Table of Contents
Bear Kamp Book 3
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Epilogue
Growth of the Bear
Bear Kamp Book 3
Rachel Robins
Just a little note
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Prologue
In a small bar called The Kamp on the outskirts of New Orleans, there was a pack of bear shifters: Austin, the owner of the bar, Jasper, CEO of the largest growing construction company in the Big Easy, Rick, owner and operator of now four successful casinos, and then Justin.
Justin nursed his third beer of the night and looked around at his pack mates. It was hard to feel jealous when he knew they deserved their mates as much as, if not more than, Justin deserved one. His life had been a solitary one aside from the few men seated around him. One day he hoped to be living in a house filled with cubs and a mate all of his own. For now, he would have to be happy watching his pack mates. Neither one of them had had an easy start with their true mate. Maybe Justin’s true mate was still out there waiting to torment him, someday soon.
Austin met his mate at The Kamp. Kate had been out for a night with friends after finding out her husband wanted a divorce so he could move in with his girlfriend. Her ex wasn’t quite so happy to find Kate having moved on, and tried to stir up trouble. Nothing Austin and their pack couldn’t handle. Now, Kate and Austin were not only mate bonded, but had welcomed their first child.
Jasper went on to find his mate in none other than Kate’s best friend, Emma. Emma was a tough girl to court. After her father took off with another woman when she was younger, and never laid eyes on her again, Emma vowed to be single forever. Jasper set out to prove their mate bond was real, and that he wasn’t going anywhere. It wasn’t long before Emma discovered not only was her father a shifter, but he took off to protect her, and had he not died unexpectedly, had plans to eventually come back into her life. Emma also found the truth about her heritage, and found her way back to Jasper’s waiting arms. Not only were they now mate bonded, but their mate bond had pulled Emma’s dormant bear forward. She, too, was now a shifter.
Rick hadn’t found a mate yet, but he was too busy finding success. Justin felt like the pack was moving on without him. He had yet to find success or a mate. He was younger than the rest of them, but he still felt inferior. Watching his friends with their mates, and Austin with his cub, made Justin yearn for something he had never desired before in his life.
Justin had grown up with wealth all around him, but he had no desire for any material objects. What he truly desired was to feel that he was part of a family. His parents never wanted to have family game night, or come watch his baseball games. His only reprieve his entire life had been in his family’s stables. He grew up there, and learned that there was more to life than money. When he turned eighteen in human years, he left his family and never looked back. They never looked for him either.
As the runt of the family, and the constant outcast, he knew they never would. The only thing he wanted back from his childhood was to be around horses again.
Chapter One
Justin
Justin leaned his head against the long snout of the horse as he contemplated how his luck was turning around. He’d been living in New Orleans for ten years now, and he had never dreamed there was a full-on stable on the outskirts of town. Jasper told him casually over beers one night that his construction company had just finished renovations at a local stable. Justin couldn’t believe his luck to find out that the family was looking for a new manager. Jerry Miller, the owner, wasn’t a shifter himself, but he was completely comfortable around Justin.
Two weeks later, Justin stood nose to nose with a horse again for the first time in over ten years. He had shown up early to his first day as the new Stable Manager for the Miller Family Stables, eager to get a feel for the place. Horses could sense shifters, and were usually very nervous around them, but Justin had always had a special way with them. Maybe it was because he was the runt, and knew what it was like to feel inferior. His bear was also extremely mellow, and hard to rouse. Whatever the reason, Justin preferred his days working with horses, more than anything else.
“Justin! Welcome. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” Jerry Miller called as he strolled into the stables.
“No worries. I’m a bit early. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Heck, no, from now on this is your home. Actually I have your keys and contract all here in your office for you.” Jerry gestured Justin into the newly remodeled office.
Justin looked around briefly and let out a whistle. He made a mental note to try to keep his office clean and organized so it always looked this good. It was a long shot since Justin was a notorious slob. He looked down and saw the keys to his new apartment that was located out back behind the stables. Right next to the keys was the contract that tied his life to the stables for one year. Justin hoped he’d end up there for much longer, but he’d take a year over nothing.
He glanced it over, noting that it was everything they had previously talked about during his interview, and then signed it. Jerry picked up the keys and tossed them to him.
“I’m sure you’ll have your own way of doing things, and I welcome that. I may own these stables, but you’ll be the true heartbeat here. I only ask that I sign off on the big things. Anything else you’d like to change, move or dictate, feel free.”
“Okay.”
“You have one full-time worker under you right now. That’ll bump up to two in the fall, but Roni will be home soon from college to help out.”
“I can work with that. Honestly, I’d like to do a lot of the work myself this first week so the horses get to know me. I will also spend some time in my bear form around them as well. It’s good that they see me in both forms as it’ll help them learn to feel at ease.”
“You do whatever you n
eed to do. They didn’t seem afraid of you out there a minute ago?”
Justin shrugged since he really didn’t have an answer to Jerry’s question. His mind was already flooding with a list of things he wanted to accomplish in his role as manager. He also wanted to make a list of the things he would need now that he would be moving out of Rick’s house. He liked that he would be right next to the stables -- it would keep his scent close by the horses at all times. Even though they didn’t seem skittish now, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t become more so once they realized he was sticking around.
Jerry went over a few more things with Justin, and then left him to get settled. According to Jerry, Justin had about thirty minutes before his only worker, Daniel, would show up to work. Justin quickly made his notes, and then went to look around the stables. After he was done there he had added another list of things he wanted to move around to make the stables flow better during feeding time and training.
Justin headed over to The Kamp after his first day to celebrate with the guys. It wasn’t running his own company or making millions with a casino, but he was doing work he finally loved. One day he dreamed of owning his own stables, but that dream would come in time.
“Hey, there he is! How was the first day?” Jasper called out from their usual table.
“Great! Thanks,” Justin said to Annie who handed him a beer without him asking.
“So, you get all moved into the new place today, too? I’m going to miss having you around the house,” Rick added.
“I dropped my bags off, but I haven’t taken the time to unpack or anything like that.”
“Hey, there he is! Listen, I totally want to come learn how to ride a horse. Can you hook me up?” Emma asked as she plopped down on Jasper’s lap.
“Now that you’re one of us it may be a bit trickier than you think.”
“Oh yeah, I never thought of that. Do the horses like you?” she asked curiously.
“Yeah, but who doesn’t like me?” Justin said jokingly.
His friends surrounded him, and their genuine joy over his happiness put him at peace. He may not have a mate, but at least he had found a family. Even as dysfunctional as they may seem to everyone else. Justin stuck around for another hour, but decided he’d better call it a night. He still had to drive back to his new apartment, and six in the morning would come around quick. He wanted to get the horses on a consistent feeding and training schedule.
He’d no sooner gotten home and fallen into his bed, when he heard a noise coming from the stables. His bear perked up immediately and he hopped out of bed silently. Justin then gently opened his front door and listened again. This time he heard a thud.
“Shit. Ouch,” the intruder whispered.
Justin’s bear rumbled as he slipped into the barn through the back door that had been left open and came up behind the intruder. He moved quickly, wrapping up the intruder with one arm and using the other to cover their mouth. Her mouth. He realized quickly the intruder was female. Justin didn’t let her go, though.
She screamed as well as she could with him holding her tight, and his hand clamped over her mouth. She bucked and kicked hard against him, but Justin held firm.
“What are you doing here? This is a private stable,” he said harshly.
She first tried to talk against his hand, and when that failed she bit him.
“Damnit, woman. I’m going to take my hand off your mouth. Don’t scream or I promise it won’t be pretty if you do. Tell me who you are and why you’re out here after hours.” Justin slowly lifted his hand away.
“I’m the owner, you douchebag. Who the hell are you?”
“Try again. Jerry Miller is the owner,” Justin said as he started to bring his hand back down on her mouth.
“I’m his daughter. He told you I was coming home to help this summer. I got in late and wanted to come see the horses,” she hurriedly said before he could get his hand over her mouth.
“Roni? You’re a girl,” Justin said, horrified, as he immediately let her go.
“Yes, Roni. It’s short for Veronica, you Neanderthal.”
“I’m sorry. He did say you would be coming home, he just never said you would be a woman, or that you’d come out here in the middle of the night.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she righted herself.
A single light left on in Justin’s office dimly lit the stable and Justin had not been able to get a good glimpse of Roni until now. When she turned and directed her full attention on him, Justin felt like he had been kicked in the gut. All the air left his lungs, and his knees felt like they were going to buckle. His bear lunged forward, and Justin knew his eyes were glowing. This woman, she was his mate. He had long ago given up hope but yet, here she was.
She took a step back, and Justin fought the urge to pull her against him. He took a step towards her involuntarily. She cleared her throat, obviously nervous, reminding Justin he should try to rein himself in. He took a couple of deep breaths, but that didn’t help. He inhaled her sweet scent, and a small groan escaped out of him.
“Are you okay?” she said tentatively.
“Yes, I’m sorry I startled you.” Justin turned and took off out the back door then before he freaked the poor woman out even more.
Chapter Two
Veronica
Roni watched the giant shifter walk out of her parents’ stable. A shudder of desire passed through her and continued to ripple down her entire body. She wanted to go after him, but realized that would probably be weird. Poohbear neighed behind her, reminding her why she had come out to the stables in the first place.
Her horses. She hadn’t been home for a visit at all during her last semester of grad school, and she missed them fiercely. Nothing could have stopped her from taking the summer, probably her last free one, to spend it working in the stables. She reached into her pocket and took out a cube of sugar.
“Hey, baby, you didn’t forget me, did you?” she whispered as she stroked his neck. He nudged her cheek like she had taught him years before.
“I love you too, Pooh.” She nuzzled him back and then continued down the line to make sure all of the horses got a cube of sugar and kiss before she went to bed.
“Alright guys, I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”
She dipped into the office and shut the light off, and then made her way back to the main house. Her parents were sound asleep, so she tried to be quiet as she unloaded her stuff and took a quick shower. She had just driven down from Chicago, and fifteen hours in a car did nothing for her personal hygiene. She smelled like fast food, and a car air freshener.
When she was finally lying down in her childhood bed, Roni felt her entire body relax. Grad school had been long and tough. Knowing she had the entire summer off to enjoy her family and the stables put her mind at ease. Soon she would have to make a decision about a career and find a job, but for now it could wait. What she made over the summer working at the stables would keep her afloat until her student loans kicked into repayment mode.
Her parents had told her they had hired a new stable manager. The last one had been in his fifties, so she just pictured the new one to be the same. The man who had wrapped her up tonight was anything but old, though. Every inch of his body that had been pressed against her had been solid muscle. Roni found herself wondering what he would look like tomorrow in daylight.
Embarrassed to have been thinking such inappropriate thoughts about her new boss and family employee, she picked up her Kindle e-reader in an attempt to focus on something else. The coffee she had consumed to stay awake for the drive was still lingering in her system, though, so sleep eluded her for a while. Unfortunately, the book wasn’t nearly as interesting as trying to figure out what color the new stable manager’s eyes had been and thoughts of him kept Roni distracted well into the night.
Her alarm shrilled in her ear, and she already regretted telling her dad she’d start to work as soon as she got home. Roni groaned and pulled the covers o
ver her head, debating whether to stay in bed instead of taking the time for breakfast. A day in the stables required energy, though, so she reluctantly got out of bed. She found a pair of jeans and tugged them on with a black t-shirt and her cowboy boots. The boots were already broken in from her last two summers in the stables and she needed the comfort that they were going to offer today.
“Good morning, honey. I’m so glad you made it in safely,” her mother chirped as she came around the kitchen island to hug Roni.
Her mom smelled like cinnamon, and Roni could only hope it was because she was making her homemade cinnamon rolls. Her dad hustled in right behind her mom and hugged her tight.
“It’s good to have you home, Roni!”
“It’s good to be home. Although, I kind of wish I had not signed up to work so soon,” she laughed.
“You can take the day off. The new stable manager might have just started but I already noticed that he does enough work for two men. He can pick up the slack if you need some more sleep.”
“No, I don’t want any favors because I’m the daughter. Besides, I owe him an apology. I went out to see the horses last night when I got in, and surprised him.”
“Oh, yeah?” her mom asked with a lift of an eyebrow.
“Apparently since you all used my nickname, he assumed Roni was a guy. So when he caught me out there he thought I was an intruder.”
Her dad laughed at the common mistake and shrugged it off.
“I’m glad he’s keeping an eye on the place, though. Yesterday was his first day, but he seems to have the touch. I was afraid with him being a shifter the horses would be spooked, but they followed him around, and training went smoothly.”
“He’s a shifter?” Roni asked, surprised.
“Yep,” her dad said from behind his now opened newspaper.
Roni pondered that thought. She had met a few shifters in college, but she’d never been close friends with any of them. They were friendly enough but they tended to stick together. She couldn’t help but be curious about her new shifter boss. She wanted to ask her dad more, but knew he wouldn’t say anything much anyways. Better to gather her own impressions.
Growth of the Bear (Bear Kamp Book 3) Page 1
