Chapter Four: Dougray

The door banged shut behind Dougray as he stumbled into the kitchen, his boots leaving muddy prints on his mother’s clean floor. The rich aroma of her delicious pot roast hung in the air, but his stomach churned as he fumbled with the hook by the door, nearly dropping his weathered Stetson.

“Dougray Thornberg, what are you doing walking mud in here!” Mary’s voice cracked like a whip.

Dougray blinked, noticing his mother for the first time. She stood frozen by the stove, wooden spoon in hand, her brow furrowed with concern.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, toeing off his boots. His hands shook as he shrugged out of his jacket.

Mary set the spoon down with a clatter. “Dougray! Whatever is the is wrong? Did you have an accident?”

At the table, Waylan and Klein straightened, their beers forgotten. Dougray was vaguely aware of them watching him as Mary grasped his arm, guiding him to a chair. He sank into it gratefully, his legs suddenly weak.

“Dougray?” Mary’s voice softened. “Did you get kicked by one of the horses?”

He shook his head, unable to find words. His throat felt tight, choked with some nameless emotion.

It’s not nameless, his bear said. It’s love.

“Was it a cow, then?” Mary pressed, her hands fluttering anxiously over him, checking for injuries.

Again, Dougray shook his head. His mind raced, replaying the scene in the barn over and over. Tammy’s scent, the way her eyes had locked with his...

Waylan leaned forward, his deep voice rumbling with concern. “Is there something wrong with Lucy or the foal? I saw Gavin’s truck leaving not long ago.”

“No,” Dougray managed to croak out. His heart pounded, a deafening rhythm in his ears. How could he explain what had happened? The moment that had changed everything?

With words, his bear said dryly.

Klein’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood, a wide grin splitting his face. “He met his mate,” he announced, triumph in his voice.

Mary and Waylan whipped around to stare at Klein, then back at Dougray. The silence in the kitchen was deafening, broken only by the slow drip of the faucet and the ticking of the old clock on the wall.

How does Klein know? Dougray asked his bear.

Because he’s seen our brothers meet their mates, seen the look on their faces, his bear answered.

“You met your mate?” Mary’s brow creased.

“When?” Waylan asked. “I was with you all afternoon since you came back from town, and you never said anything. And you didn’t look like… this .” Waylan looked his son up and down.

“Gavin injured his leg,” Dougray explained.

“He hurt his leg when he was checking Lucy over?” Mary clasped her hands together and looked out of the window toward the stables. “Poor Gavin. Is he okay?”

“No,” Klein interrupted. “I heard he injured it when something spooked Old Ma Hinchcliffe’s bull.”

“That bull is as quiet as can be,” Waylan declared.

“Well, something spooked it and sent Gavin sprawling, and he injured his ankle,” Klein explained.

“Can we get back to Dougray’s mate?” Mary said, as if her son was not there.

“I heard Gavin’s niece was coming to visit to help out while he’s incapacitated,” Klein said.

Klein sure does hear a lot, Dougray’s bear said.

“Oh.” Waylan nodded as understanding dawned on him. “Well, I will not complain about a veterinarian in the family.”

“Waylan.” Mary shot her husband a sharp look.

“It’s the truth,” Waylan held up his hands defensively. “Would save us a small fortune in bills.”

“What did I ever see in you?” Mary rolled her eyes, but there was no mistaking the love in her eyes as she looked at her mate.

And one day soon our mate will look at us with that same love, Dougray’s bear said wistfully.

“So, is Gavin’s niece your mate?” Mary turned her full attention on Dougray.

“She is,” he confirmed, because there was no way he had ever been able to lie to his mother. Not that he wanted to.

No, we want to shout from the rooftops that Tammy is our mate, his bear roared.

“Four down,” Waylan chuckled as he raised his beer bottle and took a swig.

“Does she know?” Mary pulled out a chair and sat down next to Dougray, all thoughts of feeding her family gone.

Dougray hesitated, his hand clenching and unclenching as he recalled the sensations that flooded through him as they touched. Tammy’s eyes had widened, her lips parting in surprise as their gazes locked. She had to have felt it, too—that instant connection, the world shifting on its axis.

“She felt something,” he said slowly. “But I don’t know if she knows about shifters.”

Mary leaned forward, her voice comforting as she said, “It doesn’t matter if she does know or not. You’ll find a way to tell her. To show her the connection you both share.”

“I don’t know,” Dougray murmured.

“You made that good a first impression?” Klein asked.

Don’t tell him that you fell at her feet, his bear huffed. If you do, we will never hear the end of it.

“It’s not that,” Dougray began. “It was the look in Tammy’s eyes. For the briefest moment… Haunted.”

Dougray trailed off, remembering the flicker of pain he’d glimpsed in Tammy’s eyes. It had been there for just a heartbeat, quickly masked, but he couldn’t shake the image.

“Haunted?” Mary echoed, her brow furrowing. “What do you mean, son?”

Dougray shook his head, struggling to find the words. “I don’t know exactly. It was just...there was something sad there. Like she’s been hurt.”

Klein leaned back in his chair, his earlier grin fading. “Maybe that’s why she’s here. Perhaps Gavin didn’t simply invite her here because of his sprained ankle.”

“You might be right,” Mary said. “Gavin has a sixth sense when it comes to healing animals. Maybe that extends to people, too.”

“Well, she’s come to the right place,” Waylan interjected, his voice gruff but gentle. “A mating bond is a powerful thing. It can heal a lot of hurts.”

Mary nodded, reaching out to pat Dougray’s hand. “Your father’s right. Whatever this young woman has been through, you two were brought together for a reason.”

“I’m here for whatever she needs,” Dougray said as he slowly came back to himself.

“And she’s sure to need you,” Mary assured him.

Dougray nodded, his bear rumbling in agreement. The need to protect and comfort his mate was already overwhelming, even though he barely knew her.

“So, when do we get to meet her?” Klein asked, breaking Dougray’s moment of contemplation.

Dougray hesitated. “I’m not sure. I didn’t exactly have time to ask her out or anything. It all happened so fast.”

Mary clucked her tongue. “Well, we can’t have that. Why don’t you invite her over for dinner tomorrow night? It’ll give her a chance to meet the family in a relaxed setting.”

Dougray’s stomach flipped at the thought. Part of him wanted nothing more than to see Tammy again, to bask in her presence and learn everything about her. But another part, the cautious side, worried it might be too soon to inflict his family on his mate. Especially if she had no clue about shifters and fated mates.

Yeah, what are the chances they won’t slip up and make it obvious she is our mate? his bear agreed.

“I don’t know, Mom,” he said hesitantly. “I’d like to get to know her better myself first and find out what haunts her before she comes to dinner.”

“You’re right,” Mary said with a resigned sigh and patted his hand before she got up from the chair and went back to preparing dinner.

“Maybe a quiet word with Gavin?” Waylan suggested as he rose to help his wife. “He might be able to shed some light on things.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go behind Tammy’s back.” Mary set the plates down on the table.

“Mom’s right.” Klein nodded as he leaned forward and inhaled the delicious aroma of pot roast his dad set down on the table. “If Tammy’s been through something, she should be the one to tell you about it, in her own time.”

“Maybe, but sometimes it’s better to be prepared, so you don’t go putting your foot in it,” Waylan said, casting a look at his wife.

Mary chuckled. “Your father has some experience in that department.”

“Ah, but it all worked out in the end,” Waylan said with a wink at his wife.

Dougray felt a pang of longing as he watched his parents exchange loving glances. Would he and Tammy have that someday? The easy way they had with each other, the shared history, the unspoken understanding?

His bear rumbled contentedly. We will have all that and more.

I hope so. His parents had a wonderful relationship. And each of the Thornberg sons looked up to them as a symbol of the joys of the mating bond. But from where Dougray stood, or sat, right now, it seemed like an impossibly high standard to achieve.

“Well,” Mary said, breaking into Dougray’s thoughts as she set a steaming plate of vegetables in front of him, “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold. And enjoy the journey along the way.”

“That is the most important thing.” Waylan waved his fork in Dougray’s direction as he sat back down. “Enjoy it. This is a once in a lifetime event. Now that you have met, this is it, and you want to make the most incredible memories along the way.”

“Not all of them good,” Mary warned as she sat down at the table. “Your father and I might look as if we have it all figured out, but it took hard work and plenty of love and understanding to get here.”

“You make it look so natural,” Dougray admitted. “And meeting Tammy just felt…awkward.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of awkwardness,” Mary chuckled. “But getting to know each other is part of the fun.”

“And the thing is,” Waylan began, “you have to do what feels best to you. No two mating bonds are the same. Not two mates are the same.”

“Your father is right,” Mary said.

“Now, that is a first,” Waylan said, with a sly smile as Mary rolled her eyes.

“I’ll take it slow, give it time for Tammy to open up in her own time,” he decided as he dug into his meatloaf. “Maybe I’ll stop by the clinic tomorrow, see if she needs any help with Gavin or the animals.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Mary flashed him a motherly smile. “I can’t wait for Tammy to be part of the family.”

“Things are evening up, piece by piece,” Waylan said.

“Yes,” Mary nodded approvingly. “If Klein found his mate, we’ll be almost equal.” Her bottom lip trembled, and she got up from her seat and went to the cupboard and reached down a glass, filling it with cool water.

Waylan’s eyes followed her, a similar kind of haunted look in his eyes as Dougray had seen in Tammy’s eyes.

Loss. But Dougray knew what his father had lost. The same thing his mom had lost.

Jay is not lost, Dougray’s bear argued. He’ll be back when he’s ready.

Dougray wished he shared his bear’s optimism. But part of him feared Jay might never be ready to come home.

Home to his family, who loved him. Who supported him.

But then it wasn’t his family he’d run from when he’d left. It was a part of himself.

Time is a healer, Dougray’s bear said firmly.

Dougray hoped his bear was right. Not just for Jay’s sake.

But Tammy’s, too.