Tempting The Bear: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 4) (8 page)

“
Oh.” Gramma and
Ne-ma glanced mournfully at their huge present which was hidden under
all that tangle of red ribbon.

Jeremy leaped into Jackson's
arms and grinned. “Daddy!”

Behind Mason and Suzanne,
Tristan and Alisa were coming up the front steps. Alisa was carrying
their baby daughter, while Tristan hauled a beautiful rocking-horse
into the house.

“
I made this myself,”
Tristan beamed. “Happy birthday, Jeremy!”

Jeremy squealed excitedly and
scrambled down from Jackson's arms. “Thank you, Uncle Tristan!
Thank you, Aunt Alisa!” he shouted. He climbed onto the
rocking-horse and started riding it like a little cowboy.

Harper came to coo at her baby
niece. “Katie looks just like you,” she told Alisa.
“But she has Tristan's eyes.”

“
Yep.” Alisa
smiled. “She's Daddy's little girl all right.”

Jeremy was whopping and urging
his horse round the sofa when the doorbell rang again. In a
heartbeat, Jeremy was off his horse and racing towards the door.
Before Harper could open the door, he was jumping up and down and
yelling, “Godpa, Godpa!”

Winston stepped through the
door and grinned. “Happy birthday, Jeremy,” he said
hugging his godson as Jeremy pounced on him. “Here, I got this
for you, son. You can build anything you want with these.”

“
Thank you, Godpa!”
Jeremy took the huge bucket of building blocks from Winston and
proceeded to pour all the blocks out on the living room floor.

“
Come on, let's eat!”
Harper clapped her hands. “Let's get the party started!”

The whole house was filled
with lively chatter and laughter and Jeremy had the time of his life.
After finishing a big slice of his birthday cake, Jeremy went to tug
at Alisa and pointed at Katie. “You want to play with your
cousin?” Alisa asked.

Jeremy nodded excitedly.
“Okay, but she's still very little. You have to take care of
her.”

“
Okay,” he
promised.

Alisa put Katie down among
Jeremy's toys and the little girl promptly shifted into a bear cub.
“Yay!” Jeremy clapped and shifted into lion form. The
two cubs gamboled among the toys and chased each other round the
house.

“
More cake?”
Harper asked Winston.

“
Yes, please. Thank
you. This cake is delicious! It's from Baker's Hut, isn't it?”

“
It's made by the boss
of Baker's Hut,” Harper corrected. “But you can't get it
at Baker's Hut.”

“
That's right.”
Elle winked at them. “I only bake this cake for family.”

Winston laughed. “Thanks
to my godson, I got to eat this cake!”

“
Of course. You're
family,” Harper said, giving Winston a kiss on the cheek.

Gramma and Ne-ma giggled and
came to sit on either side of the unsuspecting Sheriff.

“
Winston, we were just
wondering...” Gramma began.

“
...if you have someone
special in your life,” Ne-ma said, her blue eyes twinkling
behind her glasses.

“
Special?”
Winston's fork stopped midway to his mouth.

“
Do you have a mate?”
Gramma asked bluntly.

“
Or a girlfriend? A
significant other?” Ne-ma probed.

Winston coughed and shook his
head. “No,” he spluttered. “I don't have anyone
special.”

“
Ah...”

“
Ha!”

“
Are you thinking what
I'm thinking, Glynda?” Ne-ma smiled slyly.

“
I thought it first,”
Gramma smirked.

There was a collective groan
from Jackson and his brothers. “Gramma! Ne-ma!”

“
What?” Gramma and
Ne-ma blinked innocently at their grandsons.

“
You're going to cast
that spell again!”

Winston Knight gave Gramma and
Ne-ma his best interrogative stare. “What spell? What are you
plotting?”

Gramma and Ne-ma chuckled and
patted Winston's arm. “We're not plotting anything, Sheriff.
You have nothing to worry about. We're just harmless little old
ladies.”

Jackson laughed and clapped
Winston on the shoulder. “You're a great godfather to Jeremy.
And I've always said to Harper that you'd make a great dad some day.
It looks like that day is coming real soon!”

Before Winston could question
him further, Jackson went to grab Jeremy and Katie out from under the
couch. The two cubs pounced on him and an energetic wrestling match
began.

Harper laughed as she watched
the cubs gang up on Jackson. The lion and the bear worked as a team,
jumping all over Jackson and nipping him playfully.

Aidan finally took pity on his
boss and extricated the Sheriff from Gramma and Ne-ma's clutches.
But when Winston asked him what his grandmothers were talking about,
all Aidan would say was, “It's all good.”

Mason dived onto the floor and
took the cubs' side in the wrestling match. Balloons popped and the
cubs rolled exuberantly among the streamers.

Harper listened to the joyful
noise and laughter filling the house. She gazed at the huge,
half-eaten birthday cake and smiled. She'd thought that her son's
first birthday would be a quiet, lonely affair. There would just be
the two of them, in a cold, tiny apartment with a cupcake and a
single candle.

She never imagined that they
would be surrounded by so much love and laughter and happiness.

She wondered if Jeremy had
made a birthday wish as he blew out his candle. She had made a wish
a long time ago. Not on her birthday, not upon a star, but under a
dying street lamp. It was a distant memory, almost a lifetime ago.

She and Jeremy had come a long
way. It wasn't just the two of them against the world. Not anymore.
They were part of the Gray family now. She had a big, strong
family, and a wonderful mate who loved her and their son with all his
heart.

The wish that she had made so
long ago had come true.

Life wasn't a straight path.
It was full of ups and downs, and twists and turns. There would be
surprises and challenges down the road, but Harper knew that she
could face anything with her loving, wonderful family.

She would live happily ever
after with her mate and her beautiful family every single day.

~
End
~

About the Author

Natalie Kristen is a writer
who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark,
the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring
paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances.
She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and
writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to
follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest
news and updates.

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/NatalieKristenBooks

Blog:

nataliekristen.blogspot.com

Twitter:

@NatKristenBooks