Bear Seeking Bride: Travis:

by Ruby Shae

  Bear Seeking Bride: Travis

  (Bear Canyon Brides, Book 1)

  Ruby Shae

  Bear Seeking Bride: Travis

  (Bear Canyon Brides, Book 1)

  Copyright 2015 by Ruby Shae

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $ 250,000.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About This Book

  In the shifter town of Bear Canyon, the men outnumber the women three to one. Grizzly bear Travis Mallory is tired of desperate shifter females, and gold-digging, shifter obsessed humans. He wants to marry, and start a family, but most of all, he wants someone to love him for him, not for what he can do for them.

  Curvy, Sabrina Parker is tired of dating. Now thirty years old, she wants to get married and start a family, but she knows it won’t happen unless she breaks out of her comfort zone. She wants to meet someone who can love her, and all of her curves, for the rest of her life.

  Desperate to try something new, Travis places an ad for a Mail Order Bride. The conditions listed are simple, but absolute, and he only receives one response. Despite her friend’s objections, Sabrina feels compelled to answer Travis’ ad, and a short time later he invites her to Bear Canyon to see if they’re compatible. Can two strangers find love in a modern day shifter town?

  Bear Seeking Bride: Travis

  (Bear Canyon Brides, Book 1)

  By Ruby Shae

  Chapter One

  “You have got to be kidding me!”

  Travis Mallory looked up to view the crowd around the restaurant and plastered a smile on his face. As he suspected, his brother’s outburst gained the attention of everyone in the room.

  “Shhh… Keep your voice down!” he bit out through clinched teeth, still smiling.

  When everyone went back to minding their own business, he stared at his brother.

  “You really need to learn not to be such an asshole,” he said.

  “Whatever,” Trent said, “you’re insane if you go through with this.”

  Travis looked to his other brother, Tyler, for help, but realized it was useless. Tyler sat back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head. The man didn’t have to voice his opinion; Travis knew he agreed with their brother.

  “I know it seems crazy, but I’m tired of going out with gold diggers who only want money, or the crazies who think doing a bear is some sort of game. I want a wife and cubs, and I’m not going to find one here in Bear Canyon.”

  “You do have a point,” Tyler said. “Going into the city looking for women got old a long time ago. When I do meet someone, it’s usually through work, and I’m never sure if they’re dating me for me, or for our name.”

  “Who cares? Women can’t be trusted. We all know this. I’d rather fuck a gold digging whore than put my heart on the line again,” Trent spat.

  Travis glared at his brother, but held his tongue. His brother had a good reason for hating his plan, and women, but he wished the man would lighten up a bit. Not all women were evil, and some even liked shifters.

  “That’s not fair, Trent,” Tyler said. “Not all women are like your ex, and Travis and I would like to get married one day. I think his idea has merit.”

  “Oh, geez. How are you going to make sure the woman you chose isn’t just like all the rest of them?” Trent asked.

  “Because I’m going to ask for exactly what I want.”

  Three hours later, Travis crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it into the garbage. He probably should have opened his laptop and practiced writing in his word processing program, but he’d always preferred pencil and paper for drafting ideas.

  He thought about their latest job, and smiled. The four bedroom home had several glass windows, and a deck leading out to the canyon wall. The owners hadn’t believed he and his brothers could get their dream built, but they’d proved the family wrong. When they handed over the keys, the looks on the faces of the family were priceless.

  Mallory Building, Inc. had designed and built almost every building in Bear Canyon. When the government first deemed the land a shifter town, and approached them with the proposal, two other full human companies had also been considered. The town started with a post office, a police station and a fire station. Each company had won a bid, but Mallory Building was the only one who finished on time and under budget.

  As the town grew, their name circulated as the best until they were the only construction company considered for new homes and businesses in town. He and his brothers all had degrees in architecture and structural engineering, but as shifters, they were stronger, worked faster and needed less manpower to perform a job from beginning to end.

  After they’d won the contracts for the government buildings, they’d built a modest home for each brother and settled into the rapidly growing town. Aptly named, the nearly five-thousand residents were almost all bear shifters, most of them male.

  Female shifters were rare in any species, and the men in Bear Canyon outnumbered the women three to one. The few humans in town were mated to shifters, but no one discriminated against them. Shifters often mated with humans, and above all, they wanted peace in their communities.

  Five years ago, many people fought the government’s idea to create specific towns for shifters. Though shifters had the option of whether or not to relocate, human adversaries of the project shouted about discrimination and segregation, and accused the government of forcing shifters to live in camps.

  In reality, most shifters welcomed the freedom of a pure shifter town. They walked the streets in their animal forms without the threat of being killed by a hunter, or a trigger happy, uneducated and frightened human. Their cubs could play in the park, or swim, without worrying about uncontrollable shifting.

  Adults have the ability to control their shifts easily, but cubs don’t learn to master the change until adolescence. Often times, young cubs will shift when excited and extra care must be taken to help them shift back. In a town full of shifters, parents can focus on raising their children without making excuses for their kind.

  The thought of cubs brought him back to the task in front of him. Though he had dated a few shifters in town, and a few humans in the city, none of them had been what he’d been searching for. He wanted a beautiful, curvy woman who loved him for who he was and not his money. He also needed someone shifter friendly, but not obsessed, who he could form a partnership with and love for the rest of his life. Shifters didn’t believe in divorce, so her values would have to match his for them to be compatible.

  He picked up the pencil again, and wrote out his desires.

  Wanted: A Bride for a Bear!

  Successfully employed bear shifter, 33, is seeking a curvy, plus-sized human woman, preferably between the ages of 25-35, to become his wife. Must be willing to live modestly in Bear Canyon, and must possess the desire to start a family. Those who are shifter obsessed, or not
looking for a lifetime commitment, need not apply.

  ***

  “No way! You’re kidding, right?”

  “Caroline! Lower your voice!”

  “Sorry, everyone! Go back to your coffee!” Caroline said, waving off the onlookers.

  Sabrina Parker lowered her head and tried to stifle the laugh that threatened to erupt at her friend’s antics. Caroline had always been loud, and over the years she’d grown used to it, but at the same time, the way her friend handled a crowd still caused her to laugh uncontrollably.

  She sat in between her two best friends, Caroline and Dawn, huddled around a tiny round table in the local chain coffee shop closest to Dawn’s apartment.

  Caroline was loud and confident, but Dawn was quiet and self-conscious. Both women were smart, beautiful, successful, curvy women, but personality wise, the two were as different as night and day.

  Caroline dominated a room, but Dawn was more of a behind the scenes type person. Lately, she’d been more withdrawn than usual, and it was one of the reasons Sabrina had insisted on the coffee shop instead of hanging out in one of their apartments.

  She worried for her friend. They’d all been mistreated by men at some point, but Dawn’s wounds ran deep, and Sabrina feared the woman might never recover.

  Like her friends, Sabrina was a smart, beautiful and successful, curvy woman, but that’s where the similarities ended. Unlike the extremes of the other two women, her personality tended to settle somewhere in between them both. She was confident, without begging for attention, and if someone gave her a compliment, she could take it without turning beat red.

  She’d been on plenty of dates, and up until two months ago, she’d usually been the one to end things before they got too complicated.

  With Simon, things had been different. She’d stayed with him long past his expiration date with the hope that he’d give her a ring. Instead, she got the surprise of her life when she caught him in bed with a twenty-two year old college student.

  They didn’t live together, but they’d exchanged keys and she used hers to pick up the sweater she’d left at his place the night before. Honestly, she’d watched the show longer than what some might consider respectable, but she couldn’t help it. Simon had always said he didn’t like women on top, but from the way he moaned and encouraged the woman bouncing on his dick, it was clear he’d lied. In truth, he just didn’t like her on top.

  Their heads were at the foot of the bed, so when she walked in, Simon couldn’t see her. The girl smiled and continued bouncing as if she was used to performing and Sabrina watched with rapt attention. The girl was skinny, pert, unbelievably tan all over, and her hair had been styled big and immobile. Every strand stayed expertly in place.

  The body glitter all over her forehead and chest sparkled in the sunlight drifting through the curtain, and after noticing her expertly painted face, complete with blue eye shadow and glitter mascara, Sabrina briefly wondered if she were a call girl. Either way, she didn’t blame Simon for his choice. The woman looked like what all the magazines labeled as perfection.

  She grabbed her sweater, left the key on the counter and took a detour to the hardware store after work. She changed her own locks and never heard from him again.

  “Is this because of that asshole Simon and his rent-a-chick?” Caroline asked.

  “Caroline!” Dawn hissed, her cheeks red as she glanced around the room.

  “Sorry,” Caroline said, and lowered her voice. “Look, I know he hurt you—”

  “He didn’t hurt me,” Sabrina said.

  She wasn’t lying. Simon shattered her ego a bit, especially when she thought about the woman he’d cheated with, but she hadn’t been shocked he wasn’t the one. Somewhere deep inside she’d known, even if she hadn’t admitted it out loud, that their relationship would end. He was an okay boyfriend, but who wanted to live with mediocre when she could have so much more?

  What if the writer of the ad turns out to be mediocre?

  She pushed the negative thought away with the one that had pushed her to tell her friends about her plan.

  What if he turns out to be perfect?

  “Okay, I know he didn’t work out,” Caroline said, waving her hand around again, “but that’s no reason to reply to some ad for a mail order bride. That is so two hundred years ago.”

  “Arranged marriages still happen,” Dawn said, “and so do blind dates, and online dating.”

  “But she’s not talking about a date, she’s talking about the rest of her life,” Caroline continued. “Shifters don’t believe in divorce, although I know a couple who have done it, so what happens if this guy turns out to be a jerk?”

  “I don’t know, maybe he is, but I don’t think it will hurt to answer the ad and see what happens.”

  “I don’t think it sounds like a terrible idea—”

  “Gee, thanks, Dawn,” Sabrina said.

  “No problem,” Dawn smiled, and they all laughed. It was good to see her friend smile again.

  “As I was saying, it doesn’t sound terrible, but what happens if he sees you and is…,”

  “An asshole? A serial killer? Crazy?” Caroline fired off the questions.

  “You’re crazy, and I still like you,” Sabrina said, flashing Caroline a cheesy grin. “Go ahead, Dawn.”

  “Disappointed?” her friend whispered.

  Although the ad only asked for a curvy, plus-sized human, it didn’t specify anything about looks. Dawn had a good reason for doubting strangers, but Sabrina didn’t, and she knew she wasn’t repulsive. Unless their ideas of plus-sized were different, she didn’t fear he would run away screaming.

  “I’ll encourage him to be honest so we can go our separate ways and not waste any more of each other’s time. Maybe we’ll exchange pictures ahead of time, I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

  “You’ve written him already, haven’t you?” Caroline asked.

  “No, I haven’t. Not yet.”

  “But you’ve already made up your mind,” Dawn stated.

  “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m thirty years old—”

  “Thirty is not old!” Caroline interrupted.

  “I know it’s not. Really, I do, but I want everything that’s listed in this ad. I want to get married, commit myself to someone and have them commit to me, I want to have children...I want those things. I’m not doing this because I’m desperate; I’m doing it because I want to fulfill that part of my life. He sounds like a good man. If he’s not, I’ll run, but if he is, this is something I want to do.”

  “Do you even know anything about shifters?” Caroline whispered.

  Sabrina and Dawn stared at her, dumbfounded.

  “What?” Caroline asked.

  “You know how to whisper?” Dawn asked, serious, and then they all burst out laughing again.

  Once more, everyone in the shop stared at them, but even Dawn didn’t mind this time.

  “I can whisper when I want to…I just never want to.”

  “Great,” the other two said in deadpan unison.

  “Whatever!” Caroline waved her hand around again, and Sabrina laughed. Hanging out with Caroline was never boring. “You haven’t answered the question. Do you?” Caroline pressed.

  “Not really, do you guys?” Sabrina asked.

  They both shook their heads.

  “Well, I’m definitely not obsessed, or afraid, so that’s two things in my favor.”

  “You’re really going through with this?” Caroline asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Then we support you, but if you meet up with him, we need everything. Emails, addresses, phone numbers, the works,” Caroline demanded.

  “You’ll get it, and I’ll keep my cell-phone charged and with me at all times.”

  “Good girl.”

  “What are you going to write in your reply?” Dawn asked.

  “I don’t have a clue,” Sabrina said. “I guess I’ll just be honest and speak from my he
art.”

  Chapter Two

  “She sounds nice,” Tyler said. “Maybe she has a friend for me.”

  “Oh god. Not you, too,” Trent accused. “This woman is going to humiliate you.”

  “How?” Travis asked. “How is she going to humiliate me?”

  “She’ll probably show up, marry you, and then steal all your money and run away with a wolf or something. I don’t know, but I still think you’re making a mistake.”

  “As you’ve said…several times. Your opinion is noted. If she humiliates me, or runs off with my money, or it doesn’t work out for any reason, you have free reign to say I told you so. Until then, I expect you to be nice. If she runs away screaming because my brother is an asshole, all bets are off.”

  “Fine,” Trent said.

  “When will she be here?” Tyler asked.

  “She’s checking into the hotel sometime today, and we’re meeting for lunch tomorrow, so I’ll be leaving work early. You both are expected to join us for dinner on Tuesday.”

  “Why aren’t you meeting her today?”

  “She’s driving in and she wanted time to rest before we saw each other for the first time. I asked to see her at breakfast, but she insisted on lunch instead.”

  “She probably needs the morning hours to clean up her troll face,” Trent mumbled.

  “That’s it,” Travis said, and pulled his fist back. He had no problem knocking some sense into his older brother.

  “All right,” Tyler’s hand on his bicep stopped his momentum. “Ignore him. He’s just egging you on now. You don’t want to show up for your date with a black eye, or worse.”

  Tyler had a point. He looked at Trent and saw him grinning from ear to ear.

  Even though they were all only a year apart, as the middle child, Travis had always been easy to coax into a fight. Trent had always been their leader, and Tyler, the baby, had always been the peacemaker.

  It was funny how some things never changed.

  “You’re still too easy,” Trent said.