Page 61 of Family: Posy 4

"Will you read it for me?"

I gave him my best puppy dog eyes, the ones that always made Mason and Jayden give me whatever I was asking for. I even added what Wyatt called my poochy lip, and thatalwaysgot Ash and Cole to give in.

Sure enough, he took the card I held out in a heartbeat, and I bit back a giggle.

With red scorching his cheeks, he cleared his throat, then began to read.

"Dear Posy,

Once when I was in elementary school, I lost my temper and hurt someone very badly. My parents punished me, as did my own conscience, but neither affected me as much as something Uncle Jay said. 'Anger clouds the mind and doesn't solve anything,' he told me. 'It builds nothing and can destroy everything.'

I didn't learn my lesson, did I?

Honey, I am so sorry I lost my temper and hurt you. I destroyed your moment of triumph when I should have been celebrating it.

Please don't give up on me. I'll do better. I'llbebetter. I'll become the mate you deserve.

You are everything to us. Our mate, our love, our beautiful and strong luna. I respect, love, and care for you with all of my heart.

I am forever yours,

Cole"

As soon as he finished, I threw myself in his arms, blinking back tears.

"Thank you, Cole," I said. "Not only for making a beautiful card, but for taking time to write such a lovely letter."

"Listen, honey, I may get mad, I may act stupid, I may do or say things in a temper that I don't really mean, but I amnevergoing to want to live this life without you," he murmured, his fern-green eyes bright and glimmering. "The Moon Goddess may have chosen us all to be mates, but even if we were humans, my brothers and I would have found you and chosen you. I truly believe that."

Tears stung my eyes again as my heart ached in the best possible way.

"I didn't know," I whispered, shaking my head. "I could have never even guessed."

"What, baby? What didn't you know?" He cupped my face in his palms.

"That I could feel this way."

"And how is that, honey?" he asked as he swiped tears from my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

"Not broken."

Smiling through my tears, I hugged him tightly as hope and wonder filled my heart. A few more years of love like this from my mates, and maybe I'd feel like I was never broken in the first place.

"That's good, Posy. I'm glad we're healing you as much as you're healing us." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Now, how about I show you around a bit? There's a beautiful meadow where we can pick wildflowers or climb trees, or we can swim in the lake and go to the meadow in the morning. Whichever you prefer."

"Ooh! The meadow now, then swimming." I shifted positions to look into his eyes again. "Maybe we can swim under the stars tonight!"

"Didn't you stargaze with Ash last night?" When pink colored my cheeks, he smirked. "I take it you saw another kind of stars. I'll show you those, too, but you really should see the stars in the sky tonight. With us so high in the mountains, they look close enough that you could reach out and pluck one from the black velvet sky."

"I can't wait, pine tree," I whispered and pecked his lips, then worked up my courage to add, "To seebothkinds of stars."

"Me, either, honey," he chuckled. "Me, either."

#

Cole and I lay together on an old quilt in the wildflower meadow about a mile from the cabin. It was such a beautiful early evening, one of those summer days that just seemed to last forever, and you wanted it to because it was so perfect. The birds trilling nearby, the light perfume of the flowers combining with Cole's pine scent, a giant sycamore shading us from the summer sun...

For one crystal moment in time,everythingwas perfect, including the man I was snuggled up with.

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