by Zoe Chant
And keep reading for a special sneak preview …
Next in the Bears of Pinerock County series …
Alpha Rancher Bear
Alec, the alpha of the Circle B Ranch bear clan, has lived his entire life holding everyone at arm’s length. But he’s about to meet his match in a pint-sized midwife who’s just as stubborn as he is …
Chapter One
Most people didn't realize how much paperwork went into running a working cattle ranch.
Alec Tanner had been running the administrative side of the ranch ever since his parents passed away fifteen years ago, their car spinning out on icy roads and sending them plunging to their deaths in the Pinerock River canyon. It had happened, in fact, on a cold, snowy January day very much like this one.
He always felt a little colder on these days.
But that just made it a good time to dig out the ranch's receipts box, boot up his laptop and start up QuickBooks, and cozy up to the cast-iron wood stove in the living room. The ranch had a modern oil-fired boiler now, but on days like this Alec always made a fire in the stove. There was something comfortable and homey about the heat baking off its scarred iron sides; putting on an extra pair of socks and cozying up to the radiators wasn't quite the same.
With an armful of record books and receipts, Alec crossed the room to his desk near the picture window looking out on the snow-covered pasture. He was a big man with a slow, graceful stride, dark-haired and gray-eyed. Today, he had the house to himself. His cousin Cody was out with the ranch's hired man, Gannon, taking care of their herd of Black Angus beef cattle: making sure all the pregnant cows were under shelter and had plenty of hay, checking that none of them had decided to drop their calves early, before the usual February-to-March calving season. Later in the afternoon, before the early winter darkness, Alec planned to go out and help his cousin, but right now he was enjoying the peace and solitude of the empty house.
Alec was a man of few words. Aside from the other members of his bear-shifter clan—his brother, cousins, and the hired man—he didn't need company or want it. In the past, most days on the Circle B Ranch had passed much like this one, everyone busy with their own chores and hardly a word spoken, just an occasional "pass the coffee" to Cody or a shouted command when they were out riding range together.
These days, things were different. Once, they'd been five bachelor bears on their own, and Alec had been very happy with that. Now, two of the five—his brother Axl, and their cousin Remy—had found their mates and brought them back to live at the ranch. It wasn't that he didn't like them; they were both nice women, and they worked hard and pitched in around the ranch. But it meant having to deal with new people in his territory, and visitors, and changes from routine.
There was a knock on the door.
Case in point.
Alec sighed and closed the untouched account book. If this was Tara, his brother Axl's mate, she would almost certainly have simply barged in. Remy's mate Saffron tended to be more respectful of Alec's space. It was one of the things he liked about her.
Right now Saffron and Remy were living in a travel trailer parked beside what was going to be their house eventually, but was still a plywood shell bundled in Tyvek house wrap at the moment. If she needed to borrow something or wanted to use someone else's kitchen rather than dealing with the trailer's tiny one, Saffron would probably have gone next door to Tara and Axl's place, rather than walking across the Circle B ranch yard to the main house.
Starting to get a little worried now, he cracked the door open.
Saffron stood on the porch, bundled in a coat which failed to completely close across the bulge of her pregnant stomach. Behind her, snow swirled down in small, dry flakes. The porch roof kept it off her, but her dark mass of pinned-up hair was dotted with it, like tiny stars.
"Hi," she said, smiling brightly.
"Uh, hi." Neither of Alec's clan-brothers' mates seemed to be intimidated by him in the slightest, despite his surly alpha-bear demeanor. Saffron, in particular, always looked genuinely glad to see him, which made it hard not to smile back; he felt his lips twitching up a little at the corners.
"I'm so sorry to bother you, but I have to ask a favor." She bit her lip. "It's a pretty big favor."
"Is someone bothering you?" Alec's inner bear bristled at the idea of a threat to his clan—especially to the newest member of it, Saffron and Remy's unborn cub.
"Oh, no! God, nothing like that. No, I need you to drive me to my midwife."
His eyes dropped instantly to the bulge under her coat. "You aren't—"
"Of course not." She crossed her arms, somewhat awkwardly. "I'm only seven months along. Don't panic. No, I have an appointment today, but Remy's at work and Tara's in town shopping. In better weather, I'd just drive myself, but I don't quite trust that switchbacked nightmare you guys call a road."
The thing Alec could never admit, to her or to anyone, was that he didn't either. It was one reason why he rarely left the ranch. Not the only reason—he liked the solitude and seclusion, and preferred to leave the town trips to the other bears. But ever since what had happened to his parents, the road had been—
Well, he didn't like driving it, that was all. Especially in the winter.
He wasn't going to use the word frightened, even to himself. He wasn't scared, exactly. Just ... cautious.
"You can't reschedule?"
"My appointment's in an hour. I'll have to pay for it regardless, and I don't want to make her mad. There aren't that many midwives in Pinerock County. Alec, please?"
He sighed. Remy and Axl's wives were part of his clan, which meant they were his, just as much as his brother and cousins. And an alpha took care of what was his.
Unfortunately.
"Let me get my coat."
To his dismay, she threw her arms around him and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Alec. I really appreciate it."
"Uh ... you're welcome." He tried not to extricate himself too aggressively. Hugs: really not his thing.
By the time he came out in his winter gear, she'd helpfully brushed all the snow off his truck and climbed up into the passenger side. He did a quick, automatic check for winter gear behind the front seat (flares, chains, emergency kit—the usual), started the truck and turned around in the wide yard that separated the various outbuildings of the Circle B. The main ranch house was across the yard from Axl and Tara's little house, with the shell of Remy and Saffron's new house next to it. The cattle barns were ranged in a semicircle along the other side. At the rate his clan kept adding new family members, they were going to have a whole village back here eventually.
Fresh snow sifted down onto the truck's windshield. "So how's Remy's new job working out?" Alec asked, to take his mind off the fact that he was going to have to drive down the road to town for the first time in weeks in a snowstorm.
Unlike the rest of the clan, Remy had no particular inclination or talent for working with animals. He preferred machines, and was an avid motorcycle enthusiast. Right now he was working part-time with a mechanic in Wildcat Forks.
"He seems pretty happy." Saffron held her hands to the vents, which were starting to blast out hot air. "He gets a little bored on the ranch."
"If he's bored, he could try helping out more," Alec muttered.
Saffron laughed. "If you tried that argument on him, no wonder he ran off and got a job at the first opportunity."
Alec shifted to a low gear as they half-drove, half-slithered down the first steep stretch of road. He hadn't chained up before leaving because Axl and Remy had been driving in and out with no problem, and hoped that wouldn't be a mistake. He tried not to clench his fists too tightly on the steering wheel; at least his gloves hid the white knuckles that he knew he'd otherwise be displaying. Through the snow-draped trees, flashes of the canyon were intermittently visible off to the side, a dizzying landscape of black rocks and white snow.
"What about you?" he asked, resolutely fixing his eyes on t
he road. "Does the solitude bother you?"
Saffron glanced at him, and he clenched his teeth; did she find it weird that he was being chattier than normal? But she answered him seriously. "No, I don't mind at all. I grew up in a small town. It's very peaceful out here. And I've been busy with my correspondence classes."
There was more, but he didn't hear it, because they were coming up to the curve, the one where his parents had slid over the edge. After the accident, Alec had built a rudimentary guard rail, a log fence on the edge of the steep cliff plunging into the canyon. He still didn't think it would stop a vehicle traveling fast, though—and it was easy to go fast on the long steep stretch beforehand. He'd once seen Remy tear down it on his motorcycle and fishtail in a turn so close to the edge that the rear wheel of his bike had almost slipped off. Alec had chewed out his cousin so thoroughly for that stunt that Remy hadn't spoken to him for days.
His wheels slid when he braked, and his heart leaped into his throat. But the truck took the turn smoothly, as it had every other time he'd driven this way.
He realized Saffron had gone silent in the passenger seat. "Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
"Don't I look okay?" It came out snappish.
"Well, it's just that you look ..." She hesitated. "Really stressed."
"I'm driving down a road you didn't want to drive on. In a snowstorm. Yes, it's stressful, and I need to concentrate on it."
Saffron went quiet. Alec immediately regretted snapping at her, but the words were out. Too late to take them back.
And alphas didn't apologize.
Chapter Two
Charmian Russell was in her native element: ordering people around.
It wasn't exactly that she meant to. It was just that, after fifteen years of being Pinerock County's go-to girl for midwifery, she was used to telling people what to do. She ran the Pinerock County Birthing Clinic, she trained younger midwives and doulas, and she spent all day, every day patiently running new would-be moms through the basics. Was it really any wonder that she had trouble turning it off?
Especially on a day like today. The roads were terrible, and she was the only person in the clinic. Fortunately they didn't have any clients on the verge of going into labor right now, but she'd taught a relaxation class in the morning and then had a meeting with another of her new moms to go over nutrition and check on the baby's progress.
Rather than feeling unhappy and overworked when she was at the clinic alone, Charmian enjoyed it. She got to do things exactly her way.
"Let's see," she murmured, paging through her calendar program on her computer in the back office. The only other appointment this afternoon was a routine wellness checkup with Saffron Hayes-Blake at 1 p.m. Assuming Saffron didn't cancel, of course. She hadn't called, and usually Saffron was very good about not missing her appointments, but Charmian knew that Saffron lived way up in the mountains somewhere, and wouldn't blame her for not wanting to drive to town in the current road conditions. After Saffron's appointment, though, she decided to close the clinic early. Anyone who had an emergency could call her, and it would be nice to go home early, while there was still time to enjoy some daylight. She could go skiing or go for a run.
Charmian was only five feet tall, but she was a small wiry bundle of muscle. In winter she went skiing, in summer she swam and hiked, and all year 'round she worked out. This was partly because she liked being healthy and feeling fit, and partly because she took her job very seriously. In the course of delivering babies, she had to holding up labor-weak mothers, turn babies around with her hands, and sometimes get herself and her 4WD Jeep up some very steep, twisty backroads, which more than once had involved using the winch on the front of the Jeep to get it unstuck. She didn't ever want physical weakness to come between herself and her ability to do her job.
The front door of the clinic opened and closed, and Charmian heard voices. It was ten minutes 'til one. Looked like Saffron had made it after all. She closed the calendar program and went out into the hall.
In the entryway, two people were stamping snow off their boots and taking off their coats. One of them was obviously Saffron. The other ...
Oh. My.
He had to be a relative of Saffron's husband Remy. He had the same general look, big and strong, with broad shoulders and capable-looking hands and a strong-featured, handsome face.
But Remy didn't have those piercing blue eyes, that looked across the clinic and seemed to stare straight into Charmian's soul.
She didn't see Remy and find herself wanting to tear his clothes off.
She'd never had such a powerful, visceral reaction to any man before. When this guy looked at her, it knocked the breath right out of her. He'd stopped in his tracks, too, in the process of pulling off his knitted hat. Now the hat was half on and half off, revealing curls of sweat-damp dark hair plastered to his forehead. She wanted to brush them back from his brow. Actually, she wanted lick them back ...
What the hell. Charmian got a firm grip on herself. She was no blushing girl, to fall all over herself at the sight of a handsome guy. And, okay, this guy was really good looking, but that was still no excuse for the tingling in her belly and the weakness in her legs.
Besides, Saffron was coming forward, hand outstretched. "Charmian! I realized about halfway down the mountain that I should have called ahead to make sure the clinic was open, but cell service is really spotty up there."
"Don't worry about it. I hope you drove carefully." Charmian gave the younger woman a quick hug, having to stand on tiptoes and lean over the round bulge of Saffron's pregnant belly.
"Oh, I was fine. Alec is a great driver. Have you met Alec, by the way? He's Remy's cousin."
Alec, said Charmian's libido. What a wonderful name. Very strong and masculine. The sort of name that makes you want to strip off your underwear right here and—
Shut up, libido. No one asked you.
***
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