Patrick silverback rde.., p.1
Patrick - Silverback Rdemption Book Two, page 1
Table of Contents
Copyright
Foreword
Chapter One – Patrick
Chapter Two – Kelly
Chapter Three – Patrick
Chapter Four – Kelly
Chapter Five – Patrick
Chapter Six – Kelly
Chapter Seven – Patrick
Chapter Eight – Kelly
Chapter Nine – Patrick
Chapter Ten – Kelly
Chapter Eleven – Patrick
Chapter Twelve – Kelly
Chapter Thirteen – Patrick
Chapter Fourteen – Kelly
Chapter Fifteen – Patrick
Chapter Sixteen – Kelly
Chapter Seventeen – Patrick
Chapter Eighteen – Kelly
Chapter Nineteen – Patrick
Chapter Twenty – Kelly
Chapter Twenty-One – Patrick
Epilogue
Also By Harmony Raines
Get In Touch
Patrick
Silverback Redemption
Book Two
***
All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2019 Harmony Raines
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Patrick
Silverback Redemption
Book Two
A silverback seasoned shifters romance
A mate and family are everything to a bear shifter. Patrick found both in the middle of a storm. He intends to win their hearts at all costs.
It was a dark and stormy night! Bear shifter, Patrick, is helping fellow Silverback Savior, Gunner and his mate, Sadie, get to the hospital. It’s an emergency since Sadie is in labor and not even a raging storm can stop her baby being born. However, a downed tree might just stop them getting to the hospital. And being born in the back of a truck, is not the way they want to welcome the new baby into the world.
Then, fate steps in.
A large fallen tree is blocking the route to Kelly’s new home and new life in Bear Creek. When a vehicle pulls up behind them and a handsome stranger taps on the window, single mom Kelly has no idea how her life is about to change.
What Kelly is about to discover is that her new life is missing one thing, a bear shifter for a mate.
But things do not run smoothly. Kelly’s reason for starting over is her son, Danny, who has become a shadow of himself since he witnessed a tragic accident. She hopes the move will help Danny put the past behind him. Her son is her sole responsibility and she intends to support him in any way she can. There is no room in her life for romance with a stranger.
Or is there?
As a bear shifter in need of redemption himself, can Patrick help Danny get over his mental wounds and in return heal himself? Fate threw them together in a storm for a reason. All they have to do is open their hearts and work together to find their happy ever after.
Chapter One – Patrick
“Okay. It’s all going to be okay,” Patrick’s soothing voice assured Sadie. Or maybe the assurance was more for Gunner’s benefit since his good friend, and father-to-be, looked kind of pale.
“We need to get to the hospital. Now.” Gunner was not soothed. Agitation laced his words and his clenched fists revealed the extent of his nervous tension.
“We’ll get there.” Killian glanced at Patrick. The two bear shifters had been battered by the wind and drenched by the rain as they ran here from The Happy Bear Club. They’d left, without hesitation, as soon as Gunner called to say Sadie was in labor.
“One way or another,” Patrick confirmed, although with firsthand experience of just how bad the storm raging across the mountains was, he would rather they stayed inside the house where it was safe.
No one should be out there unless absolutely necessary, his bear insisted.
But with Sadie’s baby about to arrive, the journey to the hospital was absolutely necessary.
“It’s okay.” Sadie took hold of Gunner’s hand and her mate instantly calmed down. “Let’s get the bags and put them into the truck. We have time to get there. Plenty...of...time.” She tensed and breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as a strong contraction swept over her.
We should hurry, his bear insisted at the sight of Sadie in pain.
“Keys.” Killian held his hand out to Gunner. “We’ll bring the truck around and then get the bags in the back. Then we’ll come back and help you get Sadie in.”
“I can walk,” Sadie instead. She straightened her back to show her resolve.
“You have no idea what is waiting for you out there.” Patrick pointed toward the solid wood front door that kept the wind and the rain out of the cozy house.
“Nice,” Killian murmured but as if to confirm the strength and power of the storm, the rain splattered hard against the window and the timber cladding on the outside of the house rattled.
Killian exchanged a worried look with Patrick. They needed to hurry.
“Sorry.” Patrick looked anxiously at Sadie’s swollen belly. “But it’s not as if we can hide from the raging winds and torrential rain.”
“It’s okay, Patrick.” Sadie rested her hand on his arm. “We’ll be okay.” She cracked a smile, looking like her usual self. “And anyway, if we don’t get to the hospital, I’ll just have the baby in the back of the truck.”
Killian’s face paled. “We’ll get you there. No matter what.” He backed toward the door. “Come on, Patrick. Time to move.”
Patrick leaned forward and kissed Sadie on the cheek. “We will get you there,” he promised.
“Well, whether we do or not, this baby is coming out today.” Sadie placed her hands on either side of her belly as another contraction hit her.
Killian hastily left the room and Patrick followed. “We need to both be on our A-game tonight.”
“I’m always on my A-game,” Patrick shot back. His look was met with an eye-roll from Killian. “What? I am!”
Killian studied his friend for a long moment as he reached the front door and rested his hand on the door handle. “You’re on your A-game more than the rest of us,” he conceded.
Patrick shook his head. “You just hate to admit that I’m perfect.”
With a roar of laughter, Killian yanked open the front door and stepped out onto the porch. And into the storm.
The wind whipped around them, forcing them to step to the left as a strong gust buffeted them. Patrick forced himself forward, reaching out for the porch handrail as he dragged himself toward the steps. Killian followed, the rain battering them as they stepped out of the relative shelter of the porch.
Gritting his teeth as the rain washed down his face, Patrick ducked his head and forged a path toward Gunner’s truck. Killian walked by his side matching him pace for pace, just as he had for the last five years of their lives. When they had first come to Bear Creek, neither man was looking for a best friend, but time had worn down their barriers and life had forged their unbreakable friendship.
He’s our brother, his bear said. Not in blood. But in life.
“Got the key?” Patrick yelled into the wind.
“Yep.” Killian nodded and Patrick grabbed hold of his shoulder and boosted him toward the truck. “Thanks.” The word was whipped away from his lips and only Patrick’s enhanced shifter hearing enabled him to hear it.
Grabbing hold of the truck door handle, Killian fought a strong gust of wind for the right to open the door. Killian won, but only because the wind abated for a couple of seconds. They needed to hurry.
Killian clambered into the truck and Patrick followed. “The rain is easing.” He looked up at the sky but all he could see was black. No stars, no moon, the blanket of clouds over them was complete. “But it won’t stay that way.”
Killian inserted the key in the ignition and fired up the engine. Flicking on the lights, he steered the truck toward the house.
“We need to get as close as possible to the house.” Not that Killian needed Patrick to tell him. They were both well aware of the danger to life this storm would bring.
“Really? I thought we’d park halfway down the driveway.” Killian gritted his teeth as he steered the truck toward the house. The rain pelted the windshield and the vehicle shook as he parked close to the porch steps.
“We’re going to be busy with clean-up when the storm passes.” Patrick could only imagine the kind of damage this storm would do to people’s properties. Bear Creek hadn’t seen a storm like this in the years he’d lived here.
“I hope the creek doesn’t break its banks.” Killian’s expression tightened. “But for now let’s just focus on what we know and that is that Sadie is about to have her baby.”
“Can you believe it?” Patrick asked with a smile, the danger of the storm and the journey to the hospital forgotten as he pictured the newb
“Yeah, I can because she’s pregnant and sooner or later that means a baby pops out,” Killian said wryly.
“I’m just hoping it doesn’t pop out too soon.” Patrick slid into position with his shoulder against the door, ready to heave it open and battle his way out. “Okay, you keep the engine running and I’ll go grab the bags and put them in the back. Then I’ll go back and help Gunner get Sadie into the back.”
“I could come and help, too.” Killian’s knuckles showed white as he gripped the steering wheel. The man was a doer who didn’t like sitting on the bench when he could be helping people. But sometimes you had to do what needed to be done and set your own wants and desires to one side. This was one of those times. Killian and Patrick had to work together to get Sadie and Gunner safely to the hospital.
“Stay with the truck. Keep the engine running, we need some heat in here for Sadie.” With that, Patrick pulled the door handle and carefully inched the door open. The wind caught the edge and threatened to rip it from his hand, but Patrick held on tight. His feet hit the wet, muddy ground as he slid out of the truck, and the rain splattered in his face.
With a deep breath, he summoned his strength and strode back up the porch steps. Gunner was waiting for him at the door. “Is it really that bad out there?” the expectant father asked.
“Don’t worry.” Patrick took the bags from him. One of which was covered in wipe-clean fabric featuring an array of cute animals. “We’ll get there, it’ll all work out okay.”
Gunner didn’t look convinced as another strong gust swept across the front of the porch accompanied by horizontal rain. “As much as I want to meet my first child, I wish they had decided to stay nice and safe in Sadie’s womb.”
“My mom always says children come along when they are ready. And I don’t expect yours to make an exception.” Patrick turned to face the oncoming storm. “I’ll get these in the truck and then come back for you and Sadie.”
“I can get Sadie to the truck,” Gunner insisted, his male shifter pride tested by his need to ask for and accept help.
“I know you can, Gunner, but humor me. I need to make sure you and Sadie are safe.” Patrick sensed the tension in his friend. “We all want the same thing. For you and Sadie to have a happy, healthy baby.”
Gunner sighed. “Which means I’m going to have to accept all the help I can get.” His expression cleared a little, but he still looked concerned. “What if something happens while we’re out there in the storm?”
“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. That’s why Killian and I came to help. We didn’t want you both stranded on the road all alone. Cell phone service is terrible right now. If anything had happened, you would be delivering Sadie’s baby singlehandedly.” Patrick inclined his head toward the house as Gunner nodded. “Sadie is your responsibility. You take care of her and we’ll take care of the rest.”
“Thanks for coming, Patrick. I should have thanked you sooner.” Gunner took a step back from the doorway. “I don’t know where my head is right now.”
“You’re about to become a father. You’re not expected to be thinking coherently.” A pang of jealousy hit Patrick square in the chest. The longing to be a father and raise his own little cub never went away. He certainly didn’t resent Gunner having the opportunity he longed for. In fact, Gunner deserved the chance to be a dad more than anyone he knew. He and Sadie would make the best parents a child could wish for.
It’s okay to feel jealous, his bear told him. Raising a family is a thing all shifters crave. It’s normal.
“Thanks, Patrick. I knew I could count on you.” Gunner looked through the driving rain to the truck. “Go. I’ll get Sadie.”
“See you in a minute.” Patrick ducked his head and ran for the truck. Leaping off the porch, he landed lightly on his feet and yanked the truck door open.
“We need to get going,” Killian said. “We don’t know how long it’s going to take us to reach the hospital and we don’t know how long it’ll be until the baby comes. I hate dealing with unknowns.”
“It’ll be okay,” Patrick assured his worried friend.
With that, he slammed the door closed and sprinted back to the house. Sadie and Gunner were waiting in the doorway. Gunner held Sadie in his arms as if he thought she was about to get blown away into the mountains and never come back. Sadie gave Patrick a small smile which he returned as he reached out and took her hand.
“One step at a time.” He led her out onto the porch and shielded her from the worst of the rain with his broad shoulders while Gunner shut the house up and locked the door against the storm. With a nod, Gunner took Sadie’s hand. The two men guided Sadie, who was swaddled inside one of Gunner’s large waterproof coats, toward the truck. Getting down the porch steps was tricky, as the wind nearly swept Sadie off her feet. But she gritted her teeth and clung to her mate and Patrick, and bravely kept going.
One slow step at a time, they made it off the porch and staggered the last five feet to the truck. Patrick reached for the rear passenger door and opened it carefully, using his body to stop the door from blowing out of his hands. If the door bent or broke on its hinges, they were going to be in trouble and Patrick wanted no trouble tonight.
A sharp crack split the air as a tree gave into the storm’s onslaught, reminding him they would need a good dose of luck if they were going to reach the hospital in one piece and in good time. Trees would be downed, and the roads would flood as the combined forces of wind and rain battered the mountain and the surrounding towns.
“Gunner, slide in first, and then help Sadie.” Patrick inclined his head toward the truck and Gunner boosted himself into the rear seats before half-turning to help Sadie. “Ready?”
“I’ll do anything to get out of this weather,” Sadie called back as her face contorted in pain.
“Just breathe.” Patrick rubbed her back and inhaled in and out as Sadie breathed through the contraction. With his hands still bracing the truck door, he moved around to stand behind her and shelter her from the torrential rain. “Ready?” he asked when her shoulders relaxed.
“Not really.” She turned toward the truck. Gunner held onto her arm and pulled her gently forward while Patrick boosted her upward. Working as a team, Sadie finally made it out of the storm and into the temporary sanctuary of the truck.
“Okay, we’re in.” Gunner nodded at Patrick as Sadie let out a sob and buried her face in her mate’s chest. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.” Gunner wrapped his arms around his mate while Patrick shut the door and took one last look at the house before he climbed into the relative safety of the truck himself.
“You took your time,” Killian said lightly despite the concern etched deep into his features.
“We were just enjoying the scenery,” Patrick quipped back as he tugged on his seatbelt. “All ready in the back?”
“Yes,” Gunner replied as he clicked Sadie’s seatbelt securely home. “We’re good to go.”
“Okay, let’s do this.” Killian put his foot down on the gas just enough to get them moving. The whites of his knuckles showed as he turned the truck around, and a gust of wind barreled into them. As he adjusted his grip to suit the driving conditions, he relaxed his hands and put his foot down harder. Slowly, they made their way down from the mountain on the first stage of their journey to the hospital.
Killian and Patrick sat in silence, listening to Gunner and Sadie in the back. The contractions were coming closer together, but they should still make it to the hospital in time. Killian kept the vehicle at a slow, steady speed, driving to the conditions on the road which were atrocious. Branches and other debris littered the road which he had to navigate around while also avoiding the hedges and ditches which hemmed them in. If only they could fly like the dragons, straight and true, they would be there by now.
I don’t think Sadie is in a position to cling onto the back of a dragon, his bear told him.
And they are not our personal taxi service, Patrick added.
They would come for Sadie and Gunner. But not in this weather or under these conditions. His bear ground his back teeth together in concern.
We’ll make it, Patrick told his other side. We have to.
