Max - Three Silverback Bears and a Baby Book One Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Foreword

  Chapter One – Max

  Chapter Two – Josephine

  Chapter Three – Max

  Chapter Four – Josephine

  Chapter Five – Max

  Chapter Six – Josephine

  Chapter Seven – Max

  Chapter Eight – Josephine

  Chapter Nine – Max

  Chapter Ten – Josephine

  Chapter Eleven – Max

  Chapter Twelve – Josephine

  Chapter Thirteen – Max

  Chapter Fourteen – Josephine

  Chapter Fifteen – Max

  Chapter Sixteen – Josephine

  Chapter Seventeen – Max

  Chapter Eighteen – Josephine

  Chapter Nineteen – Max

  Chapter Twenty - Josephine

  Epilogue

  Also By Harmony Raines

  Get In Touch

  Max

  Three Silverback Bears and a Baby

  Book One

  ***

  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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  Max

  Three Silverback Bears and a Baby

  Book One

  A silverback seasoned shifters romance

  These bachelor brothers are about to have their world turned upside down!

  Max, Tad, and Jake think fate—and mates—have passed them by. Resigned to life alone, they have each put all their energy into their careers. But change arrives in the small but perfectly formed guise of baby Milly. Orphaned when her mother overdoses on drugs, Milly brings out the protective side in all three bear shifter brothers.

  Well, Jake might need a little persuading!

  But that’s not all.

  When Milly’s foster mom, Josephine, comes to visit, Max instantly knows she is his mate. He is more than ready to open his heart and his home to Milly and Josephine. But Josephine has a hidden past and as danger threatens, he will do whatever it takes to keep his new family safe.

  Josephine has a past she’d rather forget. But visions of the abuse she suffered at the hands of an ex-boyfriend are impossible to wipe from her memory. Not that she’s let his actions prevent her building a good life for herself. One where she provides love and care for children in need.

  However, she’s never let a man into her heart. She’s never allowed herself to trust another man.

  But now Max tells her she is his mate. Josephine knows what that means. And she wants to be part of a family, a real loving family, for the first time. Can she open her heart to love?

  Just when she finds the answer to that question, her past finally catches up with her.

  Chapter One – Max

  “Fiona.” Max opened the front door to the dragon shifter even before she’d knocked. He’d sensed her from a mile away and listened as her car approached while putting on a fresh pot of coffee.

  What he hadn’t sensed was the baby she was holding in her arms.

  “Maxwell.” Fiona’s eyes dipped down to the baby in her arms before she asked, “Thaddeus and Jacob are home?” She already knew the answer, since her shifter senses were honed over centuries. But over those same centuries, Fiona had learned to blend in, and few people knew what she was and how long she had walked this earth.

  “They are. Tad and Jake are in the kitchen.” Fiona was the only person who called the Harrison brothers by their full names. And they’d given up trying to get her to change her ways. Their relationship with Fiona spanned decades. She’d touched their lives at a very difficult time, and they owed her their loyalty and discretion.

  “Good.” She stared at him as if looking deep into his soul to see if he were worthy. “Good.”

  “We’re just finishing up dinner.” He stepped back and held the door open for her. “Do you want to come in?”

  What about the baby? Ask about the baby, his bear demanded, but Max figured Fiona would tell them all they needed to know when she was good and ready. Fiona was not the kind of woman you made demands of. Dragon shifters lived a long, long time and had sharp teeth and talons. He respected them in the same way he respected the mountain and the weather.

  Although Fiona’s tongue is probably sharper. His bear chuckled to himself, but they were both aware even the huge grizzly would not be brave enough to say that to Fiona’s face.

  “Thanks. I need to talk to you all. Together.” Fiona stepped past Max and entered the house he shared with his two brothers. It was their family home and despite all three brothers reaching an age where silver hairs appeared at the temples and the wrinkles on their faces resembled the streams and rivulets of water that wound their way down the mountain after a cloudburst, none of them had felt the desire to move out and move on. Perhaps if any of them had met their mate things would have turned out different. But since none of them had, they would never know.

  A sadness filled Max’s heart. They had lost hope of finding their elusive mates and since they became silverback bears, each had thrown themselves into their respective careers. Which was why, on a Friday night, they were seated around the kitchen table eating dinner together.

  “Fiona.” Tad leaned against the counter. “Coffee?” It was a redundant question. Fiona always drank coffee. The Harrison brothers often joked it was one sure way to subdue a dragon shifter.

  “Yes, please.” A secret smile spread across her face. “Then you all need to sit down.”

  “That sounds ominous.” Jake rinsed off a dish, placed it on the drainer and dried his hands before he slid into a chair. “Especially when you are holding a baby in your arms.”

  “Here.” Max pulled a chair out for Fiona and she sat down, carefully adjusting the baby in her arms before she dropped a diaper bag on the gray slate floor.

  “Oh, that coffee smells good.” She inhaled deeply as Tad poured the fresh coffee and placed four steaming mugs on the table.

  “Help yourself to sugar and milk.”

  Fiona expertly juggled the baby, who was looking up at the ceiling with the clearest bluest eyes Max had ever seen. Like the sky on a clear winter day, they sparkled like jewels. “Would you like to hold her?”

  Max’s head jerked up and his eyes locked with Fiona’s. “Maybe you’d better tell us why you are here.”

  “Maybe I should.” Fiona sipped her coffee as if stalling.

  It must be bad if this mighty dragon shifter is avoiding telling us why she is here. His bear gave a deep sigh as he looked at the baby. If only we’d met our mate.

  “So?” Jake asked. “Are you going to tell us?”

  Fiona placed her coffee cup down on the table and lifted the small baby up into the air. She couldn’t be more than six months old and gurgled and cooed happily as she looked at Fiona.

  “This is Milly. She is your cousin, Sally’s daughter.” Fiona’s eyes flickered shut. When she opened them again, she said, “I’m so sorry to tell you that Sally died a couple o
f days ago. Brad was coming over here to tell you but he got called out on an emergency, so I offered.”

  “What?” Jake spread his hands out on the table, and half rose from his chair.

  “How did she die?” Max asked. Cousin Sally was a wild child who had gone off the rails at a young age. Guilt swept over Max as he realized he was more surprised at the news that Sally had a child than with the news she had died.

  “A drug overdose.” Fiona jiggled the small baby on her lap and swallowed hard. “The police believe it was an accident rather than suicide.”

  “I don’t know if that makes it any better.” Jake ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep, shuddering breath. “We lost touch with Sally some years ago.”

  “We didn’t even know she’d found her mate, let alone that she’d had a child with him,” Max admitted.

  “I’m not sure she did find her mate. Sometimes these things just happen. For shifters and ordinary people. Being a shifter does not stop a person from making mistakes. I think we all know that.” Fiona looked at them one by one as if she could see deep into their souls and pinpoint each and every one of their mistakes.

  “That’s true, and we are evidence of that fact since we were not there when Sally needed us,” Tad said bitterly.

  “You are not responsible for Sally’s actions. From what I gather from the detective I spoke to, she had been in a downward spiral for some time but refused any help she was offered.” Fiona nestled baby Milly in the crook of her arm. “All we can be thankful for is that this little lady got a clean bill of health.”

  Max glanced nervously from the baby to Jake, who was also staring at the baby. There was only one reason Max could think of as to why Fiona was here in their kitchen with Sally’s baby. If she’d come just to break the news about Sally, she wouldn’t have brought the baby with her.

  Would she?

  Next of kin, his bear whispered softly in Max’s head.

  “Fiona.” Max indicated baby Milly. “I don’t expect you brought baby Milly all this way for no reason.”

  Fiona pressed her lips together as she looked around the kitchen at the three middle-aged men who each had flecks of gray at the temples and lines around their eyes that told the story of their lives. They might not have met their mates, but they hadn’t sacrificed their happiness in search of something to fill the void inside. A void that could only be filled by a mate.

  Instead, they had each carved out a career doing what they loved, surrounded by good friends. And each other. Their brotherly bond might have been tested several times, often to its limits, but it never broke. And it would not break now, even though Max suspected they were about to face the biggest decision of their lives.

  “You three are her sole surviving relatives.” Fiona looked at each of them again with sufficient gravitas that they all got her meaning.

  “You want to leave Milly here with us?” Tad asked incredulously. “We don’t know anything about babies.”

  “Neither do most parents when they have a child. Sure, they read books and prepare themselves, but they don’t know.” Fiona’s eyes glowed brightly.

  “If we say no, will you burn us to ash?” Jake asked.

  “I might think about it.” Her eyes twinkled as her mood shifted subtly. “I know it’s a big step. I completely understand. So I’ve arranged for Milly to live with a foster family in Bear Creek for a couple of weeks.”

  The urge to reach out and take the small infant from Fiona was almost too much for Max. Milly belonged with family, not with a stranger. Yet the thought of taking on a child was almost too much. They all had jobs, full-time commitments, how would a baby fit into their lives? And more importantly, were three older men Milly’s best chance at happiness? “We just need a little time to get our heads around this.”

  “The shock of Sally’s death and her having a baby…” Tad stood up and came around the table to hover at Fiona’s shoulder. Reaching out his hand, he stroked Milly’s chin with his fingertips and a small smile crept across his lips. “She is the sweetest baby.”

  “Do you want to hold her?” Fiona offered the baby to him and Tad held out his arms and took Milly, cradling her gently in his arms. “That’s it, support her head.”

  Max closed in on his brother and Milly, standing at his elbow and taking a good look at her for the first time. “I think she has Sally’s eyes.”

  Tad nodded and swallowed hard. “We should take her.” His forehead creased. “We owe it to Sally.”

  “Sentimental guilt isn’t a good enough reason to adopt a child,” Jake said harshly. “Being of the same blood doesn’t guarantee we’ll make good parents. A child needs a mom and a dad. Isn’t that the reason Sally ended up the way she did? If she’d had a father figure, she might have made different choices.”

  “Sally made her own choices,” Max replied. “Her mom tried her best before she passed away. And we tried to support them both as a family. It had nothing to do with Sally not having a dad growing up.”

  “Max is right. And wrong. Children can get by fine with one parent. In the same way, a child can have two parents and still end up off the rails.” Fiona drank the rest of her coffee thoughtfully. “We don’t know what goes on in other people’s minds. And I don’t believe Sally overdosed on purpose. But those facts are the past. This child needs to grow up surrounded by people who love her. She deserves parents who want to be the best parents they can be for her. Not out of guilt or a sense of duty.”

  Tad gazed down on Milly. His expression answered Fiona’s question. He wanted to raise her.

  “You should take her, Fiona.” Tad handed Milly back to the dragon shifter. “We need to process this and make a decision. A unanimous decision.”

  “Agreed. We all have to want to do this.” Jake walked to the kitchen door and waited for Fiona to collect the diaper bag from the floor. As she picked it up, Max sprang forward.

  “Here, I’ll walk you out to the car.” Max’s fingers curled around the strap of the bag as he took it from Fiona. Milly’s eyes widened as she watched Max before she babbled incoherently, but as their eyes locked together, he was certain she was trying to communicate with him quite clearly. “She sure knows how to tug at my heartstrings.”

  She needs us. She wants to live with us, his bear translated the baby babble.

  “That’s what babies do,” Jake said. “It’s what they are programmed to do.”

  “They aren’t robots, Jake,” Tad told his brother quickly.

  “No, they are not. But they do have self-preservation built into their DNA. They look cute with their big heads and innocent blue eyes for a reason.” As if in response to Jake’s words, Milly blew a wet raspberry between her rosebud lips.

  “Well, she’s certainly figured you out already,” Max observed and received a scowl from his older brother. Was it possible that this tiny bundle of mischief in the form of a cute baby might be the undoing of more than forty years of brotherly love?

  “She’s smart, most women take at least a couple of months to see through your charming good looks and big bank balance.” Tad held up his hands as Jake reached for a dishcloth to throw.

  “Careful. Not around the baby,” Tad warned.

  “And you three don’t think you’ll make good parents when you are still kids yourself.” Fiona spun around to face them, leaving Milly with wide eyes and a small smile on her lips. “You all have so much love to give. I believe you are the right people to raise Milly. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Max nodded. “We just need to process this, Fiona. It’s not every day someone shows up on your doorsteps with a baby.”

  “I understand. Just don’t leave it too long.” She sighed and turned back toward the door. After a moment of hesitation, she left the house with Max trailing thoughtfully behind her.

  “Do you really think we’re the best people to raise Milly?” Max asked as they reached her car.

  “Yes. There are three of you. You’ll love her and resp
ect her and be there for her when her mom isn’t. You’ll teach her about the mountains and the rivers. You’ll teach her how to be smart and how to be kind.” Fiona nodded her head toward the house. “It’s not as if you don’t have the room. And that house of yours always seemed to be lacking the laughter of children.”

  “You have a point.” Max opened the car door for Fiona, and she slipped Milly into her car seat. “Do you have the address of the foster home? I’d like to visit tomorrow. Maybe we all could.”

  “Yes. And I’ll pass your details on to her, too, if that’s okay?” Fiona snapped the buckle of the baby harness shut and then reached inside the car. Taking a small card from the dashboard, she handed it to Max. “Here.”

  “Yes, sure. Give her whatever she needs. Josephine Conway.” Max frowned. The name sounded familiar somehow, but he had no recollection of ever meeting her.

  “She’s new in town. Moved here a couple of weeks ago.” Fiona glanced at the baby and then at Max. “She’ll look after this little one. But take it from a dragon shifter who has seen too much of this world. This little girl belongs to you. I can feel it in my bones.”

  Max stood and watched as Fiona got into the car and drove away, taking a small part of him with her.

  “Are we really the right people to raise a child?” Tad asked as he and Jake joined Max in front of the house. It was a beautiful day and the mountain called to his soul. He wanted to shift into his bear and run for miles and miles, while his brain came to terms with the loss of Sally and the joy of having a baby in their lives. It was mixed up. But it was the reality they had to deal with.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But I do think we owe it to Sally and Milly to at least try.” Max sighed. “But this has to be a joint decision.”

  “And when have we ever made one of those?” Jake raised an eyebrow, and the other two agreed.

  Chapter Two – Josephine

  Josephine plumped the cushions scattered across the sofa one last time as she watched the car pull into her driveway. Nerves jangled as she approached the front door and waited for Fiona, who worked for the local social services department, to knock.