“What happened that made you move?”
Ryder flinched, and she almost wished she hadn’t asked the question. But if she was going to open up with him, she needed to know all she could.
“My mother died in a car accident. I don’t even know what caused it. I was on the computer, messing around like usual. I was a prodigy even then, better with electronics than people. More interested in making money than making friends. But I heard Riley’s scream. I came downstairs. Dad was standing there.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said, knowing the words were wholly inadequate but knowing with grieving people, sometimes it was best to just apologize and let them speak.
“Dad wasn’t around a lot. I think we blamed him. We hadn’t seen him for a week when he came home with the news. He hadn’t been with her when it happened. The police had called him.”
“Where was he?”
Ryder pressed his firm lips together and sat forward with clasped hands. “My dad was raised in a different generation. Bear shifters were getting so rare; there was a lot of pressure to mate with as many people as possible. Rather than take one life mate. It wasn’t until I read the letter in his will that I understood.”
“So he was off cheating?” She dropped her jaw but pulled it back up with some effort. Ryder didn’t need her judgment right now. He’d clearly struggled with this for years. “Sorry, what did the letter say?”
“It said not to make the same mistake. That we should try and find happiness at Bearstone Park, like he did, but this time, not mess it up.”
“And you all agreed to come?”
“He was our father. Of course we did. Bears may be solitary creatures, but they are loyal. In the wild, there’s never enough food for them to travel together. But when they see each other, they are often happy to cuddle or greet one another. When my mother died, my father finally realized everything that had been told him was wrong. He knew he should have mate claimed my mother. But you have to understand, back when he was growing up, only wolves mate claimed. Bears were considered too rare and encouraged to be promiscuous, like they were in the wild.”
“Mate claim? What’s that?” she asked, feeling a prickle of anticipation at the thought.
“It’s when a shifter claims a mate, essentially saying she’s his for life and he’s hers alone. I think my father knew my mother was his mate, but he fought it, trying to do his duty while keeping her happy as much as he could.”
“How did she cope with that?”
“Well, I think she knew she was the one he loved. I liked to think that. She never showed us a sad face. She probably kept that to herself. When they were together, they were truly happy. And she had us.”
“Hm, I see,” she said, thinking if Ryder meant to propose something like that, she’d tell him where he could stick his promiscuity.
“But in that letter he wrote me in his will, he said he knew what a mistake it all had been. He’d lived an unhappy life, away from his mate when she truly needed him. When he could have been protecting her. And she was the only one that ended up giving him children anyway.”
“So you want me to have your kids?” she asked skeptically. “I don’t even know if I want that. At least not yet.”
He shook his head. “Just listen. Look, I realized what my dad said when I first laid eyes on you. And from then on, I was destined to follow you, just like a male bear would follow a female in the wild. You were the one. I knew it when I saw you, just like my dad knew it when he saw my mom.”
“How?” she asked. “Is this what you meant when you said you knew in some special part of you that we were made for each other? How did you know?”
He shook his head, and his dark hair fluttered, catching the morning light. The sight made her catch her breath. The fact that everything had been crazy didn’t change the good times they had together. The times everything felt right. And how undeniably handsome he was. She just needed to hear a little more before she made a decision.
Even if her heart was already leaning toward Ryder.
“What do you want from me?” she asked when he didn’t answer.
“All of you,” he said gravely, meeting her eyes with his intent sapphire irises. “Is that too much to ask?” He laughed hoarsely and sat up in his chair. “As for how I knew… I just did. I can’t explain it. The same way I know what to invest in and what to sell. Instinct, but on a much stronger, deeper level. I thought my dad was full of it when he talked about love at first sight, but I knew how wrong I was when I saw you.”