Page 43 of Bear's Heart

Savannah was another story.She didn’t look well, too thin, and clearly sleep deprived.She wasn’t his problem either, and the last thing he wanted was her here, on his doorstep—or anywhere else in his life.

She’d burned so many bridges, and Bear was bitterly sorry Noah was gone, but Bear wasn’t in any position to help Savannah pick up the pieces.“You have family.You have parents.You have Noah’s parents, and I know they’d be there for you, thrilled to help welcome his baby—”

“I’m not going to tell them,” she interrupted tightly.“Not telling anyone.”

“You told me.”

“Because I already know what you think of me.It can’t get much worse.”

“So, what do you want me to do?Forgive you of all responsibility?Decide how you’re to handle the future?You’re almost thirty years old, Savannah.You’re an adult.”

“Thanks, Bear, super helpful.”

Despite the shadows beneath her eyes, despite her alarmingly slender frame, she was still pretty, still Savannah, her long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders.Her roots were darker than he remembered, but he also knew it was the style to do that.She was so meticulous about her hair color that it couldn’t be by chance.

“I’m not trying to be an a-hole,” he said.“But we haven’t talked for years and now you’re here, and I’m not sure why.”

“That’s not true.We talked a couple weeks ago.You called me.”

“To find out about Noah.”

“And I told you he was dead.”Her voice cracked.Tears filed her eyes, the golden-brown irises framed by thick, black-mascaraed lashes.She averted her head, straight white teeth catching her lower lip.“And then I told you about the pregnancy.”

“You said you didn’t know if you wanted to keep the baby.”

“Exactly.It should be my choice.I don’t need my parents weighing in, or Noah’s family weighing in, oryou.”She looked at him defiantly, the tears now clinging to her lashes.“But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m scared, and I don’t know what to do.Which is why I’m here.”

“To not get my opinion,” he said, and yet his anger was gone.

She was, and always had been, impossible.

Savannah blinked and wiped her eyes dry.“Can I just stay here?For a little bit?While I try to figure out… the future?”

“I’m getting ready to move.I’m out in just days.”

“What?Why?Where are you going?”

“Marietta, it’s about thirty-five minutes from here.I’ve bought a house there—”

“What’s happening to our house?”

Ourhouse.He held back a laugh.She would always be the main character in the story, and not just her story but everyone else’s.“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the house long-term, but for the next year I have somebody who’s going to lease it.They’re excited about living here, and that makes me feel good about leaving.”

“But why do you want to leave?”She glanced past him down the hall toward the soaring great room with its majestic, beamed ceiling and stone fireplace that reached up all the way to those hand-carved beams.“This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.And you poured your heart into it.You were obsessed with getting it right.”

“For you, too, not just me.It was going to be our family home, but I’m single and this isn’t exactly wheelchair friendly.”He kept his tone light, not wanting to get into a lot of conversation about a decision he’d already made.“The folks who are leasing it from me have a couple kids and they’ve always wanted Montana property, and this will give them a chance to figure out if they’d like to live here fulltime or not.”

“They sound like LA people.Actors or something.”

“He’s a director.”

“I knew it.”She shook her head.“It just seems wrong.”Her hair swished as she looked up at him.“Do you need money?”

“Doesn’t everyone need money?”

“I just didn’t know if this move was motivated by financial issues.”

“It’s really none of your business, Savannah?You have your finances.I have mine.”

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