“Ruby! Oh my gosh, you’re not dead!” Harmony called out, reaching her arm out for Ruby to run in for a hug. “We heard you got into a bar fight and Prince Charming had to rescue you.”
Shane cocked an eyebrow, a habit that was becoming more common lately. How much had Jesse told them?
“Only the truth,” Jesse called out. “So save the death glare for Maverick when he wakes up. I just said there’d been trouble and you’d taken their friend home for safety.”
Harmony pulled back so she could look at Ruby at arm’s length and noted the different clothing. Today, Ruby was wearing a soft black sweater with a little skull with a bow on the side and dark skinny jeans. Shane loved the way she dressed, with a style all her own, even though it would go mostly lost on the people around these parts.
“Safety, hm?” Harmony teased suspiciously, looking over at Shane. “Dear heavens, what a huge man you are.” She gave him a slow once-over that made him fidget and look to Jesse for help. Jesse only put up his hands and put an arm around Bonnie so Harmony was free to move forward with Ruby.
When Jesse sensed Bonnie was tired, he swept her up into his arms, carrying her easily. However, Shane felt maybe that was his job, since Ruby was his mate after all, and Bonnie was her friend. He quickly moved to Jesse and took Bonnie into his arms.
He’d never seen such red hair.
“I can walk,” Bonnie said weakly. “I’m fine now, really.”
“Nonsense,” Shane said. “We aren’t about to let a female tire herself out on the way up to our ranch.”
“Yeah,” Jesse said sardonically, rolling his eyes. “We have plenty of ways to tire them out once they get there.”
“Oh?” Harmony said, a playful tone in her voice. “You get tired out at all last night, Ruby?”
His mate flushed a bright red, and Shane looked forward, saying nothing. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her. But he was zero ashamed of what they’d done. It had been only natural, and as soon as he was sure she was on board with him, he’d take the next step and the next, 'til she was all his.
It didn’t have anything to do with the contract anymore. That was just a benefit. She was his mate, and he intended to follow through until it was final. That was all. The will be damned. If he’d found her and the will had never existed, he’d still be acting the exact same way he was now.
Still, a part of him wondered if and when he should tell her. But he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and run away. Best to wait. At least he hoped that was the case. He wasn’t ready to risk it, not after only a day together. Not when every moment spent in her presence seemed better than the last.
Except for last night. Being with her, being inside her, making love to her… that was a pinnacle that could only be reached when they were alone in private once again.
He’d never looked forward more to the night than he was now.
When they reached the lodge, they walked straight for the cafe, listening to Harmony and Ruby banter while Jesse sighed in mock frustration. Truthfully, if Jesse were really bothered, he’d have excused himself already to go tend to something around the ranch. But he seemed intrigued by the women, and Shane couldn’t blame him.
And as long as he kept his eyes off Shane’s mate, they were good. So long as Maverick stayed away.
They introduced the girls to Fanny, who wiped her hands on her apron, brushed her graying black hair into a bun, and shook all their hands vigorously while looking at Shane and Jesse in approval.
Shane sighed in relief. He’d been wondering how Fanny would react to women who were from the city, but she just seemed happy to have them around and was already joking with Harmony about putting some meat on their bones.
Fanny knew curvaceous women were the mode of choice around here.
Luckily, Ruby was just as curvy as he liked, though he’d never mind if she got a bit rounder as the years went on. Especially with his cubs. An image of that filled his mind, and he sighed as he thought of it. How cute she’d be, how beautiful.
“You stop sighing and come help me in the kitchen. I need to feed these three young ladies, and the typical ranch hand slop isn’t going to do it.” She pointed at Jesse. “You stay there and make sure no one comes in to bother them.”
“Who would bother us?” he heard Ruby ask.
“No one, I would think. The guys are all working, and lunch isn’t for another hour or so,” Jesse replied.
Fanny stopped just outside the door, folded her arms, and looked Shane over. “All right now, exactly what are your plans for the little blond one out there?” she asked tensely.
“You mean Ruby?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“The one that looks at you like the stars begin and end in your eyes,” Fanny snapped. “Of course Ruby, if that’s her name.” She swatted at him and he grinned, rubbing the back of his head and straightening to tower over Fanny, who was much shorter.
“My intentions are purely honorable,” he said, suppressing a grin at her overprotectiveness.
“Good, because I like those women. Especially her. I don’t want to see you boys ruining anything with your sexist behavior. Heaven knows I put up with it because I’m used to it, but the women out there, they won’t put up with that kind of thing.”
As if timed, Shane heard a couple feminine gasps and a loud clatter of stools falling over. Fanny looked at him with wide eyes as he walked back into the dinning hall and saw Jesse standing over Maverick, having laid him out with one punch.
* * *
Harmony had her hand over her mouth, looking angry, and Bonnie was ghost white, looking between her friends and over to Shane like she didn’t know what to make of it.
Ruby, however, stood angrily, walking around the bench to glare down at Maverick, who stayed where Jesse had put him.
“How dare you lay a hand on my friend!” Ruby said. She turned to Shane, eyes glaring. “Your brother has no manners! I can’t stay here if he’s going to act like this.”
Shane stormed over to Maverick and held out a hand to help his brother to his feet.
Ruby gasped in offense, but the minute Maverick was up, Shane laid him out with a powerful punch that made him spin before he hit the ground with a thud.
He was out cold, and Shane merely shook off his hand and sat on the bench across from Ruby, hoping she’d sit down too. When things had calmed and everyone was seated and Fanny went back into the kitchen, saying lunch would be done momentarily, Shane spoke up, hoping someone could fill him in on what happened.
“So. Anyone want to tell me how hell broke loose in the thirty seconds I was gone?”
Jesse was shaking his head, and Harmony still looked both angry and dazed, eyes flicking to Maverick like she didn’t know if she wanted to kill him or not.
“Your friend,” Bonnie said, the first to pipe up, which was surprising, given her so-far quiet demeanor. “Your friend there was rude enough to walk right in and accost us. He stared right down at the three of us, like an animal, and started saying some nonsense about there being three of us and three of you and Harmony being his, and then he…”
Bonnie went bright red as Shane waited for her to finish. “He…” For a city girl, she seemed almost too shy to say anything about what Mav had done. “He took liberties.”
“Where are you from, the nineteenth century?” Jesse asked, eyes wide.
Bonnie shot him a glare, folding her arms. “I’m from a place where men don’t just claim women like cavemen and start trying to kiss them. And if they do, that’s called assault.”
Jesse scratched the back of his head. “It was just a kiss. Mav didn’t mean any harm.”
“It’s not nothing,” Bonnie said, slamming her small hands on the wood table.
Shane sighed and put a hand between the two who were quarrelling. “Look, Jesse didn’t think what Mav did was right or he wouldn’t have laid him out. Mav’s our brother, and Jesse tends to defend him, but he’d never have let him offend your friend fur
ther and was probably just as surprised as you, considering Maverick’s never shown any real interest in a woman before.”
Jesse harrumphed and went back to sitting quietly, and Bonnie shot him a cross look but then sighed and looked mollified.
Shane looked at Harmony repentantly. “I apologize for my brother. I don’t know what got into him. It’s true he’s unpredictable, but accosting ladies isn’t like him. He’s more likely to protect a female than assault one.”
Jessie let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry for defending him. You’re right. What he did was wrong. But he’s my brother.”
Bonnie shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. And we can’t stay here if we aren’t safe.”
Ruby rummaged in her purse and handed Harmony the Taser. “Here, take this back. Zap him if he misbehaves.”
Bonnie nodded, and Harmony seemed to finally snap out of her daze as she looked at the Taser in her hand. She laughed out loud and then put it in her purse, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. “Well, kissed and defended by a hot guy in one day. Not bad.”
Mav groaned and stirred on the ground, then pushed himself to his feet, swaying. He was as scruffy-looking as he’d been the night he’d met Ruby, and Shane itched to hit him again for what he’d done.
Unfortunately, before he had a chance, Mav went back to his inane rambling. He pointed at Harmony. “I like that one.” He pointed at Bonnie. “Jesse can have that one. Three for three. It’s all good. We’re set,” he said, leaning against the wall and holding his head.
Shane gritted his teeth together, hoping his brother didn’t say anything else that would give more away than he wanted to.
Jesse stood abruptly, sensing the awkward atmosphere. “I’m sorry, ladies. Looks like my brother came back a bit drunk and has forgotten his manners. I’m gonna go get him cleaned up and I’ll be back later. Why don’t you let Shane show you to your room? And when you’re back, lunch will be ready.”
Shane nodded gratefully at Jesse for intervening as he "escorted" Mav out of the cabin, with him still raving about mates and fate on the way out.
Shane didn’t know what had gotten into his youngest brother, but if he wanted to win over an elegant, civilized woman like one of Ruby’s friends, he was gonna have to try and be a little less of a bear.
“All right, let’s go get you settled. That’s a good idea,” Shane said. “Then while you unpack, I’ll come down and help Fanny.” And think about when he was going to tell his new mate just who he was and what being with him really meant.
And when he should tell her about the three of them needing mates just to keep the land they were on.
He sighed and led the way out to the front hall.
8
Ruby still couldn’t believe what had come over Maverick out in the hall, but she was proud of Shane for putting an end to it and Jesse for taking him outside.
“Wow,” Harmony said, touching her lips with her hands and sinking onto the bed as Ruby started putting things away in one of the large dressers in the three-room suite Shane had booked for them.
It was odd, but she already missed being around him, and her body seemed hyperaware of all the things he could do for her, if only he were nearby.
But she was excited to see her friends and tell them everything. While still a little worried that what just happened with Maverick had ruined everything and would affect their opinion of Shane.
“Wow?” Ruby asked hesitantly, sitting on a chair across from Harmony as Bonnie settled onto one of the beds.
“What a man!” Harmony sighed, flopping back on the covers.
Bonnie huffed in response, and Ruby couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, the McAllister brothers sort of have that affect on you.”
“I mean, a totally offensive pig, for sure, but man, could he kiss,” Harmony said dreamily.
Bonnie snorted. “You mean for the half a second he had before Jesse knocked him off you?”
Harmony shrugged. “You gotta admit it’s a lot different from New York. A wild, rugged man charging in and saying you’re his and kissing you?”
Bonnie shrugged. “I prefer a man with manners.”
“Like Jesse?” Harmony teased. “I noticed he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
Bonnie scoffed. “Not in this life. He didn’t even seem to think it was a big deal, what Mav had done.”
“Honestly, it’s not,” Harmony said. “And sexism aside, I kind of like that big, He-Man growly thing Mav has going on. Do you think it’s short for Maverick?”
“You know he’s the one who tricked me into coming out here, right?” Ruby asked, sighing at her friend’s instant interest in the other man. Harmony always did go for the men who were trouble. “Shane says he’s out of control.”
“Kind of a beast, huh?” Harmony asked, folding her arms. “I could go for that.” She let out a breath and then stared Ruby straight in the eyes, and she could feel her cheeks heat guiltily. “But let’s hear what you’ve been up to with big brother. Seems like your Montana cowboy was worth the trip after all.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Ruby said, walking to the mirror and straightening her hair, brushing any stray wisps into the ponytail holder that was low and tight on her head.
“Ha!” Harmony said. “Like I don’t know the look of a girl who’s had some good nookie. Come on, girl. It was about time you got plowed good and hard. Bill seemed like a limp dick, if I had to guess.”
Bonnie groaned but giggled as she covered her face. “You don’t have to guess… That’s the point, Harmony.”
“I like guessing,” Harmony quipped, leaning forward with a feral glint in her dark, sparkling eyes. “And I’m guessing last night, after her tall, dark, and handsome knight came to the rescue, our Ruby here got some grade-A nookie.”
“Oh, come on,” Ruby said, spinning to face her friend, a bright-red incriminating blush on her face. “We don’t need to talk about it like this. We’re adults.”
“I don’t want to be adults,” Harmony said, leaning back on her hands. “I want to talk about it like teens at a slumber party. So how far did he get? Home base? Did you go all the way?”
Ruby’s eyes sparkled as she stifled a laugh at her friend’s eagerness. And Bonnie seemed just as curious, even if she was politely trying to hide it.
“Okay,” Ruby said, sitting on a bed across from them and folding her hands in her lap. “It was amazing, like something from a movie. Hot, passionate. He seemed to know every part of me, what I wanted without asking.”
“Hot,” Harmony breathed.
“And… he wants me to stay here with him.”
“Whoa,” Harmony said, blinking and shaking her head and putting her hand out in a stopping motion. “Hold up. No one said anything about moving here. What does he expect you to do? We spent time in town. You didn’t. Girl, there’s only one barber shop, and I’m pretty sure he’d never hire a girl.”
Ruby shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still working it out. It just feels right.”
Harmony folded her arms. “I keep hearing you say that, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You love your career, and you already had to take a hit on it because of Bill. I don’t want another guy making you put your dreams aside without any commitment on his end.”
“I think he definitely wants to commit. That’s what he said.”
“Oh, he's proposing marriage already?” Harmony asked. “Because that’s what I’d expect when the backwoods men out here talk commitment.”
“No,” Ruby said, doubt sinking through her. Was that what she wanted? What she expected? All he talked about was being a mate, which sounded so old-fashioned. Did he expect her to just stay out here in the mountains and literally "mate" with him? Was that what he meant? She hoped not.
“I don’t know,” Harmony said. “I’ve known too many men who are happy to say all the right words until shit hits the fan. Then they have what they want and they leave.”
Ruby reached out and pu
t a hand on Harmony’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, girl. Not everyone is like Niles.”
Harmony shrugged away. “It’s not only Niles. It’s men in general. Between my exes and my dad, and Bill, I’m not sure if there are any of them who know how to stick around.”
“Seth has stuck around,” Bonnie said quietly, and the other two went quiet. Seth had been Bonnie’s long-term fiancé, and neither Ruby nor Harmony had ever had the heart to tell her they both suspected he was a closeted gay using her to cover up for his conservative family who would disinherit him if they knew.
“Yeah… Seth’s loyal…” Harmony said. “But you know, Bonnie—”
“And he lets me do what I want,” Bonnie said, folding her arms. “And didn’t have any problem with me coming out here alone.”
Ruby pressed her lips together. In her opinion, Seth’s complete lack of protectiveness wasn’t a good thing. They’d been engaged for years without any sign of moving forward, and half the time, she had to remind herself that Bonnie wasn’t single and a free agent.
Again, not a good thing in her mind. Maybe someone like Maverick, who came onto women like a hurricane, was a little much. Or Shane, with his possessive insistence that she was his. But she did know she preferred that kind of attention over a complete lack of it.
“Anyway, I’m thinking we should go into town together, during the day, you know?” Bonnie said. “We should show you exactly what you’d be signing up for.”
“I don’t know if Shane would like that,” Ruby replied. “I think he wants me to stay around here.”
“Are you really going to do whatever he wants? Don’t you want to still be your own woman?” Harmony asked, raising one dark eyebrow. “I mean, I realize the man is hot as fire, but I think the only way this rush job is going to work is if you’re clear from the start that you’re going to be your own woman. Besides, we still have our rental car. I drove it up here. And we’ll take the Taser.”
Mountain Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Bear Haven Book 1) Page 6
