Chapter Six

Bert

My bear sensed this man was more to us than some prickly human sent here to ruin my Christmas, but it wasn’t until I was in his space that I caught his scent. He smelled like ginger, molasses, and vanilla all wrapped up into one. The best gingerbread man ever.

Gods, I had to get my head on straight.

No. I couldn’t think that way. He had a child. A child meant he had an alpha, and I was no homewrecker, mate or not. He had someone who loved him and loved this young one. I might be rough around the edges, but I wasn’t the kind of alpha who moved in on another’s omega, fated or not.

Wait, was I saying he was my fated? One look? Was that all it took?

No. No. This wasn’t happening.

Plus, he was a human, and that posed problems only complete trust could solve.

I didn’t trust humans. Period.

Conrad’s visit was temporary. A swapping of houses. Vacation. Nothing more.

I couldn’t have anything more.

I stepped back as I entered the house, trying to close off how his scent permeated everything even though they’d only been here a few hours. My fists balled as he passed me, forcing myself not to reach out and touch him.

Drawing in another soul full of his scent, I was surer than ever that Fate had a sense of humor, and clearly I was the butt of her jokes.

He was here. On our land. But he was mated. Had a family.

Still, while he was here, I could make sure he and his young were warm and safe. If that was the only thing I could give my mate in life, I would do a damned good job of it.

“It’s a tankless. In the back room. Installed it myself. I’ll go have a look.”

“What is?” he asked. “Oh, the water heater? I know nothing about the new tankless ones. Um, back there?”

“Yes.”

He stepped aside but not before I caught his cheeks pinking. Humans didn’t have mates and didn’t feel the mate pull as far as I knew, but he was attracted to me.

Fuck. No. I wasn’t allowed to think that way about someone who was clearly already involved, very involved with someone else.

Once in the back room, Rudy’s mudroom, I saw several breakers were tripped. The tankless water heater wouldn’t even power on, which pointed me to check some wiring. No. And I thought I knew what parts needed to be replaced—which I probably didn’t have on hand. Perfect. It was late in the season, and I knew for a fact that the hardware store wasn’t open on Sundays.

“I might have what I need in my house. I’ll have to look.”

“Um, there’s something else,” Conrad said, coaxing his little one into coloring him another picture at Rudy’s dining room table.

“What else?” I asked, annoyed, not at Conrad but at Rudy for not making sure this place was ready for a guest. He knew Conrad was human as well. Humans needed hot showers and warmth. Heaters. They didn’t have their other side to keep them warm like we did. “Sorry, it’s not you. It’s my brother. He should’ve made sure everything was working.”

My bear would’ve been fine in a cave for the winter but not this man and his daughter.

“I’m not sure the heater is working either. I put the temperature up but I didn’t hear it kick on. I’m not sure if… Darn it. Maybe I broke the hot water heater when I tried to use the central one?” Conrad shook his head and blew out a breath. It was the first time I’d noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and there was something sad there as well. He looked down entirely too much. Preoccupied. Was he that worried about the heat?

“Hey,” I said and almost reached out to touch him. No. That would be too much. His scent filling up my senses was one thing, but touching him? I wouldn’t ever be able to walk away from him unscathed. It might’ve already been too late. “This isn’t your fault. Give me a few minutes. I’ll do what I can.”

I walked to the breaker box and saw that the breakers were thrown and even when I tried to turn them back on, the heater didn’t come to life.

Shit.

The fireplace was only in the living room and wouldn’t be enough to keep Conrad warm, not to mention, Natalie.

After some finagling, I’d come to a decision. I had to tell him. The last thing I wanted to do was have my mate upset, but I’d done the best I could and failed.

“I don’t think this is something I can fix tonight or even tomorrow. The snow’s already starting to come down pretty hard, and this might take me days.” I hated to disappoint him. Not to be able to provide this for him. A rotten bear, I was.

Conrad blew out a breath and wrung his hands. “Oh. Well, there’s a motel in town. I saw it driving in. I guess we’re going to have a motel destination vacation, Natalie. It will still be fun, I promise.”

“But the bears and fairies are here, in the snow,” she said, poking out her bottom lip. That did it. Natalie with the sad face pierced my heart. “I won’t be able to see them anymore.”

“No. Not the motel. It’s probably booked solid anyway, and it’s frankly not great. You came here to get away and I’ll make sure you get that. I’ve got an idea. Take my cabin. It’s almost identical to Rudy’s. The heat and hot water are working, I can guarantee that. You’ll be comfortable there.”

Conrad hesitated. “We don’t really know you. And I don’t want to… I’m not sure.” He turned around to look at Natalie. He was a good father. Of course, he would be fearful of staying with a stranger. He had his little girl to think about.

“I can stay here, in Rudy’s cabin. I won’t come over there or anything. You two can have your privacy. You won’t even know I’m here.”

Natalie sat up and abandoned her colored pencils. “But if we stay with you, I can show you my presents when Santa brings them. Otherwise, how will you see, Bert?”

I laughed. The young lady was a fireball.

“Honey, Bert doesn’t know us. He might want to spend Christmas on his own.”

I didn’t anymore.

“Maybe you can show me after you and your dad celebrate. Conrad, let me go grab a bag of things, and we’ll switch. I want you two to be comfortable and warm. You came all this way. There’s even a pot of chicken and dumplings simmering on the stove.” The woodstove would serve me, but it would not help heat the water for a little girl’s bath. Plus, I didn’t get the impression Conrad was experienced in dealing with such things.

“I…” Conrad scanned the room. He was thinking about what to do, I supposed. Considering his options. He wasn’t as twitchy as the other humans I’d encountered. “Do you have an extra room for us to stay in? Besides your own?”

“I do. But I wasn’t suggesting—”

He raised his hand, stopping me. “I am. I won’t run you out of your own house, but I think you’re right. We might need another place to stay through this cold. Would it be okay if we stayed in your guest room? Just until you can get the heater fixed. We won’t be a bother.”

I snorted. “Of course you won’t. And you’re welcome. I hope not to be a bother to you either. Do you need help packing up your things?”

“No.” Conrad shook his head. “Other than the refrigerated things, it’s mostly only a zip away from being unpacked.”

“Do you have a Christmas tree?” the young lady asked.

“I don’t. I-I never get one because I live alone.”

She shrugged. “Well, you won’t be alone this time.”

Having them under my roof was going to be difficult, but nothing in this world could stop me now. Perhaps this week was all I would be blessed with as far as having a mate near. I wondered where his alpha was that they were vacationing alone? Maybe business kept him away? I couldn’t ask because it was none of my business, but if I had a mate, I’d never let them be alone for the holidays.

And I would take this week and treasure it.

A breath of happiness was better than none at all.