Page 97 of Protecting the White Bear

“Ditto for me. It was totally a mutual effort to keep ourselves alive in any number of situations.”

“We can see that there was so much more to it than that,” Margot said, smiling.

“Much more,” Monica agreed. “We just had this instant chemistry, even before this mission, when we had first met in White Bear.”

“Yeah, I was ready to bring her home to see the family until she told me she was dating a bear in Anchorage. And of course, her work commitments are there.” Andy kissed her cheek.

“We just needed to meet under more dire circumstances than changing a flat tire to make it real.” Monica lifted her glass of water. “To new beginnings and lots less danger.”

Everyone agreed.

During the meal, Andy asked Rob and Edward, “Hey, can we borrow one of your vans to help clean out Monica’s personal goods from her home? Her mother will jump in and sell it before she can. We’ll head there right after lunch, pack her up, stay overnight, and bring her things home.”

Rob said, “Yeah, we’re not going out for another week on a tour so today would be good for us.”

Edward chimed in, “Yep, I’ll clean the van out and have it ready.”

“Okay, great.”

“We’ll run by your house and follow you up there.”

Andy glanced at Monica to see if they needed them to help pack her items.

“Yeah, sure that will be great. I could leave the food for my mom and dad, but they don’t like half of what I eat. So we’ll need to pack all that.”

“We’ve got refrigerator boxes we use for our outings, so we’ll bring those for perishables,” Rob said.

“All my linens will go with me. Pictures, well, family photos only. I’ll leave the ones on display of Alaskan scenes for potential buyers, though knowing my mom, she will move my furniture and pictures to a resale shop or auction them, and then set up her own house display to make it appear uncluttered.”

“So you have a lot of knick-knacks?” Edward asked.

“You know, you never realize how much stuff you have sitting on shelves that are memorable to you, or important to you insome way, stuffed in drawers. Plus, my clothes. I haven’t moved ever, so I have no idea how much your van will accommodate.”

“We’ll bring two of them,” Rob said.

Once lunch was done, everyone congratulated Monica and Andy again for their announcement. When Monica and Andy arrived at his home, Rob, Edward, and their friend and partner, Casey Jones, drove up in their three vans.

Monica didn’t want them to waste their time if they didn’t need them. “It might be overkill.”

“Better to have an empty van or two than your mom moving your stuff out before you can remove your things, and we can do it all in one fell swoop,” Rob said. “We’re beyond eager to get you moved down here permanently.”

“You don’t think I would change my mind, do you?”

All the guys smiled.

“Well, I wouldn’t.” She sighed. “I need to call my mother and tell her we're going to my house to pack, and afterward, they can have dinner with all of us.”

Then she called her mom and said, “I’m going to my house to remove my things. I’ve got two of Andy’s brawny cousins and their equally brawny partner, who have three vans, and we’ll get all of it packed up and removed. We’ll stay the night, and you can do whatever you want with my furniture so that you can display your own.”

“Oh, great. I’ll run over to take pictures of your home, and you know I’ll do it just right.”

“I know you will, Mom.”

“Does that mean you will all have dinner with us?”

“Yep. Put on your best feast. We’re all going to be hungry tonight.”

Three hours later, they arrived at Monica’s one-story, ranch-style home, gray and white siding house. Her mom had alreadyset up many lights to show it off. “Sorry, Mom, lights out when we sleep here tonight.”

---