Ranger Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 11)

by Harmony Raines

  Who needed coffee.

  He opened the door and went inside, heading for the kitchen where he put on a fresh pot of coffee before running to the shower. Stripping down, he stepped under the warm jets of water, and washed his body and his hair, before wrapping a towel around his midriff. On the way back to the kitchen, he dragged his fingers through his hair and grabbed his laptop.

  Pouring a large mug of coffee, he placed a couple of croissants in the oven to warm, and sat down at the small wooden kitchen table he had carved himself out of a fallen oak tree. Waste not, want not.

  He smiled to himself as he recalled getting his brothers, Neil and Kit, to help him drag the thick trunk home. He’d somehow persuaded them to shift into their bears, and put on a harness; he even had pictures to prove it. Like a couple of horses, he’d driven them down the mountain, towing the tree.

  It had taken him most of the summer to cut and dry the wood, and then shape it into the sturdy table that was the heart of his kitchen. This was where he sat and drank beer with his brothers while he cooked for them. It was where he prepared the fruit and vegetables from his garden, ready to dry or pickle for the winter.

  It was also where he placed his laptop and studied the weather forecast. He was fairly good at predicting weather patterns from the signs nature sent his way. But those signs did not compete with modern technology.

  The screen lit up, showing a nearly dead battery. Rummaging around, he found the power cord and plugged it in. He quickly navigated to his favorite weather station, the one he’d found most accurate, and checked the forecast. Three days of nonstop sunshine, followed by an increase in humidity and a thunderstorm. Jacob then cross-referenced the forecast with his second favorite weather site, and made adjustments for the discrepancies.

  The outcome of which left him confident he could go up the mountain and track these guys of Avery Cooper’s, at least for the next three days. After that, heavy rain was likely to wash away any tracks and make conditions unpleasant.

  OK, if the second forecast was correct, downright atrocious.

  Draining his cup, he placed his croissants on a plate, added cheese and ham from the fridge, and poured another cup of coffee. While he ate, he caught up on the news. Local, of course. Anything outside of Bear Creek didn’t hold much interest for Jacob, he was Bear Creek born and bred.

  Nothing exciting had happened while he’d been trekking over the mountains, just as he liked it. Washing his plate and mug, he made sure the cabin was in shut-down mode, as he termed it, and grabbed his backpack. He quickly went through the contents, although he knew it contained everything he needed. It was his duty to keep it ready to use at a moment’s notice since, sometimes, that was all the time he had to grab what he needed and head off into the mountains to help save someone’s life.

  Shouldering his pack, he went back outside, shutting the door and locking it. He trusted everyone in Bear Creek, but he didn’t trust some of the hikers that came this way. Brad’s news about the drug dealers wasn’t too much of a surprise. In Jacob’s experience, a very small minority of people from outside of town had different views and values. Luckily, most of the hikers he met on the mountain came here to get away from their busy lives. They enjoyed stepping back into nature, and Jacob encouraged it, as long as they only left footprints behind, and not their trash.

  He grinned. Damn, he was sounding like an old man, all his grumbling, and complaining.

  Lifting his arms above his head, he stretched his neck from side to side. Then he opened the door of his truck and got inside. Jacob much preferred walking on two feet, but if he was going into the mountains with a non-shifter, he was going to need to drive. Especially if Avery Cooper was not used to hiking.

  He groaned. Maybe he should offer to go on his own: he could track the two suspects, take photos, and help identify the drug traffickers. It sure would be a whole lot easier to get himself up there on four paws.

  Throwing his pack on the passenger seat, he hauled himself into the truck and started the engine. With one last look at his house in the rearview mirror, he drove down the steep trail that led to the narrow road and followed it as it wound down toward Bear Creek. From there he turned toward town, and the main street where the sheriff’s office stood.

  Parking his truck, he jumped out, looking up and down the street. A strange sensation crept up his neck. Driving really didn’t agree with him. Shaking his head, he ran across the road and pushed open the door of the sheriff’s office to find Brad waiting for him.

  “You were quick,” Brad commented, his hand resting on the phone on his desk.

  “I figured there was no sense in hanging around. If these guys have gone into the mountains, the longer a head start they have, the harder they’ll be to track.” Jacob looked out of Brad’s window, his eyes on the deep azure sky that framed the mountain. “This is tourist weather. The lower trails are going to be busy. Plus, there’s a storm coming our way in a few days’ time.”

  “So if the tracks aren’t lost under the trample of hiking boots, they are going to be washed away under a deluge of rain.” Brad sighed and stood up. “I’m not so sure about this.”

  Jacob frowned, and asked, “What changed? I thought you said you wanted the drug dealing to end?”

  “I do. But I spoke to someone over at Holloway County.” Brad dragged his hand through his hair. “Avery is on annual leave.”

  “Annual leave, is that a fancy way to say suspended?” Jacob asked.

  Brad grabbed his hat off his desk. “Let’s go find out. I think before this goes any further, Avery needs to give us some more information.” Brad yanked the door open. “Always when I’m short of officers!”

  “Maybe you could deputize me,” Jacob suggested lightheartedly and followed Brad out into the street.

  “Don’t put ideas into my head.” Brad dropped his voice and said, “I’m certain Avery is going to go after those guys no matter what I say. Whether I send support or not.”

  “So, what’s your other option?” Jacob asked.

  “I could always stick Avery’s ass in jail for a couple of nights.”

  “On what charge?” Jacob knew Brad only bent the rules of law in extreme circumstances.

  “I don’t know. But if there is something else going on, something the folks over at Holloway County are keeping to themselves, what am I supposed to do?”

  A shiver crept up Jacob’s neck, and he placed his hand there to rub the skin until it had gone, but it didn’t pass. “So where is Avery now?”

  “Where would you be if you planned to go up a mountain?” Brad asked, looking around and then pointing across the street.

  “Mike’s Mountain Wares.” Jacob nodded. Damn, he hoped he wouldn’t get stuck on the mountain in a rainstorm, he already figured he was coming down with the flu.

  “That’s my first guess.” Brad crossed the street to the one-stop store for hiking gear, then opened the door and went inside.

  Jacob followed, his body aching, really aching, but it didn’t feel like flu. Damn it, if one of those tourists had brought an exotic disease to town, he was going to be livid.

  “Avery?” Brad asked.

  Jacob looked for the police officer, waiting to weigh up the guy. To see if he was capable of going into the mountains. But all he saw was a woman. A real fine woman, with curves in all the right places.

  “Sheriff.” She spoke, and Jacob swore his heart stopped beating.

  He didn’t have the flu. It was much more contagious than that. Avery Cooper was his mate.

  Chapter Three – Avery

  “Sheriff.” Avery stared down Brad, who had brought backup with him. She was only vaguely aware of the guy behind the sheriff, although he seemed very aware of her. If he were a dog, his tongue would be hanging out.

  Brad broke eye contact with her, and turned his attention to the man behind him. “Are you OK, Jacob?”

  “I am.” Jacob took in a deep breath, forcing the air into his lungs as if he’d been
thumped in the stomach and was winded.

  “Do you want to wait outside?” Brad turned around and spoke to Jacob. Avery couldn’t hear what was being said, but Jacob nodded, and Brad patted him on the shoulder and chuckled.

  “Thanks for the sympathy, but I’ll stay,” Jacob said sarcastically, making Avery frown. Were they talking about her?

  “You realize this all got a whole lot more complicated?” Brad said and then turned back to Avery.

  “Everything OK?” Avery asked with a smile. She was not going to force them into seeing her as anything other than a professional. Which she was. Although she was not exactly here on police business.

  “Yeah, Jacob just needs a moment.” Brad nodded, and then seemed to remember why he was here. “Avery, could I speak to you?”

  “What can I help you with, Sheriff?” Avery took the backpack she had chosen and walked over to the counter, where she placed it next to the other items she needed for her trek. With or without backup she was going to track her suspects. Just track them. If she couldn’t confront them, she would have to take photographs, and hand them over to Lonnie. He might be able to identify the supplier.

  “Maybe we should talk privately.” Brad nodded to the guy who owned the store. “Mike, how you doing?”

  “Good, thanks, Brad. You?” Mike began scanning her goods, his attention on his job, trying to pretend he wasn’t listening to police business. Even though he was.

  “I’ll just be a couple of minutes and then we can talk all you want.” She handed over her credit card. Brad was right, this was no place to talk. For all Avery knew, Mike might be in on the drug deal. Or at least be friends with Manny Maxwell and Joe Hislop. She didn’t want them tipped off.

  Paranoia came with the job. At least where she came from. Was it different here in Bear Creek?

  “OK, we’ll wait outside.” Brad hesitated, and lowered his voice so Mike couldn’t hear. “If you run, I will track you down.”

  “And what would be the charge?” Avery shot back.

  “I’ll think of something.” Brad sighed heavily and looked back to Jacob, who was watching them intently from the doorway. “Look, I know what you intend to do, and I want to help make that happen.”

  Avery looked him square in the eyes and nodded again. “You have my word, I’ll be out front as soon as I’ve paid for these.” She nodded toward Jacob. “Your friend looks sick. Is he OK?”

  “Yes, he’ll be just fine. He’s had a shock, that’s all.” Brad smiled again and walked toward his friend, escorting him out of the store.

  “Here we go.” Mike handed Avery her receipt and credit card, studying her closely. “You plan to go up into the mountain?”

  “What makes you ask?” Avery put her card and receipt in her purse and collected her goods.

  Mike pointed at her purchases. “It’s not rocket science.”

  “I guess not, sorry.”

  “I can recommend a guide if you are. Those mountains are not for the inexperienced.” Mike sounded sincere, and she switched her full attention back to him.

  “I may take you up on your recommendation. First I need to speak to the sheriff, and the guy who’s with him.” She turned to leave. “You know who he is, the other guy?”

  “Sure, he’s the local ranger, Jacob Malvern.” Mike leaned on the counter, a little too close for comfort. Then he inhaled deeply. “Have you been a naughty girl?”

  Avery’s skin crawled at his words: they were somehow dirty, making her want to go and take a hot shower. Instead, she slapped her hand down hard on the counter, making Mike jump backward. “Are you harassing me?”

  “Nope.” He held his hands up in defense. “Just trying to help ya out.”

  “I appreciate that. But I don’t appreciate the attitude.” Avery glared at Mike until he lowered his eyes and pretended to be busy with inventory. “Have a good day, Mike.”

  “You too.” His tone didn’t exactly convey his words, but she didn’t care. However, his attitude had placed her in a predicament. There was no way she was going to take him up on his offer of a guide. No way at all. She knew how to handle herself, and was trained in unarmed defense. But if she were outnumbered…

  “Shall we go across the street and grab a coffee?” Brad asked as soon as her feet hit the sidewalk.

  “Not to your office?” Avery asked, hitching her new pack on her shoulder. It felt too new, it needed breaking in, and she wished she’d come prepared, but when she got a lead on her suspects, she hadn’t expected to end up climbing a mountain in her near future.

  “Nope, I think neutral territory would be best.” Brad waited for her to agree before crossing the street, and then he turned left and headed toward a coffee shop with tables outside.

  “You’re the local ranger,” Avery said to Jacob, who looked a little pale, but no longer looked as if he were about to puke.

  “I am. Jacob Malvern.” He nodded, his eyes fixed on her. What was it with this town, were they all perverts? “Brad said you are on the trail of a couple of drug dealers.”

  “Did he?” So the sheriff had been spilling her story all over town. Great.

  “Yes. He thinks you’re going to go after them.” They reached the coffee shop, Brad had already gone inside, and Avery was about to follow, when she turned to look back at Mike’s store. As she did, one of the display stands in the window rattled as if it had been shoved. The guy was watching her. Or watching the sheriff. Whichever it was, it made her uneasy.

  “I am.” She walked into the coffee shop, which was dim compared to the bright sunshine outside. After a second, her eyes adjusted, and she walked over to Brad, who was ordering coffee.

  “What can I get you?” Brad asked. He’d already ordered for himself and Jacob, which told her these two knew each other well.

  “Americano, black.” She pulled her wallet out of her pocket. Avery was not a purse-carrying kind of a gal. She traveled light, and kept her essentials where they could not get lost.

  “I’ll pay,” Brad insisted.

  “I don’t want it to look as if the local sheriff is bribing me.” She kept her tone light, and luckily Brad took it for what it was, another icebreaker. Jacob smiled too, but he still looked a little out of it. Pity, he was one hell of a guy, the kind she would like to have on her side if she got into a tight spot on the mountain. Tall, dark, and handsome, those traits did not detract from his strong hands and lithe movements. This guy was fit, and she bet he could take care of himself.

  And her. If she needed looking after, which was not on her agenda. Avery hated relying on other people, particularly men. Over at Holloway County she’d had to fight to be seen as one of the boys. Pity, she had likely blown it over helping Lonnie.

  Not the time to think about the past. She could deal with that when her vacation was over. Helping her dad’s old partner on the force was the right thing to do. Whatever the cost.

  Avery had known Lonnie since forever. She’d grown up with him sitting across the dinner table from her father. With no family of his own, Avery’s family had adopted him, and Lonnie had repaid them by rescuing her father when he got trapped inside a derelict building that collapsed. Her dad had never worked again. Medically discharged with nerve damage in his spine, it was Lonnie who had taken Avery under his wing when she joined the police force as a raw recruit.

  To Avery, chasing down this drug ring only repaid a small portion of the huge debt she owed Lonnie.

  Pushing her worries to one side, she concentrated on what was immediately before her.

  And she did not mean the muscles of the mountain ranger.

  “Come on, let’s go find a table,” Jacob said, and ushered her toward the back of the coffee shop.

  “Are we hiding?” Avery said uneasily. If Lonnie was right about someone high up in the department being in on this drug ring, or whatever it was, could Brad and Jacob have been coerced into getting rid of her? Was that what was wrong with Jacob earlier, he didn’t want to get his hands dirty?
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  “Mike seemed to be taking a lot of interest in you. Or us.” Brad set the coffee down on the table. “I’d sure like to know which it is.”

  Brad’s concerned attitude made her trust him. And if this was going to work out, she was going to have to trust someone. “I’m new in town, you tell me. After all, you were the one who said Bear Creek was a special place, with none of the problems of other towns.” Avery sipped her too-hot coffee, needing to feel the buzz of caffeine in her brain. It had been an early start, and a long drive, with not enough coffee in between.

  “Mike took over the store about a year ago,” Brad began. “That’s about right, isn’t it, Jacob?”

  Jacob was staring at her again, but quickly looked at Brad. “About that. He bought it when Lars left Bear Creek to go back home.”

  “So you don’t know him well?” Avery asked, recalling his weird behavior; she’d never been sniffed in her life. Not like that, as if she were…dinner. She shuddered.

  “No, he’s not come onto my radar,” Brad admitted. “I don’t routinely run background checks on the townsfolk, but I’ll go back and do one as soon as you two leave.”

  Avery placed her coffee mug down on the table. “You two? You mean me and the ranger?”

  “I do.” Brad nodded, looking at Jacob with some concern, but the ranger seemed to have shaken off whatever had been wrong with him. Maybe he’d had a heavy night drinking, and Brad had gotten him up out of bed to come meet her.

  “You spoke to my boss?” Avery wanted to make sure she was definitely not being set up.

  “I made enquiries. Turns out you are on vacation.” He let the statement hang in the air, and so did Avery. Brad gave a small smile before continuing. “It just so happens you’ve decided to take that vacation in Bear Creek, and our local ranger has agreed to give you a guided tour of our mountain.”