by Dakota West
In the kitchen, Jasper froze and looked at Craig.
“I hope not,” Jasper said, his eyes still locked with Craig.
“Why?” Craig asked, reaching for her shoulder.
She turned back toward them, her eyes bright with tears.
“You guys deserve someone normal and not broken,” she said, miserably. “I mean, look at this, we just had really great morning sex and now I’m crying all over your kitchen like a lunatic,” she said. “You can’t even take me on a nice date without me wrecking the place.”
“We don’t care about that,” said Craig. He felt like his heart had stopped in his chest. “Hell, I’d rather eat barbecue on the counter with you than some fancy bullshit. Olivia, we looked for you for years before we found you.”
She looked up at him, frowning slightly.
“What?”
We didn’t tell her, Craig realized. She has no idea.
“We met when you were feral,” Jasper said.
“We did?”
Jasper just nodded.
“It was for about ten seconds,” he went on. “We were bears, you were a bear, but we looked into your eyes and we knew we had to find you again,” he said. “So we did.”
“You were looking for me?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” said Craig. “When Jasper told me he found you in the garden by the library, he practically had to physically restrain me from tearing down every door in town.”
She looked at the counter, no longer crying. Ninety nudged her hand, and she started petting the dog again, absentmindedly.
“You weren’t disappointed when you met me and found out I’d been feral?”
“Are you kidding?” said Craig. “I was on cloud nine at square dancing, and I hate dancing.”
“You should have seen yourself tell off Buck,” Jasper added.
“And Ninety likes you,” Craig added.
Olivia seemed to consider all of this, and Craig took her other hand, sandwiching it between his.
“We know you probably need time,” he said. “But we’re not giving up on you. Whatever you need, we’re here for. We will do anything for you, Olivia, and I am dead fucking serious.”
She’d teared up again, and looked down at Ninety. Then she sniffled.
“Thanks,” she said.
She sniffed again.
“I think the pancakes are burning.”
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia
One month later
“Craig, sweetheart, you have to keep stirring or the cheese will burn. Jasper, could you get the rolls from the oven, please, and Olivia get him the bread bowl. Not the old one, the new one, with the blue on it.”
Olivia looked at both Craig and Jasper as her mother bustled back out of the room. Simultaneously, they lifted wine glasses to their lips and drank as Olivia lifted the correct bowl out of a cupboard.
Her mom bustled back in.
“Much better, Craig. Is that melted? Yes. Go ahead and pour it over the pasta and then you can just bring that pot to the table, it’s nice enough. Gary’s bringing the pork chops in from the grill right now so double-time with those rolls, you two.”
She bustled out again.
They looked at each other again, smiles lifting the edges of their eyes.
“Amazingly, it was much worse when I was a teenager,” Olivia said, helping Jasper stack the rolls in the bowl.
“At least you were well-fed,” he said.
Craig lifted his wine glass to his lips again.
The dinner table was piled high with food, just like every week when Jasper and Craig came to dinner. Even though Olivia had been nervous about her parents’ reaction, her mom and dads had taken to Craig and Jasper immediately, welcoming them into their little family with no hesitation at all.
Buck hadn’t been seen off of his ranch in a month. Amazingly, L’Aubergine had been willing not to sue Olivia in exchange for two weeks of dishwashing, which left her soapy and exhausted but grateful.
She still lived at home. Craig and Jasper had kept to their promise to take things slow, so now she was spending a couple nights a week at their place, feeling a little more normal week by week.
Right in the middle of dinner, just as everyone had their mouths full, the phone rang.
Olivia’s mom jumped up so fast her chair overturned and rushed to the wall unit in the kitchen.
“Yes?” she asked, breathlessly.
Everyone stopped.
“We’ll be right there!” she shouted, then hung up.
Everyone stared.
“Cora had her baby! He’s healthy! They’re all healthy!”
Everyone at the table started talking at once, but Olivia’s mom waved her arms until they went silent and stared at her.
“Come on, we’re going to the hospital,” she said, grabbing her purse and walking for the front door. Olivia, her dad, and her papa followed, though Jasper and Craig hung back, looking uncertain.
Then her mom stuck her head back around the corner and looked at them.
“Come on!” she shouted. “You’re family!”
They were the second ones to arrive, moments after Julius and Hudson and Quinn. Everyone barely fit into the tiny hospital room. Cora looked tired but radiant.
Hunter and Ash stood to one side of her, both silently staring in awe at the infant in Hunter’s arms.
Olivia went straight up to her cousin, and put her hand on his arm.
“Hi, Logan,” she said very softly.
Logan waved his tiny fists in his air, and Olivia could feel Craig and Jasper hovering over her shoulders, looking down at this tiny new person.
“He’s beautiful,” she said, and Hunter and Ash just nodded, too gobsmacked for words.
“Let me see him again,” Cora said, and Hunter slowly walked to her, then put Logan in her arms like he was afraid he’d break the baby. Hunter and Ash knelt down by the bed, the three of them making a perfect little triangle.
Olivia, Jasper, and Craig stepped out of the room, leaving them alone, and Olivia was surprised to find that she was crying when they got out into the hall.
“What’s wrong?” Jasper asked, taking her hand.
“Nothing,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I want that. I want to be in a perfect little glowing triangle like that with you guys.”
Jasper laced her fingers through his and smiled. Craig slipped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Us too,” he whispered.
“Someday, we’ll have that,” Jasper said.
“I know,” Olivia whispered. “I’m sorry I’m crying. I think it’s happy crying.”
“Happy cry all you want,” Jasper said.
“We’re here,” Craig said. “We’re staying right here.”
Olivia burrowed into his chest, trying to hide her face, and she felt Jasper embrace her from behind, ignoring the weird looks of the nurses and patients passing by.
She stayed like that for a long time, sandwiched between her mates, until at last, she was done happy crying.
“Okay,” she said. “I think I’m normal again.”
“You’ll never be normal,” said Jasper. “It’s what we love you for.”
Olivia laughed, sniffled, and laughed again. Craig kissed her hair. She wanted to stay in that moment forever, just standing there, with the two of them.
She smiled.
We’re going to be all right, she thought.
The End
Shifter Country Bears
Read the whole series!
Book One: A Bear’s Protection
Book Two: A Bear’s Nemesis
Book Three: A Bear’s Mercy
Book Four: A Bear’s Journey
Book Five: A Bear’s Secret
Coming July 24
Shifter Country Wolves
Book One: Running With Wolves
Coming July 31
Book Two: Betting On Wolves
Comin
g August 7
Book Three: Fighting For Wolves
Coming August 14
Book Four: Uncaging Wolves
Coming August 21
Book Five: Longing For Wolves
Coming August 28
Copper Mesa Eagles
Book One: Predator
Coming September 4
Book Two: Prey
Coming September 11
Book Three: Pariah
Coming September 18
Contemporary Romance Novels
(As Roxie Noir)
The Savage Wild
An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance
The Dirtshine Trilogy: Rockstar Romance
Never Enough (Dirtshine Book 1)
Always You (Dirtshine Book 2)
Ever After (Dirtshine Book 3)
Slow Burn
A Bodyguard Romance
Torch
A Second Chance Romance
Convict
A Criminal Romance
Reign
A Royal Romance
Ride
A Cowboy Romance
Loaded
An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance
EXCERPT: Chapter One of A Bear’s Secret
Sloane
Sloane couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so excited to shower. She’d had a long, rough five days hiking through the southern end of the Cascades, and she couldn’t wait to wash the layers of sweat, dirt, sunscreen, and miscellaneous filth off of herself. With every step closer to her destination, she could practically feel the clean, warm water washing over her body, smell the soap and shampoo as they rinsed all the gross stuff currently on her into the drain.
Then, she was going to sleep in a real bed for two whole nights. When she’d started planning her months-long backpacking trip, two days at the Double Moon Ranch to recuperate had seemed totally overindulgent, and she’d worried over losing that hiking time. But now, two days at the ranch didn’t seem like nearly long enough.
Hiking down the mountain on its northeastern side, already in the shadow of late afternoon, Sloane could see the long, flat valley laid out in front of her, turning gold in the slanted sunlight. The spur trail to the ranch was a pretty easy one, and she was practically flying, especially compared to the last few days.
You can bail any time, she reminded herself. You don’t have to do this, you wanted to do this, on your insane ‘find yourself’ mission.
I think you’re pretty found, she thought. How much more can you sit around in nature and think?
Visions of warm water, washing over her, followed by a real meal and a soft bed danced in Sloane’s head as she barreled along, her pace only getting faster as she got closer to the promised land of creature comforts.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of bright blue. Only for a moment, and then it was gone.
Sloane stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn’t exactly say why, but that simple flash of blue was wrong somehow. Suddenly all her senses were on high alert, adrenaline prickling through her veins, and she couldn’t even say why.
Chill, she thought. Someone lost a hat or something and you happened to see it.
The hairs stood up on the back of her neck. Nothing had changed on the trail: a gentle breeze still blew through the summery forest, the leaves of the trees waving slightly back and forth, the smell of pine needles and dirt wafting through the air.
And yet, Sloane’s stomach clenched, and she looked around, her skin practically tingling with the knowledge that something wasn’t right.
Did I see a ghost? She wondered. I don’t really believe in ghosts, though.
Holding her breath, Sloane stepped to the side of the trail, peering through the trees, trying to find the blue thing again, scanning through the greens and browns and deep blacks of the forest, not sure what she was looking for and not really knowing why it was so important.
Stop freaking yourself out, she thought. You could be like fifty feet closer to a shower and dinner right now. Stop imagining weird stuff and move it, Garcia!
Instead she stood still, scanning the forest. It seemed like everything went quiet, all at once: the birds, the wind, the rustle of the leaves.
Sloane took one more step, and then she saw it. It was only a triangle of blue fabric, poking up above a fallen tree, the color loud against the muted earth tones of the forest.
It’s just a scrap of fabric that someone lost, Sloane thought. A hat or a glove or a piece of tent that got torn off. She tried to ignore the suddenly-heavy feeling in her gut. Carefully, she unstrapped her own pack and sat it on the forest floor, pushing aside branches and leaves, making her way toward the fallen tree.
Sloane felt drawn toward the downed tree and the scrap of fabric, like it had some magnetic draw on her. Somehow, she knew that it wasn’t a tent scrap or a hat or a glove, and as she approached, she held her breath, bracing herself against the terrible feeling that she was about to find something bad.
On the other side of the log was a boy.
There was no other word for him. He was adult-sized, but he couldn’t have been older than his early twenties, maybe. There was still baby fat on his cheeks.
For one quick, easy second, Sloane thought the guy was asleep. It almost made sense: he looked so peaceful, lying there next to a fallen tree, like he’d just wanted to grab a quick siesta in the middle of hiking.
But his head was at the wrong angle, one of his arms twisted oddly beneath him, his legs all akimbo.
Sloane’s hands started shaking, and she knelt on the other side of the log.
Don’t be dead, she thought. Please please please.
She held her breath and watched as his chest rose and fell very, very slowly.
Okay, Sloane thought. Okay. I can handle this.
She glanced back to her pack, up against a tree, right next to the path.
He collapsed while he was hiking, but he’s alive, and I’m going back to the trail and yelling for help, because every single wilderness survival guide out there says not to leave someone alone.
Sloane took a deep, shaky breath, pleased that she’d put together a plan without freaking out.
Then, she saw it.
There was something sticking into his neck. A needle with a tiny syringe on it.
WHAT THE HELL, she thought. She gasped and stepped backwards too quickly, her foot landing on a stump and sending her toppling over backwards.
Sloane yelped as she fell, then scrambled back up and ran for the trail as fast as she could.
What if I’m next? She thought frantically.
She reached the trail and didn’t bother with her pack, just half-ran and half-slid downhill.
“Help!” she shouted, her lungs starting to burn. “Someone help, a man’s hurt!”
What if you’re just attracting whoever shot him? She wondered.
Well, then, you’re probably fucked, she thought, her feet sliding over some small rocks and nearly sending her flying again.
She shouted again at the top of her lungs. She didn’t care any more about what the guidebooks said or about where her pack was. All Sloane wanted was to get away from the part of the forest where someone was shooting darts into other hikers, and to the Double Moon ranch, which presumably had a phone that dialed 911.
“Hey!” shouted a male voice.
Sloane spun around, her heels sliding on leaves, and scanned the trail before her eyes finally alit on a figure, nimbly hopping down after her.
“What’s wrong?” he shouted, coming into better view. In moments he was standing in front of her, his chest heaving.
Sloane noticed two things right away.
One, he was hot. Crazy hot. Calendar-of-underwear-models hot.
Two, he was naked.
The hell is wrong with you? she thought. Sweat poured down her face, and she could practically feel a river running down the back of her neck, sluicing in her sports bra, between her boobs.
“Someone’s hurt back there,” she gas
ped, her hands on her hips as she struggled to catch her breath. “He’s in the woods, and he seems asleep but there’s a thing in his neck.”
She gestured at her own neck, knowing that she wasn’t explaining anything even a little.
“Show me,” the naked man said. He had a low, musical voice with just a hint of a twang, and he seemed very, very calm, like this situation wasn’t all that unusual and he knew exactly what to do.
Sloane nodded.
Please know what to do, she thought.
Silently, she walked past the naked guy and they made their way back up the hill. Sloane’s brain concocted the worst-case scenario, despite her best efforts: they’d get there, and whoever shot the guy would be in hiding, waiting.
They’d get there, and there would be one extra person, lying next to the guy.
They’d get there, and the guy would be dead.
They’d get there, and the guy would just be gone.
That’s the worst one, Sloane thought. Then I’m the only one who knows that something hinky is going on out in the woods, and the sexy naked guy thinks I’m crazy to boot.
It’s like the beginning of a horror movie.
She reached her pack and turned into the woods. The piece of blue nylon was still there, and despite everything, she felt a quick wave of relief wash over her.
The naked guy stepped around her, and she realized that he didn’t even have shoes on.
