Chapter Five

I stood on the flat ground outside our storage area and looked at the mess I'd made. Necessary, but a mess all the same.

The tents were cleaned and dried in seconds with the blaring sun beating down on them, but now I had to put the damned things up.

Rolling up tents wasn't my favorite task.

Putting them up? Even less of a favorite. Hence why I slept on a mat or a sleeping bag under the stars.

"Regretting that choice, aren't you?" my brother asked from behind me with a snide tone. Salem used nothing but a snide tone.

"Yes. Wanna help, or are you just here to point out the obvious?"

He chuckled. "I came out here to ask you about this letter. And James drove up a few minutes ago with the cast-iron fire pits you ordered, at a steep price, I might add."

I shrugged him off. "Cast iron is an investment, and we will never have to buy them again. They will last forever."

"He's waiting but I needed to talk to you about something first. Did you see that letter from the Bearclaw Inn?"

I nodded. "I did. Let's walk and talk. I don't want to keep James waiting. What's the Bearclaw Inn?"

James met us halfway. "Did you say the Bearclaw Inn? You got a letter? When do you leave?"

"Huh?" My brother and I said at the same time. James was a black bear shifter. He had never found his mate. I didn't know which was worse, my predicament or his. I supposed I would rather have loved and lost, but I couldn't imagine a greater pain.

"Everyone stop." I held up my hands. "What is the Bearclaw Inn?"

"It's a beautiful place up north somewhere, but the online reviews are insane. You know what they say about it?" James grinned at me.

"I didn't even know it existed," I said, chuckling.

"I heard about it online. It's owned by a widower named Franklin. He opened the place as an inn, but it's said that Franklin is a magic matchmaker. If he sends you a letter, then he is inviting you for the weekend to stay and meet your mate. It's online everywhere. No one leaves the Bearclaw Inn unmated."

"Did they send it to me or you?" I whirled on my brother, who was strangely quiet.

"You. Here." He jutted the letter toward me, and he and James flanked me, trying to get a good look.

"It's this weekend," James said. "This. Weekend. Bjorn."

"I can't. There's so much to do." My belly swirled with excitement at the prospect. I could use a vacation away, and the thought of perhaps meeting a mate there? "What if this is a mistake? I've already had a fated mate."

"Opening season is next weekend, Bjorn." Salem took the letter from me. "You are always ahead with the prepping. We are fine. You can do this. You can go and have a weekend off. Hell. You deserve this, brother. A weekend of romance? Finding your second-chance mate? I know you crave one."

"I do," I admitted, feeling a bit exposed. James and my brother were the two closest friends I had, but I'd gone to great lengths to hide my loneliness. Apparently, not enough.

"If I were you, I'd be packing," James said. "But not before you help me unload those heavy fire pits and get me paid."

We all cracked up. We got the fire pits out, and Salem paid James in cash. He didn't really do online banking and wrote checks—old school.

I sat down across from Salem once James went home. "I haven't booked a plane ticket in years. Can you pull up the phone number?"

Salem snorted. "No. I will not pull up the phone number, Bjorn."

"Why? Should I not go?" Damn it. I perched on the edge of the chair.

"You should absolutely go. Especially since I already booked the ticket. And your car ride from the airport to the inn. You will arrive at five in the afternoon on Friday and won't be back until Sunday evening."

My heart thrummed in my chest so hard, I thought my bear might come out and run the distance to the inn right then. He wanted a mate maybe more than I did.

We craved children and a family.

Someone to love.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "What if they don't…I mean, what if I'm not their alpha?"

Salem took his attention away from the computer and leaned back in the chair. "Bjorn," he whispered.

"What? I live out in the desert. Our income is seasonal. I don't have a big house or anything in the realm of fancy. I'm a widower, and I've heard I can be quite stubborn. Colt wouldn't have lived this way."

"Neither would you. You were a different person back then. There's an omega out there for you."

"And you?" I asked.

"Pfft. There will be an omega one day. Not today but one day."

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, standing up. "I leave in two days. There's so much to do."

"Good. Now, get out of my hair. I have things to do as well."