“It’s not plugged in, dummy,” Jason told his sister.
Hank leaned down and flicked a switch. “Try it now.”
“Is it on?” Jenny’s voice boomed over the PA system.
Hank laughed at Jason’s shocked face. “It’s wireless, dummy.”
Jason laughed. “Can I have a turn?” Jenny held the microphone out to him, and he stared at it. “What do I say?”
His voice carried across the grounds of the hotel and Jenny giggled. “Do you have stage fright?” Hank joked.
“No.” Jason rolled his eyes. “Let’s take this to Elise.”
They ran off across the perfect lawn, laughing and giggling together. One day the twins, Elise and Delia, would be laughing and playing together. He couldn’t wait to share those days with them. And Elise. Every day of his life would be dedicated to his mate.
“How is everything going, son?” Lewis Rivera, top record producer, asked. Yeah, it was still going to take some getting used to, but Hank had established a friendly relationship with his father. Although not perfect, it was a start.
“I think everything is under control. Thanks for loaning us this equipment. Things sure have moved on since I last got on stage.” He looked down at all the speakers and amplifiers. Not to mention the microphones all set out, ready for the festival to begin.
“Don’t mention it. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.” His dad chuckled, a dry cackle reminding Hank of his dad’s age.
“Really? You must have attended some swanky parties in your time.” Hank watched as Jenny and Jason skidded into the catering tent.
“I have. But they didn’t have the same heart. This festival has really brought people together. You have good friends.” Lewis approached his son. “That’s something all the money in the world can’t buy.”
It was a compliment, and Hank took it as such. These last few weeks, Hank had gotten over being inferior to his father. He’d learned to step out from the shadow cast over a nineteen-year-old young man. It helped that Lewis had changed, and found humility, surprisingly from his relationship with Pamela.
Elise had summed it up one evening as they lay in bed, with the window open and the soft mountain breeze filling the room with the scent of damp forest and pine resin. They were all better people because of what happened. Their lives had been changed by lies, but in the aftermath, they had learned their own truths.
“I wouldn’t swap this life for the world. Particularly the showbiz world,” Hank told his father.
“Not even for a record contract?” Lewis was serious. “I’ve played your song to a few of my contacts. It’s there for the taking.”
“Is this a test?” Hank asked.
“No, son, it’s your decision. I just want to make it up to you.” Lewis looked up as Pamela appeared in the distance. He loved her. It shone through in the way he spoke to her and about her. She’d been his guiding light, his north star when he was lost and alone.
“There’s nothing to make up for.” Hank turned to his father. “I’m glad you’re happy. I mean that. I like Pamela.”
“You do?” Lewis asked, his voice choked. “She’s not your mother.”
“No, she’s not. But she’s never tried to be. And I appreciate that. She has a big heart.” Hank turned away and found something to rearrange while he composed himself.
When he looked up again, Pamela had nearly reached them. But there was someone else with her, too. Hank’s heart faltered, and his palms sweated as he realized he was about to meet his brother.
“This is Milo.” Lewis looked nervous. “Milo, this is your big brother, Hank.”
“Milo. Good to finally meet you.” Hank hugged his brother. It was like looking at himself at nineteen at the height of his fame.
“Wow, man, I had no idea we were so similar.” Milo hugged him back warmly.
“You both inherited your father’s looks, what can I say?” Lewis looked relieved and Pamela couldn’t keep tears from falling.
“Mom, you’re such a sap,” Milo said, hugging her. “It’s good to finally be together. Dad talks about you all the time.”
“I don’t,” Lewis said gruffly.
Milo rolled his eyes. “Hank, you’ve been in my life since I remember. Dad used to tell me stories and sing your songs.”
“He did,” Pamela agreed shyly.
Hank ran a hand through his hair. “I wish we’d found each other sooner.” He looked up. “Hey, Elise.” He waved, and Elise ran across the grass toward them.
“You need to get changed, the show is starting in an hour. People are arriving.” With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, she reached them. His heart swelled with love for her.
“This is my brother.” Hank introduced them.
“Oh my goodness, you look the spitting image of Hank.” She hugged Milo, leaving Hank with a twinge of jealousy, which he soon shook off. This was a day of celebration, and he knew better than to ever think Elise would look at another man. After all, she lost her heart to her true mate thirty years ago.
“I’ll see you all later.” Hank took Elise’s hand as they walked toward the hotel.
“Don’t worry, Milo is going to help me with this.” Lewis indicated the sound equipment.
“Thanks, Dad.” That word still felt awkward on his tongue. But Lewis liked to hear it, and Hank wanted everyone to be happy, just as happy as he was, if that was possible.
“Here are Lauren and Thor.” Elise waved to the couple walking toward them. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” Lauren did a twirl, she wore a thigh-skimming skirt and long boots that came just over her knee.
“She might have meant me.” Thor touched his fingers to the cowboy hat he wore on his head.
“Have you been working out?” Hank asked, squeezing Thor’s biceps.
“No teasing,” Thor told him, slapping his hand away.
“I’m not. You look buff.” Hank was totally serious. The audience was going to love these two.
“You are such a cute couple.” Elise took a photograph of them. “That one is going straight on our Facebook page.”
“After tonight, you two are going to be famous,” Hank warned.
Thor paled. “I hope I don’t puke on stage.”
“You’ll be fine, just remember you are the God of Thunder,” Hank roared.
“That’s never gonna sell,” Lewis said from behind them. “But I have passed your recording onto a few of my contacts, and they are willing to talk.”
“Really?” Lauren asked. After recovering from her illness, she now looked the picture of health. She also wore Thor’s engagement ring on her finger, which she showed off at every opportunity.
“Come on, Hank. You really do have to get ready.” Elise threaded her fingers through his and led him away from the others.
“You don’t think I’m too old for all this?” Hank asked as they continued toward the hotel, where the restaurant had been converted into a dressing room.
“Cold feet?” Elise asked.
“No. I’m just…” Hank stopped and took hold of her hands. “Now that it’s here, I don’t feel the same excitement.”
“That’s because it’s not the most important thing in your life. I am.” She giggled like a teenager. “Or maybe it’s because I’m excited enough for both of us.” She jumped up and down on the spot. “This my first Hank Rivera concert, you know. I expect an autograph.”
“Tell me you’re my number one fan.” His breath caressed her cheek as he leaned forward.
“I’ll always be your number one fan.” She pressed her lips to his. “I just want you to be happy. We’ve already raised a lot of money from the hits on your YouTube videos.”
“What?” he asked.
“I might have uploaded your rehearsals.” She laughed mischievously. “They were too good not to. The world is at your feet, Hank.”
“But my whole world is here with you.” He looked up at the mountains in the distance. “I don’t know where my path will take me, but
it will always lead back to you. I’ve decided to write songs again, but for other people. I have an album planned for Thor and Lauren. What comes after that, who knows?”
“Just remember my heart will be, forever waiting beneath the Wishing Tree.”
“It’s time we wrote our own song,” Hank told her.
“As long as it has a happy ending.” Elise stopped outside the door to the hotel. “We did it.”
“We did.” And he lowered his head and kissed her lips. He didn’t need a wishing tree. Because right here, with Elise, all his wishes had come true.
Epilogue
“Hey, come here.” Hank enveloped Elise in his big, strong, arms and she buried her face in his chest.
“I’m okay. Just relieved we’ve got our first transplant out of the way.” She smiled up at him.
“And nobody died.” Hank dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“And nobody died.” Elise took his hand. “Two shifters, bonded by fate. Who knew their tissue would be compatible too?”
“So, the doctors took a kidney from her and put it in him.” Hank didn’t know their names. Patient confidentiality was stronger than the mating bond.
“Yes.” They walked out of the hospital and got into his truck. “Recovery will take some time. But they’ll be there for each other.”
“You look as if you need a good sleep.” Hank turned the key and started the engine. A song came on the radio and they looked at each other, big smiles on their faces.
“They sound amazing.” Thor and Lauren’s duet filled the cab of the truck.
“Maybe we should ask them to sing at our wedding.” Hank gave her a sidelong look. “I was going to save this for later. But it’s burning a hole in my pocket.”
“Hank.” Elise put her hands over her mouth as he pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a stunning diamond, surrounded by rubies. “That must have cost a fortune.”
“I can afford it, with the royalties I received for writing their song.” He turned to face her. “I’ve put a large chunk of the cash into the hospital fund too.”
“You didn’t have to.” Her heart swelled with love and pride.
“I wanted to. Who needs money? I trade it all for love.” He leaned forward. “Elise, will you marry me?”
She nodded. “Yes.” Her smile widened. “As long as it’s under the Wishing Tree.”
Hank pushed the ring onto her finger and then kissed her softly. “I love you.”
“I love you too, and I always will.” She hugged him close. When she’d fallen for Hank as a young teenager, her love for him had been overwhelming. But it was nothing compared to the real love she had for him now. It filled her heart and overflowed. It was real, it was joyful, and at last, Hank Rivera truly was hers.
Have you read all the books in my
Silverbacks and Second Chances Series?
Find them all HERE
Other Books By Harmony Raines
Other Books By Harmony Raines
Visit Harmony Raines Author Page On Kindle
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***UK Harmony Raines Author Page On Kindle***
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Hero Mine
Bear my Fate (Hero Mine Prequel Book 0)
Hero Mine - Kurt
Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1)
READING ORDER FOR
Bear Creek Clan and Bear Bluff Clan
Complete Box Set
Or available individually
suggested reading order
(each can be read as a standalone
but why not start at the beginning and get to know all of the characters?)
Rescued by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book One)
Finding Her Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Two)
Tamed by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Three)
Snowbound With The Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Four)
Biker Bear Billionaire (Bear Creek Clan Book Five)
Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book One)
Doctor Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book Two)
Stranded With Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Three)
A Bride for the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Six)
Home Or Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Four)
Fated To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Five)
Lonely Bear (Bear Bluff Book Six)
Wolf Valley Raiders
Complete Box Set Out Now!
Or available individually
suggested reading order
Redeem the Wolf
To Catch A Wolf
Reclaim the Wolf
Awakening the Alpha
Biker Bears
Forbidden Bear
Secret Bear
Christmas Bear Brothers
Or available individually
suggested reading order
Santa Paws
Christmas Catastrophe
Bear Humbug
Fated and Mated
Love at First Site
Her Scars To Bear
Her Choice To Bear
Her Russian Bear
Who’s the Daddy?
Complete Box Set Available
Or available individually
suggested reading order
One Bear and a Baby
Her Bear and a Baby
Second Chance Bear and a Baby
Baby Protector Bear
Return to Bear Bluff
Complete Box Set Available
Or available individually
suggested reading order
The Bear is Back in Town
His Bear’s Necessity
Black Bear Down
Who Bears Wins
When Bears Collide
Wish Upon A Bear
Cowboy Brother Bears
Complete Box Set Available
Cowboy Bear Blues
Cowboy Bear’s Mate
Cowboy Bear’s Fate
Return to Bear Creek
Daddy Bear
Mountain Bear
Honey Bear
Forever Bear
Storm Bear
Silverback Dragon
P.I. Bear
Doctor Daddy Bear
Bad Boy Bear
Silverback Bear
Ranger Bear
Christmas Bear
Hero Bear
Undercover Eagle
Single Daddy Dragon
Secret Baby Bear
Silverback Wolf
Silverbacks and Second Chances
Cursed Bear
Lucky Bear
Fated Bear
Song Bear
Christmas Bears
Sleighed
Claused
Wrapped
Shifters Prime Sleeping Lions
Complete Box Set Now Available
Living a Lion
Freeing a Lion
Fighting a Lion
Chosen by the Karal
Complete Box Set
Or available individually
Deceit
Love
Power
Hunger
Devotion
Warriors of Karal
Stranded
Found
Taken
Hunted
Allies
Sci-Fi Romance
The Princess and her Alien Rogue
The Princess and her Bounty Hunter
Her Dragon's Bane Serial
Soul Of The Dragon
Blood Of The Dragon
Heart Of The Dragon
Love Of The Dragon
Fate Of The Minotaur
Mate Of The Dragon
Bound To The Flame - A Virgin For The Dragon
When the dragon egg hatches for Trinity she becomes the Dragon Princess and must remain pure until the dragon comes back to claim her as his mate on her twenty first birthday.
An Heir For The Flame (Dragon Fantasy Romance)
The elder dragons have predicted that Trinity will conceive the new d
ragon child tonight. So she mates with ShanRohit under the full moon.
Waiting For Curves (Curves For Her Wolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)
Curves For Her Wolf Doctor (The Greystone Wolves - BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance)
Mistaken Curves (Her First Time With A Wolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)
Sold To The Wolf (Auctioned Curves For The Werewolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)
Curves For The Lone Wolf (BBW Erotic Romance)
An Auction Of Curves (BBW Erotic Romance)
Anna (Curves in the Family (BBW Erotic Romance))
Heated Curves (Curves For Her Firefighter) (BBW Erotic Romance)
Words Unwritten (Curves For Her Soldier) (BBW Erotic Romance)
Christmas Curves (BBW Erotic Romance)
Winning Her Curves (previously titled Virgin Curves)
Returning For His First Love
For The Love Of The Wolf (Erotic Romance Fairy Tales)
Marianne : Unmarked (His) (Paranormal Shifter Romance)
Bred By The Unicorn (Virgin Paranormal Erotic Romance)
The Escort Box Set
***
The Escort Series
The Escort (The Escort Series Part One)(Free in some regions)
The Escort (The Escort Series Part Two)
The Escort (The Escort Series Part Three)
A Curvy Christmas: Robin's Romance (BBW Romance)
Helen’s story:
His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book One)
His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book Two)
His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book Three)
Captured By The
Hannoth Barbarians