by Sable Sylvan
Meredith was the only person who woke up the next morning. She yawned and stretched before getting out of bed and changing into comfy house clothes. She pulled out her journal and made a log of all the tasks she had to do, from laundry to the dishes that were still in the sink from last night, to grocery shopping and tidying up the common spaces. It was going to be an epic endeavor, but it was nothing that Meredith couldn’t handle. There was work to be done: there was no doubt about that, but now, Meredith had two bear shifters that she was looking forward to seeing once they woke up from hibernation.
Little did she know that number would go up by one in just a week.
Chapter Four
One Week Later
Meredith had stayed at the bear shifter’s abode for the last week and had been cleaning her butt off. She hadn’t expected this to be a working vacation, but she’d dedicated herself to spending a day on each room in the house, making a checklist for herself. She caught up on her music backlog while she scrubbed the toilets, did little dances while she did the dusting, and found herself liking having the alone time. Being in Los Angeles was draining because she found herself having to put on performances for other people, to the point that she couldn’t breathe, but by herself in the bear shifter house, she was able to do whatever she wanted without judgment.
She couldn’t get the thoughts of Brandon and Scott’s kisses out of her head, even when she went into town to get more cleaning supplies or to get food for the fridge. The two bear shifters hadn’t gone further with her, but thoughts of their touch followed her around the house, haunting her like a ghost.
Meredith’s plan of tackling a room a day worked: she got the kitchen and the pantry done in a single day, followed by the bathrooms, the living room, and the backyard. Although Scott had said that somebody would salt the ice, nobody had, and she forgot to get ice when she went into town for groceries, picking up basics and eating a lot of Instant Ramen and stocking the freezer with ice cream, chocolate loaded with nuts and caramel, her favorite.
For the most part, her stay was peaceful, and once she cleaned up the clutter and ran a dozen loads of laundry, the house started to actually look livable. She cleaned the floors, wiped all the surfaces, and the stench from the kitchens and bathrooms went away in a few days. Meredith, as an only child, had done most of the chores in her house growing up and it turned out she was well suited to her new job as housekeeper.
***
Meredith was sitting on the couch, curled up and reading on her laptop, when she heard the steps of someone on the staircase. She watched and waited, wondering whether it was Brandon or Scott.
Tall, dark, and handsome, it ended up being neither, although the man looked similar to Brandon and Scott. The man was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a flannel shirt, and his beard was the longest of any of the men’s she’d seen that winter, but it was scraggly.
“Hello,” said Meredith, getting up from the couch to greet the man with a smile, but he didn’t return the gesture. “I’m Meredith. You must be –”
The bear shifter stretched as he cut her off. “Nathan,” said the grizzly man, frowning. “I got the note that Brandon slipped under my door: you’re the Baxter woman’s granddaughter, and you’re our housekeeper, right?”
“That’s right,” said Meredith. Nathan was so grizzly that he made Brandon look like an absolute teddy bear. “Can I make you something to eat?”
“What do we have?” asked the man groggily. He walked over the fridge and opened it, looked inside for a few seconds, and slammed it shut. “Come on, we’re going to the store.”
“I can make you something,” insisted Meredith.
“Not with those ingredients,” said the bear shifter. “I’ve got a craving, toots, and it’s not your fault, but get in the car, we’re going shopping.”
“Fine,” said Meredith, grabbing her purse that was right by the door and pulling on her red hoodie, following the man as he grabbed his keys out of a bowl and headed out to the garage. Meredith took him by the arm and he frowned.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“It’s slippery,” said Meredith. “And I was told that someone was going to salt the road. Scott made me hold his arm when he took me out to take the trash out.”
“You don’t have snow boots or salt?” asked the man warily, but the mention of Scott holding the beautiful woman sent a pang of unreasonable jealousy through his body and woke the bear inside of him, the bear that was telling the stupid human to behave if he wanted the curvy goddess in his bed.
“Nope,” said Meredith cheerfully, refusing to argue with Nathan. “You’ve got snow tires on the car, right?”
“Yup, and a belly that needs filling,” said the man, helping Meredith into her seat, the first nice thing he’d done for her since he’d woken up, before he got into the driver seat.
“You plan on at least telling me what you want me to make?” asked Meredith.
“You’re not making it, I am,” said the man, starting the car. “You’re my guest, and what kind of host would I be, leaving you in that drafty house by yourself? I’m surprised that Brandon didn’t show you where the blankets are kept.”
“There were frikkin’ extra blankets this whole time?” asked Meredith.
“Yep, and they’re kept in a closet adjacent to a furnace, so they’re nice and toasty,” said the burly man, turning on the heat. “So are the towels. But of course, those idiots forget not everyone’s a bear shifter who burns a furnace of fat each winter. Don’t worry...I’ll get you warmed right up.”
Meredith hadn’t left the house in days, stocking up on groceries at the store and hunkering down, and getting out was good for her, and for Nathan, who was still one grizzly bear. He parked the car at the grocery store and helped her out of her door, taking her arm in his.
“I thought you didn’t like it when I hold your arm,” teased Meredith.
“Fine, then I’ll hold your hand,” said Nathan, taking Meredith’s hand in his.
Distracted by the fact that Nathan was actually showing her some semblance of affection, Meredith almost slipped, but Nathan caught her.
“Am I going to have to frikkin’ carry you into that grocery store?” growled Nathan into her ear, as he helped Meredith back up and held her by the waist this time. “You better be careful, little Red, or a big bad wolf might get you...or a big bad bear might just swoop you up.”
“That’s not funny,” said Meredith. “And why do the three of you call me that?”
“You’re a petite, gorgeous redhead wearing a red hoodie, and the word Red is right in your name, Meredith, Mare-red-ith,” said Nathan, enunciating each syllable in her name phonetically. “Do you really have to ask?”
They went into the store and Nathan grabbed a cart. “Vegetables,” he ordered, and they walked to the vegetable aisle, the bright lights hurting Nathan’s eyes, which were sensitive to the light, the bear in his body not ready for bright lights until spring.
“Potatoes, carrots...onions, we need onions,” he said out loud, as he got the various ingredients and stuffed them in the cart. “And...celery. Celery, and garlic.” They finished getting the vegetables, picking up a few boxes of blackberries on the way out, and moved onto the soup and spice aisle, where they picked up two cartons of beef broth and a bottle of bay leaves, and then, in the dairy aisle, a box of butter and a gallon of whole milk, and a pint of cream, as well as a can of whipped cream. Finally, in the meat aisle, they picked up a huge hunk of beef, practically a whole cow, as well as a pig worth of bacon. They checked out, and the big bear shifter paid for the groceries and carried all the bags on one big, strong arm, holding Red with the other. He helped Red into the passenger seat and he loaded up the back two seats with groceries.
“Congratulations on not spraining your ankle on the ice,” said Nathan, starting the car.
“Is that sarcasm?” asked Meredith.
“Only a little, Red, but I’m serious: I’m glad my housekeeper didn�
�t get hurt,” teased Nathan. “But seriously, I’ve slipped on this ice more than I’d like to admit.”
Back at the house, Nathan went straight to work in the kitchen, pushing up the sleeves of his flannel shirt and tying an apron on. He peeled the potatoes and carrots, chopped the onions, and boiled them one by one while he braised the beef.
“You’re awfully handy in the kitchen,” said Meredith.
“I’m the one who does most of the cooking in the house,” explained Nathan.
“You sure you don’t want help?” asked Meredith.
“What kind of a host lets their guest cook for them?” asked Nathan, furrowing his brow. “No, you sit there and keep wondering what I’m whipping up, little miss Red.”
“If you insist,” she said. “But at least let me make a cup of tea.”
“Nope,” said Nathan. “I can make you one.” He put down what he was doing and turned on the electric kettle after filling it with water. He rifled through the cabinets until he found the mugs. “This isn’t where the mugs live.”
“There wasn’t a clear organizational system when I started working here,” said Red.
“Well, it’s better than whatever we had before,” said Nathan. “Guess this place did need a woman’s touch...but don’t let anyone know I said that to you.”
“I won’t, trust me,” said Meredith.
Nathan plopped a tea bag in the mug and once the kettle was whistling, poured a cup of tea for Meredith, letting it steep before he tossed the bag out and brought the mug to Meredith. “Here,” he said gruffly, as he placed the mug down on the dining table gently. “I do like what you’ve done with the place. It’s already neater than it was when you came here, I bet.”
“It was a wreck when I got here,” admitted Meredith. “I did my best.”
“Your best is more than good enough,” said Nathan. “You’re not from around here, right?”
“Yeah, I’m from LA,” said Meredith.
“What a mistake,” said Nathan, checking on the bacon he’d put in the oven.
“You don’t like cities?” asked Meredith.
“No, I don’t like Los Angeles,” said Nathan. “Smog, heat, people everywhere, what a terrible combination. What brought you up here?”
“My grandmother,” answered Meredith. “She’s one of your tenants.”
“So why aren’t you with her?” asked Nathan. “Have a fight or something?”
“Never,” said Meredith. “No...her rent went up, and in exchange for a renewal of her current lease, and a rent control policy, I’m your housekeeper this winter.”
“Brandon raised her rent?” asked Nathan, pulling the bacon out and resting it on one of the counters, on a tea towel he’d laid out.
“No, and neither did Scott,” said Meredith. “I thought you did.”
“I don’t touch the leases,” said Nathan. “More of a handyman myself. I let the others worry about the numbers.”
“Then who raised the rent?” asked Meredith.
“I don’t know, but something smells fishy, and not the good kind of fishy, like salmon,” said Nathan. “I’ll get this sorted out, Red. I promise.”
“Thanks, Nathan,” said Meredith. Nathan could be grizzly, gruff, and downright rude, but underneath those layers of crusty, stubbly man was a big, warm teddy bear, who was protective and caring.
“It’s what’s right, Red,” said Nathan, stirring the pots and taking one batch of potatoes off the burner, draining the pot and pouring the still hot potatoes into a mixing bowl, mixing them with butter until they were mashed but still chunky, skin-on, and then he added dried scallions from the spice cabinet. As soon as the butter was entirely melted, he added the cream, and he mixed the potatoes until it was of one consistency.
“Mashed potatoes?” asked Red.
“They’re not ready yet,” growled Nathan. “Jeez, Red, just let me frikkin’ feed you.” He checked on the carrots and the other batch of potatoes: he’d added the potatoes first, then eight minutes later, the carrots, and they were both perfect now, so he drained them, before putting them back in the same pot with the beef both and a packet of gravy sauce that was tucked into the spice cabinet, and then, he put in the bay leaves they’d bought at the store.
“There’s nothing I can do?” asked Red.
“I’ll let you set the table,” answered Nathan, as he checked the bacon. It had cooled down to the point he could touch it and he pulled the bacon out, crumpled it in his big bear hands, spreading the salty, savory crumbs all over the mashed potatoes and lightly stirring them in.
“Let me?” teased Red, as she got out two placemats and a stack of napkins.
“That’s right, let you,” said Nathan cockily. He stirred the soupy mix and added onions, which he’d caramelized on the stovetop, and then added the beef, mixing the soup. Nathan found two bowls and a ladle as well and used the wooden spoon in the mashed potatoes to serve the potatoes and put them in the big bowls, and then, he ladled a few scoops of stew into each bowl. He carried the two piping hot bowls to the table.
“Water?” asked Meredith.
“Milk,” said the shifter, and Meredith went and served him a tall glass of milk, bringing it straight to the table.
“Potato islands?” asked Meredith. “My grandma makes her stew with potato islands too.” The mashed potatoes formed mountains in the bowl that peaked out of the stew like little islands.
“I know, it’s her recipe,” said Nathan.
“Wait, what?” asked Meredith. “How do you have my grandma’s recipe for stew?”
“I do a lot of handywork for your grandma,” said Nathan. “I put her storm windows in last year, and she made me stew, and I paid attention. I might not talk a lot, Red, but I listen.”
“And you woke up with a hankering for my grandma’s stew?” asked Red.
“Yes and no. I wanted something savory and heavy to fill me up...but when I smelled you, I knew I needed that stew,” explained Nathan. “You smell just like your grandma, and whenever I’m around your grandma, the bear inside me wants to be fed.”
“You’re in love with my grandma’s cooking,” teased Meredith.
“That woman is magic in the kitchen,” said Nathan.
“Yeah...the women in my family are shifters,” said Meredith.
“Really?” asked Nathan.
“Yeah, my grandma’s a chef shifter...and a baker shifter,” teased Meredith.
Nathan couldn’t help but chuckle. “That was stupid.”
“You laughed,” said Meredith.
“Yeah, I did,” said Nathan, digging into the soup. “Eat up, it’s going to go cold.”
Meredith followed suit. Nathan’s stew was a lot like her grandmother’s, down to the bay leaves, but he used a lot of meat and potatoes, and it was the perfect addition on the cold winter day, the wind howling like a werewolf outside the kitchen door.
Nathan guzzled down the milk and then walked over to the refrigerator and held the gallon up to his mouth to drink.
“Eww, that’s so gross,” said Meredith.
Nathan kept drinking the milk without a pause, finishing it off entirely in a minute.
“Woah,” said Meredith. “Thirsty much?”
“I needed the extra fats,” said Nathan, patting his stomach. He pulled his shirt up: his abs were on display, firmer than either Brandon’s or Scott’s. “You see these?”
“Yeah,” said Meredith. “It’s kinda hard not to.”
“Abs are built in the kitchen,” said Nathan, pulling his shirt up even more, running his hands over the muscles. “The fact you can see these is a bad thing. It means I didn’t eat enough for winter last year.” Red stared at Nathan’s chest: she swore that at the top of the revealed portion of his chest she could see a bit of red fur peeking out over his left pec.
Nathan pulled his shirt down. “I need the fats for burning through the night, and I need carbs for making new fat stores, and sugars to burn right now.” Nathan opened up the freezer
and pulled out Red’s chocolate ice cream, and opened the freezer and pulled out the blackberries and the cream. He put brought it to the table with new bowls and an ice cream scoop and spoons.
“How much do you want?” asked Nathan.
“I’m fine,” said Red, stacking their dishes and carrying them to the dishwasher, loading it up with all the dirty stuff from cooking that could go in the dishwasher, and putting the rest of the stuff in the sink to wash later.
“Too bad...I love a woman who can eat,” said Nathan. “So you’re eating.”
Red came back to the table. “Make me,” she said.
“You sure you want to sass me?” growled Nathan, the bear inside of him telling him to force feed Red dessert just to show her a lesson.
“I’m not afraid of the big bad bear shifter,” said Red, leaning over the table, but Nathan took the opportunity to put the nozzle of the can of whipped cream in Red’s mouth and press down.
Red’s mouth was suddenly filled with the white creamy foam, and she was left looking at Nathan with her mouth agape, full of sweet, melting cream. She shut her trap, swallowed the cream down, and glared at Nathan. “Fine,” she said. “Do your worst. Make me a bowl.”
“That’s more like it,” said Nathan, and he served Red a bowl of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream over it, and floated blackberries on top of the leftover cream from cooking in the bowl as well.
Red ate a bite and then another...and before she knew it, the bowl was half-empty. The sweet dessert was rich and dark, the chocolate and blackberries a perfect combo, the sweet vanilla taste of cream bringing out the blackberries’ natural flavor.
“What did I tell you?” asked Nathan.
“It’s good,” admitted Red. “But don’t think this means you can order me around.”
“Good, not great?” asked Nathan.
“Nothing beats marionberries,” said Red. “But it’s the wrong season for those.”
“Well, I’m sure you and I can go hunting for some in the woods this summer,” said Nathan.