Bearly Christmas

by Becca Fanning

  It was a sincere request. Dakota like Eddie this way – sober and genuine. She never would have accepted his hand in his drunken arrogance, but she accepted it now, knowing it was a mistake. For so long, she had been scared. In Eddie’s presence, despite him being a stranger, she felt safe. He would protect her, even if he didn’t know what he was protecting her from.

  They circled the stadium, away from the crowd, until they reached a barnyard that, according to the signs posted around the makeshift pens, was closed to the public. The animals belonged to the men and women of the rodeo.

  As Eddie led her past a muddy pen filled with noisy pigs, some the size of a small pony, she asked, “We’re allowed to be here, aren’t we?”

  “I am,” he teased, tightening his grip on her hand. “Don’t run off, darling. We’re almost there.”

  Leaving the pigs behind, they entered a stable filled with rows of horses, the roof sheltering the animals from the blaze of the sun. Eddie stopped in front of an oatmeal Thoroughbred, its coat so light it was almost white.

  “He’s a bronco,” he informed her. “Never been trained. Never been ridden. Never seen a saddle in his life.” He petted the horse along its forehead. “You’re my best friend, aren’t you boy?”

  In reply, the bronco bucked.

  Dakota had not thought such adoration possible from the reckless playboy. Unwillingly, her guard began to drop. “If he’s never been ridden, why is he at the rodeo?” she asked, curious.

  “I entered him in the beauty pageant. He’s a show horse. Wins first prize every time. But even to put him in here kills me. I don’t like him to be cooped up. When we aren’t traveling around from one rodeo to the next, we have a ranch in New Mexico. He runs free there. I understand his need to run. All animals want to roam.”

  “You understand because you’re an animal too. A bear.”

  “We’re all bears in the Tyrell Clan.”

  “Are there many of you in the clan?”

  “Just a pocketful. My brothers, our cousin Colby, and Owen.”

  “Owen Hutch, the rodeo superstar?”

  Eddie laughed. “Don’t tell him that. He hates being a star. He just does his thing, and he’s happy enough with that. I’ve been friends with him for a long time.”

  She leaned against the wooden divide between the stables, not caring how dirty it was. “You always been a bull rider?”

  “Since I was a cub.” Eddie moved in closer to her, taking her easy posture as an invite, and he brushed away a loose strand of her hair. “You always been this haunted?”

  “I’m not haunted,” she claimed, her body pulsing with him so near. She could feel his breath against her neck, tantalizing her like a soft kiss. I’m hunted.

  Eddie put an arm over her head. He could devour her, and she wouldn’t care. “I think you are haunted. Hopefully, this can scare all the ghosts away.”

  He leaned forward to kiss her, but a young man burst into the stables. Lanky and clumsy, he knocked a bucket over on his way to them.

  “That’s Jacob, my younger brother.” Eddie sighed as he moved away. “He has a knack for good timing.”

  “Hi.” Jacob blushed as he waved his hand. Like Eddie, he had sandy blonde hair, but he was leaner, and he had freckles sprinkled across his even nose. “Owen’s waiting,” he said.

  “Waiting for what?” I questioned.

  “Retaliation for kicking us out of the competition.”

  “You were kicked out?”

  “Disqualified, technically, for this rodeo only, after what happened to Owen yesterday.” Eddie scowled. “There are no rules saying shifters can’t compete. It’s not right.”

  “No, it ain’t,” Jacob echoed, looking down.

  “Gotta go, darling,” Eddie said, holding his arm out, a mischievous grin replacing his scowl. “Let me escort you back before the boys and I round ourselves up a big ole dose of trouble.”

  “No need,” Dakota said, staying put. She didn’t want to be anywhere near trouble. “I’ll find my own way back.”

  ***

  The arena was empty, but the stadium was full, the crowd drawn for Brianna’s ride. Dakota wasn’t sure how many rounds there were, or if they were even called rounds, but based on what she’d overheard others say, the average of the scores determined a bull rider’s place in the championship.

  Thirsty, Dakota took a sip of her lemonade, which she’d picked up on her way back to the stadium. The drink was cool against her throat, with a sweetness that almost made her smile, if she was capable of smiling in her situation. It’d been a long time since she could taste food. The fear of running turned everything to ash, but she indulged on the lemonade now. It made her tongue tingle.

  Maybe it’s because I’ve finally found a place to settle, a new home, she thought. Or maybe it’s because of Eddie. He heightens my senses.

  As she enjoyed her lemonade, her attention was drawn to the barrel sitting in the middle of the arena. It moved on its own, as if shaken by a small quake. From watching Brianna earlier, she knew the barrel was used as a centerpiece for entertainment, and it gave the bull riders a place to jump if nowhere else was safe, but there was no one in the arena. The round had yet to start. Brianna stood casually by the pens with her competitors, waiting to be called.

  The barrel wobbled again. This time, everyone noticed. The crowd began pointing, and a bewildered murmur spread across the aisles. When the barrel moved a third time, it shook so hard it toppled over, and a little piglet ran out, squealing loudly, causing the crowd to laugh and cheer.

  A knot formed in Dakota’s stomach as she noticed Jacob standing at the emergency exit near the back, fumbling nervously with his hat. Something on the other side caught his attention, and he opened the door, allowing a stampede of pigs to run into the arena, herded by Eddie and Owen. The three of them took off the moment the last pig was in.

  Immediately, officials jumped into the arena to usher the pigs out, but it was uncontrollable chaos. Some of the audience continued to laugh. Others became hostile, objecting to the prank.

  Brianna was one of them. The woman was red with fury. The Tyrell Clan may have released the pigs, but they’d also unleashed a dragon.

  ***

  A bonfire lit up the night, a rival to the sun, which had just set. It was the end of the rodeo. There would be no more bull rides, no more pranks. There was only the fire, built a short walk from the stadium, close to the desert.

  Brianna was off at a corporate tent talking business with a potential sponsor. It was supposed to be an easy contract. The sponsor would watch her ride, preferably to victory, and then they would make her a deal. According to Brianna, sponsorships for women were hard to come by. No one had faith in the sport, not where female bull riders were concerned. She’d been really excited about the deal, but after the pig incident, it was no longer guaranteed. By the time the pigs and the mess they made had been cleared out of the arena, there was no time to finish the women’s competition. They moved on to the men’s, cutting the women out.

  Feeling angry on behalf of all the women bull riders, Dakota orbited the bonfire in search of Eddie, waving off the smoke and cinders. She found him doing card tricks for a group of fans, most of them as drunk as a pub filled with Scotsmen.

  “What the hell did you do!” she yelled, forgetting to be small, forgetting to hide. She grabbed the deck of cards from his hand and threw it into the fire, much to the protest of the group. “Not everything is a game.”

  Eddie didn’t flinch. If anything, he enjoyed her anger. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” he suggested, and he led her into the abyss of the desert, away from the cat calls that followed them.

  “It was funny,” he defended, stopping beside a cactus. “It was just a windup.”

  “It wasn’t funny for Brianna. She could lose a huge sponsorship deal because of your stupid windup. Why did you have to pull the prank while the women were competing? They have it hard enough as it is.”

  “
Wouldn’t it be sexist not to pull the prank while the women were competing?” he joked.

  She wanted to shove him. “There are consequences to your actions, Eddie. You of all people should understand. You face scrutiny for being a shifter. One day, they may not let you ride, not professionally. Put yourself in Brianna’s shoes.”

  “Boots, not shoes,” he corrected, but he frowned, her words clearly sinking in, troubling him. “I’ll apologize to her. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “No, you weren’t.”

  “I’ll fix it. Just don’t look at me like that,” he pleaded. “Don’t look at me the way my brother does. I’m better than this, I promise you. I can give a rat’s ass what everyone else thinks of me, but not you. I care what you think.”

  “Why?” she demanded. “You barely know me.”

  “Well, you’re beautiful, for starters,” he said, gently placing a hand on her cheek.

  She needed to push his hand away. This was not what she’d come to West Texas for. She was meant to go unnoticed, not encourage a cowboy to chase after her.

  “And?” she pressed, full of anticipation, ignoring her logic.

  “And I feel drawn to you. Connected, like you’re the rope I can hold onto and steady myself with.”

  She felt the same, even if it was a fleeting fantasy inspired by the wildness of the West, its heat a lust that burned beneath the skin. “And?”

  “And in about two minutes, there’s gonna be fireworks to mark the end of the rodeo. That’s when I’m gonna kiss you.”

  “You can’t kiss me then,” she said, moving his hand to her waist, pushing aside the fabric of her T-shirt so that he touched her bare skin.

  “Fine. I’ll kiss you now.”

  His lips claimed hers, fierce and hungry. She gave into the kiss like a starved beggar, deprived of joy for too long. The weight of his muscle against her was enormous, both pushing her down and holding her up. She wanted to tear off his clothes so she could see his muscle for herself, feel it against her as he took her in the desert sand, their moans of pleasure heard beneath the moonlight.

  The fireworks began, a warning in the sky above, summoning her back into reality. “I can’t,” she said, pushing his kiss away. It was almost impossible to do.

  “Why?” he asked patiently, trying to understand. Knowing she couldn’t resist him a second time, she marched away, back towards the bonfire. He followed. “Don’t walk away from this.”

  “From what? A quick screw before you head on to the next rodeo?”

  He threw his arms up. “A quick screw can be fun. Dakota, why are you running away?”

  She stopped, but she refused to look at him. “It’s complicated.”

  Eddie was an outlaw. She understood his need to escape, to be free to roam, live life by his own terms. She understood because she was an outlaw too, but he could never know. No one could ever know, and not just for her own sake. For the sake of her brother too.

  * * *

  Chapter Three

  Her room was dim, absent of light. It was how Dakota felt. A life in hiding wasn’t whole. It had no joy. It was freedom, but it wasn’t sanctuary. It wasn’t happiness. There was no light, no matter how bright the sun shone.

  “Maybe I should go back home,” she mused to herself, refusing to get out of bed, to face another day on the run. “If I go home, then the next time I meet a man like Eddie, I can kiss him all I want. We can have our fireworks.”

  Except she didn’t want a man like Eddie. She wanted Eddie, the real him, not the imitation. She wanted the bear.

  “Miss Dakota!” Brianna hollered from the living room, summoning her, too perky for the morning. Miss Dakota was her nickname. She hated it, but she was getting along well with Brianna, so she endured it.

  Reluctantly, Dakota managed to roll out of bed and pull a pair of denim shorts on under her red tank top, the same she’d worn the first day at the rodeo, her possessions few.

  “I’m awake,” she said, dragging herself out of the room. “Is this a fire drill?”

  “You have a package,” Brianna told her, shaking a box excitedly. “It’s from Eddie.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not porcelain,” she mumbled. “How early do they deliver here?”

  “It’s almost noon,” Brianna revealed, pointing to the clock.

  “Noon?” She’d finally gotten her sleep. She felt better, a lot more refreshed than she had sleeping on the bus, but she could have easily gone back to bed for a few hours.

  “Chickling, a handsome cowboy has left you a package, and I’m pretty sure it ain’t dynamite. Aren’t ya going to open it?” Brianna asked.

  Obliging her, Dakota sat on the couch and pulled open the top of the box. Inside was the blanket with the apples woven into it. Delighted, she lifted the fabric to her cheek. Made of wool, it scratched her, but it smelled wonderful, like summers on the orchard.

  “Awe, wasn’t that just sweet of him,” Brianna sang. “You’ve got him hooked like a fish.”

  Dakota dropped the blanket, eyeing Brianna carefully. “Why are you being so supportive?” she asked. “Yesterday, you wanted push the entire Tyrell Clan off a mountainside.”

  Brianna waved her hand dismissively. “All is forgiven. I got the sponsorship. They called this morning. I sign the papers today.”

  “That’s great,” Dakota said. “Congratulations.” She wasn’t the type to throw hugs around, but she was genuinely happy for Brianna.

  “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Now I can travel more, really get my name out there.” She patted Dakota’s knee. “Let’s go celebrate. There’s a bucket of beers waiting with our name on it.”

  “Why does that sound literal?”

  “Because it is. There’s a barbeque down at the gorge where a lot of the rodeo folk are camping out. No fans, just the crew.”

  Dakota thought of how she’d left things with Eddie, and she curled into a ball on the couch. “Do I have to go?”

  “No,” Brianna said. “But I know you want to.”

  She smoothed down the corners of the blanket, unable to refuse. “Yeah. I do.”

  ***

  The gorge was an area near the stadium not far from where the bonfire had been the night before. Rocky inclines stood in the distance, past a river that ran through the valley. There was a good distance between the campsite and the river, land covered in tumbleweed and sand, where cacti sprouted in jagged intervals.

  Full of trailers, the campsite could be mistaken for a Western movie set, the actors sprawled around with cans of beer in their hand while smoke rose from a number of barbeques. While Brianna went to sign the papers for her sponsorship, Dakota walked around, hoping Eddie hadn’t left yet for the next stop on his rodeo tour.

  He hadn’t. Near their trailers, the Tyrell Clan played a game of horseshoes. Eddie sat on a log, talking with Jacob as Owen took a shot. A fourth man stood beside them. He resembled Holden, with his dark hair and noble stature.

  Colby, she thought. That must be Eddie’s cousin.

  Eddie spotted her and called her over. “Come play, darling. We don’t bite, not unless you want us to.”