A Bear's Baby (6 page)

“Hi
Jenna. Is it still snowing out there?”

“No,
the sun’s out, but the wind’s picked up again.”

“Hard
to believe Christmas is almost here. I haven’t done any shopping yet.”

“How
is he today?”
“He’s been watching TV again this week. We make sure he doesn’t access any
wildlife programs again.”

Jenna
nodded. She could only imagine what it was like for him. The door to his room was
slightly ajar. She pushed it gently to open it some more before stepping
inside. Her brother sat by the table and attempted to put together a puzzle.
His hand shook as he placed a piece into an open slot.

“Hi
David,” she said. He looked up at her. Sometimes he knew who she was
immediately upon her entry into the room. Sometimes it took him a good fifteen
minutes to remember who she was.
 
Today
he squinted at her and then pointed.

“Jen-Jen,”
he said.

That
had been the name he’d called her since the attack and the coma he’d been in
for over a month. She took off her coat and set it on his bed, and then pulled
up a chair so she could look at the puzzle with him.

“That’s
a nice looking beach scene,” she said.

“Flor,
Floriy.”

“Florida,”
said Jenna.

David
nodded.

“Maybe
we can take a trip there one winter,” she said.

“Nice,”
he said, putting a piece in the center.

“You
know it’s almost Christmas, right?”

“No.”

“Well
it is, so I need to know what you want.”

He
scratched his head and blinked three times in quick succession. She knew his
mannerisms well enough now to know that meant he was giving it some thought.

David
pulled up his jeans and pointed.

“Socks.
You need socks?”

He
shook his head.

“Slippers.”

He
blinked and nodded.

“Okay,
slippers it is. And you’re coming to my house for the holidays. Is that okay
with you?”

He
shrugged.

“I’d
like you too.”

He
handed her a piece of the puzzle.

He
was the only immediate family she had left in Kalispell. She’d always been
nervous about taking him home, looking after him without a nurse being around.
What if she did something wrong? However, holidays were meant to be spent with
family and she didn’t want him spending it in this place in this room. He did
that the rest the other 364 days of the year.

She
looked at the spot where the piece of the puzzle went and locked it into place.

“I
have another new client.”

Why
had she suddenly thought of Brady? She swallowed. David had once been an intelligent,
brilliant attorney, but his career had come to a tragic end. The scars were
still visible from the attack five years ago.

“He’s
a billionaire,” said Jenna.

David
handed her another piece of the puzzle. She took it and saw that it was part of
a wave that obviously went onto the piece nearest her hand. She slotted it into
place.

Wouldn’t life be
so great if you could just slot things so easily into their places just like a
puzzle?

“I
heard you’ve been watching TV again. Seen anything good?”

“Cooking,”

“Cooking
shows. Anything you want me to make for the holidays? Your favorite cookies?”

“Brows.”

“Brownies?”
she asked him.

He
nodded, finally fitting the last piece of the puzzle together.

“Done,”
he said.

“That’s
great, David.”

Maybe
she’d buy him some more puzzles for Christmas, maybe even Cooking Show DVDs.

She
closed her eyes. If only they could go back in time. If only her father hadn’t
been so damn pig-headed about David being a man.

Unlucky to talk
about the dead in a negative way.

Another
one of her father’s sayings.

She
felt David’s hand go on top of hers. She was sure since he’d been in the coma
he could read her mind. Maybe that’s what happened to everyone when they were
asleep for so long. They became psychic.

Okay David, tell
me how this all ends. Do I ever get to have a baby, even a family of my own?
Does this all have a happy ending?

Chapter Seven

Brady
turned onto the main road leading into Missoula. He was hoping he’d have some
good news about getting the all clear for the building project to continue. But
when Jenna’d checked with the inspectors, the tests hadn’t even been started
yet. She’d promised him she’d follow up with them again tomorrow.

Some
of the snow that had fallen over the weekend had begun to melt, making the
roads and sidewalks slushy. Christmas trees and decorations were everywhere.
Next time he was in town he’d pick up some gifts. Sophie was on top of his list
this year. As her Spirit Guardian, it was up to him to get her something that
she’d use later in her life. A big cuddly teddy bear came to mind. Every girl
needs one of those right? Maybe he’d get her a giant one and tie a check to it so
Ash and Chloe could open a savings account for her. A girl also needed a firm
financial foundation for later life too.

Brady
turned into the parking lot of the building he’d visited three times a week for
the last seven months. He’d found this place by sheer luck. He turned off the
ignition and got out of the car.

For
some stupid reason he always checked around to make sure no one he knew was in
the neighborhood. He definitely didn’t want any of his fellow shifters to know
he frequented this sort of establishment. Luckily a shifter owned it so he
could totally be himself and let loose. He opened up the trunk of his car and retrieved
his bag. He threw it over his shoulder and headed inside.

Dasiy
would probably bug him and try to coerce him into taking her to Ash and Chloe’s
wedding. She’d been his date at Liam and Lucy’s, but he hadn’t met Jenna back
then.

Brady
opened the door, hearing the music blaring and one of her other customers
leaving the premises. Brady paid her handsomely enough to make it worth her
while to close the place once he arrived. He could go about his business in
complete privacy and no one would ever know he’d stepped foot in the place. He
pulled back the main door and saw Daisy standing there.

“Hi
Brady, you all ready?

“Ready
and eager.”

“Okay,
let’s get you out of those clothes and get down to business.”

****

Jenna
knew this was a stupid thing to do. What Brady did was his own business.
However, she’d been curious even as a child, and this time she hadn’t been able
to suppress her nosy nature. Luckily for her, today was warmer. She pulled into
the address she’d remembered he had written on his address pad with the dates
written underneath. It looked like an old warehouse of some sort.

She
spotted his car parked up the side alley which told her he didn’t want anyone
to know he was here. Would he be angry with her if he knew she was snooping?
Probably.

Music
sounded like it was coming from the building he supposedly was in. Jenna crept
around the back, seeing some windows coming into view. The music got louder the
closer she got.

“Come
on Brady, thrust your body into me.”

That
had been a woman’s voice. Not that he was cheating on Jenna or anything. After
all they’d just had sex and nothing more, but after hearing those words, Jenna assumed
she wasn’t the only recipient of that extra-large cock.

“You’re
going too fast for me. I’d like to take it slower.” Brady’s voice.

Jenna’s
lower lip quivered. He’d been with her on Saturday night, and today he was
fucking someone else. He really did like to spread himself around.

Jenna
wondered if this woman was pretty. Thin, even. Yeah, Jenna could do with losing
some weight, but she was happy with who she was. Brady had seemed to like the
extra padding, too, when they’d done the wild thing.

Best
course of action would have been to go back to her car, dragging her tail
between her legs. Admit to herself that he was handsome, filthy rich, and could
do it with whoever he wanted whenever he wanted. Forget about him. Move on.

However,
as The Pussycat Dolls version of Sway sounded through the alley, she wanted to
get one look at the woman who was obviously so skilled in sex that Brady drove
all this way three times a week just to fuck her.

She
crept farther along the alley, spotting a small side window. Darn. It was in
the middle of the wall, and even with her high heels, she’d ever be able to
see. She looked around as Brady shouted, “work that ass for me, baby”.

An
empty plastic crate stood at the end of the alley. That should get her enough height
to at least take a peek. She grabbed it, turned it over and then used the wall
to anchor herself. She peered into the window with disbelief at the sight in
front of her.

****

Brady
tried to remember all his moves as Sway blared out through the speakers. The
tango was his favorite of all the ballroom dances, and he was determined to get
it right.

Daisy
bobbed her head from side to side and kicked her legs over his. He held her
tight as they maneuvered to the other end of the room. He was usually great
with his concentration and not letting anything distract him. However the face
he saw through the small window at the side of the studio wasn’t one he could
ignore, and not just because it was beautiful. He recognized the woman spying
on him—Jenna.

He
came to an abrupt halt, almost causing Daisy to trip over her own feet.

“What’s
wrong?” she asked.

He
didn’t respond, but when he didn’t take his eyes off the window, Daisy turned
to look.

“An
admirer of yours?” asked Daisy, putting her nose into the air. “And not a
shifter by the smell of things.”

“She’s
my attorney.”

At
that moment, Jenna screamed. He watched as her face gradually disappeared from
view. Brady ran over to the window and opened it up. Jenna struggled to free
her heel from a crate.

“What
on earth are you doing?” he asked her.

“I
was … could you come and help me? My foot’s wedged.”

“I’ll
be right there.”

Brady
turned to Daisy. “I guess it’s a short lesson today because I have to go help
my attorney get her foot free.”

“What’s
she doing here?”

“That’s
what I intend to find out.”

Brady
grabbed his coat and walked out of the studio. He stepped into the alleyway
hoping that the slush didn’t mark and stain his black patent dancing shoes.

Jenna
was still trying to get her foot free.

“Just
hang on or you’ll twist your ankle or even snap it,” said Brady.

With
one simple tug he had her free. He kept his hand on her calf while his libido
stirred up again. Dancing close to Daisy hadn’t done that for him.

“Thank
you, and I’m sorry I disturbed your—whatever that dance was called.”

“The
tango.”

“Right,
the tango.

“So
what are you doing here?” asked Brady.

He
was a tad angry he’d been followed when he’d done his utmost to keep his
ballroom dancing lessons a secret from the others in the group. Brady was also
a tad embarrassed it was Jenna who’d caught him red-handed.

“I
was just … okay. I wanted to see what you did in Missoula three times a week.”

“Everything
okay?” asked Daisy, putting her head out the window.

“Yes,
it’s fine,” said Brady. “Daisy meet Jenna. Jenna, my dance instructor.”

“Pleased
to meet you,” said Jenna.

“You
done for the day?” Daisy asked him.

“Yeah,
I’ll come and get my stuff and I’ll see you on Friday.”

Brady
noted the glare that she gave Jenna before closing the window.

“So
why did you need to know what I did?”

“I’m
not really sure,” said Jenna as they walked back up the alleyway. “Guess you
fascinate me.”

“You
know, I’ve been keeping this a secret. I hope I can count on you not to say
anything to anyone. And especially Hannah, Ash or Chloe, should you speak to them.”

“Client-attorney
privilege. Even if you were breaking the law I couldn’t tell anyone.”

Brady
nodded.

“How
long have you been taking dance classes?”
“Three months. I was tense from working too hard. I saw a show on ballroom
dancing and thought I’d give it a try.”

“You
looked pretty good in there, and I love those shoes.”

Brady
looked down. Damn, there was some slush on the toes.

.
“I’m going to get changed back into my regular clothes, but seeing how we just
so happen to be in Missoula at the same time, would you want to do some
Christmas shopping with me? You might be able to advise me on some items.”

 
He hoped she detected a tinge of sarcasm in
his voice.