Very Bearly Mated by Rebel Carter

Epilogue

Rosie stared down at the menu in her hands and frowned. “This still doesn’t look quite right.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Eric asked from where he was sorting through the newest liquor shipment they had just received for the bar. It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon, the day Wildin’ Waites was closed, and the couple was doing what they did every Tuesday afternoon: inventory and menu design. It was mundane and ordinary, and if anyone had asked Rosie her thoughts on doing such a thing a month ago she would have scoffed at them.

As it was, Tuesday was one of her favorite days.

The time spent with Eric was precious to her, knowing that she was helping make the bar that was at its core, the face of the Waites family—of the Iron Tooth Clan—made her heart happy. She belonged here and every Tuesday since they’d sealed their mate bond, Rosie was reminded of the fact of the clan and mate she was connected to. It was a gloriously beautiful feeling and Rosie wouldn’t trade her Tuesday afternoons for anything or anyone in the world.

“I think the font is wrong,” she said and shook the menu at him. “Who let me be creative? This is bad.”

“Well, how bad could it be? I’m sure whatever font you picked last night is fine, petal. It’s not comic sans, is it?” Eric asked, putting away a bottle of bourbon. When Rosie didn’t answer he groaned, eyes closed and then asked, “It is, isn’t it?”

“It’s not comic, but…”

“Rosie…”

She cringed and slapped the menu down. “How was I to know that Olive Sans Pimento was not a good choice? I was hoodwinked, I tell you!”

“Olive what? These have to go out today for the fall festival, petal. Why would you–”

“Because of the new tapas menu I decided on with Birdie, okay? I thought that it was going to be epic and cute and now it’s just, it’s just–”

“It’s just what?” Birdie asked, coming into the bar, a box in her arms. Birdie was one of the full-time employees at the bar and was, like so many of the other employees, an Iron Tooth Clan member and bear shifter. She was sunny and warm, with brown eyes and curly dark black hair Rosie would give her left arm for. She was exactly the kind of shifter Rosie had taken to when she’d entered Eric’s world, Birdie was friendly and inviting, eager to help her new clan member navigate the shifter world she’d entered as Eric’s mate. It was a no-brainer the two would pair up to handle the Oak Fast Fall Festival festivities. There were going to be parades, hay rides down main street, nightly town bonfires, cider mullings, open air markets, restaurant open houses, and of course, the town wide celebration was set to end with a fall dance.

Wildin’ Waites had been participating in the Fall Festival for as long as it had been going, which meant a cool 80 years. This year would pass much like all the rest with live music every night of the week. There was even going to be a pumpkin carving competition, plus a costume contest, and then there was the thing they were most famous for, a specially themed deluxe menu.

Once Rosie and Birdie had decided on the menu items, she had been in charge of designing and printing the menu. She must have been riding a sleep deprived high when she had chosen this font. She had been fooling around with runes for most of that day and visiting with Alice late into the night before she’d remembered she needed to type it up in time to make the printer deadline. She must have been slap happy when she attempted this. That was the only explanation for her choice.

“Are those the new menus in that box?” Eric asked, nodding at the box Birdie was setting down on the bar top.

“Uh, yeah, I brought them in from the back,” she said, then looked between the couple with a raised eyebrow. “Should I not have?”

“Look at the font on the menu,” Eric said.

“I can explain,” Rosie insisted. “Honestly, I can.”

Birdie opened the box and shook her head at them. “You two are so weird. Is that a mate thing or–Oh my Luna,” she whispered, eyes going wide when she saw the busy menu. “This is, well it’s just, I mean...it could be...I mean it’s very…”

“Very what?” Eric pressed.

“Festive,” Birdie said with a diplomatic nod and shook the menu. “It’s cheery and you know what? Energetic.”

Eric didn’t look convinced. “Uh-huh.”

“It’s terrible,” Rosie whispered looking down at the menu, the off kilter and busy font filling the page. She bit her lip when Birdie asked, “Is this a Wingdings addition I see at the bottom? Like a sort of code?” She lifted the menu up to her face for a closer look and Rosie groaned. There was no time to print new menus. Whatever was in the box was what they were stuck with for the coming celebration.

“I thought it looked cute, okay. Like a little border decoration.”

Eric sighed and held the menu up. He was silent for a beat and Rosie swallowed hard, wondering what her mate would say about the menus the entire town was about to see. Then he laughed, the sound of it surprising Rosie. She looked up at him and saw he had taken a menu from the box and was grinning looking down at it. “What?” she asked.

“You definitely used clip art to add pumpkins and leaves to our name,” he said, tapping a finger against the Wildin’ Waites across the top of the menu.

“It’sfor the Fall Festival. Autumn leaves and pumpkins are a given,” she deadpanned and the two bear shifters burst into laughter. “What is so funny, huh?”

“I’m taking these to hand out in town,” Birdie said, reaching into the box and taking an armful of menus with her. “I’ll be back later you two!”

“Wait for Rosie,” Eric said, and he held out a stack of them to his mate with a shake of his hand.

“What? You’re going to make me face the town with my creation?” Rosie whispered, but she stood all the same. “I’m not ready for that.”

“Can’t hide behind Birdie on this one, petal. Face the music head on,” he advised and she sighed, but came forward and took the menus.

“You’re going to tell everyone I made these, aren’t you?”

He winked at her. “Without a doubt.”

“Love you too,” she said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her, his mouth slanting to hers and making the world melt away for a second. It was always like that when Eric kissed her. It didn’t matter where she was or who she was with. A kiss from Eric made her knees weak, her head spin, and had her wanting more. Then Birdie cleared her throat and she came crashing back to reality.

Eric pulled back and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Love you, petal.” She smiled at the endearment, and might have kissed him again but he leaned over the bar and slapped her ass, “Now get to poundin’ pavement with your menu monstrosity,” he ordered.

“I swear to god, no one recognizes or welcomes creativity in this clan!” She snatched the menus from him and stomped after Birdie, following the other shifter out onto the sidewalk.

“You know, it’s really not that bad,” Birdie said quietly after they had been walking for a minute.

Rosie pulled a face and chanced another look at the menu. “Friends don’t lie Birdie.”

“I’m trying to be supportive in this trying time.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded at the library coming into view. “Look, let’s get these to the library and with a little luck I bet I can sweet talk that new librarian into handing these out for us.”

Birdie’s brow furrowed. “There’s a new librarian?”

“Yeah, I met him last week after he moved to town. He’s really nice. I bet he’d do it no problem. Now come on!” Rosie took off at a high speed power walk towards the Oak Fast Library with Birdie in tow. It was an old building, as old as the town with new additions being made which turned it into a hodgepodge of architectural history. It was three stories with an assortment of casement and bay windows, mismatched shutters at varying stories, and there was a stained glass front window that pictured a massive Sitka spruce and the sun rising behind it. There was a gazebo to the left of it, golden clematis vines climbing the pillars of it. Rosie liked to take her lunch there when she could.

Rosie liked the building even if it didn’t all go quite together. It had character.

“I cannot believe I’m letting you talk me into coercion,” Birdie hissed at her friend the second they burst into the library. Their sudden entrance startled an elderly woman dozing off in one of the comfy armchairs to the left of the door.

“Sorry,” Birdie whispered when the old woman raised a finger to her lips and signaled for them to be quiet.

“It’s not coercion. It’s community participation and he’s going to love it. Trust me.”

Birdie made a face that told Rosie she did not trust her. Not even a little bit. Rosie rolled her eyes and kept walking, scanning the library for the new librarian. “His name is Emmett. He’s a total sweetheart.”

“What does he look like?” Birdie asked, turning to look around an aisle but nothing but books greeted her.

“Big, broad, really great hair.”

“Shouldn’t he be at the desk?” Birdie asked, tapping a finger against the circulation desk.

Rosie shrugged. “I bet he’s off doing librarian stuff.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know? Saving the world one book at a time?”

Birdie shrugged. “I believe it. Stay here, I’ll go look for him, okay?”

Rosie nodded. “All right, but if you find him remember that the focus is not on the font but the event.”

Birdie looked down at the busy menu in her hands. “I’m a shifter, not a miracle worker, Rosie.”

“Birdie!”

Another ‘shhh!’ from the dozing woman had them giggling and Birdie hurrying away looking for the librarian described as ‘big, broad, really great hair’. She’d only gone a few steps when she spied just the back of someone that looked like he fit the bill. He was big and broad, and his hair, auburn from what she could see, really was great. It had to be him.

“Hello?” she called out, waving the menus when he looked up from the book cart he was shelving books from. “Are you Emmett?”

He nodded at her, gray eyes moving over her face before they went to the sheaf of papers in her hand. “How can I help you?”

“You could give out these truly terrible but lovingly made menus,” she replied and nearly cringed when she heard Rosie hurrying towards them.

“I heard that!”

No doubt the dozing woman was having a full on fit from all the noise they were causing, but Birdie laughed anyway and came forward when Emmett gave her a confused look.

“I can what?” he asked.

“I’m from Wildin’ Waites and it's for the Fall Fest. We’ve got extra menus and would love a hand in handing them out,” she explained. “But be warned. They are uggo.”

“I can help with that.” His lips turned up in a smile. Emmett had a great smile. “Now let’s take a look at this uggo menu.”

Birdie sighed gratefully. “Take them please. I’m getting tackier just holding them. I just want you to know I didn’t make them.”

He laughed and Birdie felt herself get lost in that sound. There was something familiar and warm, something that had her heart speeding up as if she had just run a sprint series. What was it that felt so familiar about this man? She was staring at him, not aware of what her hand was doing and in that split second their fingers brushed.

The unmistakable silver spark that signaled the discovery of Fated Mates arched between them and Birdie gasped. Emmett’s eyes went wide, and the man took a step back from her, the menus falling to the floor in a flurry.

“Oh wow, wow, wow,” Birdie whispered, her eyes going wide.

“Oh, come on. They aren’t that bad!” Rosie reached them and threw her arms out at the menus on the floor. “What? Is this about the damn pumpkin clip art I used, because I just–”

Birdie shook her head and pointed a finger at Emmett who was still backing away from her and said the three words she never expected she would say.

“He’s my mate.”

The End