“Well, I’d better get you back,” he mused. “Unless, you want me to find your friend? I think I frightened her a little.”
“Friend?” Jane queried, and then she remembered the woman. “Oh, no, she wasn’t-”
She paused there, sudden remembrance hitting her. The sight of Hart, she realized with some alarm, had totally thrown her mind out of sync. Not a good problem to have at all.
“That lady told me that there are some fellas growing pot here in the park,” Jane began.
Hart’s grin fell, his face turned serious. As they walked, Jane told him what she had discovered, even though she wished she could have spoken of happier things.
* * *
“I just can’t believe this is necessary,” Jane said, almost in a gasp, “I mean, he’s fifteen days old.”
“Dietrich and I talked about it a lot before he was born,” Elise explained. “I’m ready. It’ll be good for him, for his strength, I’m sure of it.”
Baby Isaak was settled in a wicker basket crib that was way too big for him. The crib was circular and lined with comfy blankets, at least eight feet in diameter. Surrounding the baby were his closest family, whom Jane had gradually been introduced to as the day wore on. Dietrich stood tall and proud beside Elise, his dark features glowing with pride as he gazed upon his son. Beside him was his brother, Ben, equally dark and handsome, standing hand-in-hand with his wife Layla. She had a baby bump of her own to pat down gently, and the sight of it gave Jane that wistful feeling once more.
“Are we late?” said another voice at the doorway. “Dammit, I knew we were late. I would have bet you-”
“Kurt,” said a second voice warningly. “Shush. You’ll upset the baby.”
The voices belonged to Kurt Best, Hart’s little brother, and his girlfriend Stacey. The couple shuffled up to the circumference of the basket, cowed into silence by the occasion. They took up a place beside a wise old woman, who was beaming at the child below her with great admiration. She was Anina, grandmother to all five of the Best boys, and the matriarch of their shifter clan.
“There, there,” Anina cooed gently. “That’s all your family here, baby boy. Hart, Reinicke, you step up too.”
Jane watched as the remaining men of the Best clan did as they were told. Reinicke was a brown-haired man, a little taller and slimmer than the rest of his cousins. He wore a deadly serious look as he gazed upon the child in the basket. Hart, on the other hand was relaxed as ever. Across the circle, his golden eyes flashed up and caught Jane’s gaze. She was mortified for a moment to have been caught looking at him, but when he smiled, she managed to smile back. It was a long, languid moment before Hart broke their gaze.
When Jane’s focus returned to the matter at hand, she could see Elise grinning at her from the corner of her eye. She turned to her with a ‘don’t you dare’ kind of look, and spoke in a hushed tone.
“So, what happens now?” she asked.
“The boys awaken the spirit of the bear in Isaak,” Elise explained. “When they transform together, the collective power will inspire Isaak to do the same. Waking his shifter powers ensures he’ll grow up strong, and bonded to the clan. They’ll always be able to find each other if they’re in danger.”
It sounded like a pretty good security system, but the concept was still a little terrifying. Jane couldn’t believe that she was going to witness a baby turning into a bear, let alone that there would soon be five huge grizzlies in the ample lounge of the Rangers’ Lodge. Elise took her arm, gently guiding her back away from the men. Only Anina remained at the crib’s side, the other four women watching from a distance as the joint transformation begun.
Some of the men were in clothes, which began to rip apart no sooner than their barrel chests expanded with sudden power. Hart, perhaps more sensible than the others, had worn a robe for the occasion, and he shrugged it off just as the transformation hit him. His lower half was once again obscured by the basket, and Jane felt a pang as she watched his perfect chest and abdomen fade off into fur. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed around the room, snouts, teeth and claws materializing out of nowhere. Collected together at their time of transformation, Jane had to admit that there was a buzz of something truly magical in the air.
Isaak began to gurgle, and Elise stepped forward to peer into the crib with concern. Jane found herself standing between the massive heaving forms of Dietrich and Ben as she too took a look at the baby. With a slow, gentle motion, Isaak’s tiny dark hairs were growing thicker on his scalp, then spreading gradually over his little body. He grew with gradual, well-measured amounts, until his face had shifted completely to that of a cub’s. His body soon followed, and the little bear sat up in the wicker basket, now at least fifteen times bigger than he was before.
Isaak looked to his father, the largest and darkest of the bears, and gave a little grumbling growl. Dietrich returned the noise with a low hum of his own, dipping his nose into the crib to let the cub rub against his face. Each of the Best bears did this in turn, and Isaak bonded with them all gleefully. Even as a bear, he looked innocent and happy. Elise stepped forward, and Anina gave her a little nod.
“Go on dear,” the old woman cooed, “it’s your turn.”
Jane watched as Elise put her hand into the crib. Isaak seemed unsure for a moment, but when he ambled over to his mother’s hand, he let her stroke his head.
“There you are,” Elise soothed gently, “there’s my big strong boy.”
The bear cub gave another satisfied little grumble, and then Anina clapped her hands together gleefully.
“All done,” she said, her frail voice brimming with satisfaction. “Let’s all get changed ready for dinner. Stacey and I have made it very special for tonight.”
Elise’s turned to look at Jane, and her face had fallen just a little.
“Sauerkraut,” she mouthed, mocking a grimace.
It was then that the larger bears began to become human again. Jane watched for a moment, fascinated by their retracting claws and shrinking heads, until she realized that she was about to be in the presence of five burly, naked men. She looked away at that, admiring a landscape of Fairhaven on the lounge wall instead as the sounds of grunting and growling turned more human behind her.
Then, a warm hand took hold of her elbow. Jane turned just a little, relieved to see that Hart had already put his robe back on. His touch sent waves of heat into her body, relaxing her usually-tense arm where he held her. She could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke in a close, low tone.
“Jane, I was wondering if you’d help me out tomorrow?” he asked. “I want to find these drug dealers and get rid of them quietly. I haven’t told Gram anything. I don’t want to spoil the good atmosphere here.”
She admired him for that, and she nodded quickly, if a little reserved.
“Sure,” she answered, “though I’m not sure what help I’ll be.”
“You think you’d recognize that woman again, if we tracked her together?” Hart enquired.
“Yeah,” Jane replied with a nod, “I’m great with faces.”
“Good,” Hart said, “because I’m not sure approaching her as a bear again is going to do me any favors.”
Jane chuckled at that, and Hart laughed too. He hadn’t let go of her elbow, his fingertips a little rough where they grazed her skin. Over his shoulder, Jane saw Elise giving her that look again. She had Isaak back in her arms in his human form, and Dietrich was robed-up and beaming at them both. They were a perfect family, everything that Jane wanted to have someday. And she was right there with Hart, standing close and watching him smile down at her.
That was when her cellphone rang, the urgent call shattering the peace.
“I… I really have to get this,” she said apologetically. “Save me some dinner?”
She felt genuinely awful as she left to answer the call.
* * *
It was the next day that Jane met up with the bear with the bag again. She had offe
red to carry the uniform for Hart, but he had given a shake of his massive, shaggy head to tell her no. It was tricky to really understand the emotions of a bear, but Jane felt as though he was quite merry whilst he plodded along among the trees. She watched him smelling the branches and the ground as they walked together, until her phone began buzzing in her pocket once again.
“Sorry, do you mind?” Jane asked as she recovered the phone again.
Hart gave a low grumble, which could have meant yes or no really. Unsure, Jane answered her phone anyway.
“Hi Luc,” she said, addressing her assistant. “What do you need?”
What Luc needed was firing, Jane decided eventually. The call took over an hour, diminished sometimes by the fall and rise of the signal depending on which parts of the wood they were walking though. By its end, Jane was sweating from the trek and from the stress of having to relay every single instruction as though she was talking to a child. What she wanted a family for, Jane had no idea, because clearly she was already mother to a company of infants who couldn’t do a thing for themselves. When she finally hung up the phone, sighing heavily, she found that Hart had stopped at the edge of a clearing.
Just beyond the next row of trees, there was a gathering of people who were laughing and joking to themselves. They had not noticed the bear and the woman looming upon them from the depths of the trees, and Hart took the opportunity to sink into the foliage and transform back into a human. Jane tried not to look, but these bushes were not as thick as the ones he’d hidden in before, and she caught the curves of his perfect buttocks before he slipped his ranger’s pants on. The sight of him flushed her with heat, despite the warmth of the day.
“Well?” Hart asked. “Do you see her anywhere? I tried to follow the awful scent of the smoke.”
Jane peered through the leaves, looking at the gathering carefully. Plenty of them appeared to be stoned, which made Jane wonder if Hart had actually tracked down yet another group which had got their supplies from the Boys in the Wood. There were almost a dozen people, smoking and enjoying themselves in a lazy, giggling fashion. Jane watched one of them drop a smoldering joint to the ground.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” she whispered to Hart. “I mean, you get forest fires here, right?”
“Right,” Hart answered. “Not to mention the legal issues. The whole park could be shut down if anyone found out there was a farm here.”
The park was more than just a job to Clan Best, jane knew that all too well. It was their way of a life, and a sanctuary where they could safely transform. She couldn’t bear the thought of little Isaak having to grow up anywhere else, where he could be persecuted just for being who he was.
“Look,” Jane said, pointing suddenly, “there’s more of them approaching, over there.”
Hart stepped close, following Jane’s gaze over her shoulder. She listened to his breathing, long and low, and heard her own tense, stunted breaths in return. Even now, he was so much calmer than she was, and she envied that feeling of calm.
“Hey guys!” a woman called as she approached the clearing. “Guys, it’s Linzy. We found her down by the water. I… I think she’s dead.”
Jane clasped a hand to her own mouth to stop her gasp from escaping. Sure enough, the woman and a man were carrying another woman into the clearing. She was soaked to the skin and dreadfully pale, but Jane recognized her shabby clothes and long hair at once. Linzy was the woman she’d met the day before, who’d seemed so oblivious and happy whilst riding her high. Now, she was limp and pale where her friends laid her down on the ground.
“Oh…” said one of the assembled stoners. “Um… So what do we do?”
They were detached from the moment, struggling to get their brains back into gear at the sign of a crisis. Jane was about to turn and ask Hart what they should do, but the tall, striking ranger was already moving past her. As he went, he took hold of her hand firmly and guided her through the final branches into the clearing.
“Everything all right here?” Hart asked the people. “Does this woman need help?”
Some of the gathering scattered at once, grabbing at their joints or hastily trying to blow away the smoke. They sloped off towards the path that would lead them back to the main park, leaving only the original pair who had carried Linzy to the group. Jane noticed that they seemed fairly sober, though shock had rendered them pretty useless.
“She…” the woman stammered. “I don’t know. We just found her down there.”
Hart dropped to his knees and put his ear to Linzy’s chest. Jane watched for a long, tense moment. Her phone was buzzing in her pocket again, but this time she let it go. She might need to call an ambulance at any moment. There were more important things right now than work.
“Well?” Jane pressed. “Is she…”
“No,” Hart said after a moment’s thought. “She’s breathing, but she’s struggling. Her heartbeat is very slow. I think it must be hypothermia. If she got herself soaked and passed out, it can be mighty cold up here at night. Call back to the lodge for a car. We need to get her warm.”
It was fascinating to see Hart work. Despite the terror of the situation, he was methodical and organized. Once Jane had made the call, he told her to put Linzy into the recovering position, and he covered her over with his shirt. Jane took her coat off and put it over the poor woman’s legs, watching as Hart coerced her shocked friends into donating parts of their clothing to keep her warm too. Soon, Hart and Jane were crouching either side of the suffering woman, feeling her temperature and waiting for one of the Best boys to arrive with the Land Rover.
“See, this is why I hate drugs,” Jane seethed, growing frantic. “They dull your judgement, and accidents happens. I like to be alert. On top of things.”
“I had noticed,” Hart observed gently. “You really run the show. That phone call earlier was a masterclass in dealing with people.”
Jane had forgotten that he could hear and understand what she was saying. Work had been far from her mind whilst she’d been taking care of Linzy, but now the piled-up messages were worrying her again. She’d have so much to take care of later, when this was over.
“Well, that’s my life,” Jane explained. “On call all the time.”
“And you’re happy with that?” Hart asked.
Jane gave a proud little shrug. “I’m the most successful woman under thirty in my field,” she replied.
“Yeah, but are you happy?” Hart said again.
Jane looked up into his eyes, the gold rings sparkling at her. He really, genuinely wanted to know if she was happy. Having only known her two days, Hart cared how she felt. The deep concern was written all over his handsome face, the same concern he’d had for saving Linzy from hypothermia. She found that she couldn’t meet his gaze, or his question any more. Success had always been her first goal, and she’d assumed that marriage and love and all that ever-after stuff would somehow fit in later on. Now, she wasn’t so sure that things were going to follow the plan.
The rumble of the Land Rover echoed on the nearby path, and Jane looked down at Linzy with a sigh. The woman was starting to twitch, signs of life returning to her at last.
* * *
“Gee, this hot chocolate is amazing,” Linzy mused.
She was brighter than Jane had ever seen her. Once the cold embrace of the great outdoors had finally left her body, Linzy resumed the appearance of a normal human being. Her cheeks were flushed pink where she sat beside the roaring fire of the lodge and, though Jane thought it was far too hot in the room already, the shabbily-dressed woman was glugging away at her scolding chocolate all the same. Hart had little beads of sweat dripping from his hairline where he sat beside her, poking the fire with an iron rod.
“You feeling better?” he asked.
“Much,” Linzy replied. “That was a hell of a comedown. I don’t think I’ll go for that stuff again, even if it was a free sample. I saw all sorts of weird things. Two-headed rabbits. Bears with golden eyes. Cra
zy stuff.”
“Crazy,” Jane reiterated, and she and Hart shared a knowing look over the woman’s head.
Every time he looked at her, Jane felt a new pang in her chest. Hart’s eyes burned with something bright and hopeful, his face a picture of serenity. Even now, amid the wild heat of the lodge, he was totally unflappable. Jane had to admire that, but she also wondered exactly what it would take for a man like him to really break down.
“So Linzy, do you think you can tell us where to find the guys who sold you the drugs?” Hart asked gently. “You understand, I have to move them along. It’s park policy.”
“Oh,” Linzy said, shrinking against her mug of cocoa. “Well, I don’t want to get nobody into trouble. Those guys were pretty tough-looking types.”
Leeward Bear (BBW Shifter Romance) (Fisherbears Book 3) Page 94