To Love a Bear Read online

  Table of Contents

  TO LOVE A BEAR

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thank you!

  TO LOVE A BEAR

  Emilia Hartley

  © Copyright 2018 by Blues Publishing. - All rights reserved.

  The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Legal Notice:

  This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  Chapter One

  No one spoke much on the job. Each man went about his own business, toppling trees and loading them to be hauled away. Theodore Parker could hear nothing more than the thump of axes and the roar of heavy machinery. It droned on and on, cutting off all sounds of nature, of the world.

  Normally, Theodore would have been fine. They didn’t call him Boomer for nothing. He reveled in loud sounds, often howling from the highest peaks or hooting as he swung from crag to crag. It was the thing inside him that couldn’t bear the sound any longer.

  The bear sat right beneath his skin, pressing against his bones and making his skull ache. It hungered, ravenous, but Boomer couldn’t tell what it wanted. The bear just groaned and moaned. Boomer told himself five more minutes. Just a little longer and he would call for a break. He would sneak away and gulp down some fresh air away from the smog of the machinery.

  Out of the corner of his eye, as he turned the machine, Boomer saw a flash of white. At first, he thought nothing of it and kept loading trees onto the back of the Forwarder. Minutes crept by, and his mind hadn’t let go of the image. He craned his neck to peer back and found the white shape where he’d last seen it.

  From where he sat, he could make nothing of the shape. It sat down the side of the hill, caught between a tree and a low bush. He didn’t think there were any white foxes in Montana. It was cold here, but it wasn’t the arctic by any means. None of their tarps or plastic sheets were white, either. While it didn’t move, not even an inch, something about it bothered him. He couldn’t just leave it.

  Unable to stop thinking about the mystery shape, Boomer jumped down from the Forwarder. The echo of his heavy work boots hitting the earth was swallowed by the sound of the other machines. He threw his hand in the air, motioning for the others to stop. He would look dumb when he skidded half way down the hill only to find a white trash bag caught in a bush, but if his instinct was right, he wanted the others to know.

  At first, he worried no one would listen to him. He wasn’t Dominic, their director when they were on site. Amazingly, one by one, trucks slowed to a stop and men looked to Boomer. He gave them a grim nod before starting down the hill. No words were shared, but they were at least willing to wait to see what he wanted.

  Wind gusted up the hill, carrying with it an unfamiliar scent. It was floral and sweet, like the small wildflowers in the mountains, but there was another undertone that made Boomer’s gut clench and panic rise to burn the back of his throat. Human. He surged forward with urgency.

  The side of the hill was rocky, the earth loose and falling out from beneath his boots. More than once, he had to lean back and grasp nearby foliage to keep from tumbling head first into the ravine below. Finally, he approached the white object caught in the brush. The bear growled, low and menacing, while his eyes deciphered what it was they were seeing.

  Mud-stained white shorts led into sunburnt legs. A mess of black hair spilled out from the bush, slithering like snakes through the thin branches. Boomer knelt beside the body and reached to check her pulse when her scent hit him. It was as if he’d been hit by the Forwarder, his body going tense as his head spun. The world rearranged around him, as if the bear aligned the world to center around the woman he’d only just found.

  Dry earth covered her, but beneath it, Boomer could smell fragile sweet pea flowers. Never before had the fragrance of flowers affected him this way. He’d always been more of a wet earth and fresh blood kind of guy. Carefully, he reached for her wrist. It was small and delicate in his hand. He felt like he might break her if he moved the wrong way.

  He waited for the telltale pulse beneath his fingertips, his own heart pausing to make room for hers. Meanwhile, he could hear the mumbles and footsteps of his co-workers and fellow bear shifters at the top of the hill.

  A small groan pulled his attention back. The wrist slipped away from him, folding back into the small body. The woman groaned again, twisting to face him. There was a small furrow between her brows before she tried opening her eyes.

  “Take it easy,” Boomer whispered, to keep from frightening her. Relief washed over him as he reached to help her up, taking her small hands in his.

  He helped her to her feet only to hear her hiss in pain. She lurched to the side. Boomer lunged to catch her before she fell. Once she was safely cradled in his arms, her scent slapped him in the face. His recently disgruntled bear sobered. It focused all of its attention on the small woman, worried about whatever had hurt her.

  “I think its just a sprain,” she mumbled. Her voice was small and sweet, like her, and melted everything inside Boomer. “I should be able to stand.”

  “I’d rather you not hurt yourself further. I’m going to lift you and carry you up the hill. Okay?”

  Her eyes seemed to clear, seeing Boomer for the first time. He felt her go still, watched her gaze flick in every direction. She didn’t step back from him, but he could sense her fear when she noticed the men waiting for them.

  “Hey!” one of them shouted down the hill to them. “You found yourself a mount for the night! Do you think we’ll find more nymphs if we turn over a few rocks?”

  Boomer wasn’t amused. Had he been atop the hill beside Orion, he would have laughed. Boomer would have joined in and started kicking over rocks just to be an ass. Something about the woman in his arms brought his beast to the surface. It made him place himself between her and the crew behind him.

  “He’s a moron. Don’t listen to him,” Boomer whispered in her ear. “They’re all about as bright as Snow White’s dwarves.”

  Her hands closed around his forearms, clinging to him. He felt the need to pull her into his body, to shield her from everything. Damn, he needed to get out more. This had to be the first time he’d seen a woman in…what? Months? His reaction to this woman was too strong, heady and consuming. She was injured and confused. She didn’t need an overbearing bear crowding her.

  “I promise I’ll set you down as soon as I reach the top of the hill. Are you ready?”

  The woman had lost her voice, but managed to nod, her eyes still on the men behind him. Her fear soured the air and twisted Boomer’s stomach. He couldn’t take it. The need to roar at them was ove
rwhelming, even if they weren’t actually doing anything. He couldn’t attack his co-workers for some human woman.

  He needed her to calm down. “So, tell me. What’s your name?”

  He scooped her into his arms. She weighed almost nothing, a feather in his hands. He would have to stuff her full of bacon and eggs, burgers and steak, if he was going to keep her from breaking.

  What was he thinking? This wasn’t his woman. He didn’t need to fatten her up. He didn’t need to feed her. Boomer’s only responsibility was to send her back to human civilization. She didn’t belong here, not among him and the others. She was a snack amid five hungry bears.

  “Oh, um…” She hesitated, biting her lower lip. Boomer had to look away, unable to bear the pinching feeling in his lower stomach. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? Everyone knows their own name.” He had to step carefully to keep them from both tumbling down the hill. “Everyone here calls me Boomer, but I still know my own name.”

  She said nothing.

  Just before they reached the top of the hill, he leaned close to her ear and whispered. “Don’t tell any of them, but my real name is Theodore.”

  His words caught her attention. Both, thin brows lifted with pleasant surprise. “You don’t look like a Theodore.”

  He made a shhh sound and winked at her. She pressed her lips closed, but he could see the smile on the corners of her mouth. The look hit him, making his feet catch on each other. She was a pixie in his arms and he was a man lost.

  “What do you know about names? You can’t even remember your own.” He teased her as he set her on a wooden crate.

  The others followed like a pack of dogs, eager to get a sniff of the new woman. Jaw tight, he turned toward them with a warning in his eyes. Orion, the smart-mouth from earlier, was the only one to ignore it. He propped his elbow on the crate and grinned up at the woman.

  Boomer fought back the urge to punch Orion’s stupid face. He wanted to see it dented and bruised for pushing the woman’s boundaries. She leaned back, her surprise and hesitation clear.

  Boomer jerked his chin toward the pack around her waist. “Do you have ID in there?”

  His words drew her attention back to him. “Oh, um. Maybe? I don’t know what I have. I don’t…” Fingers on the zipper, she paused.

  Boomer realized she had amnesia. He scanned her face and neck for signs of blood. She must have fallen and hit her head on the way down. His brain refused to work out what she might have been doing so close to the site, instead more concerned with the need to pull her hair back and check for wounds.

  The zipper of her pack whispered through the silence. She pulled out a small wallet and handed it to Boomer as if she were afraid of what she might see for herself. He opened it, her ID presented behind a thin layer of plastic.

  Emmy White. He snorted at her last name, earning him a confused expression from the woman. He opened his mouth to explain, but Orion leaned close to her again and his bear filled his mind with rage.

  Boomer had to be careful. The beast was getting restless. It demanded a mate, demanded a future with someone that belonged to them. It was tired of Boomer’s adventures, the kind that led nowhere. They weren’t satisfying. Not for more than a moment. Then, the moment was over, and life returned with empty hands.

  Emmy was going back to humanity. He refused to let his beast hurt her

  ***

  He had a sincere face. His smile was genuine, cut through with a small scar above his lip. The wind toyed with the dark curls tied behind his head. Nature caressed him like a lover, kissing his skin to darken it. His dark eyes twinkled with mirth and filled her chest with warmth even though she felt empty. The moment he’d asked her name, an echoing hollowness had overcome her. Every time she looked inside, she found nothing.

  Her name, her life, everything was behind a thick and murky wall. Yet, when she looked at him, she had the sense that everything would be alright. It was nonsensical, putting her faith in a stranger like that. She should have requested to be driven back to society, to be brought to a hospital, but the words sat unspoken inside her.

  It was only when she felt the burn of the other man’s stare on her shoulder and cheek that she felt uncomfortable. She kept him in the corner of her eye, waiting for him to move, to reach for her. The instinct made her heart thunder wildly.

  A dark hand reached past her and covered the man’s face, shoving him away. The man laughed as he stumbled back.

  “I didn’t realize you’d staked your claim already, Boomer. I didn’t think you were the type to mate to easily.”

  Mate? She crossed her legs. There would be no mating with her. She didn’t know what kind of cult had rescued her, but she wasn’t about to join them. Even if she didn’t know her own name, she knew cults were bad.

  Emmy pushed forward, ready to jump from the crate so she could stand on her own feet should she have to run. Before she could even think about jumping, Boomer’s hands were helping her down. His touch was gentle, there and then gone the moment her feet touched the earth.

  Trees loomed above them, pushed back by the presence of orange and black machinery. The area they stood in was empty, the ground covered in tan wood shavings and tire tracks. No, this wasn’t a cult. It was just a bunch of lonely men working to clear trees. Even so, they acted as if she was the first woman they’d seen in years. She could feel their eyes on her. Each set tingled her skin, but she couldn’t find it in herself to look up at them.

  Fear kept her gaze firmly away from the men. She looked everywhere else, to the stacked logs, to the machinery, to the boot prints pressed into the ground.

  “No one is going to be mating today,” Boomer grumbled. “She’s hurt so I’m going to take her back to town.”

  Immediately, her heart lurched. “No!”

  Emmy didn’t understand her sudden reaction. All she knew was that she couldn’t go back yet. She’d fight and run if she had to, but they couldn’t make her go back to town.

  Boomer gave her a strange look, trying to uncover the things she couldn’t say. She didn’t even know herself.

  “Look, she likes us already,” the laughing man crooned. “Can we keep her? Pretty please?”

  “Orion? Stuff a sock in your mouth before I stuff my fist in it.” Boomer’s voice rumbled through the small crowd. It made everyone else step back, leaving Emmy between the two of them.

  She reached and laid a hand on Boomer’s chest, looking up at him. His scowl softened, and his hand covered hers, but he never looked away from Orion. They didn’t need to fight over her.

  “Is there somewhere I can stay? At least until I remember myself again?” The emptiness of her memory whistled like the wind. There was a reason, a truth that sat deep inside her, that she needed to remember before she left the mountains.

  Boomer looked thoughtful, one brow raised. Of course, Orion suggested somewhere she could stay, earning another glare from Boomer until one of the other men yanked Orion away. They were left alone for the time being, each man returning to a station.

  “You’re welcome to stay with me. I have an extra room. So, does Reid.” He jerked his head toward a stocky blond man stalking away. When she looked back, she could see the strain of the muscles in his neck. He hadn’t wanted to offer the other man’s cabin, but he’d done so anyway.

  “I’d be fine staying with you. I’ll do my best to earn my keep. Cooking, cleaning, anything you need.” Just as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She hadn’t meant to sound as if she were offering any sexual favors. Those weren’t on the table. She wasn’t on the table.

  Her once empty mind suddenly filled with images of her small body beneath Boomer’s. It brought a flush to her cheeks that she hid behind her small hands. She couldn’t believe herself. Only minutes ago, she’d woken in a bush. Boomer might have helped her, but he wasn’t…she couldn’t…it wasn’t right.

  “Do you think you have any other bags? A tent nearby?”<
br />
  “I’ll sniff it out,” a dark-skinned man, with close cropped hair, said in passing.

  “Sniff?”

  “Oh, uh. He means find. He’s going to find out. Right Dominic?”

  She looked back, but the man disappeared over the hill without another word.

  “How is your ankle? Can you walk? I wouldn’t mind carrying you over to my truck, if that’s okay with you. I wouldn’t want you hurting yourself.”

  His nervous talking made her smile. Boomer was a massive man. He stood nearly a foot taller than her, his shoulders worth at least three of her small frame. Yet, Boomer couldn’t stop talking in her presence. She couldn’t imagine making him nervous. Being a small woman surrounded by giant lumberjack men was enough to make any girl scared. It was funny to see it in reverse.

  “Were you camping out here alone? Of course, you wouldn’t know. You don’t remember. I’m going to kick someone’s ass if you had company and they left you there. What were you doing out here alone, if you were alone?”

  “Theodore,” she whispered. The sound of his real name made his lips snap shut and his brows rise in warning. Emmy only laughed. It had worked just the way she wanted. The moment of silence brought all of her aches and pains to the forefront. Her ankle began throbbing and her hands burned.

  When she looked down, she found them covered in scrapes and scratches. Her legs weren’t much better, both sunburnt and bruised from rolling down the hill. The memory came back in snapshots. Her core tensed as the moment replayed in her mind. She saw the hill, spinning and twisting around her. Stones, dirt, trees, all spun past. The side of her head ached, the pain shooting through her skull and making her wince.

  Boomer reached for her. “Emmy! What’s wrong?”

  She clenched her teeth and shook her head. Every small movement hurt. All she wanted to do was lay down, but she couldn’t let herself fall asleep. Not if she had a concussion. How she knew this, she wasn’t sure.

  “I’m fine. Just remembering the fall.” Images of a blue backpack flashed in her mind. She perked up, ready to shout over the hill, when Dominic reappeared. He hoisted her backpack into the air.