Tempting The Bear: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 4) (4 page)

He ushered her out the door
and towards the lift lobby. “I've parked my car in the lot
nearest the entrance. You won't have far to walk,” he assured
her.

“
Oh, I can walk.”
Harper laughed. “I've traveled far and long to reach this
town, you know.”

“
I know.” He
sighed softly. “I know, Harper.”

He led her to his car and
opened the back door. Harper gasped when she saw a baby seat all
securely strapped in and ready to go. There was even a cushy little
pillow on the seat and a baby rattle.

Jackson shrugged. “In
case he gets bored during the ride.”

Harper started to thank him
again, but he stopped her. “I don't want to hear you say thank
you,” he said simply. “I want to hear you laugh. I want
to hear Jeremy's laughter and yours, every day.”

Harper blinked hard. Tears
sprang to her eyes and she couldn't hold back her sob. Holding
Jeremy in one arm, she wrapped her other arm around Jackson's burly
frame and squeezed him tight.

Very gently, Jackson's strong
arms encircled Harper and Jeremy. A few nurses smiled at them as
they walked past.

Harper knew that they looked
like a young, happy family. For a moment, Harper leaned into
Jackson's embrace and allowed herself to imagine that she and her son
were safe, wanted and loved.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Jackson pulled up to the
driveway but before he could kill the engine. Gramma and Ne-ma were
already rushing down the front steps of the house towards his car.

“
Ooh, where is she?”

“
Where is the little
darling?”

“
Oh, look at him,
Glynda! He's just waking up!”

“
Isn't he adorable?”

Jackson shook his head as
Gramma and Ne-ma hugged Harper and gushed and cooed over her baby.
The two of them were doing more drooling than little Jeremy, who had
opened one eye to see what the fuss was about and promptly fell
asleep again.

“
Come, come, you must be
tired...”

“
There's soup and
noodles in the kitchen. And cake and ice-cream...”

“
Come see your room!”

“
Yes, we'll get you
settled in then we'll feed you!”

Harper looked a little
bewildered as Gramma and Ne-ma hurried her into the house. Jackson
followed and saw his brothers flanking the doorway.

They greeted Harper warmly and
craned their necks to look at her baby.

“
Hi,” Harper said
shyly. “Thank you all so much...”

Tristan put up his hand.
“We're family. We take care of our own.”

“
Yeah. We won't let
anything happen to our baby brother's baby,” Mason drawled.

Aidan stepped forward and told
Harper, “If you can give us a description of the man who is
hunting you and your child, the Sheriff's department will be on the
lookout for him.”

Harper nodded and managed a
smile. “I...”

“
Come, come, come,”
Gramma urged excitedly. “This way! Up the stairs!”

Gramma and Ne-ma hustled
Harper up the stairs and into the nursery. Jackson let his brothers
elbow him and thump him on the back as he followed in their wake. He
had told them everything about Harper. “Harper and
Jeremy...they're important to me.” His family had smiled
knowingly when he uttered those words, and they had rallied round
him. His brothers immediately swore to protect Harper and her child
as he knew they would. Their mates leaped into action as well.
Alisa had cooked a huge pot of nutritious soup for Harper and left it
on the stove before going to the inn. Elle and Suzanne had taken the
day off and were out shopping for baby items and clothes for Harper.

Even his brothers had taken a
few hours off work to come and welcome Harper and her baby.

They entered the safari-themed
nursery and saw Harper turning around in a slow circle. She stared
at all the animals on the wall and gasped.

“
Bet you've never seen a
red elephant before,” Mason chuckled.

Aidan laughed. “Or a
pink lion.”

Jackson went to Harper and
pointed. “Check out the purple monkeys and blue tigers.”

“
Are you sure those are
tigers, Jackson?”

“
Aren't they?”

“
Nope, look carefully.
The zebras got the spots and the stripes are on the leopards,”
Aidan deadpanned.

“
You're all smart alecks
aren't you,” Gramma sniffed, glaring at the four of them.
“Fine, so our Quick-Paint spell mixed up all the colors.”

Ne-ma pushed up her glasses
and huffed, “We only got the last bit of the spell wrong...”

“
Nothing's wrong,”
Harper said breathlessly. “The mixed-up colors are so inspired
and so fun! This is beautiful!

Gramma and Ne-ma brightened up
and grinned. “You think so?”

Harper nodded fervently.
“Yes! I love it, I really do!”

CHAPTER
NINE

Jackson watched his brothers
crowd round Gramma and Ne-ma as they cuddled the baby and fussed
endlessly over him. He could see that his brothers were scenting the
kid, and getting their bears to recognize the little lion cub as
family.

“
He's a cute cub,”
Tristan said, smiling at Harper. “Has he shifted yet?”

“
Shifted?” Harper
look startled.

“
Yes. Your son is a
lion shifter. You...know that, right?” Tristan said carefully.

“
Yes. But I don't know
anything about shifting.” Harper wrung her hands.

“
A shifter cub would be
able to shift in the first few hours after they're born. The shift
is almost involuntary, like a reflex,” Mason said.

“
Like yawning or
blinking. The kid will just do it,” Aidan added.

“
Or peeing and pooing.”

Harper's frown deepened. “If
Jeremy doesn't shift...”

“
His animal might be
repressed. His lion will try to get out, but when he can't shift,
his animal will grow frustrated, angry and violent. He'll suffer,”
Tristan said.

“
And we can't help him.”
Mason raked a hand through his hair. “He needs a lion shifter
to guide him and coax his lion out. Having bears around him all the
time might make his lion retreat even further.”

Harper paled. “Does
that mean that I need to get...Jeremy's...” She gulped audibly
and shook her head. “No! I won't let him near Jeremy, ever,”
she hissed under her breath.

Jackson knew that she was
talking about Douglas. He went to take her cold hands in his. “It
can be any lion shifter,” he told her. “The cub just
needs to have an older lion guide him and assure him…”

“
Oh! Why didn't I think
of that?” Aidan slapped his palm to his forehead. “My
boss! Winston is a lion shifter! I can ask him!”

Gramma and Ne-ma looked up and
smiled broadly. “That's right! The Sheriff is a lion, and a
damn fine one. Winston Knight is a good man. If he can be Jeremy's
godpa...”

“
I'll ask Winston to
come to the house for dinner tomorrow evening. You can meet him and
see if you would like him to be Jeremy's godfather,” Aidan said
to Harper.

“
Thank you,”
Harper said, wincing. “I should have learned more about
shifters. I'm not a very good mother...”

“
Nonsense!” Ne-ma
said. “Every first-time mother learns on the job.”

“
And you've got plenty
of time and opportunity to learn about shifters,” Gramma said.
“I didn't know diddly-squat about bear shifters until I married
their Grampa. But I was a diligent student and a fast learner.
Plus, I had hands-on practice every night!”

“
Gramma!”

Gramma and Ne-ma giggled and
winked at Harper. “Some things can't be taught,” Gramma
said mischievously. “You have to experience it for yourself,
dear.”

Harper turned bright red and
stammered. “I...”

Jackson scowled as his
brothers elbowed him and teased him mercilessly. Harper glanced at
him and turned away quickly when their gazes clashed. Jackson knew
what she saw in his eyes. There was no way he could hide his desire
and intense feelings for her.

“
Cut it out, guys,”
he growled.

“
We will. We have to
get back to work now,” Mason said, grabbing his hard hat from
the table. He and Tristan were still wearing their construction
vests and Aidan was in his police uniform.

As his brothers said their
goodbyes to Harper, the front door burst open and Elle and Suzanne
staggered in with bulging shopping bags.

“
Are we late?”
Suzanne gasped. She had boxes of baby diapers under her arms and she
was clutching two shopping bags filled with baby clothes in her
hands.

“No, you're right on
time.” Mason grinned and kissed his mate on his way out.

Elle almost stumbled over the
bags of toys she was dragging as she lurched towards Harper. “Hi,
you must be Harper! Welcome to the family!”

CHAPTER
TEN

Harper stood in front of
Broomstick Inn and smiled. “Thank you for the wonderful
dinner, Alisa, Gramma, Ne-ma,” she said.

The whole family had gone to
the inn for dinner, and Alisa, Gramma and Ne-ma had cooked up a storm
in the kitchen. After the dinner crowd dispersed from the dining
hall, Jackson and his brothers pulled the tables together to form one
long table and the entire Gray family sat down together to eat.

The food warmed Harper's
stomach but it was the company that warmed her heart. Jeremy gurgled
as he was being passed around, enjoying the attention from all the
adults. Harper never thought her little son would have so many
adoring uncles, aunties and grannies to dote on him. Eating,
chatting and laughing around the dinner table with Jackson, his
brothers and their mates, and Gramma and Ne-ma, Harper realized that
this was the family she'd always wanted. She wished that she and her
son could be a part of this beautiful family forever.

They had helped clean up after
dinner and hung around for coffee and biscuits. But Jeremy was
starting to fuss and Gramma and Ne-ma chased them all home, telling
them that Jeremy shouldn't be out past his bedtime.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged
before the couples headed to their cars. Tristan and Alisa waved and
zoomed off. Gramma and Ne-ma waved to them from the entrance of
Broomstick Inn. Mason and Suzanne called out their goodbyes as they
ducked into their car.

Harper strapped Jeremy into
his baby seat and was about to get in the backseat when Elle stopped
her. “You sit up front with Jackson,” she said.

“
But...”

“
Aidan and I want to
play with Jeremy! And I can tell he likes his Uncle Aidan and Aunt
Elle best!” Elle crowed.

Harper laughed. “He
does indeed.”

Jackson opened the passenger
door for her, while Aidan and Elle piled in the back and began to
tickle Jeremy. Since they were all living in the same house, they
had come in Jackson's car. Just before the car pulled away, Harper
thought she saw Gramma and Ne-ma doing a happy dance before they went
back into the inn.

Jackson glanced in the rear
view mirror and chuckled. “I don't even know what you're
saying,” he told his elder brother.

“
Of course you don't,”
Aidan retorted. “But Jeremy does. He can understand me just
fine. This is baby-speak!”

Elle joined in the cooing and
clucking. “Now where is your Aunt Elle, Jeremy? Peek-a-boo!
Here she is!”

“
Mason is vying for the
Favorite Uncle title. Well, I will make sure I win,” Aidan
smirked. “I will be Jeremy's favorite uncle!”

Harper smiled and said very
softly, “That...would be nice.”

Jackson reached out to squeeze
her hand as he drove. “Jeremy has a big family. So do you.
As you can see, Jeremy will be spoiled rotten by my brothers and
sisters-in-law. And...he'll soon have many cousins to play with.
Right, Aidan?”

“
What? You talking to
me, little brother?”

Jackson laughed and turned to
Harper. “See? I used to be the baby of the family, but
nobody's going to pay any attention to me now. We have a new, real
baby in the family!”

Harper laughed as Aidan and
Elle began pulling silly faces at Jeremy. They reached the house in
a few minutes, and Harper carried her yawning son out of the car.

“
He's exhausted. He had
a lot of fun tonight. Didn't you, sweetheart?” Harper said,
kissing her son's head. “Thank you.”

Aidan and Elle grinned. “We
had a lot of fun too. It's so nice to have a baby in the house.”
They kissed her and headed up to their room. “Goodnight,
Harper. Goodnight, Jeremy.”

Harper went to the room and
changed Jeremy's diaper. She was just tucking him into his cozy
little cot when she saw Jackson standing at the door.