Page 89 of The Wisteria Tree Cottage

‘I know,’ Meadow said, softly. ‘I—’

Just then Heath burst through the trees and swallowed Meadow and Star up in a big hug.

‘Star, don’t you ever do that again, I have never been so worried in my entire life as I have been tonight,’ he said, kissing the top of his daughter’s head.

‘I’m sorry Daddy, I just wanted to help the dog. He was outside and I wanted to try and catch him.’

Heath sighed as he held them both tight.

‘He looked after me when I fell over, we need to look after him,’ Star said.

‘We will, I promise,’ Heath said.

Bear glanced around for the dog but, true to form, he’d run off again.

‘Let’s get you back inside and warmed up and get you checked over,’ Heath said.

‘She said she’s hurt her ankle, her left one,’ Bear said. ‘I did look at it and I don’t think it’s broken.’

‘Thank you,’ Heath said, with such gratitude that Bear knew it wasn’t just for the information. Heath turned back to Meadow. ‘River and Indigo have taken Tierra back to their house but they’ve said to call them if we need them.’

‘I should go too,’ Bear said.

‘Absolutely not,’ Heath said. ‘I think I owe you a can of beer.’

‘No, it’s fine, don’t worry,’ Bear said. He didn’t want the awkwardness of being somewhere he wasn’t wanted.

Heath shifted Star onto one hip. ‘Why don’t I leave Meadow to persuade you to stay?’

Meadow smiled as Heath moved off. ‘I think I owe you an explanation and an apology. Will you stay for that?’

He stared at her, his heart leaping in his chest. ‘You don’t owe me anything. It’s me who should be sorry.’

She shook her head and glanced over at Wisteria Cottage where Heath was climbing up the stairs. ‘I need to go and make sure Star is OK, and then we can talk. Please stay.’

Bear nodded.

Meadow quickly ran to catch up with Heath. Bear had a last look around for Hero but, with no sign of the dog, he climbed up the stairs and waited in Meadow’s lounge. He could see through the window that over in Heath’s treehouse they were both making a big fuss of their daughter.

Bear went to the fridge and grabbed some food and then went back downstairs to the wood and put it on the ground for Hero. He then returned upstairs and left some more near the door in the hope Hero might come upstairs again and they could catch him. He went back into the lounge and paced and sat then paced some more.

He heard the door open and looked up to see Meadow had come back. Before he could say a word, she moved quickly across the room towards him, tugged his t-shirt down towards her and kissed him. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, sighing with relief against her lips.

She looked at him. ‘I love you with everything I have. And yes, I might get scared sometimes but I promise I won’t ever push you away again.’

‘I promise never to let you.’

She smiled. ‘I’m so sorry for what I said yesterday about you manipulating the dating and us matching. That was stupid and thoughtless. I never really believed that, I was just scared because you’d lied to me and I was hurt so I lashed out. I should never have doubted you. You have always been there for me, when Star was born and ever since then, for every tiny and huge thing. You have been my rock and I love you so much.’

‘I will always be there for you,’ Bear said. ‘Because I love you too. But I need to explain about why I never told you the truth…’ he stopped talking when she put a finger over his lips.

‘Heath told me you did it to protect me and I think I’ve impossibly fallen in love with you a little bit more. I told you my secret.’

Bear nodded. ‘Yes and I didn’t want you to get hurt because of it.’

‘You are a beautiful, wonderful person, Bear Brookfield, and you will never know how completely grateful I am to have you in my life. But there’s something I need to clear up. I never chose Heath to be Star’s dad over you. I came here after my parents chucked me out because this place and you three have always been my home. I came here because I needed a shoulder to cry on, because I had nowhere else to go. Heath was the first to find me and brought me back to his lodge where I sobbed my heart out. I never came here looking for marriage or a dad for my baby, that thought never even entered my head. When Heath offered to marry me and help me raise my baby, I was so scared about my future that I said yes. And when we got married in Scotland with two strangers we’d grabbed from the street to witness it, my heart broke a little because in my dreams I would always be marrying you. And in some ways, I wish I had never trapped Heath in a loveless marriage, that I had raised my baby alone. But I can never regret the decision I made because Star has the most incredible dad in the world with Heath. But I never chose him over you. He chose us.’

Bear swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘I get it now. I understand.’

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