Making money, p.23
Bear’s Midlife Surprise: A Fated Mate Shifter Romance (Bear Mates Over Forty Book 4), page 23
Bear’s Midlife Surprise
A Fated Mate Shifter Romance (Bear Mates Over Forty Book 4)
Aline Ash
© 2023 Aline Ash
Bear’s Midlife Surprise, book 4
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.
Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.
Kindle Edition
Join Aline's FB group, Aline's Aliens, for sneak peaks, giveaways, and oversharing.
Get notified of new releases and special offers by signing up to Aline’s Email list
Table of Contents
About the Book:
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Also by Aline Ash
About the Author
About the Book:
What happens when a lifelong bachelor and a recent divorcee, both adamant about avoiding relationships, collide in a whirlwind of midlife passion and an unexpected surprise?
January
After a bitter divorce in her 40s, January swears off love, embracing her newfound freedom. Men are strictly off-limits and she has no regrets, except for one: not having children.
When her sister June invites her to a secluded cabin retreat, January agrees cautiously, with one strict condition—no meddling or attempts at matchmaking.
But destiny has other plans. A twist of fate lands January in the Greenacre clinic, where Tavish, a magnetic and captivating man, tends to her wounds. In his presence, a spark of attraction ignites, defying January's resolve to stay single.
As January battles her conflicted desires, Tavish unexpectedly shows up at the cabin and June plays Cupid. But their night of passion brings an unforeseen mid-life surprise that changes everything.
Tavish
Tavish, a seasoned bachelor among shifters, believed his chance for a mate had long passed. After all, his bear remained silent for years. But when January storms into his life, an undeniable truth is striking—she is the one. The connection is electric, and in an instant, their world transforms.
Tavish's bear roars with determination, leading them on a path to a passionate happily-ever-after that will surpass their wildest expectations.
But what happens when January and Tavish's destinies entwine in a striking midlife twist?
Bear Mates Over Forty ” Bear Shifters Series:
Book 1: Midlife Bear Twins
Book 2: Midlife Daddy Bear
Book 3: Bear’s Midlife Miracle
Book 4: Bear’s Midlife Surprise
Book 5: Midlife Forgotten Mate
Chapter 1
January
“Everyone thinks we’re crazy. No one goes to the cabin in the middle of winter.” January shuddered just thinking about it, even though her heat was blasting in the car. But when her sister invited her to the cabin in the mountains just a few hours from Seattle, she’d agreed because what else was she going to do? Stay home and brood?
It wasn’t like she could even get out of the house—she worked from home. Why her sister had picked up and accepted a job in Washington when Arizona was a perfectly good state, January would never truly understand. But she had, and then she’d met Greg, and now she had a life and a family there.
“Well, I’m already here and I’ve been here for hours. Crazy or not, I have the fire going and I can make you tea when you get your frozen ass through the front door. That’s why Greg leaves a huge pile of wood. So we can use the place in winter. It’s why we have a functional outhouse and not just one for décor. Sure, there might not be running water, but who needs that? We’re only here for a couple days. Surely we can rough it.”
“Ugh. Is it too late to say I miss the city already? Is it too late to say that I miss Phoenix?”
“You’ve had one hell of a road trip to get here. It’s only, what, half an hour longer? You can do it. I believe in you. Besides, we barely see each other anymore. This is our week away from civilization. It’s our time to recharge the old creative batteries.”
By creative batteries, January knew her sister was crazy worried about her. She couldn’t be doing fine six months post divorce. She just couldn’t. First, her family hadn’t understood what she’d seen in Jotham, then they couldn’t figure out why she’d ever want to marry him, but she had, and they’d all come around. In the end, Jotham was one of the family. And he was loved. Probably more than she was at certain times. To her family, he was the perfect husband, the doting partner, the funny one, the outgoing one, the one who would always be there in times of trouble.
Her mom still called him weekly. Which was fine. He’d been a part of the family for over fifteen years. January didn’t expect her parents or siblings to just drop him. That would have been harsh. She would never have done anything to turn her family against him. Really, it wasn’t a him or her choice. But when they asked her to explain to them what happened, she just couldn’t.
“I think it’s more that you want to put your feet up and drink wine and not have to change diapers or make meals or clean the house for a week.” January said, smiling to herself. She knew her sister well.
“Yeah, okay, it’s a break from my life too.” June’s voice was unabashedly unapologetic over the car’s speakers.
At least the phone reception was still good. That was a plus about the cabin, or at least June promised it would be. Cell reception, internet, the whole deal. January wouldn’t have to miss one freaking heartbeat when it came to her work, which was good, because people weren’t so easy going when it came to having to wait for their floor plans and any changes they might want. She had clients from all over the world. The pre-designed floor plans she sold were the easiest because she just made them, put them online, and forgot about them. They earned her constant, perpetual money. The custom plans were another story. She might make more on them than anything else, but goodness. No one told her when she was going to school to be an architectural technologist that it would be that hard to please people.
“It’ll be fun. We’ll watch terrible TV and read books, drink wine, do nothing at all. Explore the woods. Cross-country ski. Be sisters.”
“We’re always sisters, even if you’re out here and I’m in Phoenix with the rest of the family.”
“Hey. I know I didn’t have to come out here and I didn’t have to stay, but I love it. Give it a chance. You might fall in love with it too.”
“Heck no. I’m not signing up for snow and winter, even if it is milder than other places. Rain isn’t fun either.”
“It has its charms. You’ll love it, Jan.”
“Ugh, don’t you dare call me that. You know how much I hate it.”
June laughed. “I know. You’re going to break out Juney soon because you know I hate that. Admit it, neither name is as bad as August. He gets the worst of it, poor guy. He hates being called Augie.”
“All my friends constantly asked me why our parents named us all after months of the year. And then they asked me if my good-looking older brother was single. It was so gross. I hated when they’d make hot older brother jokes.”
“I know, right? Nasty. He was only two years older than your friends, but five years older than mine.”
“Extra nast—”
Blam!
The wheels spun faster than January could correct them and she veered into the other lane before she managed to pull over on the shoulder.
“Oh my god, what’s happening? January?”
She hadn’t realized that she’d screamed or how tightly she was gripping the wheel, how hard and fast her heart was beating, or how she’d broken into a cold, clammy sweat until she was safely pulled over.
“I think I got a flat. Hold on while I go and check.” She opened the car door, unbuckled herself, and stepped out.
She’d spent the night in Seattle and had left around noon, so it was lucky it was daytime and not the dead of night. The cold wasn’t horrible or anything, but coming from the desert, it still made her shiver even in her thick winter coat. She’d had to buy the thing just for her trips out to see her sister.
The driver’s side tire wasn’t just flat. It was completely shredded. January let out a squeak and slipped back into the car. “Oh my god! It exploded.”
“What?” June’s voice sounded distorted, her shriek was so bad. “How could it just explode?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the sun, like, eroded them or something. I don’t know.
“You’re not in Seattle anymore,” June growled. It was their inside joke, for them all to bug June about where she lived, even though it was pretty amazing too. They all loved to visit her.
“Yeah, okay, so it’s the country. I told you I wasn’t cut out for camping.”
“Dude, we’re glamping.”
“Or that.”
“Where are you? I can come get you.”
“I don’t know. I just passed a sign for this little village about twenty minutes ago. Greenacre or something?”
“I know exactly where that is.”
“It’s not like you could miss me if you just head back down the road. I’m here, sitting on the side of it.”
“Do you have a spare?”
“Of course I have a spare. Dad would lose his mind if I didn’t leave completely prepared with the spare, the tools, the survival kit.”
“Do you think you can change it?”
Shit. She’d practiced this with her dad when she was sixteen and learning how to drive. He’d made sure they all knew how to change a flat, check the oil, troubleshoot minor problems, and do basic maintenance on their vehicles. It was too darn bad that sixteen was twenty-five years ago for her.
“I could try.” If the cell reception was good, the internet probably worked. She could get on there and get a video going and let someone else tell her how to do it. It probably wasn’t that hard. She did remember her dad’s advice to step on the tire iron to get the bolts off. Step on it hard.
“Wait for me,” June said. There was rustling in the background. “I’m getting my coat and boots on now. I’ll be there in half an hour. Just put your hazards on, lock your doors, and wait. We can figure it out together.”
“Okay. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“Very funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. I’m serious.”
“It was more the super dry way you said it that I was talking about.”
January had to smile. God, even with a flat tire it was good to be here. She’d missed June. A lot.
Maybe with their sister time together, out in the middle of nowhere, she could finally find the words to explain what had gone so wrong in her marriage. Maybe she’d be able to explain to herself why she just wasn’t into it anymore when everyone thought her life was pretty much perfect.
That was the generally the problem. Everyone else saw perfection while the one who was supposed to be experiencing it was only experiencing that perfection on the surface. It was the underside of that perfect, placid life where things got murky and muddy.
“January?”
“I’m here, don’t worry. I’ll wait for you, and we’ll get this puppy back to rights in no time.”
What was the worst that could happen?
Didn’t everyone think that before a major disaster?
Chapter 2
Tavish
“One day you’re going to find someone and you’re going to fall so hard and fast you won’t know what happened to you. Whiplash. That’s what’s going to happen. Bam. Head. Whipped. Whiplash. Lovelash. All the lashes.”
Even though he and Kier had been friends since they basically entered the world, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be annoying. Or maybe it was because they were friends that he was so annoying. There was no escaping a person who knew you better than you knew yourself.
That just happened to go for everyone in Greenacre, given that they were a clan more than just a community, and knowing a person from birth was just something that was done.
Tavish worked with two of his closest friends, and the other was kind of his boss slash clan alpha.
“You’re ridiculous,” he grumbled, slapping a few boxes of wound dressings onto the shelves in the supply room. Deliveries came in at least once a week, and it seemed that half his job at the clinic was unpacking the orders.
Not that he was complaining. He liked doing this. He liked making things neat and tidy and easy to find. He liked that in a crisis, when he went for something, no matter how inconsequential or how essential, he always knew just where to find it.
It surprised him that he enjoyed this job. When the clinic reopened in Greenacre with Trace’s mate Josephine running the place because she was a legit doctor in her old life in Seattle—before she’d come out to the clan to be with Trace and had brought their twins with her, Sam designated him and Kier to help out. Their jobs had been strictly guarding Sam for a long time and keeping watch over Greenacre. Doing rounds, checking security cameras in the woods, knowing what was going on at all times. He’d thought he’d make the world’s worst nurse, but clearly Sam hadn’t seen it that way.
It was more about knowing someone better than they knew themselves.
Two and a half years later, and Tavish was still loving it. He was a good nurse, if that was the right word. So was Kier, and so was Trace when he got called on to do that. They all just pulled together to make sure that whoever walked through the door got the treatment they needed.
Trace had clearly been listening in. He walked into the supply room, his hands in his jeans pockets, whistling a happy tune like he wasn’t just eavesdropping and happy to have been doing it. He was utterly shameless, with that big shit-eating grin of his. Honestly, Tavish couldn’t be annoyed at him for it. There had been way too many years where Trace hadn’t smiled at all. That was before Josephine and before his twins came into his life and taught him what love and healing were. Now, he smiled all the time, and it was a damn fine thing to see. “It could happen. Just get online. Meet someone.”
“No, thanks.” Tavish supressed a shudder. Greenacre might be opening up. They might be allowed to take human mates, but online dating? No. Just no.
“Then do it in person,” Kier suggested in an asshole, obnoxious way.
“I’m busy, in case you haven’t noticed.” Tavish waved a hand around the supply room. “We’re all busy. You’re busy too. We have Greenacre to watch over. Our alpha. This clinic. We’re healers now, not just guards. We don’t have time to just get online, and I certainly don’t have time to do it in person.”
“That’s good.”
“Oh really?” Tavish cocked a suspicious brow. There was no way Kier should be backing down that easily.
Keir shrugged those big, broad shoulders of his. “Yes, of course.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the best people drop into our lives when we’re not looking.” He looked to Trace for help and he nodded, backing Kier up.
“That’s the best time.”
“You’re more open when your heart isn’t tangled up with the wrong person.”
Tavish grunted. “Okay. Who are you right now and what’s going on?”
Kier turned scarlet. This was an embarrassment crisis, which could only mean one thing. “You met someone. Are you kidding me? When? You didn’t think to tell me?”
“I was waiting until I had something to tell.” Kier’s dark eyes were doing something weird and shiny. He looked ridiculously happy, and Tavish wondered how he’d missed it.
He looked at Trace, who had gone suspiciously silent. “You knew?”
He shrugged. “I’m not denying or admitting to anything.”
“Were you planning on saying something and this is the long, roundabout way, or did it just slip out because I called you on it and we’ve been friends since we were in diapers, not just clanmates, so you know you can’t lie to me?”
“Yes,” Kier said. He grabbed a box and slit it open way too rough with the box cutter. “Oh, thank goodness. It’s just gowns in here.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s an answer. It’s the only one I’m giving. I’ve been told that gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.”
“What? You’ve met her in person already? You’ve kissed her?”
“I think that was a metaphor,” Trace said, always so helpful. He leaned against the supply room shelves, taking up space. He knew they didn’t really need his help and he’d only get in the way.
