Chapter 27 Cherry

Chapter 27 Cherry

“That’s the last of it,” I said as I taped up the final box in my store.

Kendra sighed from where she was sitting on the ledge of the wide storefront, now empty of displays. “Yep, that’s really everything.”

Nina asked, “Who did you say was taking over the lease?” Her tone endeavored to inject some brightness into the space that was feeling barren now.

I shrugged. “Desmond’s, a shoemaker.”

My gaze swept around the blank walls and floor space. Other than the many boxes in the middle of the room, only dust mites swirled through the sunshine falling through the glass storefront.

My two sales assistants had spent the weekend helping me pack up the last of the clothes from the railings. Well, Nina had packed with me. Kendra was now so close to her due date that I’d insisted she do nothing but entertain us with her chat. Officially, she was on maternity leave, but she’d been adamant that she come in before the store closed and to see me off.

I’d managed to get both Nina and Kendra jobs with another designer I was friends with. Conveniently, her store was located a few streets away. Her clothes were equally high-end, and my two assistants, although they’d been sad at the news I was closing up, had been pleased and touched when I’d recommended them to Irene. My designer friend had gotten on well with my assistants, and Irene had happily taken them both on. Nina would be starting next week with hardly any disruption to her work routine.

Maisy’s clipped heels sounded on the stairs, and she appeared in a whirl of wavy red hair and a floaty black dress. “That’s the final bits boxed up in the studio, Cherry. I’ve left the fall range boxes in a group separately with instructions to the movers to pack them last. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get those out first on the other side, and they can go straight onto the rails for opening day.”

“That’s perfect, Maisy.” I smiled at my assistant designer. Much to my amazement, when I’d told her I was relocating and opening up shop in Seattle, instead of accepting the stellar recommendation and job offer with my designer friend, Irene, Maisy had asked if she could come with me. She’d said that she loved working for me and was learning so much that if I could offer her a relocation package, cover the cost for a flight and a month’s rent in Seattle, she’d gladly come with me. She’d offered to manage the opening of the new store with me and continue as my assistant in the new studio once we hired staff for the store. I’d snapped her up at the offer, of course.

A flutter of relief coursed through me again at the thought of my devoted assistant being with me to help manage the launch of the new store. It would be especially important, given how much I’d likely be needed at Starsmoon, too, when Dylan first reintroduced me to his parents and the whole pack. When he officially announced to everyone that I was his mate and their new Luna.

Anxiety stole through me as I worried about the frosty reception Dylan’s parents would give us. I remembered how Lucy had blamed me for stealing Dylan away. What if the old Luna and Alpha judged me similarly?

Yet, soon, as Maisy, Nina, Kendra, and I stood in the empty storefront, hugging, there was only room for nostalgia. I’d been through so much with these women. They’d been vital to my success over the last year and become true friends.

I tried to put into words how much they meant to me. Staring into Nina’s green eyes, I said, “If you ever get tired of Berlin, bring some of your European elegance to Seattle, okay?”

Nina was the most stylish woman I’d ever met. These days, whenever I design something, I picture her in my outfits. The models I drew always sported her slim, angular frame and her elegant black bobbed hair.

She grinned. “Seattle will be my first city break next year.”

As I turned to Kendra, I blinked her in equally fondly. She was the mother earth type. She had a natural, wholesome beauty about her. She didn’t wear makeup, and her long brown hair flowed to her waist. “You’re going to make the best mom ever. I want pictures as soon as that little one’s here.”

She blinked, nodding fiercely as she choked up.

I left my employees, ex-employees behind. They watched me from the doorway of the store while Maisy waited for the movers to arrive and ensure that all our stock got picked up and taken to the airport.

As I walked past the modern buildings, some brutal in style, their cold designs seemed to reflect my sorrow. Soon, I’d no longer be a part of this city. This place which had been my home for seven years would never be so again.

When I reached my road, everything had become blurry as my eyes misted with emotion. Dylan must have spied me from the window. He hurried down the steps of his townhouse. Enveloping me in his arms, he said, “Whenever we have any time in the future, I promise we’ll visit.” He drew up my chin, and my lip quivered. “It’ll be our city, our place to get away to. After all,” he added with a warm smile, “it’s the place we finally came together. Berlin is the way others feel about Paris, agreed?” Amused danced in his dark eyes as he added, “Besides, I have to come back for schnitzel.”

I laughed, nodded and felt a hundred times lighter. Dylan wiped the tears from my cheeks, and then his lips continued to comfort me with kisses. I believed wholeheartedly everything that he promised. We would return here and have dozens of other kisses on this street and throughout the city that had captured our hearts.

The next day, our family of three returned to Seattle. It had been Fern’s first time on a plane, and it had been difficult to get her to sleep. She’d been so hyper with excitement none of us had slept much. But when we finally got into a cab outside Tacoma’s International Airport, Fern fell asleep.

Dylan cradled Fern in his arms, protecting her from the jolts of the cab’s movements as it lurched up the dirt tracks through Lord Hills. My heart felt full to bursting as we trundled through the pack lands. I was returning home with my Alpha mate and my child. I looked out at the shorn fields that marked the landscape and felt the sense of certainty wash over me that we were meant to be here. I was meant to be here.

As we approached Dylan’s small house, I whispered, “Let’s tuck her in at your house, then we’ll go see your parents.”

But as the cab halted, Fern sat up, wide awake. Her head cocked curiously, “We’re here,” she announced.

Her tone wasn’t a question, and I wondered if she felt a connection already to the land round about her like Dylan said she would. Dylan nodded at his daughter, a sober expression on his face. And I knew Nuu-Chah must already be guiding our daughter in the way that the Moon God did all those in the Alpha line.

Outside, I followed Dylan the short distance to the old Luna and Alpha’s house. The past didn’t assault me as much as I’d expected. As we passed through the large hallway in the converted barn, I recollected that awful night that Dylan had drunk too much when he’d struggled to deal with our mating bond, but instead of the memory darkening my mood, it buoyed me up. That night had resulted in Fern, who in turn had helped bring Dylan and me back together again.

Dylan’s hand grasped mine, his other holding Fern’s as he led us into his parent’s kitchen. Both of his parents stood at the breakfast bar, staring at us in surprise. Dylan hadn’t told them that we were coming. He’d confided that he thought that if he did, the old Alpha would disappear and refuse to see us.

Anxiety prickled over my skin as I looked at Chris, then Heather. But both of Dylan’s parents had eyes for Fern alone.

Dylan fixed his dark stare on his father. “I’ve brought my true mate home because she is the love of my life and the only woman suitable to be my Luna.”

I knew it was important for my mate as the new Alpha to get his father’s respect, and I hoped Chris wasn’t about to disregard him. Not just because it would hurt Fern and me, but as I knew this was the first step for Dylan to win the pack’s approval.

Finally, as neither the old Alpha nor Luna spoke, Dylan acknowledged their attention was stuck on Fern. With a smile, Dylan explained, “This is Fern, your granddaughter.”

Unlike me, who had told my dad about Fern, Dylan hadn’t shared Fern’s existence with his parents. He’d told me he’d felt guided by Nuu-Chah’s insight to keep our daughter a secret until we arrived back.

And judging by the slack look of wonder and joy on both the old Alpha and Luna’s faces, he’d been correct.

Heather hurried towards us and swept Fern into her arms. “I’m your grandma. You can call me Nanna if you like.”

Fern returned her Nanna’s hug, and then she looked at the old Alpha.

“And what do I call you?” Fern asked Chris, her keen eyes just like Dylan’s and Chris’s.

Fern’s direct tone provoked a winning smile from the old Alpha too. “I always used to call my granddad Pops. How does that sound to you?”

“Pops, I can work with that,” Fern said, parroting a phrase she’d learned from Dylan in the last few weeks.

We all laughed at her grown-up sounding phrase, and soon, the rest of us were hugging and making up.

Heather crushed me to her and whispered, “I’m so sorry you’ve been taking care of Fern all these years by yourself.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be. It was my decision.” I looked deep into her eyes and owned up. “I was confused back then about what I wanted, but I’m not now. I love your son, and I always have. I want to be his Luna and for Fern to be his heir.”

Chris and Heather looked years younger with excitement in their expressions as they started to discuss plans.

“You’ll have your bonding ceremony then in a month,” Heather said decisively. “That’ll give us enough time to plan but not enough for anything else to get in the way,” she joked.

I left Dylan with his parents, knowing he had a good deal of pack business to take care of too.

I drove to my dad’s house in Lake Horizon. We got out of the car, and I told Fern happily. “This is where I grew up, Sweetie.”

My daughter took in the street and the view of the park with interest.

Then her attention was fastened onto the large man, wandering down the garden path towards us. “And that is your other pops, my dad,” I explained, beaming at him as he came to meet us.

When my dad stopped before us, Fern exclaimed, “My other Pops doesn’t have a beard.”

A smile twitched beneath my dad’s bushy beard. “Do you think you could like me, beard and all?”

My daughter considered his comment with a serious expression. “I think so. But if not, you can shave it off like my daddy does.”

We all laughed, and my dad swooped in to hug Fern. Relief washed over me to see my daughter surrounded by family and receiving the love she’d missed out on in her early years. And I knew unequivocally that I’d made the right decision in coming back.

With my dad and Fern getting on like a house on fire, I left them and set out to meet Maisy at my new store in Central Seattle.