Table of Contents
Copyright
Foreword
Chapter One – Amanda
Chapter Two – Jed
Chapter Three – Amanda
Chapter Four – Jed
Chapter Five – Amanda
Chapter Six – Jed
Chapter Seven – Amanda
Chapter Eight – Jed
Chapter Nine – Amanda
Chapter Ten – Jed
Chapter Eleven – Amanda
Chapter Twelve – Jed
Chapter Thirteen – Amanda
Chapter Fourteen – Jed
Chapter Fifteen – Amanda
Chapter Sixteen – Jed
Chapter Seventeen – Amanda
Chapter Eighteen – Jed
Chapter Nineteen – Amanda
Get In Touch
Also By Harmony Raines
His Bear’s
Necessity
***
All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2016 Harmony Raines
Kindle Edition
Foreword
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***
His Bear’s Necessity
Growing up, was tough for Jed Creswell, his family struggled for money, and sometimes he had to be a little creative to help put food in his younger sibling’s stomachs. But that’s the past, and for the last few years, he’s been working away from Bear Bluff. Now he’s returned, a reformed character who is determined to work hard and put his brother and sisters through college, so they get a better start in life.
That is until he meets Amanda, his mate, from that moment on he is torn, between the family he has, and the family of his own he wants, with the woman he is going to spend the rest of his life with
.
Amanda wants a new life in the town her grandma moved to, when she fell in love with a bear shifter. What she doesn’t need, is a man in her life, she’s done with them. She doesn’t trust them, and doesn’t need them.
However, when her boss, Dylan Taylor, takes on a new employee, Jed Creswell, the way he looks at Amanda leaves her in no doubt he thinks she’s his mate. Growing up with the stories her grandma used to tell her about what it was like to have a bear shifter as a mate, Amanda is tempted into giving Jed a chance.
Until Amanda’s past catches up with her, and she doesn’t know if it would be better for everyone if she moved on again.
She soon realizes Jed is not going to let that happen, not when she’s his bear’s necessity.
Chapter One – Amanda
“How are you settling in, Amanda?” Dylan, her new boss, asked.
“Good, I think. Everyone in town seems friendly. The sheriff, Declan, made a special point of introducing himself.” Things finally seemed to be going right for Amanda since she had moved to Bear Bluff three weeks ago. She hadn’t exactly needed a job, but when she saw the notice for a position with a startup construction company, she figured it was a great idea. Two new beginnings, hers and the company Dylan Taylor had created.
Bear Bluff Construction, at present, was a fancy name for the yard Dylan had rented with a small building to be used as an office, and a couple of warehouses for storage. They were situated on the outskirts of town, and Dylan had great plans. She liked his enthusiasm and drive. She also liked that he had a wife, Steph, who was heavily pregnant with their first child. In Amanda’s eyes, considering they were in bear shifter country, that made him safe. And safe was all she craved right now.
The only problem was, Amanda had a secret she hadn’t revealed on her job application, one that might make her boss have second thoughts about hiring her. Which was why Amanda now watched Dylan’s face for any hint of a reaction to those words. Declan had come over to say hi; he’d said it was because he wanted her to feel safe up there in her lonely cabin.
However, Amanda was scared it was due to someone finding out about her past, which she had left behind, along with her old name. Maybe it was a little over the top, but when she decided to move to Bear Bluff and live in the old cabin her grandma had left her, she figured a fresh start deserved a fresh name.
So, three weeks ago, she had legally taken on her grandma’s surname. Amanda Peaks was dead, at least in name, and Amanda Orson was the newest resident of Bear Bluff.
Dylan smiled. “He likes looking out for people, especially young women who live alone in the mountains.”
“Well, the loneliness doesn’t worry me, and neither do the bears. I can take care of myself.” Amanda turned her attention to the inbox on her desk, and picked up the first piece of paper.
“It’s always good to have backup.” Dylan looked at her closely. “And if any of the bears bother you, you know you can call me, or Declan, and we’ll handle it.”
Amanda glanced up at Dylan. “Pepper spray does wonders. I always carry some on me.” She watched his face: he winced. “You don’t approve of pepper spray?”
“Not on bears.” Dylan shook his head.
“I will be very careful to check it’s not you coming to pay me a visit before I use the spray in self-defense. Maybe you should get your wife to buy you a collar with a name tag. So I know it’s you.” She laughed at his expression. “I appreciate what you are saying. But I can take care of myself, and I promise not to use the pepper spray unless I am nose to nose with a dangerous animal.”
Dylan smiled, and she found herself liking him more and more, despite her promise to herself not to let people in. Not until she actually knew them, and what their agenda was, and since she had only started working for Dylan two days ago, she was trying to reserve judgment. Difficult when everyone liked him, and he liked to see the best in everyone.
If anything, he gave her hope. That even if he found out, he would give her a chance to prove herself. If the truth did come out, would the townsfolk of Bear Bluff give her a chance to start again, and only judge her on her present deeds? Or were they like other small towns, where gossip branded you for life?
“Now, unless I want my boss to fire me, I need to start work.” Turning her attention back to the sheet of paper in her hand, she studied it before putting it on a pile ready for filing.
“Conscientious. I like that.” He stood up. “You look like you need coffee.”
“Isn’t that my job?” she asked as he moved towards the coffee pot.
“I’ll get it this once.”
She watched him, trying to figure him out. Then her grin widened. “You are stalling.”
He looked guilty. “Stalling for what?”
“Do you want me to show you how that beast of a machine works?” she asked.
He looked sheepish. “Would you set it up for me?” he asked.
“Su
re, you only had to ask.”
“I feel like an idiot not being able to set up a new computer.”
“I think this new company, and everything you achieved before you came back to Bear Bluff, shows you are not an idiot. I’ll set everything up, and download everything you need. You’ll have to write me a list, and then you’ll have to log in with your passwords.”
“Thanks, Amanda. I’ve used a computer before, but it was old and did everything I needed, so I never upgraded. This thing scares me.”
She laughed. “Bring the coffee. I’ll have you up and running in no time.”
Amanda got up and went through to Dylan’s office, which was a mess. The business was so new; he hadn’t had time to straighten everything out. His new desk hadn’t been put together yet, and the new state-of-the-art computer sat on two packing crates. Some secretaries might have found it distressing, but she liked the feel of unorganized chaos.
Dylan and his wife Steph had made her feel welcome, and Amanda had an excited feeling in her stomach, as if she were about to be there at the start of something new and successful.
Amanda figured this could be a job for life, a place where she could make friends and feel part of something bigger than herself, and she planned to do whatever she could to become invaluable.
Unless they find out about my past. She shoved the thought that popped up right to the back of her mind.
Urgh, if only she could forget about it all. She really needed to give herself a break. Young and impressionable, the judge had called her. Not anymore. Older and wiser, that was her new mantra.
***
“OK, let me walk you through this,” Amanda said an hour later after Dylan had told her what he needed installed on the computer. “I’ve done as much as I can. Now you have to go through and fill in your passwords.”
“If I can remember them,” he groaned.
“Well, most of them will have an option to reset. So you’ll just have to go to your email account and change them.”
He came around to stand beside her, leaning over as she showed him what to do. “That’s it?” he asked.
“Pretty much.”
“You are a star,” he said happily. “This new operating system scares the hell out of me. I could just imagine my passwords getting swallowed up in some Internet abyss.”
“You are welcome. Now I should get back to work.” Amanda moved around him, about to head out of Dylan’s office, when she looked up and saw a young red-haired woman in the doorway. “Oh. Do you have an appointment?”
Dylan looked up. “Hi, Tilly, what brings you down here?”
Dylan’s body language seemed stiff, and Amanda wondered what history these two people had. She decided she would stay in the office, unless Dylan asked her to leave. If Tilly was trouble, Amanda was going to do everything in her power to stop that trouble over-spilling into Dylan’s marriage. She liked her new boss and his wife too much for anything to hurt them. Past experience had left her suspicious of people, and it wasn’t going away any time soon.
“I wondered if I could have a word?”
“Sure.” Dylan didn’t ask Amanda to leave, so she turned her back on Tilly, and began to sort through a box of papers, even though she had no idea what they were.
“It’s about Jed. You remember him?”
“Your older brother?” Dylan asked. “Sure. He took my lunch money when I was thirteen.”
“Oh,” Tilly said, her voice dropping. “That wasn’t exactly how I wanted you to remember him.”
“You were poor. If I remember correctly, it was your birthday.”
“It was. He bought me a hot school lunch with dessert.”
“Then he is forgiven. Although if he’d asked me, I would’ve handed it over.”
There was a pause, and Amanda could imagine Tilly blushing at Dylan’s words. “You’ve always been a good friend.” Tilly took a big breath, and spilled out the words she had come there to say. “Which is why I wondered if you would give Jed a job. He’s made some mistakes, but haven’t we all? He needs this. My family needs it.”
Amanda looked over her shoulder at Dylan, wondering what he would say. This was a startup company, and Jed sounded like trouble. Would Dylan risk his reputation on a man who stole lunch money? As a person who had also made a few mistakes herself, Dylan’s decision meant a lot to Amanda. Would he be so forgiving if he found about her past?
“Tilly, I don’t know,” Dylan said, and Amanda felt heat creep across her cheeks. There was her answer, no second chances. “It’s not about the lunch money, but we used to clash.”
“He’s changed, he moved away from the Bluff, went to figure out who he was and where he fit into this world. Not easy when you’re a shif…” She dropped her voice, and Amanda knew she wondered if she had spoken out of turn.
“It’s OK. Amanda knows all about our kind, even if she isn’t one of us herself. She’s Maria Orson’s granddaughter. You know, from over by Pinehill Ridge.”
“Really?” Tilly’s voice brightened. “Your grandma used to bake us cookies, and if ever she had food to spare, she would feed us if we were passing.” Then her voice dropped. “Of course, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said, turning around. “She led a good, a full life, and mourned my grandpa terribly when he died. So maybe it’s good they are together now.”
“True.” Tilly looked at Dylan again. “Will you at least think about it?”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll talk to him about it,” Dylan said.
“Great. Shall I send him in? He’s in the car.” Her face clouded with concern. “Only I didn’t tell him why I was coming here. So…”
Dylan sighed. “Send him in.”
Tilly left. Amanda collected the coffee cups and asked, “Want more coffee?”
“I think I’m going to need it, Amanda. Thanks. And thanks for hanging around. Last thing I need is people gossiping about me and Tilly talking alone.”
Amanda raised an eyebrow and then left the office, heading for the coffee pot and wondering if she would get any of her work done today. Looking out of the window, she watched as Tilly spoke to one of the biggest, broadest men she had ever seen. He was a good six foot five, and his shoulders were so well muscled she wondered where he found shirts to fit.
Trying not to let herself be seen, she watched as Tilly spoke to Jed. At least she presumed this was Jed. They had the same red hair, although Jed’s was darker, a rich auburn that was unfashionably long, nearly down to his shoulders. Right now, he was raking his hand through his hair and shaking his head, looking reluctant to come inside.
His eyes flicked to the door and then back to Tilly, and Amanda held her breath, wondering if he was going to bolt. Then Tilly placed her hand on Jed’s arm, and whatever she said to him worked. He nodded and then headed for the office, a resigned look on his face.
Amanda waited for him to come in, aiming to offer him coffee, only he didn’t appear. Intrigued, she wondered if he had changed his mind, maybe shifted into a bear or whatever animal he was, and headed off into the mountains. She wouldn’t blame him if he did; there were many times when she wished she had the ability to run free on four legs.
However, when she walked to the door and looked out, there he was, resting his hand on the dry stone wall, looking weak and confused. His hand rubbed the back of his neck until he sensed her watching, and his eyes lifted off the floor to lock with hers.
In that moment she knew. She had heard her grandma talk about this exact moment—when shifters saw their mates for the first time. But she had never expected to experience it.
Not least with a man who might be more trouble than she was.
Chapter Two – Jed
He didn’t want to be here. At least those were his thoughts—until he got that feeling. It started deep down inside him, and then spread out, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A shiver down his spine made him stop and rest on the wall, to regain his composure
. It scared him, because it made him feel weak. This couldn’t be happening now. He needed this job, and the job in question meant he needed to be strong.
Maybe he should have realized sooner what was wrong with him. But he didn’t. Not until she stood before him, framed by the doorway.
Confident. That was Jed, in everything he did. Or at least that was the persona he portrayed, through necessity rather than choice. There were times when he was younger, when the only way he could survive was to intimidate others.
As he looked into her face and saw the connection between them, he wasn’t sure if all the months he had traveled, trying to find out exactly who he was, deep down, had been wasted. The old Jed Creswell tried to fight his way to the surface, the Jed who would do anything to keep those he loved safe. The Jed who would steal or fight for whatever his family needed.
“Dylan’s in his office waiting for you,” she said, backing away.
He hesitated, knocked off guard. Jed had seen the way her eyes widened, the way she had acknowledged him. She knew he was her mate, and yet here she was trying to gloss over it, pushing it away, just as she was trying to push him away.
Shoving himself off the wall, he composed himself. His sister, Tilly, had come here to ask Dylan for a job for Jed, a job he desperately needed, even if it meant swallowing his pride to get it. Before he had seen this woman, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep himself together if Dylan came over all… boss-like. However, if his mate worked here, he was going to do his damnedest to get this job.
Whatever it takes, his bear assured him.
Even if it means groveling on the floor? Jed asked, entering the office where she was talking with Dylan. They stood close together, too close for Jed’s liking, and he had to keep a tight control on his temper.
He sighed, willing himself to keep it together. He had worked hard to undo what all the years of fighting and bullying as a kid had made him. Was this new Jed going to disappear overnight? All for a woman, a woman he wanted to protect. A woman he wanted to claim.
His Bear's Necessity: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Return To Bear Bluff Book 2) Page 1