by Ally Summers
Table of Contents
Epilogue
Boone
Gabi
Bear Game
Grayson
Sienna
Bear Play
Oliver
Savannah
Bearly Falling
Ally Summers
Head Over Heels Press
Copyright © 2017 by Ally Summers
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
1. Boone
2. Gabi
3. Boone
4. Gabi
5. Boone
6. Gabi
7. Boone
8. Gabi
9. Boone
10. Gabi
11. Boone
12. Gabi
13. Boone
14. Gabi
15. Boone
16. Gabi
17. Boone
18. Gabi
19. Boone
20. Gabi
21. Boone
Epilogue
Bear Game
1. Grayson
2. Sienna
3. Grayson
4. Sienna
5. Grayson
6. Sienna
7. Grayson
8. Sienna
9. Grayson
10. Sienna
11. Grayson
12. Sienna
13. Grayson
14. Sienna
15. Grayson
16. Sienna
17. Grayson
18. Sienna
19. Grayson
20. Sienna
21. Grayson
22. Sienna
23. Grayson
24. Sienna
25. Grayson
26. Sienna
Bear Play
1. Oliver
2. Savannah
3. Oliver
4. Savannah
5. Oliver
6. Savannah
7. Oliver
8. Savannah
9. Oliver
10. Savannah
11. Oliver
12. Savannah
13. Oliver
14. Savannah
15. Oliver
16. Savannah
17. Oliver
18. Savannah
19. Oliver
20. Savannah
One
Boone
My boots kicked through a pile of leaves. I marched one foot in front of another until I was at the top of the hill. The pinnacle. From here, I could see every acre of the clan’s land. Land that belonged to me. Land I ruled.
It didn’t hurt that the sweetest apples in the orchard grew in this very spot. I reached up and plucked one from the largest and oldest tree on the farm, taking a hungry bite. No matter what fell on the orchard – disease, drought, insects, fire – this tree remained untouched. Unharmed.
The McScott Clan tree of life. Call it urban legend. Call it fairy magic. But for whatever reason, it was a survivor.
It was the only tree off limits on the acreage. I didn’t need to post a sign or fence it in. Everyone knew. I leaned against the trunk. My heavy shoulders pressed hard into the bark. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
The sun beat down from a clear blue sky. There were a few scattered clouds in the distance. In three days, this place would be invaded. Every tree would be surrounded. Every bough under attack. I scanned the perimeter and growled. My bear was possessive as hell, and even more protective of my family’s land.
But it was tradition. It was part of living in Twilight Hollow. The Fall Festival brought more business to this town than any other event, and the McScotts had opened the orchard to the town every year for the festival. I wasn’t going to be the bastard who shut it down.
They came in droves with baskets, wanting the full fall experience with their families. They’d pick and eat until it looked like an army had been through here. I had to keep reminding myself it was the end of our growing season, and the extra profit wasn’t a bad thing.
I wanted to get to the other side of the farm before lunch. I liked to take an inventory and scout out the land before we opened the gates to the festival crowd. It helped to know every foot of the farm. I finished my last bite of apple and chucked the core fifty feet.
I turned to walk down the hill, but my ears picked up on something. I paused. The leaves on the ground rustled behind me. It didn’t sound like a squirrel or even a deer. This wasn’t a regular movement pattern of the animals I ran into. Something or someone was hiding.
The hair on the back of my neck stood as I pivoted toward the noise.
“Who’s there?” I growled.
The rustling stopped.
“Show yourself. I don’t like being followed. You’re on my land. Come out,” I called.
My eyes narrowed. There was movement in a pile of leaves behind a nearby tree trunk. I crept closer. I clenched my jaw, expecting to see one of the farm workers shirking their chores, or even a couple of local high school kids stealing apples. They did it every year.
I knelt toward the pile and smoothed the leaves, revealing what was underneath.
“Holy shit,” I whispered under my breath.
I took a step back. I would have been less surprised if it had been a python.
It wasn’t a prankster or a lazy worker. It was a child.
Her face was covered in smudges. Her hair was knotted like straw, and her T-shirt and pants had holes in them. I didn’t know anything about kids, especially small ones, but I guessed she was maybe two or three years old.
I looked around to see if her parents were nearby. If somehow she had been separated from a tour group. But the fields were empty. No one was here except us.
I knelt next to her. “What are you doing out here?”
Her bottom lip trembled. Shit. I already scared her.
I tried to relax my jaw, and rein my bear back in. He didn’t like surprises. “Are you lost?”
Her hands went in every direction, attempting to reassemble the leaf pile.
“Hey, don’t do that. You don’t need to hide from me.” I softened my deep voice. “Let’s get these leaves off you.”
She let out a tiny growl when I tried to free her for the second time. I stared at her. “Ok, little cub. I’m not going to hurt you.”
What in the hell was I going to do with a lost baby cub?
I reached for my phone and called the office. Charlene answered quickly. “What’s up boss?”
“Do we have any parents up there looking for a missing kid?” I asked. I left out the part about her being a shifter.
I studied the girl more closely. The dirt was caked on her face and her hair was matted in place. There were no shoes on her feet. She hadn’t wandered away on a morning tour. I didn’t recognize her from my clan. She wasn’t from here.
“What? Are you crazy? I would have called you if there was an emergency like that. Where is this coming from? Is Millie trying Halloween spook stories, because I can’t handle that this week. Not with the festival in three days. Pranks every day.” She exhaled into the phone.
I shook my head. “No. No. Nothing like that. Just something I heard. Don’t worry about it, Charlene. I’ll be up there in a little while after I finish checking the perimeter.”
“Don’t forget you have a—”
I hung up before she finished and stood tall. My almost six-foot-six frame must have scared the hell out of this kid. It didn’t help that my biceps stretched my shirt and my beard was coming in thick for fall. To her, everything about me was
menacing, and she didn’t even know I was also a bear.
I walked back to the big tree on the pinnacle and twisted off a small pink apple. I took it to the little girl.
“Here. These are the best ones on the whole farm,” I offered.
She was cautious, but she finally accepted it in her grimy hands.
I watched as she took a bite. It was tiny, but it was a start.
Two
Gabi
“Ow.” I touched my tongue to my lip. The coffee was too hot, or I was impatient. There wasn’t enough time before the Fall Festival to get everything done.
I placed the to-go cup in the console and started my car. I had to visit at least half the festival vendors today. I’d hit the other half tomorrow. It didn’t help that I was getting a late start. It was already 11 a.m. and I was running behind.
My to-do list was outlined on a clipboard in the passenger side of the car, along with a hundred other things I needed from the vendors.
Twilight Hollow was getting ready to come to life in a way that only happened once a year. And I was the one responsible for making that happen.
Now, if I could just convince all the vendors to donate more to the giveaway packages, we’d have an amazing festival. That meant my first stop had to be the McScott Farm. Boone McScott was at the top of my list. If I could get him on board, I was told everything else would fall into place.
I’d only been in this sleepy town for a few days. I didn’t know everything about the local politics, but I listened when I was told there were dominant families who set the rules. I also listened when I was told this wasn’t an ordinary town. This was a shifter town.
I set the address for the orchard in my phone and headed to the border of the town’s city limits.
There was one thing I did love about this place—it was beautiful. It was like walking through a postcard. Sometimes I wondered if I was. I was used to the bustle of Atlanta. Coffee shops on every corner. Delivery services. Clubs. Five-star restaurants. There was nothing like that in Twilight Hollow.
There was a quaint downtown that offered one of everything.
I turned onto the dirt road that curved uphill toward the main entrance of the McScott property. The small front office looked like a barn. I parked and grabbed my bag and the clipboard.
I walked inside. The woman behind the desk smiled at me.
“Are you here for a tour? Apple picking is by appointment only with the Fall Festival so close,” she explained.
I shook my head. “No. I’m Gabi Aprils. I’m this year’s festival coordinator. I need to meet with Boone McScott to go over the last details.” I smiled. “Is he around? I set up the meeting weeks ago.”
“The town brought in an outsider to run the festival?” Her mouth hung open. The disapproval was all over her face.
I nodded, clutching my notes. “Yes. Apparently, there wasn’t anyone here who could do it.” I shifted on my high heel boots. I loved the brown leather. “Is Mr. McScott available?”
“I knew Cindy McIvers stepped down, but I hadn’t heard they brought in an out-of-towner.”
If she was trying to make me feel comfortable, this woman was failing miserably. It wasn’t the first time someone in the town had called me that, but up until now it was whispered behind my back.
I pressed my lips together into a tight smile. “I hope you still enjoy the festival.”
She sighed. “I know all about that appointment. But Boone just called up here. Let me get him on the phone. He’s up at the hill. Or as the McScotts call it, the pinnacle.”
“The pinnacle?”
She pointed out the window behind her. “It’s the highest point on the property. Beautiful view up there. I tried to remind him he had a meeting, but I didn’t get the chance,” she explained.
“That’s all right. I don’t mind going to the pinnacle. I’d like to see the orchard.”
“Good. Because honestly, I’m too busy with invoices to track that man down.” She handed me a set of small keys that looked like they could start a toy car. “Why don’t you take the golf cart? It would be faster than trying to hike. It’s not hard to find the way. Just keep your eye on that big apple tree.”
“Thank you. I’m sure I won’t be gone long.” I only needed Mr. McScott to sign on to the donation’s contract and I could head to the next stop.
I walked outside into the fresh air. My lungs filled with it. There was a sweetness and a purity here I didn’t have back in Atlanta. I found the cart parked behind the office, and I giggled when I saw the apples painted on the side. It was cute, and somehow fitting in this place. I slid behind the wheel and started driving toward the hill in the distance.
I slowed as the pitch of the road started to make the cart struggle. I didn’t know if it could make it all the way to the top, so I parked under a tree and decided to walk. I leaned forward, trying to keep my heels from sinking in the soil. I loved these boots. I didn’t want them covered in mud. I crunched through the leaves and looked overhead at the blue sky. There was something magical about this place. McScott Orchard was a storybook farm.
The steep hill was hard to climb in my heels, but I made it to the top. “Mr. McScott?” I looked around. “Are you up here?”
My breath caught in the back of my throat, and I was silent. The assistant had been right. The view was gorgeous. I could see everything from here. I reached in my pocket to snap a picture with my phone when I heard a low growl behind me. I’d never heard an animal like that before.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
I was scared to turn around. Afraid that whatever wild animal had made that noise was going to pounce. Nervous that I had trespassed where I wasn’t welcome. Terrified I may never make it off the pinnacle.
Three
Boone
There wasn’t supposed to be anyone up here. I didn’t expect anyone on the hill. But suddenly there was a woman poking around. I stood behind her. My bear took over for a second, warning her she was trespassing. But that was before I looked in her eyes.
The instant she turned around, I almost staggered backward on my ass.
Her eyes were green like the leaves in summer. Her auburn hair glistened with bursts of cinnamon. And she had curves that went on for miles. My chest pounded and hammered. My bear started to claw and break his way free. I struggled to keep him on his chain. But I was losing the battle quickly.
“Oh my God. You scared me.” Her shoulders relaxed. “I thought you were a wild animal.” She started to laugh.
My brow furrowed. “I am.” I raked over her curvy hips and her breasts spilling from her top. I licked my lips at her creamy skin and the swell of her tits. Holy hell. Where had she come from?
“Who are you?” I barked.
“Oh sorry.” She extended a hand. “I’m Gabi Aprils. I’m the Fall Festival director this year. The woman in the office said I could find Boone McScott up here. Did I find him?” She smiled.
I nodded. “Yes. You found him. But I could have met you at the office. Charlene shouldn’t have sent you.” I was off-balance in the one place I always had control and power. What was happening?
“I volunteered. It’s such a beautiful day, and I wanted to see your orchard. It’s unbelievable up here.”
I stuffed my hands in my pockets to hide my clenched fists. It might be the only way to keep from taking her in my arms. My bear was clamoring to be free. He wanted to touch her skin. Smell her hair. Taste her lips. I shook my head, denying everything he wanted. This couldn’t happen. Not now.
“This isn’t a good time.” My voice was rougher than it should have been.
“To see the farm or to sign the festival documents?” she asked. “We had an appointment to meet this morning. I’m afraid I can’t reschedule.”
I needed to get her out of here. This was the last thing I needed. I didn’t give a shit what my bear said right now.
“And really, I need your help with the festival fundraiser. If we could just talk for a
few—”
She seemed immune to my angry bear. I needed her to leave the pinnacle. But it was too late. The tiny cub I had tucked on the other side of the tree let out a small cry. It sounded like a mix of a growl and a whimper.
Gabi Aprils’ eyes widened. “Was that a-a baby?”
I let out a breath. The cub started a full wail this time. I couldn’t pass the sound off as orchard winds. There was no mistaking the sound of a child crying.
“Yes,” I admitted.
Gabi walked around me. She spotted the child. “Is she yours?” She looked up at me while kneeling.
“No. God no. Mine?” I shook my head. “I found her hiding in the orchard. I’m not sure what to do with her.”
“What to do with her? She’s a child. She must have parents.” Gabi stooped to examine her. I noticed the cub let her get closer than she allowed me. “It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you,” she soothed.
Something in my chest pulled and stretched. Watching this woman with the cub did something to me. A primal urge ripped open and I didn’t know how to stuff it back inside. I turned my back to her, as if that would stop the ripple effect.
