“I know but, please?”
“Sounds good. Let’s get dressed.”
Franklin looked pleased with himself as we went downstairs and announced that we would be heading into town for breakfast. If I was making mates come together, I’d be pleased with myself as well. He really was magic.
We drove into town and stopped at a diner that boasted pancakes as big as my head. I got the pineapple upside-down ones, and Bowen opted for the huckleberry version. Every time he took a bite of something he liked, he did a little dance in his chair. It was the most adorable thing.
To everyone’s surprise, we polished off the pancakes in no time and even got a big omelet to share after that. Of course, they didn’t know we were shifters, so eating that much wasn’t a big deal.
My flight left that afternoon and even though we were having a great time, the thought hovered in the back of my head.We would have to part ways. Usually mates, marked ones, were attached at the hip for weeks if not months after the fact.
This was strange to know that I would have to let him go and while I put on a smile, all of it troubled me.
My panther knew, from the bond with Bowen’s wolf, that it troubled him as well.
But Fate had blessed us so far. No reason to think she wouldn’t continue to do so.
“This is it!” Bowen exclaimed in one of the shops. He lifted a candle almost as big as his head with five wicks in it. “This is the tomato plant candle.”
He handed it over and I took a sniff. “Close but nothing like the real thing, I’m afraid.”
“Tomatoes are summer fruit, right?” I nodded. “I’ll have to wait until then to compare. Do you have mountains where you live?”
My chest warmed hearing him talk about where I lived. It was as though he was already planning to share my life with me—at my home. “Mountains and streams and rivers and some waterfalls. Hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing. You name it.”
“It sounds amazing.”
We didn’t buy the candle and stayed in town until the last minute. On the ride back to the inn, he never let go of my hand, and we took turns pulling them up to our lips for a kiss.
I never wanted to leave him. Not for a second, but life called.
We had jobs and things to handle.
If only we had more time.
“How about we go for a walk?” I asked once we got back. We sat in the car for a few minutes, not wanting to face the inevitable.
“Do you have time?” he asked.
“Of course. Just a short one.”
We took a walk through Franklin’s gardens and down the path I’d gone on when we first arrived. “I wish I had been more daring on Friday night. I would’ve had another night with you,” I whispered as we strolled.
“Things work out the way they are supposed to, I think,” Bowen said, moving under my arm, wrapping his around my torso.
“We’ll find a way,” I said.
“I know. I trust in us, Remi. I do.”
Chapter Sixteen
Bowen
Leaving was harder than I could have believed. Remi was my mate, no question, but nothing could have prepared me for how difficult it was to leave. We’d promised to figure out a way to be together, but I had to get back to work and find out what was going to happen there. Things looked grim, but it was possible that the supervisor would not have the option of deciding who got laid off, if anyone did.
Sometimes, rumors grew on their own, and that could mean just about anything. Rumors of layoffs had happened before without being true, but this time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to happen. My mate did not deserve an omega who would be a financial burden on him, but it wasn’t as if I could commute to my current job from his home.
There were no national parks or other possible parklands administrated by my department within a hundred miles of his place, in fact. And getting hired for state parks or even local parks and rec could take a while. If they were even hiring. Which, in the current economy, seemed unlikely.
