“I’m not sitting on your lap at lunch,” she said, laughing. But she compromised and scooted her chair closer. He’d already ordered her favorite Arnold Palmer with a splash of gin and she took a sip, letting Eric throw an arm around her shoulders.
“How was school?” Eric said. He nibbled on her ear and she couldn’t help but smile at him.
Eric had absolutely no compunctions about showing affection in public or in front of his brothers.
She’d decided it was cute.
“I think I want to major in Art,” she said, blushing, “especially art criticism.” She spoke quietly enough that only Eric could hear. She had always been shy about speaking her dreams and ideas aloud. Her parents had been such hard people, used to a rough life, and completely unable to support any ‘silly’ dream of hers. It wasn’t as if they’d ever encouraged her to want more. Even now, knowing just how supportive Eric could be, she waited with baited breath for his reaction. What if he thought it was silly? What would she even do with an Art degree at Black Bear Lake?
But Eric didn’t laugh and his eyes didn’t narrow.
In fact, he light up like a candle, grinning and gripping Lydia’s hand in his. “That sounds great!” Eric burst out. “You know, I remember when we were young, you used to always want to look at my parents’ art books.”
All the tension left Lydia’s body and she felt a huge sense of relief. “Yeah,” she said, squeezing his hand back. “You used to try to give them to me but I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
“They never would have noticed,” Eric said. “But hell, I’ll buy you all the art books you want. In fact, I’ll take you into town to that big bookstore on Elm. We’ll go on a spree.”
“You’re too good to me,” Lydia whispered.
“Hey.” Connor clapped his hands loudly and Lydia and Eric jumped. She turned away from her mate, clearing her throat. They’d practically been on top of each other without realizing it and even if Eric didn’t mind affection in front of his brothers, she supposed there was a line. “I want to make a toast,” Connor declared. “To Alanna and Lydia. To family.”
Everyone clinked glasses and said cheers but Lydia saw Eric frown at Cody who did seem a little distracted. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Oh, there’s this new maid we just hired,” Cody said. “Nicole. Just uh… I don’t know. She’s kinda down on her luck. She was really desperate for the job. I’ve just been thinking about her situation, I guess.”
“You still thinking about that maid?” Connor said.
“You shut up,” Cody said, but he was smiling. “He thinks I have a crush on her.”
“You do,” Connor said with a snort. “You were practically drooling when we interviewed her. I thought you were going to shift and go feral.”
Lydia burst out into giggles and Cody threw a lemon rind at his brother. Eric laughed and they went back to chatting and eating their gourmet sea bass.
It all felt so natural and when Eric took her hand and led her back to their suite after lunch - because he’d taken the afternoon off just to hang out with her and do nothing - it felt even better than the old days when they were young; it felt like home.
Cody
Blurb
* * *
Billionaire bear shifter, Cody Strauss, can’t help but be attracted to one of the maids at the Black Bear Lake Lodge.
* * *
Jessie’s sexy curves are a perfect distraction for him. But she’s much more than just a gorgeous woman and his employee. Cody is tempted to believe that she might be his fated mate.
* * *
Jessie, on the other hand, does everything to avoid him. It’s hard for her to ignore him, to not let him touch her in ways that she can’t stop dreaming about. But there’s something at stake.
* * *
A secret. And Jessie would do anything to protect it… to protect them. She never meant to become a single mother to six bear shifter cubs, but her heart couldn’t handle their bad treatment. Now, the bear sleuth is after her and Jessie is the only one standing between these kids and the dangerous sleuth.
* * *
Cody will discover her secret sooner or later, and when he does… will he be able to protect her and accept her family as his own?
* * *
***
35
Cody
Cody Strauss checked his watch for the third time in fifteen minutes and blew a sigh through his lips. His quiches for lunch were still setting for the rush and the rest of the kitchen staff of Black Bear Lake Lodge was, by now, running like clockwork. As the head chef, Cody ran his kitchen tight as a drum. His brother, Eric, called him “fussy.” Cody thought that was rich coming from a concierge who pouted if his shirt collar was even a little bit crooked.
Cody leaned on the counter and a pantry chef blowing by handed him a plate because as the head chef, he actually forgot to eat sometimes. He frowned and set the plate on the long kitchen island, sitting on a stool to dig into the turkey sandwich.
It was summer at Black Bear Lake Lodge, the sprawling ski resort that sat at the foot of a snowy mountain not too far from the Colorado Rockies. That meant it was the off-season. Yet the off-season at Black Bear Lake Lodge was as busy as other lesser resort’s busiest seasons. The lake was pristine and perfect for canoeing and other water sports, and the hiking trails were busy with the guests who populated the place.
It was the Strauss brothers, four bear shifters from Oregon, who owned and ran the lodge, together sharing in the labor and decision making that went into owning one of the most luxurious ski resorts in the country. As the Alpha and the oldest, Connor Strauss made the big decisions and gave out the orders, and usually his brothers followed along. Cody ran the kitchen and made all food-related decisions himself and Eric was the concierge, fulfilling any guest’s request no matter how odd or demanding.
Nathan Strauss was the handyman, though lately, they’d hired a couple more backup maintenance people to share his load. Having recently found his true love and mate, Alanna, he had just become the proud papa of a baby girl bear shifter cub, Emily. He was still on paternal leave, cooped up in his residential suite with Alanna and his infant daughter. There was a particular air of joy around the place due to the happy news and “It’s a girl!” signs and balloons still littered the place here and there following the lodge-wide baby-shower and celebration of the newest member of the Strauss clan.
“Hey!” Connor blew through the kitchen doors and threw his brother a nod before sitting next to him at the table and grabbing half of the turkey sandwich without so much as asking. But that was typical of Connor. “Where is everybody?”
Everybody meant Eric and Nathan. It was quasi-tradition to eat breakfast or lunch in the kitchen with Cody unless things were particularly hectic.
For Eric and Nathan though, things were particularly hectic and Connor definitely knew that. Cody raised an eyebrow at his brother and neatly caught the baggie of homemade potato chips tossed to him before swallowing and answering the question. “Papa Nate is up there with Em letting Lydia nap. Eric went to have some schmoopy lunch date with Lydia. Ever since her semester ended, you can’t get them apart.”
Lydia was Eric’s mate and the long time love of his life. He had narrowly lost his own life and hers in the pursuit of her after attracting the attention of murderous bear shifter and a dark witch who had attempted to seduce him into marriage only to steal his fortune for herself. But together, along with the other Strauss brothers, Eric and Lydia had defeated the witch and found each other. The fight had nearly killed Cody and he felt that sometimes Eric felt guilty and attempted to overcompensate in doting over his brother as a result. It wasn’t necessary to Cody’s mind. Family was family and blood was blood. He would have died for his brother in a heartbeat.
On the other hand, if Cody wanted to score him hockey tickets once in a while, who was he to complain?
“Oh!” Connor nodded and scratched his bearded chin. “That’s cool.
For some reason, I thought Lydia was in summer school.”
Unlike the Strauss brothers who had grown up in the privilege of an incredibly wealthy aristocratic family of bear shifters, Eric’s mate, Lydia, came from no money at all. She had never had the chance to pursue her own desires and when she’d found happiness with Eric, he had encouraged her to go back to school just as she’d always dreamed.
Eric swallowed and said, “Yeah, she was going to but she worked so hard over the spring and they didn’t really have a chance to just kick back for a while together so she’s taking the summer off.”
“Good.” Connor nodded and scarfed down the rest of Cody’s half of a sandwich in two bites. “So what’s your problem?”
“Hmm?” Cody blinked at his older brother and racked his brain.
What had he done now? He couldn’t think of any reason Connor could be mad. Cody was, even on a good day, sometimes grumpy or abrasive. But he had been in a decent mood lately, if only because he had a new baby niece, and that was a cheerful thing.
“You look pouty,” Connor said, dusting off his hands. “And you need a haircut. Is this because of the new maid you’ve been flirting with?’
Cody glowered.
Connor was right on both counts and that was annoying.
“Her name is Jessie,” Cody said. He dropped the crust of his own sandwich half on the plate and crossed his arms. “And as the head honcho around here, I would expect you to know your employees names-”
“I do. Geez-”
“Besides, I like my hair long,” Cody grumbled.
Cody had dark brown hair that fell in soft waves and was teasingly derided as “girly” by his brothers when he let it touch his shoulders.
But just last week, Jessie had said that she thought his hair looked good. That had been just before he’d intended to have it cut for the summer.
He’d abruptly changed his mind.
It was just an extra step while he worked in the kitchen. He pulled his long hair back into a pony with not a strand out of place.
“Have you asked her out yet?” Connor said.
There was no business between the brothers or between the brothers and anyone else that Connor Strauss did not want to stick his nose into. In Cody’s opinion, that was because Connor was maybe a little lonely and wanted his own mate but didn’t want to admit. Instead, he distracted himself by sticking his big paws into everything.
“I’m feeling it out,” Cody said, frowning.
He felt like he was about thirteen-years-old again and that was very annoying.
“Feeling what out?” Connor shrugged. “You’re a Strauss! You’re rich and decent looking-”
“Oh, decent looking. Thanks, asshole,” Cody cracked.
He thought he was pretty good looking, if he did say so himself. All the Strauss brothers had a sharp jaw and the kind of big glimmering eyes that made the girls melt.
Sometimes he thought his mouth was too wide and he wished he had that nice thatch of dark chest hair like Nathan or Connor because women seemed to like that. But other than that, he thought he was doing okay. He had an aquiline nose unlike his brothers and he thought it made him stand out a little from the other Strausses, just like Nathan’s blonde hair.
“So?” Connor was giving him his sternest look as if the question of Cody asking Jessie out was life and death.
“Mind your business!” Cody barked. He hopped up from his stool and took the plate to the sink, looking around almost desperately for something to do.
Take Jessie for lunch...
Perhaps it was a dash unfair of Cody to so obviously play favorites amongst the cleaning staff and pay so much attention to Jessie except that she smiled whenever he came around. Besides that half the cleaning staff practically ran from him whenever he came near, he often asked for help outside his own staff in keeping the kitchens immaculate or complained about the state of the dining hall.
“Okay okay.” Connor raised his hands in surrender. “It just seems like we’re all finding out people, you know? First Nathan, now Eric... ”
“Not that it’s been easy,” Cody said under his breath.
“Yeah,” Connor said. He clapped his brother on the back. “On that note, if this girl Jessie turns out to be the one can you try and make sure there’s no body count this time? I don’t know if I can handle another round of assuring guests they’re not going to be accidentally caught in some crossfire because we have to fight off my brother’s mate’s kidnapper or whatever.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Cody said wryly.
Connor seemed to accept that. He made himself a cup of coffee to take with him and disappeared again, probably to head back to his giant office and think about ideas for the fall season.
The moment he was gone, Cody checked on the quiches. They were ready and he set one on a plate with some garnish and wrapped up an endive salad and put it on a platter with a bottle of iced tea from the fridge.
He checked his watch once more. In a few minutes, Jessie would take a fifteen-minute break in the employee lounge at the back. She never took enough time to eat.
He knew because he’d asked.
There were three employee lounges at the lodge and Cody could always find Jessie at the smallest one on the second floor that had a wide window looking out on the lake beyond. The room was like a smaller dining hall outfitted with its own small kitchen, tables, chairs, a few couches, and a flatscreen. The TV was playing cable news on mute.
Cody spotted Jessie right away. She was sitting on one of the couches, ignoring the TV and staring blankly at her phone.
Cody almost felt bad seeing a couple other employees eating lunch that weren’t quite as fancy as his quiche. But to be fair, they did enjoy a steep discount in the kitchen and at any of the eating establishments at Black Bear Lake Lodge’s shopping promenade.
“Jessie,” Cody said. He had a tendency to grin like a dope around Jessie and he tried to contain himself as he swept up to her bearing his platter.
Jessie looked up with a start, her eyes growing large. “Oh! Cody, you didn’t.”
“I know you never eat lunch... ”
Jessie blushed and got to her feet and he set the platter down at an empty table, humming as he lifted the lid over the tray and unwrapped the salad.
“And for today’s lunch, we have a shallot and mushroom quiche with endive salad and passion fruit iced tea... ” He gestured dramatically as she sat down at the table and he took a seat beside her. “I hope it wasn’t presumptuous.”
“It’s sweet,” Jessie said. She batted her dark eyes at him and he wondered if she was doing it on purpose. Jessie had hair as dark as his own except that hers reached her waist. It was often up in a practical braid but today she’d pinned it in two braids wrapped around her head. It made her seem a little younger and more girlish to Cody, not that she wasn’t already. Except that Jessie nearly always seemed tired or stressed out.
He had made it his mission to make her day a little better.
Jessie had warm brown skin and when she grinned as she did now as she poked into her quiche, she lit up the room with her bright white teeth.
Goddess, Cody thought briefly.
“You have a heart-shaped face,” Cody muttered. He hadn’t intended to say so aloud.
“Hmm?” Jessie took a bite and blinked up at him. She had doe eyes; big and glossily brown. Like a cartoon princess. They seemed to sparkle.
“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head.
“You shouldn’t play favorites, you know,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “It’s not fair to the others.”
“Stuff the others,” Cody said. “I’ll give you a free lunch if I feel like it.”
Jessie rolled her eyes at that and she took a bite of quiche, moaning a little. Cody swallowed and tapped the table with his fingers. It was the sort of noise Jessie might make when she...
“How’s your day going?” Jessie said. “Because I am exhausted.”
“My day
’s fine,” Cody said, shrugging. “I run the kitchen too well. Half the time I have nothing to do. At least in summer. Winter is busier. And you work too hard.”
“All the other maids work just as hard as me!” Jessie said. “Except Marcie. She is so lazy-” Jessie clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes comically large, like startled dinner plates. “Oh my gosh! Pretend I didn’t say that! I forgot I was talking to one of the bosses. It never feels like I’m talking to a boss when I talk to you. But I wouldn’t want Marcie to be fired. Otherwise, I’ll have no one to talk to about The Bachelor.”
Cody barked a laugh and raised his hands defensively. “I’m not going to say anything. We’ll keep Marcie’s lack of work ethic between us unless it’s a real problem. Besides, I’m not really one of the bosses, am I? I don’t feel like one. We share chef-maid confidentiality. I’m no boss.”
“Oh, please.” Jessie pointed a fork at him. “You are a Strauss brother. You own a quarter of the place just like your brothers even if you just run the kitchen. You have a vested interest and all that.”
She looked very proud of herself for making her point as she dug into her salad.
Cute, Cody thought. He felt something like a sigh if the heart itself could sigh.
“So I’m a quarter boss,” Cody said. “But not one hundred percent boss.”
“Okay fine,” Jessie said, chuckling. “Fair enough.”
Cody sat back in his chair and tried not to stare at Jessie while she ate, she had teased him about it before. Instead, he chewed his lip and wondered if now was the time to ask her out.
It was funny that Connor was encouraging him to do it really. He used to have problems with them going out with other staff or with guests. Things could get dicey that way. But Cody supposed that after Eric and Nathan had found their mates, maybe Connor was feeling more positive about that kind of thing. And Connor trusted him to make good decisions after all.
Billionaire Bear Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset Page 25
