Return to Bear Bluff Complete Series

by Harmony Raines

  “Caleb, this is Zoe. Zoe, Caleb.” Dylan drew her along with him until they were face to face with Caleb, and then he said, “Maybe you may reconsider my offer, under the circumstances.”

  Caleb looked dumbstruck and didn’t answer, which didn’t faze Dylan, who grinned and made his way toward his office. “I’m sure Caleb will be more than willing to help you look for Tony. When you find him, I’d like a word. He needs to be aware he’s on his last chance.” Dylan turned back toward them. “No. I have a better idea. Caleb, if you are taking the job, you can start today, and Tony can be under your skillful hands.”

  Caleb still stood staring at her, before raising his eyes to look at Dylan. “Sure.”

  “Sure? Do you even know what Dylan asked you?” Zoe tried to snap Caleb out of his stupor.

  Caleb shook his head, as if shaking off a dream. “No.”

  She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, if only to stop him staring at her breasts; a woman could hope. “Hey. Up here, buddy.” Caleb’s eyes came back into focus, and he took a step back as if she had struck him. “Listen, I know what this looks like, but I’m sure there’s some mistake.”

  “No mistake,” he said, looking at her intently.

  “We’ll see about that.” She looked him up and down, taking in his broad shoulders, toned thighs, and the six-pack barely concealed under his T-shirt. “You’re a bear, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Great, a dumbass bear. If it had to be one of these guys, could she not have at least been mated with one who had brains? Fate had it in for her, all right.

  “I have to go and find my brother. You can stay here.” She turned to move away, ignoring the pull of him. She was not in the mood to be shackled to some large meathead. Ignoring the sense of being pulled back toward him as if she were stuck in his gravity, she walked back to her car.

  If Tony wasn’t here, then she had to find out where he was. This was the third time in the last week her brother hadn’t come home, and hadn’t made it into work on time. She knew, as did Tony, that they were lucky Dylan had given Tony a chance. It was only because Declan, the sheriff of Bear Bluff, had put in a good word for him that Tony had a job. A job with good prospects, if only he would make an effort.

  “I’ll come with you,” Caleb said, catching her up.

  “I’ll be quicker on my own,” she brushed him off, although she wanted him to come with her. She had looked everywhere she thought Tony might be, but she hadn’t lived in Bear Bluff for long, and was out of ideas.

  “I know Bear Bluff. I know where the kids go,” Caleb said, sounding confident. “Let me help, and if I’m not any help, at least I’ll be company.”

  “OK,” she agreed, simply because it was the easiest thing to do. Ever since she had set eyes on Caleb, her inner self had decided to be strong and insistent, trying to persuade Zoe to let their mate join them on their chase around town for her brother. Most other times, her inner beast—Zoe smiled at that thought—was content to sit in the corner and let Zoe get on with things.

  “Where have you looked so far?” Caleb asked.

  “The diner, the pond, the library—I heard kids sometimes head in there, and dare each other to get locked in at night,” she said, the tiredness in her voice evidence of the worry that seemed to be her constant shadow. She couldn’t seem to get through to her brother; nothing she said made him do the right thing. He must be aware of the consequences of his actions, but he chose to ignore them.

  “Does he sleep over at a friend’s house at all?” Caleb asked.

  “Gee, why didn’t I think of that?” she asked as she pulled out onto the road, then instantly felt bad. “I’m sorry, I have no real idea who his friends are. We only moved here three weeks ago and Tony has kept his new friends secret from me.”

  “Three weeks, that’s not long, your brother’s still finding his feet, and seeing where he fits in.” Caleb paused and then asked, “Why did you move here?”

  “Is it against the law to just move to a new town?” she asked sharply. Zoe looked out of the window, her eyes scanning the mountains all around them. “For all I know, he could be up there.”

  “Let’s go and ask around town. If there’s no sign of him, we can check the lower slopes. Although unless we pick up his scent, it’s going to be impossible to track him.”

  “I know.” She went over the last conversation she had with Tony, trying to figure out if she’d done something or said something to make him run off. “I don’t see why he hasn’t called.”

  “Because he knows he’s in trouble.” Caleb lifted a hand and was about to put it on hers, but he saw her tense and placed it back down in his thigh. “How old is he?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “What’s his story?” Caleb asked, catching her sharp look. “Listen, it would help if I knew what we were dealing with. No offense, but he’s working for Dylan, who is running a program for kids who need a fresh start, and you are new in town. If I got it wrong, I’m sorry, but I’m assuming you moved here so Tony could work for Dylan.”

  “We did.” She looked across at him. “I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you. I can see you are trying to help. I’m not feeling myself.”

  “It’s a shock, I feel it too. When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would find my mate. Not that I’m not ecstatic about finding you,” he added quickly.

  She laughed. “I’m glad one of us is,” she said, parking the car on the street outside the cinema. “Another place I’ve heard the kids sneak into.”

  “Hey, wait a minute, before you get out. Are you saying you aren’t happy we are mates?” He looked confused. “Isn’t this what we spend our whole lives looking for? Our mate, so we can settle down and have a family.”

  “There’s more to life than procreation,” she said, opening the car door and getting out. She’d slammed it closed and was heading for the movie theater entrance before he even had the door open.

  “Hey, wait. You can’t just ignore me,” he said, catching hold of her arm and turning her to him.

  “You know what? Yes, I can. I don’t have to have anything to do with you. There is no rule, no law that says I have to be with you.”

  “What exactly has bitten you in the ass?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. What was she supposed to say? I want to avoid you because ever since I met you all I can think about is how I want to drag you off to bed and fuck your brains out, but I can’t because I have to find my selfish brother.

  Yeah, that would be truthful, but would not get her closer to finding Tony. “I’m sorry.” Those two words seemed to be her mantra today. “But I have to find Tony.”

  “Then I’ll show you how to sneak in. That way, if he is in there, no one’s going to get into trouble.” He took her hand and she didn’t object when he led her around the back of the building.

  “You aren’t just trying to find somewhere private?” she asked.

  “For what?” Realization spread across his face, and she couldn’t help blushing.

  He chuckled. “Oh, honey, when I claim you for the first time, it is not going to be in some back alley.”

  “Who says you are going to claim me?” she taunted.

  He studied her again and then shrugged. “If you want to do the claiming, that’s fine with me. I’m all for equal opportunities.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” she protested.

  “It’s not what you are ever going to say, but it sure as hell is what you are thinking.” He put his hand up to stop her talking. “Please do not do either of us the disservice of saying it’s not. You want to believe you can ignore this, then fine, I’ll go along with it until we’ve found your brother. After that, well, I think we both know what’s going to happen.”

  “No, we don’t!” But she did: deep down, she knew there was no escaping what was between them. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to fight it. Even if she was on her own in that battle, since the smal
l furry animal inside of her was in raptures over their newfound mate.

  Chapter Three – Caleb

  “Here,” he said, pulling a grate to one side. “I thought they might have sealed this up by now, but it’s still accessible. Let’s go see if he’s in here.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, looking into the darkness.

  “Absolutely,” he answered, taking her hand and leading her into the narrow gap. The very narrow gap. Last time he had come down here, he had been a young teen; it was a time before he grew hairs on his chest and muscles that could lift a small car.

  “You are not going to fit,” she said, as his clothes brushed along the walls. As he held his breath, trying to squeeze further along, he knew Zoe was right, he wasn’t going to fit.

  “OK, back up, you go in and I’ll wait out here.” He hated the thought of her going in alone, but there was nothing for it.

  “Where exactly am I heading?” she asked, when they were back outside. She looked nervous, her arms folded in front of her chest. Whether to ward him off, or for some other reason, he wasn’t sure, but he had to know.

  “Are you OK?” he asked.

  “Sure.” She looked back toward the narrow gap. “Small spaces aren’t exactly my thing. Ridiculous when you consider…” She pressed her lips together—lips he longed to kiss.

  He cleared his throat. “Consider what?”

  “Nothing. What I mean is, I’m not exactly on the slim and slender side, am I?” she asked, indicating her curvy body.

  She should not have brought his attention to her curves. Now there was another part of his anatomy that was growing bigger. A part that would not help with finding her brother, but would lead to distracting thoughts that he longed to make reality.

  “You’ll fit. It’s only this first part that’s narrow: after around ten feet, it opens up wider. Then you go left and follow it around.” He paused. “There is a section you have to crawl through.”

  “Great.” She took her phone out and looked at it, as if willing it to ring. Then she put it back in her pocket. “I wish he’d just call.”

  “We could always look somewhere else,” Caleb offered.

  “No. I need to look; he talked about this place. So, there’s a chance he’s here.” She walked to the entrance, her face pale and her breathing shallow, but she controlled it. “OK. I can do this.”

  She moved forward, into the darkness, and turned sideways to slip between the narrow walls. He heard her breathing coming in short, sharp gasps, before she reined in her fear and it returned to normal, getting further and further away. Which he hated: she should be here by his side, not leaving him before they even kissed.

  He shook his head. It was selfish of him to think about what he wanted when she was searching for her brother. He knew one thing for sure: when they did find him, Caleb was going to give him a talking-to and set him straight on how he was treating both Zoe, and Dylan, who was trying to help him.

  Moving closer to the entrance, he peered inside. He couldn’t see anything, but he did hear something. The sound of a ringtone echoing around the walls, then her voice as she answered.

  “Hello… He’s there?”

  Caleb stood up, relieved. This could only mean one thing. Her brother had been found, and they could get over chasing him around and get down to some important business, such as when she was going to go on a date with him. He grinned. He was more interested in what came after, but a date would get them in the right mood.

  Fool, he was already in the mood. Maybe they could go back to her place right now and he could get this mating bond out of his system.

  “He’s turned up at the yard.” Zoe almost ran out of the darkness, shuddering and turning back to look at where she’d come from. Was it his imagination, or had the air become electrically charged. Had she shifted? Damn, if she had, he’d missed it. It also meant she was not a bear, unless she was a very small bear. Her voice cut into his thoughts. “They say face your fears, but they are wrong.”

  Caleb lifted the grate and put it back into place, making sure it was firmly attached before moving to her side, needing to be close to her. “Why don’t we go grab some coffee? It’ll help calm you down.” That counted as a date, right?

  In Caleb’s mind, his bear shook his massive grizzly head in dismay.

  “Coffee?” She brushed the dirt off her clothes. “I have to go and see Tony.”

  “Hey, wait.” He put his arm in front of Zoe to stop her walking off, and she didn’t look too pleased about it. He didn’t blame her; he wasn’t usually the kind of man to try to be controlling, but she didn’t seem to realize how important this was. Neither of them could carry on with their lives as if nothing had changed.

  It had changed, and he, for one, wanted it to change some more. A lot more.

  She backed up a step. “I appreciate your help. I’ll take you back to the yard where you can pick up your car, and then I can talk to Tony.”

  “Isn’t he old enough to look after himself?” Caleb asked, fighting not to come over all caveman, or cave bear, and drag her off to his den in the mountains.

  “What do you know about him?” she countered.

  “I know he’s old enough to be out at night on his own. I know he’s old enough for Dylan to have given him a job.”

  “He is old enough, although he doesn’t act it,” she agreed. “It’s just… I’ve always looked out for him. I need this to work—one more incident like this and Dylan will fire him. His project is for people who want to work, who want to make a future for themselves.”

  “And what about your future?” Caleb asked.

  “You mean our future?” She made it sound as if he were being selfish.

  “No, I didn’t mean our future, not in that way. But you moved here with him. Which means you gave up whatever life you had before. So Tony could have a second chance.”

  “Your point?” Her body language softened and he knew he had found a way in, not that he wanted to get under her skin for any reason other than to help her.

  “What is my point?” he murmured, trying to put it into words. He was usually good at articulating his thoughts, but with his mate so close, there was just too much distraction. “OK. You are treating him like a kid. Try treating him like an adult.”

  “He doesn’t behave like one.”

  “Have you tried letting him?” Caleb asked.

  “I can’t take the risk of letting him fall.”

  “Sometimes that’s exactly what a man needs.” He was fighting not to act on what this man needed. There was no way he was going to make her life more difficult, which meant he had to be supportive, and not act on his primal instincts. But the rise and fall of her breasts was impossible to ignore.

  “Then what am I supposed to do?” she asked.

  “Let me handle it,” he said, a sudden spark of inspiration hitting him.

  “You?” She didn’t sound convinced. “I don’t know you. How do I know you aren’t going to get him into more trouble?”

  He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Because from the instant I saw you, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life making you happy. To do that, I have to help you straighten out Tony.”

  “Is this how you think you’re going to get me into bed?” she asked, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

  “No. I have other ways to get you into my bed.” He winked at her, and was gratified when the right side of her mouth twitched, but she didn’t allow herself to smile. “Let me go and talk to Tony. I’ll see if Dylan has some work for me, and Tony can come on the job with me.”

  “You would do that?” she asked.

  “For you. And Tony. I never had a brother or sister, but if I did… Let’s just say I’m humbled by the way you watch out for him.”

  She gave a brief nod of her head, and he pulled out his phone and called Dylan, happy he had taken one small step forward. He only hoped that by the end of a day with Tony, he wouldn’t have taken ten steps back. He w
as not going to stand for any crap, not for anyone, even his mate.

  Chapter Four – Zoe

  How was she supposed to keep him at arm’s length when he was willing to do this for her? She wasn’t. It was a simple as that. Bonded mates weren’t supposed to stay at arm’s length. Caleb was supposed to be in her arms and her heart. Zoe had to find a way to let him in. Both into her life and into her heart.

  Zoe tried not to be so tough on herself. She’d already agreed to let him into her life, by allowing him to help Tony. However, to let him into her heart, to let him touch her soul—that was a hard thing to ask.

  She drove back to Dylan’s yard, quietly cursing Tony for whatever trouble he had got himself into this time. Dylan had mentioned something about a black eye, which meant he must have been in a fight.

  Not again, she thought, as she pushed the gas pedal down a little further.

  “You might want to slow down some. We don’t want to meet something big coming the other way and end up in a ditch,” Caleb said.

  “Sorry. I’m worried about Tony, that’s all. Dylan mentioned a black eye. Which he did not have the last time I saw him.” She eased off the gas, and the car slowed, but she felt her impatience boiling up inside her.

  “I’ll ask him about it. Once I get to know him.” They were close to the yard, and Zoe wanted to drive straight in there and demand answers from Tony. She hadn’t moved to bear country for him just so he could throw away this second chance.

  “Will you let me know he’s OK?” she asked, pulling up outside the yard.

  “Sure, give me your number, and I’ll text you, or call you when I can.” She read out her number, and he added it to his contacts, before looking at her again with an expression that said she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “One more thing. A condition, I suppose. What he tells me must be in confidence. I can’t ask him to trust me, and then let him down by telling you.” He winced at his own words. “That was hard to say.”