Days went by and she didn’t hear from him. She’d decided he wasn’t going to call after all. How long did he really need to process? But, she waited. She waited a whole week since he’d shown up at her house. When she still didn’t hear from him, she picked up the phone.
“Hey Harmony,” he said.
“Hey. So, you didn’t call like you said you would, so I’m assuming you decided you couldn’t do the kid thing and couldn’t bring yourself to call to tell me?” She tried to keep her tone light, but she was angry and frustrated and deeply disappointed. She’d really wanted this to work and she really liked him.
“I’m sorry. I should have called. But to be honest, I’m still not really sure. I mean…” He let out a long sigh. “I really like you, Harmony. But kids just overwhelm me. I don’t know what to do with them.”
“Okay, well how much time have you spent with any?”
“Not much.”
“And don’t you think that maybe that’s why you feel overwhelmed and like you don’t know what to do? If you spent more time with kids, you’d see that they’re really not that bad.”
“What if I do something wrong?” he asked. “What if somehow I don’t know what to do and one of them gets hurt?”
“Beck. Kids aren’t like some delicate flower where if you put them too close to a draft, they’ll die. They’re just people. You manage to be around your friends without hurting them, right? It’s really not any different. You know how to keep yourself alive. The same principles apply. Didn’t you ever have a pet?”
“We had a dog when I was a kid.”
“Well, there you go,” she said. “You feed the dog and give it water and make sure it doesn’t run out into the road. Except with a kid it’s even easier because once they can talk, they’ll even tell you when they’re hungry.”
“I know it’s easy for you and this probably seems really ridiculous, but it just freaks me out. I’ve been anxious all week thinking about this. Every time I picture myself spending time around your son, something goes wrong in my mind.”
“It’s only easier for me because I’ve spent so much time with them. When you first got the bees, were you an instant expert? Did you keep them all alive perfectly? Or did you maybe have some figuring out to do? Some things to learn about beekeeping?”
“I read a bunch of books, so I knew some stuff. But I guess I did learn as I went.”
“If you really want to, there are plenty of books on kids. And you have me. I can help you, especially when it comes to Logan.” She was pacing the room now, an idea coming to her, and hope daring to well in her chest. “I have an idea. Just listen, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Come and hang out with Logan and me. We’re going hiking next weekend. Come with us. You don’t have to worry about taking care of him or anything because I’ll be there. You don’t have to do anything except maybe talk to him. Leave all the parenting up to me and see what happens when you just hang out and get to know him.”
“Where?”
“At the state park. They have some nice trails and we’ve gone a few times. You do hike, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Okay then. You’ll come? See what it’s like? You can always change your mind later and run away and never talk to me again.”
“I don’t want to do that, Harmony. I want to get to know you.”
“Then what’s your hold up?” She squeezed her fist and eyes shut hoping he’d agree. She waited and finally, he answered.
“Okay. I’ll give it a try and see. I guess I did always picture having my own kids someday. Not any time soon, but even if I want them eventually, I’ll have to get used to them.”
A smile spread across her face. “Perfect. You’ll see. It’s really not so bad being around them.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She laughed. “They can even be a lot of fun, you know. Logan might surprise you.”
“I sure hope so.”
Beck knocked on Harmony’s door at 10 a.m. sharp. She pulled open the door with a huge smile to hide her anxiety.
“Morning!” she said.
“Morning.” He stepped inside, a small gym bag hanging from one hand, and followed her to the living room, where Logan was tying his shoes.
“I’m just going to run to the bathroom real quick,” Harmony said. “Logan, why don’t you show Beck your new truck?”
Harmony dashed upstairs and used the bathroom, then snuck back down to listen to what was happening in the living room.
“It does this, too!” Logan said and lifted up the back of the truck to show him how it tipped. “What’s your favorite kind of truck?”
“Umm, I guess a pickup truck?”
“Do you have a pickup truck?”
“No,” Beck said. “But my brother does.”
“Cool! What color is it?”
“Red.”
“I like red. Do you like red? What’s your favorite color?”
Beck paused a moment. “I guess blue. Is red your favorite?”
“Mmm, I like red a lot, but I think green is my favorite. Do you want to see my green truck?”
“Okay.”
Harmony smiled at the interaction. Logan had no problem talking to people and making new friends. And it seemed like he was going to make Beck his new friend. If Beck answered his questions and talked to him, hopefully he’d see how unscary kids could be.
“Hey guys,” Harmony said, coming back into the room. “Ready to go?”
“I was just going to show Beck my green truck.”
“Why don’t you go grab it and show him in the car?”
Logan ran out of the room, then back in a minute later with a mini green pickup truck in hand.
They got into Harmony’s car, she waited until Logan had his seatbelt fastened, then they drove off toward the state park.
Logan continued to talk about his car and grill Beck with questions. Beck went along with it, answering and asking a question back now and then. She looked over at him and smiled. He smiled back. Maybe this was going to go better than she thought.
They arrived at the park and got out. Harmony stretched her legs while Logan decided which car to bring along.
“I think I’ll go with my green truck,” Logan said. “Since pickups are Beck’s favorite.”
“Will it fit in your pocket?” Harmony asked.
“Yup!” Logan tucked it into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.
They walked to the path and started on their hike. They weren’t more than twenty feet onto the trail when Logan stopped.
“Look! This one’s all chewed on. Cool.” He held up a green leaf with a big hole chewed through the middle.
A few minutes later, Beck paused and pulled a leaf from a tree and handed it to him. “This one looks chewed on, too.”
“Awesome!” Logan took the leaf and tucked it into his sweatshirt, where he’d put the other one.
They hiked for a half hour before they decided it was time to turn back. Logan could only go so long without getting tired. There was no way Harmony was going to carry him all the way back to the car.
After they turned around, a few minutes went by, then Logan screamed, “A bee!”
He flailed his arms around, trying to swat it away.
“Stop,” Beck said. “Don’t move.”
Logan froze, but whimpered, “It’s going to sting me.”
“No, it won’t. Not if you hold still.” Beck stooped to pick a wild flower. “Bees sting when they’re afraid. If you swat at it, it will get scared, and that’s when it might sting you. Watch this.”
Beck held the flower close to the bee. He turned it so that the center of the flower was in the bee’s line of sight. The bee flew right to the center of the flower, away from Logan. Beck set the flower gently on a rock. Logan bent over to watch the bee at work.
“The bee is collecting pollen to make honey. That’s why he goes into the flower. Then, when he has enough, he’ll fly
back to the hive and it’ll eventually be made into honey.”
“Whoa,” Logan said. “That’s cool.”
“Did your mom tell you that I’m a beekeeper?”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid of bees.”
“You don’t have to be,” Beck said. “Once you understand them better, you’ll see they’re not scary. Maybe I’ll show you my hives sometime.”
The bee left the flower and Logan stepped back away from it to watch it. After it flew off, he relaxed and picked up the flower.
As they walked, Logan and Beck collected several more leaves and some flowers, too. They came to an area with a large patch of flowers on one side. Logan picked a small purple flower and handed it to Harmony.
“So pretty. Thank you,” she said.
“Oh! I see a better one.” Logan walked to the side of the trail and bent to pick up another flower. As he stood back up, his foot slipped.
That side of the trail went down at a steep angle, and several feet below was a drop off. The cliff went a long way down and ended with rocks and boulders at the bottom.
“Logan!” Harmony shouted and reached out to grab him. She gripped the edge of his shirt, but he was already falling. His shirt tore out her hand and he was sliding to the edge of the drop off.
“Hold onto something!” she shouted and went toward him as quickly as she could without falling herself.
“Harmony, no,” Beck said. “Get back. I’ll get him.”
Beck slid down the hill. Logan was ahead of him, still slipping toward the edge of the drop off. Logan screamed as his foot went over the edge.
Harmony watched in shocked terror as Beck leapt in the air and landed on the ground on four large paws. He was a huge black bear, running at her son, who was now hanging onto the edge of the cliff with two hands.
Logan’s hands slipped and Beck dove off the cliff after him. He wrapped his body around Logan and they tumbled together, rolling fast down the side of the cliff toward the rocks at the bottom.
They landed with a crash. Beck’s furry body was still wrapped protectively around Logan and when they landed, Logan jumped up and looked back up at his mother.
“Are you okay?” she shouted.
“Yes!”
But the bear didn’t seem to be moving.
“Is Beck hurt?” she called down.
Logan shook his shoulder. Beck uncurled his body and stretched his paws forward, then stood up on his hind legs. Logan looked back at her and shrugged.
Then, as they both watched, Beck got onto all fours and his black bear fur receded into his skin, leaving him human again. And naked.
Even from so far away, Harmony could see exactly how muscular his body was. Ripped was the only word she could think of. Every inch of him was muscle. And he had a good butt, too. He covered himself with one hand and held up the other to wave to her.
“Are you okay?” she called down.
“Yes,” he said.
“How will you get back up here?” she shouted. “And what will you wear?”
But Logan was already taking off his sweatshirt. He handed it to Beck, who tied it around his waist.
“Meet us at the car,” Beck called. Then, he picked up Logan and carried him out of sight, into the woods.
She hurried to the car as fast as she could, trying to process what had just happened.
Now that the immediate moment was over and Logan seemed to be out of danger, the adrenaline was fading, leaving her mind racing.
Had Beck just actually transformed into bear in front of her eyes? Was there anyway she could have imagined it or hallucinated it? Maybe this was all a dream and she’d actually passed out when Logan fell. That was a much more likely explanation than thinking he’d really become a bear.
Bear shifters were just fairy tales. Something parents told their kids to make them behave. Go to sleep or I’ll turn into a bear and eat you. Eat your vegetables or the bears will come after you and make you do it. But they weren’t real. People couldn’t actually turn into bears.
Harmony kept hurrying, avoiding branches and rocks on the path. All she needed was to get hurt herself.
She had to figure this thing out before she got to him. If she asked if he’d become a bear, she would sound insane. What would be the most logical explanation? That Beck had curled around Logan and the sight of them tumbling must have just looked like a bear. An optical illusion. And his clothes must have gotten torn in the fall. Yes. This made much more sense.
She finally saw the edge of the parking lot where her car was. To her right, she saw Beck, still carrying Logan, still wearing just the sweatshirt around his waist, just coming out of the woods.
He put Logan down when they reached the car.
“Mom!” Logan exclaimed, his voice full of awe. “Did you see what happened?! Beck turned into a bear!”
“Shh.” Beck looked around, then knelt down closer to Logan. “Hey, buddy, can we keep this just to ourselves? Not everyone is okay with the bear thing.”
“Okay.” Logan nodded, wide eyed. “Like a secret?”
“Yeah, a secret.”
“But I can’t have secrets from my mom.”
“No, no,” Beck said. “She’s part of it.”
“Okay.” Logan pulled opened his door and hopped into the seat.
Beck stood and slowly turned to face Harmony. He looked at her for a long while, waiting.
“Say something,” he said.
“Well…” She tried to take her eyes off his sexy body, but failed. She settled for staring at his chest. There was no way she could look him in the eyes yet. “I’m just trying to figure out what happened. Because it looked like you turned into a bear.” She laughed. “But people don’t actually do that, so there has to be some other explanation. I just don’t know what it is yet.”
He didn’t respond. She could feel his eyes on her and finally, she moved her gaze up to meet his.
“Harmony,” he said. “I know it’s shocking. There’s nothing to be afraid of, though. I won’t hurt you or Logan. All of my business partners are bear shifters, too. We’re actually a clan and that’s why we all live together.”
She nodded. “Oh okay. That makes perfect sense. You’re a group of bears living together.” She laughed again, feeling on the verge of hysteria. “That’s why you like honey so much, right? It all makes perfect sense.”
He stood there and watched her for a while until she stopped laughing.
“I’ll understand if you never want to see me again,” he said. “I know this is very strange and unbelievable. But I think we should take Logan to the hospital to have him looked at just to be safe. I broke the impact of his fall, but he still could be hurt internally or something.”
She nodded. “Right. The hospital. Because Logan fell. That makes sense. Let’s do that.”
Colby (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 3) Page 97