Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set

by Candace Ayers

  I straightened the bar stool and sat back down. “Hand me another bottle.”

  He did like I’d asked and shook his head. “Ronnie is amazing. She’s not who you think she is. You should see her in here. She keeps every woman around her on their toes. She’s a wild card. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  I sank even farther into my seat. “I do know. I took her back to my place last night. I think I fucked it up too bad. She snuck out when I fell asleep. She’s over me.”

  Thorn glared at me. “I should kick your ass.”

  “Go for it. Nothing you can do to me will hurt me any more than I already do.”

  18

  Veronica

  After an embarrassing lunch that resulted in Jenni calling my brother Aaron to join us, we did some more shopping and then drove back to Burden. It was already dark by the time we got close and I was exhausted. Jenni was always so high energy that just talking with her wore me out. I’d also had a few too many mimosas and I was feeling it.

  I wanted to climb into my own bed and slide my naked body between the cool sheets, but Georgia was alone again, while Wyatt guided a tour group up the mountain, and wanted company. I didn’t even know if I’d be decent company at that point. I felt like I was dragging my feet.

  We dropped Allie off and then drove to the isolated cabin. Georgia hissed and shut the car off. “I think your boyfriend stopped by.”

  I followed her gaze and frowned. “You think Hutch did that?”

  The front door was leaning against the side of the house. Georgia nodded and groaned. “I guess this is my karma for coming up with fun ways to fuck with him. Come on. Let’s go make sure he didn’t let any wild animals into the house.”

  I snorted. “Now, that’s a good one.”

  She bumped me with her hip. “I don’t know why you’re laughing. You’ll have a wild animal in your house before long, too. You’ll get to deal with the cranky morning bear and the dirt. So much dirt. I’ve never seen a man be so dirty before. And the hair. They grow beards so fast and cut them all over the sink. Ahh…there’s so much to look forward to.”

  I thought about Hutch’s house and grunted. “I didn’t even think to look at Hutch’s house last night. It could’ve been coated in a layer of slime and I wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “Are you ready to tell me how it was?” She stepped past the splintered door frame and tsk-ed. “Your mate has a lot of explaining to do.”

  I looked at the mess and winced. “Maybe we should stop messing with him.”

  “Honey, don’t forget that the man who, I’m sure, gave you earth shattering orgasms last night is the same man who has ignored and shunned you for the past year while he caroused with other women. He deserves to suffer a little bit. He deserves to suffer a lot.”

  “But, your door…”

  She laughed. “Thorn dented a travel trailer once for Allie. Shit happens when you’ve got a giant ass bears roaming around your house.”

  We went through the small cabin and then settled with our bags on the couch. I kicked off my shoes and curled in on myself. I was so tired. I felt like I could sleep for a week straight.

  “Now, tell me how it was.”

  I let a slow smile lift my lips. “I don’t think there are words.”

  She laughed and nodded. “The men in this town are delicious. And good at what they love.”

  I shrugged. “I wouldn’t exactly use the l-word with Hutch. After all, I had to coerce him into sleeping with me.”

  With an eye roll, she just got comfier on the couch. “You’re his mate. The way shifters feel about their mates is unstoppable. That man likes you. He’s just fighting it for some reason. We’re going to fix that, though. Part two of our plan starts the day after tomorrow. You just have to manage to avoid him until then.”

  I swallowed. “That might be easier said than done. He took down your door.”

  “He won’t be able to get to you. Tomorrow, we’re having the naughty book exchange club.”

  I thought about it. I tried to tap into the hurt and anger that I’d felt for so long. It wasn’t hard. Hutch had made me suffer. He was still making me suffer. I had no doubt the man would still be happily avoiding me if I hadn’t come out of hiding.

  “Fine. I’m game.”

  I stretched and groaned at the aches I felt throughout my body from Hutch. I didn’t want to play these games. I wasn’t enjoying this at all. I just wanted to be with him. I was tired of being alone when there was a man so close to me that was made especially for me. I was tired of the drama. I was ready for Hutch to wake up.

  “Come on, Ronnie. It’ll all be okay. Hutch will come around and then this whole thing will just be a funny story you tell your grandkids one day.”

  A whimper caught in my throat. “I don’t think this will ever be funny to me. Having your mate reject you for over a year is just pathetic.”

  She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into her side. “He’s the pathetic one for not chasing you. You’re amazing. Now, come on. We’re going to bed. You can stay with me because there’s no way you’re sleeping down here on the couch with the door wide open.”

  I couldn’t argue with that sound reasoning.

  19

  Hutch

  “Oh, no, no, no, you don’t want to bring your car here! Honey, there’s a nice guy over on Elm who works on cars in his mom’s yard. Go see him!”

  I jerked upright and banged my head on the hood of a minivan. I recognized the voices of Allie and Georgia and dropped the hose I’d been trying to get on and hurried outside. I was hoping that Veronica would be with them.

  My head throbbed painfully from the horrific hangover I was sporting and my dick was just as angry. I’d dreamt of her all night long. My bear turned his back to me and I hadn’t even been able to shift for a run that morning.

  I was having a bad fucking day and now it was compounded as I stepped out into the too-bright sunshine and didn’t see Veronica. Allie and Georgia stood on the sidewalk in front of my shop, chattering to a potential customer about how I was mean to women. Not women, one woman. My mate.

  My chest felt like an elephant had stepped on it when I heard that. “Mate?”

  Allie nodded. “Yeah. We know Ronnie is your mate and you’ve been rejecting her. We should kick your ass.”

  “Does she know?”

  Georgia rolled her eyes. “Of course, she knows, dipshit. Who do you think told us?”

  Oh, Jesus. She knew? Veronica knew that she was my mate. And that I’d been rejecting her. “How long has she known?”

  They both shrugged and I had the urge to take each of their heads and knock them together, gently, just once.

  “Where the hell is she?”

  Georgia put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “Don’t you swear at us. We’ll kick your big furry ass all over this town.”

  I roared and got the satisfaction of watching them both shiver. “Where is my mate?”

  “Oh, now you’ll admit she’s your mate?”

  Allie nodded. “Why the sudden change of heart? Is it the haircut and the wardrobe change? Are you that shallow?”

  “I think he is. Only a moron could not see how hot Ronnie was even before the haircut. And how wild she is. Virgin, or not, that girl is a catch. Was a catch. You missed out, Hutch. She’s already got a date for this weekend.”

  “Maybe she’ll bless some other guy with all of that knowledge she’s saved up from years of reading those erotic romance books.”

  My head was going to explode. I shifted, ripping through my clothes, and my bear threw his head back and let out a mighty roar that seemed to shake the entire earth around us.

  Sterling ran out of the shop with wide eyes and held up his hands to me. “Whoa. Calm down, brother.”

  Georgia scowled. “If he thinks that’s going to scare us away, he’s—”

  “Right. He’s right.” Allie tugged on Georgia’s arm. “Come on before he bites our heads of
f and we ruin Thorn and Wyatt’s friendships.”

  I watched them run away and growled again before turning to Sterling and basically knocking him on his ass as he stood in my path to the shop.

  “You going to work on cars as a giant ass bear?”

  I shifted back and turned to him, at ease with my nudity. “I messed up. Bad. Worse than bad.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you just threatened Thorn and Wyatt’s mates. They’re going to be pissed.”

  I shook my head and then hurriedly moved inside the shop when someone drove by and honked.

  “I found my mate. A while ago. I… I rejected her.”

  His eyes went wide and his face contorted in anger. Then he shoved me. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any clue what that feels like?”

  Ever in tune with my little brother’s emotions, I raised my eyebrows at him and grabbed the shirt that Byron threw at me. “You have something you want to talk to me about?”

  He shoved his hands through his hair and groaned. “I have some experience with being rejected. It isn’t fucking fun, Hutch. It feels like having your heart ripped out through your esophagus and kicked and stomped on. For you to put a woman through that kind of pain makes me sick.”

  I threw my hands up and spun around, headed to my office in search of pants. “I wasn’t trying to put Veronica through any pain. I just… I fucked up.”

  “Veronica? Ronnie?”

  I looked back at him and nodded. “Yeah. Veronica.”

  He shook his head. “Virgin Veronica? She’s a sweet girl.”

  My head throbbed again as I shoved my legs inside an extra pair of pants and then sat heavily at my desk. “What did you mean? What happened, Sterling?”

  “Nothing. It’s nothing. I’ve got to get back to the track. Try not to be such a raging asshole, would you?”

  I saluted him with my middle finger and then frowned as he walked away. I got the unsettling impression that Veronica wasn’t the only one I hadn’t done right by.

  I picked up my phone and dialed the local library’s number from memory. I’d memorized it the week after I’d first run into her. I had sat at my desk, studying it like it was going to suddenly make what I’d done any better. I thought back to the way I’d acted that first night when she came barreling out of the library and into my arms.

  I had been stunned stupid. I had known instantly that she was my mate, and it had scared the crap out of me. It was the first time in my entire life that I had felt insecure around a woman. Inferior. Then, without saying a word, she’d kissed me. It was spectacular, the feeling of her lips pressed against mine. I felt sparks from my head to my toes. And what did I do? I pushed her away. I pretended the kiss had disgusted me. Pretended I hadn’t wanted her with every ounce of my being. Just thinking about my behavior made me physically ill. I had been a yellow-bellied coward. She’d been right in calling me one.

  A woman answered the phone, but it wasn’t my mate. “Burden Public Library.”

  “Is Veronica there?”

  There was a pause and then she cleared her throat. “Veronica went back to Dallas for the rest of the week. She won’t be back until Monday morning. Is there anything I can help you with? Or, I could leave a note on her desk for you.”

  I hung up and then threw the phone across the office. Was it possible that I’d messed up beyond repair?

  20

  Veronica

  The library’s back parking lot was full of women waiting on me to let them in when I strolled up to it. I’d been expecting five or so women, but the crowd that greeted me was jaw-dropping. There were probably thirty women in total, of all ages, waiting. At the front of the crowd was Allie and Georgia, their arms full of books, just like mine.

  Feeling shy in the face of what we were about to do, I stumbled over my own feet and would’ve gone down to my knees if Maggie hadn’t been there to catch me. I sent her a gracious smile and straightened myself. “Thanks.”

  She patted me on the back and nodded. “Anytime.”

  I unlocked the back door and then slipped inside. The women followed, milling about as I went straight to the front windows to close the thick curtains that hung there. The last librarian had a flair for the dramatics and she’d regularly close them and set up a pretty display before throwing them open again. I just wanted to hide the fact that we were inside, holding a clandestine meeting.

  Allie and Georgia pulled candles from their bags and starting lighting them around the shop. My nerves flared up as I watched the flames dance dangerously close to all the precious paperbacks.

  “What’s with the secret society set up?” Grace, an older woman, asked while taking a pillow from the children’s section and sitting on it.

  I winced. “I’m kind of hiding from someone.”

  She rubbed her hands together and grinned. “This sounds juicy. Give us the details, honey.”

  Just as I shook my head, Georgia opened her mouth. “She’s hiding from Hutch Mallory. They’re mates.”

  I slapped her arm. “Georgia! A little privacy, please?”

  She laughed. “We’re having a sex book meeting. There is no privacy.”

  I looked up and saw Maggie backing away from us, a look of horror on her face. She winced as her eyes met mine and she turned and tried to hurry away. I called out to her and then went to her when she stopped. “Maggie, it’s okay. The things that Hutch did are his fault, not yours, or anyone else’s. He’s the asshole.”

  She had tears in her eyes when she turned to face me. “I didn’t know. I swear. I wouldn’t have hit on him. I wouldn’t have done anything like that to you, or anyone else.”

  I hugged her. “I know. You can’t leave. We’re going to have a great time. You’re going to have a great time. Now, don’t worry about it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “As long as you don’t do it again.” I laughed at the look of horror on her face.

  “We didn’t do it.”

  “It’s fine,” I rolled my eyes.

  “No, really. He came over, but he wasn’t… um… up for the job, if you know what I mean. Honestly, I don’t think he was attracted to me at all. I think, maybe, he just didn’t want to go home and be alone. So, I let him sleep on my couch, and he left first thing in the morning.”

  This time, the smile that I flashed Maggie was genuine. Feeling more in charge, I waited until everyone was seated and then I stood in front of them. We’d talked about what we wanted to discuss, so I knew what I was going to say. It made it easier that all the women had shown up, ready to talk about it, too.

  “Welcome to the first meeting of the Naughty Book Exchange Club.” As a groan went up, I giggled. “We can discuss names later. My first suggestion for this group is that someone brings refreshments from now on.”

  Allie pulled two bottles of wine from her oversized purse and grinned.

  Drinks were poured and then we settled back into our spots. I took a hefty sip of mine before talking again. “So, we might be a little short on books for everyone. I didn’t think so many people were going to show up.”

  “Are you going to start selling toys and stuff?” Grace asked with red-dotted cheeks.

  “We talked about it. If there are enough people interested in it, we can. I know a lady in Dallas who could get me started.”

  Georgia raised her cup. “We’re interested. Bring us the good stuff.”

  A cheer went up and I couldn’t help but laugh. I had a feeling that this was going to be a fun group. I held up a copy of Angel and Her Demon Stepbrother. “Now, this, ladies, is a hot, hot book.”

  By the time the night was over, every woman in the room had fought over a copy of a book she wanted. I had given up a new copy I wanted so Maggie would have something. The few women who didn’t get books were promised that they’d have their choice of book in hand as soon as the previous woman finished it. Everyone was so excited about it, they’d turned the handoffs into a big covert-op game. They wanted to know who could b
e the sneakiest with it.

  I was practically bouncing. It wasn’t every day that I got to see so many people excited about reading, and I was thrilled to feel like a part of something. I was making my way in Burden, finally, without Hutch.

  I’d always assumed that life would come alive for me once I had a mate. I thought that I’d have an easier time getting on and making friends if I had the connection to the town of a local mate, but, as it turned out, I didn’t need Hutch at all for that.

  I walked home with Georgia through the woods, like the sneaks we were being, and we each curled up in her bed and talked about the night and how it’d gone.

  Marley, my first friend in Burden, had shown up and had a great time, too. It seemed as though the majority of the women in Burden had attended. Eventually, Georgia told me to be quiet so she could read the book she’d grabbed from the exchange.

  I stared at the ceiling and tried to imagine what my life would’ve been like if Hutch had wanted me. I wouldn’t have been able to forge the same connection with Georgia and Allie. Maybe it was a good thing he was taking so long to come around.

  Tomorrow night was the big night that Allie and Georgia had planned. I was feeling more and more nervous. I didn’t want to mess with Hutch. As angry as I’d been at him, I felt like just calling the whole thing off. Was it real if I had to trick him into loving me? Was it even worth it?

  My heart threatened to explode in my chest at the idea of just walking away from him, but I thought I could get over it, eventually. People were resilient. I would bounce back.

  Even as I thought it, I knew I’d never get over Hutch. He was my one and only. I wasn’t a shifter, but I felt the mate pull just as strongly. It would hurt like nothing else to walk away from him, but maybe it was time to do just that. Instead of playing elaborate games and trying to trick him into accepting me. Maybe it was time I accepted his decision.