Bearly Christmas

by Becca Fanning

  Oliver was still out cold on the kitchen floor. Jamie took great pleasure in calling the police and giving them all the evidence they had. Oliver was taken away in handcuffs by the time the sun set. Then father and daughter sat on the porch in the swing and watched the stars come out, finishing a bottle of whiskey together.

  “I’m sorry about all this,” Jamie said snuggling up to her dad.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “It’s not your fault Juniper-berry. I trusted Oliver. You were right about him from the start. You have good instincts.”

  They were silent for a moment and then her father said, “So you and Jesse?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said smiling uncontrollably.

  “So how does that work?” her father asked. “I mean are my grandkids going to be bears or humans?”

  “Geez dad we’re just dating!” Jamie said.

  “You’re twenty-six already. I need grandkids before I die,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

  Jamie let it slide. It had been a long time since her father had spoken about a future. It was good to hear him dream.

  It was Sunday. Jamie lay on Jesse’s bed in his small cabin. The window let the sunlight in beautifully, warming her from head to toe. All around the cabin the trees were beginning to turn yellow, red and orange.

  She stretched lazily and looked up at him. He was so gorgeous. He traced the line of her face with a finger.

  She moved closer to him and Jesse smiled at her.

  “Don’t just look at me, kiss me already,” she demanded.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” he said ripping off a mock salute.

  The kiss was deep and languorous.

  They were in no hurry. So Jamie pulled back from him. “So about your intentions,” she said a naughty smile playing on her lips.

  “What about them?” Jesse asked.

  “Are you going to tell me what they are?”

  “Nope,” he said.

  “Would you like to know what mine are?” she asked as she pushed him onto his back and straddled him.

  “Sure,” he said.

  Jamie lowered her head and kissed his collarbone, down over his pecs, down the central groove in his stomach all the way to the button on his jeans. There she halted and looked up at him. He was watching her with a bemused look on his face.

  Then she undid the button and pulled the zipper down.

  Jesse just smiled at her and laughed as she pulled his jeans right off and threw them on the floor. Then she pulled his underwear off, discarding that too.

  “Well now you’re hopelessly overdressed for this party,” Jesse said, his voice still light but there were undertones and his breathing had quickened.

  Carefully, painstakingly slowly, Jamie stripped off her clothing, one piece at a time throwing them at him, with a self-satisfied smile as he caught them and smelled each one before grabbing the next one out of the air. Eventually she ran out of clothes.

  Jesse crooked a forefinger at her but Jamie wasn’t finished. She knelt down in front of him and spread his legs, slipping between them. He was already hard, and she took him in her mouth, tasting him as she worked his shaft with her hand. He began to groan and she grew excited, drawing pleasure from his response to her touch. She ran her free hand along his muscular thighs, feeling them shiver as she sucked and licked.

  Jesse reached down and drew her up to him, He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deep in her mouth. Then he lay back and positioned her over his mouth. Jamie felt him lick her, gently at first and then with more vigor and urgency. He inserted a finger, sliding it up inside her and Jamie arched backwards as electricity filled and jolted through her. He kept working her as he slid her back down his body, finding a breast with his mouth, licking the nipple, nibbling it, sucking it until it stood on end. Then he moved to the other one, gently teasing it to attention.

  Jamie had had her fair share of lovers over the years, some good and some bad. Jesse was the one that left them all very far behind. He kissed her, and ran his tongue along her neck making goosebumps erupt on her skin as he took an earlobe into his mouth and nibbled on it. His voice was soft and gentle as he spoke to her. Sweet nothings but growing more and more urgent.

  Finally entered her. Jamie had been waiting, holding her breath almost, not wanting to come too soon and ruin the whole thing. He had her walking a knife edge of pleasure. She wanted this to last forever. She wanted Jesse to be inside her for the rest of her life feeling him move and writhe with her. She could see is enjoyment, see his hunger for her burning in his eyes as he looked at her.

  He began to move slowly at first, and she could feel every inch of him inside her as he thrust. She moved with him, the two of them creating a dance that only they would ever do, to this rhythm in this way. The wave built and grew, filling them both with a desire, a need to be together on a cellular level. Jamie needed Jesse to be with her, in heart, mind and body. He lifted her onto his lap letting her ride him, giving her the control, and she loved it. Now she teased him, squeezing him inside her, making him moan and groan, going faster and faster, as he licked and sucked on her breasts, kneading them.

  Eventually Jamie couldn’t hold it in any more. She felt the warmth begin from her toes and rise up along her spine filling her with fire. It was wave on wave of ecstasy and rode them into the shore of bliss.

  Afterwards as the sunset and the world turned to monochrome in the pale moonlight, Jamie rolled over and kissed Jesse awake. He reached over and his hands found her warm and inviting.

  “So, do you think you could do all that again?” she asked.

  He grinned and said, “I don’t know, we could give it a try.”

  And as Jesse kissed and licked his way over her body, Jamie felt herself rise from her sadness. Her heart finally had something to rejoice about, and she was never going to let him get away.

  Dancing Bearback

  Bear Ranchers Book III

  by

  Becca Fanning

  It all began with the morning paper. Funny how things like that could happen. One moment you’re dipping the last of your toast soldiers into a runny boiled egg, with nothing much on your plate for the day, and the next…well the next thing, anything could happen.

  That was what Willow Davenport thought as she passed the morning paper to her Aunt Vanessa over the coffee pot. Aunt Vanessa had her usual facial masque of avocado, egg white and some sort of clay on her face and was likely to scare the holy hell out of anyone not used to this sight. Willow and her sister Rosemary had lived with their aunt since their parents died over fifteen years ago. They were used to her little ways.

  Aunt Vanessa took the paper and looked at it. She held her glasses off her face as she squinted into them.

  “And?” she said.

  Willow rolled her eyes. “Look down the column!” she went around the table and pointed emphatically at the paper.

  “See?” she said.

  “It’s the property section. Are you finally thinking of moving out?” Aunt Vanessa asked with mock exasperation.

  Willow shook her head and moved back to her seat, and her rapidly cooling coffee. Fall was well and truly underway and the mornings were beginning to get chilly, while all around them the trees changed color.

  “No, silly!” Willow chided, “Just read it.”

  “Ranch for sale. The Homestead Ranch in the San Luis Valley… hey hold on a moment! That’s old man Sawyer’s place next door!” Aunt Vanessa said. “So, I guess Sally-Anne has finally decided the place is too much for her.”

  “What’s too much for who?” Rosemary asked as she entered the kitchen. She was dressed in tiny shorts, a tank top and blue bunny slippers. Her long blonde hair was held on top of her head in a messy bun, and she was still rubbing sleep out of her blue eyes. Willow smiled at her sister and poured her some coffee.

  “Thanks,’ Rosemary said sitting heavily in a chair and scratching her ribs. “So what are we talking about?”

  “Old man
Sawyers’ ranch,” Willow said scooping the last of her boiled egg out with a teaspoon.

  “Didn’t he die, like four months ago?” Rosemary asked, deftly slicing a grapefruit in half and sprinkling sugar all over it.

  “Doesn’t all that sugar defeat the purpose of the grapefruit?” Willow asked.

  Rosemary glared at her and added more sugar. “So now his wife is selling the ranch?” she asked.

  “It looks like she is. This is good for us,” Willow said.

  “Oh?” Rosemary asked putting her feet up on the table, and having them slapped off by her aunt, who poked her nose out from behind the newspaper just so she could swat them.

  “Feet off, you uncultured child! Willow, what do you want me to do?” Aunt Vanessa asked lowering the paper.

  Willow stared at her aunt incredulously. “Oh, come on! You’ve only been talking about expanding the show forever. Just think about it. That is some lovely land. We could finally open the hotel and restaurant that you’ve been dreaming about for ages.”

  “I don’t know,” Aunt Vanessa said taking a dainty sip of her coffee so as not to mess the facial masque.

  “Oh, but Aunt Vanessa!” Rosemary piped up. “It’s your dream, and Will is right. This is your chance!” She bounced up and twirled around tracing a half moon in the air. “Just think about it. The Outlaw theatre, hotel and restaurant. Come for dinner, a show and stay the night! It’s perfect.”

  Rosemary traced the name in imaginary lights in the air. Willow could see it in her imagination. It was what Aunt Vanessa had been working towards her whole life, and she was certain this was the time. The Sawyer’s ranch was just beautiful. It had everything including a river, a small lake and a forest. The possibilities were truly endless.

  “Let’s go take a look,” Willow said. “It can’t hurt to have a peek, now can it?”

  Aunt Vanessa looked uncertain.

  “Oh, please!” Rosemary begged falling dramatically to her knees. “Please, aunty.”

  “Oh, fine,” Aunt Vanessa said huffing. “But we’re going to morning rehearsal first.”

  The Outlaw Theatre only did one kind of entertainment. It was a cabaret show of singing and dancing, and the subject matter was that of the Old West. If you were ever considered an outlaw, then you would feature, somewhere, in the show.

  The current repertoire was inspired by Billy the Kid and Doc Holiday, who had actually visited Colorado in the 1800’s.

  Dressed in her practice gear of a lycra body suit, heels and a cotton wide skirt, Willow was ready to take on the role of Big Nose Kate. Kate had been Doc’s on again, off again girlfriend and Doc was played by Randal Somes. Randal was so gay, and it was so obvious, that Willow had to try really hard not to laugh during their love song duet. Somehow singing about endless love to a person like Randal, was just too funny.

  But she made it through. Then came the dance routines, the songs about being an outlaw, written by Aunt Vanessa, played by the band, sung by the cast, and then the big finale.

  Finally, practice was done. The theatre offered a matinee performance at 15:30, but there was still plenty of time. So the performers and band members went their separate ways.

  Willow raced to change her clothes. She flung on jeans, a green Tee, a jacket and her knee high boots. Last she twirled her long, curly, strawberry blonde hair up into a bun on top of her head and she was ready.

  She met Rosemary in the hall and there they waited for their Aunt Vanessa. She eventually appeared, hair done up, in jeans and a white blouse. Her denim jacket had sparkles all over it and her boots were her best.

  “Well,” she said when seeing the girl’s faces, “I’ve known Sally-Anne my whole life. I think it would be rude to show up on her doorstep looking like trailer trash.”

  “Did we say anything?” Rosemary asked.

  “I sure didn’t,” Willow said. “But come on, we gotta go.”

  They piled into Aunt Vanessa’s SUV, and Willow drove them along the track to the neighboring farm. It was a good half hour drive. There had been a few storms lately and all the rain had rutted the roads, leaving holes and dimples in the dirt. It made for a very bumpy ride. Willow drove slowly, having had a tongue lashing from her aunt before about wearing out shock absorbers by driving too fast on bumpy roads. The SUV was Aunt Vanessa’s baby, part of the settlement from her last husband.

  “Only good thing the cheating, slime bucket ever did for me,” she always said. So Willow drove slowly until the road improved. Here they could see a grader had been along, clearing and flattening the road. With the improved conditions, Willow sped up. They were cruising along now and Willow began to imagine how wonderful it would be to have the theatre, and the hotel and restaurant. It would be more work for sure, but good work. And it would see Aunt Vanessa right into her old age. And this was the perfect time, since tourist visits slowed down now for winter. They would have ample time to get the place sorted out and made to look the part of a brothel in the old west.

  Willow looked into her rearview mirror and let out a small scream. She had been so deep in her imaginings that she hadn’t seen anything around her. A huge black SUV was suddenly right there, behind them! It was practically on her rear bumper. She indicated for them to go around, but the driver just kept on coming. He was really aggressive.

  “What’s his problem?” Rosemary asked, from the backseat, where she turned to glared at the other driver.

  “I don’t know,” Willow said watching the SUV. She rolled down her window and waved him by again.

  The SUV stayed on their tail.

  Willow clutched the steering wheel with both hands. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest.

  Beside her Aunt Vanessa was looking pale, and clutching the armrest.

  The SUV backed off a little. Then it came back at them again. Willow looked around for somewhere to pull over, but this part of the road dipped badly, with a wide ditch on both sides. She couldn’t stop here. So she did the only thing she could.

  Willow hit the accelerator and sped along the dirt road, dust flying.

  The faster they drove, the faster the other SUV came on. Willow hit the brakes a little and the SUV backed off slightly, but not much. Instead of deterring him, that only seemed to be egging this maniac on. He drove closer and closer to them.

  Willow glanced behind and suddenly the car hit something. The jolt on the wheel was enough for Willow to lose her grip for a moment. The car slid out of control, turned wildly, spinning across the dirt and with a boom crashed into the ditch on the side of the road.

  Willow opened her eyes.

  First thing she did was check the passenger and the backseat. Aunt Vanessa was crying but waved Willow away. There was no one in the backseat and that freaked Willow out instantly. She jumped out of the car, trying to shake the feeling that history was repeating, that her sister was gone.

  “Rose!” she yelled.

  Aunt Vanessa’s SUV was nose first in the ditch. Oh fabulous! Willow thought. Great, just wonderful! She knew they were stuck.

  “Shit!” she said and tried to make her way around the car. The passenger side was in the ditch and after the recent rains it was still marshy and slushy there, with clover and other weeds and grasses growing happily in the trapped moisture. They were not getting out of this without help, but there were more pressing issues than the car. Like where the hell was Rosemary?

  “Rose!” Willow yelled again more annoyed than frightened this time.