by Zoe Chant
The Bear Comes Home For Christmas
By Zoe Chant
Copyright Zoe Chant 2016
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
A note from Zoe Chant…
Special Sneak Preview: The Dragon’s Christmas Mate
Chapter One
Gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white, Hazel Granger stared out into the impenetrable snow beyond
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought to herself as she eased the rental car forward, barely able to see a foot in front of her face. Naturally, she’d heard the radio reports of a blizzard. And naturally, she’d known it was a really, really bad idea to be out driving in it.
The only problem was, she hadn’t exactly had a choice.
Well… perhaps that wasn’t quite true. Anger had played a large role in her decision as well. And the fact that after the year, week, and day she’d had, she’d be damned before she spent Christmas in an airport departure lounge.
Drawing in a deep breath, Hazel willed herself to relax. Getting stressed out wouldn’t help. In fact, she’d be far more likely to make a mistake if she let herself get angry.
The problem was that all of this was so foreseeable, if only she’d paid more attention to her gut instinct.
Charlie, her boyfriend – her now very much ex-boyfriend – had always been unreliable. But she’d never thought he’d stoop to standing her up for their Christmas vacation. She’d certainly never thought he’d do it by text, and while she was on a plane to come meet him, so she only got the message after she’d landed.
And she’d never thought he’d do it after they’d already paid for a cute little cabin in the middle of nowhere to cuddle up in over Christmas.
Hazel could feel her blood pressure rising just thinking about it.
Of course, they hadn’t paid for the cabin at all. She had. Charlie had promised he’d pay her back his half of the cost, but then, somehow, he’d never quite gotten around to it.
But then, that had been the pattern of their entire relationship: Hazel had always ended up holding the ball for everything. When she’d first met Charlie, he’d seemed like a fun guy, always up for an adventure. But she’d soon realized that ‘fun’ translated into ‘unwilling to make a commitment or take any responsibility’.
She knew she should’ve broken up with him long ago. But she’d been so tired of being alone – and Charlie had always been making promises to change.
Now, Hazel couldn’t believe she’d been stupid enough to believe him.
Screw him, she thought viciously. She’d enjoy the cabin by herself, then.
To be honest, that hadn’t exactly been her first plan. Since she’d already seen the warnings about the blizzard, she’d first tried to check into a hotel in Long Springs, but, being Christmas, everything was booked solid. There were simply no rooms available anywhere.
It was desperation that had made her get in the rental car and start driving.
Maybe it hadn’t been smart, but Hazel had been determined to at least salvage something from this miserable day. And she’d been looking forward to staying in the cabin for months.
Not so much to spend time alone with Charlie, but because she simply felt she needed to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city for a while. She loved her job as a social worker, but it could definitely get stressful. She hadn’t had a holiday in years. This had been her first chance to get away.
In fact, her boss, Leeane, had more or less insisted on it.
This is the fourth Christmas in a row you’ll be working, she’d said. You need time for yourself. You aren’t Superwoman, and nobody’s asking you to be. Take two weeks off. I won’t take no for an answer!
In her heart of hearts, Hazel knew Leeane was right. She was this close to being burned out. She needed to take some time to relax or she’d be no use to anyone, least of all the homeless children and youths they worked with.
A vacation was the only solution, and she wasn’t going to let her one precious chance slip through her fingers just because Charlie was an unbelievable asshole.
But now… well, the safety of the airport lounge was actually starting to look pretty good to her.
“Prepare to turn left in a quarter of a mile,” the GPS intoned, its female voice utterly dispassionate.
Somehow, Hazel found herself envying it. What would it be like to be so cool and calm all the time, always seemingly in control of every situation, and utterly without emotions?
Sometimes, Hazel thought she’d like that very much.
But as it was, she was miserable, feeling incredibly foolish, and growing increasingly scared.
The wind howled around her car, snow spattering against the windshield and making visibility impossible. The wipers were swinging back and forth like they were possessed, but it didn’t seem to be making much difference as far as Hazel could tell. The snow was simply too heavy.
Trying to soothe herself, Hazel took her foot off the gas for a moment to reach down and turn on the radio. To her relief, she could still get some reception, despite the storm, even though it was a little fuzzy.
A male voice filled the car, crooning about his recent heartbreak: a faithless woman had done him wrong, and left him all alone.
You and me both, buddy, Hazel thought grimly as she drove. Somehow, it was a little comforting to know that someone out there shared her pain – though she was sure that millions of record sales probably helped ease his heartache a little.
Sighing, Hazel eased down the gas again, and moved forward at a snail’s pace. Her GPS had told her it was only a couple of hours of driving time out to the cabin, but at the pace she was going, she’d be lucky if she made it there in a couple of days.
Just keep going. Slow and steady wins the race, she told herself, squinting into the blanket of snow beyond.
She wasn’t sure why she bothered, though – even her headlights on high could barely penetrate the snow.
“Prepare to turn left,” the GPS said, with its glass-like clarity.
“All right, I guess I’m just going to have to trust you on that,” Hazel muttered. She genuinely couldn’t see where she was going. She’d get out and have a look, but she honestly wasn’t sure she’d be able to find the car again.
Driving slowly, Hazel eased the car over to the left.
All right, so far so good.
There still seemed to be solid ground under the tires, and she supposed that was the best she could hope for at the moment.
The first sign of trouble came as the left front wheel suddenly made a dangerous whiiiiring sound.
“Shit,” Hazel muttered – it sounded like it was spinning against gravel, or muddy snow. She stopped, trying to back up, but the car only jerked a little, refusing to move.
She must’ve just missed the road slightly, Hazel realized. The car had run up against the mud on the edge, and the wheels couldn’t gain traction.
Swearing to herself, Hazel sat back, wondering what to do. She wasn’t really used to driving in snowy conditions. Charlie had boasted that he was an expert at it – and, on top of that, that he’d bring his own snow chains. It was because of that that she hadn’t reserved any from the rental place. And of course, there hadn’t been any left by the time she’d got there.
All right, don’t panic, she told herself. Maybe I can just�
� accelerate a bit, jerk the car forward a little…
Gritting her teeth and grabbing the wheel, Hazel put her foot down on the gas. At first, there was nothing. The car revved, trying to pull itself free, but nothing happened.
Licking her lips, Hazel pressed her foot down slightly further, against her own better judgment.
Everything suddenly seemed to happen at once. The car leapt forward, as if it had been sprung from a trap.
It zoomed forward, faster than Hazel was prepared for – and faster than she could stop it.
“Shit!” she yelped again as the car plowed into a bank of fresh snow, crashing through it.
Things didn’t stop there, however – there was a hill on the other side, and the car tumbled over it, while Hazel was completely powerless to stop it.
She screamed as the car rolled over, throwing her empty coffee cup, purse, the groceries she’d bought on her way out of town, and Hazel herself in every direction.
Hazel felt the back of her head hit her seat, dazing her, as the car finally crashed to a halt at the bottom of the hill.
For a moment, Hazel simply sat there, waiting, almost unable to believe it was over. She was shaking, expecting at any moment for the car to begin tumbling again, taking her with it. But after a few moments, it became clear that that wasn’t going to happen.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Hazel slowly prized her hands from around the steering wheel.
Well, now I really am screwed, she thought to herself.
Even if the car was still drivable, which she kind of doubted, there was no way to get it back up onto the road. She’d landed deep in the snow – looking out the window, she could see it was piled up against the door. She’d have a hard time even getting out of the car, if the snow kept falling at this rate.
By afternoon, it would probably be all but invisible.
And she’d still be stuck inside.
Despite her lack of experience with snow, Hazel knew full well that in the event of any kind of accident, it was always best to stay with the car. People who wandered off usually just got lost, and weren’t around to receive help when it finally came.
But this time…
She wasn’t so sure. The blizzard had been forecast to keep going all day. And somehow, Hazel didn’t think this was a very busy road. The only thing up here was little holiday cabins, like the one she and Charlie had rented. Anyone who had any sense would be either cozy inside theirs right now, or had never even come out here in the first place.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She never should have come here. She never should have left the airport. Hell, she never should have even dated Charlie in the first place!
Well, without a time machine, Hazel realized, there was not a lot she could do about any of this now. She’d simply have to try to do the best she could.
She knew she was close to the cabin. This had been the last turn onto the road that would lead her there. Biting her lip, Hazel wondered if she could walk it. It would mean scrambling up the hill and walking through the snow, but she had strong hiking boots on, and a goose down parka.
That, at least, had been one thing Charlie had done for her – in an effort to show off how much he knew about cold weather, he’d gone out and bought her the most expensive winter coat she’d ever owned.
She’d been thrilled at the time, and had thought maybe things with him were finally turning around. But that had always been the way things were with Charlie: he’d make one huge, amazing gesture, and assume that meant he could act like a neglectful jackass for the next month and a half.
Hazel unclipped her seatbelt, scrambling around in her seat to reach behind her, grabbing the parka from where she’d put it across the back seat. She pulled it on over her shoulders, zipping it up tight. She grabbed her gloves, slipping them on.
Thanks, Charlie, you asshole, she thought grimly. At least she’d be warm while she stumbled around blindly in the snow.
For a while, anyway.
Taking a deep breath, Hazel pushed open the car door.
The wind immediately filled her vision with crystalline flakes of snow. Hazel blinked, pulling the fur-lined hood of the parka up around her face, and tugging the drawstrings tight.
Pushing her way out of the car and into the snow, she battled her way through it, sinking into it up to her knees Walking through the snow was tough, but it wasn’t as deep as she’d feared – not yet, anyway. Reaching out, Hazel felt the snow-covered hill in front of her.
Scrabbling at it, she managed to pull herself up the slope. It was slow and painful going, the snow slipping and sliding under her hands and feet. But eventually she made it, hauling herself up onto the road.
Looking around her, Hazel was relieved to see that, perhaps, the snow had eased off a little – at least, now she could see the outline of the forest not far in the distance. She was sure that at any other time it would have looked magical – green and black boughs covered in silvery snow, white birches standing tall amongst the dark fir trees. It was exactly the reason why she’d wanted to come out here.
But now, she didn’t have time to appreciate the natural surroundings. Now, they only represented a threat – a threat that she had to escape from.
She’d have to figure out if it was feasible to walk to the cabin – or whether she’d be better off staying in the car, slowly being buried under tons of snow.
Right now, neither option seemed that appealing.
The wind was cutting against her face, the snow feeling like a thousand tiny needles on her cheeks.
As much as she simply wanted to hike to the cabin, Hazel knew that it would be risky. Maybe too risky. And it went against every piece of advice about what to do in the event of a car crash.
Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly began to turn around to head back to the car.
But just as she did so, something caught her eye: a light, shining in the distance.
She’d almost missed it. But just for a moment, a strong gust of wind had blown away the thick curtain of snow, and she had seen it, clear as day, shining down from the forest.
Another cabin? Hazel thought, hesitating. With someone at home?
The last thing she wanted to do was crash someone else’s Christmas vacation. But… well, this was kind of an emergency. She hoped that if she’d been the one being intruded upon, she’d be understanding.
I can only try, she thought, feeling a little desperate.
As the wind blew, the light twinkled again. Like it was shining just for her, showing her which way to go.
Pulling the hood of her coat even more tightly around her face, Hazel set off.
Chapter Two
Del Richardson lumbered through the forest, all four of his thickly furred paws sinking into the snow as he went.
With his bear’s nose, the forest was alive with scents: the thick, heavy smell of the fir trees, the clean, fresh scent of new snow. Beneath that, there was the damp, earthy smell of the fallen leaves and branches as they slowly decomposed into the rich soil.
At this time of year there wasn’t a lot of foraging to be done – no sweet, fallen berries to indulge his bear’s sweet tooth, and certainly no honey. He snuffled a little at some small branches on a little evergreen tree, chewing on the leaves and savoring their sharp, tangy taste. It wasn’t fruit, but it would do. It’d been too long since he’d been able to shift like this, and get in touch with his wild side. So right now, anything that wasn’t stodgy takeout would do.
As he turned away from the tree, still chewing, Del picked up the scent of deer somewhere in the distance. His grizzly bear’s instincts immediately kicked in, wanting to chase one down and have a feast. But Del pushed the thought away.
It was true, the thought of a hunt sent adrenaline buzzing through his veins, but it’d been a long time since he’d had the chance to even take on his bear form and roam around, never mind go on a long, strenuous chase. He was still getting re-accustomed to having four legs instead of tw
o.
Hunting could wait.
He didn’t plan on heading back to the city anytime soon, if he could help it.
The truth was, he’d become a workaholic over these past few years. It was hard when you ran your own business: he always felt that if he wasn’t constantly there, checking and then re-checking everything, something would go wrong.
It didn’t matter how much success he had, or how many people he’d hired to do this kind of work for him. He’d been meticulous when it had been just him on his own, struggling to get a foothold in the computer science industry. And now, even after his company had begun to flourish, it was still hard for him to just let go and relax and enjoy the fruits of his labor. It had always seemed to him that if he took his eye off the ball for just one second, everything would come crumbling down.
Maybe his upbringing played a role in his being such a control freak: he’d grown up as poor as it was possible to be without being homeless, his mother raising him alone. He felt that at any moment, success might be snatched away from him.
It wasn’t that he was worried for himself – but he’d finally been able to buy his mother a real home, and make sure she’d be looked after the way she deserved to be, after all those years of working her fingers to the bone to make sure he hadn’t gone hungry.
He never wanted her to experience poverty ever again. And to ensure she didn’t, he had to keep working.
Well… that’s how it had felt when he was in his human form.
As a bear, all of those concerns were simply swept away – or at least, they were muted, as if he was listening to chattering voices somewhere in the distance. As a bear, he was carried away on a tide of scents and sounds that were undetectable to humans – and which swamped his rational, human side with the simple needs of the bear. Eat. Wander. Smell. Investigate his territory. Sleep.
It was a far, far simpler life.
It had been the vice-president of his company, Jackie, who had finally convinced him that he needed to get out from behind his desk and take a vacation.