“Jed, sorry, Amanda is just trying to set up my new computer for me. I can build a house, but I’m no good with Windows.” Dylan smiled, and Jed acknowledged he was trying to put him at ease, to break down the barrier Jed put up between himself and anything that threatened him.
Amanda is not a threat, his bear told him firmly.
Only to my heart, Jed answered. His bear guffawed, making Jed sigh inwardly. You are so totally cool. We’d best introduce you after she’s fallen in love with me.
I have patience, his bear answered. And I’m going to need it if you don’t stop standing here like a fool. Speak.
Speak. What should he say? His mind was so caught up with thoughts of Amanda, and mates, and bear cubs, he knew if he opened his mouth, nothing sensible would come out. A fear built up inside him: she would see him as a jerk, he had to say something, anything.
“How are you, Dylan?” Like he cared?
Dylan frowned a little and looked at Amanda. Which Jed hated. Was Dylan going to poison her against Jed? His fists tightened into balls.
Calm down. Breathe, his bear said. You are overreacting.
Jed breathed in, centering his thoughts on Dylan and the job he needed, and then exhaling very slowly through his mouth.
“Everything OK?” Dylan asked warily.
“Fine. I’m just not feeling myself right now.” He needed a chair. The scent of Amanda had reached his nostrils, and was threatening to short-circuit his brain even further.
“Amanda, would you step out for a moment, please?” Dylan asked.
“No. I’m fine,” Jed said recovering himself. “I don’t want to interrupt you two.”
“If you’re sure, you seemed a little…”
“Surprised,” Jed said. “But I have it under control now.”
His eyes flicked to Amanda briefly, but she avoided looking at him, trying to pretend he wasn’t there. It confirmed his suspicions. Not only did she know he was her mate, but she was desperately trying to pretend it wasn’t true. But why? Did she know about his past? Was that it? She didn’t want anything to do with a man like him. Well, he wasn’t a man like he used to be, and the only way he could see of proving that to her was to get this job. It would give him a chance to be around her without having to stalk her.
His bear was good at stalking, but his mate was not the same as a nice juicy rabbit.
“Great.” Dylan didn’t convey any confidence in his voice.
“I’m sorry. Just seems a bit weird, being back in Bear Bluff and seeing you.” His eyes flicked nervously to Amanda again.
“Oh, I understand.” Dylan’s voice changed, and he hid a smile. “I think I understand completely.”
“Do you?” Jed asked.
Amanda looked up. “I am in the room.”
“So you know?” Dylan asked her, surprised. “You know Jed is your mate?”
“No. I figured I am his mate. It doesn’t work both ways. I’m not the same as you, remember.” She walked around the desk and headed for the door, carefully avoiding getting too close to Jed. “I didn’t come to Bear Bluff to find a husband, I came to start a new life. So if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go and do my job.”
Jed shook his head. “What did you tell her?”
“About what? About you?” Dylan asked. “Nothing. Except that you stole my lunch money.”
“Great,” Jed said.
Dylan came around his desk and stood next to Jed. “Listen. Don’t take it personally, but this might not be all about you.”
“What does that mean?” Jed asked. He didn’t need cryptic clues, or to play mind games. All he wanted was his mate, in his bed. And a job. He made himself relax. He could not let himself get distracted, he needed this job, now more than ever.
“It means, you need to give Amanda some time, and some space. It’s easy for you, you know she’s the one. But she doesn’t have that same connection. You are going to have to let her get to know you, and then ask her on a date. You play the long game.”
Once Jed had claimed Amanda, they would be together for the rest of their lives. Dylan was right; he didn’t want to frighten her away. “You’re right. I need to find out what she likes, what makes her tick.”
“And I can help you with that.” Dylan held out his hand. “Congratulations, you are the newest employee of Bear Bluff Construction.”
“You are sure?” Jed asked, surprised at not having to at least pitch himself as a good employee.
“I wasn’t. But I am now. You have something big to focus on, something important to succeed for. I know you are going to work your bear butt off for me.”
Jed groaned inwardly at the bear-butt innuendo, although his inner bear chuckled at the joke. They both knew Dylan was right. He was going to do whatever it took to win Amanda over.
“So when do I start?” Jed asked, shaking Dylan’s hand.
“Right now. In fact, I have a house that needs renovating over on the north side of town. It’s a quiet spot, I haven’t had time to go over there and itemize what I need, so why don’t you do that for me?”
“Sure.” Jed turned on his heel, heading for the door.
“And take Amanda with you.”
Jed nodded, trying not to look too excited about spending time with Amanda. He had to play it cool. He had to get this right.
Or risk losing his mate forever.
Chapter Three – Amanda
“Dylan wants me to go with you?” Amanda asked Jed, he’d gone out to say goodbye to Tilly, and now he was back in her office, standing front of her, distracting her from her work—for all the wrong reasons.
His size would be intimidating, but he was trying his hardest not to let that happen. She could see it in the way he was leaning back, just a little, so as not to crowd her, and the way he kept assessing whether he was invading her personal space. Jed, this great big giant of a man, could not be more courteous towards her if he tried, despite the turmoil crossing his face, reminding her how much of a struggle it was to keep himself under control.
She was his kryptonite. Maybe to some other women, that might be seductive in itself, to have power over a beast of a man like this. However, Amanda didn’t want that kind of power, none of it. All she craved was a place to live, peacefully, with no trouble. Looking at Jed, she was sure, underneath the hard toned abs, there was trouble simmering just below the surface.
“Yes. He wants us to go over to the north side of town and begin to itemize the materials he needs to order before we can begin work on the property he is renovating.” Jed kept his voice even.
“And why do I have to go? It’s not exactly in my job description,” she asked curtly. “And I have a full inbox of paperwork to deal with.” She pointed to her desk, to reinforce the point: to try to show him she wasn’t just making this up, that she genuinely was too busy to leave the office.
“You two still here?” Dylan asked, coming out of his office.
“I was just telling Jed how busy I am.”
“That can wait.” Her boss pointed to her inbox. “I need you to go with Jed. I was going to go over there myself, but now you’ve set up my computer, my time would be better spent here. Since we now have our first official member of our workforce.”
“What if you need me? With the computer?” she asked, knowing it was useless. Her temper was flaring; she was being railroaded into spending time with Jed. Against her will.
“I’ll call you,” Dylan said.
“But...” She really should just give it up, she was sounding like a petulant child, and that wasn’t her. It never had been, and she was damn sure she wasn’t going to allow a man to make her into one.
“We need to get this job started. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, so if we can get this first renovation finished and let people come and look around, then we’ll pick up more work. And the company grows, and you get a raise. So get going,” Dylan ordered.
“Sure, boss,” she said, although she wasn’t happy, and Dylan must hav
e picked up on it.
“Jed, could you give us a minute,” Dylan said.
“Sure. Although, if you would prefer to avoid my company,” he said to Amanda, “I’m happy to go alone. Or maybe there’s someone else who I can go there with? If you don’t trust me.” She wasn’t sure if that last statement was pointed at her or Dylan.
Amanda held her shame in check as Jed left the office. “I’m sorry,” she said to Dylan as soon as Jed was out of earshot. “You’re the boss, and I shouldn’t argue with you.”
“And I’m sorry too, I should keep my nose out of your business.” He smiled, an unfathomable look crossing his face. “I wish you could feel what Jed is feeling, I really do. But I forget this all sounds like nonsense to you.”
“The whole fated mates thing… It’s a little out there.” Yet she knew it was true. When Amanda had visited her grandparents in Bear Bluff, they had spent many hours recounting the time they met. In those stories, her grandma often said she had felt a connection to her new husband. Even though she wasn’t a shifter, and already had two grown children, plus one husband in the grave, and had sworn off men for life.”
“And you don’t feel anything? At all.”
She let her defenses down, just for one second. There it was, a niggling worm in her head that seemed to be able to locate Jed, even though he was at least fifty feet away leaning against the wall, taking in the sight of the mountain.
“Just because I can feel it, doesn’t mean I want to,” she insisted to Dylan.
“So that’s it? I figured when you came for your interview that there was something lurking in your past.” He put his hand up to stop her protest. “Jilted at the altar?”
“No. Nothing quite like that. Worse.” She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him the truth, but he raised his hand and silenced her.
“Whatever it is, let it go. I don’t need to know, as long as you promise it’s behind you.”
“And it doesn’t bother you? That I have a secret,” she asked.
“It’s all about the future for me. Mine, Steph’s and my unborn child’s.” He placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. “And maybe you should give Jed the benefit of that same second chance.”
“I hear what you are saying, I really do. But I’m not interested in giving my heart away.”
“Ahh. So it was a broken heart. The worst kind of betrayal comes from those you love.”
“More than my heart,” she said, looking outside, her focus always shifting to Jed, unless she consciously pointed it away from him.
“My advice,” Dylan said, “is to get back out there and see what life has to offer. That man.” He pointed to Jed. “That man has made mistakes, but for the right reason. And as a shifter, he will never betray you, or ever break your heart.”
“Wow, you are a good ambassador for love,” Amanda said sardonically.
“That’s because I’ve come through what you two are about to embark on, and I’m so happy I want everyone else in the world to be happy too.”
“Damn it, Dylan. Why did you go into construction when you could have started your own website preaching about the joys of shifter love?”
“Already been done. Fated and Mated is in the business of fixing shifters up with each other. Me? I’m good at fixing property up. So, get out there and work for me.” Dylan didn’t exactly propel her out of the office, but he made it clear that was what he wanted. “Here are the keys to the company truck. Take it, and anything else you might need. Don’t come back until you have a list of everything we need to make a start.”
“You’re the boss,” she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out of the door.
In truth, she didn’t mind being out in the fresh air. It was being with Jed that posed the problem. What were they supposed to say to each other? There was no way she was about to share her life story with him. Absolutely no way.
“Hi,” he said as she approached. He had taken in the keys and her purse, and must have known she had given in. So it made her feel more relaxed when he asked, “Are you sure?”
“Dylan is the boss, and he wants us to do this. We keep it strictly business. Understood?” she asked.
“Completely. It took me by surprise, that’s all. I promise I won’t pressure you,” he said, and something about the way he looked at her made her believe him.
“What do we need to take with us?” she asked, unlocking the truck and putting her purse in the glove compartment. “I have a notebook, pens, measuring tape.”
“That should get us started.” He nodded, and went around to the passenger side and got in.
Amanda hauled herself into the driver’s seat. The truck was unlike anything else she had ever driven. It took her a moment to get her bearings, and she was thankful when Jed sat patiently while she adjusted the seat to her shorter legs, and then fixed the mirrors so she could see. “OK, let’s get going.”
She fished a map out of her purse; the truck had GPS, but she preferred to do things the old-fashioned way. Especially since the area they were heading to was unknown to her. When her grandma had been alive, Amanda had visited Bear Bluff in the summer, but they had stayed close to the cabin, and never ventured too far. Occasional trips into town were all her grandma could manage as she got older and her legs became stiffer.
“I know the way,” he said, as she folded the map over.
“Oh.” She looked down at the map.
“I can give you directions. Unless you particularly wanted to use the map.”
She looked at the map. “I’m trying to find my bearings. I thought if I could find it on the map and trace the route, it would be another part of Bear Bluff I’ll know.”
“We can do that.” He shuffled closer to her, and she felt the temperature in the truck rise immediately. Or was it just the temperature of her body? She swallowed and tried to keep her face from turning red as his arm brushed hers.
“OK. This is where we are.” He pointed to the old builder’s yard, where Dylan had set up his business. “We need to go along here, through the ford, then take this road here. It’s narrow, so take it slow. When we get to a fork in the road, we go left. Right takes you back in a circular route into town. OK?”
“I think so.” She traced the route with her finger, memorizing it. “Yeah. Looks simple.”
“Most of Bear Bluff is, when you get used to it. You have to think of it as being in tiers. The town is the lower tier, and then there are the small clusters of farms and houses on the lower slopes. The higher you get, the smaller the houses are and the narrower the roads become.”
“You like it here,” she stated, listening to the warmth in his voice. She started the engine, and let it rumble for a few minutes before putting it in drive.
“I do.”
“Then why did you leave?” she asked, cursing herself for already breaking her rule of not getting to know him.
“I had a reputation. I didn’t get caught often, and when I did, Declan would let me off with a warning. Mostly it was simple stuff, stealing apples, taking a sack of potatoes from Tulliver’s Farm. But even as a young inexperienced sheriff, Declan could see I was close to becoming a serial petty thief, and if I didn’t change, I would get into real trouble once I was an adult. Trouble my parents didn’t need.”
He stopped talking and looked at her. She concentrated on the road, refusing to meet his gaze. What did he want her to say? That it was OK to steal from other people? Well, it wasn’t.
“Stupid thing was, I learned afterwards that most people, like your grandma, would have given me what I needed if only I asked.”
Amanda remembered the exact same words coming from Dylan’s mouth. “So why didn’t you ask?
“Pride. I was mixed up, things were changing and everything seemed out of control,” he said. Then he shrugged. “I’m over it now.”
She risked a quick glance at him, and saw him looking out of the window as they drove past a field of cattle. “And it helped? Being away.”
�
��Yes. Declan found me a job. Construction work, nothing much, but I had room and board, so I could send what money I earned home.”
“Oh.”
“Not what you were expecting me to say?” he asked.
“No.” She drew her eyebrows together, concentrating on turning the truck onto the narrow road he had indicated. “You weren’t wrong about this road. It’s similar to the one my grandma’s cabin is on. But it doesn’t feel so tight when I’m in my car.”
“Keep both eyes on the road, and you’ll be fine,” he encouraged.
Did he know that all she wanted to do was watch him? That the soothing tone of his voice was so different to the man she had thought he was. He made her want to strap him to a chair and interrogate him, to find out all his secrets. And more.
There was that excited warmth coursing through her body, making her nerve endings tingle. If she didn’t take care, she was truly going to be lost to him. But she was beginning to feel OK with that.
Dylan was right. The past was the past. The man who had hurt her, Mason Arnold, was far away, and had no idea where she was. This was her fresh start, and making it with Jed might just turn out to be an adventure she enjoyed.
As they drew up in front of the old derelict house she felt the first chink in her defenses come down. And who knew, by the time they arrived back in the yard later today, there might be a hole in it big enough for a man like Jed to fit.
Chapter Four – Jed
Amanda parked the truck, looking pleased with herself. Jed smiled. He liked that she enjoyed conquering the small challenges life put in her way. He could imagine there was not much that would faze Amanda. Which was good. There was enough in his life that was different, unexpected, and if his woman liked normal, she might be disappointed in him.
“So what do we do first?” Amanda asked, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her upper arms absently.
“Here. Take my jacket,” he said, stripping it off his back.
“No, I can’t.” She made to push it off her shoulders.
His Bear's Necessity: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Return To Bear Bluff Book 2) Page 2