Double Bear Chase: Werebear BBW Menage Romance (Hockey Bear Season Book 3)

by Anya Nowlan

  Walking down the steps of his two-story house, Foster ran a hand down his hair as he strolled over to his fridge. They had another session scheduled for today, and he was determined to finally get some answers. Hanna was usually so straightforward, there had to be a reason for her to be playing these games all of the sudden.

  Before he could even get started on his breakfast, the phone he’d stuck into his pocket started buzzing. Pulling it out, he recognized the number as the counseling center’s.

  “Hello? Yes, this is Mr. Caldwell,” he said, recognizing Jasmine’s voice.

  “Mr. Caldwell, I’m sorry to say your appointment for today has been cancelled.”

  “Cancelled? Is something wrong?”

  “I can’t comment on that, sir,” Jasmine replied, sounding somewhat uncomfortable.

  “Okay,” Foster drew out, feeling even more uneasy than before. “Can we reschedule?”

  “I’m sorry. We’re not rescheduling Ms. Radley’s appointments at this time.”

  That immediately struck Foster as not only weird, but very worrisome.

  “What does that even mean?” he demanded, sounding a bit harsher than he had meant.

  Clearly, it wasn’t Jasmine’s fault that his appointment was cancelled, and she probably had strict guideline about what she could and couldn’t say over the phone like this. Still, that didn’t quiet the annoyed growl building in his chest.

  “We will get in touch with you when we’ve found a new therapist to take over your sessions,” Jasmine said evenly.

  “Can you tell me anything about what the hell is going on? What happened to Hanna?” Foster asked, in a last ditch effort to get any information.

  “It’s really not my place to say. Sorry, Mr. Caldwell. As I said, we’ll be in touch,” Jasmine replied before the line went dead.

  Resisting the urge to chuck his phone across the room, Foster found himself using methods Hanna of all people had taught him to control his anger. What a cruel twist of fate that was. With his breakfast forgotten, Foster could only pace around his kitchen, driving himself crazy with all the different scenarios running through his head. Finally, he turned over the phone still clenched in his hands and dialed his brother’s number.

  “Finn. Something’s…” he got out, before he was cut off.

  “I know, they already called me. I’m on my way to your house,” Finn ground out, obviously pissed off.

  The call ended after that, and Foster was left to replay every word Hanna had said the last time they saw each other, searching for clues to her behavior. He roamed around the house for about ten minutes, lost in thought, before the doorbell rang.

  Walking over to the front door, he had barely opened it when Finn was already marching inside, eyes tight and shoulders tense.

  “What did they tell you?” he asked.

  “No appointment and no rescheduling. That was pretty much all I got out of Jasmine.”

  “Me too,” Finn sighed.

  “Do you think something’s happened to her? Like maybe she’s hurt or something like that?” Foster speculated aloud.

  Not knowing what was happening was driving him crazy with guesses and theories. He never had been very good at sitting around and waiting for things to play out.

  “They would have told us that, wouldn’t they? If she’d been in an accident? There would be no need to be so cryptic,” Finn replied, rubbing his temple. “And she texted us just last night. What are the odds she’s gotten into an accident since then?”

  “Wait. Have you called her? Because I haven’t,” Foster said, feeling supremely stupid all of the sudden.

  Seems like worrying about Hanna has robbed me of my ability to think.

  She hadn’t picked up the phone last night, but she couldn’t avoid their calls forever, could she? Not when she knew she owed them an explanation. She couldn’t possibly be cold enough to just disappear from their lives without a single word.

  Finn gave him a blank stare before quietly cursing to himself and pulling out his phone. Putting it on speakerphone, they sat down at Foster’s kitchen counter, staring at the screen as if that would somehow make Hanna answer. They shared a surprise look when she actually did pick up.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice sounding distant and detached.

  “Hanna. What’s going on? We got a call basically saying you’re not our therapist anymore?” Foster asked.

  “I can’t be your therapist anymore. It was wrong of me to even continue as such after Shifter Grove. I’m too personally involved,” she replied.

  “And why couldn’t you have told us that yourselves?” Finn chimed in.

  “I’m sorry. I should have,” Hanna replied, still sounding like she wasn’t even really there, her voice hollow.

  “Okay, so you’re not our therapist anymore. Great. That means we don’t have to hide anymore,” Foster stated, even though he had a feeling this was not where the conversation was going.

  Something odd was going on, and from how Hanna was acting and sounding, he knew there was something else unexpected coming.

  “I apologize for letting this go on for so long. The truth is, I’ve known for a while this isn’t going to work out. I think it’s best we don’t see each other again,” Hanna replied.

  “You apologize? Hanna, you can’t be serious with this shit,” Finn said, his voice rising.

  “I’m very serious,” she claimed. “Sometimes the close personal relationship between therapist and patient gets confusing, and we transfer the feelings of emotional intimacy over to romantic intimacy. It’s for all our benefit if we don’t continue to blur those lines, ones that shouldn’t have been crossed in the first place.”

  “Hanna, stop. We are not confused about our feelings for you. Let’s talk about this,” Foster argued, feeling the rug being pulled out from under his feet.

  He had known something was wrong when Hanna hadn’t called them when she said she would, but this was beyond anything he would have expected from her. The cold way she was denying anything real ever happened between them was crushing. It was like they were talking to an entirely different person.

  “There is nothing to talk about. Whatever we had, it has to be over. Please don’t call me again,” was all that Hanna said before hanging up.

  Foster and Finn looked at each other, completely bewildered and too hurt to even say anything. After everything, Hanna was simply going to abandon them without even having the decency to say goodbye, face-to-face. Would she have even told them it was over if they hadn’t called, or would she just have avoided them until they got the picture?

  One thing was for sure, though. Foster had been right all along. The more you open yourself up, the more you let yourself get tangled up in someone, the greater the potential for pain and disappointment.

  I’m never making that mistake again.

  Thirty-Four

  Hanna

  As soon as Hanna hung up on Foster and Finn, the tears started coming. Curling up on her couch, all she could do was wrap herself in a comforter and sob. Both men had sounded so hurt, that she almost couldn’t even go through with it.

  What have I done? she thought.

  In a moment of weakness, she even wanted to reach for her phone and call them back, tell them everything and hope they forgave her. But she couldn’t. Not only would it not be fair to wrap them up in her drama and possibly even get them hurt, seeing Vince again had brought her back to reality, like a slap in the face.

  She felt stupid for even thinking she could shake her past. And thinking she was ready for a relationship as complicated as one with the brothers would certainly be. They were still in the honeymoon phase, blinded by their immense attraction toward each other. Love tended to bring disappointment, at least in Hanna’s experience.

  So it was better to stop this thing before any of them got overly involved. She should have been focusing on rebuilding her career like she’d originally planned, and not allowed Finn and Foster to become such a distraction
to her.

  If she had, maybe she would have realized what was going on sooner. If she hadn’t been so sucked into how the brothers made her feel, perhaps she would have paid more attention to the weird phone calls.

  But now Vince was here, and there was nothing she could do. He already knew where she worked, had found her phone number somehow, and probably had a pretty good idea where she lived.

  Hanna didn’t even consider going to the cops. That hadn’t done her much good back in Florida, and she doubted it would go better here. The restraining order certainly hadn’t deterred Vince, and he always knew how to disappear right before the police arrived.

  If she wanted any real help from the law enforcement, she basically had to wait for him to actually do something to her.

  I’m not going to wait around for that, she thought bitterly.

  Even though she had almost convinced herself her relationship with the brothers had been doomed from the start and she was better off without them and they were better off without her, the tears didn’t stop streaming down her face.

  It felt like she had just lost something she would never get back or replace, and the thought of never seeing Finn and Foster again was ripping her apart inside. They had been nothing but good to her, and she basically told them to take a hike. Over the phone, no less.

  That’s it. I’m officially a terrible person.

  Hanna knew the men deserved a face-to-face meeting and a proper explanation, but she couldn’t do that. If she had to look at them while giving them that bullshit spiel she just recited over the phone, she would have probably burst into tears right then and there.

  They must feel like I’ve abandoned them… And robbed them of the possibility of any type of real closure.

  She couldn’t help but be reminded of how they had rushed to Shifter Grove to see their mom after her accident, only to get there too late. Of course she wasn’t conceited enough to think her leaving was a blow comparable to losing a parent, but the fact another woman in their life was leaving without them having the opportunity to say goodbye…

  Without even meaning to, she had in some capacity replicated one of the most painful experiences in the brothers’ lives.

  It’s better if they hate me. It will make it easier for them to move on.

  She had no idea how the hell she was going to move on, though. Her feelings for the brothers aside, she had just started feeling like Sioux Falls was her home. Now she was going to be ripped away, with no plan of where she was going to go next.

  No matter what destination she settled on, though, it was a safe bet she’d never find a job with an understanding boss like Matt, or be surrounded by nicer people than she was at the counseling center.

  At that moment, her sadness was momentarily eclipsed by a burning anger. She had been naïve, getting into a relationship with a man like Vince, she knew that. It was probably the worst mistake she had ever made. But that didn’t mean she deserved to suffer her whole life because of it.

  Why can’t he just leave me the fuck alone?

  She knew the answer already – an unhealthy amount of sociopathy, with a dash on narcissism and some serious lack of empathy, Vince was just about the last person you’d want to develop an obsession for you. And somehow, she’d managed just that.

  Maybe it was the fact that she always managed to hide her fear of him that made her special to him, or the way she had managed to elude him when she originally left town. Whatever it was, she had somehow made herself into somewhat of a challenge for him.

  And Vince loved challenges.

  Once again, she briefly considered just coming clean with the brothers. She’d already told Finn about Vince, after all. But she was too afraid. Afraid her baggage would be too much for them, afraid she’d become dependent on their protection, afraid to lose her independence like she had with Vince.

  And afraid that if Vince ever caught on to her relationship with the men, Finn and Foster would become targets, as well. With Vince’s criminal connections, that would be a very dangerous position to be in, especially for public figures like the Caldwell brothers.

  No, she resolved, wiping away her tears. This is the right call.

  Now she just had a couple of loose ends to tie up before she could start packing. First, she had to get ahold of her landlord and tell him she was moving out, while also getting her deposit back. Then, she had to collect her final paycheck from the counseling center.

  These were important things, as she was going to use all the cash she could if she was going on the run again. But that could wait for a moment. Right now, she had another phone call to make.

  Thirty-Five

  Finn

  Everything Finn thought he knew about Hanna came crashing down around him. The woman he had just spoken to on the phone seemed like a stranger. And he couldn’t even get the answers that he needed before she hung up with the flimsiest excuse he’d ever heard.

  “I don’t get it. She said she wanted to see where this went just yesterday. What changed between then and now?” he asked, hoping against hope Foster had more insight than him.

  Foster was sitting almost eerily still at the kitchen counter, glaring at the phone in front of them.

  “She could have been lying yesterday to get us out of her office. Clearly she isn’t able to face us if she’s telling us all this over the phone,” he replied.

  “Do you really think she’d sink that low? It doesn’t seem like her…” Finn argued, with no real conviction.

  “How well do we really know her?” Foster countered. “We got too swept up, thinking she was our mate, to think clearly.”

  “You don’t think she’s our mate anymore?”

  Finn hadn’t even considered that aspect of it. Could someone willing to hurt them like this really be the one for them? That seemed especially cruel. Yet, his feelings for Hanna were still as real as ever.

  If anything, the way her abrupt disregard for them completely knocked the wind out of him only proved how strongly she felt about her. He couldn’t imagine feeling any more intensely about someone. So how could she not be their mate?

  “Foster… I was falling in love with her,” he admitted.

  His brother sighed at that. Clearly it wasn’t something Foster wanted to discuss in detail, but this affected them both, and Finn needed to know if his brother felt the same way as he did.

  “Love is a waste of time and energy. We should have been focusing on getting back on the ice, instead of chasing Hanna around, in the first place,” Foster grumbled.

  “I know you don’t mean that,” Finn scoffed. “I saw how happy she made you.”

  “And now I’m more miserable than ever. Tell me, what’s the point?”

  Finn didn’t get a chance to respond to that as the doorbell suddenly rang. He didn’t mind the timing that much, since he didn’t have a good answer for Foster’s question anyway.

  “You expecting someone?” he asked, as he followed Foster to the door.

  His brother was still dressed in sweatpants and a Savages’ t-shirt, dragging his feet and slouching over. Finn knew his brother might talk a big game about Hanna not being their mate and a waste of time or whatever, and part of him might even believe it, but it wasn’t the truth. He wouldn’t look like someone had just kicked his puppy if it was.

  And Finn knew his own feelings for Hanna were still there, hidden under a layer of disappointment and hurt. Preoccupied with his own issues, he was more than surprised when Foster opened the door and they were both suddenly wrapped in a hug.

  “Dad?” he asked, incredulous.

  “What are you doing here?” Foster asked, mirroring his shock.

  “What, I can’t come and surprise my boys? Didn’t know you’d be hanging around here, Finn. I was going to hit your house up next,” Garret replied.

  Holding them both at arm’s length, Garret’s brow furrowed. Finn didn’t know why he was still so surprised his father seemed to see right through both him and Foster. The m
an had raised them, after all.

  “Okay, who peed in your cereal?” he asked, making both the brothers raise their brows at him.

  “That’s gross,” Finn commented.

  “Really, dad,” Foster concurred.

  Pulling a suitcase after him, Garret brushed past them, making himself at home on one of the couches.

  “Alright, spill,” he said. “I know your mom was always better at the whole listening to your problems thing, but I’m all you’ve got right now. So start talking, or I’m moving to Sioux Falls and applying to be your assistant coach.”

  “If you put it like that…” Finn replied.

  Garret let out a low whistle after Finn and Foster told them the whole story with Hanna, leaving out some of the more salacious details, of course. Finn felt somewhat lighter now that at least someone else knew that had been going on.

  Maybe dad would have some more objective insight on the situation. Spirits knew Finn and Foster were far too involved to see things entirely clearly.

  “I knew the moment I saw you three together that something was up,” Garret said.

  “Which is why you did your best to embarrass us in front of her?” Foster asked.

  “Of course. It’s kind of like a test. If she laughs and joins me in giving you two a hard time, I know she’s a good fit for the family. Especially you, Finn, had a habit of bringing home beautiful, but entirely dull girls when you were in high school. No offense,” Garret shrugged.

  “Wow,” Finn replied, leaning back against the sofa he was sitting in.

  The huge windows of Foster’s house were letting the light stream in, with the sun emphasizing the laugh lines on their dad’s face. He looked less tired than the last time they’d seen him, which wasn’t that long ago.

  “Don’t act so surprised,” Foster interjected. “That Tara girl thought dad was serious when he joked that you were raised in a barn. She looked horrified.”

  “Okay, now you’re ganging up on me. Besides, this is entirely irrelevant. So dad liked Hanna. Great. She doesn’t seem to like us anymore, though,” Finn countered.