“I’m just as happy as you are.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before taking her empty cup. “Another?”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Gracie loved the way Leo kept checking in with her even though he had become quite a popular man over the few days he’d worked at Sugar Mountain. Mostly with Henry, who kept tugging him along to talk to all of his friends.

  Kate caught Gracie’s eye and smiled at her as she walked over to talk. “Sorry about my boyfriend. He’s got a major bro crush on Leo and is showing him off like a prize.”

  Gracie laughed. “I don’t mind. I’m just glad they’re having fun.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Kate took a sip of her beer. “How about you? Are you having fun?”

  Laughter from Fiona’s group of friends broke out, and Gracie smiled. “I am. I know standing here watching things all by myself might look lonely, but it’s how I like it.”

  “I know,” Kate said. “I’m well aware of how introverts work. I was raised by two of them.”

  Gracie chuckled as she imagined the outgoing woman growing up with two quiet parents. “Let me guess, you joined every club and team you could?”

  “I did have a lot of extracurricular activities, and I hung out a lot at my best friend’s house. Carrie had six brothers and sisters, and her home was always full of people. I loved it there.”

  “Sounds fun.” Gracie noticed Henry and Leo approaching them.

  “We ran out of beer,” Henry said. “But Eric says we can borrow a keg from the mountain. Leo and I are going to get it.”

  Leo looked at Gracie and raised his eyebrows as if he was making sure it was okay with her. She chuckled. “Go. I wouldn’t dream of getting between a man and his beer.”

  Leo flashed her a grin before he left. Gracie’s bladder became something she could no longer ignore, and she said to Kate, “I’m going to use the bathroom.”

  As Gracie made her way to the powder room, her phone rang. When she noticed it was her mother, she was tempted to ignore the call, but it was almost midnight and past when Margo usually went to bed. Worried something bad had happened, she decided to take the call.

  “Gracie, it’s Darla.”

  Gracie’s breath caught in her throat, and she moved toward Kate and Henry’s bedroom to have a quiet place to talk. “Darla, what’s wrong?” she asked before she shut the door to her friends’ bedroom.

  “Honey, your mother has had an accident.”

  Gracie’s heart stopped for moment, and when it started beating again, she yanked the door to the bedroom open and rushed to the ladder that led to her loft.

  Darla said, “She’s in a lot of pain and asking for you. You really should come.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Fairfield hospital.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Gracie ended the call and scrambled up to her loft to get her car keys. She found Kate to tell her that her mother was in the hospital before she went to her car.

  The small hospital was a ten-minute drive away, and Gracie spent the trip imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to her mother. Her heart ached when she thought about losing the woman who’d raised her. By the time Gracie got to the hospital, she was almost too afraid to go inside and find out how bad her mother’s condition was.

  She was short of breath when she reached the reception desk and said, “I need to see Margo Templeton. I’m her daughter.”

  “Goodness honey, breathe,” the woman behind the counter said as she stepped out into the hallway. “She’s going to be fine. Right this way.”

  “Oh.” Gracie blew out a breath in relief. “I was so worried.”

  The woman frowned at her as she paused by a door. “She’s right in here. You must have—”

  “Gracie!” Margo cried out. “Thank god you’re here.”

  Gracie walked over to her mother, who was sitting on a bed with her ankle wrapped in an ace bandage and propped up on a pillow.

  “Darla had to leave me. Something about her kids being home alone and that being more important than me.” Margo sighed. “Can you believe that? Anyway, I’ve got you, don’t I?”

  “You do, Mom,” Gracie said as she reached for her mother’s hand, happy that her mom appeared okay.

  Margo squeezed her fingers and then released her grip to pull away. She swept her hand toward her ankle. “As you can see, I’m not going to be able to work now. The swelling is so great they can’t even cast it. I’m going to need surgery. I really can’t be alone right now.”

  “Uh-huh,” Gracie said as she removed her jacket and set it on the chair beside Margo’s bed. The need to urinate had become urgent since she hadn’t had the chance to go before the phone call, and she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I really need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Gracie!”

  She ignored Margo and rushed to the restroom that she’d seen down the hall on her way to her mother’s room. Once she’d relieved herself and water was rushing from the sink as she washed her hands, Gracie began to get angry about the phone call from Darla. She suspected her neighbor had been instructed to not tell Gracie the whole truth about Margo’s condition. Because while she didn’t have the details, it appeared her mother’s injury wasn’t severe. Gracie suspected her mother was trying to manipulate her into moving back home.

  She walked back to Margo’s room, determined to remain strong. “So,” she said when she was back with her mother, “what happened?”

  “It was a nasty fall. I was on the stepstool in my bedroom,” Margo said. “I was so lucky that my phone was close by so I could crawl to it.” Her mother let out a dramatic sigh. “You couldn’t have left me at a worse time.”

  “Mom, I didn’t—" Gracie sighed. She knew better than to try to point out the truth her mother would never see.

  “Ms. Templeton,” a nurse said as she entered the room. “Here are your crutches. Let’s get you out of here and home where you’ll be more comfortable.”

  The older woman walked over to the bed, and a white paper bag rustled as she set it down beside Margo. She placed the crutches under her arms as if she were going to use them. “You’re going to want to—”

  “I know how to use crutches,” Margo snapped. She snatched the paper bag and grabbed her purse that was sitting on the bed with her and stuffed the bag inside. Her tone changed, and she smiled sweetly at Gracie. “Besides, I have my lovely daughter to take care of me. Wheel me out, honey?”

  Gracie forced a smile as the nurse brought a wheelchair from the hallway over to Margo. She needed to call Leo, but he was probably still on his beer run considering the mountain was a fifteen-minute drive from where the party was. She’d call when she got Margo home.

  Once her mother was situated on the couch where she could watch TV in the middle of the night if she wished, with her foot propped up on pillows and water and snacks by her side, Gracie finally had a chance to call Leo and let him know where she was. But when she reached into her coat pocket for her phone, she found it wasn’t there.

  She wondered if it might have fallen out in her car, even though she couldn’t imagine how, and she went outside to search for it. When she didn’t find it in her vehicle either, Gracie returned to the house. She asked her mother, “Have you seen my phone?”

  Margo blinked at her sleepily. “No. I’m sorry, my medication is making me so sleepy I can’t stay awake.”

  “Darn it. I really need to call Leo and let him know where I am.”

  “Leo? The boyfriend?”

  “Yes, Mom.” But Gracie realized she didn’t have his number memorized. Nor did she know anyone else’s phone number because they were all in her contacts. She needed her cell. “Can I use your phone to call the hospital? I think I must have dropped my phone there.”

  Margo waved her hand lazily at the side table where her cell was laying before closing her eyes.

  Gracie made a call to the hospital only to be told they hadn’t found her phone but would call her mother if they did. Frustration filled her as she made her way to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed. Kate would have told Leo that Gracie’s mother had an accident, but she could imagine how worried he must be. Especially if he had texted her and didn’t get a reply.

  Gracie supposed she could drive over to her new house to talk to Kate or Henry and have them text Leo, but the round trip would take more than an hour and it was late. Not only did she need sleep for work, she wasn’t comfortable leaving her mother alone for that long. Gracie was going to have to wait to talk to Leo at the mountain the next morning. She hoped he would understand.

  CHAPTER 16

  Leo

  Bud’s sputtering and coughing as he took a break from his snoring made Leo glance over at the large man passed out on Henry’s couch. He wasn’t the only one asleep in the living room. There was another guy slumped in one of the chairs doing his best to saw wood in his slumber as well. Leo had the last of the plastic cups in his hands as he moved toward the kitchen. Every ounce of werebear warrior in Leo was scratching at him to be let free so he could run over to the hospital and save Gracie from whatever horrible thing she was experiencing with her mother. But his logical side told him he needed to wait until Gracie asked for him.

  “Hey,” Kate said. The cabinet under the sink clicked as she opened it and pulled out a spray bottle of cleaner. “Have you heard anything?”

  “No.” Once Kate told him Gracie’s mother was at the hospital, he’d texted his mate to tell her he’d do whatever she needed. He had assumed she’d want him by her side, but he hadn’t heard back from Gracie. “I’m not good at waiting.”

  “I noticed, but I appreciate you staying up to help me clean. I really hate dealing with this kind of mess in the morning.”

  “I couldn’t sleep if I tried.” He sighed. “Do you think I should go to the hospital?”

  Kate raised her eyebrows at him, because he’d asked her that a few times already, even though he knew nobody was going to tell him where Gracie’s mother was considering he wasn’t family. “You need sleep, Leo,” she said as she wiped the counters. “You can stay in Gracie’s room tonight. I’m sure she won’t mind finding you when she gets home.”

  He knew Kate was right, and he liked the idea of being around if Gracie came home in the middle of the night, too. “Thanks.” Leo made his way up to the loft and stripped down to his underwear before climbing into his mate’s bed. He inhaled the scent of her on the sheets before he closed his eyes.

  He was woken shortly after he’d fallen asleep by a text from Gracie, and he sat up to read it with a clear head.

  I can’t see you anymore. Things with my mom are bad. She’s got a serious health issue, and I’m moving back home to take care of her. I’m sorry, but that’s where I belong.

  He blinked as he wondered if he’d read the message right. He checked to make sure it was Gracie and then read it again before replying.

  Gracie, I’m here for you in any way you need me to be. I love you, and I know you love me. We can get through this together. Let me help.

  She replied right away. No. I don’t love you, and I’ve realized it’s best if we each go our own way.

  “Go our own way? What the—” Leo inhaled deeply to calm himself and his bear, who wanted free to run and knock down some trees in anger. Something was definitely wrong. Gracie was very much in love with him, and he wondered what might have happened with her mother to make her think she should break things off. It could be that she was afraid of how strong her feelings for him were. Or perhaps she was feeling guilty that her mother had gotten sick once she’d left home. He imagined Gracie was in shock as well. As hard as it was, Leo knew the only thing he could do was wait for his mate to realize she didn’t mean what she’d said.

  Leo laid back down to try to get some rest before work the next day, and he managed to get a few hours of sleep before he got up early enough to go to his place to shower and change before going to the mountain. When he got to the employee parking lot, he searched for Gracie’s car but didn’t find it anywhere. He grew more concerned when he realized he hadn’t gotten to work early. Gracie wasn’t at the mountain.

  He made his way to Tracy’s office to see if she’d heard from Gracie. Her door was open, and he knocked softly on it when he saw she was on the phone.

  She nodded toward him, and he waited for her to end her call. “Did you have a nice time last night?” she asked.

  “I did. Have you heard from Gracie? Her mom is in the hospital and I haven’t heard anything.”

  Tracy frowned. “She called in earlier to say she was taking care of a family emergency, but I didn’t take the call.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Leo checked his phone knowing he wasn’t going to find a text, and he decided to send Gracie another message telling her he was available in any way she might need him. He didn’t get a reply, and at the end of a day full of worry he couldn’t take it any longer.

  He found Henry behind the guest services desk. The clicking of his keyboard stopped when he looked up and asked, “How’s Gracie’s mom?”

  “I don’t know. She—” Leo scowled as the pain of his mate’s rejection tore at his heart. “I haven’t heard from her today.”

  “Me either, and I’m worried.”

  “I’m worried about her too. I’d like to go see how she’s doing, but—” Leo thought about Gracie’s texts saying she didn’t love him and that they were over. He wanted to believe she didn’t mean that, but worry had taken over. “I don’t think Gracie wants to see me.”

  “What on earth makes you say that?”

  Leo reached into his pocket for his phone as if rereading the messages from Gracie would change the words. “Her texts.”

  “Let me see that,” Henry said as he held out his hand for Leo’s cell. He scowled as he read the messages. “This doesn’t sound like Gracie at all.” He gazed at Leo with concern in his eyes. “Something is wrong.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that. I’m going to go check on her. Can you tell me where her mother lives?”

  “Keep me posted on what you find out,” Henry said. “Her mom’s house is in Wilson township. Take Copper Hill Rd just off Route 29. It’s about a quarter mile past the town line and the third house on the right.”

  Leo slapped the counter in front of Henry. “Thanks. Tell Tracy where I’ve gone, please?”

  “Will do,” Henry said, “Tell her Kate and I are thinking of her and to let us know if we can do anything to help.”

  “Of course,” Leo said. He tugged the door open to let a woman through before he left, and once he stepped outside, he saw Donna and Richard. He sighed in frustration because he didn’t want to deal with the two of them and waste precious time. Before they could say anything, Leo spoke. “I’m on this.”

  The two looked at each other as if they were concerned, but Richard said, “We’ll get out of your way.” He stepped aside to let Leo pass.

  As he drove to Gracie’s childhood home, Leo pondered what could have made her send those texts. He understood her commitment to her mother, but it hardly seemed fair that the woman would force her daughter to stay away from the man she loved. Something was off, and he had every intention of finding out what it was.

  When he pulled up in front of the Templeton home, Leo noticed it was the only house on the street that didn’t have holiday lights. There was a single outdoor light by the side door, and when he walked past Gracie’s car to approach it, he saw that the paint on the door and trim was peeling. He pushed the doorbell and heard it ring. He also heard movement, but when it paused, the door didn’t open. He knocked.

  “Go away!” called a woman he assumed was Gracie’s mother.

  “It’s Leo, Ms. Templeton. I’d like to speak with Gracie, please.”

  He saw her step in front of the door and peer at him through the window on the top. With his astute hearing, he heard a noise of disgust as if what she saw was something awful. “Your kind is not welcome here. Leave before I call the police.”

  My kind? Leo stepped back and wondered if Gracie’s mother might know about werebear and realize what he was based on his size. He knew better than to push the woman, and it was clear she was conscious and mobile enough to limp to the front door, so he decided to find another way to talk to Gracie. He trudged through the snow to the back of the house, and when he noticed a room with light seeping out through closed curtains he approached it to knock softly.

  The curtain opened, and he saw Gracie wearing nothing but a towel. She grinned at him, and Leo’s heart soared because her smile was not that of a woman who’d just broken up with him. His mate hadn’t changed her mind, but her mother had tried to tear them apart, and he had a good idea why.

  CHAPTER 17

  Gracie

  The lock on Gracie’s bedroom window clicked when she slid it open, and wood scraped as she lifted the bottom pane to talk to Leo. “I’m so sorry I haven’t texted or called,” she said. “I lost my phone and didn’t know your number.” She chuckled. “Or anyone else’s for that matter. I should probably memorize a few.”

  He frowned at her. “When did you lose your phone?”

  “Sometime after I got to the hospital—" She gasped softly with the fear he didn’t know why she’d left the party. “Kate told you about my mom’s accident, right?” He nodded, and she relaxed. “I’ve searched my car and called the hospital, but they haven’t seen it.” She noticed he was wearing his usual flannel shirt over a T-shirt. “Do you want to come in? Let me change and I’ll go open the door for you.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Your mother told me to go away.”

  Gracie shook her head. “She probably thought you were selling something. I’ll be just a minute.”

  Once she was dressed, she walked to the front door and said, “Leo’s here, Mom.”

  Her mother said, “Do not let that man inside.”

  Gracie paused, but she had no intention of kowtowing to her mother. “He’s my boyfriend and he’s coming inside.”