Bearly a Memory: Pacific Northwest Bears: (Shifter Romance) (20 page)

B
rooke took
a break from digging in the dirt to look up at the house she’d been living in for the past few months. She’d grown to love the house. Not as much as her man, of course, but still she felt like she was home. The sun was hot overhead, and she knew that the light would be reflecting through the stained glass window above the door.

She remembered the day she felt like she was really safe. Tanner had informed her that the price on her head was gone. She’d been happy but felt a little off kilter by the news. She’d gone upstairs to take a shower and had paused on the landing. The bright colors of the peacock’s feathers had been casting a rainbow over the walls and Brooke. Closing her eyes, she took in a breath and let it out.

Her love for Tanner and her faith in their future was like that peacock. Tanner had seen the beauty in it, and it had stood the test of time. Brooke knew in that moment that come what may, they would always have each other.

Now she had been roped into working on the vegetable garden in the yard. There were the soft clucks of chickens coming from the back. Brooke was no farm girl. She liked potted plants on a window sill. For Tanner, though, she was trying.

“You know this would be a lot easier if you’d just shift and use your big bear paws to dig up the dirt,” Brooke groused.

“That would be cheating,” Tanner said next to her. They were both wrist deep in the garden, transplanting tomato plants.

“Are tomatoes really worth all this work? You know they look the same as the ones in the store,” Brooke reminded him. It was a hot day, and all she wanted to do was sit on the porch with something cold and let the breeze wash over her.

Brooke had tried to feel some remorse about the mob guys, but every time she did she would just see those men lying on the ground in the ambulance bay. She brushed off any doubts when she remembered that.

“It will be worth it. You have your interview on Monday?” Tanner knew good and well that she did.

“Yes, Eddie says it’s just a formality. It’s not like they have people lining up for the job.” Brooke laughed.

She and Tanner had flown down to meet her parents, which was a riot. Her mom kept petting Tanner’s arm and telling him how handsome he was.

Brooke’s dad just sat and glared, mumbling under his breath. “Slaps me, pets him.”

But Harry Nishi liked Tanner a lot. He even let him play with his trains. Her mom was a little sad she was moving but promised they would visit frequently.

They both agreed that keeping her parents out of the shifter loop was better until they had to know. Brooke felt like she had all the time in the world now. After she’d quit her job and packed up her apartment, Tanner convinced her to take a break from work. She’d been through a lot and could use the rest.

Brooke tried to say she was fine, but the truth was she had never taken a vacation. She’d spent the last few months hanging out with Cassie. Knitting hats and scarves for Tanner – even though it was summer, mornings were cool in the forest. Tanner would put on his bright red knit cap with the huge pouf on the top. She’d meant it as a joke, but Tanner wore it proudly every day.

Taking him to the yarn shop had been a hoot. They’d spent an hour picking out skeins. Tanner started asking the clerk about the quality of different brands and color fading between them. Tanner had loaded her up with enough yarn to keep her busy for the next year.

She found out that Tanner was heavily invested in all of the Rochon companies. Technically, neither of them had to work. But Brooke could only knit and dig in the dirt for so long before she went crazy.

“How about we go inside and take a shower. I’ll scrub your back and let you scrub mine; then we can order pizza with tomatoes already on it! It will be like a vegetable miracle!” She looked at him with a glint in her eye.

“Tomatoes are fruit, baby,” he said.

“Fine, fruit. You wanna do me or what?” She sat back on her heels and tossed her hands in the air in exasperation.

Putting down his shovel, Tanner glanced over his shoulder at her. He gave her a scan up and down, and the look made Brooke shiver.

“Yeah, I wanna do you,” he said then jumped up, scooping her into his arms. He threw her over his shoulder and jogged to the house.

Brooke screamed in laughter and slapped his back as he ran. She didn’t care if the neighbors could see. Her man loved her, and she loved him. Forever was just barely long enough for Brooke to get her fill of Tanner Rochon.

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