Copyright © 2016 by Candace Ayers.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
This book is intended for adult readers only.
Any sexual activity portrayed in these pages occurs between consenting adults over the age of 18 who are not related by blood.
RANCHER BEAR’S BABY
CHAPTER 1: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 2: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 3: Alex
CHAPTER 4: Alex
CHAPTER 5:Elizabeth
CHAPTER 6: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 7: Alex
CHAPTER 8: Alex
CHAPTER 9: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 10: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 11: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 12: Alex
CHAPTER 13: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 14: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 15: Alex
CHAPTER 16: Elizabeth
CHAPTER 16: Elizabeth
RANCHER BEAR’S MAIL ORDER MATE
CHAPTER 1: Leila
CHAPTER 2: Leila
CHAPTER 3: Leila
CHAPTER 4: Matt
CHAPTER 5: Leila
CHAPTER 6: Matt
CHAPTER 7: Matt
CHAPTER 8: Leila
CHAPTER 9: Matt
CHAPTER 10: Leila
CHAPTER 11: Matt
CHAPTER 12: Leila
CHAPTER 13: Leila
CHAPTER 14: Matt
CHAPTER 15: Matt
CHAPTER 16: Leila
CHAPTER 17: Leila
CHAPTER 18: Matt
CHAPTER 19: Matt
CHAPTER 20: Leila
RANCHER BEAR’S SURPRISE PACKAGE
CHAPTER 1: Lucas
CHAPTER 2: Sammie
CHAPTER 3: Sammie
CHAPTER 4: Lucas
CHAPTER 5: Sammie
CHAPTER 6: Lucas
CHAPTER 7: Sammie
CHAPTER 8: Lucas
CHAPTER 9: Sammie
CHAPTER 10: Lucas
CHAPTER 11: Sammie
CHAPTER 12: Sammie
CHAPTER 13: Lucas
RANCHER BEAR’S SECRET
CHAPTER 1: Daisy
CHAPTER 2: Michael
CHAPTER 3: Daisy
CHAPTER 4: Michael
CHAPTER 5: Daisy
CHAPTER 6: Michael
CHAPTER 7: Daisy
CHAPTER 8: Michael
CHAPTER 9: Daisy
CHAPTER 10: Michael
CHAPTER 11: Daisy
CHAPTER 12: Michael
RANCHER BEAR’S DESIRE
CHAPTER 1: Bunny
CHAPTER 2: John
CHAPTER 3: Bunny
CHAPTER 4: John
CHAPTER 5: Bunny
CHAPTER 6: John
CHAPTER 7: Bunny
CHAPTER 8: John
CHAPTER 9: Bunny
CHAPTER 10: John
CHAPTER 11: Bunny
CHAPTER 12: John
CHAPTER 13: Bunny
CHAPTER 14: John
CHAPTER 15: Bunny
EPILOGUE
RANCHER BEAR’S MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER 1: Lettie
CHAPTER 2: Tucker
CHAPTER 3: Lettie
CHAPTER 4: Tucker
CHAPTER 5: Lettie
CHAPTER 6: Tucker
CHAPTER 7: Lettie
CHAPTER 8: Tucker
CHAPTER 9: Lettie
RANCHER BEAR’S BABY
STORY DESCRIPTION
Her life is playing out like a country song. No job, cheating boyfriend, pregnant by a one-night stand. What else can go wrong?
Elizabeth followed her boyfriend halfway across the country because he wanted to get out of the city and back to nature. Giving up everything and accompanying him would cement their relationship. Or so she thought, until she found the bastard in the arms of another woman.
Down and out, Elizabeth is grateful when a handsome cowboy comes to her aid. Weird how she can’t seem to keep her hands off of him. She’s never been attracted to another man like this before.
Alex is one of the heirs to his family’s billion dollar ranching operation. He’d rather party and play than fight with his brothers over who will gain control of the ranch. Alex actually thinks it’s funny when the brothers find that their father has added a stipulation to the will. The first to produce offspring inherits the ranch. It certainly won’t be him.
When Alex helps a woman in need, fate puts him face to face with his mate. He instantly falls head over heels for her. Fate is cruel though. She obviously doesn’t feel the same for him because he can’t seem to convince her to stay in town.
Each has only memories of their one night of steamy passion to cherish, until they receive surprising news that they’ll soon have a little something else to cherish.
CHAPTER 1: Elizabeth
I kicked up dirt in my ruined ballet flats as I headed towards the sounds of screaming fans and country music. I wanted to find Sam and watch the rodeo with him. It was about time I tried to assimilate to the country way. We’d been in Landing, Wyoming for almost two weeks and I still hadn’t seen the little town’s nightlife.
As I spotted the small stadium, if you could even call it that, I couldn’t help comparing it to the nightlife I was used to. DC had everything. Culture, dancing, and drinking. There was more, but at twenty-three, those three things ranked pretty high on my list of fun things to do.
What ranked pretty low was walking down a dirt path between the only motel in Landing and the little mud hole where the rodeo was held. My flats were label and had cost me a pretty penny. A penny I no longer had, so I had no hopes of replacing them. They’d been the victim of Sam thinking he was going to cheer me up about the dust I’d been tracking through to get to the local library. He’d tried to clean the delicate suede with a nice rough run through an industrial sized washing machine at the laundry mat.
The stadium was really just a big fence surrounding a bunch of dirt and a few sets of metal stands. There was a big wooden box set up on one end with windows revealing a few men who were giving commentary about what was happening in the dirt.
I passed by a few cowboys in their outfits and smiled at them. Of course, they just stared at me. If I had to say one thing about Landing’s population, it was that they were the most private people I’d ever met. They weren’t big on strangers. While it seemed like they’d taken a liking to Sam, even the sweet looking librarian clammed up when I walked into the library, looking to borrow her paper to job hunt.
The metal seating was mostly full, which was surprising for the small town. I never expected so many people to show up for something that didn’t make much sense to me.
I stood at the bottom of the stands and looked for Sam. For the guy I’d moved across the country with, he sure had been hard to find since we arrived in Landing. I could feel the people in the stands looking at me, but I ignored it and just focused on finding my newly mysterious boyfr
iend. I made my way around the stadium with no luck. I couldn’t find him anywhere.
He’d said that he would be there, so I found a seat and tried to blend into the crowd while I waited for him to show up. It wasn’t easy, that much was sure. Landing residents seemed to scoot away when I walked by them. I wanted to like them, but I’d never felt quite so alone in my entire life. I didn’t think I’d done anything to offend them, but they all seemed to want to keep their distance from me.
The country music screeched to a halt and a man with a thick accent started talking about the next cowboy up. The men were riding bulls, which just seemed dangerous and pointless to me. I was slightly concerned for the bulls, too. It couldn’t be healthy for them to have such large men sitting on their backs. As I contemplated the cruelty level of bull riding, a man caught my eye.
It was different for many reasons. First, it was the first time anyone had really met my eye since I’d arrived. Second, because something seemed to sizzle in my lower stomach as soon as our gazes connected. Butterflies seemed too innocent and small a word to compare to what I was feeling. In all actuality, it felt like someone had released a thousand tornadoes in my stomach, that were all trying to escape at once.
The man was big. He towered over the tall men around him, making them seem average, at best. His shoulders were wide enough to land a small plane on, it seemed, and his arms tested the limits of the denim shirt he was wearing. A narrow waist and hips were encased in dark leather chaps that made me hungry to know what was waiting for my eyes in the back.
Tousled blonde hair fell almost to his shoulders and peeked out from behind a dusty cowboy hat. His lower face was all sharp angles and five o’clock shadow. I couldn’t see his eyes as clearly as I wanted to and I found myself standing, my body desperate to get a closer look, to see them more clearly.
I bumped my ankle on part of the metal seating and the pain cleared my head. I blinked a few times and felt my eyes go wide. The cowboy was still there, standing in the dust right inside the fence, watching me with a half-grin on his face. He winked and I reacted like someone had set my ass on fire. I jumped about a foot in the air and then rushed towards the exit.
With my heart racing, I fought the urge to look back at the man. Something about him was calling to me, but I’d never been a cheater and I had no plans on starting. I had to just get away from him and pray that whatever I was feeling went away. I had to find my boyfriend and make him spend some time with me so I could remember why I didn’t need to feel anything for anyone else. Sam was enough. He had to be.
I decided to go back to the motel and find my phone so I could call him. I would ask him to come home and then wait for him in just a nightie. Things were okay. I’d just have to prove it to myself, I figured. I shook out my trembling hands and tried to forget about the stranger. The tornadoes in my stomach hadn’t calmed down any, but I could easily convince myself that it was just something funny I’d eaten.
I rounded the corner of the stadium and, from the new angle, spotted Sam’s truck at the back corner of the parking lot. The shiny new chrome stood out amongst the other vehicles and I had a moment of anger at Sam. He’d just had to have a new truck. I’d poured more money into it than I cared to admit. It was just a part of his country western dream that I was going along with.
The closer that I got to the truck, the closer I got to realizing something wasn’t right. The cheering from the rodeo drowned out most of the moans, but not all of them. I knew what I was going to find by the time I reached the front bumper of the truck, but it didn’t stop me.
I trailed my fingers along the warm metal at the side of the truck until I stood beside the bed of it and could clearly see Sam with a woman bent over in front of him on the other side of the bed. Judging by the look on her face, she was really enjoying it. Judging by the look on his face, he’d spotted me.
“Shit! Beth!”
Dread dropped like steel in my stomach, crushing everything in its path, including the tornadoes and my ability to keep my lunch down. I bent over and threw up on the special edition rims that he’d wanted. They didn’t matter much anymore, anyway.
CHAPTER 2: Elizabeth
By the time Sam got his pants up I was halfway across the parking lot. I didn’t have a clue where I was going, but I wasn’t seeing clearly through the tears.
I’d given up my life in DC to join him on his stupid journey of getting back to his roots. I’d given up my job and my beautiful apartment. I’d given up being near people who loved me and wanted to be with me.
The injustice of it all settled on my chest and I found myself so angry that I wanted to hit something, someone. I wanted to hit Sam. I’d never been violent, but I could feel my fingers tightening into fists at the idea of laying into him.
“Beth! Jesus, stop. Let me talk to you!” Sam caught my shoulder and spun me around.
It was the push I needed. I swung my hand out at him, aiming to clean his clock, but he ducked it. Frustrated, I shoved him away. “Don’t let me stop you, Sam. Go back to fucking Daisy Dukes over there.”
“Are you going to calm down any?”
I laughed. “Go to hell, Sam. It’s over. This whole thing was a stupid mistake.”
“We’ve been together for two years, Beth. You just moved across the country with me! You’re really going to end it like this?”
“You’re really going to fuck someone else while I’m waiting for you to come back to the motel?”
He tossed his hands in the air and seemed exasperated. “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s just forget this. Come back to the room with me.”
I sat down on the curb behind me and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m done with this, Sam. Let’s not drag it out.”
He punched the car next to us and backed away. “I’m going back to the room. I’ll be there, ready to talk, when you are.”
I didn’t watch him go. I was really done. When I made up my mind about something, I stuck with it. I was ending a two-year relationship in a matter of seconds, but strangely, it didn’t feel the way it should’ve. I was pissed, embarrassed, and hurt, but I didn’t feel crushed by the thought of leaving Sam. I’d get to go back to DC and bitch to my friends. I’d get to escape the country hell he’d landed me in.
I sat there for over two hours watching people get in their cars and leave. When there was just one truck across the lot and the lights flickered out, I realized that I wasn’t as okay as I thought I was. I mean, I was still sure of my decision, but I hadn’t thought about how I was going to get back to DC. Everything I owned was in the motel room with Sam. I had no money, no transportation, and nowhere to stay the night.
The tears that I’d been fighting off fell too easily as I realized just how alone I was, and just how dark it was in the parking lot.
CHAPTER 3: Alex
The rodeo had done nothing to sooth my nerves. Every muscle in my body had been tense since I’d seen the woman in the stands. My bear was pawing at me, telling me to go and find her. He wanted to devour the little human. I wasn’t far behind.
It’d been a while since I’d felt anything besides anger and frustration. For over two months, I’d been dealing with the shit from Dad’s death. He’d left the ranch in a fucking mess, that was sure. No boss, no back up plan, no nothing. My oldest brother, Matt had stepped in as temporary leader, but he wasn’t exactly made for it.
Matt was no better than my other brothers. Lucas, Michael, and John were all money obsessed. They didn’t give a shit about the ranch when it came down to it.
Despite the distraction that my family had become, everything had quieted when I spotted her. I’d fucked my way through every woman, bear and human alike, in Landing, and every town around, but I’d never felt anything like I’d felt when I laid eyes on her. My bear had tried to take control.
Her scent called to us. Honeysuckle with a little hint of something spicy. It’d taken everything in me not to chase after her when she’d left. My bear had roared in my head, dem
anding I go after her.
I’d stayed late at the stadium, using the excuse that I needed to make sure everything was locked up tight, but in reality, I needed more time to calm down. My fur was still just under the surface. I was too close to shifting to be able to hang out at the bar with everyone else. Adding liquor to my current state was a sure fire way to cause a disaster.
A hint of her scent wafted my way as I headed out to my truck. Damn. I shook my head. I was losing it, smelling her when she wasn’t even there.
The farther into the lot I got, though, the more I was sure she was around. I stopped moving and tilted my head back to take in a deeper breath. Her scent came from the north end of the lot, the darkest spot. When I tuned into my senses, I realized I could hear whimpering.
Fur sprouted from my arms and hands as my bear roared in my head. He shouted that she was hurt and we had to save her. I was already running in her direction.
I spotted her, sitting on the curb, looking small and vulnerable. With a quick scan of the area, I saw that there was no imminent threat, but it didn’t stop my bear from raging at the sight of her tears.
I was still a few feet away from her when she looked up at me. Her bright blue eyes widened and she held up her hands.
“What are you doing?!”
I froze in place and shook my head. Great, I thought, I’d scared the hell out of her by charging at her. “I heard you crying. Are you okay?”
She reached up and wiped at the tears. “I’m not crying.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, not. What are you doing out here, in the dark?”
She wrapped her arms back around her knees and frowned. “It wasn’t dark until a few seconds ago.”
My dick hardened into steel as her plump breasts pushed up. Her dress barely contained them and my mouth watered at the sight. “Need a lift?”
As she hesitated, I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to look harmless. It wasn’t easy. I was a big man, an even bigger bear, and everything in me was demanding that I grab her and claim her.
That gave me a slight pause. Claim? I’d never felt the urge to claim anyone before. I’d never even wanted to feel that urge before. Fucking my way through town had never seemed all that bad. Claiming someone meant having a mate to come home to. It meant responsibility. It meant forever. Forever for a bear was a long time.
Rancher Bear Complete Series: PLUS NEW BONUS BOOK: Rancher Bears' Merry Christmas Page 1