Page 45 of Once Upon A Bear

There was a lump in her throat, and she swallowed hard around it as she strode through the woods toward her home.

“Hey, slow down,” Gideon called after her.

He’d followed her?

She didn’t stop walking, so he started running until he caught up to her, his footsteps hitting the dirt with practiced ease.

He reached for her hand, pulling her to a stop in the middle of the woods. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Your family is wonderful,” Guinevere said, her breath catching in her throat.

“That’s what’s wrong?” he asked, his lips curling up into a smile.

“Yes.” She nodded. “They’re wonderful, and I’m so glad that you have them.”

But oh, how she wished she had something like that too.

His eyes softened. “You didn’t have that,” he stated.

Guinevere simply shook her head. She couldn’t find words to say.

Gideon took a deep breath, but instead of saying something, he simply stepped closer and pulled her into his arms.

Guinevere froze at first, but as he took deep breaths, her head rising and falling against his chest and his arms strong and steady around her, she relaxed, letting herself lean into him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

“We may not be your family,” he rumbled after a few minutes, his voice deep and soothing against her hair, “but I know my family would be happy to fill that gap for you, if you want us to.”

Guinevere choked back the tears that were threatening to spill.

She wanted that.

Oh, how she wanted that.

Despite everything Beatrice and Alexander had done for her, they were not her family. And no matter how much she enjoyed visiting Thea and Linnea at the café, they were not her family.

But neither were Gideon and his family.

They were nobility. She was a penniless healer, an illegal magic user, and that was all there was to say about that.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Guinevere blushed as she stepped out of Gideon’s embrace and turned to face whoever it was.

It was a man she recognized from Eldenwilde, though she didn’t remember his name. “Excuse me, ma’am, but my daughter was feeling poorly, and my wife asked me to fetch you. I wondered if you’d be able to come look in on her?”

“Of course,” Guinevere said, her hand automatically reaching up to make sure the strap of her satchel was across her chest where it belonged. “Let me come with you.”

She turned back to Gideon. “If you’ll meet me at my cottage later, I will have that medicine for you.”

It was basically medicine…so it wasn’t a lie.

Gideon nodded, crossing his arms across his chest, as Guinevere turned to follow the man from Eldenwilde. Part of her wished that he hadn’t interrupted, that she had been able to hear what else Gideon was going to say.

But the other part of her knew that she was a healer, and this was her job, and she was not going to give that up because of Gideon. It was better if he understood that now, before he got any fanciful ideas of her becoming part of his family.

Because as much as she would love to become part of the Rendon family, that was not the life for her. Her life revolved around sick rooms and injuries, around people needing help.

Even if some miracle occurred and she could find a way to make Gideon Rendon hers, he would have to understand that she was a healer, first and foremost. She would not belong to the man she loved alone.

She belonged to the people, too.