Unable to help herself, Steffi scanned the room for Evan. She found him standing near the large bay windows, talking to his brother Mark, who had his arm around the waist of a voluptuous blonde wearing loose linen pants and a fringed top with a Southwestern flair.
Steffi guessed that she must be Evan's sister-in-law, Caitlyn Morgan.
The Swanson men sure seemed to like their women on the soft and curvy side, Steffi noted, and tried to suppress the spurt of optimism at the thought.
As if sensing her presence, Evan's gaze went directly to Steffi. When their eyes met, he gave her a heart-stopping smile.
He came over immediately.
"Wow," he breathed, coming to a stop in front of her. The look on his face made Steffi feel short of breath. "You look great, Steffi."
Steffi's cheeks suddenly felt very warm. What was it about Evan Swanson that made her want to rub herself all over his big, muscled body?
She glanced surreptitiously around the rest of the living room but saw no sign that Mary Jacobsen had been invited as Evan's date.
Good. Steffi knew she was going to have a hard enough time maintaining her cool around Evan as it was.
Evan put his hand on Steffi's shoulder and drew her gently forward. She felt the heat of his touch like a brand through the thin knit of her cardigan. "Steffi, you remember my brother Mark?"
She nodded and exchanged smiles with the big bearded man.
"And this is my sister-in-law, Caitlyn."
Smiling, the blonde extended her hand to Steffi. "Hi, I've heard a lot about you."
"Pleased to meet you," Steffi said, happy that she had correctly guessed the other woman's identity. She took Caitlyn's hand and shook it.
"And have you met my youngest brother, Ash?" asked Evan.
He indicated a lean young man standing nearby, apparently absorbed in reading something on his smartphone. "Ash, come meet Patrick's sister-in-law, Steffi Tristan."
Ash looked up with a start and immediately slipped his phone into one of the pockets of his jeans.
"Hey, Steffi," he drawled, ambling over to join their little group.
He had the Swanson dark hair and hazel eyes and was dressed like a Silicon Valley software developer in saggy jeans and a faded gray T-shirt printed with a buxom anime-style cartoon girl. Ash was maybe nineteen or twenty years old and just as handsome as the other Swanson brothers that Steffi had met so far.
"Hi, Ash," said Steffi warmly. "Are you the one who's running a gaming company?"
"Yep, Grizzly Creek Games." Ash rolled his eyes. "Let me guess—Mom debriefed you on the entire clan when she invited you over?"
Steffi decided to roll with it. "Yep. She handed me detailed dossiers on all of you. Has she sent you out on any covert ops yet?"
Ashton looked momentarily surprised, then he laughed.
"I like her," he said to Evan with a nod in Steffi's direction. "Can we keep her?"
"There's no we about it, junior," Evan rumbled and squeezed Steffi's shoulder lightly. Sensation shot straight down to the pit of her belly at the possessive gesture and bloomed there in an embarrassing burst of heat. "I saw her first."
His hand remained on Steffi's shoulder. She decided that she liked it…maybe too much.
"How long are you in town for?" asked Caitlyn. Her bright gaze moved between Steffi's burning face and Evan's hand on her shoulder.
"Just a week," Steffi said, feeling a bit breathless. "I'm planning on heading home next Sunday or Monday."
"Careful," cautioned Caitlyn with a chuckle. "I only planned to stay for a week or two. That was, um, over a year ago. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened."
"Don't let her fool you. She made me work really hard to convince her to relocate from Albuquerque," commented Mark.
"And I enjoyed every minute of being convinced," purred Caitlyn, looking up through her lashes at her husband.
Out of the corner of her eye, Steffi saw that Margaret was now holding Olivia and talking to Patrick's younger sisters Kayla and Hannah. Kayla was in her early twenties and halfway through veterinary school, while Hannah was nineteen and working at Annabeth's bakery-café.
Annabeth had met Hannah this morning when she had wandered downstairs for breakfast at Cinnamon + Sugar, but she only knew Kayla through Patrick's stories and photos.
Both young women looked excited to spend time with their niece. As Steffi watched, Margaret grudgingly handed Olivia over to Kayla. Hannah was bouncing on the balls of her feet, clearly straining for a chance to hold the baby next.
Steffi realized that she would probably be relieved of baby duty for tonight, at least.
"Let me get you a glass of wine," Evan said. His breath brushed the top of Steffi's ear as he bent to speak to her. The sensation raised a pleasant shiver and pulled her attention away from Olivia. "Red or white?"
"White, please," Steffi replied.
As Evan crossed the living room to pour her a drink from a collection of bottles lined up on a doily-covered table, Steffi could still feel the warm imprint of his hand on her shoulder.
Oh my God. I think I have a crush on Evan Swanson. This is bad. This is really bad.
She'd been trying to deny it to herself for two days now, because nothing good could come of it, not with Steffi here for one short week and Evan already involved with someone else.
Steffi took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
Okay, so she had the hots for the guy who had just saved her life. She'd just have to put on her big-girl panties and deal with it, just as she was dealing with unexpected foster motherhood in the wake of Jessica's…disappearance.
And it was only a disappearance at this point, she told herself. Jessica couldn't be dead! She just couldn't be.
"So, Ash, your mom mentioned that you're running your company from this ranch," Steffi said, hoping to distract herself from her unsettling train of thought.
"I used to," Ash said, brightening. "But now I mostly run it from my apartment on campus. I'm majoring in computer science, and homework kind of gets in the way, though. Thanks to finals, I'm two months behind on the new version of Hunter's Blood, but I'm hoping to catch up now while I'm on summer break." He grimaced. "If Mom doesn't expect me to help drive cattle up to the high country. I'm hoping she actually decided to hire enough hands this year that I can concentrate on the release."
"You know, Steffi works for a high-tech company in Silicon Valley," interjected Evan as he walked up.
He handed Steffi a glass of white wine, then stood close enough to her that she could feel his body heat. It was highly distracting. She really wanted to lean into him and put her head against his chest.
The impulse was so strong, she actually found herself swaying before she caught herself.
Gack! Bad Steffi! No harassing the hunky fireman!
"Really?" asked Ash, brightening. "Which one?"
"Copper Shark Systems," Steffi answered, struggling to yank her thoughts away from the big man standing just a little too close to her. "They're a security software startup in Mountain View. I work in the product marketing group."
Evan shifted his weight, and Steffi felt his arm pressing lightly against hers. Did he even know what he was doing to her right now?
Must. Act. Normal.
She forced herself to chat casually with Ash for the next few minutes and discovered that he was currently doing cross-platform development for Android and iOS, but that his marketing efforts were limited to sending out free beta versions of his game and hoping for reviews and good word-of-mouth on online gaming forums and gaming blogs.
He sounded a bit embarrassed by this. "I know I should be taking out ads on gaming sites and doing YouTube teasers, but I just don't have the time."
"No, you've got a good strategy," Steffi hastened to assure him. "Especially since you're a one-man operation at this point."
Ash looked pleased at this.
Then Evan cleared his throat. "Steffi, I hate to change the subject, but I
was meaning to tell you that I heard from the fire marshal this afternoon regarding the fire at the Bearpaw Ridge Inn."
And then he put his arm around her shoulders.
Breathe, Steffi. Breathe. She didn't know whether to step away or snuggle in against his side, so she went completely still.
Both Mark and Caitlyn suddenly looked alert.
"What did he say?" Steffi asked.
Focus, focus, focus, she chanted to herself, exquisitely aware of every single place that Evan was making contact.
Demonstrating that he had an unnaturally keen sense of hearing, Dane rose from the horsehair couch and joined them.
"He told me he found clear evidence of arson," Evan said grimly. "Two of the surviving smoke detectors showed they were deliberately disabled, and some of the burn patterns on the ground floor walls showed patterns indicating an accelerant, such as gasoline, might have been used."
"Were there any witnesses?" asked Caitlyn. "And who's the fire marshal? Do you think he'd be willing to talk to me?"
Steffi remembered Evan mentioning that his sister-in-law was an investigative journalist who also ran the Bearpaw Ridge Fire Department's Twitter and Facebook feeds.
Evan shook his head. "Nope, no witnesses. And I'll give you Steve Hopkins' contact info later—remind me if I forget."
"Don't worry, I will," Caitlyn assured him.
"Sheriff Jacobsen mentioned he was going to bring in Andy Schlumbacher for questioning, since his 'dinner break' coincided so neatly with the fire," Dane volunteered.
"I talked with the sheriff this morning. After interviewing Andy, Bill Jacobsen says he's sure that Andy didn't have anything to do with the fire," Mark said. "That should help Elsa collect a settlement from the insurance company…eventually, at least. They're probably going to want to do their own arson investigation."
"I've been wondering," Steffi ventured, "if the same people who tried abduct Olivia also set the fire in hopes of grabbing her in the confusion."
Evan sighed. "It's the only theory that makes sense so far."
"Ooh, you think that the fire and the attempted abduction are linked? Steffi, do you mind if I interview you after dinner?" Caitlyn asked eagerly. "Everyone in town has been talking about the fire, and if they know that the arsonists almost burned a baby alive…well, let's just say it's the biggest news story this town has seen in a while.”
"Not since Philippe Bertrand and his associates came here after murdering a cop in Albuquerque and tried to kill you, too," Mark said in a deceptively bland tone.
"What?" Steffi asked. She felt Evan's arm tighten around her.
Caitlyn flapped her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'll tell you about it after dinner…when we sit down for the interview."
Way to guarantee that I'll say yes to the interview request!
"Okay," Steffi said. "You've got a deal. But I have to say, for a small town, there does seem to be a lot of stuff going on here."
"Never a dull moment," agreed Evan.
* * *
When Steffi followed the Swansons into the dining room a short time later, she saw that it was decorated with wallpaper in an antique-looking pattern of thin stripes and flowers.
A large bronze Victorian gaslight chandelier hung from the molded ceiling, with large, tulip-shaped frosted glass shades around the light bulbs, and there was a massive antique oak sideboard standing along one wall.
A selection of pies and cookies had been placed on trays on the sideboard as well as several long baguettes and a collection of wine bottles, along with two large silver pitchers coated with condensation.
A huge oval dining table dominated the room. It was covered with an embroidered tablecloth and set for eleven adults, with two high chairs placed side-by-side for Olivia and Matthew.
Margaret insisted on sitting next to Olivia's high chair, and Annabeth took her place next to Matthew's high chair, leaving Steffi seated across the table from the babies…and next to Evan.
The rest of the Swansons quickly arranged themselves in the remaining seats, and Elle, assisted by Kayla and Hannah, began bringing out bowls and platters of food.
There were several different kinds of salads and vegetable casseroles, a platter heaped with roasted fingerling potatoes coated in a savory blend of garlic and herbs, and a huge prime rib roast crusted with pepper and more herbs.
Ash wielded a bread knife on one of the loaves on the sideboard, then passed a basket filled with the freshly sliced bread around the table.
In the meanwhile, Dane began carving the prime rib while Mark circled the table, pouring ice water into the waiting goblets. Evan rose to refill everyone's wine glasses before resuming his seat at Steffi's side.
She was hyper-aware of his presence so close to her but tried to ignore the distraction. He didn't make it easy for her, though—somehow, he managed to brush her hand or her arm every time he handed around a salad bowl or a casserole dish.
He's flirting with me, she thought, trying and failing to summon up indignation.
Instead, she just felt warm and a little giddy, though she'd barely sipped at her wine before dinner. It was intoxicating to have a man treat her as if she were irresistible, and she was having a harder and harder time remembering that he was unavailable.
She had just cut into her thick slice of perfectly cooked prime rib when she spied movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Royce's tail disappear around the end of the table.
He wasn't supposed to be in the dining room. Steffi had put his dog bed out in the hall, with a stern command to lie and stay. But he was also accustomed to serving as Olivia's cleaner-upper, and it probably wouldn't hurt to let him take up his usual station under her high chair.
Then things went to hell.
Horrified, Steffi saw Royce rise up on his hind legs and brazenly put his paws up on the edge of the sideboard. Before she could stop him, he grabbed one of the baguettes that Annabeth had brought.
"Royce, no!" She shoved back her chair and stood. "Leave it!"
Every adult at the table turned to look at her misbehaving dog.
Instead of dropping his prize, though, Royce pulled the long, thin loaf off the sideboard and made a dash for the hallway.
"Royce, NO!" Steffi shouted in despair and tried to intercept him. "Bad dog!"
Royce dodged her attempt to grab for his collar and galloped for the dining room's doorway.
There, he came to a sudden and unexpected halt when the baguette, held sideways in his jaws, proved longer than the doorway was wide.
A roar of laughter went up from the table as Steffi grimly headed for her misbehaving dog.
He looked back at her with rolled eyes and a guilty expression, saw her advancing on him, and made a frantic second attempt to barge through the doorway.
He was once again stopped by the surprisingly sturdy length of bread.
"I may have left that baguette in the oven a little too long," Annabeth called in a choked voice.
Evan, Ash, Dane, and Mark were doubled over with laughter now, and so was everyone else at the table.
Just as Steffi reached out to grab Royce's collar, he lunged forward a third time. The baguette finally cracked in two, and one of the halves flew out of Royce's jaws. It hit the wall with a thump and fell to the carpet.
Royce clamped down on the remaining half of his prize. Evading Steffi's frantic attempt to restrain him, he ran down the hallway to disappear into the living room.
"I am so sorry," Steffi gasped as she straightened up. Her face was burning with embarrassment. "I didn't think he'd try counter-surfing while we were all sitting right here!"
Elle, her cheeks red with laughter, shook her head. "Don't worry about it. And I think Royce deserves that piece of bread, don't you? He worked…so…very…hard for it," she sputtered, overcome with a fit of giggles.
"Did you see the look on his face when he saw you coming for him?" Margaret wheezed. She actually had tears running down her face. "That was the funniest thing I've
seen in a long time!"
Olivia, sitting next to her, grabbed her sippy cup and began banging it enthusiastically against the high chair's tray. She opened her mouth and showed all four of her teeth as she imitated the adults' laughter.
Matthew followed suit with his own sippy cup.
"I'm really sor—" Steffi began.
Then she was transfixed with horror as Olivia's gurgling laughter suddenly became the high-pitched yowl that Steffi recognized all too well.
She forgot completely about Royce as she stood frozen, watching her niece's skin ripple and sprout dark hair as her round face stretched into a muzzle and small claws sprouted from her fingertips.
The laughter stilled abruptly as everyone looked at Olivia. And Steffi knew that this time, she was in the kind of deep trouble that she wouldn't be able to explain her way out of.
It only took a few moments for the shift to complete. When it was done, a bear cub sat in the high chair, still wearing a summer dress covered with lions, zebras, and giraffes. The headband with its teddy bear ornament had slipped around the cub's neck. It pawed ineffectually at it, then heaved itself up and over the high chair tray, landing on the tablecloth right in front of the platter of prime rib.
As Steffi stood frozen with horror, Margaret calmly stood and lifted the cub off the table by the scruff of its neck. She sat down again and put the cub on her lap, holding it firmly in place.
"Well, aren't you a clever girl," she cooed down at it. "Shifting at such a young age! Why, your daddy didn't manage it until he was two years old!"
Steffi felt the foundations of reality wobble under her strappy sandals. She clutched the white-painted doorframe.
Patrick had been able to turn into a bear too? And Margaret had known about it?
Of course she knew, Steffi realized. Why else had she asked that cautious question about whether Olivia had done anything special?
She looked around the table and saw varying degrees of surprise, delight, and dismay…but no shock or horror.
Ignite: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 3) Page 11