by Amelia Jade
Garrett almost didn't recognize them, what with all the smiles and high-fives still being exchanged. He exited his own truck somewhat slower, but that couldn't stop a slow grin from spreading across his face as he watched the other six men move toward the firepit out back. Beers and steaks were on the menu, and his crew deserved them today.
His crew. The Jade Crew, as they were nicknamed. The Ridgebacks, as they called themselves. It was a good feeling to see them this way.
"I still can't believe it was another Jade one!" Corey exclaimed, moving away from the others to come over to Garrett, his large, muscled hand slapping the Alpha on the shoulder in jovial familiarity.
"Me neither," he replied with a laugh. "But did you see the look on the Stone Bears' faces? Those jerks were clearly as surprised as anyone else. I bet you they thought we'd be canned before we found another."
"I hear you!" Corey said, joining in the laughter.
The Stone Bears were responsible for picking up the dragon stones whenever they were found on a site, and transporting them to wherever the Lionshead Mining Consortium kept them hidden. Garrett didn't know much more than that about them, but they certainly had looked shocked today, he couldn't deny that.
"Screw 'em," he muttered. "Let's go have some beer!" he said, raising his voice so that the others could hear him. They all replied with a ragged cheer.
Except Evan. Although the other bear shifter didn't join in, Garrett didn't say anything. He was standing with the others, and his glower was decidedly less pronounced than usual. That was enough for Garrett today, and he left it at that.
"Oh no you don't!" Emma said, emerging from the lobby of the Lodge just before they passed it by.
"What do you mean?" he rumbled, snaking a hand around her waist as she came near before kissing her on the cheek.
That wasn't good enough for her, apparently, as she pulled back and forced him to look at her before fiercely kissing him on the lips. He felt his face go slightly red at the public display of affection.
"Why are you going red, Garrett? She's clearly behaving herself right now if last night was anything to go by!" Corey teased to the laughter of the others.
Garrett went to respond, but Emma beat him to it.
"Hey! Someone had to do something to cover up the sounds of you bunch jerking each other off!"
More laughter ran through the bears as they appreciated her ability to roast them in return.
"I said stop!" she repeated as they turned to resume their trek to the firepit. "Into the lobby," she told them, ignoring their bewildered looks. "I have something to show you," she said cryptically.
Garrett shrugged his shoulders as the others looked at him. He had as little an idea of what she was up to as they did, so he just pointed at the door.
He walked through the door, looking at Emma.
"Okay, so you got us here. What's the big—" his voice died as he looked above Emma's head.
The big, ugly empty white wall where the logo of the old motel had once hung had a painting on it. It was circular, all of it painted in vivid green. Following the line of the circle at the bottom was written The Ridgebacks in elaborate cursive. Above that, the silhouette of a bear on top of a hill surrounded by trees looked down at him.
"It's perfect," he whispered into the silence, as the others all looked up at it.
"I figured that you all needed something to help you feel more at home," she said softly. "Here." She shoved something into his hand.
He looked down, opening his fingers to reveal a badge, several inches in diameter, in the same shape and color of the picture above him.
"It's a clan crest," she explained.
Garrett tried to reply, but emotion had made the words get stuck in his throat.
"Thank you." That was Corey, who pushed past Garrett and hugged Emma silently for a moment before stepping back.
One by one, the other shifters all came up to hug her and say their thanks. Evan refrained from hugging her, but instead looked at the badge in his hand and then up at Emma. He nodded once before closing his hand back around it and exiting through the door.
"You shouldn't have," Garrett tried to say after the others had gone.
"Oh shut up," she said, trying to make light of it. He could see tears forming in her eyes. The reaction of the shifters had moved her. Hell, it had moved him, and they were his crew.
"Thank you," he told her, pulling her close so that he could kiss her properly.
***
"Things are coming together, aren't they?" she asked him later as they sat around a bonfire, perfectly cooked medium-rare steak filling their stomachs, and glasses of beer in hand.
"They are," he agreed. "Don't ever tell anyone I said this, but it would appear that what we needed was a woman's touch."
"I knew it," she said, sitting a little more upright in a parody of an old-fashioned aristocrat, as if she was above him in station.
"Yep," he said, taking a swig of beer and putting as much redneck into his voice as possible. "Trust a woman to come in and screw things up so badly that she feels she has to put them back together better than they were."
He narrowly missed the swinging hand.
He didn't miss the backswing of it.
"Oh, by the way?" Emma said mischievously.
"Yes? What are you going to tell me that I'm going to hate, my Belle?" he said with a wink.
"My friend is coming to visit in a few weeks."
"Another woman?" he groaned.
This time the first swing of her hand didn't miss.
THE END
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Next Up In the Ridgeback Bears Series
Jade Crew: Haunted Bear
Amazon
Genesis Valley - Recommended Reading Order
Jade Crew: Alpha Bear
Jade Crew: Haunted Bear
Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear
Stone Bear: Sentinel
Jade Crew: Captive Bear
Stone Bear: Phoenix
Want More of These Characters?
Ridgeback Bears
Jade Crew: Alpha Bear
Jade Crew: Haunted Bear
Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear
Jade Crew: Captive Bear
Stone Bears
Stone Bear: Sentinel (Book 1) – Gabriel
Stone Bear: Phoenix (Book 2) - Uriel
Bluff Bears
Rogue Bear (Book 1)
Outlaw Bear (Book 2)
Broken Bear (Book 3)
Junkyard Bear (Book 4)
Other Series by Amelia Jade
The Wolf Wanderers (w/Terra Wolf)
Cinder Wolf (Book 1)
Feral Wolf (Book 2)
Rebel Wolf (Book 3)
Noble Wolf (Book 4)
About the Author
Amelia Jade
Amelia Jade loves to write the stories of tall, growly shifter men and the women who come to love them. Living out in the back-country near the mountains, she keeps her own alpha male close by, to keep the bears away and keep her warm. In her down time (which is rare), she loves to read science-fiction with a dash of fantasy. You can often find her curled up in front of the real wood-burning fireplace, her nose firmly buried in a book or her favorite ereader. The cold can't bother her there!
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Contents
Jade Crew:
Copyright ©2015 by Amelia Jade
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
New Release Newsletter Sign-Up
Next Up In the Ridgeback Bears Series
Genesis Valley - Recommended Reading Order
Want More of These Characters?
Stone Bears
Bluff Bears
Other Series by Amelia Jade
About the Author
