Complete Bear Creek and Bear Bluff Box Sets: Including brand new exclusive book Best Man Bear

by Harmony Raines

  “Oh, we do!”

  ***

  Beth wasn’t sure how she functioned through the rest of the day. The only good thing was that she managed to avoid both Ben and Greta. At lunchtime she didn’t visit the restaurant; she just went and sat with Daphne at her desk. Daphne was so excited about her evening with Lionel, she never came up for air, but her enthusiasm made Beth smile and she forgot about her own problems for a while.

  “I am so pleased you and Lionel hit it off. Have you known him long?”

  “Yes. Like forever. He and I have fooled around, you know, flirted, but we met up at the book club Drew’s mom and Eirik’s dad organised. You know, the couple you met last night.”

  “Oh, yes. So are they an item? Just seemed a bit strange when their kids are getting married.”

  “Oh, not strange at all. They were both lonely, having lost their partners. Is nice to see them happy again.”

  “Ah. That makes sense, so I guess I am the only single one.”

  “You and Dr. Ben,” Daphne nudged her, “make a fine couple. How did the walk home go?”

  “OK,” she lied. “But he’s seeing someone already, isn’t he?”

  “No. I told you.”

  “Not someone in secret?”

  Daphne thought for a moment. “Do you know something I don’t?”

  “No. Not really. It was just something Greta said.”

  “Take no notice of that one. Lives in a fantasy world.”

  But Beth couldn’t ignore it and she had already made up her mind not to meet up with Ben. She didn’t need the aggravation of a relationship with him if he was also leading Greta on. So when her shift ended, she was changed and out of the door, heading home as quick as she could. And to her relief, she managed to avoid Ben Hansom completely

  Chapter Thirteen – Ben

  He waited for her but she didn’t arrive. After looking at his watch for the thousandth time, he went back into the hospital. Where Greta pounced on him.

  “Thank you for the flowers, Ben.”

  “It was the least I could do after last night.” He smiled at her, but was casting a glance around for Beth.

  “Oh, you have nothing to apologise for,” said Greta loudly.

  Ben groaned. He shouldn’t have bought the flowers. “It was for spilling my drink on you.”

  “You could have come home with me in that taxi, Ben. I could have done with a blanket bath, you know, these capable hands of yours could have washed my naked body.” She grasped his hand and stroked the inside of his palm with her finger.

  Ben pulled it away. “I’m looking for Beth,” he said, trying to get past Greta.

  “Beth? Why are you looking for her?”

  “We arranged to meet after work.”

  Greta fell silent, his words registering on her face, but before she could react, Daphne walked up behind them. “I saw Beth heading home about twenty minutes ago.”

  “There, she’s stood you up. I wouldn’t dream of doing something so disrespectful, Ben. I finish in twenty minutes; if you want we can go for dinner.”

  “No, thank you, Greta. I’ll catch up with Beth.” He ran out of the hospital, heading for his car. Normally he walked to work, but he had wanted to drive them up to the highest point a vehicle could take them on the mountain. That would still leave them a good walk to get far enough away from prying eyes for him to show her his bear.

  If he had felt nervous before, he felt worse now. What had happened to make Beth so upset? Maybe she was regretting last night. He thought he had pleased her, he thought he had gained her trust. Ben needed to know why she hadn’t met him. It was so important to him. It was the most important thing in his life.

  Trying to keep calm, he drove to her apartment. Getting out, he ran to the door and knocked. No answer. Was she in? Perhaps hiding from him, or hadn’t she arrived home from work? That made him worry. What if she was going somewhere else before she came home? He wished he had her phone number.

  One more round of knocking on her door, and the he retired to wait in his car. He wasn’t moving. If he had to, he would wait all night for Beth to come home. But he had just got himself settled when he saw her in his side mirror, walking rather forlornly up the street towards him.

  Ben sat still, not wanting to scare her off. He waited until she was about to put the key in the lock before he got out. He didn’t approach her; he simply stood and quietly said, “Beth.”

  “Ben. What are you doing here?”

  “We had a date, remember? Or at least I thought we had a date.” He was trying to read her expression, without much luck.

  “Ben, please go. I told you last night I didn’t want a relationship with someone at work.”

  “Beth, I thought you were going to give us a chance.”

  “I changed my mind, Ben.”

  He walked up to her. He needed to know why she had changed her mind. He needed to know if there was a chance she would change her mind. But she turned from him. In an anguished voice he asked, “Why, Beth? What did I do wrong?”

  Chapter Fourteen – Beth

  Beth didn’t know whether to be mad or sad. Both emotions battled for supremacy in her mind. Why would he come here and behave like this? He must know how much he was hurting her. Was his good doctor routine all an act?

  “You must know why.”

  “No.”

  “The flowers, this thing you have going on with Greta.”

  “Greta.” He shook his head. “This is about Greta?”

  “Yes, she told me you have this thing going.”

  “No.” He shook his head, and then took hold of her hand and held it firmly in his. Looking straight into her eyes, he said, “Beth, you are the only woman for me. I sent Greta those flowers because I felt bad I had ruined her evening yesterday by knocking my drink all over her. I’m sorry if that upset you, but it’s the kind of guy I am. I guess I’m a little too courteous.”

  “Too courteous? Ben, that was the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen.”

  “It seemed like a nice gesture.”

  “A nice gesture,” she repeated, folding her arms across her chest. “Ben, I can see why the ladies love you.”

  He shrugged. “I’m old fashioned. I like to treat everyone well.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know. Today just reminded me of every reason I should not go out with you.”

  “Can I remind you of every reason you should?” He leaned in and kissed her neck, trailing kisses along her collarbone.

  “Not fair.”

  “If you want me to play fair, I will march back into the hospital with you right now and announce to everyone, including Greta, that I am in love with Beth Andrews.”

  “Ben, don’t!”

  “Why not? It’s true.”

  “Because it’s too soon.”

  “Not for me,” he said, and when he pulled back and looked into her eyes, she knew what he was saying was true. Or at least he believed it was true; Beth, on the other hand, could only hope. “Come with me. Let me show you. Prove it to you.”

  “How?” she asked, uncertain, but filled with hope by his excitement.

  He held out his hand. “No more explanations until we are on the mountain.”

  “The mountain? Why are we going up there?”

  “No more questions,” he repeated, kissing the back of her hand and leading her to his car.

  She followed him, allowing him to open the car door for her and getting in. She figured she had nothing to lose. But there was no way he could prove to her that his feelings, or his words, were true. These things had to be earned, over time. And they had known each other one day.

  He got in beside her and started his engine. He pulled out onto the quiet street and made his way to the outskirts of town before turning off onto a single-track road that wound its way up into the mountains. She had never been any further than the gentle slopes surrounding Bear Bluff. That was high enough. Bear Bluff was situated about a quarter of the way up one of
the steep mountains; it was where the name came from. The Bluff was a steep cliff that towered in the distance, as if watching over the little town.

  Now they were going above that, Ben’s car easily coping with the sharp inclines as they made their way ever higher. Beth was glad she didn’t have a problem with heights, especially when he stopped the car at the end of the road, where there was a wide parking area. When they got out of the car, the mountain air was definitely thinner, telling her just how high they were.

  “Why are we up here?” Beth asked.

  “Like I said, I have something to show you.”

  “That you couldn’t show me in town?”

  “No.” He took her hand and led her along a track, in amongst some trees that clung to the mountainside. It wasn’t an easy place to walk, but he kept hold of her hand and managed to keep her upright when she slipped. “Not much further.”

  She followed him, but part of her was regretting coming here with him. If she took away the part about him being a doctor and a fine, upstanding citizen of Bear Bluff, then this might seem a little odd behaviour for a man. Taking a woman he hardly knew halfway up a mountain to show her why she could believe he was her perfect, loyal partner?

  “Ben. How much further?” she asked at last, about ready to turn around and insist he take her back to the car.

  “Not much. It gets easier in a moment, just wait.” He turned to her and smiled that enigmatic smile that made her heart skip a beat. And then he stopped, letting her take in the breath-taking view. “Here.”

  They were high above the town, looking down on it with a bird’s-eye view. Off into the distance you could see Bear Creek to the left, and way over to the right she could just make out Wolf Valley. Surrounding it all was forests, high meadows, and lush fields the size of postage stamps from up here.

  “Wow. That is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Impressive, isn’t it? But what if I told you I could show you something more amazing and more impressive.”

  With some reservation she said, “Show me.” Because that was what she had come up this mountain for. He had told her he would prove himself to her, and she wanted to know how.

  An excited nervousness passed across his face. For a second she thought that he wasn’t going to show her, either because he couldn’t or he had changed his mind. Eventually though, he simply said, “Whatever happens, will you please stay where you are? Don’t run.”

  “Why would I run, Ben?” Her nervousness kicked up a notch. What the hell was he going to show her?

  “I am going to change.”

  She looked around, but he had brought nothing with him. Not even a bag containing clothes that he could change into. “Is this a magic trick? Are you going to change what you are wearing as if by magic?”

  “No. Not my clothes. My body.”

  “Ben, this is starting to creep me out.”

  “Then just watch. And remember that I love you and I will not hurt you.”

  Before she could say another word, before she could tell him she had changed her mind and wanted to go home, he had walked a little way away from her. There he stood and faced her, smiling that smile of his once more, trying to put her at her ease. Which at this point was impossible.

  But she had to stay and see what he was going to do. Because she had the feeling it would make or break their relationship. She prayed it would not break it. She wanted to be with him, and images of his hands and mouth on her body made their way into her head. Her fear and excitement mingled with her arousal now. Beth felt mixed up, almost perverted in some way.

  Then Ben changed. Her head snapped back to attention, In front of her, Ben began to shimmer, the hard edges of his outline fading from sight, the air charged with electricity, which sparked through the air. Beth stood still. So still, it was as though she was frozen in time, while all around her the world moved. Yet she could only focus on the thing in front of her as it faded from this world, and then something different came back. Something big and broad, low to the ground, and covered in brown fur. A bear.

  She staggered back, her foot catching on a tree root, making her fall on her butt. She yelped in pain, and the bear reacted, taking two quick steps towards her. At this angle, he looked fierce and aggressive. Opening her mouth, she was about to let out a long, piercing scream, when she caught his eyes, Ben’s gorgeous blue eyes, looking at her with concern.

  Her addled brain processed this information: bears don’t have blue eyes. That’s right, she had never seen a bear with blue eyes; it was impossible. This could only mean one thing. Ben really had changed into a bear.

  Maybe there, her consciousness should have left her, but she clung to it. She trusted Ben; deep down she knew it was him. It had to be, because they were the only people here and there was no way he could have done that with special effects so high up on the mountain.

  Reaching out her hand, she beckoned to him to come closer. Despite her head telling her she was crazy, she had to know for sure if this bear was real, tangible. And when her fingers threaded their way through his fur, she knew that he was.

  It was then that she had trouble stopping herself from seeing stars.

  Chapter Fifteen – Ben

  A low rumble in the bear’s chest made its anguish clear; his mate had fainted at the sight of him. He thought she was ready, that she would understand, but he had been too eager to share this world with her. His world. Now he had put their future in jeopardy.

  Instantly shifting back to his human form, he went to her and placed his arm under her head, lifting her up to rest on his chest. Her breathing was normal; her heartbeat strong in his ears. She would be OK, but he had to get her down off the mountain. He did not want her to get too cold out here; it was best if she were tucked up in bed. His bed.

  With his strong arms cradling her against him, he lifted her and took her to his car. This was not the moment to think of taking her to bed. He needed to give her time to come around to the idea of him as a bear. Yet he had thought that tonight, they would have made love for the first time. That she would have been under him and he would be buried inside her. He had hoped…

  Placing her down gently, he kissed her forehead, breathing in the scent of her, part of him worried this would be the last time he would be able to touch her, caress her. If she rejected him, she could quite easily leave town. Go back to this doctor of hers, the one she had run away from.

  His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. That was never going to happen, she was his, and he would never let her go to another man. These thoughts swam about in his head, and he realised what her presence was doing to him. He was becoming something he had never been before; he was becoming selfish and greedy where she was concerned. The man he was before might disappear to be replaced by something else if he wasn’t careful. Yet his bear didn’t care. She was his, and he was never going to give her up. Especially not to a man who had hurt her so badly.

  Ben drove carefully back down the mountainside, trying to regain his composure. Furtive glances over to Beth told him she was OK, yet still not awake. Or was she pretending to sleep so that she didn’t have to face the monstrosity she thought he was?

  The doctor had never been insecure before. His good looks and personality had always ensured people liked and respected him. Could it be that the one person he needed to like him would shun him? And what if she talked to his patients and told them what he was? He would be ruined, Bear Bluff would be ruined, and their secret would be out.

  All these emotions passed through him: fear, rejection, and sadness. And then he stopped himself. They were meant to be together, the fates had decided. He had to believe she was his for a reason, in the same way that he was hers for a reason. When he looked at her and saw her beautiful, round face, he knew why she had come to him. All the hurt from this other doctor was his to heal. That is what he did, what he had done all of his life.

  It might take time, but he would heal her broken heart, and heal her f
ear of him. His patience and selflessness returned. As he got out of the car, he knew things would work out. They had to.

  Lifting her out of the car, he took her into his home, opening the front door and carrying her over the threshold. One day he would do this when they were married. And they would be married. He could never give up on that dream.

  Chapter Sixteen – Beth

  “What happened?” she asked, seeing his concerned face watching over her.

  “You don’t remember?”

  She lay still for a moment, trying to conjure up the image that just danced out of reach. What had happened? “The bear.”

  He nodded, his frown deepening across his handsome face. “The bear.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to react like that. It was just … well, a surprise.” She reached up and stroked his cheek, and he turned his face to look at her, his lips pressing against her hand, sending shivers down her spine.

  “That’s it? A surprise?”

  “What do you want me to say? A shock—overwhelming, unbelievable. There are no words to describe it.” She thought for a moment, going over the image of him changing before her eyes. “How?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. With all the medical knowledge in my head, I still don’t know how. It just is. I was born with the gift.”

  “There are more like you?”

  He nodded. “We don’t tell everyone. But you are my mate, Beth. I couldn’t have made love to you without you knowing. It wouldn’t be right. Now I’m afraid I’ve lost you.”

  She sat very still, examining her feelings. “No. I think it will take a long time for it to sink in. But … well, strange things happen.”

  “It’s why I can promise you that I will never leave you. There will never be anyone else for me.”

  “Because you are a bear?”