Valentine's Surprise Read online

  Valentine’s Surprise

  A Pacific Northwest Bears Novella

  Moxie North

  Wicked Whims Publishing

  Contents

  More from Moxie

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Moxie North

  Copyright

  More from Moxie

  Moxie North Titles on Amazon

  Subscribe to Moxie’s Newsletter

  Copyright ©2016 Moxie North

  All Rights Reserved

  Kindle Edition

  Cover Design by Jacqueline Sweet

  Author’s Note

  This book takes place about a year after Bearly Healed. That story was the beginning of Cash Rochon and Cassie Hackett. In that story, Cassie was recovering from a terrible car accident and was staying with Cash’s aunt and uncle while she recovered. Cassie is a unique woman that has her own thoughts and opinions about everything, and I mean everything.

  Cash is a big cuddly overprotective bear that thinks his little sprite, Cassie, is the most perfect creature ever created. What Cassie wants, Cassie gets.

  Cassie’s best friend is Effie. She’s more than just her friend; she’s her sister from another mister. Their relationship is based on love, junk food, and snarky language.

  To catch up to this story I suggest you read Cougar’s Victory, the first in the Pacific Northwest Cougars series. Then Bearly Healed, the fourth book in the Pacific Northwest Bears series.

  Enjoy a peek into Cash and Cassie’s (or as I like to call them, Cashy) future.

  Chapter 1

  “Bitch, answer your phone,” Cassie Rochon hissed into the phone.

  She needed an urgent bestie convo. Effie Hayes was, luckily, almost family. She was pseudo-family before she fell in love with her cougar shifter husband, Dax. But then Dax’s sister married Conner Rochon and then Cassie married Cash Rochon. Well hell, they were already sisters, but now they were legally obligated to be in each other’s lives.

  It also helped that Effie had found her shifter mate before Cassie. She had lots of advice for Cassie, which she really needed right now. She was so in over her head that she was freaking the fuck out. Effie had her first baby last year. Trixie was not only the most beautiful baby in the world, but she was also a ridiculously adorable baby mountain lion. She would shift between human and animal form at the most hilarious times.

  Being the bestest auntie in the world, Cassie made sure to buy her every new cat toy she saw on infomercials and ship them off to her niece. This pissed Effie off to no end, which Cassie also thought was hilarious. She even bought her an entire box of plastic balls with bells inside. It came in a gross. Cassie had no clue that a gross was one hundred and forty-four of an item.

  But now Cassie needed her friend on the phone, and it was going to voicemail.

  “Seriously, you aren’t busy. Your mate is a millionaire, answer your damn phone!” The voicemail beeped, and Cassie hung up.

  She tossed her cell phone onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling of her and Cash’s house. Her man Cash. She loved thinking of him in that way. She did it often as a reminder of how much her life had changed. Her man was a mountain. He was one of the tallest men of the Rochon bear clan, and that was saying something.

  Bear shifters were all huge. Tall, muscular, and for some reason, devastatingly handsome. Cassie was pretty sure that wasn’t anything to do with being shifters. It was just good genes. Cassie, on the other hand, was tiny. Short, petite, and finally back to a healthy weight.

  Over a year ago, she had been in a terrible car accident. It had left her broken inside and out. She normally grabbed life by the balls, squeezed, and yelled yee-haw while she was doing it. The accident mixed with the fact she felt she was losing her best friend to some handsome millionaire—, (totally cliché), left her with very little to yee-haw about.

  When she was shipped off to recuperate with the Rochon family, she had no idea she was walking into another shifter world. This time, it was bears. Then she met Cash. Well—first she talked to Cash through a window. He brought her cookies, which was awesome. Then she was attacked by a tiny baby bear named Maizy. She had a crash course in the shifter world that day. She’d known about Effie’s husband and family. That was a shock to the ass. But she was told it was all secret squirrel and that no humans could know, so she had kept that secret. What she didn’t know was there was a big shifter world out there she didn’t know about.

  Cash had crashed into the room to rescue her from the tiny baby bear and found his mate. Cassie didn’t know what that meant at the time. Cash taught her. He also taught her how to trust, how to accept help, and most importantly, how to love with your whole heart.

  Her man loved her deep and was so tied to her it was scary awesome. His adoration of her hadn’t waned. Cassie had spent months waiting for him to find a reason to dump her. And she probably would have given a normal guy plenty of reason. Her willingness to believe he loved her as much as he did was hard to accept.

  Why would a huge, handsome man like her? He looked like the kind of guy who needed a big sturdy girl in bed. Not that Cassie couldn’t hold her own in the department, but she thought that he would figure out they didn’t fit together.

  He could literally pick her up with one hand, which he frequently did, finding it easier to move her where he wanted her to go instead of debating it with her. She loved to argue with him. But honestly, they didn’t argue about much. Mostly because he usually just gave her exactly what she wanted.

  Did that make her spoiled? Hells yeah, it did. She freaking loved it. Cash was her mate, her husband, her lover, and her family all wrapped into one giant, hunky, bearded man. He worshiped the ground she walked on, and she thought he was better than peanut butter cups.

  They had spent their first year together, not only getting to know one another, but for Cassie, falling even harder in love with Cash than before. The shifter mate thing was instantaneous for him. The second he locked eyes with her, she became the center of his world. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

  Cassie felt the pull to him too. It was biological apparently. But trusting him with her heart, that was another matter. Even after she moved in with him, she still didn’t let go all the way. That took time. As her body healed from her injuries, her confidence grew. More importantly, as Cash continued to show her that he wasn’t going anywhere, her confidence in him grew. Now she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was hers for life.

  She knew he wanted to start a family. But he didn’t want to do that until she was healthy. There was also some sticky business about her accident that was resolved surprisingly easily. But still her recovery took time. Cash didn’t want her body put through any more strain until she was one hundred percent again.

  Not that they didn’t practice starting a family regularly. They never used birth control; Cash would just say the fates would know when she was ready.

  Apparently they’d decided. Cassie was pregnant.

  At first, she was in denial. Then she went to “it’s not a baby, it must be a tumor” mode. She searched the internet for tumors that mimicked pregnancy. To her horror, she found some. Then she took a pregnancy test. Then she took ten more. She was tired, her boobs—what little there was of them—hurt, and she had the weirdest craving for fruit.

  The fruit thing kinda wigged her out; she wasn’t known for her healthy diet. Now she was trying to figure out the best way to tell her mate
that she was going to have the baby they’d both been waiting for.

  That’s why she needed Effie’s input. She wanted to surprise her mate and despite her best Google search efforts, nothing was right. It had to be perfect. It had to be personal. It had to show him how thrilled she was about having his baby and making their family bigger.

  If freaking Effie would answer her damn phone, she could figure this out.

  Running her hand over her totally flat stomach, Cassie smiled at the ceiling. She had a tiny baby bear child growing in there. How nuts was that? Cash’s mom assured her when they got married that Cash was totally normal size when he was born, so she didn’t have to worry about thirteen-pound baby heads crashing through her vagina.

  Her baby would be a bear. Cash’s genes would dominate in that department. Her baby would switch between human and animal for a while, and then go dormant until puberty. Looking around the room, she thought about how torn up the house was going to get with little bear claws tearing shit up.

  Good thing the Rochons had money. Everyone—well, most everyone—worked in the lumber business. Either growing it, harvesting it, milling it, or shipping it. Those that didn’t work in the business still invested in it, making most everyone very well off.

  Cassie was already thinking about how ripped up their leather couches were going to get. The hardwood floors were totally screwed. Cash was going to spend all his free time repairing that shit.

  Moving her hand from her belly up towards her rib cage, she traced a finger over the scar that ran down her belly. Having your spleen removed in an emergency situation was not about leaving a tidy line. Her’s had been ragged and ugly. Luckily, thanks to Cash, she now owned a tattoo parlor. Cassie added to her collection of tattoos by turning her long scar into the trunk of a tree. That tree spread across her belly now, inside the bark of the tree were her and Cash’s initials. She would have to add to her tree after the baby was born.

  Thinking about the scar made her reach up to her face to the other scar that ran from her hairline to near her eye. That one she never thought about any more. How could she dwell on it, when her man looked at her with such love and adoration? Every time he walked into a room, he looked like he was staring at the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  Every. Fucking. Time.

  Her heart would practically burst when he did that. It also made other parts of her swell and get teary-eyed, so to speak.

  Cash was going to be a daddy. She could only imagine the look on his face when she told him that.

  Chapter 2

  Cash pulled up to the main building at the Rochon timber camp in his old truck. Cassie gave him shit about getting something new. He would just tell her that it wasn’t old, it was vintage. She’d laugh and call him crazy. Little did she know, he’d already ordered a new SUV for them. Their family was growing, and he needed to be prepared.

  Walking into the trailer marked Office, he found his alpha Cage behind his desk. His cousin Wyatt was sitting on a chair with his head thrown back like he was asleep.

  “Alpha,” Cash said as he came in.

  “Cash, why do you insist on calling me that? I’m your alpha, not THE alpha.” Cage sighed and shook his head.

  “Same thing.” Cash shrugged, then settled into a chair.

  “Alpha is my job, Cash. I’m just another Rochon like you.”

  “Nope, you are the Alpha. I’ll call you that until you aren’t any longer.”

  “So, has she said anything?” Wyatt asked, and then bit into an apple he’d been polishing on his shirt.

  “No. You fuckers better not say anything either. This is a delicate situation, and I just got her feeling good about herself. If she realizes everyone knows she’s pregnant, and she was trying to keep it a secret, well, I don’t know how she’ll take it. She will either feel like shit for being left in the dark or brush it off as something funny. I’m not willing to risk either until I can counteract any fall out.” Cash growled out his demands.

  The second his mate had started to smell pregnant, he was so over the moon that he had to make up a reason to go let his bear run. His bear wanted to stay shifted and guard their mate. Instead, he took his bear out for an exhausting run. When they returned, they waited for Cassie to say something. When she didn’t, Cash got worried and called Cage. He explained that it took a little longer for humans to understand and come to terms with being pregnant.

  Cash didn’t understand that. But Cage assured him that Sophie, his mate, had to take a dozen tests before she would believe it. The days ticked by, and Cash waited and waited. At first, Cassie was totally normal. She didn’t seem to realize there was a baby growing in her. Then times would come when he would see her frowning to herself or looking off into the distance like she was deep in thought.

  He figured any day now she was going to offer up the good news. It had been two months since he first smelled the change on her. When he first spoke with Cage, Cash had asked him if he would start on a cradle for his child. Cage’s woodworking was amazing. Almost every family member had something he had created. Cash and his bear loved the idea that his and Cassie’s child would be resting in a Rochon cradle.

  The cradle was done, and now Cash was planning on letting her know that he knew. After this long, his concern was that she might think that he wouldn’t be happy: that he would be too worried or overprotective. With what he knew of his mate, she was probably protecting him from worrying. Cassie didn’t know that Cash didn’t worry about her exactly, he was just hyper-aware of every possible issue, danger, or upset that she might come across.

  This wasn’t a situation to be concerned about. This was a situation to celebrate. Cash wanted to throw a party and announce his joy to the entire clan. His patience for all things related to his mate was immeasurable, but this was frustrating him to a breaking point. Every time he saw her, his bear wanted to bite her all over again. Cash, the man, just wanted to hold her, love her, and keep her close.

  He didn’t want to tip her off that he knew by being too clingy. He was usually within touching distance of her anyway, but right now his need to breathe the same air as her was riding him and his bear hard.

  Wyatt stretched in his seat. “You always have to have the complicated one, don’t you?”

  “Cassie isn’t complicated. She gives me all the signs of what I should do. I just have to read them right. I’m worried she’s concerned that I won’t be thrilled out of my fucking mind. Which—of course—I am, so I’m going to find a way to tell her that I’m there to support her, no matter what.”

  “She doesn’t know by now that her mate supports her? What are you doing wrong, dude?” Wyatt scoffed.

  “She knows, she’s just still a little sensitive still. I still catch her with a shocked look on her face when I do something simple that surprises her,” Cash said thoughtfully. It hurt him a little on the inside when he saw that. Her trust wasn’t something that he earned overnight; it was a long process. One that he was more than willing to work through for her.

  “You know what’s best for her.” Cage’s gaze was firm on his pack mate.

  Cash needed to hear that reassurance from his Alpha. He trusted Cage more than anyone else. When he had found Cassie, Cage never doubted him for a moment. Her injuries and state of mind had everyone else less than enthusiastic about their bonding. His Alpha gave him the confidence to love and care for her like only he knew how.

  “But what the hell am I going to do for her? Valentine’s Day is coming up. She says it’s a jackass holiday, even though she loves those stupid candy hearts. If I don’t keep her supplied in those chalky little bastards, she loses her shit.” Cash had a grin on his face.

  “Dinner? Movies? Rub her teeny tiny feet? What does she like?” Wyatt asked.

  “Tattoos and junk food, which I’m more concerned about now than ever. Although, she’s been eating more fruit, like I wouldn’t notice something was up just with that. She never eats fruit unless it’s in some kind of jelly
form. Fruit snacks, Jell-O, gummy worms—not real fruit, though.”

  “Well, you have the cradle now. Do you think she’d throat punch you for decorating the nursery? She could always change it if you fucked it up. But I’m guessing you would do something she really liked.” Cage offered a suggestion.

  “Yeah, the nursery. I’ve got empty rooms at my house that we never go into. I could fix one up. I’ll need to get Effie in on this so I don’t blow it,” Cash said thoughtfully.

  “Yeah, you do not want your pregnant mate pissed off at you, trust me on this one.” Wyatt grimaced as he said this.

  “You probably spent her entire pregnancy in the dog house,” Cage said, glaring at his brother. Jinger, Wyatt’s mate, was funny and perfect for his brother, but Wyatt tended to push her buttons in the wrong way.

  “Hey, it was a learning process, All-Mighty Alpha. Not everyone’s mate turned into a big mushy ball of contentment when they got knocked up,” Wyatt said with a glare.

  Cage had to grin. When Sophie, his mate, got pregnant she spent the entire time floating around the house with a grin on her face. Her pregnancy was easy, helped in large part by Cage hovering over her and waiting on her hand and foot. His mom, Connie, would come over to their cabin and remark how much like a Disney Princess she appeared. Sophie baked delicious treats and even tried knitting, which didn’t work. She read baby books, and cooked, and cooked, and cooked. Their freezer and refrigerator were so stuffed that they started taking up space in Cage’s parents’ freezer. They had enough pre-cooked food for a decade.

  After the baby was born, Sophie slid into motherhood like she was born to it. Her hours of nursing Micah made her blissfully happy. Cage couldn’t put into words what that experience was like. Watching his son come into the world, his mate’s courage and strength in safely delivering their son. Then the first time he shifted. That was a memory forever burned into Cage’s mind like so many since he’d found his mate. He wanted all those things for Cash.