Bearly Christmas

by Becca Fanning

  “I’ve never played before,” she said, joining them.

  “Better late than never. I’ll show you.” Jumping up from the log, he grabbed the horseshoes out of Owen’s hand.

  “I wasn’t finished,” Owen objected, but he winked at Dakota, not a bother on him. “Ladies first,” he said as he moved aside.

  Eddie handed her a horseshoe, and he stood behind her, brushing her back as he guided her body how to move. “It’s like a Frisbee,” he instructed. “Just aim for the pole. The pole goes through the hole.”

  “It’s nothing like a Frisbee,” Owen uttered nearby. “Eddie is the worst player in the clan. And the worst teacher. Don’t listen to anything he says. Just do what instinct tells you to do.”

  With Eddie’s hands on her waist and his musk filling her senses, her instincts told her to turn around and lure him into his trailer for their own game of horseshoe.

  “Thank you for the blanket,” she said as she aimed. “And for fixing things with Brianna. I figure you had something to do with the sponsorship.”

  “I had nothing to do with it. Brianna earned it on her own. I just made sure it went ahead despite the pigs running amuck.”

  “See, you can be gallant. Your brother was right to leave you in charge. You’ve got this.”

  “Actually, I’ve got you,” he said, tightening his hold on her waist.

  She threw three horseshoes and missed each time, but it was fun. When the last horseshoe flew out of her hand and nearly hit Jacob in the head, a giddiness took hold of her, and she laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

  “Arrest her, Colby,” Jacob joked. “She ain’t playing fair.”

  She instantly lost her humor. “Arrest me?”

  “Colby’s a cop,” Eddie explained.

  She swallowed, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “A real one?” she asked, causing the group to burst out laughing.

  “I’m a part-time officer, only on duty when we’re back at the ranch in New Mexico,” Colby said. “Don’t worry, I have no jurisdiction here. Jacob will have to take it up with the local police.”

  Dakota forced a smile, her heart pounding, realizing just how dangerous a game she was playing. To take the focus off of her, she quickly changed the subject. “Where did Holden go?” she asked.

  The group looked around uncomfortably. Running a hand through his hair, Eddie told her. “Shifters around these parts are disappearing. He went to figure out why.”

  “What do you mean disappearing?”

  “One day they’re throwing horseshoes. Then they’re gone.”

  Worried, she thought of her friend back home. “Only these parts?”

  “That we know of. You thinking of your shifter friends?”

  “I only know one. She’s my best friend. Lillian. She’s a wolf.”

  Eddie put his arm around her. “I wouldn’t worry. She’s probably safe.”

  “She may be safe, but you aren’t,” a man bellowed behind them. It was the fat bookie who had thrown Eddie out of the beer tent the day they met. A gang of thugs accompanied him, brutes carrying chains. “I hope you have a ride to the hospital, because that’s where I’m going to put you.”

  He was speaking to Eddie.

  Their arrival caused a scene. Others in the campsite stopped what they were doing to watch, statues in the desert sun.

  “You know you don’t want to mess with the Tyrell Clan,” Colby said, stepping forward, speaking with the authority of a cop and the audacity of a cowboy. “Be on your way, Girey. We don’t want no trouble.”

  Girey sneered. “Trouble is what you’re gonna get. You don’t scare me. I know what you are, and I don’t care. Men rule over the wild. Bears like you should be locked up, especially after your little stunt yesterday. I had money riding on that competition. You cost me, and I expect you to pay up.”

  A pair of strong hands pulled her away. It was Brianna. “We gotta go, chickling,” she said. “It’s about to get ugly.”

  Dakota didn’t protest. There was nothing she could do to help Eddie. He had his clan for that. She would only be in the way, a liability.

  They hurried to Brianna’s truck. As they pulled away, Dakota opened the window and looked back, seeing Girey and his men, and four angry bears.

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  A full week had passed since the barbeque. Brianna was gone, out fulfilling the duties of her sponsorship, including numerous press calls, leaving Dakota alone in the apartment. When she had first arrived in West Texas, she would have been delighted to have the space to herself, but Dakota no longer wanted the shadows. She wanted the sun. She wanted Eddie.

  She hadn’t heard from him. It worried her. There were too many people in her life she cared about who fell off the radar. First her brother. Now Eddie.

  Dakota picked up her burner phone, hoping it would ring though no one knew her number. The one person who understood what she was going through was her brother. He was on the run too, a needle falling through a very large haystack. They’d parted at the bus station back home, deciding it better not to say where they were going, not even to each other.

  There was a knock on the door. Thinking of her brother, she stood frozen, afraid the police had found her.

  “It’s me, Dakota,” Eddie called, knocking once more. “Open up.”

  Sighing with relief, she let him in. “You’re okay.”

  “I’m okay,” he confirmed, flashing her his sexy smile. “We were arrested, locked away for days, but when witnesses came forward to say the Tyrell Clan was just defending itself, we were released.”

  “What about the bookie?”

  Eddie shrugged. “Don’t know. Colby is at the station seeing what he can learn. He has friends down there. They’re part of the reason we were allowed to go.”

  She wanted to kiss him, but before she got the chance, he swept her towards the door. “Come on, darling. I’ve had enough blues. I need some fun. I’m gonna teach you how to ride a bull.”

  “I’m not getting on a bull,” she asserted.

  “Relax. It’s a mechanical bull down at the bar. We’ll start there.”

  It still sounded horrifying, but she followed him to his black pick-up truck. Twilight masked the town, drawing out the night owls, those who drank and those danced. Dakota was glad she’d gone to a nearby outlet and picked up some new tank tops. She wore a navy blue one, the color dark against the light brown of her eyes.

  “Where are we going?” she asked when he took a road that led out of town.

  “We have to get you a proper hat. I’ve got a few good ones in my trailer.”

  “I don’t wear hats.”

  Eddie laughed as he turned towards the campsite. “That’s the problem. It’s not proper.”

  “If you think you can turn me into a cowgirl, you’re mistaken. In Nebraska, the only hats we wear are snow hats. Or baseball caps.”

  Her eyes went wide as she realized her mistake, but Eddie didn’t call her out on it. Afraid she would reveal too much, she stayed quiet, watching the scenery change as they entered the gorge.

  That silence was interrupted when the radio on the dashboard crackled to life. “Eddie, you on the road?” Colby inquired. “I need to talk to you.”

  Eddie picked the radio up and pressed a button on the side. “I’m pulling into the campsite now. You there?”

  “No. I’m at the police station. I’ll call you later on your phone.”

  “Spill the beans,” Eddie urged. “I’m hitting the road again soon. Have some bull riding to do.” He winked at her.

  “It’s about Dakota.”

  Her throat went dry, and she started to tremble. She wanted to jump out of the truck, but there was nowhere she could go.

  Glancing at her with concern, Eddie pulled up to the trailers, and he parked the truck, but he didn’t move. “Go on.”

  “I’ve just seen a bulletin with her name and photo on it. She’s a fugitive. She’s wanted for her part in an armed robbery up
north.”

  “I see,” Eddie said stiffly. “I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk later.” He set the radio back down.

  “I can explain,” Dakota said desperately, but Eddie didn’t want to hear it. He jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut, leaving the keys inside. Dakota followed him. “Please, let me explain.”

  “I thought you were one of the good ones!” he shouted.

  His words cut her deep, but she spoke through the pain they caused. “Listen to me. A while ago, I saw that my brother was mixing himself up with the wrong people, so one day I followed him. He went into a store with a group of guys, but then he ran out scared. I didn’t know what was going on, so I told him to get in my car, and I drove away. I had nothing to do with the robbery. I didn’t even know that was what he was running from.”

  “You didn’t see the bags of money in his hands?” Eddie asked, sarcastic.

  “There were no bags. The robbery was a bust. Everyone was caught except my brother.”

  “And you.”

  She shook her head. “I told you. I had nothing to do with it, but the police think I was his getaway car.”

  Eddie wasn’t listening. “You lectured me on responsibility, teaching me there were consequences to my actions, but you’re no better. You’re a fraud.”

  His accusations turned her to ice. Unable to stand it, she hopped into the truck and drove away, on the run once more.

  ***

  Dakota was lost. Speeding down the road in the truck, she knew how to get back to her apartment, but she didn’t know if she should go back. Eddie knew her secret. He knew why she had fled Nebraska. Worse, Colby knew too. Soon, the cops would be on to her. She had been wrong about Eddie. He wasn’t her protector. He was the one who would destroy her. Disappointed and angry, she pressed harder on the pedal, accelerating, but then she hit the brake, causing the truck to swerve off the side of the road before it stopped.

  This is Eddie’s truck, she remembered. I’m not a thief. I have to take it back.

  It wasn’t negotiable. Dakota wouldn’t become the criminal the cops in Nebraska made her out to be. She wouldn’t justify their warrant. She turned the truck around. If she saw flashing lights, she’d leave it outside the campsite, close enough for it to be found but not so close that she would get caught.

  Thankfully, there were no flashing lights. There were no cops. But men had arrived at the camp, parked just outside Eddie’s trailer. She could see their silhouettes from down the road. Turning off her headlights, she glided the truck slowly towards the trailer, stopping a few yards down. She ducked her head, viewing the men from her dashboard.

  It was Girey and his thugs. Wearing an expensive cowboy hat on his chunky head, he directed his men into the trailer, waving a pistol in the air. Minutes later, to her horror, they came out, carrying Eddie, who was unconscious.

  “No,” she breathed, tormented.

  She didn’t know what to do. She had to run. She couldn’t risk getting caught. But Eddie…

  Devastated, knowing her fate was sealed, Dakota restarted the engine, hoping it didn’t draw attention, and she picked up the radio. “Colby,” she said, pushing the button on the side like she had seen Eddie do. “Colby, can you hear me? It’s Dakota.”

  The line crackled, and he came on. “You probably shouldn’t be talking to me, Dakota, not without a lawyer. I’m on my way to see Eddie. Is he there with you?”

  “That’s the problem.” She quickly told him everything she saw. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Leave. Get the hell out of there. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Okay,” she said, setting the radio down. Except she couldn’t leave. If she did, Eddie would be gone. The men were trying to load him into a van, struggling against his weight. They’d clearly never abducted a bear before, but they would soon succeed. Who knew what they had planned.

  Closing her eyes, Dakota took a deep breath, and then she sped towards the men, ramming the truck into their van. Her head hit the steering wheel, disorientating her. Through blurred vision, she saw the outrage in the men’s faces. Dropping Eddie, they hurried to the truck and pulled her out. She barely noticed, a black haze forming around her, yet she remained conscious. The men pushed her to the ground, at the feet of Girey.

  “That was a dumb move, sweetheart,” he said, snarling. “Looks like you’re going to be joining your boyfriend at the river.” He turned to his men. “Tie her up. Take her with us. We’ll drown them both.”

  Two men lifted her up, but they immediately dropped her back down, hearing the roar of a bear. Eddie was awake, standing on all fours, a massive grizzly. Pulling rope from the back of their busted van, some of the men tried to lasso him down, but his might was too strong. He ripped through the rope and brushed the men away with his paw.

  Girey had been watching with amusement, until he saw his men go flying. He pointed his pistol at Eddie. “I was going to take you in alive so I could watch you suffer, but this will have to do.”

  “No!” Dakota tried to shout, but her voice was weak, inaudible.

  Girey steadied his arm, but he didn’t get a chance to shoot. Another grizzly knocked him over and tore his gun away. It was Colby.

  Returning to his human form, Colby stood over Girey. “This ain’t my town, but you better get the hell out. Your days at the rodeo are over. If I ever see you and your men again, the next time I take your gun away, I’ll take your hand with it.”

  “You can’t get rid of me that easy, boy,” Girey sputtered. “I always collect on my debts.”

  Colby roared in reply, returning to his bear form. Girey quickly got up and jumped into the van, followed by his men. They raced away, as fast as the wreckage of their vehicle would allow, shouting curses from the broken windows.

  Ignoring the bastards, Eddie came to her, a bear no more. “You came back?” he asked, taking her into his arms. “Why’d you go and do a stupid thing like that?”

  Her head pounded, and there was a ringing in her ears, but she tried not to let it show. If Colby was going to take her into custody, she wanted to go with her dignity.

  “I didn’t steal your truck. I brought it back,” she answered, feeling it important to say.

  “She needs a hospital,” Colby said, standing behind him.

  “No, no hospitals, not if we can help it,” Eddie argued. “I’ll have the rodeo medic check on her. If we take her to the hospital, they’ll know where she is.”

  Don’t they already know? she thought, but she didn’t protest when Eddie carried her into the trailer and set her down on a couch. Colby didn’t follow. He left to summon the medic, giving them their space.

  “What happens now?” she asked, rubbing a hand across her head. “Is Colby going to arrest me?”

  “No,” Eddie said firmly. “He has no jurisdiction here, darling.”

  “What about his friends at the station? Are they on their way too?”

  “Dakota, no one knows you’re here. We haven’t told anyone. We were never going to. Colby is family. He would never do that to the woman I love.”

  “You love me?”

  He laughed and sat next to her. “Of course I do. I was an ass earlier. You are noble, Dakota. More noble than I’ve ever been. What you did for your brother was brave. And what you did for me tonight… well, that meant something. Big. You risked your freedom to save me. Colby understands that. He’s seen who you truly are. Now, you’re under his protection as much as you’re under mine.”