Chapter Seventeen: Rosie

Rosie leaned back in her seat and watched the world go by as Levi drove the truck along the winding mountains roads from his cabin to the Thornberg Ranch. Could she make this her home?

It was a far cry from the bustling city life she had left behind, a world of concrete and glass replaced by towering pines and the faint scent of wildflowers. The air felt lighter here, cleaner, carrying with it the songs of birds and the whisper of leaves rustling in the breeze.

And love.

Levi glanced over at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “You okay over there?” he asked, his voice a gentle rumble that made her heart ache for him.

Rosie turned her head to meet his gaze. “Yeah,” she replied, her voice softer than she’d intended. “Just...taking it all in.”

Levi nodded, his smile widening as he watched her. “It’s a lot to take in, I know.”

“You’ve turned my life upside down, Levi Thornberg,” she said as she straightened up in her seat and half turned to look at him. “What if I said no?”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel and his jaw clenched for a brief moment before he let out a slow breath. “If you said no,” he began, his voice careful, measured, “I’d understand.”

“You’d understand?” she asked.

His shoulders slumped forward as he nodded. “Yes, I’d understand.”

“Just like that?” she asked, not sure she believed him.

He shook his head slightly. “You are the only woman for me, Rosie. If you chose not to move here, I’d move to the city, if that was what you wanted.”

Her eyes widened. “You would leave Bear Creek, for me?”

“Yes.” He glanced sideways at her.

“But this is your home, your family is here, everything you have ever known is here,” she said incredulously.

“But if you weren’t here, then it would not be home,” he replied.

“Is the mating bond that strong for you?” she whispered.

“It is.” Ahead, the turn to the ranch came into view and as Levi steered the truck off the road and came to a stop, she opened the truck door and got out. Striding toward the gate, she unlatched it as she tried to comprehend the magnitude of Levi’s words. And the repercussions of being part of the mating bond.

Did she really believe that fate had made a decision that she and Levi were meant to be together and that was that? End of story. No debate.

No free will.

Panic bubbled inside her. What if things didn’t work out? What if Elliott wasn’t happy?

Rosie pushed the gate open and stood back as Levi drove his truck through to the other side, then she closed it, making sure she latched it properly. She did not want to be responsible for a cow hunt, even if Elliott would love it!

“Okay?” Levi fixed her with a concerned gaze as he watched her get back inside the truck, his eyes searching her face.

Could he read her mind? Was that part of the connection they shared?

She focused on him for a moment. Nope. If mind reading was a part of the bond, it was only one way.

“Hasn’t it ever bothered you that you don’t get to choose who you fall in love with?” she asked as they drove on toward the ranch.

“I’d be lying if I said no,” he replied. “I’ve spent plenty of long nights out on the mountains trying to figure out how fate could make me wait so long for a mate.”

“But you accept that’s how it is, that’s how it’s meant to be?” She stared ahead, waiting for the first glimpse of the ranch house.

“I don’t have a choice,” he told her. “No one is ever going to make me feel the way you do. I’ll never love someone in the same way.”

“What if I’d never come to Bear Creek?” She half turned to look at him. “What if we’d never met?”

“But we did,” he said and offered a smile, a smile tinged with uncertainty as he stopped the truck outside the ranch house.

“We did.” She leaned across the truck and kissed his cheek. “Elliott is going to be so happy. Although, I’m not sure how you break that kind of news to a child.”

Levi seemed to relax, and he smiled. “My bear wants to give Elliott a ride on his back.”

“That’ll sure beat a pony ride,” Rosie said as she got out of the truck and closed the door.

“I hope so,” Levi said as he walked around the truck to join her. “I want Elliott to be happy, Rosie.”

She threaded her arm around his waist and leaned into him. “I’m sure fate factored him in, don’t you?”

Levi chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sure it did.”

Then she turned and faced him. “Before we go and find him, I wanted to ask you to not…”

“I’m not going to tell him, if that’s what you are worried about. Not about my bear, not about us, if that’s what you want,” Levi said.

“We… I need to take it slow,” Rosie told him. “I’ll explain to him we have decided to make Bear Creek our home. And I’ll…” She rubbed her forehead. “I’ll think of something… Then when we move here, we can tell him about your bear.”

“That sounds like a well thought out plan,” Levi said, without a hint of teasing.

“It’s for your own good.” She nudged him in the ribs. “Unless you want the world to know about shifters. Because I do not think my son has the self-control to keep it to himself. At least not at first.”

Levi chuckled. “No, I get where you are coming from. And I agree. There’s no right or wrong way to do this.”

“Thank you.” She leaned into him before she took his hand, and they strolled toward the house. “I think I need time to process everything that’s happened over the last few days.”

“Yeah, it’s been a rollercoaster ride, hasn’t it?” Levi squeezed her hand.

“There was me thinking that bringing Elliott with me to Bear Creek was the only surprise life had in store for me…” she chuckled. “How wrong was I?”

“Oh, I think you are right. Very right, for me,” Levi said.

“You are so sweet to me,” Rosie said, and her voice caught in her throat. Terry had never been complimentary. Life had always been about him and his ego.

But Levi was kind and caring, and sensitive.

And oh so unexpected.

It sure was going to be an interesting conversation with Terry when she told him she was moving out of the city and making her new home in Bear Creek. It was not a conversation she was looking forward to.

But then, if Terry was so wrapped up in his own life to forget that his son was spending the week with him, he might not say much at all.

“Mommy!” Elliott came running out of the house, thundering across the porch, and raced down the porch steps, wearing a cowboy hat that slowly slipped down over his eyes. He pushed it back on his head and ran to them, his arms outstretched.

“Someone looks as if they’ve had a good day.” Rosie crouched down and held out her arms as he flung himself at her.

“I’ve had the best day,” Elliott said. “I helped Ezra wash his horse. Then we played with the kittens in the barn. I wish I could have a kitten!”

Rosie glanced up at Levi and cast him a questioning look. “Do you wish we could have a kitten?” The look he gave her said he’d give her anything she wanted as long as she was his.

“Yes,” Elliott replied, thinking the question was aimed at him. “When can we move out of the apartment so I can have one?”

“We’ve only just moved in,” Rosie replied, not ready to share her news that they were moving to Bear Creek just yet.

She needed to get her head around the idea first. And make a plan of what she was going to do for work. There was no way she was going to depend on Levi. She needed to have her independence.

“Please,” Elliott begged. “There’s one with the cutest splotches over his eyes.”

“How was your day?” Mary called from the porch, thankfully interrupting the kitten discussion.

Rosie guessed she meant, how was your picnic. “It was amazing. Thank you so much.”

“You are welcome,” Mary said. “Elliott has been a joy. He collected the eggs and helped with the horses. And tell your mom about roping the cattle.”

“I did!” Elliott pulled away from her and ran around and around in a circle, pretending to swing a rope. “I lassoed a cow!” He flung his hand out and then pretended to rope his cow in.

Thankfully, the kitten was forgotten. But the discussion was sure to resurface soon.

“And we went up into the attic and found Levi’s old cowboy hat,” Mary said. “I knew we still had it somewhere.”

“I thought I recognized it!” Levi said and patted Elliott on the head, tipping his hat forward.

“Hey!” Elliott yelled and chased after Levi, pretending to rope him.

“Ah, you’ve got me.” Levi collapsed onto the ground and Elliott jumped on top of him, pinning him down.

“Is that how Ezra taught you to rope a steer?” Levi asked.

“No, silly.” Elliott giggled and pushed his hat back on his head.

“Ah, how I miss the sound of children laughing,” Mary said as she came down the porch steps to join Rosie as she watched Levi and Elliott rough housing.

“There’s no better sound,” Rosie agreed.

“And how are you doing, Rosie?” Mary asked, gently touching Rosie’s arm. “I can still remember seeing Waylan shift for the first time. It’s not something you ever forget.”

“I’m okay.” Rosie nodded. “It’s a lot to take in. And the thought of uprooting us again and moving here is daunting.”

“I can only imagine,” Mary said. “You take your time. Levi has waited this long for you to come into his life. He’s not going to rush you.”

Rosie brushed her hand over her eyes. “Sorry, I’m just not used to a man giving me space and having patience.”

“Oh, Rosie.” Mary rubbed her hand over Rosie’s back. “You’ll build a wonderful life here in Bear Creek.”

“I know, in so many ways, I can’t wait, but I wish I could wave a magic wand, and everything would be sorted out,” she admitted.

“Well, the one good thing about having such a big family is that there are plenty of hands to make light work.” Mary gave her a knowing look. “But there’s one thing you need to do, and that is ask. Don’t be afraid, don’t think you are imposing. Because you are part of this family, you were even before we met you.”

“Thanks, Mary.” Rosie leaned into her. “And the same for you. Anything you need.”

“You mean like a weekly ladies’ night?” Mary asked, and then laughed. “It’ll be fun. You, me and Camille. I can ask Levi’s aunts to come over, too.”

“I’d like that,” Rosie said. “Okay, Elliott, it’s time we got home. You need a bath and I need to catch up on my work.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Mary asked quietly, so Elliott did not hear.

“No, thank you. I really do have work to do. I’ve fallen behind on my emails, and I need to do some research.” She half turned to Mary. “But I’ll take you up on a ladies’ night.”

“Welcome to the family, Rosie.” Mary slid her arms around Rosie and hugged her closely. “I never got a chance to say that before.”

“You all knew, didn’t you?” Rosie asked, feeling stupid for not seeing it before.

“Levi told us,” Mary confirmed. “But when we saw you together, we would have known, anyway. There is something between mates that is just…” She shrugged. “Magical.”

“It sure is,” Rosie agreed. “Now all I have to do is magically get my son into the truck.”

“On it,” Levi replied even though he seemed to be too far away to hear.

“You’ll get used to Levi’s shifter senses,” Mary said as she noted Rosie’s surprise. “And you’ll find it most useful when you have more children. I remember Waylan tracking our six boys down when they were off playing out on the ranch and they needed to be home for dinner.” She glanced at Rosie. “If you have more children.”

“I’d love more, and Elliott has already told me that he would love to have brothers or sisters.” She folded her arms across her body. “And it’s a comfort knowing that you are so good with children. It usually takes Elliott a while to warm to new people, but he’s taken to you all so quickly.”

Mary smiled, looking a little misty-eyed. “He’s a wonderful boy, Rosie. A credit to his mom. It feels like he’s always been a part of our family.”

“Thank you, Mary.” She glanced back at Levi, who now had Elliott perched on his broad shoulders. The boy giggled as Levi pretended to stumble as they made their way to the truck.

“Children have a way of sensing where they’re truly welcomed,” Rosie said softly. “And you have truly welcomed him. And me.”

“Well, remember what I said,” Mary began. “Anything you need, we’re here for you.”

“I’ll remember,” Rosie promised as she followed Levi to the truck and got in first.

“In we go.” Levi helped Elliott into the truck and secured his seatbelt.

“I like your truck,” Elliott said as he wriggled to look out of the window.

“I do, too,” Levi chuckled as he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, sliding in next to Rosie. “It’s been my trusty steed for years.”

“It’s not a steed,” Elliott scoffed.

“It is kind of, it gets us from place to place,” Levi said and started the engine.

Rosie smiled up at Levi and let herself imagine them as a family.

And she liked the idea. She liked it a lot.

As they drove away from the ranch, she stared out at the view and knew this was where she belonged. It was time to embrace her future and leave her past behind.