Thirty days in the cabin of her dreams with two hot Scots. What could possibly go wrong?
Thirty days in the remote cabin of her dreams. No social media, no online shopping or even streaming Roxie begins to wonder if the next month is going to be heaven on earth or hell in a handbasket? When two hot Highlanders show up on her doorstep, Roxie holds her breath and wonders—what could possibly go wrong?
When Calum and Aiden follow their mate to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, they expect their independent mate to put up a fight. What they don’t expect is a run in with a moose, a car accident, and finding unexpected treasure.
Will her next thirty days be heaven on Earth, or hell in a handbasket?
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Tempting the Bears
Copyright © 2018 Tianna Xander
ISBN: 978-1-4874-1925-7
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc
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Tempting the Bears
By
Tianna Xander
Dedication
To my husband Kevin, whose love and support make all of my stories possible.
To my beta readers, thank you. You rock!
Chapter One
Roxie pulled up in front of the cabin her grandfather left her and sighed. Shifting her SUV into park, she stared up at the rustic building. The porch roof sagged at one end and the steps had seen better days. It didn’t matter. She still loved it, and the land surrounding it was hers as long as she followed the stipulations set out in her grandfather’s will.
She frowned up at the cabin. The roof looked rough, too. Knowing her luck, it probably leaked. Some of the wooden shingles, most grayed with weather and age, had gone missing, leaving bare spots on the rough plywood decking. As soon as it was hers, she would have a new pine-green metal roof put on it. That way, she’d never have to worry about leaks again.
The cabin looked run down and lonely. The cheerful flowered curtains her grandmother had made were gone. The windows, while still intact, were covered with a layer of grime. It made them hazy, giving the cabin an abandoned, ramshackle appearance that would have broken her grandmother’s heart. She knew because it made her heart ache to see the once-cheerful summer home looking so roughened by age and neglect.
Tears filled her eyes when she thought about how it had come to be in such condition. Her grandfather would never have allowed it to get in such shape if he’d had a say. He hadn’t. He’d spent the last three years of his life in a nursing home, fighting cancer and dementia.
Why had no one told her he was so ill? If it hadn’t been for one of the nurses at the home calling her, she wouldn’t have even been able to say goodbye. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and breathed out a sigh. She’d have to stay in the neglected cabin for the next thirty days if she wanted the deed in her name.
She might not have bothered if it wasn’t for the fact that she knew her cousin, Garret, would sell the land to the highest bidder to add the funds to his already fat bank account. No matter how remote or cold she found it, she had to manage to stay here. If only to keep the land in the family.
There was no doubt in Roxie’s mind that had either of her grandparents realized she’d have to stay alone in the cabin in the dead of winter, they would have changed that stipulation in their will and given her the property outright.
Still, she had always loved this cabin and if staying in it until the snow reached the rafters was the only way she’d get it, she was game.
Staying in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula for a month was a small price to pay to keep her cousin from getting possession of it and selling it to some developer, no matter what time of the year she had to do it in.
Garret Winslow had always been a greedy bastard. The two million dollars left to him by his parents wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. These three hundred and seventy acres surrounding Sleeping Bear Lake were ripe for the picking, according to Garret. Her grandparents had owned every bit of property surrounding the lake, with the exception of a one hundred and fifty-acre swath on the northern end, owned by the descendants of the man who had discovered and named the lake with one of her ancestors over one hundred and thirty years before.
“Well...” Roxie took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’d better get that generator running or I’m going to be freezing tonight.”
She’d brought a thermal sleeping bag, but it was no match for the huge pellet stove her grandfather had installed and hooked into the central heating ducts.
Cold fingers fumbled with the seatbelt until it finally gave. She opened the door and slid from the big truck. The frigid air hit her hard, taking her breath away. Wrapping her scarf around her face, she trudged toward the front door, her keys in her hand.
Garret will sell this land over my dead body. Roxie shivered at the thought, or was it the cold? After all, she hadn’t braved a Michigan winter in fifteen years. Not since her parents had moved to the mountains of Virginia. It was cold in the mountains, but not as cold as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Grabbing her keys, she headed for the front porch. Gently, she tested the steps, hoping they wouldn’t collapse beneath her. It had been a few years since her grandfather had been able to work on the cottage. She swiped the tears from her eyes as she fit the key into the lock and opened the door.
The floor creaked beneath her feet as she entered. As always, her grandmother’s rag rugs were strewn across the shining, hardwood floor. She inhaled, taking in the smell of musty cloth and old wood. Gone was the scent of her grandmother’s perfume and lavender essential oil. Dust covered everything and the once warm and happy summer home felt cold and lonely.
Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and headed for the back. The door in the kitchen led to the shed and the generator. Unlocking the door, she opened it and headed back to the front door and her SUV. The spark plugs, oil, filter and battery she’d purchased from the local hardware store would surely help it start up. With luck, what she had would be all it would need.
She rummaged through the back of her vehicle and grabbed the wrench, battery, and the maintenance supplies she’d purchased. She headed back to the house, went out through the kitchen door and to the shed.
The lock was the same one her grandpa always had. She chuckled to herself and spun the three dials to nine, nine, nine, pulled the lock from the hasp and opened the door. The generator sat in the shadows below the exhaust pipe, a few spiderwebs covering the handle on the access door.
Roxie lifted the hose from its coil inside the case and pulled it out, preparing it for one of the thirty-pound tanks she’d left in her truck. It might take he
r a few minutes, but she was sure she could remember how her grandfather serviced it.
Two hours later, she had everything out of the truck and inside the cabin, with the exception of the ten forty-pound sacks of pellets she’d brought with her. Thankfully, her grandfather had left six bags in the cottage. It was a relief to know that she could take her time carrying the bags she’d brought with her inside.
The generator worked, supplying lights and heat, and as soon as the cabin warmed up, she’d flip the switch for the well pump. If she switched it on too soon, the water would flash freeze in the cold pipes. The heat would have to run until it reached sixty-eight degrees and the pipe warmer she’d plugged in started working. She only hoped the well pump still worked. If it didn’t, it was going to be a long thirty days.
Taking a deep breath, she shrugged out of her coat and hung it on the hook by the front door. Grabbing one of the gallons of water she brought with her, she pulled a pan from the cupboard and rinsed it out. She filled it halfway, set it on the stove and paused.
“Crap!” She could have electricity, or she could have hot water and food. She hadn’t hooked up the gas for anything but the generator. Resting her hands on her hips, she sighed. “Well, hell.”
Chapter Two
“What are ye doing, ye nit?” Calum swatted his best friend, Aiden, on the back of the head. “Ye can’t go wandering over there and letting her know we followed her.” He shoved this fingers through his dark hair and met the blue-eyed stare of his best friend with a scowl.
“She doesn’t know us. Not really.” Aiden paced the length of the cabin with a growl. “She barely gave us the time of day the last time we saw her. She was too busy watching her friend fall in love with Malcom and Gavin. Then, after we promised tae show her the countryside, the news came and she left. Whatever news that was.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I need tae know she’s not freezing tae death or starving over there.”
“I’m telling ye, she’ll not welcome us. We’ll remind her too much of losing her friend in Scotland.”
“She didn’t lose her friend.” Aiden frowned and met Calum’s moss green gaze. “Her friend fell in love and mated clansmen. Besides, if she’s so upset about it, it seems as though she’d love the idea of being our mate. She and Sunshine will be clanswomen as well as best friends.”
It was just a good thing the lass had thought to call Sunshine and tell her what she planned to do. If she hadn’t, they never would have been able to beat her to the area and convince the clansmen living at the lake to visit Scotland for a time.
“Either way, I suppose you’re right.” Calum sighed. “We should go make sure she’s not lacking the basic survival essentials. If we plan to claim her at some point, having her alive would be beneficial.”
“She doesn’t have tae see us. We can shift and check on her that way.”
“Let’s go then.” Calum shifted into his other half, his face lengthening into a snout, his bones popping and cracking as they grew into the large bones of his bear. His hands and feet grew into paws as large as dinner plates and he stood, staring at Aiden. Let’s go, you daft son-of-a-bitch. I’m going to start overheating if I don’t get out in the deep snow, soon.
Aiden reached for his bear and shifted into his other self. Well then, he said through their mental link. Perhaps we should get a move on. And afterward, we can go for a swim tae cool off. The lake looks beautiful tonight.
They both took off at a run toward the cabin in the distance, anxious to see the woman they’d followed halfway around the world.
Less than ten minutes later, they stood just outside the cabin.
What are the odds that she would retreat tae a cabin on Sleeping Bear Lake? Aiden spoke through their mental link as they stared through the window while she wandered around the ground floor of the cabin wiping dust from the shelves and tables.
What are the odds that her family owns the only other property surrounding it? It’s fate. She was meant to be our mate.
They watched her wander around inside the cabin, dusting and cleaning. A smudge of dirt on her left cheek contrasted with her creamy skin almost as much as her hair. Short and chocolate brown, it curled around her face in adorable waves. Her curvy body nearly made his mouth water as they stood staring through the dingy glass. Once, her beautiful violet eyes glanced toward the window as though she felt them watching her, before she turned her attention back to sweeping the floor.
After a few moments, a huge yawn seemed to catch her by surprise. She stretched and leaned the broom against the wall. Bending, she grabbed a rolled sleeping bag and a case that had been sitting next to the front door, turned off the lights and climbed the stairs.
The two bears sat watching the sway of her wide hips as she ascended to the second floor and disappeared from sight. After a few moments, they glanced at each other.
Time for a swim. Aiden spun around and headed for the water. She’s safe and warm. We should head back to our own side of the lake and try to think of a way to run into her tomorrow.
Calum took a deep breath, the scent of fresh water filling his nose. Why do you suppose the lake never freezes over? He walked toward the lake, his gait slow and even. Huge paws spread over the ice and snow, helping to bring his temperature down.
I have no idea. What I do know is that was the reason the laird claimed what land was left around the lake before someone else did. It makes it easier to spread out to other parts of the world, where we can search for our mates and missing clansmen when we have cold water available to help us cool down when we shift.
The two bears ran for the edge of the ice and jumped into the frigid water, their entire bodies diving beneath the surface with two huge splashes. They swam beneath the water for several long strokes of their muscular legs before surfacing and swimming toward the other side of the lake and the cabin they had borrowed from their clansmen.
With luck, they would manage to claim her and bind her to them before the others returned in three weeks to reclaim their home.
Reaching the shore, they waded from the water and shook their massive bodies, water flying everywhere. The two bears padded to their borrowed cabin and shifted shape as they walked up the porch steps.
Lights from inside shone onto the porch, illuminating the two heavily muscled men who wore nothing but low-slung jeans in the below zero cold.
“I say we go see her tomorrow.” Aiden had little patience for waiting. He’d always told Calum, the way he saw it, waiting two hundred and sixty-seven years for a mate was long enough.
“I think we should wait.”
“Haven’t we held ourselves back long enough, man?” Aiden opened the door and stalked into the cabin. He didn’t wait for Calum. Instead, he strode over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. It wasn’t the kind of alcohol either of them was used to, but it would do. He opened the bottle and tipped it back for a long drought. “I’ve waited two hundred and sixty-seven years and I’m through waiting.”
“That’s nothing.” Calum shook his head. “Try waiting three hundred and twenty.” They were some of the youngest males of the clan. Over the years, finding mates became more and more difficult, since humans had practically decimated their species. Finding Roxanne was a stroke of luck they hadn’t expected. “How can we ever manage to make her ours if we can’t agree on anything?” He grabbed himself a beer, sat down on the sofa and rested his feet on the low table in front of it. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and took a long drink.
“Because we agree on the important things, like claiming Roxanne Hammerlin as our mate.” Aiden took another long pull of his beer. “We know she’s the only female for us and we’re willing tae share her, tae make that three-way bond with her.”
“Are we going to agree on where we live, how we love her, protect her and make our lives with her?” Calum scowled into the dying fire. Standing, he threw two more logs on the embers and waited until the flames grew bright, before sitting
again.
“We’ll have tae.” Aiden watched the firelight play on the walls before draining his bottle. “If we want her tae be the mother of our bairns, we’ll have tae.”
“Then I’ll have a pact from ye, now, Aiden MacNeil.” Calum stood and held out his hand. “Take my hand and swear to the goddess that you’ll do everything in your power to make the lass ours.”
“I will.” Aiden grasped his arm in a warrior’s clasp. “I swear tae the goddess I’ll do my best tae make the bonnie lass choose tae be our mate.”
“As will I.” Calum released Aiden’s arm and tossed his empty bottle in the recycle bin next to the trash. He rubbed the center of his chest, trying to ease the ache that had settled there the day they’d first seen Roxie on clan lands. He knew the minute he saw her and smelled her that she was the one for him.
They’d hoped she would have stayed in the castle longer so they might court her the way she deserved. Their laird had left her in their care, knowing they intended to try to make her theirs. They hadn’t even had the chance to make their plans known.
Unfortunately, she received a call from the states a week later, and a full day hadn’t passed before she’d repacked her bags and had another of their clansmen drive her to the airport. Whatever happened must have been an emergency. An illness, perhaps—or a death.
“We’d better get to bed.” Calum stretched and headed for the room he’d chosen for their stay. “I don’t know about ye, but I plan to look my best when we meet our mate.”
“How do you suppose we do that?” Aiden tossed his bottle into the bin and followed him to the back of the cabin.
“We’ll have to think of something.” Calum glanced back toward the cabin he could no longer see through the darkness. “Her cabin needs some repairs. Maybe we should go offer to help her. Or maybe we should just carry her off the way our ancestors did their mates. It seemed to work okay for them.”
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