by Amanda Jones
His thick hands made short work of the remaining clasps. She admired his dexterity as well, wondering just what he might be able to do with them. The immediate spark of heat that thought generated was more than enough to ward off the penetrating cold of the day. She pushed her thighs closer together, trying to scratch the itch between her legs that had suddenly cropped up.
The effect that Calan had upon her physically was maddening to the point she almost wished she were blind. If that were the case, then she wouldn't become aroused the instant his steely-eyed gazed turned her way, as it was doing now. She looked around in mild embarrassment as he continued to stare at her. He was at least one hundred feet away, but his presence was so large it was as if he was standing there right next to her.
The two then turned away and looked at the course he was about to run. With a few quick gestures, it seemed to her as if Sam was giving him some advice on the course. It irked her to no end to not know what they had been saying about her, before so casually turning away. She vowed to have a word with Sam, to find out just what they had been discussing.
Harley let her ego stew for a minute as Calan began the course. He proceeded swiftly but not recklessly, as if he had been training to do the job for years. It had taken her three tries to successfully complete this section of training, but it looked to her that he was going to do it on his first. He wasn't going to complete it in record time, but it was going to be very close by the looks of it.
Then, without warning, one of the external stairs he was ascending collapsed under his weight. Her heart stopped as he hung awkwardly, his legs dangling in midair, almost two stories up. She cried out and began to run towards the building. This wasn't part of the training, and in a real situation he would have a team around him to help. She wasn't the only one, both Sam and her father were rushing towards him.
Before they could do anything to help him though, Calan managed to pull himself up and onto the next step. This one seemed to hold, though he crawled up several more before trying his luck at standing up. Her hands covered her mouth as she watched in terror, hoping that nothing more would happen to him.
Secure in his footing once more, he waved off his would-be rescuers and continued to ascend the four-story building. She had a much closer viewpoint now, able to see everything he was doing. When he reached the final test before the dummy-carry, he almost failed. She saw him reach out to turn the door handle and her heart sunk. If he opened it without testing it first, it was an automatic fail.
Just in the nick of time, however, he remembered his crash course training and began to test the door for heat. That obstacle cleared, now all he had to do was haul the weighted dummy back down and out of the building. Harley had no worries about him completing that section, for she had seen a few examples so far of just how strong he was.
The only part that gave her any worry was the broken stair, but he tested his way forward slowly, and stepped over it without an issue. Moments later he was clear of the building and lowered the dummy to the ground.
It was impossible for Harley not to be impressed by his feat of strength and intelligence. In only three days, he had absorbed enough knowledge to pass a test she had studied and trained six months for. Although she wanted to be mad over how easily he had seemed to accomplish what he set out to do, part of her enjoyed the way her man succeeded.
What the fuck?
That last thought threw her for a loop. There hadn't been much time for them to interact over the past few days, for he had been busy studying for up to eighteen hours a day. Somehow he had still managed to ensure she was not alone outside for long periods of time, while she was near the firehouse at least. It had been a token gesture on his part, and they both knew it, but he went about it with utmost seriousness nonetheless.
Besides, she told herself, even if he passed the test, he wasn't going to stay in town. A man who had spent fifteen years wandering around the country didn't just magically decide it was time to settle down and start a family. If she let herself fall for him, then she would just end up being abandoned and hurt all over again. It wasn't worth it, not even for Calan.
Her temper flared at the memories and she stomped off, giving him no more than a cursory thumbs up for his efforts. He tried to follow her, but she went into the ready room at the firehouse and slammed the door behind her, forcefully making her point that she wished to be alone. To her surprise, he didn't follow her in, instead, he let her have some time alone. That was just fine, for she had no interest in spending time with him at the moment.
***
Calan
Calan had watched his mate leave the area, anger clearly evident upon her face.
A week later, he was still trying to understand it. Although he hadn't expected a huge congratulations from her, the last thing he had planned was for her to be upset with him over it. Frowning, he took another swig of his beer in frustration.
The previous week had been an alternating current of hot and cold reactions from Harley, neither of which benefitted him. If she wasn't yelling at him for messing up even the tiniest thing, her attitude was frigid, colder than the winter he had spent in Canada. The lone victory was that she still didn't try to fight him when he walked her to and from her jeep. She didn't speak, ever, but she also hadn't told him to get lost.
The floorboards creaked, announcing the approach of somebody else. It was the middle of the day, so the Quencher was nearly empty. In fact, the only other person inside had been the bartender Jeb, and his waitress, Sandra. Calan had felt somewhat out of place, for he suspected there was something going on between the two of them, though they didn't want the town at large to know. Simply by being here he had prevented them from being alone. Now, however, with the approach of another person, he didn't feel so bad.
"I'll have one of your home brews please Jeb," Sam said as he sat down on the stool next to Calan.
The bartender nodded, grabbing a clean glass and pulling down the tap. The liquid amber flowed smoothly, mesmerizing the men for a moment. Even after the glass was placed in front of Sam, neither of the men said anything.
They both took a long draft of beer together, enjoying the smooth, subtle earthiness of the ale. It was brewed in-house by Jeb and was quickly becoming a favorite of Calan's. Despite the delicious taste, however, he had to say something to Sam. It was a long time coming, and the man certainly deserved it.
Sam and he had gone to high school together, back when Calan still had a family, still lived a normal life here in Bear Bluffs. He slammed that door shut, not ready to face those memories. The pain was still fresh to him, not having faded at all with the years. He owed something to the man sitting across from him now. Back in high school, Calan had not been the kindest person. In fact, he had been a bit of a bully.
"Thanks again for the tip Sam. I almost forgot it anyways, but without your words I would have failed."
That didn't cost him anything, for it was the truth plain and simple. Sam inhaled and opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, Calan rushed ahead, letting the words he needed to say flow.
"Also, listen. I want to apologize for the way I treated you in high school that last year I was here. You didn't deserve it, but I didn't know better at the time. I can't go back and fix it, but I can apologize for it."
He felt silly, talking about something that had happened so long ago, when both of them were still pimply-fresh adolescents. The cloud of his actions had hung over him for the past week though, as he had been forced to work with Sam several times. Neither of them had said a word, but it was clear that neither party had forgotten how things had been left between them.
The last time Calan had seen Sam before he left town, he had embarrassed him in front of all the high school kids in next door King City. Bear Bluffs was too small to have its own high school, so they had taken the bus every day for half an hour to reach King City High. It had been early April and Sam, two years his junior, had just tried asking a girl on a date. She
had turned him down and Calan, who had witnessed the entire thing, had gone and pointed it out to the entire nearby populace.
He felt terrible as he remembered how Sam had turned beet red and almost broken down in tears as he fled the laughter and jeering. It wasn't his strongest memory, but it had come roaring back when he had first exchanged pleasantries with Sam upon his arrival. Since then he had been meaning to do his best to make amends, but the time had never seemed right. Now, with nobody around, perhaps the two of them could begin anew.
"You know, I hung on to that for a long, long time Calan."
Or perhaps not.
"And then you know what happened? I graduated high school. After leaving that behind, I realized nobody out there knew. Hell, most of the people at school forgot in a few months once I looked back on it. Consider it water under the bridge."
He stuck out his mug, and Calan met him halfway, the clinking sounding loudly in the empty bar. They may never become the best of friends, he thought, but at least he could say that there was no bad blood.
"So, you and Harley, how's that working out for you?" There was a bit of a smug grin behind Sam's face when he asked the question. Not much, but it was enough for Calan to catch it out of the corner of his eye.
"I think you know damn well," he replied gruffly, though there was no anger in his voice. It was obvious to anyone who took a moment to pay attention that something was going on between the two of them. It appeared to be purely a one-way 'thing', but Calan knew she had feelings, he could sense her reaction every time he got close to her.
What he couldn't figure out was why she was so guarded, so unwilling to let him in. If he could just speak with her candidly, lay it all out, she might let down her walls for him. Unfortunately, every time he tried, she either glared at him or walked away. He could practically taste the fear on her each time as well, which is why he had backed off a bit.
"It's going to be a long, lonely road trying to tame that one, Cal," Sam commented. Something about the way he spoke, something in his tone of voice, tipped Calan off that he knew more than he was letting on. He wasn't sure what, but now that he had an opening, he intended to find out.
"What do you mean? Sounds like you know from experience." It was a stab in the dark, but it also made the most sense, given the other man's cryptic words.
"That's because I do." Sam took another deep drink of his frosty beverage
Calan merely raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue.
"She hasn't been here long. It was, I guess, three years or so ago now that she showed up, rather worse for wear."
"What happened?" Calan's curiosity was piqued now. Perhaps now he would learn something of import as to why Harley was giving him the cold shoulder.
"She was seeing a human, a real jerkoff by the sounds of it. He cheated on her a lot, kept using her for money. Just when she was ready to leave him, he'd always have some sort of reason, and she just kept going back to what she knew. Finally, she came to her senses and left him."
Calan took another sip before he queried Sam some more. This was valuable insight into his mate, but he needed to know what the last straw had been. What had this man done to her that had made her closed off to him? He sought that information like a bear after honey or a bee looking for pollen. It consumed him.
"What happened at the end?" he urged when Sam didn't immediately explain.
"Apparently he went and got some other girl pregnant, but tried to get Harley to help pay for its raising. That was just too far off the deep end for her I suppose."
"No shit, I should hope so." His bear's anger was roaring, demanding that he find the lowlife who had mistreated Harley, and show him a thing or two. With a mental effort, he fought the urge down, telling his bear that even if this unknown was a dick, he was still a father. Hurting someone who had a young one relying on them was not the type of person that Calan was.
"So, how do you know all this? She won't tell me anything at all."
"A few months after she showed up, I tried to take her on a date. I guess she was feeling polite, because she told me that she just wasn't ready for another guy yet. That was two and a half years ago, and she's never been with a guy yet, that I know of at least."
Sam didn't seem to be too upset about it, nor was he giving off any sort of warning either. To Calan, that indicated a go-ahead for him to try his luck with claiming Harley. He was thankful for that, indicating so with a little raise of his mug. Sam tilted his head in response before taking a quaff of his own beer, finishing it as he did.
"Now if I could only get her alone for a few minutes, to actually talk with her." There was a hint of frustration in his voice, though he tried to hide it. It wouldn't do to admit that Harley was posing a far larger problem to him than any woman in his past. Although he tried not to be arrogant, Calan knew he was good looking. Before he had decided to slow things down, find a mate and hopefully raise some cubs, he had used those good looks to devastating effect with at least a few other women.
He tossed back the last of his beer and rose, the chair making something akin to a sigh of relief as it was freed from bearing his weight. Throwing some money down on the bar to cover both of their drinks, he clapped Sam on the shoulder and began to walk out. Perhaps a weight room session would help improve his mood he thought.
"Hey, Calan." He stopped and turned back as Jeb called his name out. The bartender had never said much to him, but they were both bear shifters, and often times very little had to be said between them. There was an accepted respect level on both of their parts that had been very peaceful for both of them, often a rarity when two alpha males were in close proximity. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that while he was busy pursuing Harley, Jeb had someone else in mind. Either way, it had been a relief to both men that they could co-exist without having to butt heads.
"She often goes out with her bear up to Snow Pass, up the valley -"
"I know where it is actually Jeb, but thank you for the information." He didn't apologize for interrupting the man, for his brain was already processing that information.
Yes, Calan Winters knew exactly where Snow Pass was. He was intimately familiar with the area, in fact. It seemed fitting that that would be where he could find his mate. A long, long time ago, he had even had a word for that area. He didn't know if it still applied, but for the first part of his life, Snow Pass had meant only one thing to him.
Home.
***
Harley
It was hard for Harley to imagine a more perfect day. The sky was bright with rays of sun, the warmth of its kiss banishing clouds from sight. Her bear ambled along, enjoying the freedom of the open field. Tall grasses brushed against her bear's belly as the brilliant sun heated her coat to a delightful temperature. It was such a wonderful, relaxing day, that she stopped and sat for a moment, her bear softly chuffing its contentment as she rolled around, acting just like a little cub.
After the previous week, a day off like this was sorely needed she told herself. The stress of being forced to work with Calan each shift was wearing on her. He never acted inappropriately while they were on duty, yet she couldn't handle being near him.
Each time he flexed his arms she flushed with embarrassment as her body went into overdrive with hormones. When he spoke she went weak in the knees like a cheesy movie heroine. If that wasn't enough, she had soaked her panties in warm honey more than once as he brushed up against her while they accomplished one task or another. It was always harmless, yet she could feel his hardness from time to time as well. It drove her wild until she went home every night and brought herself to an explosive orgasm in a desperate search for relief.
After the second day of working closely with Calan, she had gone to her father, begging and pleading with him to change the shifts. He had been unwilling to budge, despite her passionate plea.
"Harley Jane Hammond, you are a grown woman. I don't know what your issue is with him, but figure it out like an adult. That
is enough nonsense," he had said. She felt like a little girl having a temper tantrum, but she was unwilling to go down without a fight.
"Just put me on the damned morning shift, that's all I'm asking. Hell, I've worked the evening shift since I joined the force. Isn't there something in the manuals about rotating staff through various positions? I'm sure it's in there if you look deep enough."
"Actually, daughter of mine, it isn't." He sighed, pushed his chair back from the desk and came around it towards her. Wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, he held her close. Moments of familiarity like that between them were few and far between, so despite her frustration with him, Harley had hugged him back as hard as she could. Somehow, she still didn't know exactly how almost a week later, he had managed to diffuse the tension with that simple act.
"Just give it time Harley, it'll all work out. You'll see."
She knew what he meant though she wasn't ready to accept it yet. There was still a dull, aching, emptiness where James had been. Not him as a person, because Harley was smart enough to know now that he was an asshole she should have left far earlier. No, it was the pain of having been so badly duped and betrayed that kept her frozen to anyone, including Calan.
With a grunt, her bear interrupted the reverie, bringing the relaxation of the afternoon back into focus. She smiled internally, for her other half could be obnoxiously single-minded, but sometimes it was actually what she needed. Harley vowed to remember, that sometimes, she should listen to the bear side of her and not the human side.
Like now, when it was telling her that it had detected another presence. The scent was faint, not strong enough to be distinguishable on its own, but different enough from the background smells for her bear to have picked it up.
