“Oh. That wasn’t me,” Vicky said. “That was Santa himself.”
“Well, next time you see him, say thanks from us.”
“I will.” She smiled and hugged Dermot. “You know, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding my Christmas spirit next year.”
“Good. Because I have had enough excitement to last a lifetime. Now, we need to organise Christmas lunch.”
“There’s plenty at our cabin. You are all welcome,” Marla said.
“That is so kind of you, Marla. Although part of me thinks as the sheriff on duty, I should be organising a search party for Damon,” Declan said.
“He’s big enough to take care of himself,” Dermot said. “Right now, food is the only thing I can think of.”
“Except me.” Vicky prodded him in the stomach.
“Except you,” he said, and held her close, taking her breath away with his kiss, but not her Christmas spirit, which was full to overflowing.
The End
Christmas Catastrophe
Christmas Bear Brothers
(Book Two)
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Note from the author: My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.
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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.
© 2016 Harmony Raines
Kindle Edition
Christmas Catastrophe
Christmas Bear Brothers
(Book Two)
Can bear shifter Damon help his new found mate, Zara, avoid a Christmas Catastrophe in Cougar Ridge?
Bear Bluff firefighter Damon, has got used to spending Christmas on duty with the rest of his crew. But this year, Santa has sent him an early Christmas gift, in the shape of curvy cougar shifter Zara.
But Zara is not feeling the joys of the holiday season. Cougar Ridge has experienced a terrible year, and her brother is stuck far away from home. When her nephew, Robbie, climbs the town's Christmas tree to wish on the star for his dad to come home, she is desperate to make his dreams come true.
When her mate walks into her life, he sweeps her off her feet and gives her a glimpse of how good life can be. Between them, they work to make this the happiest Christmas ever.
Will they be able to turn around the misfortune of the town? And give Robbie his Christmas wish?
Chapter One – Damon
Damon was running late, but he had made it just in time to celebrate with his brothers, although with none of them mated, he wasn’t sure if Christmas had any real meaning to them. Instead of spending the holidays with a mate and cubs, they would each spend it working.
“Here we are again. Another Christmas, and we are all still bachelors.” Declan looked at his two brothers.
“Come on, it’s not that bad. You get to spend the holidays with other sad, lonely people,” Damon said, taking a sip of his beer and trying to cheer up his older brother, who was the sheriff of Bear Bluff.
“Speak for yourselves—I love Christmas at work. Between calls, I get to spend time with all the people stuck on the wards. The nurses work hard to make it special, particularly for the kids who are in over the holidays.” Dermot grinned. “I bet I could rustle up some lonely nurses for a bit of fun.”
“I might take you up on that. I’m stuck with my crew at the fire station. And although there are the delightfully curvy figures of Kirsty and Sonia to gaze at, they are firmly off-limits. Work and relationships don’t mix,” Damon stated. He had worked as a firefighter for so long, the station was like his second home; however, he wanted to experience a real family Christmas with the woman he loved.
“Unless you are bonded,” Declan said evenly.
“Which we’re not,” Damon stated firmly. For so long, he had hoped that his mate would simply walk into his life, or he would be called out to rescue her, showing her that he was the kind of man she couldn’t do without.
A silence settled over them, and then Declan said, “Let’s face it, we hate Christmas,” Dermot glared at his brother, and Damon shook his head; it was one thing to think it, another to admit it. “What? We do. It reminds us of everything we haven’t got, everything that we long for.”
“OK. So let’s make a toast. Or a pact. By this time next year, we will all be looking forward to our first Christmas at home with our families. It will be some other lonely bachelor’s job to keep things rolling, while we eat too much food and make love to our mates.” Dermot raised his glass.
“Sure, why not,” Damon said. They had nothing to lose, only their loneliness. As he raised his glass, he wished not just for himself to find his mate, but for his brothers too. They had grown up together and kept in close contact; he loved them dearly and wanted the best for them. The best mate, and the best Christmas ever.
“I’m in.” Declan raised his glass, but then added, “But I still think it’s pointless. After all, we can’t change our fates just because we promise to.”
“Damn it, Declan. Lighten up. You never know what’s round the corner,” Dermot said, slapping his brother good-naturedly on the back. “And, if you haven’t found your mate by mid-summer, I’ll put your bad-tempered bear face on one of those dating websites. I heard Marjorie in Bear Creek was thinking of starting one.”
“If you do that, I will disown you,” Declan growled. “I don’t need help finding a woman.”
Dermot and Damon collapsed into fits of laughter. “Right, because your social diary is full of dates with women.”
“That’s through choice. I’ve gotten to an age where it seems shallow to date a woman, when you know you are never going to settle down with her because she isn’t your mate.” Declan looked as if he was going to sprout claws and swat his brothers round the head, but he reined his bear in.
Dermot wasn’t finished pushing Declan’s buttons. “See, you are a romantic at heart, and there was us thinking you were a miserable bear.”
“Listen, it’s hysterical to sit around and shoot the breeze with you guys,” Declan said sarcastically. “But some of us have got more important things to do than have their social life pulled apart.”
“Hey, just because you’ve hit a dry spell,” Dermot laughed.
“I have not hit a dry spell,” Declan ground out. “It is my choice not to date. The same as it is my choice to work at Christmas.”
“It’s also your choice to be miserable at Christmas,” Damon said. They all needed to lighten up. And a bit of bear-baiting might be the thing to make them all smile.
“I am not miserable.” Declan got up, drained his beer and then headed for the door.
“Come on, any minute now the words bah humbug! are going to come out of your mouth as you tell some kid off for being too cheerful in front of you,” Damon said.
“Bear humbug,” Dermot said in his deep, growly voice, making Damon collapse with laughter. They never had learned to act their age around Declan , who was not only the eldest, but the most responsible brother.
Declan came back towards them, placing one hand on the back of each of their chairs.
“Thank you for the beer. I am so glad that no matter how miserable I am feeling, I can always count on you two to cheer me up.” Then, with a broad grin, he ruffled both his younger brothers’ hair and growled “Bah humbug” as he left the bar.
Damon wiped the tears from his eyes. “Damn it, Dermot, we need to find ourselves some women.”
“I know,” Dermot said, drinking the rest of his beer. “It’s sad th
at none of us have a family. I wouldn’t even mind being an uncle at Christmas. At least I would have someone to spoil.”
“Least you have the kids at the hospital to look in on. Now, that has to be tough on a parent,” Damon said. “I don’t know how I would bear having my kid sick.”
“That reminds me,” Dermot said, “I offered to take one of the kids home. She’s been given the go-ahead to spend the next couple of days at home, and her mom doesn’t have a car. You might remember her, Sorcha, her dad died in that pile-up a couple of months ago.”
“How could I forget? Now I feel bad moaning about the small things that are missing in our lives.” All three of them had attended the accident, one of the worst they had seen. It had taken Damon days to get the images of wrecked cars and broken bodies out of his mind. He knew that lives had been shattered that day, and his mood became sombre.
Dermot stood up, stretching his arms and then said, “See you on the other side, Damon. Maybe we can all get together after Christmas. And definitely for New Year’s.”
“You never know, Dermot, by some Christmas miracle, we might have found our mates by then.” Damon shook off his melancholy mood. To cope with his job, he had learned to acknowledge that a phoenix could always rise from the ashes of disaster, and that life could get better. And although their lives weren’t actually a disaster, they certainly were due for a change: for the better.
Dermot nodded. “That would take some Christmas magic, Damon. But a man can dream. Have a good one.”
I intend to, Damon thought, sitting alone for a few minutes to collect his thoughts, then he got up, said goodbye to Penny who worked behind the bar, and left. His shift started in two hours: enough time to get home, shower and change, and collect the secret Santa gift he had brought.
Chapter Two – Zara
“Robbie, what are you doing up there?” Zara asked. It was late evening and she was passing the huge Christmas tree that stood in the town square. There had been some debate about decorating it. The town of Cougar Ridge had not experienced the best year in their long history, and there were murmurings that there wasn’t much to celebrate.
However, when it came to a vote, enough people had wanted the tree decorated and the traditional festivities to take place, and so the tree had been hastily covered in Christmas lights and ornaments. Those decorations had not included her nephew Robbie, who was now over halfway up the tree.
The boy didn’t stop, moving sure-footedly from one branch to another in a bid to reach the top. What the hell was he doing up there?
“Robbie, come down. If your mom sees you she will go nuts.” Zara began circling the tree, watching as Robbie moved higher and higher, slowing now as the tree began to wobble.
“She won’t notice; she’s too busy watching the weather forecast to see if it’s going to stop snowing,” Robbie called down.
“Is that what this is about, because you think your dad won’t get home in time for Christmas?” she asked. “I don’t get it, what does climbing a tree have to do with that?”
Robbie stopped, pausing for breath, and then looked up. “The star. Dad always told me it was special, magic. It’s been in Cougar Ridge, on top of the same tree for a hundred years. So I am going to make a wish on it.”
“Robbie,” she began, but didn’t know what to say. How do you explain to a child of six that the star was just a piece of metal, painted gold; it had no power to get his dad home in time for Christmas. But it might just get Robbie killed. “You need to come down and we can talk about it.”
“I am so close,” Robbie said, looking down at Zara. She could see his face, the lights from the tree reflecting off his pale skin, giving him an ethereal glow.
“Don’t go any higher. It’s not safe, the tree gets thinner, and it will wobble or even break under your weight.”
“Craig climbed the tree when he put the star on,” Robbie insisted.
“I know. But he didn’t have to come down, at least not as a boy. He could come down as a cougar, and you are too young for that.” Craig had just hit puberty, and his name had been drawn from all the other children who had hit the change this year. It was a prize the children loved. They climbed up in their human form and then climbed down as a cougar. If they fell, which sometimes they did, they were expected to land on their feet, because everyone knew a cat could right itself in mid-air.
The kids spent ages practicing, jumping from the low branches of trees, then making their way higher as they perfected the move. But Robbie had years to go until he would learn that; he had no cougar to call to his aid if he fell.
“Just look away if you want to. I’ll be down before you know it,” Robbie said, beginning to climb again.
“No. Get down now,” Zara said, her voice rising to make her words a command, not a request.
“Nearly.” Robbie reached out his hand and touched the star, his whoop of joy so loud, she figured everyone in Cougar Ridge would have heard it. “See! I told you I could do it.”
“OK. Now come down before someone sees you,” Zara said anxiously.
“Coming.” But Robbie turned and looked down, his feet flailing in the air. He gripped the tree again and clung to it, making it waver in the darkening night. “I can’t see where to put my feet.”
“Damn it,” Zara said under her breath. There was nothing for it; she would have to go up there and get him. “Stay still. Don’t move.”
But just as she started up the tree, Mrs. Rodgers arrived in the courtyard, all wrapped up against the cold. “It’s all right, Zara, I’ve called the fire department in Bear Bluff. They are on their way.”
“You didn’t have to,” Zara said, trying to hide her annoyance. “I can get him down.”
This was going to escalate very quickly. Soon the whole of the town would know what Robbie had done, including Zara’s father, who was the leader of Cougar Ridge. He’d probably cancel Christmas for Robbie, and that would make it even more miserable for the boy.
“I knew he would get stuck. You shouldn’t have let him climb the tree,” Mrs. Rodgers said reproachfully.
“I … oh, what does it matter,” Zara said as she climbed higher, feeling the pine needles prickling her arms as she threaded her way up the tree. Ignoring the discomfort, she kept going; she had to get Robbie down safely.
Above her head, she could hear him crying now and calling her name softly. She wanted to tell him she was coming and not to worry, but the tree was already beginning to sway under her weight, making the top move dangerously. Robbie was struggling to hang on, and she knew, without a doubt, that she was never going to get to the top.
“Hold on, I’m coming,” she said as she climbed higher, but she had slowed down—she just needed to keep him occupied until help arrived. “There’s a fire crew on its way. Just stay still and they will get you.”
“I’m scared,” Robbie said.
Zara stopped; there was no way she could get any higher without a real danger of the tree cracking under her weight. She tried to position herself so Robbie could see her and then asked, “Shall we sing?”
“What good will that do?” he asked.
“It might make us feel better and pass the time quicker until the fire crew gets here. Want to give it a go?”
“OK,” his voice wavered. “I like Little Donkey.”
“Little Donkey it is, then,” she said and began to sing. Below her, to her astonishment, a chorus of voices joined in. She hadn’t looked down, hadn’t seen the twenty or so people who had gathered to watch. As she sung, her eyes scoured the crowd; luckily there was no sign of either her father or Robbie’s mom. Hopefully they could get Robbie down before any more drama unfolded.
As they sung, she looked across and saw the flashing blue lights of the fire truck on its way to Cougar Ridge. Thank goodness it had made its way up through the snow, which had been coming down for the last couple of hours. If they were lucky, they would get Robbie down from the tree and get back to Bear Bluff before the roads became
impassable.
“Soon be here, Robbie,” she said.
“I can see them,” he said. “I always wanted to ride in the fire truck.”
“Well, maybe that might be one wish that will come true.”
“I only need my one wish. For Daddy to get on the plane and come home to us,” Robbie said. Yet as the snow began to fall even heavier around them, she doubted any planes would be flying, and since her brother, didn’t have a car, Robbie’s dad would be stranded in an airport for the holidays.
Yes. Cougar Ridge had experienced its fair share of bad luck this year, and it didn’t seem as if that was going to change anytime soon.
Chapter Three – Damon
“I can’t remember the last time I came to Cougar Ridge,” Damon said as they drove up the last part of the road, which climbed steeply towards the town, named after the high ridge it was built on.
Stan, the head of the fire crew, looked out of the window, his head tilted upwards to look at the snow falling. “If this continues, there’s a good chance we will be stuck up here for Christmas.”
“That won’t go down well. We’re not all working for the full three days, and if we are stuck here, then another crew will have to take over our shifts,” Damon replied.
“Then I suggest we get a move on and get this job done as quickly as possible.” Kirsty jumped out of the truck and left the door open for him to follow. He watched her as she moved towards the town centre to assess the problem. He liked her; she was brave, intelligent and loyal. If only she was the woman for him, he thought as he got out of the truck. At least then he wouldn’t feel so lonely.
His feet hit the hard ground and his knees gave way, just enough to make him stumble forward. “You OK?” Stan asked from behind him.
Complete Christmas Bear Brothers Box Set: BBW Holiday Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Page 7
