty
Aldrin
After two days of hiking and adventuring, we returned to the big tent and the trailer we’d stupidly rented for our mate.
She got her things out of it and put them in the big tent, cursing the trailer the whole time. We let the camp host know, and she was delighted to see if someone on the wait list could use it. Turned out, we’d only gotten our reservation because of a cancelation and nobody else being able to come at short notice, but she thought she knew of a newlywed couple who could.
Posy also grabbed the snacks. The woman loved her snacks. All kinds. She would be in heaven once we got her home. My friends hoarded all kinds of treats, healthy and otherwise.
Judah kissed her quickly. We had all bumped up our displays of affection, and our female didn’t complain or brush us aside. “When we get home, we’re going to get you your own tent and a better pack. I can’t wait to take you hiking.”
“I have to work and earn things on my own. And…I have to sleep in a tent all alone?” I loved how independent she was. That woman could take down the entire world if she had enough gumption.
“Not your own tent if you don’t want it. We have all kinds of plans, but maybe you could let us spoil you a little?” I asked.
Posy shook her head. “A little. But only if I’m allowed to spoil you three as well.”
Saber kissed her temple. “Baby, you spoil us just being alive and here with us but, yeah, feel free.”
My bear groaned inside me. Camping with Posy was great, but we needed to have the talk. We’d danced around it. Said things that hinted at forever.
My bear was done with that. He wanted to stop hinting and lay our hearts on the line. We wanted to take her home with us. Settle her into our den. Incorporate her into our lives. Where she belonged.
We rearranged the big tent, rolled up the partitions, and laid out all the sleeping bags in one big “bed,” instead of each of us having our own space.
Outside, Saber and Posy had gathered the firewood, the wood crackling and popping as it burned.
Tonight, we would talk to her about what happened next. Our future with her.
My stomach knotted up with nerves but after tonight, we no longer had the camping reservation. We needed to get back to our life and I didn’t want to return to that life without her in it.
We made some simple foil dinners with burger patties and veggies. She insisted on making all the packets, and they turned out ten times better than our versions. Posy was made for this life.
“Posy,” I started after we’d all finished eating. “Can we talk about what happens once we leave here?”
She paled. “I’d like that, yes.”
“This is all on you, female, your call.” Judah never minced words.
“Actually, it doesn’t depend on me. It depends on all four of us. You three are bears, and shifters feel things more intensely than I do. So tell me, bears, how do you feel about me? About us?”
Our female showed such vulnerability. No matter how strong she was, she could show us her softer side and trust us enough to be careful with it.
“First, don’t sell yourself or your feelings short.” Saber wrung his hands, a tell of nerves. “You are my mate, Posy. Noquestion about it. And if you decide not to go home with us, I’ll be heartbroken, but I won’t give up on you.”
Damn.
Judah spoke next. “I believed in Fate but didn’t believe she had anyone for me. Maybe not any of us. My bear called you ours the moment you showed up at the airport and even before that. We want you to stay with us, if you’ll have us.”
