Cabin Bear Heat Box Set: A Paranormal Fantasy Bear Shifter Romance (A Bear Shifter Romance Retelling of the Billionaire Redemption Series Book 2)

by Love-Wins, Bella

  “Later, Abby.”

  Abby turned and headed inside. Moving on. She had to do it sometime sooner or later. Before Andrew, she had not been in a relationship for well over a year. Yet she was happy. She would try to get back to feeling like herself again before going out with Paul, or anyone else for that matter. Right now, she could barely work up an appetite to eat, and she loved food. Her heart still had a gaping hole in the middle. Trying to feel something for someone new, it would be just that—trying. The effort sounded heavy, ominous, worrisome and totally unfair to a nice guy like Paul.

  She thought about sending a goodbye message to Andrew. Maybe closure would help close the wound that sank to her gut whenever she thought about him. She could cry again, but was at work, so she put on a brave face and a good show. People needed her here, unlike Andrew. She would send him a message when she got home after her shift.

  As usual, the day flew by, and that night, when she settled into bed, she started crafting a short ‘it was great while it lasted’ type message to Andrew. She felt good about it. It was short enough, honest enough, and not at all hateful. She and her friends still owed Andrew their lives. He was still the man who carried her through the blizzard, opened up his home to them, saved John, and even helped them get back to Reno.

  He was the only man who had looked at her the way every woman wants to be looked at. She couldn’t turn him into some jerk that mistreated her, not even if she tried. That was probably why it hurt so much. Andrew had cut off all communication, with no explanation. He hadn’t actually done anything to her. All the confusion surfaced again at the idea It would be so much easier if he had just been an asshole.

  As she was about to hit the send button, her phone rang. The timing couldn’t be worse.

  “Becky?” she answered. “I didn’t expect you to call.”

  “Hi Abby. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m all right. You?” she said politely.

  “Good…how did things go?”

  “With what?”

  “You know what I’m talking about, Abbs. Andrew Carrington.”

  “I’m not in the mood to talk about it.”

  “Come on. You sound down. I’m your best friend, remember?”

  “A convenient best friend, maybe.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Seriously, Becky? I’ve heard from you three times in the last year. We may have been best friends a long time ago, and I won’t ever forget how close we were, but we’re barely friends now.”

  “Are you mad because of those articles I sent you?”

  “You aren’t listening, Rebecca. To answer your question, yes, you were out of line for sending those articles, but this conversation is not about Andrew. It’s about us. You and me.”

  “How can you say I was out of line? I sent them to you to help.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Becky. I haven’t read them, and they did not help. Can we get back to talking about you and me?”

  “So what are you saying?” Rebecca persisted. “You prefer to be ignorant about the man you’re seeing?”

  “Look, I’m not talking about Andrew with you right now, okay? I’m not seeing him, and that isn’t relevant to this conversation.”

  “I’m glad you came to your senses. A man like that couldn’t be good for you.”

  Abby pulled the phone from her ear for a moment, and looked at it to see if it was broken or had some kind of Andrew-only filter on it. “Rebecca. Are you even listening to me? What happened to our friendship? Was it the distance? Did school just get too busy? Or did I do something to upset you?”

  The other end of the line became eerily silent. She waited. Rebecca did not answer.

  “It’s not you, Abby. I’ve had some…there are some things I’ve been dealing with here in Washington.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I’m not sure where to start.”

  “Wherever you feel comfortable, Becky.”

  Abby heard her let out a long breath. It sounded serious. “I dropped out of my master’s program.”

  “What? When?”

  “Last spring. Actually, to be more precise, I was kicked out. I couldn’t handle the demands of the program. I think I was homesick too. I ended up failing two of the required courses, and that was it…”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Embarrassment, I guess. Mom and Dad still don’t know.”

  “What?” she shouted through the phone. “Don’t you think they’d want to know?”

  “I thought I could find a decent job out here first, you know? Soften the blow. I have my college degree. I know I can find something.”

  “So what have you been doing since last Spring? You realize it’s almost been a year, right?”

  “Yes. I’ve been waitressing,” she managed to get out in a soft voice. “Four nights a week covers my expenses. I wanted to keep my days free to make it to interviews for policy jobs. There’s just so few of them right now, and they all want experience or a Master’s degree, or for me to do a free internship. It’s been pretty depressing…”

  “I can’t believe you kept that from me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I don’t know. I wanted to, but I didn’t know how. At first, I didn’t want you to worry. You had enough on your plate with your studies and clinicals. After a while, I was ashamed to call. Things have been going so well for you, and I’m really proud of you, Abby. Maybe I was a little jealous too.”

  “I’m sorry you went through that alone, Becky. You know I would have done anything I could to be there for you.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “I wish you had told me. You…you were my strength when mom died. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you and Dad.” Abby heard Rebecca crying softly on the other end. “Awww, honey. I’m so sorry.”

  The crying turned to full blown sobs. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do…” she bawled.

  Abby waited and listened. It was hard to help her with the distance between them, but she was sure listening and being there for her was better than letting her face it alone. Eventually, Rebecca’s sobs dissipated to soft whimpers.

  “I’m afraid to go home, Abby. I can’t face Mom and Dad.”

  “Does Rob know?”

  “Yes. I made him swear he wouldn’t tell a soul. You know he’s a vault.”

  “Yes, I remember. So how can I help?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Maybe I can come home when you’re ready to tell your parents. I think they’ll be a lot more understanding than you think. I can drive home over spring break, if you want.

  “I don’t know about them being understanding, but I appreciate your offer to be there for me. You and Rob can be my human shields when I drop the bomb on Mom and Dad. Actually, I’m kind of liking the idea.”

  “I’d bet. So pick a weekend after March and I’ll come. I can’t risk driving during a blizzard again.”

  “I can imagine. It was all Rob talked about the last few times we spoke on the phone. It must have been awful.”

  “Yes…There was only one silver lining.”

  “What’s that?”

  It was Abby’s turn to break down crying. She cried and cried, and sobbed before she recovered enough to tell Rebecca everything that had happened with Andrew.

  “I feel like such a fool,” Abby said softly. “I thought it was real. I thought he meant everything he said to me.”

  “I’m sorry, hun. Now I feel horrible for sending you those articles. I was out of line. I hope they didn’t make things worse between you.”

  “It’s okay. They didn’t. I told you. I haven’t read any of them.”

  “Why not?”

  “I wanted him to tell me. In his own words, you know? The media isn’t always factual or objective.”

  “You haven’t changed a bit, Abby. I’m still sorry.”

  “I miss him,” Abby said, and a new flood of tears came from out of nowhere.
“I can’t get his smile out of my head. Or his touch. Or how he held me. Oh God, I feel so broken now, like I won’t be okay for a really long time.”

  “It’ll be okay, hun. Maybe he’ll call.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Men are weird. Sometimes it takes them a while to smarten up.”

  Rebecca was back to her old self again. She apologized again for sending over the damning articles about Andrew. Abby forgave her. They agreed to go home for spring break, to tell Rebecca’s parent her news and hang out like old times. Abby felt a smidgen closer to getting over Andrew. Rebecca seemed more at peace that her issue with school wasn’t the end of the world. By the end of the call, Abby had her best friend back. She didn’t bother sending the goodbye text to Andrew. Life would go on.

  Chapter Eleven

  ANDREW touched down in San Francisco late Monday evening. He was back in town to deliver his last guest lecture. He had dinner alone in the hotel restaurant downstairs, went out for a short walk, and returned to his room. It had been three weeks since he had seen Abby. She had not called or texted either. Andrew was heartbroken, but felt it was for the best. In three weeks, he thought things would be easier. Being in San Francisco and knowing she was in town and so close by brought all his regret back to the surface.

  He was reviewing his lecture notes that night, preparing for the next day when his phone rang. It was not Abby’s number, or any of his contacts, but he answered it anyway.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Andrew, it’s Rob. How are you doing?”

  “Hi Rob. Things are well. What’s up?”

  “Not too much. I was calling to check in. I wanted to say hello, and see how things were going with you.”

  “Pretty good. I’m in San Francisco for couple of days.”

  “Really? We should get together for drinks with the ladies.”

  “Yeah. That would be good, except I’m tied up at the moment.”

  “That’s okay. How about drinks, just you and me?”

  “I’m not sure I can spare the time.”

  “Come on, Andrew. None of us have had the chance to really thank you. You should probably get used to us reaching out. You’re almost like family now.”

  “Thanks. Let’s talk closer to the weekend, okay? When I’m back at the cottage.”

  “I don’t mean to be pushy, but I thought it would be good to keep in contact. How about just a half-hour? I’ll come to you.”

  Andrew thought about it. Rob was pretty decent company, and today he was not letting up. “Sure, why not. Do you know where I’m staying?

  “Yes. You told me a few weeks ago.”

  “Good. Meet me at the lobby bar. How soon can you get here?”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  “Great. See you then.”

  Andrew hung up. He didn’t know what to make of Rob’s call, but he hated drinking alone, and he could use a stiff drink. Resigned, he got dressed and went down to the lobby.

  Rob showed up a few minutes after Andrew. He held a large gift basket in his arms. “Hey Andrew.” Rob shifted the weight of the basket to shake hands with his free arm.

  “Rob,” he answered. “How are things?”

  “Great, thanks for asking.” Rob placed the gift basket on the counter at the bar. “By the way, this is for you.”

  “Thanks. What is it?”

  “Ruth picked it out. It’s coffees, teas and chocolates, I think. Things the ladies thought you would enjoy at the cottage.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have, but thanks.”

  “It’s from all six of us. A token of our appreciation for your help during the blizzard, and for putting up with us.”

  “It was no problem. I appreciate the gesture, all the same.”

  Andrew signaled to the person at the concierge desk across the hall, and had them take it up to his room.

  “Care for a drink?” he asked Rob.

  “Sure.”

  “What’s your poison?”

  “I’m a vodka guy,” Rob replied. “No orange juice.”

  “Sounds great. I’ll have one too.” Andrew called the bartender over and made the order. The bartender poured them their drinks, and the two stood side by side, silently taking in a hockey game on the flat screen TV mounted high on the wall behind the bartender.

  “How have you settled in with college since you got back?” Andrew asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

  “Pretty good. I didn’t miss much.”

  “This is your last year, right?”

  “Yeah, man. I’m already on the job hunt. Hoping to land something here in San Francisco.”

  “That’s good. How’s that going for you?”

  Rob looked down at this drink. “Not too great. The job market sucks, but I’ve got a few interviews lined up over the next month. I’m hoping to find something by the time school lets out. Definitely before I graduate.”

  “What your what was your major again?”

  “Business. With a minor in operations research.”

  “That’s a solid combination. I think one of my staff has an operations research degree.”

  “Nice. I always thought I’d end up in management or some consulting firm somewhere.”

  “Makes sense. You know, we may be hiring.”

  “Really? I never thought to ask you. What kind of work do you do?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No. Well you told us you were a doctor.”

  “I was. I work with my father now.”

  “Doing what?”

  Andrew shook his head. Clearly Abby didn’t say much to the others. “He owns Carrington’s. I thought Abby would have mentioned it…”

  “We don’t talk about things like that. I barely see her, and we go to different colleges. So, you mean that big retail chain?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wow.”

  “I can check with HR in New York, if you’re curious about what openings we have out here…I may actually have something coming up in my department. It’s a pilot project my team is working on. How much did your program cover branding strategy?”

  “I did two advance marketing courses that covered branding last semester. They seemed cool.”

  “Just cool?”

  “Well, I’m trying to be mellow here, Andrew. This is as close as I’ve gotten to a real job lead. Inside, I’m doing cartwheels.”

  Andrew couldn’t help but laugh. “Email me your resume. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Rob turned to him. “You would do that for me?”

  “Sure. Why not? I’ve seen you work. If you’re as hard-working in a job as you were around the cottage, you’ll do fine.”

  “Wow. Thanks Andrew. That’s great to hear. I…I really appreciate that.”

  “No problem.” Andrew finished his drink. “Was there something else?”

  “I really just came to give you the gift basket, and to stay in touch, you know? You seemed cool at the cottage. That’s pretty much it. Well, maybe there is something else.”

  “What’s that?”

  Rob swallowed a big gulp of his drink and turned to Andrew. “I’m not great at this dating thing. Ruth and I started going out.”

  Andrew held up his hand. “Hold on, Rob. I don’t think I’d be a good person to give you advice on this.”

  “How do you mean? You and Abby seem to be doing well.”

  Andrew gazed down at the ice in his drink. “Not really, but I don’t want to get into it.”

  “Why? Haven’t you seen her? I thought you two were doing really well.”

  The question killed Andrew. He took a breath, swallowing back his nerves. He turned to Rob, cementing a serious gaze on him. “Things aren’t always as simple as that.”

  Rob agreed with a nod, and swirled around the last of his drink. “Well, I should probably get out of your hair. You’re working tomorrow, right?”

  “Yes. First thing in the morning, so I should probably be going now too.” He sto
od up and shook Rob’s hand again. “Thanks for the gift…and for coming by. Remember to send me that resume too.”

  “Trust me, I will. Talk to you later, Andrew.”

  He waited for Rob to leave and headed back upstairs. It didn’t sound like Rob had spoken to Abby for a while. Slowly but surely, Abby entered his thoughts again. He hoped she was going to be all right. He went to bed thinking about her and woke up the next morning with her still on his mind.

  ***

  Andrew went to campus early and delivered his final lecture without a hitch. When the session was over, he packed up and left. The limousine would be waiting. He walked briskly through the hallway, headed toward the parking lot. He was close to the exit when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His heart stopped. He didn’t have to look around to know who it was. He knew her touch. It was Abby. He stopped in his tracks, barely able to turn and face her.

  “Abby.”

  “Hi Andrew…” She stared up at him for a moment, and seemed nervous. “I saw you as I was leaving my seminar. I’m sorry if I caught you off guard. This is probably not a good place to talk.”

  Andrew wasn’t sure what to say. She looked so beautiful, but so sad. He had caused that sadness. He could barely grasp how much he had missed her. Now that she was right in front of him, every part of him wanted to pull her in close and hold her again. He stopped himself. He couldn’t go down that road again.

  “Yes. That was my last lecture this semester. I’m heading back home tomorrow…I’m not sure what to tell you, Abby.”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Sure. My driver is waiting outside.”

  He opened the door and let her through, then followed her outside. The limo was close to the door, and his driver stood waiting with the door open for them. He motioned for her to go in first, and jumped in after, telling the driver to wait so he could speak with her privately.

  “What’s this about, Abby?”

  Chapter Twelve

  ABBY took a deep breath after sitting in the back of Andrew’s limousine. She collected herself for the briefest moment before jumping in. “When I saw you…all the questions came up again. Are you ready to talk about it?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” he answered.