Damn if she wouldn’t like to maim him herself, though. Her hand curled around the pepper spray in her pocket. Maybe she had found a beast to use it on after all.
“That’s right, you want to hear me out before you do anything rash, big man.” Mason stepped closer and Amanda couldn’t believe how bold he was. The man who had broken into her house was not a big man; Jed could probably snap him in two.
“How did you find me, Mason?” She couldn’t see how he could have just stumbled upon Dylan’s website and found her there.
“I went to see your parents. Said you were an old friend, and I wanted you to be the godmother of my son.” He grinned. “They weren’t very helpful. Which annoyed me no end. You are mine, Amanda. Mine to toy with when it suits me, and you left. So I started digging. It took me a couple of weeks, but then I stumbled across an obituary, and there it was… Maria Orson, beloved grandma of Amanda Peaks or some such rubbish. I had a lead and I followed it, right to your door, Amanda Orson. You must have thought you were so clever.”
“What do you want, Mason?” she asked. Relieved her neither her mom or stepdad had revealed her whereabouts, but surprised they hadn’t warned her. Of course, they wanted her to make the most of this fresh start, and worrying someone was looking for her would not have allowed her that luxury.
“That is the question.” He looked around the room. “Nice place you’ve got here. I’ve always thought it would be good to live in the mountains. Looking down over the town. Bear Bluff, isn’t it? All that fresh air.”
“Get out, Mason,” Amanda said. “You have nothing to gain here.”
“I disagree. I think I have a lot to gain. From you. For starters.”
“Why?” Amanda asked.
“Well, I have something you want. And that something is worth a lot.”
“What something?” Amanda spat.
“A little video.” He lifted his phone up in the air. “Like I said, I followed you two.”
“So you’re going to hawk a sex tape of two people no one knows or cares about?” Amanda asked.
“Oh no, Amanda. God knows no one would be interested in seeing you sitting on top of him.” Mason’s lip curled up in disgust.
“Then what?” But she already had an idea. When she sensed Jed moving behind her, she knew he did too.
“There is someone bear in it,” he said and then laughed. “I’m too funny.”
“No, seriously, you are not.” Jed came to stand by her side, fists clenched.
“Now, big guy. I have this ready to send. One false move and the whole world knows what a freak you are.” Mason stepped right up to Jed. “I own your bear hide.”
“Do you have a death wish?” Amanda said. “Or do you think this is it, you’ve hit the big time?”
“Oh, yes. You see while I was waiting for you two to stop rutting and come back to my new cabin. I was giving the town below a bit of thought. And you know what I figured? No? Well, I figured that if there was one freak in town, there were bound to be more. That boss of yours, for instance. Now he’s a millionaire. I would like a share of it. In fact, I would like a share of the whole town. This cabin is not going to be big enough. I want a mansion.”
“You are delusional.”
“Really? Because I have the proof. Right here.” Mason waved his phone in their faces. “Want to see?”
He pressed play, and sure enough, there was Jed shifting into a bear. The light wasn’t good, and it looked fuzzy. But it was there.
“No one will believe you,” Jed said.
“They might. Blood samples would do it.” Mason sneered. “You have sisters, are they little freaks too? What if one of them went missing? Kidnapped by aliens and experimented on. I’ll let you fill in the blanks. You can’t protect everyone, all of the time.”
Jed lunged at him, but Mason ducked, giving Amanda a chance to get between them. “No, Jed. That’s what he wants.”
“Sensible girl.” Mason smiled. “So you are going to get me what I want?”
“No. I’m going to get you what you deserve.” She walked up to him, her voice low. “You’re right, there are bears here.”
“And they will pay me to keep their secret.” He nodded his head, the thought of eternal riches making his eyes shine bright.
“And you know what else?” She smiled, and he looked worried, but he was still sure he had the upper hand. “They are everywhere. And you can’t tell. Nothing to give them away. So one day. You might be sitting in your nice mansion, and you order pizza. How do you know that the pizza man won’t be a bear? Or a lion. You will never be able to trust anyone again.”
“I could live with that,” Mason said, but he took a step away from her.
“And what about when you go to the authorities with this video? How will you know you aren’t handing it over to a bear? Or a snake, who could just wrap himself around your neck and make sure you never say another word to anyone. Ever.”
Behind her, she could feel the air shimmering, the build-up of static electricity as Jed prepared to change. Mason must have felt it too, and Amanda took the chance, while he was off guard, she sprayed the pepper spray in his face and grabbed the phone from him.
“Run,” she said. “You weak little man. I gave you a second chance, a chance to be there for your baby. But you have thrown it away. You will never stop looking over your shoulder, Mason. Because they’ll know about you now. I’ll make sure they know that you know. And they are everywhere.”
Mason rubbed his eyes, a cry escaping him.
“I said run, Mason. There’s a bear who wants to eat you,” Amanda said, sending Mason bolting blindly for the door. Jed didn’t pause. He shimmered out of existence to come back as a bear, who was about to hunt his prey.
Chapter Eighteen – Jed
“That worked out well,” Jed said, as he came back into the cabin, to find Amanda on the sofa sobbing. “Hey, it’s OK.”
“Is it? What if he talks to someone?” Amanda asked. “I’ve put you all in jeopardy.”
“You don’t think this is the first time something like this has happened?” Jed asked, sitting down next to her.
“So this is a regular occurrence?” she asked, feeling stupid.
“Not regular. But it happens enough that there must be some kind of clean-up crew.”
“Will they kill him?” she asked, not wanting Mason’s death on her hands.
“I doubt it. He’ll get little reminders that it’s in his interest to keep quiet. And I believe if all else fails there is a kind of facility where he can be stored.”
“Stored?” she asked appalled.
“He’ll probably have a more meaningful life shut away then he ever will on his own.” Jed put his arm around her. “But I think Mason will try to forget any of this ever happened. By the time he finds his way off the mountain, all he’s going to want is to go home.”
“You left him on the mountain?” she asked. She hid a smile, trying to sound shocked, but he could see the glint in her eyes.
“A man could roam around for days up there,” Jed said. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll go and take a look to see if he’s OK.”
Amanda put her arms around Jed. “Or the day after. That man deserves everything he gets.”
“I wonder if he knows you saved his life. Because if it had gone any other way, it would have been his body lost up there on the mountain. No one threatens my family.”
Her smile dropped. “Is there someone you have to call? To tell them about him. About his threats.”
“I’ll talk to Declan tomorrow. Sheriff will know who to call. We’ve had hikers passing through who say they’ve seen odd occurrences, and Declan can usually set them straight as to what they really saw.”
“Want to go into town for takeout?” she asked.
“If you’re buying,” he said. “I still have no money.”
“What, you’ll actually let me buy you dinner on our first real date?” she said, fetching her purse.
“When I ge
t my first paycheck, that will be our first real date,” he said, kissing her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They left the cabin, and he made sure all the doors and windows were secure before they got into her car. The drive into town took ten minutes, and Amanda followed his directions to the Pizza Pizzazz, where Don made the best pizza Jed had ever tasted.
“And I’ve been around enough to have tried lots of different pizza,” he told Amanda as they collected the boxes and he led her to the small park in Bear Bluff, where they sat on a bench and ate.
“I have to agree,” she said, taking a bite and savoring it. He loved the small sigh of contentment that escaped her mouth. “You know, so far I haven’t found one thing I don’t like about bear Bluff.”
“Good. Because it’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives. I want us to make a home for our family here.”
“So I was thinking. Maybe it is time for us to renovate the cabin. If we’re going to have kids, we will need to extend. It suited my grandma and her husband; they never had kids. But I want a whole den full.”
“Sounds good to me.” He leaned back on the bench. “But there’s no rush for kids. If it happens, it happens. And when it does, I’d like us to be more financially secure.”
“I have a better idea,” she said, licking her lips. “Along with the cabin, I was left a sizable inheritance. Enough for us to live off for a few years.”
“What do you plan to do with it?” he asked.
“I thought that we could invest it.”
“In?” he asked.
“Your sisters’ and brother’s future. And there might even be enough left over to allow us to buy another house, which you could renovate. Start our own little property empire.”
“If you didn’t need to work, why did you get the job with Dylan?”
“Because, as you pointed out, I came here to be part of something. And for that I needed to interact.” She closed her pizza box and turned to him. “And maybe it was fate.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Maybe it was.”
“Let’s not question it.” She snuggled next to him, her eyes wandering to the Bluff in front of them. “He’s not likely to die out there, is he?”
“Mason? Probably not. Unfortunately.” Jed would very much have liked to have killed the bastard. But a murder was not the best way to start the rest of your life.
“Shall we go home?” she asked.
“Yes.” He got up and they walked hand in hand back to her car, and then drove home, talking about their future together. And the family they would raise in the little cabin her grandma had left to his mate.
“I can’t believe how things have turned out,” she said.
“Neither can I. Two days ago I was a poor, broke man looking for a job, now I think I’m the richest man alive. Even without your inheritance.”
“Good, because I’d hate to think you were marrying me for my money,” she said, as they pulled up outside the cabin.
“You have something much more valuable than that, Amanda.” He kissed her. “You have my heart.”
Chapter Nineteen – Amanda
“I’m exhausted,” Amanda said as they sat down on the porch.
“But it’s finished,” Jed said, coming to sit beside her, his arm encircling her shoulders and pulled her to him.
“It is. We did it.” She turned around to look at the small house behind them. It had been transformed from a ramshackle shack into a home. “All we have to do now is sell it.”
“Indeed, although I might have already done that.” As he spoke, she could see a car coming along the track towards them. “That’s lucky, they’re early.”
“What’s going on?” Amanda asked.
Jed stood up, and offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet. She was grateful for the help; her baby bump was making things more and more difficult. Which was why she was so pleased they had completed the renovations on the house they had bought with her grandma’s money.
“I have a buyer for our house.” He grinned, and walked forward to meet the car, which she now recognized.
“Tilly?” she asked.
“Yes, she and Ron were looking for a house to move into. The apartment they’ve been living in above the deli in town isn’t exactly the best place to raise a young bear cub.” He pulled Amanda close to him and kissed her, his hand stroking her swollen belly. “It will be like old times, our child, Tilly’s child and Dylan’s son all running over these mountains together.
Amanda leaned her head on his chest. “I like that thought. I want our child to grow up in a community, to have other children to play with.”
“When we have our next child, then he or she will have a brother or sister too.”
“Our next child? I have to get through this one’s birth first!” she exclaimed. But he was right, they wouldn’t stop at one child, she wanted a houseful.
“But look at all the fun we had making this one,” he whispered, his hand caressing her bottom, before he pulled away from her and went to talk to Tilly and Ron.
“It looks fabulous,” Tilly said, her face flushed with excitement.
“It is. It’s like new,” Jed said.
“Your brother has worked so hard on the house. I sometimes I think he loves it more than he loves me,” Amanda teased.
“Never,” Jed replied. “Why don’t we go inside? I can give you the guided tour.”
Amanda took Jed’s hand, smiling at him, and how happy and proud he was of what he had achieved. “Why don’t you let Tilly and Ron go and have a poke-around on their own?”
“But…”
“They don’t need to know all the intricate details of how you uncovered the original tiled floor.”
“He’s already told us,” Ron said.
“Twice.” Tilly hugged her brother. “Do you mind?”
“No. Go ahead.”
Amanda knew it took a lot of self-control for Jed to stay outside while his sister and her husband went around, what had become his life outside of work, for the last six months. Six months of them both working through the long summer evenings, while the child in her belly grew.
“Why don’t we take a walk instead?” Amanda asked, looping her arm through his.
“Sure,” Jed agreed, looking over his shoulder once before they walked across the grass and out onto the lower slopes of the mountain, to look down over Bear Bluff.
“I’m proud of you,” Amanda said. “Of what you’ve achieved.”
“What we’ve achieved,” he said. They had stopped to watch the birds. Some were busy with their young families, and she absently stroked her stomach, feeling the baby kick her hand. She took Jed’s hand and placed it there, watching his face as it broke into a smile of wonder at the feel of the new life inside her.
“What we’ve achieved,” she agreed. “Do you think they’ll buy it?”
He turned to look at the pretty house; it looked so cozy, nestled against the backdrop of trees that were showing the first signs of fall. “I think so.” He looked at her sheepishly. “Although I may have to knock a couple of thousand off the price.”
“Jed.”
“She’s my sister…”
Amanda shook her head. “I know.” For a moment she wanted to remind him of how many hours they had put into the renovation, but then she let it go. “They’re family.”
“They are.” He kissed her head. “Thank you.”
“Like I said before, I can live without money.”
“I can live without everything apart from you.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his lips filled with an unquenchable thirst for her. “You are the air I breathe, the water I drink.”
“You make me sound as if I’m one of life’s necessities. And I’m not. I’m as lucky to have you as you are to have me. Fate. Remember? It works both ways.”
“You are one of life’s necessities to me. And my bear agrees.”
She giggled. “A bear’s necessity. I like
that.”
“And I love you, Mrs. Creswell.”
She looked at the rings on her finger, holding her hand up so the sun’s rays caught the small diamond in her engagement ring. “Mrs. Creswell. I really am part of your family.”
“Yes, you are.” Behind them Tilly and Ron were coming out of the house, looking happy, and he took Amanda’s hand. “Let’s go make them happy.”
“Come on, then. Happiness is better than money.” She meant it, although in truth she was richer now than she ever had been, just in a different way. A way she preferred, and she planned to keep it that way for the rest of their lives, no matter what came their way.
***
Coming Soon
Black Bear Down
When his army helicopter crashes in the Himalayas, killing his comrades, Jordan Williams loses much more than his friends. He loses the use of his legs, and his bear. Two months later, he is transferred to Bear Bluff, where he grew up, but he isn’t interested in life. Not until Skyla walks into his hospital room.
She’s his mate. But how is he supposed to deal with that, when his life no longer makes sense? With his bear gone, and unable to walk, what kind of man is he? How can he provide for her like a bear shifter should?
He should just let her walk out of his life. Hell! If he had any sense, he would push her out of his life.
However, in a short space of time, he realizes she is his own hope of salvation. She brightens up his world, which has become dark and soulless. Can this curvy woman pull him out of the darkness and back into the light?
Find out in... Black Bear Down. Sign up to the Harmony Raines newsletter to be the first to hear of this new release.
Sign up to the
Harmony Raines Newsletter
And receive an EXCLUSIVE
FREE BOOK -
Fated and Mated
Love at First Site
plus news of special offers and new releases
Harmony Raines Newsletter
His Bear's Necessity: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Return To Bear Bluff Book 2) Page 9
