them basically advertise for a mate?” I asked, and Jacob shrugged.
“Advertised for a surrogate,” he said. “And then happened to fall in love. And then, like, Braden didn’t advertise for a mate at all. Braden advertised for a head cowgirl and Erin just happened to be his mate. And look how happy he is.”
“So maybe we should do that?” Frances suggested. Jacob raised an eyebrow.
“We have a head cowgirl.”
“I mean to advertise for a bunch of female positions and see who turns up?” he asked.
“No,” Jacob said. “I guess if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.”
“I’m not going to put a ton of thought into it,” I said. “If I’m honest, I agree with you, Jacob. If it’s meant to happen, it’s meant to happen, and if not...at least we have each other, right?”
“Cheers to that,” Jonathan said and raised his coffee mug. I clinked glasses with him and then glanced down at my phone to see what the schedule was like for the day. The three of us were normally perfectly in sync, despite the fact that we hadn’t grown up together. I suppose it was something that ran in our blood.
“So, one of us is supposed to be in the office at eight,” I said. “There is that group of investors and—”
“Not it,” Frances blurted out, and Jacob was quick to follow.
“Not it,” he responded, and I rolled my eyes.
“You guys didn’t even give me a chance,” I said. “But fine. I’ll take the meeting today.”
“You’re a trooper,” Jacob said to me as I took my coffee mug upstairs.
“You just watch,” I said as I headed up the stairs. “One of the investors is going to be my mate and the rest of you will have missed out.”
My brothers laughed and I smiled as I went to take a shower.
My reflection in the mirror showed ripped abs and dark hair, but it was my eyes that I thought gave away the fact that I wasn’t fully human. They were a deep brown that sparkled in the moonlight, and sometimes darted unnaturally from side to side. Occasionally, my nose would twitch just like a bear’s. It was my super sense of smell taking over, and today, my nose twitched as I noticed that the bathroom had been freshly cleaned.
Technically, I should be happy about that, because it meant that I didn’t have to do it myself. I had grown up in a very nice but poor family, and we didn’t have anything like a maid or a housekeeper or anything. The fact that my brothers and I had made such a fortune said that we were privileged, and the smallest thing, like cleaning chemicals in the bathroom, reminded me of that.
I couldn’t help but think, though, as I got in the shower, that none of it really mattered. Yes, we had this wonderful life, and yes, I was happy, and yes, I was glad that I had found my brothers. But there was that feeling of emptiness inside that I would not quite admit to. It was a feeling that said I was only half a person, half a bear, until I found my mate. If I had to live like this for the rest of my life, I was the first to admit that it would be pretty miserable.
My shower was fast because I was short on time. I grabbed a black tee-shirt and then pulled on some jeans and was about to head out the door when Johnathan stopped me.
“Let’s go to LeQuida tonight,” he said. It was the name of a swanky restaurant just off our ranch property, and we often went there because of its price tag. We could afford it, while many of our workers couldn’t, and so we weren’t often in the so-called public eye when we dined there.
“Sure,” I said. “What time?”
“Seven?” he asked. “I mean, I’m sure we will see each other before then, but does that sound good?”
“Sounds fine to me,” I said and headed out the door to the meeting. My head was still back in the shower, where I had been picturing a beautiful, sexy investor who happened to be my mate, sitting in my office, waiting for me.
When I got into the office and it was just a bunch of guys in suits, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Still, I managed to put a smile on my face and held out my hand.
“Gentlemen,” I said. “Welcome to Ursa Ranches. My name is Frances, and I am one of