Scott nodded and looked at her empathetically. “Change can be hard, especially when you don’t have a good example to follow and are running blind.”
“Exactly,” Caroline said, relieved that he seemed to somewhat understand. “But the last straw for me, really, came when I broke up with my boyfriend. He was determined after that to make my life miserable. He constantly threatened me or my family, and finally enough was enough. In a way strange way, he sort of did me a favor. I’m not sure I would have found the courage to leave if it hadn’t been for how horribly he treated me, but I knew that something had to change. I just couldn’t live like that anymore, constantly in fear.”
Caroline looked at Scott anxiously, hoping that he understood what she was saying. He again nodded as if he understood, so she continued on. “I started researching different ways to make money. It was confusing, and I often felt like an idiot for thinking that I could do this. But I was determined not to give up. Eventually, I came across some people talking about how they had made a lot of money over the summer in tourist towns by selling homemade arts and crafts. I’ve always enjoyed making jewelry, and I started to think that maybe I could actually sell my jewelry for money. I heard that Pine Springs was one of the best places to do that, so I applied for a booth in the shopping district. I wasn’t sure if I really had a chance to get it, but I figured I might as well try. To my surprise, one of the owners of one of the shopping centers agreed to rent me a booth.”
Scott shook his head, looking almost amused. “I can’t believe you’ve been here in Pine Springs the whole summer, but I didn’t see you until you came by the club last night.”
Caroline frowned. It was a strange thing to say. True, Pine Springs wasn’t a huge town. It was no New York City or Los Angeles. But it also wasn’t exactly tiny, especially in the summer, when the population swelled as tourists came in from all over the place. It wasn’t that strange that Scott hadn’t seen her, and yet he seemed surprised by this. But she shrugged it off and simply nodded.
“Yep. I’ve been here all summer. My goal was to make enough money to get back on my feet after losing so much in my bad relationship with my ex. He really screwed me over, because I was too cowardly to put up a fight when he would spend my money. But if I can just sell enough jewelry this summer to get to the point where I can survive through the winter on the money that I made, then I can spend the winter making even more jewelry. Hopefully I’ll turn an even bigger profit next year, and my summer income will grow until I can support myself from it and have savings, too. So far, things have been going pretty well. But I still have a ways to go to make my goal.”
“There are still a few more weeks left of the summer tourist season,” Scott said. “You still have plenty of time to make money.”
Caroline felt her heart melting a bit at Scott’s smile. He seemed genuinely interested in her well-being, which felt strange. She wasn’t used to having people care about her, so the fact that a man who she’d only just met seemed genuinely interested gave her a sense of hope. Maybe there really were good people out there in the world. She just hadn’t found them yet.
And maybe there were good guys. She couldn’t help thinking that Scott was one of those good guys, and that he would make an amazing boyfriend. But again, she pushed that thought away. She still hadn’t sold enough jewelry to make it through the winter, which meant she’d have to go back home and room with someone from her old town to save money, all while working a job at the local factory to survive. Her dreams felt so close, and yet so far away. Right now, she didn’t have the luxury of adding “staying in Pine Springs and dating a man like Scott” to those dreams. She had to get on her own two feet before she could expect someone else to walk along with her through life.
Scott seemed oblivious to the war raging within her. He smiled lazily, then reached into the cooler and held up a beer. “Ready for something more exciting than water?”
Caroline shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
She was starting to feel much better now that she’d gotten some food and water into her. Scott hadn’t yet turned the boat to head back toward shore, and she was okay with that. She wouldn’t mind spending some time out here on the lake with him. Even if she knew better than to think that she could date him, it was nice to at least spend a few hours with a new friend.
Caroline had been so busy working that she hadn’t had time to make many friends. She’d been trying, telling herself that it was good to make connections in Pine Springs and get out of her comfort zone. That was part of why she’d gone to the club last night. She had heard that it was a popular place to hang out, and she thought that maybe she’d meet someone interesting.
Unfortunately, that plan had completely backfired. After being assaulted by that awful drunk man, Caroline had decided it was better to go home and rest instead of trying to make new friends. But now, she had this golden opportunity to hang out with a new friend on a boat. She certainly wasn’t going to complain about the fact that her new friend was quite handsome, and she wondered what there was to him besides a handsome face.
To her disappointment, he started turning the boat back towards shore as she settled down with her beer. That only encouraged her to get started asking her own questions. Maybe if she got a good rapport going with him before they made it back to shore, he might invite her to hang out in the next few weeks. It would be nice not to spend all of her free time alone, even though that free time was quite limited.
“So, how long have you been in Pine Springs? Your whole life?”
“Yup. Born and raised,” Scott said as he turned the boat in the direction of the boathouse where Caroline had rented her kayak. He knew exactly where it was even without her telling him, but she figured that was probably because he’d been here his whole life. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to head back so soon, but she decided not to. He had already done enough for her, and she had no right to take up any more of his time. He probably had things to do today—things that didn’t include spending the whole day on the lake with a woman he’d just met.
Caroline told herself to just enjoy the time that she did have with him. Maybe she could work up the courage by the time they got back to the boathouse to ask him if he wanted to hang out again. She could say that he seemed to know the area well, and that she wanted someone local to show her around. That was an innocent enough reason, wasn’t it?
Scott was talking again, so Caroline snapped her attention back to him.
“Of course, I should say I was born and raised on Bear Mountain, not Pine Springs. That’s where I live, but I come into Pine Springs during the tourist peak seasons to work.”
Caroline felt herself stiffening almost involuntarily. If there was one thing that everyone in Pine Springs seemed to agree on, it was that the folks from Bear Mountain were weird. Almost from day one, Caroline had been warned to stay away from the mountain, and to keep her distance from anyone who told her they were from Bear Mountain. No one could ever tell her exactly why, but it was something that everyone agreed on without fail. Everyone said that the people on the mountain seemed to be missing a screw or two.
As Caroline looked up at Scott, she wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. He didn’t seem to be missing any screws. In fact, in the short time she’d known him, he had impressed her as being smart, kind, and generally a great guy.
But if there was one thing Caroline had learned from her horrible ex-boyfriend, it was that appearances could be deceiving. Just because a guy looked great at first glance didn’t mean that he actually was great. And the fact that every single person in Pine Springs had warned Caroline of the people from Bear Mountain gave her pause.
She shivered despite the heat. Was she on a boat with a guy who might hurt her? The idea was hard to reconcile with what she knew of Scott so far. He’d saved her twice, first at the club last night and then out on the lake today. But still, Caroline was gun-shy when it came to men. She didn’t want to be rude to Scott, but she did
n’t want to find herself in a bad situation again.
She remained silent until the boat arrived at the dock a few minutes later. Scott seemed to sense that she didn’t want to talk anymore. In fact, she thought she saw a shadow pass over his eyes. He seemed to know that she had suddenly judged him when she heard he was from Bear Mountain. Had he told her that on purpose, as a test? He must know that everyone talked about Bear Mountain in a negative way. He couldn’t have lived his whole life here and not realized that.
Caroline felt conflicted as she climbed out of the boat, and she still said nothing as Scott pulled the kayak out to return it for her. When he was done handing the kayak back to the kid running the rental counter at the boathouse, Scott turned to bid her goodbye. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Caroline cut him off for fear that he wanted to ask her to hang out. Now, instead of asking him if he wanted to spend time showing her around Pine Springs, she found herself hoping that she could get away before he might bring up the idea on his own.
“Well, thanks for everything.” She gave a nervous laugh. “You know, the water, the chips, the beer…saving my life again.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I think it’s a bit dramatic to say I saved your life. I mostly just saved you from a horrible sunburn.”
Caroline nodded quickly. “Right. Well, anyway, I appreciate it, but I need to get going now. It’s getting late, and I have a lot to do before my jewelry booth opens up again tomorrow.”
It wasn’t getting that late, but Scott didn’t argue with her. Instead, he nodded his head with a resigned look in his eyes.
“Alright. Good luck with your jewelry business. If there’s anything else I can do for you, let me know.”
Caroline thanked him quickly, then rushed off. But even as she climbed into her car, she could feel his eyes boring into her.
She had no idea why everyone in Pine Springs thought that the people from Bear Mountain were weird, but she did know one thing for sure: she hadn’t seen the last of Scott.
Something in his eyes told her that he wasn’t done with her yet.
Chapter Four
Scott had planned to spend all day on the lake, but his plans had changed drastically in the last hour.
When he’d seen Caroline struggling in her kayak in the middle of the lake, he hadn’t been sure whether to punch the side of his boat in anger, or to laugh. One thing he did know was that destiny could not have sent him a clearer sign. The fact that he’d once again crossed paths with Caroline told him everything he needed to know. She was definitely his lifemate, and fate was definitely working to bring them together.
When she’d told him that she’d been in Pine Springs all summer, suddenly everything made sense. His inner bear had been unusually restless for the last few months, and he had attributed it to the fact that watching Joel find a lifemate had made him jealous and eager to find a lifemate of his own. But it was much more complicated than that. His inner bear had been restless because it had known that his fated lifemate was nearby.
Scott wasn’t sure why he hadn’t crossed paths with Caroline earlier in the summer. Who knew why these things worked out exactly the way they did. But now that Caroline had crossed his path, he had a feeling that she would be crossing it over and over again until they came together permanently. At least, that’s what he’d thought when he saw her on the lake. He’d jumped at the chance to rescue her again, and not just because she really shouldn’t have been out there without sunscreen and a hat.
He’d relished the chance because he’d thought that surely, if he had run across Caroline like this, then sparks were about to fly. Something would happen between them, and this day would be the start of the rest of his life.
But no. He’d hoped for too much.
Things had been going well at the start. Their conversation had flowed easily, and there had been a certain familiarity between them that usually only came when you’d known someone for a long time. Scott had decided to head back to shore to first drop off the kayak and then ask Caroline if she wanted to order burgers from the boathouse’s snack bar. Who knows where the day would have taken them from there. In his mind, he’d imagined laughing and talking with her until sunset.
But all of those plans had come to a crashing halt when he’d mentioned that he was from Bear Mountain. The moment he’d said the words, he’d seen the fear flicker in her eyes. He should have known that after a summer in Pine Springs she would have heard plenty about how awful the folks on Bear Mountain were. The Pine Springs locals loved to warn anyone who would listen to stay away from the mountain. According to them, the people who lived on the mountain were strange and not to be trusted. Although they couldn’t say why, they told all the tourists that if you went to the mountain and interacted too much with those mountain people, you’d never quite be the same.
No one in town had any idea that the reason everyone in Bear Mountain Village was different was that they were all bear shifters. The shifters on Bear Mountain did their best to hide this fact from the full humans of Pine Springs, because shifters all knew that the majority of full humans couldn’t handle the realization that shifters existed. Scott had heard plenty of horror stories in his lifetime about shifters being persecuted just for being shifters. Humans who discovered that shifters existed usually called them monsters or freaks of nature. For this reason, Scott and the others on Bear Mountain were perfectly happy to let the Pine Springs locals scare the tourists away from the mountain.
Even though the mountain’s spectacular nature could have brought in a lot of tourists, which in turn would have brought plenty of money into the Bear Mountain economy, it was better for everyone if only the bear shifters set foot on the mountain.
At least, that’s what Scott had thought until now. He had never expected his lifemate to be a full human, but now that he’d realized that she was, he felt anger bubbling up against the people of Pine Springs.
Who did they think they were, trying to ostracize an entire group of people?
A certain logical part of Scott told him that he should just forget about Caroline. Sure, he felt attracted to her, and after running into her again he was sure she was his lifemate. But the way she’d looked at him when he said he was from Bear Mountain told him that he would have an uphill fight trying to convince her that she didn’t need to fear the fact that he was a bear shifter. If she was so frightened of him just from being told to stay away from the mountain, how frightened would she be if she learned the actual reason that she was supposed to stay away from the mountain? Scott envisioned her screaming and running in the opposite direction when he told her that he had a bear within him.
But that logical part of him paled in comparison to a much bigger part of him that knew he would never shake this restless feeling until he claimed Caroline as his mate.
As he took his own boat back to its harbor, Scott mulled over what he should do. There was no way he was going to enjoy being out on the lake for the rest of the day. He would be too busy thinking about Caroline. In fact, he was kicking himself now for not just asking her to spend the day with him. Perhaps it hadn’t been a perfect opportunity, given the fact that she obviously couldn’t get away from him fast enough after he told her was from Bear Mountain. But even if it hadn’t been perfect, it had been an opportunity.
An opportunity he’d blown.
Scott had to decide. Was he going to sit back and chicken out because Caroline had already been fed negative ideas about Bear Mountain? Or was he going to man up and pursue her like the alpha he was?
For the rest of the day, Scott contemplated all of this in his mind. But in the end, he knew that there was really no question. He was a bear. He was an alpha. And he was going to pursue his mate and claim her, no matter how long it took.
After another restless night of tossing and turning, Scott picked up his phone and called the shopping mall where Caroline’s jewelry booth was located. When an overly enthusiastic receptionist answered, Scott asked for Caroline.
He realized he didn’t even know her last name, but he figured that there couldn’t be too many Caroline’s running a jewelry booth in the shopping mall. The receptionist immediately knew who he was talking about.
“Oh! Caroline! The pretty blonde?”
Scott smiled. “Yes, the pretty blonde.”
“Can I tell her who’s calling?”
“Scott from the boat.”
“Scott from the boat. Got it! Be right back.”
Scott waited impatiently, but when the receptionist returned a few minutes later, she sounded decidedly less enthusiastic.
“Sorry, Scott. She’s really busy right now. She can’t take your call.”
Scott sighed. “Do you have any idea when things might be a little less busy?”
There was a short pause before the receptionist answered. “I think it’s going to be quite busy all day. I don’t think she’ll have time to talk.”
The implication was clear. It wasn’t that Caroline didn’t have time to talk. It was that she didn’t want to talk to him. Scott had a feeling that she’d mentioned to the receptionist that he was from Bear Mountain, which was probably why her perky, friendly attitude had suddenly disappeared. There was no use trying to argue. Scott was sure that the receptionist wasn’t going to change her mind about him. He said a quick thanks and hung up the call. But that didn’t mean he was giving up. Far from it.
It just meant that he was going to have to try harder.
Fifteen minutes later, Scott was in his truck speeding down Bear Mountain Pass, the road that connected the mountain to Pine Springs. He didn’t slow down until he reached the shopping district and screeched into a parking spot. Taking a deep breath, he got out of his truck and strode into the shopping center with his head held high.
Claimed on Bear Mountain Page 3