“Maybe,” he said, sliding his hand over hers and giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.
Bella sighed. “I just want to pass. Fame can come later.”
Logan gave her a sad smile. “I’ll start your fan club right after you leave.”
The silence hung between them like a fog. They finally had to have the talk. The talk that they had been avoiding for the past two weeks.
The two of them kept busy, spending the days and nights observing the owls, writing the paper, falling in love, and having earth-shattering sex in every possible position and in every possible location. But they always danced around the topic of their future together. It was on both of their minds but neither of them were brave enough to bring it up.
Until now.
“I think you should come with me,” Bella said, her stomach rolling with butterflies.
They were sitting on the porch at Logan’s house, relaxing after dinner. The sun was just beginning to dip down in the sky giving the forest a warm inviting glow. Bella’s stomach was full from a delicious meal of venison steaks and grilled veggies fresh from Logan’s garden. If it wasn’t for the sinking feeling in her stomach, it would have been perfect.
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Logan said with a grimace.
“I think you’re ready,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “Your bear is such a sweetheart now. You can’t let one incident that happened three years ago ruin your future.”
“It wasn’t just a little incident,” he said with his muscles tensing up. “My bear killed a lot of people, Bella. And he enjoyed every minute of it.”
She sighed as she looked up at him. “You know as well as I do that those people had it coming,” she said, feeling the familiar anger rushing through her that she got whenever she thought of the story. She was glad that the people who were cruel enough to do that were all dead. She just wished that Logan could find the courage and the strength to move on.
“You’re going to be fine,” she said, nodding. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“And what if you’re wrong?” he asked. “What if my bear loses it again and you’re caught in the middle of it? I’m not willing to risk that.”
“I’m his mate, right?” she said, smiling like she always did when she said that word. She still couldn’t believe that she was Logan’s mate. The feeling was incredible. She could feel the attachment to him getting stronger every day. They were meant to be together. Bella could feel it in her bones. “If I’m his mate would Cliff do anything to hurt me?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head fiercely. “He would rather die than hurt you, and so would I.”
“See?” she said, raising her shoulders. “I’ll be with you guys the entire way. If Cliff starts to get upset, I’ll just stand in front of him and sing softly to him, pet his face, scratch behind his ears like he loves.” She stared into Logan’s worried eyes and pressed her forehead to his. “Logan. It will be fine.”
“It’s not just that,” he said, reaching up and gently touching the long scars that ran down the side of his face. “I look different.”
“You look sexy,” she said, kissing his scarred cheek.
“Bella,” he said, dropping his chin as he watched her. “Even you were terrified of me at first.”
“Because I thought you were a serial killer who kidnapped me,” she said. “Not because of the way you looked.”
“I’d be working with children,” he said, exhaling softly. “They’re already hurt and sick. I don’t want them to be terrified of their doctor as well.”
“Do you want them to be alive?” Bella asked. “You’re the only one who can save them. You have to do this. You have a responsibility to do this.”
He sighed as he looked down at his fidgeting hands.
Logan knew that she was right. He had a responsibility to greatness. He had been the best pediatric surgeon in the country, maybe even the world before the military got their hands on him. There were a lot of children and parents out there who desperately needed his help. He had a responsibility to help them because he could. It would be wrong to let his past and his injuries keep him from the incredible gifts that he was given.
“Let’s start slow,” Bella said, placing a hand on his hard shoulder. “There’s a general store close to where my car is parked. You can try and walk in there first and see how it goes.”
Bella remembered the rude rednecks inside who kept staring at her ass. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Cliff ate them.
She was pretty certain that Cliff was back to his old self. She hadn’t seen an ounce of aggression in him the whole time she had been here. He was like a big cuddly teddy bear around her.
“He has been very calm lately,” Logan said, rubbing his chin. “Ever since he met you.”
“It’s going to be fine, Logan. You can’t stay out here forever.” Bella was his mate and he was her man, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, in the comforts of society. Not out here.