On the Ridge by Jayda Marx

Chapter Eleven

Ridge

 

I drove with a smile as I listened to Zane talk to Grayson on the phone, getting affirmation that he was doing well. It was a blessing to witness my mate caring for his father. He had the biggest heart of anyone I'd ever met.

I just wished there was something I could do to help Grayson. I would gladly pay for any treatments he needed, but from what Zane told me, there were no treatments that could help. The only thing I could do was support my mate and try to make both of their lives as great as possible.

Which explained this stop. Just as Zane said goodbye to his dad, I pulled into a parking lot, stopping to collect a ticket for my dash. I parked in an empty spot and could see a line of brightly colored tents along the street in front of us.

"Where are we?" Zane asked, craning his neck for a better look.

"Once a month, the city blocks off these streets for a farmer's market. People bring in their fresh produce, along with a few other things, to sell. This will probably be the last one for the year since it's getting colder. I thought we could choose something to prepare for dinner together since we both love to cook."

"That sounds so nice."

"And I want to pick up some ingredients to make your dad some smoothies; they're loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and might help him feel a little better."

Zane sighed. "You're pretty incredible, you know that?" I waved him off and stole a quick kiss before climbing out of the car.

I held Zane's hand and led him to the booths which lined both sides of the street. The available crops were different this time of year than the summer, but there were still plenty to choose from.

"What sounds good for dinner?" I asked, eyeballing a basket full of turnips.

"Hmm...I've got a couple of pork chops in the fridge at home. Maybe we can get some apples to make chutneyto go with them."

"That sounds great. And I say we need extra apples for a pie."

"I like the way you think."

Zane and I picked out the best looking Granny Smith applesfor the chutney,and some Honeycrisp applesfor the pie, along with a bag of potatoes to mash.

Then I collected an assortment of autumnfruits for Grayson's smoothies, including pears, grapes, and figs.

Even though we had all the food we needed, Zane and I continued to stroll through the tents to see what they had to offer.

We tried a few samples of honey before browsing paintings done by a local artist. I offered to purchase Zane anything he liked, but he didn't see anything he wanted to take home.

Until we reached a booth of hand dyed clothing, that is. Then he fell in love with a t-shirt which was dyed with every color of the rainbow in a pretty swirly pattern.

He talked me into buying one for myself too, even though I was sure I couldn't carry the print as well as he could. I was excited to match with him though; even little things together made me happy. When I bought one for Grayson as well, Zane snatched me around the middle and squeezed harder than I thought possible.

Soon we came upon a collection of books and Zane was in seventh heaven. He searched the pile like it was his job, looking like a cute little squirrel gathering nuts as he piled them in his arms.

While he searched, something caught my eye a few booths over. I leaned in and told Zane, "I'll be right back." He nodded to acknowledge that he heard me, but he didn't look away from his treasure hunt.

It wasn't until I made my purchase and returned to him that Zane looked at me with a grin stretched from ear to ear.

"It looks like you found lots of great stuff. Are you ready to check out?"

"Oh, I already paid," Zane shrugged. "And I got you something." He juggled his stack of books and held out a thick, worn copy of Moby Dick.

"This is for me?" I asked, tracing my fingers across the cover.

He gave me a shy, pretty smile. "I've read it a lot, but I thought we could read it together; I mean, if you want to."

"I would love to." I knew the book was his favorite, and it meant a lot that he wanted to share it with me. "I got you something too." I brought my arm from around my back, displaying the bouquet of red poppies I held. "For you, my love."

"Aw, Ridge," he cooed, taking the flowers in his too-full hands and giving them a sniff. "Hey, I do smell pretty good." I chuckled and he grinned brightly. "Thank you, Ridge. They're beautiful."

"You're so welcome." I kissed his nose and laughed again at all of the items in our hands. "Would you like to keep looking around while I carry these things to the car?"

Zane peeked at the few remaining booths before shaking his head no. "I think we've seen the best stuff already. Besides, I'd like to get home if that's okay with you."

"Of course." I was happy to do anything he wanted. And though I was glad that he took an afternoon off from his worries to have a little fun, I would never keep him from his father. I could tell that my mate was ready to get back to him.

So, we carried all of our goodies back to Zane's car and piled them into the trunk (except for the flowers, which he held carefully in his lap, leaning down to sniff them often as we drove).

As we drew closer to Zane's home, he seemed to become distracted; chewing his lip and drumming his fingers as he stared out the window without speaking.

I put my hand on his knee and said, "I'm sure he's okay."

"Hmm?" he asked, looking over at me for the first time since we began driving.

"Your father. I'm sure he's fine and we'll be back to him shortly."

Zane huffed a quiet laugh. "Believe it or not, that's not what I was thinking about."

"Then what's troubling you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

I smiled and reached across the console to rub my thumb across his forehead, smoothing out the stress lines from where he had it scrunched up. "I can tell you're worrying about something and I want to help you with it."

"To be honest, it's about you," he admitted, wrinkling his forehead again.

Guilt settled in my gut like I swallowed a stone. "Did I do something to upset you? I'm so sorry if-"

"No, no, nothing like that," Zane insisted, cutting me off. "It's just...you stayed with me last night because I asked you to, and, well...I hate to keep asking because I know you have your own place and responsibilities, but I don't want to be away from you. I need to stay with my dad and I want you with us. Not because of your help, even though I appreciate everything you do. I just…"

Zane stopped talking when I pulled onto the shoulder of the road. "Oh no, did I say something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Not at all." I took his hand and looked into his eyes when I told him, "Zane, I love when you call me your husband because that's a deep bond which humans share, but our bond is even deeper than that; our souls are forever entwined. If we were apart, my heart and soul would ache and call out for you. It is my greatest wish to stay with you and never leave you. Wherever you are, my place is by your side."

"But I feel guilty taking you away from your friends and your pack. They don't even know where you are."

I squeezed his hand and urged, "Don't worry about that. They know that if I'm not with them, it's because you need me. Rowdy and Rider can track me if I'm needed, or my Alpha will send his call through the forest and I will hear him. But Rider would only call me away from you in an emergency; all shifters give the highest respect to mate bonds."

"You're sure they won't be mad?"

"Definitely not. I'm sure they're jealous though, and they're also very happy for us."

"I'd really like to meet Rider and spend more time with Rowdy. I was kind of a mess when I met him. I just hope they like me."

"Of course they will. You're part of our pack; our family."

His eyes widened. "I am? Even though I'm not a cougar?"

"You're my mate, so you're in our pack. Rider and Rowdy will protect you just as I will." I told him more about how Rowdy helped me save him from the bear and how Rider cleaned up and made sure Zane was safe from further attack.

"I'm so lucky to have all of you. Now I really can't wait to see the others."

"Let's go back to your place to cook dinner and spend the evening with your dad. Then tomorrow morning we'll go to the mountain to visit our pack, and I'll collect some clothing to take back to the cabin, where we'll stay together as long as you'd like."

"That sounds perfect." Zane trapped me in a tight hug and squeezed. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." I kissed his lips and pulled back out onto the road. "Let's go home."