Chapter Two: Henry

Henry had been working at Samantha's house, trying to make it safe, with no clue that she was his mate.

Not that it would have made any difference to the effort he and his crew put in. They were all aware that Samantha and her children were due to arrive today and how traumatic it would be to find their new home uninhabitable.

And it was uninhabitable. The tree had brought part of the roof down, its branches scattered all over the bed in the main bedroom.

Samantha's room, his bear said, with a hint of longing.

Thoughts of taking his mate to bed, of laying her down and kissing her body from head to foot filled his mind…

And then he swept them aside. This was no time for dreaming about what-ifs. Or when and where…

"Why don't you sit down?" Henry asked, guiding his mate back toward her car. He cast a glance at her children, a boy and a girl, and gave them a reassuring smile.

Samantha looked dazed as she nodded and took one last glance at the house before turning around and heading back to the car.

She is in shock, his bear said.

No kidding, Henry said, his stomach in knots as he sensed his mate's distress.

So, what are we going to do about it? his bear asked.

Henry pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through until he found Camille's number. Then he hit dial. "Hey," he said when she answered. "Can you do me a big favor?"

"For you, of course," Camille said. "If I can."

"Could you bring some of your cookies, or pies, and some hot chocolate and coffee over to Barber Street?" Henry asked.

"Is that where the tree came down?" Camille asked.

"It is," Henry said, his eyes locked on Samantha as she sat down in the car, with the door open and her children gathered around.

"You guys have had a busy few hours with the storm. I'll bring some sweet treats over to keep you all going," Camille said.

"It's not for us," Henry said in a lowered tone.

"It's not?" Camille paused. "Is everything all right? Did something else happen?"

"Yes," Henry said. "I met my mate."

There was a moment's silence and then Camille let out a small squeal. "You met your mate?"

"I did," Henry said. "Unfortunately, she has just arrived in town to find a tree in her new home."

"No!" Camille let out a long breath. "I'll be right over. We'll make sure she is taken care of."

"Thanks," Henry said. "Because the last thing I want is for her to turn around and go back to wherever she came from."

"She won't," Camille spoke with such conviction that his doubts faded. At least a little. "Because she is your mate, and you were brought together for a reason. Isn't that what you guys always say?"

"It is." A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I just wish she'd had a better introduction to Bear Creek."

"She met you. How much better can things get?" Camille asked lightly.

"Thanks, Camille."

"You are welcome," Camille replied. "I'll be right over."

Henry ended the call and went to the car, where Samantha was looking a little better as the shock wore off.

"How are we doing?" Henry asked.

How do you think they are doing? his bear grumbled.

We'll do what we can for them, Henry assured his bear, hoping it would be enough.

"We'll be okay," Samantha said with more confidence than, he suspected, she felt. But after her initial shocked reaction, she was putting on a brave face for her children. And he loved her for it.

He let out a small sigh. She was the woman of his dreams, the woman he thought had passed him by. But here she was.

"We've nearly completed the work of cutting the tree down and removing it from the house." As if to compound the meaning of his words, there was a mighty crash from behind him.

"Can we see?" the boy asked, hardly able to contain his excitement. At such a young age, Henry would guess five or six, he had not fully absorbed what this crisis meant for his family.

"Maybe from a distance," Henry told the boy. "I'm Henry, by the way."

"Good to meet you, Henry." Samantha smiled at him. "I'm Samantha. And this is Lewis and Tilly."

"I'm Lewis," the boy said.

"I think he knew that," Tilly told her brother, but not unkindly.

"Ah." Henry looked up as he recognized the sound of Camille's car approaching.

Just in time, his bear said.

"Excuse me a moment." Henry went to meet Camille, who was six months pregnant. Her baby bump was just beginning to make everything she did more awkward. The whole family seemed to have gone into protective mode when it came to the pregnant mother and her unborn child. But she was radiantly happy and took it all in her stride.

"Oh my goodness, Henry!" Camille said as she got out of the car and saw the extent of the damage to the house. "Thank goodness there was no one inside."

"Yes." Henry paled at the sudden thought of what might have happened if his mate and her children had arrived a day earlier, or the tree had fallen down a day later.

"You look like you need a cookie." Camille got out of the car and held her arms out to him. "And hug."

"Thanks for coming so quickly, Camille," he said as he gratefully accepted the hug, absorbing her calmness while making sure not to squash her baby bump.

"I brought some cookies for everyone," Camille said, pulling back and nodding toward a basket on the passenger seat. "And some pies for later. Plus, there are a couple of thermoses filled with coffee and hot chocolate."

"You're a lifesaver," Henry told her.

"No, last time I looked, that was your job," Camille said lightly as she stepped away from him and turned to reach for the basket from the passenger seat of her car.

"Let me," Henry said as he sidestepped her, careful not to bump into her as he reached for the basket and the thermos.

"My arms and legs still work just fine," Camille said, but then placed a hand on the small of her back. "But I appreciate the help."

Henry grinned at her. "You know it's like an instinctual thing."

"I do," Camille said. "I'm used to doing everything for myself. So letting everyone fuss over me has taken some getting used to.. But it's kind of sweet."

"Do you want to come and say hi?" Henry asked.

"Do you want me to?" Camille replied. "I don't want to get in the way of your new romance."

"I think Samantha would like to see a friendly face. One not dressed in uniform," Henry said lightly as he stepped away from her, the basket and thermos in his hands.

"Oh, I don't know, women like a man in uniform," Camille teased.

"Except for when that uniform is a constant reminder that you don't have beds to sleep in tonight," Henry replied.

But we have beds, his bear reminded him.

We do, Henry agreed.

"I know that look," Camille said, as she walked alongside Henry toward Samantha and her children.

"I just had an idea," Henry said with a surge of hope.

You mean I just had an idea, his bear said.

Henry approached Samantha and her children, Camille following close behind. He set the basket and thermos on the hood of Samantha's car.

"I hope you don't mind, but I called a friend to bring some things to warm you up," Henry said, gesturing to Camille.

Samantha's eyes widened with surprise as she took in the sight of Camille and the basket of goodies. "Oh, that's so kind of you," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble."

Camille waved her hand dismissively. "It's no trouble at all. We take care of our own here in Bear Creek." Color flooded her cheeks as she cast an apologetic look at Henry.

Camille's afraid she's already said too much. His bear chuckled.

"We all heard you were coming to town," Henry tried to explain. "Mabel is so happy you agreed to take on the job of fundraising for the sanctuary. She has such plans to expand what they do there and to make tourism in Bear Creek sustainable."

"Yes. She's been telling anyone who would listen that she'd snagged you." Camille smiled warmly at Samantha and her children. "I'm Camille, by the way. Welcome to town, even if it's not quite the welcome you were expecting."

"Thank you," Samantha said. "I'm Samantha, but I guess you already know that, and these are my children, Lewis and Tilly."

"Camille makes the best pies and cookies in town." Henry opened the basket and the smell of warm cookies wafted toward them.

"Cookies!" Lewis's eyes lit up at the mention of cookies.

"Music to my son's ears," Samantha nodded with a small smile.

"And to the Thornberg boys' ears," Camille replied, casting a smile at Henry.

"Like I said, the best cookies in town," Henry replied and held out the container of cookies to Samantha and her children.

"Those are chocolate chip," Camille said, "And there is raisin, and peanut butter, too. Help yourself."

"Thanks," Lewis said, as he chose a chocolate chip cookie and bit into it eagerly. "They are so good!"

Tilly selected a peanut butter cookie, taking a small bite. Her eyes lit up in approval before she took a bigger bite.

"Now, I have been thinking about your current predicament," Henry said, glancing toward the house where the fire crew had almost finished extracting the tree from the house.

His bear seemed to hold his breath as he waited for Henry to make the offer of their home to Samantha. It was as if her answer would set the course of their relationship.

And they both knew which direction they wanted it to head in.

"Our current predicament." Samantha's smile faded as she glanced at the house. "That's one way of putting it."

"Hey." Camille placed her hand on Samantha's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. Sometimes the road ahead looks bumpy, and uncertain, but trust that things will work out."

"I wish I had your optimism," Samantha said and then sucked in a deep breath before taking a bite of a peanut butter cookie. "What did you have in mind, Henry?"

"Well, this place is going to need some work before it's livable again," Henry said, his eyes meeting Samantha's. "And I was thinking, I have plenty of room at my place. You and the kids could stay there while we get this sorted out."

Samantha nearly choked on her cookie. "Oh, that's incredibly generous of you, but I couldn't possibly impose like that. We'll just find a hotel or something."

She probably thinks she'll be sharing with us, his bear said.

"It's no imposition at all. My house is on the Thornberg family ranch, so I can move into the main ranch house while you and the children stay in my cabin," Henry explained.

"And Henry's mom would love to have him there for a few weeks," Camille added.

"She would," Henry said with a grin. "She still hasn't gotten used to the house being so empty now that most of us have moved out."

"Most of you?" Camille asked. "How many Thornberg boys are there?"

"Six at the ranch, and a bunch more cousins and such," Camille said. "You can't go anywhere in Bear Creek without bumping into one of them."

"That's not quite true," Henry said.

"It's kind of you," Samantha said. "But what about Camille and the baby?"

"Camille and the baby?" Henry tilted his head to one side, not sure what Samantha meant.

She thinks you are the father of Camille's unborn child , his bear said.

"Oh, we're not together," Camille said quickly as she smoothed her hand over her baby bump. "This little one belongs to Henry's brother, Ezra."

"Oh." Samantha blushed, the tinge to her cheeks taking his breath away. She was so beautiful. And he wanted her so much it hurt.

"Hot chocolate?" Henry grabbed the thermos from the basket to cover his emotions.

"Yes, please," Lewis said as he finished his first cookie and was eying up a second.

"And coffee." Camille reached for the second thermos.

"Thanks." Samantha smiled, looking more relaxed.

"So, when do we see the ranch?" Lewis asked with his hands cupped around his hot chocolate.

"Wait," Samantha said. "I never said we were going to…" Before she could finish her sentence, her phone rang. "It's Mabel."

Henry watched as his mate answered the call, reading her expression as Mabel spoke. From her reaction, he could tell it was not good news.

"Thanks, Mabel." Samantha raised her gaze from where it had been fixed on the sidewalk as she listened to her employer speak. Then she locked them with Henry's.

He held her gaze, unflinching, wanting her to know what kind of man he was. And how he only wanted to help her and her children.

"What did she say?" Tilly asked as her mom ended the call.

"That she can book us in a hotel for a couple of days while she tries to find something more permanent." Samantha inhaled deeply, and he sensed she was coming to a decision.

"My offer stands," Henry said. "We can get you moved in this evening, and you can stay until your place is fixed."

"Please, Mommy," Lewis said. "I would love to live on a ranch."

"I can get the guys to move your stuff out of this house," Henry continued, trying not to sound too eager. "We'll store it up at the ranch until the house has been repaired."

Samantha looked at her children's hopeful faces, then back at Henry. "If you are sure."

"I am," he replied.

And he had never been more sure of anything in his life.