I laughed again and returned to the counter, my heart so full it hurt in the best way.
Later, when the rush slowed and the shop was quiet, I stood at the window watching the town I’d come to love. I didn’t just inherit a house. For the first time in my life, I finally felt like I was right where I belonged. I just wished my grandmother had been here to see it.
EPILOGUE
BEXLEY
Ellie giggled as she scrambled across the snow, a fluffy white blur of fur and baby limbs. She rolled onto her back, paws flailing as she tried to get traction, and then huffed in frustration when one of her oversized bear feet flopped into her face.
“Need some help, little cub?” I asked, chuckling as I crouched down beside her.
She squeaked, twisted, and latched her tiny polar bear mouth around my thumb. Gentle, but with the same sass she got from her mama.
I smirked. “Still biting, huh?”
Ellie grunted, released my hand, and rolled upright with a proud little growl. Then she ran straight into my arms like a snowball with legs, like usual when she was shifted. I caught her mid-pounce, her soft cub body squirming with excitement as I lifted her into the air.
“You’re quick today.” I tapped her button nose. “Almost faster than me.”
She chuffed like she was offended by the idea of me being quicker and wiggled until I set her down again. I barely had time to stand before she barreled off toward the tree line. Thoughher paws sank into snowbanks half her size, it somehow never slowed her down.
Watching her race across the yard made something warm expand in my chest. Our daughter, born of a bond I once thought I’d never have and blessed with the same magic inside me.
I still couldn’t believe it most days. That I’d found Rowan, she’d stayed, and this was our life now.
A little flash of white fur skidded to a stop, and Ellie tumbled head over tail into a snowdrift, popping up with a squeal.
“You okay, El?” I called.
She shook out her fur and lifted her head like a queen surveying her kingdom.
“You’re going to give your mama a heart attack if you shift out here without warning again,” I muttered with a grin.
A sound behind me drew my attention, and I turned just in time to see Rowan standing on the porch in one of my hoodies, the fabric stretched over her large, rounded belly. She smiled when she caught my eye and wrapped her arms around herself, the wind teasing her blond curls around her cheeks.
“She shifted again without asking, didn’t she?” she called.
“She gave me those big eyes and then just…poof. Tiny troublemaker in fluff before I could blink.”
Rowan snorted. “I swear, she’s got your timing.”
I winked. “Hey, I always give you a warning before I do anything reckless.”
Rowan raised an eyebrow, then rubbed her belly. “Tell that to baby number two.”
I crossed the snow and climbed the porch steps to press a kiss to her lips. “You weren’t complaining when we made her.”
“No,” she whispered, tugging me closer by my jacket. “But I’m pretty sure I blacked out halfway through.”
“That’s how you know I did it right.”
Rowan laughed softly, then rested her cheek against my chest as my hand moved to her stomach. Our second little cub rolled beneath my palm as if they recognized me already.
“Think they’ll shift early like Ellie?” she murmured.
“Probably not. She’s always been ahead of the curve.”
Rowan sighed. “This is the part I didn’t know I needed. Watching you and her in the snow. Seeing the way she tackles you, and you let her take you down like the big softy you really are.”
