Chapter Four: Henry

Henry stared straight ahead as he sat in the passenger seat of his brother's truck. Just as he'd sat here a hundred times before. But today it was different. He was different.

Ezra's eyes flicked sideways, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "So, you found your mate."

Henry chuckled, but it sounded hollow even to his ears. "I'm still trying to get my head around it." His mind raced as images of Samantha filled his head, while the scent of her lingered in his nostrils, intoxicating and terrifying all at once.

He'd always been a responsible person, filled with a purpose, to help others. But to suddenly be responsible for a mate and two children…

I think our mate is more than capable of being responsible for herself, his bear reminded him.

Yet the primal need to be their protector, their provider, surged within him.

"Don't know if you ever will get used to it," Ezra replied, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "Every day is like a gift when you have a mate." He paused, letting the words sink in before adding, "And Samantha has children, too. A readymade family. You're a lucky man, Henry."

"Yep." Henry nodded. "I want to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming."

Ezra pulled the truck to a stop outside the fire station and switched off the engine before he turned toward Henry and said, "Allow me, big brother."

"Okay, okay, I give!" Henry managed between breaths, his sides aching from laughter. He looked at Ezra, reveling in their shared joy. "Thanks, Ezra. I needed that."

Ezra grinned, clapping Henry on the shoulder. "Anytime. Now go on, we have to get Samantha and the children settled in your place. Have you told Mom and Dad yet?"

"Nope." As Henry stepped out of the truck, he took a deep breath. The storm might have caused devastation, but it had left the air fresh in its wake. "I wanted to tell them in person."

"They are going to be blown away," Ezra said as he watched his brother get out of the truck. "And you are welcome."

"For what?" Henry asked as he turned to look at his brother.

"For breaking the family curse." Ezra grinned as Henry shook his head. "Yeah, I didn't think it was real either, but look at us now, three down, three to go."

He's not wrong, Henry's bear said happily. Anyway, curse or no curse, we have found our mate. So get a move on, we don't want to keep her waiting.

"I'll see you back at the ranch," Henry said with a wave, and then headed into the firehouse.

"See you there," Ezra called above the sound of his truck.

It seemed oddly eerie going into the firehouse alone. The rest of the crew were all back at Samantha's place, packing up the gear. The chief had told Henry to get on back here so he could head back to the ranch with Samantha.

Henry wasn't sure if his chief had picked up on the change in Henry, if he'd guessed that Samantha was his mate.

Chief Barnston does have a nose for these things, his bear said.

He sure does . But if the chief had his suspicions, he kept them to himself.

Henry went inside the building, finding comfort in the familiarity of his surroundings. It was hard to believe how much his life had changed since they received the call about the fallen tree. As he'd climbed on the truck, he'd never have imagined he was moments away from meeting his mate.

The firehouse was quiet, a stark contrast to its usual bustling energy and endless banter. With a shudder, he made his way to his locker, his footsteps echoing in the empty space.

As he changed out of his uniform, Henry's mind drifted back to Samantha. The way her eyes had lit up when she first saw him, the soft curve of her smile, the gentle tone of her voice as she reassured her children. He found himself grinning like a fool as he buttoned up his flannel shirt, his bear rumbling contentedly within him.

Next, you'll be purring like a kitten, he told his bear, but the smile remained. Yeah, that smile was not going anywhere for a long while.

As he gathered his belongings, Henry's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text from Levi: Is something going on? Rosie is grinning like a fool. But she won't tell me why. She said it's your secret to tell.

Henry chuckled, as he quickly typed his reply: I'll talk to you soon. There's something I need to do first.

He quickly finished up, double-checking that everything was in order before heading out, ignoring the next text received from Levi asking for more details. His brother could wait. His mate could not.

More like you cannot wait for your mate, his bear said.

I am not the only one, Henry said as he hopped into his truck and started the engine, before putting it in drive and turning it toward home.

A home he hoped to one day share with his mate. But for now, he was content to know she would be living under his roof, even if he was not there beside her.

As Henry drove toward the ranch, the familiar landscape of Bear Creek seemed different somehow. The colors were more vivid, the scent more intense. He rolled down the window, letting the crisp mountain air rush in, filling his lungs and clearing his mind.

So this is what it feels like to have a mate, his bear said happily.

This and so much more, Henry replied. So, so much more.

As the road climbed steadily toward the ranch, anticipation built inside him. He could sense her.

Up ahead. Close. But not close enough.

The others hadn't reached the ranch yet, and Henry eased his foot down on the gas, needing to close the distance between him and his mate.

They're close, his bear said, and then he glimpsed Ezra's tailgate as it went around the bend ahead, before pulling off the road behind Samantha's car, which was following Camille's car with its precious cargo of books.

Henry let out a long breath and let go of the tension that had been building inside him. He wanted to look cool, calm, and in control, even though that was about the last thing he felt.

The small convoy wound its way up the last stretch of road before Camille pulled off and came to a stop outside the gate leading to the Thornberg Ranch.

He'd dreamed of this moment, the first time he brought his mate home. Yet in all his dreams, he'd never imagined it like this. He'd always thought his mate would be by his side, sitting next to him in his truck.

Who cares, his bear said. As long as they are here.

No truer words have been spoken, Henry said as he stopped his truck and switched off the engine.

A second later, he swung open the truck door and climbed out, his feet hollow on the asphalt, before he strode toward Samantha's car.

"Hey," he said, ducking his head and peering inside. "Do you want to come and open the gate?"

"Sure!" Lewis was unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door before his mom had a chance to stop him.

Maybe you should have asked if it was okay with our mate first, his bear suggested.

But Samantha also unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, breathing in the cool mountain air, made fresher by the recent storm. "I can't believe a tree fell on our house, but the roads up here are clear."

Fate, his bear said happily. She is meant to be here with us.

I think Samantha might be happier if fate had found another way to make that happen, Henry replied.

"Coming, too?" Henry opened the passenger door for Tilly.

"Sure." Tilly seemed more reserved as she got out of the car.

She'll come around, his bear said.

I know, I just want her to be happy, Henry told his bear. And to like us.

She'll like me, guaranteed, his bear answered.

Henry led the small group toward the gate, Lewis bounding ahead with excitement while Tilly hung back, her eyes darting around warily. Samantha walked beside Henry. As they stepped around Camille's car, her arm brushed against his, sending sparks of electricity through his body.

"It's beautiful up here," Samantha said, her eyes scanning the lush green pastures and towering pines that surrounded the ranch. "Has your family owned the ranch for long?"

"Generations," Henry said.

And it will continue for generations to come now that we are all finding our mates, his bear said.

Henry smiled inwardly. There was a time when I was sure Mom and Dad, and our uncles and aunts, worried that the end of the Thornberg bloodline was nigh.

But not anymore, his bear said happily as Camille got out of her car and rubbed her lower back. A new generation is on its way.

"There's something magical about this place," Camille said as Ezra joined them at the gate. "I thought it the first time I came here. And every time since."

"Magic?" Lewis asked eagerly.

"Not actual magic," Tilly told him matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I don't know," Samantha said. "It's hard to believe there isn't a sprinkling of magic in those mountains, and the vast sky."

She stared out at the distant peaks that reached up toward the sky.

She's not wrong, his bear said. There is magic here, more than she knows.

But one day soon we can share that magic, if that's what you want to call it, call us, with her. Henry followed his mate's gaze toward the mountains and had to agree. Right here, right now, there was something magical about them.

About the whole world…

"Are we going to open the gate?" Lewis asked. "I can't wait to see what is on the other side."

Henry chuckled at Lewis's enthusiasm. "All right, let's get this gate open. Lewis, Tilly, want to help?"

He reached for the latch, his fingers brushing against the familiar weathered wood.

"Sure," Lewis rushed to help, his expression serious, as if he'd been given an important mission. Tilly hung back for a moment, but then she strode forward and pressed her hands against the worn wood.

Henry showed Lewis how to lift the latch, guiding the boy's smaller hands with his own. While Ezra and Camille watched, his brother's arm wrapped around his mate. How Henry longed to hold Samantha like that, for her to rest her head on his shoulder and for them to be content in each other's company.

"Ready?" With a practiced motion, he swung the gate wide, and Lewis and Tilly giggled as they pushed it open, the hinges creaking softly.

Before them, the winding dirt road that led to the heart of the ranch disappeared into the trees. On the other side lay vast mountains, meadows, and the jewel of the ranch, the house where Henry and his brothers and their ancestors had been raised.

"Welcome to Thornberg Ranch," Henry said, his voice filled with pride and a hint of reverence.

For this homecoming was special. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Henry glanced at Samantha, and she half-turned and met his eyes, a small, unsure smile on her lips.

He could only hope that any uncertainty she felt was not aimed at him.

Because we are meant to be together, his bear said

"Shall we?" Henry asked her as he turned and walked back to his truck.

"Yes," she replied. "I think we shall." Her smile shifted, the uncertainty gone as Lewis and Tilly ran back to the car. "Although, once the kids have settled, they might never want to leave."

And that's all right with us, his bear said.

"And you?" Henry asked, although his question might be too direct.

Her eyes met his for a long moment before drifting back to the horizon. "Me?" Samantha took a deep breath. "I'm beginning to think I need to go with the flow and see where life takes me."