by Celia Kyle
A low growl was preceded by a barked order from Ty. “Get your car. We’ve got a job to do.”
The officer’s sharp words pulled her attention to him, and her heart stuttered. Yeah, Van was attractive but Ty… Dang.
Giving her another wink and flashing a seductive smile, the officer wandered away, disappearing around the corner of her home. His departure had her turning back to a glaring, definitely angry, Ty. Angry or not, the man was gorgeous.
The car rocked, Griss fighting his captivity and causing the vehicle’s springs to creak and squeak. Ty glanced back at the werebear and then to her again. “We’ll take him and keep him overnight. Get him sobered up. I’ll come back for your statement just as soon as we get him settled in a cell.”
He spun on his heel, heading back to the rocking car. In moments, he was traveling down the street, roars following him.
The second he was out of sight, Mia bolted for the house, slamming the door behind her.
“Baby boy?” She crept toward the back of the house, hoping the cub was where she’d left him. After meeting who she figured was the bear’s uncle, she prayed she could figure out a way to keep him out of the drunken jerk’s hands. “Here, sweet cub.”
The pantry door’s hinge creaked, the aged panel easing open and then a small brown nose peeked into the kitchen. The snout was followed by the cub’s dark brown eyes and furry head. A few flares of his nostrils preceded him fully emerging from the pantry.
Mia dropped to her knees, putting herself at eye-level with the frightened child. “Hey, little guy. He’s gone now and we need to figure out what I’m gonna do with you.”
The cub eased closer, the pungent scent of urine coming along with him. He whimpered and whined, pressing against her and nudging until she plopped onto the dirty floor. The little bear crawled into her lap, wet fur and all, and she didn’t hesitate to cuddle him close. Okay, there was a teensy hesitation, but then those eyes…
“All right, sweet stuff.” She pushed her fingers into his thick fur, savoring his warmth.
Mia dug into her jean's pocket and yanked out her cell phone. She’d programmed the small town’s important numbers when she’d arrived. Including the grocery store.
The call was answered on the second ring. “Miller Grocery. This is Emily.”
“Hey, Emily, I need to place an order for,” she glanced at the cub. The growing cub. “I need fifty pounds of salmon and maybe seven honeydew melons.” The small bear chuffed and she glanced at him, at his begging eyes. “Actually, make it ten.”
Minutes later, she ended the call and focused on the child on her lap. “You had to crawl into my pantry, huh?”
Chapter Two
Sporting a few new nicks and cuts, including a nice five inch slice on his forearm courtesy of Griss, Ty Abrams trudged up Mia Baker’s stairs. He’d done a little research on the woman before leaving the station. Griss had ranted and raved about her stealing his nephew, and while he didn’t really believe the man, he’d still wanted to be prepared when questioning her.
Her stats hadn’t told him much. Mia Marie Baker. Single. Thirty-three. Five foot four inches. Brown hair, brown eyes. One hundred seventy pounds. Granddaughter of werebear Eli Baker, but she couldn’t shift.
What his research didn’t reveal was the way the sun brought out a hundred different shades of brown in her hair or the fact that there were brown eyes and then there were brown eyes. Then there was her weight. One hundred seventy was simply a number. It didn’t state that her breasts were round and full, or that her waist tapered and then flared to a set of wide hips. Nor did it reveal she had a sweet, heart-shaped face or an adorable, pert nose. And those lips… Damn, he couldn’t think about her lips without thinking about them wrapped around a certain part of his body.
The woman was temptation personified. The crazy thing was, his bear agreed. No, “agree” was too tame a word. The beast roared in approval the first time Ty laid eyes on the woman. It pushed and prodded him to get closer and then went berserk when it looked like Griss was gonna hurt her. It’d taken everything inside him to keep his beast at bay while dealing with the drunken bear. Good thing his brother had appeared when he did. Otherwise, Ty’s animal would have burst free and taken the half-shifted male down, by any means necessary.
His bear had never been that edgy or close to snapping Ty’s control. There were more than a few bears living in Grayslake who had a hair trigger when it came to shifting and fighting due to a perceived slight. It was to be expected since wild bears, in general, weren’t the type of animals to happily live together.
Ty stomped up Mia’s steps, shaking off any loose dirt that clung to his boots while also announcing his presence. He raised his fist to knock on the damaged door. Damn, he’d have to fix that. Between his gun and Griss’s raging, it was kinda crooked. And splintered.
Her whispers had him freezing.
“Hush.” A low whine followed the word. A sound that definitely came from a cub. Aw, damn. “No, you get in there right now, mister.” Another grumbling whine with a squeak on its tail and then the click of a door closing.
He knocked on the door, noting how it trembled within the worn frame. Whether the woman was breaking the law or not, he’d get it fixed.
The door swung wide to reveal a disheveled, but no less gorgeous, Mia Baker. She’d changed clothes, this new shirt clinging a little tighter, her shorts a little more snug, and his cock twitched in appreciation.
“Miss Baker, I’m Sheriff Abrams and I’m also the Grayslake clan’s leader, their Itan. I took over for my father about six years ago. Your granddaddy was one of the clan’s bears so I’m assuming you know what that is?” At her jerky nod, he continued. “I’m here to talk about Griss Holmes. Mind if I come inside?”
Ty took a step forward, expecting her to move aside so they could continue their discussion in privacy and air conditioning. He was gonna ignore that she smelled delicious, like sweet honeydew, woman, and sugar. Except she didn’t move. Not an inch.
“Miss Baker?” He raised his eyebrows and instead of stepping aside, she moved forward. He quickly back tracked and jerked in surprise when she yanked the door closed behind her.
“No, thank you, Sheriff. We can discuss the incident here on the porch.” Her words were polite, but her resolve was unmistakable. The woman wasn’t letting him in the house.
“I see.” Ty stepped back farther, putting space between them. He had to, even if he didn’t want to. What he wanted was to stay put and let her curvaceous body rub against him. Instead, he gestured to a nearby set of chairs. “Should we sit then?”
Mia gave him a rueful smile. “If you’d like to end up on your rear end.” She shook her head. “Granddaddy was a lot of things, including a pinchpenny. I doubt those chairs are anything less than thirty years old.”
“All right then.” He’d play it her way. For now. Ty dug into his back pocket and pulled out a pen and notepad. “Why don’t you tell me what happened.”
And she did. Well, mostly, it seemed. Ty was sure he’d heard a cub inside her home. Except she skipped over finding a little bear anywhere near her house and picked up the story with Griss’s arrival.
“So, you don’t know anything about his cub? The little boy’s parents died recently.” They’d been on their way to pick up their cub after a night out and had gone off the edge of the road into a ravine. Werebears could recover from a lot, but not a broken neck. “He’s only four and probably missing them something fierce. Maybe he went looking for them and got lost. Maybe he hid in someone’s house because he didn’t want to get into trouble.”
Mia looked toward her front door, quiet for a moment, and then returned her attention to him. “If I was positive I had that man’s nephew in my home, I assure you I’d give him into your care.” She shook her head. “And then I’d pray you didn’t hand him over to his uncle. Did you notice how drunk he was? How quick he was to shift and try to take apart my house? I’m sorry, Sheriff. I can’t help you.”<
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“Can’t or won’t?”
“As I said, Sheriff, if I was positive I had—”
“Uh-huh. Why don’t you tell me who that one belongs to, then?” Ty spied the small cub, its tiny nose peeking through the yellowed curtains, slowly followed by sweet brown eyes.
Mia froze and jerked her attention from him, to the cub, and back again. “Um…”
“Why don’t we head inside?”
Her shoulders slumped, and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. She led the way to the front door and then into the home. The entryway was as he recalled, a little worn, but still welcoming even if every inch was packed with boxes. The familiar tattered rugs covered the aged wood floors and the sagging, frilly wallpaper with its peeled corners still decorated the walls.
He followed her deeper into the crowded home, watched her curvy frame navigate around piles of boxes until they entered the living room. The old man’s drooping couch still held its place of honor against the wall, but the rest of the furniture was new.
Movement to his left drew his attention and his gaze clashed with the little cub’s once again. He removed his hat and squatted down, making sure the kid recognized him.
“Hey, Parker. Causing a bit of trouble today?” Ty kept his voice low and soothing.
Suddenly a pair of tempting, entirely human, legs blocked his vision. “I’d appreciate it if you left my pet bear alone. His name is Randall,” the cub whined, and she spun away from Ty. He figured the protective Mia Baker was glaring at the poor boy. “Randall,” she returned her attention to Ty, “is a very sweet pet. Now, you’ve seen what you need to see and—”
A low knock at the front door preceded the young Rick Miller’s deep voice. The teen still had some growing to do, but he sounded like a mature bear. “Miss Baker? I’ve got your order.” The boy stuck his head into the living room. “Oh, hey, Itan.” Rick grinned, and Ty smiled in return. Being approachable to the young ones was one thing he’d worked toward when he’d taken over the clan. His father was a stern man who held tight to ceremony while Ty was low key and wanted his people happy and relaxed. “Miss Baker, Mom said to tell you it’s real good of you to take care of Parker this way. She put in some strawberries because the cubs really like them. I’ll drop everything here in the entry. Y’all have a good day!” Rick disappeared from sight.
Ty slowly panned back to Mia and grinned at her obvious discomfort.
She huffed. “Son of a cracker jack.”
Realizing the jig was up, Parker came bounding from behind the boxes. He hopped and tripped his way to Ty and cuddled close. The young boy’s scents surrounded him, and his bear helped him wade past the flavors of the forest that clung to every cub.
Fear. He understood its presence since he figured the boy had run away plus his uncle had been Tasered and hauled to jail in cuffs. Except pain lingered as well as… urine. He wrinkled his nose.
She must have seen his expression. “Yeah, he hasn’t wanted to take a bath.”
“Well, we’ll need to get him cleaned up before we give him back to his uncle. That probably won’t be until tomorrow so…”
Mia reached down and plucked the fifty pound cub away from him as if Parker weighed no more than a newborn kitten. The boy made it easier by wrapping around her like a spider monkey. “Over my dead and decaying body.”
“Now, Mia…”
“Miss Baker,” she snapped. “Why don’t you stop and ask me why he smells like he had an accident? Ask, Sheriff. Or do I need to call you Itan, too? Will that get you to listen to me?” Mia bent down and eased Parker to the ground then nudged him toward his original hiding spot.
Ty rolled his eyes. He didn’t care if she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on, she was feisty and annoying. Damn his bear for finding both of those traits attractive. “Why—”
“Because that boy’s uncle came to my door.” She leaned close and dropped her voice. He should have told her whispering didn’t matter since the boy could hear her anyway. “Parker pissed himself with his uncle’s first word. That boy was hiding in my pantry, scared and crying, and he had an accident the very second he heard Griss’s voice.” She stepped away and nudged the cub back even more. “Sheriff, if you or that man try to take him from me, you’ll both get a rear end full of buckshot and I won’t send you a get well card.”
Ty couldn’t help but admire the woman, even if she was making his job a hell of a lot harder than it had to be. He scrubbed his face, thinking through his options. Here was a human woman—he inhaled and sifted through her scent—or mostly human woman his bear wanted to please at all costs. Apparently, keeping Parker would make her happy.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “All right. Let’s get him cleaned up, and I’ll head over to his house and grab him some clothes.” Mia smiled, probably realizing she was getting her way for the most part, and he was quick to squash her hopes a little. “He’s only here for one night. One. Griss is in lock up overnight, so that means you can take care of him until then.”
Ty stepped nearer and stopped merely inches from her. Her scent wrapped around him again, overpowering those from the small cub. “I’m trusting you, Mia Baker. Your granddaddy was a good man, and he loved you like a daughter. Grayslake doesn’t really have child services because bears wouldn’t hurt their young.” He ignored her snort. “And Parker doesn’t have any other family. One night, Miss Baker. One night and then he goes back to his uncle.”
Ty ignored the whimper that came from Parker. As soon as the cub shifted back, he could talk with the child and figure out what happened. Because on the floor behind Mia Baker, was a growing puddle beneath little Parker Holmes.
* * *
Two hours later, Ty shook with rage. Unadulterated, pure molten rage. Dear God in Heaven, what he’d seen nearly tore his bear through his skin. The beast clawed and roared and seethed with the need for blood.
It hadn’t taken him long to head to the Holmes’s home and pack a couple of things for Parker. He’d even swung by his house to shower and change, anxious to be comfortable and clean the next time he saw Mia. His beast wanted the lush woman, and he’d figured his chances were better if he smelled good and wore something other than a wrinkled uniform.
He’d returned to the Baker house to find Mia whining, cajoling, and outright bribing Parker with strawberries in an effort to get him to take a bath.
It took Ty one order to get Parker into the tub and a single glare to get him to shift back into his human shape. Then the fury hit him. Fucking bruises lined the kid’s body. Bruises. From head to toe, the child was black and blue. Considering weres healed a hell of a lot quicker than a human, he could only imagine what they had looked like when fresh.
Ty held his tongue while the boy splashed in the tub, giggling at the bubbles and whining when he’d been forced to wash his hair with “girl” shampoo. Before long the bath was done, and Parker was eating a big ’ol salmon steak for dinner with berries and honeydew for dessert.
It wasn’t until after they’d settled Parker in Mia’s bed with cartoons playing on the TV that the two of them got a chance to talk.
She jumped into the conversation with both feet. “He’s not going back to that man. Ever. I know you said one night, but I changed my mind. I may not be a werebear, but I care for children just as much as you all pretend to.” She waved her hand. “No ifs, ands, or bears about it, his furry butt is staying right here. Possession is nine tenths of the law and all that.”
Ty’s bear bristled. He was pissed, too, damn it. If he’d known what was happening to Parker, he would have stepped in right away. He took his jobs as Sheriff and Itan of the town’s bear population seriously. “Mia—”
“No.” She held up her hand to forestall him. “Just… no. You don’t get it, and you haven’t seen what can happen…” Tears glistened in her eyes, the moisture growing until one snaked its way down her cheek.
Aw, hell. How was he supposed to lay down the law when she cried?
Before she could object, he snared her wrist and tugged her close, wrapping her in his arms. From the moment he saw her, he’d wanted to get his hands on the delectable Mia. He wished their embrace wasn’t because she was upset. His bear chuffed and barked in approval, urging him to keep her close and never let go.
Never?
Never.
Ty would think on that later. For now, he had a weepy woman in his arms and a battered kid resting in another room. He held her tight, one arm across her shoulders while he rubbed her back in soft, soothing strokes with his free hand. He tried to pretend the scent of her skin didn’t drive him wild. Or the feel of her curves aligned with his body didn’t excite him and send arousal thrumming through his veins.
“Don’t cry now.” He tightened his hold and pressed his face to her neck. “Hush.”
As wrong as it probably was, he enjoyed the feel of his skin against hers, the smoothness beneath his rough cheek. The bear rumbled in approval and stretched before padding toward the mental wall that kept it captive. It rubbed and scraped against the barrier, but didn’t press for release. It merely wanted to be closer to her.
With her first snuffle, his heart broke. His mind spun, trying to figure out how the hell he could do his job as Sheriff, make Mia quit crying, and be the Itan the little cub deserved, all at once. His bears were tolerant of a lot of things, but leaving a battered clan cub in the hands of a lone female—a lone human female—wouldn’t fly. Even if she happened to be Eli Baker’s granddaughter and one-quarter werebear.
“I’ll take him with me and—”
“No…” Mia struggled against his hold.
He refused to release her, and he tightened the hug, making his decision in an instant. His choice would raise more than a few eyebrows, but it was better than dealing with leaving a wounded Parker in her hands. “All right. If you want to stay with Parker, then get some stuff together, and we’ll go to my place. You two can stay there. No one can object to the boy staying with the town’s Itan for a night.”