Destined Bear (Windridge Den #3)

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Patrick

“Finn’s not here yet, boss.” I looked up from where I was prepping for the lunch rush to see Archer peering out into the dining area. “I don’t see him outside either.”

I glanced at the clock. My mate was ten minutes past the time he’d normally be here. It was so great having him back in the diner. It was a semblance of normal paired with me being able to scent him whenever I wanted to.

“He’s fine.” The words took me aback. My brain didn’t first rush to him collapsing on the floor or tripping and falling on the way to the diner or puking in a bucket. Instead, I assumed he stopped to talk to someone along the way or got caught up in a television show.

“I, uh—” Archer let out a whine. “You’re not worried?”

I shot him a glare.

“I worry about my mate a lot; it’s part of my job as his mate. But I also trust that he’s doing just fine. He texted me a while ago to say he was getting around.”

Now that he was a little farther along in his pregnancy, he’d been moving slower and sleeping more—sometimes completely in his bear form. But it wasn’t like before, where he was doing it because he was sick and his body was struggling to keep going. This was a normal bear pregnancy thing minus the bear part. Rissa thought it had more to do with it being winter than anything else.

It made for an interesting arrangement in our bedroom, but whatever made him happy and comfortable, I’d work with. Even if it meant we had bear fur in every single corner of our home. His bear was smaller than mine, and he could easily sleep on the bed, and he did most often, but once in a while he’d curl up in front of the fireplace and I’d snag a spot on the couch. My bear was too big to join him, or I’d have been snuggled up beside him.

“Should I make his food? Do you think he’s hungry?” Archer was dead serious, making it extra amusing.

I snorted.

“He’s most definitely hungry.” Now that he was feeling better and keeping food down, he’d been putting away a lot of it. All of our freezer meals from when he was sick? Gone. Thankfully, everyone loved Finn, and they kept bringing more.

“But you don’t need to make it, I’ve already got it done,” I said, beginning to plate his lunch and mine. His order hadn’t changed much since we met. In some ways he was so predictable. In others? Not so much.

“You taking a break when he gets here.”

I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or telling me.

“Yep. In fact, I’m going sit and wait for him.”

I threw off my apron, grabbed our two plates, and made my way over to the booth where Finn sat on the days he worked. Even on the days he wasn’t here, no one used that booth—it was officially his.

The door chimed, letting me know someone had come in, and I knew right away it was Finn.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he swung into the booth.

I pulled the table away so his belly had more room. “Did you oversleep?”

He shook his head. “No. I got a little distracted picking out stuff for the nursery.”

I raised a brow. We hadn’t really talked about that yet. The beginning of his pregnancy had been less than ideal, and paired with him getting back to normal, it had been on the back burner. The room was painted, but that had been that.

“Samantha came over, and they’re getting rid of their things because they’re done having cubs. So, I was going through their stuff, and we are so ready. I mean, we still have to buy a ton of things, but they had a crib, a bookshelf, and so many clothes.”

Samantha had always been so good to Finn. “Great. Sounds like we’ll be moving that in soon.”

“Yeah. I let them know you’d come over after work to get it.” He gave me his sweetest look, complete with sad eyes and a slight pout.

“And if I had other plans?” I teased. I didn’t. My plans after work were always to go find my mate.

“But now that the nursery’s all painted, I’m ready to really decorate! It can’t wait any longer.” He grabbed a fry off the plate.

“Well, lucky for you, I don’t have any plans, so we’ll be doing that tonight.”

“Awesome!” He dug into his lunch. I’d made him an olive burger with loaded French fries—the “loaded” his new favorite these days.

“Oh, this is so good,” he said, taking a big bite, a glob of olive sauce landing on the plate. He hadn’t finished chewing when he gathered that sauce up with a fry and popped it into his mouth. No olive sauce went uneaten. It was a rule… like he wrote it down. He said I made the best olive sauce in the state, and I was sure that had nothing to do him being my mate or anything.

“I’m glad you like it. I was thinking maybe this weekend we could drive out to the diner and visit Dolly.” He’d been wanting to go for a while, and I’d been pretty hesitant when he was at his sickest. But now, I’d managed to calm down enough to be rational about such things. It didn’t hurt that he had Rissa give me a talking-to.

Finn nodded. “Yes!”

“They have a few gifts for you and the baby.” Dolly tried to play coy about it, while at the same time asking leading questions. She’d never been great at keeping surprises a surprise.

“Awesome.” Suddenly, Finn’s eyebrows shot up, and he let out a little squeak, his hand going to his belly. “Come feel, come feel!”

This was my new favorite thing; feeling our little one practicing their kickboxing.

The baby had been quite active, but it seemed every time I was around, he’d be still as could be. Finn said it was because I was feeding them, but I chose to believe that it was because they recognized their papa’s voice.

I’d spent several hours on the couch in the evening with my hand on Finn’s belly, hoping to feel a kick as we watched a movie. They would kick, kick, kick and then settle down until they got their energy back and did it all over again. I loved it.

I slid out of my side of the booth, scooted next to him, and placed my hand over his rounded stomach. One thump, then two more.

“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s amazing, isn’t it?” The wonder of it never ceased to amaze me.

“I think he likes olive burgers as much as I do.” Finn licked his lips. “Or maybe he hates them.” He stuck out his tongue playfully and bumped my shoulder.

Since I was already cozy beside him, I stayed on his side of the booth, wrapping my arm around his shoulders as the two of us ate our lunch.

“Thanks for lunch today,” he said, and I kissed his cheek.

“Thank you for coming.”

He leaned his head close to my ear and whispered for only me to hear, “I’m not yet, but plan to be when you come home.” He nibbled on my earlobe. “Don’t dawdle.”

I was home an hour early.