Page 55 of His Determined Bear

I took a step back and held his gaze, “Twenty days.”

“Twenty days,” he repeated, nodding. But he still didn’t move.

Graham held on to my hand until they made the final boarding call. When he let go of my hand, I wrapped my arms around my body to stop myself from doing something crazy like jumping into his arms. I watched him as he walked towards his gate and kept my eyes on him as he handed over his boarding pass. Graham turned to look in my direction. I raised my hand and waved.

He waved back, and I mouthed loud, “I’ll be fine.”

He drew in a deep breath and nodded once before finally walking through the tunnel, and then he was gone. “I can get through this. We can get through this.” I touched my stomach, a torrent of quiet tears sliding down my face.

I told myself that these twenty days would be easy enough, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t lived by myself all this time. I would be fine. But now, things were different. I didn’t know if it was the hormones or that we were just newly mated, but I wasn’t emotionally prepared for any of it. My heart ached, just thinking about how far away he was and what a long wait it was until I would see him again. I brushed the tears away and turned to leave, digging my keys out of my pocket.

Graham had to leave, and there wasn’t anything I could do to change that. Yeah, you could. I knew if I’d asked him to stay, he would. But he’d understood when I told him that I couldn’t just uproot my life from LA, so I had to respect he couldn’t stay away indefinitely from Asheville. But he would if you asked him. And that was one of the many reasons why falling for him had been so easy. It still didn’t change the fact that he’d turned my world upside down and was now gone.

But I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. Graham was everything I’d always hope for but secretly thought I would never find.

When I finally made it back to the car, I sighed when I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the rearview mirror. My eyes were puffy and red from all the tears, and I groaned. “No more crying.” I knew what I needed to do. And suddenly, the decision was so easy. It would just take a little time to make it happen.

The closer I got to the house, the heavier the weight on my chest got. I turned on the radio and turned it up as loud as I could, but it seemed that today was the day of sappy love songs. That is so not helping right now. I turned the radio off just as I pulled into my driveway.

I turned the car off, and my eyes went over to the passenger seat, where Graham should have been seated. I reached out and touched his seat, letting my fingers linger on the spot where he had been not too long ago. It was no longer warm, but at least his scent still lingered. I sat there until my bladder made itself known.

When I got out of the car and went up the step, I opened the door to my house. An overwhelming rush of emotions hit me that I was in no way prepared for. The house was so quiet and felt empty, like it had been vacant for a year, even though I’d just left it a few hours ago. Standing in the foyer, I was hit with the biggest epiphany of my life, and there was no doubt in my mind any longer. I needed to be with Graham. This place in California wasn’t my home anymore. Graham was.

Chapter 23

Graham

All through my flight home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Cooper. Seeing him cry at the airport had almost been too much for me. Right up until I boarded the plane, I’d wanted to say fuck it and stay. But I knew if I didn’t go today, I never would.

And why was that a bad thing? For one thing, I would probably have a whole bunch of Hallbjorn’s showing up on Cooper’s doorstep. I couldn’t just move without making sure everything was wrapped up here first.

When I got home and walked into the house, I felt the emptiness like never before. My life and my home had never felt so empty. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to know what was missing. My Omega. Cooper. Coming home to him every night, waking up with him in my arms every morning, that was all I wanted.All I needed.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Cooper’s number for a video call. I needed to see his face and make sure he was doing okay. Leaving him had damn near killed me, and if I could just see his smile, maybe this gaping hole in my chest would stop hurting.

“Hello?” I sighed at the sound of his voice. And when I saw the smile Cooper wore, it soothed my soul like not balm ever could. But I couldn’t miss the sadness in his eyes or how red they were. It was as obvious to me that he was even more wrecked than I was. I wanted, no needed, to get back in my car and drive back to the airport when I saw the evidence that he must have cried even more since I left.

“Hey, love.”

“It’s the hormones,” Cooper said before I could even say anything else. “I’m fine. I promise.”

I managed a smile, even as I raised a brow. “All I said was hey.”

He snorted, “Think I can’t read the worry on your face Graham Hallbjorn?”

There he was, all upset and still trying to make me feel better. It warmed my heart but also made me sad at the same time. Heading back to the airport and getting on the next flight out was sounding better with every moment that went by.

“How was the flight?” Cooper asked, his eyes softening and his smile widening.

“Great!” Sure, I spent it missing you. I wasn’t sure saying that would help either one of us. “I got some sleep. Oh, and the man that sat next to me was quite the talker, but it helped to take my mind off of….”

“You can say it, you know. I won’t fall apart if you do,” Cooper said.

I sighed and nodded. “I know you won’t, baby. You’re one of the strongest people I know.” I said, and I meant every word. He was amazing.

All he did was raise a brow, and I chuckled because honestly, he was relentless, and it was just one of the things I loved about him. “Leaving you.”

“See? You said it, and look who is still standing,” Cooper teased. “You don’t have to worry so much about me.”

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