Gannon: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I’m sure that she is perfect for you, sir. I’m positive of it. The building out back, the large barn, have you been made aware that it’s being filled with equipment since yesterday?” No, he told Patrick, but he wasn’t the least bit surprised that one of his sisters had just moved ahead and done that. “They are very pushy, aren’t they? I like them both, but they are extremely set in their ways about things.”

  “That’s an understatement.” They both laughed. “Do I need to set up something for her to be able to order the food? I want you all to know that if you need something, I’ll try my best to get it for us. You guys are saving me a great deal of heartache on trying to figure out what it is I might need.”

  “We’ll keep you hopping. As for the ordering, no, that’s been set up with Ms. Meadow. We order on days that are not the days that the other households order. That way, it won’t be messed up on which house to go to. You’re on Wednesday’s schedule.” Patrick stood up when someone rang the front doorbell. “Shall I tell them that you’re too busy to see anyone?”

  “I’m sure that will go over well if it’s one of my family members. They’re the only people that know where I live now.”

  Patrick left him to answer the door.

  Gannon finally got the first box of equipment opened, and was reading the instructions when he heard someone clear their throat. He glanced up, thinking that it was Demi again to bust his balls when he realized after the second look that it was Mel. Standing up, he nearly went to her when he remembered the look on her face when she’d heard he was a bear.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.” She said that she’d been watching him. “I’m sure that was the highlight of your day. I’ve yet to be able to open the equipment that I have for home. I didn’t mean to be late for our meeting.”

  “You’re not. Late, I mean. I decided to come here when I went for a walk around the block. Do all of you have such huge houses?” He asked her to have a seat, and she did. Gannon had to keep reminding himself to stay back from her. “I didn’t mean to take you from your work.”

  “I was only opening the boxes until I had to leave. And as for the huge houses, yes, we all do. Demi and Meadow decided that we needed a place to call our own. I would have been just as happy with a small house someplace, but this is what they picked out for me.” She asked him if they were in the habit of buying such huge things for people. “I really don’t know that answer. I mean, they’re both wealthy. I guess, as they say, we’re all wealthy. But they’ve worked very hard to make more since they’ve been old enough to work at it. I’m sorry, I’m babbling. Would you like something to eat? Drink?”

  “No, thanks. I came to tell you how sorry I am.” He didn’t want her to apologize for something that he’d done to her. He said that to her now. “You didn’t do anything but try and help me. I also wanted you to know that it’s not just you. I’m afraid of everyone. I took a bit of a beating the day of the school shooting. I’m only just now beginning to realize that I’ve hurt myself more than I needed to by becoming what I am.”

  “And what is that? A woman who knows more about keeping children safe than I’d think most parents do? Or is it that you’ve been the best aunt and sister ever born? I heard that straight from Mary. She sort of worships you.” Mel laughed. It was the first time he’d heard that coming from her. “You have a lovely laugh. However, I don’t think you do it often. You’re sort of rusty at it.”

  “Thank you. I think.” She got up and started breaking down the boxes with the box knife that she pulled from her back pocket. “I want you to know that I’m still afraid. While it’s not you that scares me, it’s somehow knowing what you are that makes me want to run screaming into a burning fire.”

  “I was only trying to save you. I’m sorry that you were hurt so badly.” She asked him why he’d been unable to shift away what she’d done to him. “Because of what you are to me, my mate, I can’t be healed until you forgive me. I’ve not tried to shift if that was what you were going to ask next. I’ve been so busy that I’ve been putting it off. You’re not to blame for me being injured either, Mel. You were hurting, and I caused it.”

  When she slammed the box knife down on his desk, he backed away from her temper. “Damn it all to fuck and back. I’m trying to tell you how sorry I am that I did that to you. And it was me, too. Don’t you dare even think about telling me that it wasn’t. I’m not here for you to be nice to me. I want you to be pissed off that I’ve been a fucking cunt and treated you like shit.” He cocked a brow at her. “You’re a nice man. Lord knows that I should understand that after being told by several hundred people in this town that you’d never harm a bug. But I did this. It’s my fault. Do you have a fucking problem with that?”

  “No.”

  He watched her as she ripped down the rest of the boxes. He saw that her hands were bleeding too. Instead of getting into it with her about how it was his fault too, just to see her temper flare again, he sat down in the chair that she’d been in and asked her to have a seat. She sat, but he didn’t think it was without some anger.

  “I just want to put this out there. I don’t want you to be pissed again, but it’s hurting my bear in ways that I can’t explain to you. Or perhaps I can, but he wishes to heal you. I’m thinking that it might be the way you feel when one of Daniel’s children are hurt.”

  “It hurts my heart that I can’t heal them.” She looked at him. “You offered once before I went off the handle at you. I would like for you to heal them if you don’t have to shift or anything just yet. I don’t know...I’m not sure I’m there yet with my fear of bears. I think that they’re getting infected because I haven’t been taking care of them as well as I should have been.”

  “All I need to do is lick your burns. It would be better as my bear, at least quicker. But I don’t think that matters.” He took her hands into his, holding them gently when she put them out there for him. “Yes, I can smell the infection. It’s not deadly yet, but it’s getting there. Burns are the worst sort of wounds if you ask me. They hurt when they heal, and always leave a mark that reminds you of what was done. Does this mean that I’m forgiven, love? I am so very sorry that I hurt you like I did.” When she smiled and nodded at him, he felt so much better.

  He licked the first one, the one that wasn’t nearly as badly burned before he touched his tongue to the other. Gannon was surprised at how much infection he could taste, but she was healing now, and that made his bear happy.

  ~*~

  The pain was gone. Not even a little twinge of it was there for her to feel. Putting her hands on her lap, she looked at Gannon. He was a very handsome man, big and tough looking. A man that didn’t look at all like he was afraid to get his hands dirty. Mel realized she was staring at him and turned away. Gannon moved to the other side of the desk again. She wanted to ask him why he’d done that, but he went back to work on taking things out of the boxes before he started explaining.

  “I work for Demi as her camera guy. I used to work at the mall before it was closed down, taking pictures of kids for whatever reason. My favorite was when a child had a birthday to commemorate. Demi realized that I could do things for her that she’d not have to. I never once believed that she couldn’t do this on her own—put in cameras for surveillance and such—but she did tell me that it saves her time to know that she only has to call on me to get it done. I’ve put in the cameras at your brother’s place, inside and out.” Mel asked him why there were cameras in the house. “That’s what I asked her when she told me what she wanted. It seemed kind of creepy to me. But she said that knowing they were there would make it so that if something was going on, they could track an intruder better if they could see him. They’re not turned on until there is an emergency. Every room has a panic button to be pushed in the event that there is trouble. I put those in as well.”

  He wasn’t bragging about what he’d done, just stating facts like they
were great friends, and she might need to know what he’d done for her and her family. When he looked up at the clock behind her, she watched as he organized all the paperwork that he’d removed from each box and put it on his desk. Then he picked up all the plastic bags, and anything else that wasn’t box material, and put it in the oversized trashcan in his office.

  “Would you like to go to the offices with me? I have help coming in to help me take out a lot of whatever was leftover when it was a shop. Until last night, I didn’t know I was going to have a place like this one, but that’s fine too.” He watched her carefully; she could tell, as he didn’t move from his position behind the desk. “You don’t have to. I mean, if you’re more comfortable here, we can do this later. But I have to help out. I’d feel terrible if I just left the help I have hanging around without me.”

  “No, I think I’d like to go. Are you driving?” He said that it wasn’t that far if she wanted to walk. “You enjoy being outside, don’t you? I do as well, but apparently not as much as you and your family does.”

  “I’m a bear, and we love the outdoors. As much as any shifter or real animal would, I suppose. But it’s really not that far, about three blocks. If you’d like to go, on the way there, I can point out some of the things around town that might interest you.” She said she’d enjoy that. Just as they were getting ready to leave his office, the man who had let her in came into the room. “This is Patrick. He and I are getting used to each other being man to helper.”

  Not servant, but helper. There was something incredibly endearing about that. She shook hands with the older man and told him what her name was. He grinned at her. It made her laugh that he was so happy to meet her.

  “The mate.” She glanced at Gannon when he laughed. “Mr. Gannon said that he didn’t know if you’d be coming here or if you’d stay. But I must say, miss, you’re much prettier than I thought you’d be. He said that you were lovely, but he didn’t say that you were such a beauty.”

  “I only compared you to me being ugly and that people would be happy to look at you.” They all three laughed, and she felt good about it. Laughing at things other than her nephew and nieces felt foreign to her, but nice. “We’re headed to the building that I’m using. If you don’t hear from me around four, would you give me a call to see if I’m going to make it home for dinner?”

  “Better yet, I’d like to have dinner here with Mr. Gannon.” Patrick asked her if she had any food preferences. She didn’t answer because she had surprised herself by inviting herself to dinner. It wasn’t until he asked her again that she answered him. “No. Nothing. I could just eat whatever you were going to make for Mr. Gannon.”

  “We’re only just getting in foodstuffs, so the sky is the limit. I know that Miss Hand makes a very good peppered salmon if you’d like that.” She nodded, telling them both how much she loved salmon any way she could get it. “Then salmon it is. We’ll have dinner around six unless something comes up. If it does, then it’s no trouble. Salmon doesn’t need to cook except a little while to enjoy it.”

  Patrick nodded to them both, then walked away. They were headed out the door and onto the sidewalk when Gannon spoke.

  “It’s Gannon.” Mel looked at him. “My first name is Gannon. Mr. Gannon makes me sound like an old man, so I’d rather you called me by my first name, please.”

  “I can do that. My first name is Melody. I’m named for my mom. Our dad’s name is Sam. However, no one has called me that for years. Usually, only when I’m in trouble.” Gannon asked her if she would mind if he called her that. “No. I mean, I guess it’s fine. People might not know who you’re talking about, but that’s all right with me.”

  “Neither you nor Daniel speak about your parents. Are they still around?” She said that they were, but they traveled a great deal for Dad’s job. “What does he do if you don’t mind me asking? This is me trying to get to know you. If it bothers you on any level, just tell me to shut up. I tend to talk when I’m nervous.”

  “Why are you nervous? I mean, I’m the one that barged right in and told your cook that we’re having dinner there. I’m not usually like that.” Gannon told her that he was glad that she’d done it. “I’m very nervous around you. Not just you, but most people. I’m working on it. Trying my— Daniel and I had a fight before we left the hospital. Well, he left and told me to basically suck it up, or I was going to die an old woman. Alone. He didn’t actually say that. He’d not do that. But he did point out that I was being very selfish about not telling anyone what had happened. Also, that if I really wanted to kill myself, which I did for a long time, then I had to tell his children what a coward I am. I think that hit home the hardest to me.”

  “You said that you had thought that. I’m hoping that by you saying it that way, you’ve changed your mind.” She didn’t know and told him that. “Well, that’s a start. I mean, you didn’t say that you still wished you were dead. I’m going to take that as one in the positive column.”

  “You’re very strange. I’m sure that you’ve been told that before.” He just grinned. “And I’m betting that you think you’re charming when you smile like that. You’re not. Just let me point that out to you right now.”

  “You think I’m charming. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have taken my hand into yours.” Mel hadn’t realized that they were holding hands. She was tempted to pull away from him, but he tightened his grip just a little and spoke. “Don’t. Please, don’t pull away now. I like having you this close, and holding your hand has my...the other part of me happy that he could be this close to you as well.”

  “You mean your bear.” He told her that he didn’t want to make her scared of him again, so he didn’t mention it. “I guess that I freaked out when you told me that. You’re still not healed up. A little, I guess. You’re no longer bleeding, but you still have a black eye as well as those cuts. Are there more places that I hurt you?”

  “I hurt me by scaring you. Never think that it was your fault, Melody. You were terrified of me, and I wanted to keep you safe.” He kissed the back of her hand before continuing. “In answer to your question, I have three broken ribs, as well as some cuts along my back and arms, not much of a big deal. Since you forgave me, some of those will heal too. Otherwise, when I can shift without hurting more, that will take care of the rest of it.”

  He opened the door for her to enter the building ahead of him. Mel didn’t think it was because he was showing off. It was, she’d bet, something that he did without thought. Like someone had told him that was the way it worked, and he did it that way. Mel liked that, being sort of treated with respect.

  As soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room they were in; she looked around. There was so much to see and so much more to love that she couldn’t help but squeal just a little. After assuring Gannon that she was all right, she turned to look at him.

  “You cannot tear anything out of this building.” He laughed and asked her why. “Look around here, Gannon. It’s history. This place has a fountain of history just waiting to be found. Over that way? Look at the bread and roll prices. They’re wonderfully original. And see that cash register? I’m betting that the sucker still works too. Who owns this place?”

  “Demi. And my brother, I guess. What would you like to do to it? I mean, I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s going to be epic.” She asked him instead of answering him if there was a bakery in town. “No. There hasn’t been in a very long time. You want to do that? Make this back into a bakery?”

  “It already is a bakery. All we need to do is see if we can find someone to come in and bake for us. Oh, Gannon, this is going to be such a wonderful place. I can see little tables all around with people eating their fresh picks. Coffee served over there. Not that fancy stuff, but real honest to goodness coffee. I need to speak to Demi.” Gannon pointed to the doorway, and there the woman stood with Lucian. “You can’t turn this into whatever you were going
to do with it.”

  “Okay. Why not? And I’m not opposed to changing it around. But why would I not want to tear this out and start over?” She dragged the woman to the wall, where an oversized chalkboard had been unearthed at some point. On it was the soup of the day with the prices. “A quarter for a bowl of soup beans and a chunk of cornbread. That’s much cheaper.... Holy shit. That’s the original work in here. You thinking of it being a soup shop?”

  “That could be here as well. But a bread bakery. Maybe a few cakes and cookies, but mostly bread and rolls. I was just telling Gannon what a wonderful trip this would be for customers to come in and see this old place turned into something functioning again.” Demi was looking around, and Mel thought that she was trying to figure out a way to tell her to get real. “Or not. It just seems a shame to—”

  “Don’t do that.” Mel backed from her, but Demi took her hands into hers. “I’m not going to hurt you. Not ever. I was merely looking around at what it would cost to renovate this place like you were suggesting. This is a fantastic idea you have. And it would be very profitable to have in town. Don’t be afraid to come to me with an idea like this. Or even one that I won’t agree with you about. But I’d never tell you that you suck. Not like that, anyway. We would go over whatever it was that we have ideas about and work from there. You might even find that you were right, and we can make a go of something. Please don’t be afraid of me. Or anything that I might say to you, Mel. You’re going to be family, I hope, and we women have to stick together, or the men in this family will have us pampered and sitting on a pedestal all the time.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to put any kind of money into this project, but I can put in the work to make it look good.” Demi asked her what sort of ideas she had. “Just making this something that could be not just profitable, because I know that must be the bottom line in everything we do as self-employed people, but a place for people to gather and talk. No pizzas or burgers—nothing to do with fast food. Just wholesome food that is made right here.”