Ranger Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 11)

by Harmony Raines

  Jacob turned onto his side, resting his head on his elbow, looking at her. “You had a good childhood.”

  “You sound surprised.” She stared at the blue sky, not daring to look into his eyes. Or at his lips. Because if she did, she might just want to kiss them.

  “Not surprised, but happy. I’m glad you didn’t become a police officer because of something bad that happened to you.”

  “You mean you’re happy I’m not some vigilante out to take my revenge?” Avery ran her fingers over the coarse mountain grass.

  “I am. I want you to be happy.”

  She frowned at him, raising her eyes to meet his at last. What she saw there made her stomach flip, and a thrill of excitement made her shiver, despite the sun that was warm on her skin. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why do you want me to be happy?” Avery asked.

  He sighed and lay back on the grass. “I want everyone to be happy.”

  It wasn’t the answer she expected, and she wasn’t sure it was the answer he meant to give. But she believed him. “That’s sweet.”

  He stirred beside her, his expression becoming darker, more serious. “That doesn’t mean I won’t fight for what I want.”

  “And what do you want, Jacob?” Her breath caught in her chest, and she had to force her lungs to work. There was something about this mountain ranger that fascinated her, she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know everything about him, to peel back the layers and see what made him tick.

  Yet part of Avery was scared of what she might find, and what he might reveal about himself. This fear was made more real when he lifted himself up to rest on his elbow once more, his eyes locked with hers. In that one look, he answered her question, with no need for words.

  The thing that Jacob Malvern wanted was lying right there in front of him.

  “We should get going.” He didn’t answer her question with words, and she let out a sigh of relief. This wasn’t the time for a physical relationship to blossom between them.

  Avery got up and dusted the dirt off her combat pants. Neither of them spoke as they took off their harnesses, and Jacob put his climbing gear back in his pack. Their relationship had shifted; it was subtle, but it was there between them, testing their professionalism.

  “When this is over.” Jacob began to talk, and then stopped. He turned away from her to follow the trail, but then swung back to face her. “When this is over, I’ll tell you what I want.”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. What was she supposed to say, when he looked so intense, so brooding? If she had to guess, the one thing he was not going to tell her he wanted was a fling, a one-night stand.

  Everything about Jacob told her he wasn’t that kind of man. No, this man would want more. A lot more. But could she ever be the person to give him more? Her career was her life. But as she followed Jacob, felt the sheer animal magnetism that emanated from him, she understood that they had awoken something in each other.

  Something neither of them could ignore.

  Chapter Ten – Jacob

  “I thought that cliff face was the hardest part of your shortcut.” Avery grasped hold of the hand he offered her, and jumped from one boulder to the next to stand close to him while the water tumbled down the mountain all around them. They were crossing a ravine while water roared past them, threatening to drag them into its dark, dangerous depths if they made a wrong move.

  “I should have factored in the shortness of your legs.” He gave her a wry smile, and she decided to bite. Jacob had shifted their relationship back to professional, or semi-professional. Avery had never met a police officer with quite the same sense of humor. Not while they were working a case, anyway.

  “Didn’t you study them enough before we climbed the rock face? You seemed to take your time with all that staring.” A cloud of spray erupted as the water gushed down the steep ravine, hitting the large rock they were standing on, making it slippery.

  Jacob wrapped his strong arm around her and held her close. “So that you don’t slip,” he told her in his husky voice. OK, so they hadn’t gone back to completely professional.

  “So thoughtful.” She twisted around in his arms, and got into position to jump to the next boulder.

  “Ready? Two more to go and we can reach the back.” Jacob waited for her answer and then sprang away from her, landing comfortably on the next boulder. He was going to have to teach her how he did that. He was so self-assured, so confident in himself and his body.

  Now it was her turn. She judged the distance. “I can make it.”

  “Take my hand.” He held it out for her.

  “No, I can do this alone.” Avery leaped into the air, knowing instantly she was going to fall short. Jacob reached for her, and she tumbled into his arms. “See, I told you I could do it.”

  Jacob chuckled a low rumble as he held her against his chest. “I am not going to argue.” He released her and turned to jump the distance to the next boulder.

  “You look like a gazelle,” Avery called over the loud rumble of water. “Maybe you missed your calling, you could have been in the ballet.”

  “Yeah, my brothers would love that. I can hear them now, telling everyone their brother is a ballet dancer.” He held his hand out and coaxed her forward.

  Avery reached for his hand as she jumped, and let him pull her forward. She landed safely beside him. “I could just imagine you in ballet tights.”

  “You think I have the legs for it?” he asked, standing on tiptoes before leaping for the bank.

  “Definitely.” Taking a deep breath, she launched her tired body into the air, her aching legs straining to cover the distance.

  She made this final leap alone, landing safely on the bank, the rushing water behind them as they began to climb upwards. The terrain was tough, and her muscles burned, but her adrenaline kicked in and she pushed herself to keep up. She would pay for it later, her body was going to reach burnout if she wasn’t careful, but for now, she had to keep going.

  As they crested the side of the ravine, Jacob kept low and headed for a stand of scrubby bushes that bordered the ravine. There he stopped and sank down to rest on his haunches. “We need to move quickly and quietly. The pass is a mile in that direction. From here on out, there’s a chance we may meet up with Manny and Joe. We don’t want them to know we’re here.”

  Avery nodded, and took out her water bottle and drank her fill. “What if we don’t get to the pass first?”

  Jacob looked through the bushes, his head cocked to one side, listening. He couldn’t be sure, but his enhanced hearing had picked up the sound of someone shouting. It was way in the distance, and at this range, he could not tell for sure which direction the voices were coming from.

  “I hoped we would. But I’m not sure. We know when they were at the cabin, but we don’t know how fast they traveled yesterday. But by Wyatt’s reckoning, if they stick to the same schedule, they will reach the pass a couple of hours before nightfall.”

  “And if they reach it before us?” Avery passed her water bottle to Jacob.

  “Then we will have to wait. Wyatt was right, it would be too easy for them to see us if we follow too soon.” He took a slug of water, his eyes on Avery as she took another energy bar from her pack. Over the last twenty-four hours, he’d watched her, learning every curve of her body, every feature of her face. She was beautiful, funny, and smart. Everything he could have ever hoped for in a mate.

  There was only one thing that concerned him. Would she ever want to settle down and have his cubs? She was so determined, so eager to do her job, that Jacob worried her career was her life. That following in her father’s footsteps would be more important than walking down the aisle on his arm. Of course, he wouldn’t mind if they didn’t get married. Tying the knot was not obligatory. Their bond went much deeper than that, its power, at least over Jacob, much stronger.

  “I hope you’ve brought a board game.”

  “A w
hat?” He mentally shook off his thoughts and focused on Avery once more.

  “A board game? Don’t tell me you and your brothers were always too busy climbing mountains to play Monopoly or Risk?”

  “Oh, we played. Strategy was never my forte.” He stood up and stretched his legs; any voices he might have heard were gone. Or perhaps they were never there at all.

  “Then we make a good team.” She stood with him, stretching her muscles, the strain on her face evident. He’d pushed her too far, too fast, but it had to be done if they had any chance of getting through the pass first.

  “Are you saying I’m the brawn, and you’re the brain?” Jacob asked.

  “Something like that.” She put her arm up and tensed it. “Although by the end of this, I’m going to have the brawn too.”

  “You sure will.” He smiled at her, and watched her mouth as it turned up at the corners to mirror his. “I’ll make a ranger of you yet.” Jacob could imagine the two of them out here on the mountain, doing their job by day and making love under the stars at night.

  “I like being a cop.”

  “Maybe a transfer to Bear Creek?” Jacob winced at his own words. He was being pushy. Avery had no idea what she was to him. No idea that one way or another he was determined she was going to come live here with him.

  “Maybe I could.” She hid her face as she spoke. “Although, I always dreamed of being the police chief of Holloway County one day. But since I am on vacation, following a lead from Lonnie…”

  “Surely when we catch them, and break the drug ring, you and Lonnie will be heroes. Perhaps you might even get your promotion.” What was he saying? Was he trying to talk her into not coming to live in Bear Creek?

  What would he do then?

  Move to wherever she is, his bear told him.

  Give up our lives here? Jacob asked in return.

  Love works two ways. We have to do what is best for our mate. His bear’s sage words struck him as the truth. If he truly loved his mate and wanted the best for her, if she wanted to fulfill her own dreams, then he would have to go along with that. He wanted an equal partner in this relationship.

  Avery was lost in her own thoughts. She hadn’t answered him, and Jacob feared he’d overstepped some kind of boundary. He was a stranger offering her advice and trying to map out her life for her.

  “I would never have dreamed of being happy in a small town like Bear Creek,” Avery finally said. “But the mountain. It’s amazing.”

  “And the people aren’t half bad either.” Jacob couldn’t help himself, even though he knew he ought to keep his mouth shut.

  “I’ve only met three people in Bear Creek. One stared at me through his store window, one is the sheriff, who you are proposing should be my new boss, and one is a ranger.”

  “And what do you think of the ranger?” Jacob asked, and then stopped dead in his tracks, his hand raised to silence her.

  Avery reacted immediately. She froze on the spot, and then sank down toward the ground. “What did you see?”

  “A flash of color.” He pointed through the bushes.

  “I can’t see anything.”

  “How fast do you think you can run?”

  “Depends on how far,” she replied.

  “We’re still half a mile away from the pass. We need to get there first.” He peered through the trees. “OK, I have a plan.”

  “You do? Great, let’s hear it.”

  I’m a bear shifter. Yes, that really was his plan, to shift into a bear and frighten them off.

  “You have the map. I want you to run for the pass. When you get there, go straight through. It’s difficult terrain, but you can do it. Just keep going no matter what.” He moved through the bushes, wanting to go with her as far as possible.

  “You want me to go through the pass on my own?” She frowned, studying him, trying to figure out what he had in mind.

  “I’m going to frighten them off.” Keep it simple, that’s what he told himself; if she didn’t ask, he wouldn’t tell her how he planned to accomplish that.

  “I thought we weren’t going to let them know we are here.” She put her hands on her hips. “I don’t like it. If they get even a hint that we are pursuing them, it’s over. One phone call to their supplier, and it’s all over.”

  Jacob put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  Avery pressed her lips together, returning his stare, as she prepared her response. Her eyelids fluttered, hiding her emotions as she nodded. “Yes.”

  “I’ll catch you up.” He turned to race through the bushes once more. She followed, the branches of the low trees they passed under snagging at her clothes.

  “You’d better.” She half turned as he stopped. “If you want that date, you need to be alive.”

  “A date. Are you asking?” he called quietly. They were downwind of Manny and Joe, his voice would thankfully carry in the opposite direction.

  Avery rolled her eyes. “I thought you already had. Forget it.”

  “No.” His voice came out too loud. He shook his head and repeated, “No. I accept.”

  Avery pulled the map out of her pocket, and gave him one last smile as she ducked behind a bush and was lost from view. But his other senses could pinpoint her. The bond between them a thread that tied them together for eternity.

  Damn it! He had to put her out of his mind. Impossible. OK, to the back of his mind.

  Yes, he could do that.

  Turning to head toward the trail Manny and Joe should be following, he ran swift and true. Once he was sure he was out of sight of Avery, he shifted into his bear, and went to scare the shit out of two idiot drug dealers.

  Chapter Eleven – Avery

  Avery pulled out the map as she ran, and slowed as she looked for landmarks to identify her location, so she could confirm she was heading in the right direction. She’d picked up a compass at Mike’s store, it was somewhere in her pack, but she hoped she wouldn’t need it. Her sense of direction was good, even if this wasn’t her home turf.

  She traced the trail Manny and Joe were following, and then slid her finger down to where Jacob had led her across the ravine. This conjured up visions of Jacob, the spray from the water making his hair damp; she’d longed to run her fingers through it. He looked so incredibly wild, as if he were a part of this mountain, as if he belonged here.

  Confirming her location on the map, Avery ran on, her heart racing, her lungs working like bellows as they forced the air back out, only to immediately breathe back in. Focus, that was what she had to do. Keep her focus on her destination and what lay before her, rather than the wild mountain ranger who was out there, on his own, possibly putting himself in danger for her. Or at least because of her debt to Lonnie.

  Ahead, the bushes grew thinner. The trail she needed to follow was just beyond, and she slowed as she approached. If Jacob had gotten it wrong, and Manny and Joe were closer to the pass, then she didn’t want to burst out and let them see her.

  Creeping forward, she stopped and listened. There was no sound of voices, all she could hear was the beat of her heart and the sound of the occasional bird. Inching forward, moving sideways to avoid thorny branches that might tear her clothes, she stood at the edge of the bushes, looking left and then right.

  Before her, she could see the trail. It wasn’t well worn like the lower trails, not many people ventured this far up the mountain. It was more than two days’ walk from town; only true hikers would climb this far with a tent and provisions. There was no one there. But how much longer it would stay that way, there was no way to tell.

  With a sense of unease settling on her, Avery stepped forward. Once her feet hit the trail, she broke into a run, keeping her pace at a sustainable speed, but covering the ground with a sense of urgency. However, with each step, her fear for Jacob grew. What was he planning on doing? How would he frighten the drug dealers away?

  The pass was ahead, she could see where the mo
untain appeared to be cloven in two, as if a giant had tried to slice it open, to reveal its secrets. With no sign of anyone else around, she sprinted forward, turning to face the Karakin Pass. As she did, her heart leaped into her mouth, threatening to burst out of her body.

  The Karakin Pass was as bad as Wyatt had made it sound. Large boulders littered the ground. Too big to step onto, she was going to have to climb. Placing her hands on the smallest boulder, she boosted herself up. Normally, she would have found this easy, but she was tired. Her muscles didn’t want to cooperate.

  With a great deal of grunting and wriggling, she made it onto the first boulder. Relieved, she lay still, face down, catching her breath. Then she drew one knee under her body, then the other, and pushed herself to a standing position. From this vantage point, she understood why they could not risk coming through the pass if Manny and Joe had already entered. The pass was straight: there were no curves, no corners to hide behind. Anyone standing on the boulders could see the whole length of the pass. This told her one thing. Either Manny and Joe had already gone through the pass, or they were behind her.

  She had to go on. Avery turned left and right, and then jumped forward to the next boulder. It would be much easier and faster than climbing up each one in turn. She landed firmly and repeated the process, getting herself into a good steady rhythm, and ignoring her legs, which were like Jell-O.

  Then she heard it. A sound that turned her blood cold. A bear. An angry bear. She stopped, and looked around. Where was it coming from? In front or behind? The sound came again, echoing through the pass. She had to go on.

  Avery moved forward, slowly at first, but as she developed an eye for the easiest path across the boulders, her pace increased. All the time, the pass echoed with the roar of a bear. Her only comfort was that each time she heard the sound, it seemed to be further away. It was behind her. It had to be behind her.

  Jacob. She stopped, her feet planted on a wide flat boulder, and turned to look behind. What if it had attacked him? But he was a ranger. He must know how to look after himself and defend against a bear attack.