Page 10 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
Stanley let out a slow breath. “Yeah. June. And her son, Oli.”
“June…” Finn repeated, his tone shifting. “Oh man. You met her because I messed up, again?”
Stanley leaned back in his chair, a tired chuckle escaping. “You did.”
“I can’t believe I did it again,” Finn murmured.
“Believe it,” Stanley said, “because it happened.”
Finn’s voice was low when he spoke. “I’m happy for you, Stan. You deserve this.”
“Thank you,” Stanley said simply. “I know it wasn’t on purpose, but...I can never thank you enough.”
Finn let out a long exhale. “Hey, you don’t have to thank me. Your time was coming.”
“It’s coming for you, too,” Stanley said, recognizing all too well the sound of longing in Finn’s voice. “And when it does, I’ll mess up a message for you so good, she won’t know what hit her.”
That earned a short laugh. “Deal.”
Stanley’s bear stretched inside him, rumbling with approval.It’ll be epic.
Stanley smiled to himself. “All right, it’s getting late. I’ll let you go. Just...thanks.”
“No problem,” Finn said. “Did you catch the rabbit, too?”
“I did,” Stanley confirmed. “It was in Mrs. Abernathy’s garden at number twenty-one.”
Finn groaned. “You didn’t tell her I mixed up the numbers, did you?”
“Do you want me to lie?” Stanley chuckled.
Finn groaned louder. “No, and I am sure she’ll remind me when I see her next.”
“I’m sure she will, since she already mentioned how bad you are at dates,” Stanley said. “Night, Finn.”
“Night, Stanley.”
After ending the call with Finn, Stanley sat for another long moment. Then, almost on instinct, he reached for his phone again and opened the camera. Quietly, he walked back through the store and snapped a photo of Herbert nestled in the hay, one floppy ear twitching in the dim light.
He stared at the image for a long time, then tapped into his messages.
Herbert’s safe. Just thought Oli might want to see.
That didn’t sound quite right. So he hit delete.
And tried again.
Let me know if Oli wants updates. Or a bunny visit.
Too much? Deleted.
After a couple more attempts, he settled on…Made it home safe. Herbert’s tucked in for the night. Let me know if Oli wants a photo or update anytime.
Then he added the image and hit send before he could overthink it.
Back at his desk, the notification showing the message had been delivered gave him a strange kind of satisfaction.
When his phone buzzed in his hand, he nearly dropped it.
