Cabin Bear Heat Box Set: A Paranormal Fantasy Bear Shifter Romance (A Bear Shifter Romance Retelling of the Billionaire Redemption Series Book 2)

by Love-Wins, Bella

  Abby hung up and got in her car to head home. She had a few hours before the yoga class started. Getting out was probably a good idea. It helped that Ruth was easy to be around. On her way home, her mind wandered to Andrew again. She wished she could make sense of why he left so suddenly, and why he still had not phoned her back. Maybe he needed more time.

  Sighing, she turned into her building parking lot. She walked into her apartment and set her bags down. Her gaze instantly turned to the flowers Andrew had brought her the night before. They looked just as perfect as when he had brought them over. She didn’t need to look inside her fridge. The casserole she had made last night was in there—completely uneaten.

  Eventually, the flowers would be gone and the casserole would be eaten or thrown out—more likely the latter, with her lack of appetite. The pain and confusion would last much longer. Tears welled up in her eyes. Yes, getting out of the house, even if it was for yoga, started to sound better and better.

  ***

  Abby walked into the yoga studio. She was early. A woman at the front desk took her name and directed her to the change rooms. She changed quickly, then waited at the studio door for Ruth. There was a class wrapping up before theirs would start. The room alone made her glad she had come out. It had a beautiful view of the ocean, and everyone inside looked so calm, stretched out on their mats.

  Ruth showed up just as students were leaving the class. She was already dressed, and held her own yoga mat over her shoulder.

  “Hey Abby,” she greeted her with a hug. “I’m really glad you made it.”

  “Hi Ruth. Thanks for the invite.”

  “Come on. Let’s go inside. The place gets packed for this class time.”

  She showed Abby the stack of yoga mats in the corner of the room, and they set themselves up near one of the windows.

  “Do you come down here often?” Abby asked while they waited for the instructor to start.

  “Two or three times a week. I’d like to do more classes, but I’m on the volleyball team as well. There’s only so much room for leisure in between class time, I’m afraid.”

  “I hear you.”

  The incredibly fit yoga instructor walked to the front of the class and clapped to get started. She turned on some gentle music, reminding everyone to grab a mat and spread out as much as possible.

  “All right,” the instructor started, “I’d like everyone to take a deep breath. For those who are new, every time you breathe, imagine filling your lungs with so much air, your stomach pushes out. You never want your shoulders moving up and down when you breathe. It means you’re not filling your lungs to capacity.”

  Ruth looked over at Abby and nodded.

  The instructor continued. “Let’s start with a nice and easy downward dog pose.”

  Abby watched and followed slowly. Everyone else snapped at the hips to get into the pose.

  “Be sure to arch your back,” the woman called out to the group. “Keep it strong and flat, and remember to relax and breathe to deepen into the pose.”

  She walked around the room, checking everyone’s form, Abby guessed. She adjusted some students’ positions and went back to the front of the class. She moved through each position in the same way. Except for a handstand at the end, Abby found it easy enough to follow along, and relaxing too. It just wasn’t as enjoyable as running.

  Ruth waited outside for Abby to change back to her street clothes when the class was finished.

  “So? How did you like it?” Ruth said when Abby exited the change rooms.

  “Not bad,” Abby answered.

  “There’s a little shop across the street. Do you have time for a coffee?”

  “Sure. Coffee sounds good.”

  “Great.”

  They left their cars in the yoga studio parking lot and walked over to the café. Abby inhaled deeply as they walked in, taking in the decadent, exotic scents that filled the air. Yes. Coffee would help her focus when she got back home. She joined the line behind Ruth, recognizing many of the faces from the yoga class in front of her. Some had tucked around tables in groups of two to four. She smiled a little. It seemed counter-intuitive, taking a yoga class to relax, and then filling up with caffeine right afterward.

  Ruth stepped up to the counter. The barista was ready to take her order. She turned to Abby to see what she wanted to drink. “It’s on me,” Ruth said, “I practically forced you to come out, and all.”

  “It’s okay. I’m glad I came. And thanks for the coffee. I’ll have a small espresso.”

  The barista quickly made their beverages. While they waited, they found at table near a corner window. He brought their drinks over by the time they were settled.

  “This is good coffee,” Abby said to Ruth after her first sip. “I should come here more often.”

  “Yes.”

  “So what did you want to talk about, Ruth?” It didn’t make sense waiting too long to get Ruth to open up.

  “I had an epiphany, and I wasn’t sure who to talk to about it.”

  “What do you mean? What kind of epiphany.”

  Ruth put down her cup of coffee and looked Abby right in the eye. “I don’t think we’re all cut out for relationships.”

  “Sorry. Come again?”

  “I’m not cut out for it. At least I don’t think I am. Not for any of it. Not relationships…or falling in love…or getting married. Definitely not kids.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Darwin.”

  “You mean the scientist who came up with the theory of natural selection?”

  “No. All this time, I thought I liked Rob, and I think I might like Darwin.”

  “I don’t know your friends, honey.”

  “He’s not my friend. He’s my dog back home.”

  “You like your dog?”

  “No. I love my dog.”

  Abby let it register. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any more of it. “I’m…I’m not sure what to tell you.”

  Ruth finally realized what she had said, and raised up her hand. “No…gosh…sorry, I don’t mean it like that. I mean all this time I thought I wanted to be with Rob. I like him. I really do, but I like being alone more. I like spending time alone, or with my dog. You know what I mean?”

  “I don’t think I do, Ruth. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to someone else about this? Perhaps with a close friend? Or a professional?”

  “I don’t want to talk to my therapist, Abby. Besides, he’s all the way back in Reno. Maybe this isn’t coming out right.”

  Abby stopped short. She was almost too nervous to ask the question. She sucked in a breath for courage and spit it out. “Are you and Rob thinking of not dating?”

  “I don’t know…maybe. Maybe I just need time to figure things out. I never planned on him liking me back. He was kind of like… like a fantasy. Someone I could be dreamy-eyed about, and admire from a safe distance. Then we spent that time in Lake Tahoe during the blizzard, and we got closer. Now, I don’t know if I like the fact that he likes me back. Is that weird?”

  Abby thought it was weird, but she knew better than to agree with Ruth. She was not in the greatest state of mind to begin with, after Andrew’s anger, rejection, avoidance, or whatever his reasons were for stepping back.

  “I think the best thing you can do right now is talk to Rob about it. Take him out for a coffee, just like we’re doing now. Then take a deep breath, and tell him what you’re feeling.”

  Ruth didn’t react for a few moments. She stared down into her coffee, a grimace on her face. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings. I feel like a hypocrite. I was so overt before, so obvious about liking him for so long. Now that he’s finally interested, I’m the one wanting to back away.”

  “Maybe you just need time, and you can talk to him about that too. Just be honest with yourself, and then be honest with Rob.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  Abby smiled and shook her head at Ruth. “Actually,
I have no idea. I’m not an expert at love or romance, or even dating. No one is.”

  “Patty from that millionaire reality show is.”

  “What?”

  “An expert. At love and monogamy. Haven’t you seen that show?”

  “I don’t watch TV much, Ruth. The point I’m making is this. Only you and Rob can figure this out together.” Abby looked at her watch. “Did you want to talk about something else?”

  “Um. Nope.” She looked up from her drink and smiled. “Thanks for listening.”

  “No problem. Thanks for the yoga invite. It was pretty good. I enjoyed getting out. Come on, let’s go. I’ve got some project work to do for school.”

  Chapter Seven

  ABBY had not seen Andrew for over a week. For eight days, he had avoided her, ignored her, and not responded to any of her messages from the night when he ran out. Nothing felt the same in her world when she woke up that morning. Sighing out her disappointment, she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for her work placement at the hospital. She arrived at work a few minutes early to have extra time to familiarize herself with the patients she would see that day.

  It would be another full day. In addition to the patients she had seen last week, there were four new names on her roster. That meant she would work through lunch. She didn’t mind that too much. She had not been eating lately anyway. Her appetite just disappeared.

  As she walked to her first appointment, one of the doctors stopped her in the hallway. She couldn’t remember his name, as she had met so many of the staff last week. His face was familiar. He looked a bit like Rob, with blond hair, smiling eyes, and a tall, fit athletic body. She thought he might be from Pediatric Oncology, but wasn’t certain.

  “Hi. Abby, was it?” he asked. “I was at your orientation last week. I’m not sure if you remember me? I’m Paul Jacoby.”

  What a relief he had said his name. “Yes I do, Dr. Jacoby. How are you?”

  “Please, call me Paul.”

  “Sure, Paul. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Not at all. I just wanted to say welcome to the hospital. Are you enjoying your placement so far?”

  “Absolutely. It’s been great. I love the work. It’s exactly what I saw myself doing when I chose nursing.”

  “That’s great to hear. Out of curiosity, do you live in the area?”

  Abby wasn’t sure she liked where this was going. “I’m not too far away. Why do you ask?”

  “A few of us go to drinks every Wednesday or Thursday night. I thought you might want to come along. It’s a good crowd. A nice mix of doctors, nurses and some of the other specialists and admin staff. We go after shift, to relax a bit. We all need to decompress from time to time. We’re going tonight, if you’re up for it.”

  Abby hesitated. She couldn’t tell if he was interested in her or just being friendly. Either way, she wasn’t sure she was ready to start socializing with coworkers. Not with Andrew on her mind.

  “Can I let you know later on?”

  “Sure, that works,” he answered.

  “Great.”

  He looked at his watch. He probably sensed her discomfort. “Well, I’ve got to get back. Enjoy your shift, Abby.”

  “You too. Thanks for the invite.”

  When Abby shift was almost over, she saw Paul again. They were heading out to the parking lot at the same time. He asked her again. Beside school and her placements, she hadn’t talked to anyone but Ruth all week. She wanted to put the pain behind her, but going out so soon didn’t feel right. She wasn’t ready. She asked Paul for a rain check, and promised she would try to come out with the group in a few weeks, once she settled in.

  Paul had a disappointed expression on his face, but smiled politely. “It’s okay,” he told her. “I’ll hold you to that rain check. See you around, Abby.”

  “Take care, Paul,” she answered, and headed to her car.

  ***

  ABBY had not heard from Andrew in two weeks. She missed him terribly, but had come to terms with reality. Something went horribly wrong, and now he didn’t want to see her, speak with her, or be with her. The whole thing left her completely confused, heartbroken and in emotional turmoil. She was crushed.

  She was all the more grateful for her placement, and for school. She threw herself into work at the hospital, and focused on getting through the last two semesters of her Master’s program. The demands of both were a godsend, allowing her to get through the days. Her nights however, were another story.

  She would get home, cook, clean, and one night she even baked. She never enjoyed baking, and it showed. The kitchen was a disaster area that night. Flour everywhere. Bowls, the mixer, the blender, baking trays scattered around. She had managed to get her hair covered in loose flour. It was a mess.

  She would also organize and reorganize her bedroom, but that was worse. She wished she could get rid of all the clothes he had bought her. They were another reminder of what happened between them. She tried to understand what could have turned him into such a completely different person with no warning. His silence had gone too far. And now she had no hope.

  One evening, her phone rang. She had looked at that phone so many times, wondering when he would actually call back, or text, or reach out to her in some way. When she picked up the phone and looked at the number, it was not familiar. Holding out the faint hope it was Andrew, she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi. Abby? It’s Trina.”

  “Oh. Hi Trina. How are you doing? And how is John?”

  “We’re both fine. I hadn’t heard from you in a while. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

  “I’m great. How is John?”

  “He’s doing amazing. He should be released really soon. After that, he’ll be focused on the physiotherapy.”

  “That’s excellent to hear, Trina. I’m so relieved he’s improved this quickly.”

  “Yes. Me too. We’ll be staying with my parents as the physiotherapist office is pretty close. Can you believe it? We’re moving in together. Well, sort of.”

  “That’s great, Trina. I’m really happy for you and John.”

  “Were pretty sure we’ll be back in school this September.”

  “Fantastic… Thanks for calling, Trina.”

  “Hold on there. Don’t go hanging up so quickly, missy.”

  “Was there something more?”

  “Of course there’s more. I want to hear about you and Andrew.”

  That was the Trina that Abby had come to know. “There isn’t much to tell, Trina.”

  “Well how about you tell me, and let me be the judge of that.”

  “I prefer not to talk about it right now.”

  “What happened? You know you can talk to me. It will feel better when you share.”

  “I don’t think so,” she answered, already starting to feel the tears welling up in her eyes. “Actually Trina, I’ve got to go now. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Abby. Come on. You know it’s better to talk. We’re not meant to keep it all bottled up inside.”

  Abby was silent on the line. The tears were falling, but she did her best to keep them to herself. Trina had called about her good news, and Abby was not one to rain on anyone’s parade. She pulled herself together and managed to say, “I’m really happy to hear about John, Trina. I’m so happy for the both of you. I’m going to go now. Thanks so much for calling.”

  “Please don’t hang up, Abby. But if you have to, I understand. Just know I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

  “Thank you. Have a good night and give my best to John. Bye.”

  Abby hung up and went to bed. She was not ready to talk about it. There really wasn’t much to talk about. Not ten minutes later, her phone buzzed.

  She was going to let it ring through to voicemail, but the truth was, she did want to get some of it off her chest. She picked up the phone when she saw it was Trina again.

  “Hi Trina.”

 
“Hi Abby.”

  “Forgot something?” Abby asked.

  “No. I think you did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Something told me to call you again. Something told me you needed someone to listen to you tonight. If I’m wrong, then fine, but don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t hold it in. It’s not good. So now I’m going to be quiet, and I’m going to let you talk.”

  Abby sat silently. This time, she was ready to talk. “I don’t know what I did wrong, Trina. He’s not talking to me anymore. He was going to tell me about his past, and I don’t know what I said, but he must have thought I beat him to it by researching him online. I didn’t do that. Now he won’t talk to me…I really thought he was the one.”

  Abby broke down and cried. The sobs continued. Trina sat quietly on the other end of the line. She waited for Abby to continue.

  “I haven’t spoken to him for two weeks. I feel so depressed…and broken. I can’t do anything about it right now while school is going on. He’s all the way out there. If he doesn’t do something soon, I don’t think we’ll have anything anymore. See? There really isn’t that much, but it feels like my world is upside down. I wish he would just talk to me, you know?”

  “Abby, I’m so sorry,” Trina said in a voice so nurturing and calm, Abby could cry all over again. “He’ll come to his senses. Men don’t have the tools to communicate the way we do… Do you want me to talk to him?”

  “No, no, no. Please don’t,” Abby said quickly. “Don’t. You can’t. It’ll probably push him further away.”

  “All right. I won’t. You have my word. But if he asks me for any advice, I’ll be sure to set him straight.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  “Yes. I’ll be fine. These things have a way of working themselves out. Or not. Either way, I’ll have to live with it. Thanks for listening, Trina, and for being persistent. You were right about letting it out.”

  “You’re more than welcome, dear.”

  “I have to get some sleep now. Have a good night, Trina. Give my love to John.”

  “Good night, Abby.”

  Abby hung up, and the phone vibrated again. She turned the phone off, and slipped in between the sheets. She needed her sleep. She wanted to forget.