Slater couldn’t help chuckling at the glare Brian gave Blake as he went off to get the paper and pen. He glanced over at Brock to see a smirk on his face. Slater wondered how they would handle stuff like this when it happened. They’d only just stopped fighting and agreed to share Sammy three or so months ago.
At first he and Brock had fought all the time. Their bears attacked each other over Sammy, trying to kill each other to see who was the stronger. After months of fighting and being drained because of what was going on in the shifter world and the situation their mate was in, they’d decided if Brock’s two younger brothers could share and be happy and content, then so could they.
They’d bought a large five bedroom house, with two huge living areas, a massive kitchen, four bathrooms, and big verandas. The house was close to Brian, Susie, and Blake’s place. They’d hoped that Sammy would love it and be happy to move in with them. They hadn’t decorated much, as Brock’s sister had told them that if Sammy ever let them claim her she would want to decorate the house herself.
“Thank you, Brock, Sammy, and Slater. These will come in real handy with the babies.”
Slater gave a mental shake and smiled at Susie as she looked at the two baby swings boxes. Susie gasped as she opened the present Sammy brought. Handmade knitted booties, bonnets, and cardigans, three in blue and three in yellow all different styles and sizes. That wasn’t all. Tears ran down Susie’s cheeks as she pulled out one blue-and-white and one yellow-and-white blanket. The work that would have gone into making these would have been hours, and taken months.
“Sammy, these are beautiful. They must have taken you forever. How did you get them all done in so little time?”
Sammy turned bright red and shrank back into the seat. “I have no life anymore, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I also find knitting therapeutic.”
Susie tried to get up, but Blake stopped her. “Let me go, Blake. I’m getting up to hug and thank Sammy.”
“Sweetheart, I think it’s best you stay seated. Sammy can come to you. She’s not eight months pregnant with twins.”
Sammy let go of his hand, and Slater watched as she got up, walked over to her friend, leaned down and hugged Susie.
His little mate was talented. You could tell by one look at the baby knitted stuff that Sammy had put a lot of love and time into them.
“I’m happy you like them, Susie. I wanted to do something extra special after what you did for me.”
Slater would be forever in debt to Susie for helping his mate stay safe and protecting her when he didn’t even know her.
Sammy kissed Susie’s cheek, and Slater could see the love that shone from her face for her friend. Slater wanted Sammy to love him. He wanted her to feel and know he would never hurt her and that she could count on him.
Going slow was going to be hard, but if Sammy looked at him with love the way she was currently looking at Susie he knew it would be worth it.
Chapter Two
What do you wear to a lunch with bear shifters who think you’re their mate? Sammy had no idea. She’d been staring at her closet for the last ten minutes unsure. She didn’t have anything sexy to wear, anything with cleavage, or clothes that showed too much skin. Greg had made her get rid of anything that he’d thought too provocative. Not for the first time Sammy wished she could kill him for what he’d done to her.
Not only had Greg beaten her, made her uncomfortable with herself and how she looked and acted, but he’d gotten ridden most of her clothes. He told her all the time, “Women your size shouldn’t wear what you’re wearing. No one wants to know how big your gut is or how large your breasts and arse are.”
Before Greg, she’d been a clothes hoarder. She was a huge op-shopper. She loved her curves, and she knew how to flaunt them to her best advantage. Her mother had always told her that most men liked women with a bit of meat on them, women with curves. Women with good child-bearing hips. She would always tell Sammy to never change for anyone. To always be herself, and that if anyone didn’t like that then they weren’t worth it. They weren’t the right people for her to even bother with.
God, Sammy wished she’d listened to her mother’s advice when Greg came along. The last couple of months she’d convinced herself that she hadn’t listened because she was angry with her mother dying on her. She was angry at her mother for leaving her alone in the world. Angry because she would never be at her wedding, or be there when Sammy got pregnant, see her first grandchild and so on.
Sammy could admit that she was pissed at her mum. If her mother had been alive she wouldn’t have met Greg. She would never have been with him. She would never be staring now at an almost empty closet. Sammy knew she was being selfish blaming her mum, but she was still mad at her, at the world for the cards she’d been dealt.