Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Robert,” I say, testing it out. “I like it.”
He perks up. “Really?”
“Yeah. We can call him Robbie when he’s a kid. It’s cute. Robert Crawford. It sounds distinguished. Important. It’s done.”
He kisses me softly on the lips and then kisses Robbie’s forehead.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
“No, thank you,” I tell him. “For everything. For giving me this. For making it possible. I don’t want to know where I’d be without you.”
“There is no without you,” he says softly. “You and me… we’re fate. We’re destiny.”
“We’re home.”
He smiles. “Exactly.”
His big comforting arm wraps around me and we watch our little cub until we’re too tired to keep our eyes open.
And then, we watch him a little more.
Epilogue
Brooklyn
Eleven Years Later…
I wake up to the sound of yelling and laughing.
“What is that?” I mumble as I get out of bed and look out the window. There’s a massive snowball fight happening in our yard.
Courtney and her kids are hiding behind Adrian’s huge bear as Cameron’s family launches snowballs at them. They all hit Adrian, but he doesn’t move. These bears are the best. They’re so protective of their mates and little cubs.
“We gotta go!” our oldest, Robbie, shouts as he runs down the hall in a panic. “Wake up! Wake up! Snowball FIGHT!!!”
My three other kids burst out of their rooms in a frenzy as Logan groans on the bed and buries his face in the pillow.
“Julian and his crew are out too,” I say as I glance out the window. Julian and Madison are scooping up snowballs and tossing them at Cameron and Adrian’s family. “We need you, Logan.”
“For what?”
“To hide behind,” I say as I throw a sweater on.
He rolls on the bed, looking at me as the sheets get pulled down, showing off his hard sculpted abs. This man is in his mid-forties now and his body is as hard and sexy as ever.
“You want me to go out of this nice warm bed to go out there in the middle of a snowball fight so I can take all the hits while you guys hide behind me?”
“Yes,” I say with a nod. “That’s exactly what I want.”
“Alright then,” he says with a grin. “Let’s go!”
We race to the front of the house where there’s an explosion of gloves, hats, coats, and scarves. The kids are frantic as they get dressed, not wanting to miss a thing.
The door opens and the cold air blasts me as the four of them rush out, screaming as the attention (and snowballs) are turned on them.
“You’re going out there like that?” I ask as I quickly put my snow pants and jacket on. He’s wearing nothing but a tight pair of blue boxer briefs.
“Nope,” he says as he walks out the open door, his bare feet sinking in the snow. “I’m going like this.”
His body starts shaking violently as he walks down the steps. I pull on my gloves and hat as his grizzly bear explodes out of him.
I rush out of the house and close the door as Willow and her kids spot me. Snowballs start slamming into the outer wooden walls behind me as I flee down the steps with a squeal. With my heart racing, I hide behind Logan’s huge bear as I grab some snow and start making some ammo.
My kids run over, screaming with smiles on their faces as they hide behind their big protective papa bear too.
I love this place.
I love my family and this ranch. It’s truly amazing.
Logan and I have had an amazing few years with these little guys. In the end, we had two tiger and two bear shifter cubs. A perfect mix.
I launch a snowball at Madison and her kids who are hiding behind Julian’s bear. Julian’s grizzly catches it in his mouth—snatching it right out of the air—and eats it while everyone laughs.
“We should run out and rush them!” Robbie says as he gathers a bunch of snowballs in his arms. “Catch them by surprise.”
“I like it,” I say. “What do you guys think?”
My other three—Lauren, Lyla, and Jonah—are all nodding their heads with excitement in their eyes.
“All right,” I say as we all spring up. “Let’s go!”
We rush out and so does everyone else, laughing, screaming, throwing snowballs, and being the amazing family we are.
All while our protective bears watch on with loving eyes.
The End!