There was a knock on the door and Alex’s voice rang out. “If you two are finished, you may want to get out here. The show’s about to start without you.”
I kissed Bunny once more and opened the door. My little brother was standing with a big grin on his face as he looked at us. I smacked him on the back of the head. “We are the show.”
Bunny gave me the evil eye. “I told you they were all going to know.”
We hurried towards the ceremony, where soft music was playing and our family was waiting for us. Everyone was there. All of my brothers and their mates, and their children. I could already hear a baby squealing.
“Who thought it would be a good idea to do this when I was nearly nine months pregnant?”
Alex moved on as I stopped and rested my hands on Bunny’s shoulders. “You did. You wanted this to happen before the baby came. If you’d rather not do it, just say the words, Bunny. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. “No, I want to. I just feel awful. Look at me.”
I did look and I felt myself hardening again. “Baby, you’re fucking sexy as hell. I can go again if you need proof of how I feel.”
She laughed and let me wipe her tears away. “I’m sorry. I’m all over the place. I’m just nervous.”
I pulled her into my chest and held her. “I love you, Bunny. I love you more than any man has ever loved any woman, I’m pretty sure. I don’t need this ceremony. I know what we have. If you’d rather just have the party, no one is going to blame you.”
She straightened herself and shook her head. “No. I know what I want. Come on.”
I let her lead me to the field of flowers and couldn’t help feeling a little relieved that she wanted to do it. We joined the rest of our family, because they were her family, too, and I couldn’t help feeling like I was the luckiest bear there. I stood back and watched as all of my brothers’ mates rushed towards my mate, to fawn over her and her very pregnant belly. My heart felt like it couldn’t take anymore. I knew it could, though. Soon, my son would join us.
Our whole family was complete. Of course, Bailey was still too young for her mate, but she seemed happy just taking care of all the new babies. I knew Dad would be pleased with how we’d turned out. We finally understood the crazy will. This, this spectacular thing, was all he’d wanted for us. It’d taken us losing him to get our heads on straight, but here we were. Better than ever.
Bunny suddenly cried out and I rushed to her side. She looked down and growled. “My water broke!”
Elizabeth grinned. “The baby’s coming early!”
Bunny shook her head. “No. No way. We have to do this first.”
I grabbed her arms. “No fucking way, Bunny. We’re getting you to the midwife and the tub. We can do this later.”
She grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me closer. “We’re doing this. Now.”
And so we did. We committed our lives to each other in a commitment ceremony- not a wedding- while my mate was in labor. She screamed as I slid her ring on and threw mine at my head when I suggested we skip the rest and go ahead to her midwife. It was messy, with everyone gathered around us in a tight circle of worry and laughter. Bunny cursed me, while also telling me how much she loved me. It was us. It was perfect.
And then we all lived messily, and happily, ever after.
THE END
RANCHER BEAR’S MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER 1: Lettie
If my mother had still been living, she would’ve lost her cool on me. I couldn’t get that thought out of my head as I sat behind my desk on Christmas day. Mom was big on traditions and spending Christmas with family was one of them. Unfortunately, she and Dad had only one child, me, and their brothers and sisters didn’t have kids nor did they stick around Landing, Wyoming. So, here I was, sitting alone in my office on Christmas day. No family around to speak of, and all my friends were spending time with their own families today.
My office sat on the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue and if I rolled my chair to the left corner of my desk, I could just see the giant decorated Christmas tree in the center of town square. It was early in the day, but the lights were already twinkling. A thick layer of snow blanketed the town, undisturbed except for the twin tracks on the road where people had driven over it. It felt magical, serene, and silent like the song.
I rolled my chair back in front of my laptop screen and tapped the space bar to get it to come to life. I didn’t have anything to do. What was a travel agent supposed to do at her office on Christmas day? All of my clients were either already enjoying their holiday vacations, or tucked away cozy and warm in their homes celebrating with their families. I opened my email, anyway, then refreshed it a few times when nothing new appeared. Still, nothing.