His To Bear

by Scarlett Grove

  “Ready for that drink, gorgeous?” he asked her, pulling her into a hug outside the diner. The twilight air was cool but Brody’s body was warm and cozy against her. She took a deep breath of his scent and was almost launched into heaven.

  “I’d love to.”

  They walked arm-in-arm down the sidewalk to the bar across the street from the hospital where she went after work. She was comfortable there and it was a good place to dance and relax after a long day.

  Country music lilted from the jukebox in the dimly lit room. Millie smiled as Brody pulled her out onto the dance floor. She’d never done a two-step before in her life, but he taught her how to do it without a word, with only the motion of his body and the smiling look in his eyes.

  After a song or two, she was a natural, and they seemed to float over the floor on a cloud of fun and passion. Three sweaty, fast songs later, the tempo slowed and they were pressed together, chest to chest. Brody’s cheek rested on her head and she could feel his heart beating through his damp shirt.

  When the song was over, he led her to the bar where they ordered beers and caught their breaths.

  “That was so much fun, Brody. I don’t know the last time I had that much fun.”

  “Stick with me, sugar. The fun’s just started,” he said, popping some peanuts in his mouth. She giggled, believing every word.

  Millie sipped her beer, her face almost aching from the big goofy smile plastered on her lips. But Brody frowned and got up from his stool.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “That’s Natalie Charles. Chris’s fiancée.”

  “Oh. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go talk to her. Come on.”

  He took her hand and led her across the darkened bar to where Natalie sat alone, nursing a beer. She didn’t look up when Brody and Millie sat on either side of her.

  “Natalie, how are you?” he asked her. She blinked her heavy eyes, finally glancing in his direction. A deep frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, making her look older than she was. Dark bags hung under her eyes and her hair was a mess.

  “How do you think?” she snapped at him.

  “Honey, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m getting drunk, Brody. No law against it.” She rapped her knuckles on the bar for another of whatever she was drinking. The bartender poured her a shot and she threw it back quickly, sucking in a sharp breath when she’d finished.

  “Sweetheart, maybe you should go home.”

  “No. Mind your own business, Brody.”

  “Let her be, Brody. She has a right to drink her pain,” Millie said, patting the woman’s hand. Natalie looked over at Millie with a dark expression and then a tear rolled down the mourning woman’s face.

  “I just miss him so much,” she wailed. “You have to find who did this so I can kill him.”

  “I miss him too, Nat. I can’t even imagine how you feel. It was right before the wedding.”

  “He was my mate. My one and only. Now he’s gone.” Tears started to flow and a big droplet splashed on the bar.

  Brody wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a half hug.

  “Is there anything you remember about the night he died, Nat? Anything at all?”

  She sniffed and wiped her face, pulling away. Sobering, she stopped and looked into the racks of bottles across the bar.

  “Yes,” she said. “The night he died, he received a phone call and then he said he had to go. That was the last time I ever saw him.”

  “That wasn’t in the police report,” he said, frowning.

  “I told my dad. He must have forgot to include it.”

  “We didn’t find a phone with the body,” Millie said. “Did he leave it at home?”

  “No. But I called it, and it went straight to voicemail.”

  “Interesting. We need to find that phone.”

  Chapter 12

  As much as Brody wanted to invite Millie in for the night, he resisted. They’d done it the first time too quickly.

  As they said their goodnights in the pale moonlight, he knew Millie agreed. She didn’t make a move to get intimate and seemed satisfied with a lingering kiss before she drove away in her car.

  The next morning, Brody drove out to where he’d found Chris’s body, determined to find the missing cell phone. There could be data on the phone that would tell them who had called him right before he died. It would be evidence enough to arrest whoever it was.

  Parking near the forest, he pulled his clothes off in the cool breeze blowing up the mountain and sniffed the air. It smelled like rain was coming in from the north followed by a frost. He’d have to work fast or the phone might be lost forever. With a deep roar, he shifted, his body contorting and reshaping into the form of a bear. On all fours, with the chill wind blowing in his fur, he charged up the hill to where he’d found Chris.

  The memory of it was like bile in his belly and filled his bear with rage. He smelled the scent of a rabbit and wanted to chase it, dig it out of its den. But that wouldn’t help anything. The mind of the bear was a ferocious beast, bent on destruction. But the man’s mind urged the creature on. There was important work to do if he was to find the person responsible for Chris’s death. Luckily, his bear finally agreed.

  He charged up the rocky hill to the patch of rocks and rubble that fell from the high cliff above. Sniffing the air, Brody could still make out the subtle scent of blood. He smelled the rocks, tasting the scent on his tongue as he panted. A long, moaning roar erupted from deep within. The pain of losing his friend gnawed at his mind and heart. It was too excruciating to endure.

  Throwing himself into a run, he charged from the debris and into the woods. His senses were on high alert, searching for any sign of the cell phone. What would that even smell like? Metal, electricity, sweat, plastic? Part of him doubted he could pick it up even if it was right in front of him. That was until he picked up the cool sharp scent of electronics. His ears perked up and he charged in the direction of the smell.

  He clawed at the soil until he found it buried under a pile of freshly fallen leaves. Changing in the blink of an eye, he squatted over his find and plucked it from the dirt. This was it. It had to be. He turned it over in his hand and found the screen cracked. Damn. He held the power button but nothing happened. Growling, he stood. Someone would be able to recover the information on this phone. Maybe not him, but there were people who specialized in this kind of thing.

  With no way to carry the phone back to the truck without further damaging it with his mouth, he had to walk all the way back, naked and barefoot. He hoped no hikers would see him like this. Then again, seeing a charging grizzly in the woods might be worse than seeing a tiptoeing naked man.

  When he finally made it back to the truck, he dressed and got behind the wheel. Grasping his walkie-talkie, he was just about to call in his find when he decided not to. Something told him he should keep the info to himself. Whoever had called Chris the night of the murder had lured him to his death, and that information had not found its way into the police report. He was sure someone had deleted it.

  Instead, he called Millie. Of all the people in town, she was the one person he knew he could trust right now. They might not be committed to each other yet, but Millie was still his mate. That meant a lot.

  “Hi, Brody. What’s up?”

  “Are you busy?”

  “I’m on my way to the hospital. Did you find anything?”

  “I found the cell phone. Call me after work.”

  She said she would and hung up the phone. Brody pulled his car back onto the road. Maybe Mathews had a mole in the sheriff’s department. It wouldn’t be so hard to believe. A man with those kinds of connections could buy just about anyone.

  Chapter 13

  Brody pulled up to Millie’s hotel after dark, after a long day of doing rounds in his territory. He’d given tickets to two hunters and three fishermen, but nothing serious like the other day. The fishermen
were just tourists standing on the side of the road on their way home to California. The hunters just had the wrong deer tags. It wasn’t as bizarre as finding two men killing a mountain lion to be stuffed as a trophy.

  The thought of it still made him grind his teeth. He grabbed the cell phone off the bench in his car and went up to Millie’s room at the lodge. He knocked on the door twice and waited for her to open the door. When she finally did, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor, but he caught himself. Millie stood before him wrapped in a bath towel and nothing else, her dark hair spilling down her shoulders.

  “I just got out of the shower.”

  “I can come back after you’ve dressed.”

  “No. Come in. It’s fine.”

  Brody walked into the room inhaling the scent of flowers and Millie’s freshly cleaned skin. He growled as he watched her ass under her towel as she walked to the bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute,” she said, from behind the half-closed door.

  Brody cleared his throat, reminding himself that they’d both agreed to take it more slowly. His bear growled and roared to go into the bathroom and throw her over the sink. The thought of her breasts covered in beads of bath water made him rock hard. He couldn’t help but see the outline of her hip as she dropped the towel on the floor. Green fabric slipped over the curve and Brody looked away. She came out a moment later, running a towel through her hair.

  “So, you found the phone?”

  She sat down beside him as he dug it from his pocket. “It’s cracked and won’t turn on. I already tried to charge it.”

  “What do you plan to do?” Millie took it from his hands and pressed the power button then replaced the battery. She shrugged.

  “Probably send it to my tech guy. I should probably get going now,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “You don’t have to go.” She squeezed his thigh and smiled.

  “I’ve got an early morning tomorrow. But tomorrow night, I’m going to make you dinner at my place.”

  “That sounds nice,” she said, raising next to him as he ambled to the door. “Till then.” She raised up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his chin. He turned to her, enfolding her curvy body in his arms. He laced his fingers through her long dark hair and tilted her head back to give her a proper kiss. Her soft body pressed against him; he could feel her heat. He hardened, but let her go.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night, sweetheart,” he said, squeezing her hand goodbye.

  “Bye,” she said, as he closed the door behind him.

  For the rest of the evening and when he woke up early the next day, he brooded in his anger over Chris’s death. He knew Mathews had done it. Men like that always irked him.

  He put on his uniform and drove out to the Mathews’s ranch with the new warrant he had to search inside the buildings. Mathews would be there with his lawyer this time, but he’d have full legal access to the property.

  He pulled up to the front of the ranch, through the security gate, and parked in front of the main house.

  Brody strode up to the front door, the morning sun just stretching out over the horizon. He knocked and waited. The housekeeper finally opened the door and welcomed him into the house.

  It was a massive building with three-story ceilings at the front of the house and in the living room. The walls were gleaming polished wood beams all the way up to the ceiling. Quite the place.

  He showed her his warrant and she nodded at him, letting him pass into the front hall. “I’d like to see the mounted trophies,” he said immediately.

  “Right this way,” said the housekeeper, her cowboy boots loud on the wooden floor. They went down a hallway and she opened a pair of double doors into a small warehouse-sized space.

  As the lights flicked on, going down the room, Brody’s jaw dropped. The room was full of stuffed creatures from all over the world. Entire packs of wolves, elephants, zebras, even birds hung from the ceiling.

  “Isn’t it magnificent?” Mathews asked, walking into the room with his lawyer.

  “What is this place?” Brody asked, almost unable to speak through the desperate rage building in his gut.

  “This is my masterpiece,” Mathews held out his arms and smirked.

  “I want to see documents on all of these creatures,” Brody said through clenched teeth.

  “We have all of that. We’re emailing it to the sheriff’s department as we speak. I assure you, everything is in order.”

  “What about the cougar your men took just a few days ago?”

  “Those men were not acting on Mr. Mathews’ orders,” the lawyer said.

  “I simply mentioned I’d like to add a new one to the collection and those two dummies went out and shot one out of season. They thought they’d get a bonus. Those men have since been fired.”

  “What were you doing the night he was pushed?” Brody demanded.

  “There was a party here that night at my house. There were no locals here except for my employees. I have witness statements accounting for every moment of my night.”

  “Was the gate open or closed?”

  “I don’t know. People were coming and going. Uninvited guests might have gotten in.”

  Brody shuffled through the papers. Everything looked legit.

  “I’ll have to look over these at the station. But I’d like to see where you keep your ATVs.”

  The housekeeper led Brody out to the garage where lines of cars and ATVs were parked. He walked down the line of ATVs and found a wide-bodied version that looked almost like a jeep.

  “This is a Quatre,” Brody said, as Mathews and his lawyer entered the garage.

  “Yes.”

  “Chris Whitney had one of these logos imprinted on this skin when he died.” He circled the ATV and pointed at the wheels. “There’s fresh mud on the wheel.”

  “That shouldn’t have been used recently. That’s my personal vehicle.”

  “Could someone else have gotten in here?”

  “One of the keys is missing,” the housekeeper offered.

  “How long?” Brody asked.

  “Since the party.”

  “Conceivably, anyone could have taken it at the party.”

  “Yes, that could have happened,” the housekeeper said.

  “Don’t leave town, Mathews,” Brody said, brushing past them all and heading outside. He wanted to get a look at the rest of the property but his entire investigation was going downhill fast. Without Mathews as his main suspect, he didn’t have a single lead.

  At the station, he went over the evidence Mathews’ lawyer provided. It was all legit. Anger and frustration boiled in his brain. Placing his fist to his forehead, he stared down at his cell phone. He’d promised Millie a date tonight.

  All the work he’d done to find Chris’s killer had come up empty. He’d failed. The pain of losing his best friend darkened his soul. He didn’t know if he could give Millie what she needed tonight.

  He hated more than anything that she’d come to him at a time like this. Any other time, it would have been ideal. He would have given her his full attention, his whole heart. He would have shown her his joy for life and filled her world with fun. But now…? He didn’t even know who he was now.

  Chapter 14

  Millie arrived at Brody’s house as the golden rays of sunset glowed in the tall pines. She’d worn a dark blue dress that hugged her waist and accentuated her curves.

  Brody had wanted to wait, and take things slow. When he’d told her she was his mate, she didn’t know what to do. But she had enjoyed her time with him so much, and every day they spent together she felt more attached.

  She didn’t know what shifters felt when they found their mates, but just knowing she meant so much to him did something to her. She was more open that she usually would be to creating a relationship with someone she hadn’t been dating long.

  Millie could see herself with Brody. From the moment he’d told her she was his mate, she’d envisioned what life would be
like with him. She wished she’d known him before the death of his friend. She could see how difficult it was for him, with his simmering anger underneath his good-natured friendliness.

  She walked up the front porch steps, her black pumps clicking on the wood. Brody opened the front door before she knocked. The smell of cooking food wafted out the door. He looked adorable in a red flannel shirt unbuttoned at the neck and a second-day beard.

  His blue eyes smiled as he welcomed her inside. “You look beautiful,” he said, taking her hand. He faced her, kissed her cheek, and then led her into the kitchen.

  “What’s that wonderful smell?” she asked.

  “Honey baked ham, honey biscuits, and honey baked walnuts.”

  “Mmm. That sounds so delicious.” She bent over, opening the oven door to look inside. “Looks delicious too. When do we eat?” she said.

  “Soon. Mind setting the table? The nice dishes are in that cabinet.” He pointed at a cabinet with his carving knife.

  “That’d be great,” she said, opening the cabinet. Traditional china was stacked in the cabinet and she pulled out some plates and platters for the table. “Where did you get this china?” she asked. It looked like wedding china.

  “My parents. They died a few years back. After I finished college.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, turning to him. His back was to her as he carved the ham. She could see the sadness in the way he held his shoulders. It made her want to go to him and touch him, and offer whatever comfort she could. He’d lost his parents and his best friend at such a young age.

  Millie had only ever lost a job. It had been devastating, but nothing like what Brody had been through.

  “It happened,” he said. “Nothing anyone can do about it now.”

  He turned, putting on a bright smile, but the strain in his eyes told a different story. “Dinner’s done!” he said, carrying the food to the table. Millie grabbed the bottle of wine from the counter and opened it with the bottle opener beside it.