Cabin Bear Heat Box Set: A Paranormal Fantasy Bear Shifter Romance (A Bear Shifter Romance Retelling of the Billionaire Redemption Series Book 2)
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“Me too!” Barb shouted, running around to the driver side.
Abby noticed that John and Trina had climbed into the back row of seats and snuggled up to each other.
“No messing around back there, okay, kids?” she joked, before heading to the store entrance.
The place was empty inside, so it took only a few minutes to get what they needed and pay the gas station attendant. They returned just as Rob closed the cargo door and stepped up into the passenger side seat.
“Ruth will have to put some of her things in the back somewhere with you two,” he said to Trina and John. “The trunk’s packed. Do either of you have her cell number?”
“No, but hasn’t she called or texted you before? She’s been after you long enough,” Trina teased.
John and Trina looked at each other and smiled. Rob found Ruth’s number in his phone, then held it out.
“Yeah, yeah,” Rob answered. “Abby, can you phone Ruth? The last thing I want to do is give her the wrong idea.”
“She’s not here yet?” She looked around to see if Ruth might be on her way. Rob shook his head. “Okay, what’s her number?”
Rob handed his phone to her. “The number is in here. She’s called me often enough. Help me out, will you? I’m trying to minimize contact. Otherwise she might feel I’m coming around.”
Abby auto-dialed Ruth’s number from Rob’s phone contact list and waited. There was an answer on the third ring.
“Hello, Ruth? It’s Abby.”
“Hey, Abby,” Ruth answered.
“Are you on your way? We’re waiting up here at the 7-Eleven as planned. ”
“I’m still at home,” she replied. “Can you guys come and get me? I don’t have a ride right now.”
“Sure,” Abby answered. “Give the address and directions to Rob, okay? I’m passing the phone to him. Hold on.”
Rob glowered at Abby when she handed the phone to him, shaking his head frenetically. He took the directions from Ruth politely, but every response was guarded until he hung up.
“Whose idea was it to have Ruth join us, anyway?” He looked at Trina in the back seat and rolled his eyes. Ruth and Trina took several courses together, and were close friends.
“You could have said no, Rob,” Trina shouted back, laughing. “By the way, do you realize how far south she lives? Her house is all the way down behind the Arrow Creek Country Club.”
“That’s almost an hour south,” Abby said. “We better just get going now. We’ll definitely need to stay in Truckee tonight.”
They loaded into the SUV and turned onto the highway. There was little traffic getting to Ruth’s place, and not much small talk to be had in back. When they arrived, it took them a few extra minutes to get from the main road and into the gated community where Ruth lived. Her house was the last on her street. It was a large, secluded mansion at the end of a long driveway. Ruth was sitting on the front steps, reading from her tablet.
“Thanks for coming to get me, guys,” Ruth said.
She stood up and rolled her suitcase to the back, smiling seductively when she stopped at Rob’s door. “Hi Rob. Can you help me with this?”
Rob had already started to get out of the car to take her things to the back.
“Hey, Ruth,” he answered shyly, avoiding making eye contact as he opened the side door. “We’ve got a lot of stuff, so you’ll have to fit this somewhere in the cab.”
“Let’s hurry and get back on the road,” Abby said. “We may be able to make it to Truckee before dark, if we’re lucky.”
“Hold on.” Ruth stopped her. “Why would you go all the way back north when we can just go a little farther south using Mount Rose Highway, then go west to get us to Truckee? We take that route all the time to get to San Fran. Let me show you on the map on my phone.”
She pulled up the map and showed it to Abby. Abby passed the phone to Rob. “I’ve never taken this way before. It looks like it’s a good distance through the mountains. What do you think, Rob?”
“It should be okay,” he answered. “I’ve taken this route a couple of times during the summer. The roads are fine, although there are some winding spots. You may be right, Abby. The elevation is higher. It’s possible there might be snow, but I doubt it.”
“Well, we’ve already lost an hour,” John called out from the back seat. “Let’s just do it. I’m fine with stopping in Truckee tonight.”
“Okay, I’m in,” answered Abby. “I hope you guys are right. Rob, as you’re riding shotgun, I need you to navigate. Ruth, keep an eye out. You’re familiar with the roads.”
* * *
The next hour of driving was quiet. The highway whittled down to two lanes, one in each direction. With the narrowing of the roads, the surroundings went from suburban, to rural farmland, to curved mountainous roads that were sparsely lined by a few homes every several miles. As they made it over the Mount Houghton ridge, the weather changed. Dark, ominous clouds hung over the mountain pass, and spread out in all directions across the horizon for as far as they could see.
“This does not look good,” Abby said.
“It’s not,” Rob agreed. “Those are nimbostratus clouds we’re looking at. It’s going to rain. Probably more like snow, with the temperature and with how close we are to Lake Tahoe. Whatever is coming, it’s coming soon, and we’re going to get lots of it.”
“Nimbo-what clouds?” Ruth shouted from behind him. “I didn’t know you were into meteorology.”
“Shit,” Barb interrupted the two as she looked out her side window. “We should have gone back north.”
“It couldn’t be too bad,” Ruth answered. “Worst-case scenario, we can stop at my grandparents’ cottage at Incline Village.”
“Well, we can’t go back north,” Trina piped up from the back seat. “We’ll lose three hours. You’re driving an SUV, Abby. Just take it slow. We’ll make it.”
“You know what’s weird?” Rob asked, turning to look at Abby.
“What?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen a car for the last twenty minutes. Not a single car coming or going. No one passed us either. Don’t you find that weird?”
“You worry too much,” Barb answered from behind, without looking at him. Rob seemed slightly bruised from her comment, and turned back to face forward.
“Okay, guys,” Abby said to get everyone’s attention. “We’ll stay at Ruth’s cottage for the night. Ruth, help me navigate. Rob, get the radio on to a weather station, will you?”
Chapter Two
ANDREW Carrington had not planned to leave the cabin for the next few weeks, so hearing the weather report earlier didn’t worry him at all. Not until he got the phone call from his mechanic in town. The shop phoned to let him know his Jeep was ready.
“Bob, can’t you have one of your staff drive it up here in a couple of days?” he asked.
“No sir, Mr. Carrington,” the mechanic answered in his Western twang. “You mentioned you need the car by next Monday, right?”
“I have other cars here, but yes, the Jeep is the easiest to get around in.”
“Well, the storm’s gonna keep the guys here busy for at least a week,” Bob explained. The longer he spoke, the more his accent reverted back to its western drawl. “It’s bound to fill up the lot. Is it a ride into town that you need? Because two of my guys are not far from your place with the tow truck. They can pick you up and bring you here for it.”
Andrew thought he could use some extra supplies, especially if the storm was going to be as bad as the weather station was making it out to be. His father would probably come by after the weather settled down. Andrew could never predict how many partners, VPs, lawyers, accountants, or assistants his father would have with him at any given time, so he decided he should probably stock up.
“All right.” He did his best to be patient, holding in his mild frustration with the slightest rumble of a growl in his throat. “Have them pick me up. I’ll come into town with them.”
After he hung up, he opened the front door slightly to listen for the tow truck before going to his room to get dressed. The weather was still mild, and the snowfall wasn’t expected until the next day. To Andrew, who had spent the last two winters at the cabin, it meant nothing. Down on Lake Tahoe, the lake-effects snow could turn the area from pleasant to a treacherous winter wonderland within minutes.
Twenty minutes later, he heard the loud engine of the tow truck as it turned onto his long side road and drove up his driveway.
“How’s it going, fellas?” he asked, walking over to their vehicle.
The mechanic in the passenger seat opened the door for him to sit up front with them.
“Good morning, Mr. Carrington, sir,” the driver greeted him. “Well, it’s going.”
“I don’t envy what you men will be up to for the next few days.” He made idle conversation as they drove into town. “You may be working twenty-four-seven with the people driving through in sedans and minivans. They’re the ones who usually get stuck, aren’t they?”
The driver nodded. “We’ve got a ton of tourists visiting this year, and many more poor, unsuspecting motorists just driving through to get to Truckee or Highway eighty. What’s worse is one of our trucks is down until we can get some spare parts from the manufacturer. It’s going to be a long three or four days, with this weather coming in.”
“I feel your pain, gentlemen.”
They got into town and drove up to the auto shop soon enough. Andrew thanked them when they stopped, and tipped the men a hundred dollars each for the ride. They looked at him as though he was their favorite uncle from childhood, repeating their thanks and head-bobbing gracious nods until he walked into the small customer area of the auto shop.
“We’re all ready for you, Mr. Carrington,” Bob greeted him.
Bob walked toward the wall of car keys, and pulled off a set with a large keychain with the Jeep logo.
“Here you go, sir. It’s parked on the side.”
“Thanks for the call, Bob,” he answered. “You were probably right to force me down here. It’s going to be a doozy of a storm coming through.”
Since the accident, Andrew could feel the weather changes in his left forearm and knee. Although fully healed, the bones and joints would pulse and vibrate whenever rain or snow was about to fall. There was no pain, but it was another uncanny reminder about that night.
“Well, I’d better get moving.” He turned to leave. “Take it easy out there, Bob. See you soon.”
Andrew left the car parked where it was. The only grocery in town was on the other side of the road. It was surprisingly busy when he stepped inside. He did his best to get what he needed as quickly as possible. As he left the store, the vibration in his old knee injury amped up. That could only mean one thing.
Shit. The storm is coming in less than an hour.
After he loaded the bags in the back seat of his Jeep, he made his way to the local gas station. As he got out to fill up the tank, snow began to fall. It was that light, large-flaked, pretty, puffy snow that could be a bitch when the wind started. They took ages to eventually hit the ground. That’s what made them so dangerous.
He was only thirty minutes from town on a good day, but from what he had already seen of the snow for the first ten minutes of his drive home, he knew it would take at least twice as long. Every few minutes, the visibility worsened, and it was still daytime.
He put the windshield wipers on full cycle, and still had to lean forward to see out the front windshield. The roads wound tightly around treacherous ledges as they led down from the main road to his side street. Even with the barriers, he had to keep a sharp eye on the turns. His family had owned the property he lived on since he was a boy, and they would visit every summer. With that type of familiarity, he knew every blind curve and twist of the road. When the weather turned like this, however, and turned this quickly, every side street looked the same, and every curve was a potential death trap.
Still, he preferred to be there. He had to be out here. He needed the seclusion and isolation of living at the cabin and having the place to himself—most of the time. He had the space, the necessities, some of the modern conveniences, beautiful vistas, and most of all, he could keep a safe enough distance from people. It was the best way to ensure his secret would be guarded. With this distance, nothing could happen to anyone close to him again—and no one new could get close.
After he left his medical practice, the only companionship he got at the cabin was during the intermittent visits by his father when he was passing through, or needed board member documents and contracts signed. Sometimes his father would pop by under the guise of conferring with him for input, when in fact he was checking in on his only son. Andrew would simply repeat whatever his dad said, just to get him to leave sooner. His father wasn’t stupid—he saw right through the evasive antics; yet he still entertained them. Andrew had already made it clear that whenever his father passed him the reins to the family’s multi-billion dollar empire, he would simply assign some sharp executive as chairman and CEO. He was never built for running the family business, and his father knew it. Still, Dad felt he was helping Andrew during these visits—and maybe he was.
Andrew’s sister never visited anymore. He and Joy had been so close growing up, but all that changed when she left Lake Tahoe that last time, over five years ago. Somehow, when her almost-arranged marriage didn’t pan out, she became obsessed with the man and refused to listen to Andrew’s pleas for reason. It was a shame, too. There were so many men who had been interested in her. Like many before her, she wanted the one man she couldn’t have. And when Andrew confronted her so she could finally open her eyes and move on to have a life after Matthew Lewis, she cut him out of her life.
It really was her loss, after all. She was missing out on her annual visits to the best place in the world, the way he saw it. After the accident, Andrew had often thought about reaching out to her for emotional support. That was what family was supposed to be there for. Knowing Joy, it was probably for the best that she did not know the secret. Only Andrew, his father and the seven medical personnel who were in the hospital room with him that night had witnessed his transformative experience. His father had gone to great lengths to keep it that way. He breathed out a sigh, gripped the steering wheel tighter, and shifted his focus back to getting home in one piece.
During the final few minutes of driving home, it was nearly impossible to see a thing in front of the car. As he got closer to the lake, the winds blew colder and more powerfully. There seemed to be ten times more snow blowing around. The flakes were large and puffy and mesmerizing through the windshield. He did everything he could to avoid thinking back to the accident. It had happened during a heavy snowfall just like this.
Come on, Andrew. It’s not the time or place.
He slowed down to an almost crawling speed, careful not to miss his turnoff, marked only by a break in the long tree line of tall red firs and Jeffrey pines. At the beginning of the driveway to their property sat a wooden wagon wheel on one side, and an oversized boulder on the other. The boulder had their house number etched onto it. By the time he made it home, the boulder looked like kids had spent hours shaping it into a snowman. All that was missing was a scarf and a carrot for a nose. Luckily, the top few inches of the wagon wheel spokes were still visible.
He turned onto his long driveway and carefully coasted the last few hundred yards down the slight slope to the main doors of the cabin. It would be quicker to unload the groceries and supplies before parking in the garage. It was smarter than making five or six trips across the hundred or so yards between the house and the garage structure, especially with the intensifying weather. With the way the snow was blowing, it would be a pain for the automatic garage doors to close all the way, after five or six trips with the garage door up. He unloaded the supplies, dr
opping them inside the front door over a few trips, and parked the car in the garage.
Tempted to bring in some extra firewood from the shed, he turned and thought for a moment. The shed sat beside the large guest house three hundred yards from the main house. There was so much to do inside to get ready for the weather system coming in. It would be simpler to load the firewood onto the Ski-Doo trailer and make one trip after he put the groceries away.
“After,” he said aloud to himself. He noticed his deep, booming voice seemed so quiet amidst the whirling noise of the wind and rustling of trees. Mother Nature at work.
There wasn’t much time left to hunker down, so Andrew picked up the pace. He quickly put away the groceries, placed the batteries and a couple of extra flashlights in one of the kitchen cabinet drawers, and went to his bedroom to plug in the satellite phones he would use when his father needed him urgently.
Regular landlines, cell phone service, as well as Internet and cable, were not nearly as reliable during a storm. It only took one downed tree to cut the power line, and that would take out the phone lines too. He took a battery-operated lantern with him as he headed back outside.
Before loading up on firewood, he went around the other side of the house, which was closer to the garage. He needed to check the fuel level of the large propane tank that powered the two emergency generators for the house. They sat side by side under a reinforced, sheltered enclosure. The tank was full, because he used city power for day-to-day electricity use. The backup system had been installed in case the power went out, and was a smart purchase because it would kick in at least twice during the winter. With the coming storm, anything was possible.
Finally, he walked over to the shed. It housed the firewood, a few Ski-Doos, Sea-Doos, and two riding lawnmowers. It was just as large as the garage, but the doors weren’t automatic. The firewood was neatly stacked and tied up on top of a few skids, to keep them dry and off the floor. A local service delivered cords in the middle of the fall, and could deliver more during the winter whenever he ran out.