Big Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES Fur BEARS Book 4) (2 page)

“It's a small mistake,” Damien said sheepishly. “Geez, I didn't know there're so many shades of gray!”

“There are fifty shades of gray, don't you know?” Graham snorted.

There were more snarky comebacks but Nick tuned them all out.

“Come on, come on, let's fix this. Now!” Nick barked.

“If we all pitch in, we should be able to fix it in the
nick
of time,” Damien trilled. “Right, Nick?”

Nick glared at Damien as the guy chortled and hi-fived his mates, clearly pleased with his clever pun.

Inhaling deeply, Nick tried to count to ten under his breath. He only made it to five.

“Move it, people,” he roared. “We'll have to stay back for an hour or so. But let's get this done before the Harrisons come back.”

The Harrison family had gone to live with an aunt in the next town while their house was being renovated. There was nothing valuable in the house, but Nick made sure he locked up and secured the premises carefully every evening when the guys left. Beck's Builders took pride in their work and took good care of their clients. Their old clients recommended new clients to them, and the business kept growing.

Beck's Builders had started out as just a two-man odd-job company. Back then, it had just been Nick and his best friend, Marcus Beck. Over the years, the company had expanded and business had boomed. Marcus's two younger brothers, Josh and Jax, had also joined the company. Beck's Builders had come a long way, and it had grown to become one of the largest, most reputable renovation and remodeling companies in Shadow Point.

A company is only as good as the people it keeps. Nick firmly believed that.

Most of the guys they hired were shifters, so they were incredibly strong and fast. But strength and speed counted for nothing if the guys didn't have the right attitude. His guys were loud and rowdy, but when there was work to be done and a deadline to beat, every one of those guys pulled his weight and more. They never cut corners, and they always delivered on time.

After swearing at Damien and making the rascal promise to buy a round of drinks, the guys got right down to work.

Nick was opening a new can of paint when he heard a sharp whistle behind him.

His scowl faded when he saw Gramma and Ne-ma beckoning excitedly to him from the street.

Wiping his hands on his jeans, Nick stood up and went over to them. Those two effervescent grandmothers were always up to something.

“Gramma, Ne-ma, what can I do for you?” he asked, touching the tip of his hard hat.

His smile vanished when he saw Gramma's bandaged arm. “What happened? How did you hurt yourself, Gramma?”

“Bad kettle,” Gramma answered, waving away his question with her good hand.

Beside her, Ne-ma mouthed,
Bad spell
.

Nick gave a barely perceptible nod and carefully maintained a straight, neutral expression.

Gramma hated to admit that her spells didn't always work. She saw that as a personal failure. Nick could understand that streak of perfectionism in Gramma. She wanted her spell work to be perfect, but sometimes accidents and mistakes happened.

Gramma and Ne-ma were good witches, but some of their spells didn't exactly work the way they were supposed to. But Gramma and Ne-ma weren't daunted or discouraged by their failures. They loved trying their hand at anything and everything, and they never let anything or anyone stop them.

“We're here to sell some tickets to you boys,” Ne-ma announced cheerfully.

“Tickets?”

“For the hospital's fundraising auction.” Gramma beamed and waved a fistful of tickets enticingly.

“You don't want to miss this. There will be exciting performances before the auction. The hospital staff have been busy rehearsing. I've seen them. They're good!” Ne-ma gushed.

“And trust me, you won't want to miss the auction! There's going to be something for everyone.” Gramma waggled her brows. “The hospital's hoping to raise enough money from the auction to upgrade the children's wing.”

“A charity auction? That sounds great! We'll help, of course we'll help. What do they need? Do they need us to donate any items for their auction? We can...” Nick began.

Gramma and Ne-ma started giggling. “No. It's not that kind of auction.”

“What do you mean?” Nick asked, puzzled.

“There won't be any items on auction,” Gramma said.

Nick frowned at them, not comprehending. But he held his tongue and waited patiently for them to continue.

The two exuberant, zealous grandmothers could sometimes get ahead of themselves, but when they committed to something, they would get it done, by hook or by crook. They were always the first to volunteer for any community and charity events.

“Go on, ask us,” Gramma urged, her eyes twinkling in mischief.

“All right,” Nick said, throwing up his hands. “I'll bite. You're not auctioning items, so—what's on auction then?”

Gramma and Ne-ma chuckled, obviously delighted at having baited him so successfully. “People!” they hooted together. “Just people!”

“What?” Nick blinked at them.

Gramma laughed and tut-tutted at him. “It's not what you're thinking. Get your mind out of the gutter, Nick.”

“But I wasn't even...” he sputtered in protest.

“We'll be on auction,” Ne-ma said proudly, jerking her thumb at the two of them. “Together with some of the hospital staff.”

“Okay,” Nick said slowly. “How does this work?”

“Well, we put ourselves up for auction and the highest bidder can ask us to do anything for him or her,” Gramma explained happily.

“It can be a song, a dance, a cake, a favor, a spell, anything...”

“We can say no, of course. That's the beauty. We auction ourselves, and we have to agree to the request before we are...” Gramma puffed out her chest and said in a booming voice, “Sold to the highest bidder!”

Nick's face split in a grin. “Sounds like fun! All right, I'll get a ticket.” He whipped out his wallet and bellowed to his crew, “Hey! All of you, come and get your tickets. We're going to an auction. Come on, do your part for the community.”

His men put down their tools and crowded round eagerly.

“Hi, Gramma, Ne-ma, what are you selling?”

“What auction?”

“If there's booze and boobs, count me in!”

“The hospital's holding an auction to raise funds for their children's wing,” Gramma said. “Will you boys buy a ticket each?”

“Yeah!”

“Sure!”

“Give me six! I'll bring my brothers!”

Nick smiled as his crew dug out their wallets and bought all the tickets. Inside those muscly, tattooed bodies were good, big hearts.

“Thanks! Come early. The Sheriff's Band will be performing and there'll be free food and drink!” Gramma and Ne-ma waved as they sauntered off.

“Don't forget to bid for us!” Gramma yelled over her shoulder. “You'll be getting two witches for the price of one!”

The guys laughed and gave the two grandmothers the thumbs-up.
“We can ask them for anything?” Damien mused, staring at his ticket.

“That's what they said. Why?” Graham asked, peering suspiciously at Damien. “Are you thinking of asking Gramma and Ne-ma for a lap dance?”

“No!” Damien shoved Graham away. “You're crazy.”

Graham laughed. “Some of the nurses are pretty hot. Maybe I can bid for one night with a naughty nurse! I can tie her to the bed and take her temperature—with my tongue!”

The guys picked up their tools and started working but they didn't stop talking. In fact, they talked even louder and faster than before. They were clearly excited about the auction. Nick had to admit that it was quite a novel, inspired idea. The new hospital director, Mrs Dali Chan, was a capable, forward-thinking lady. When she came on board, she outlined some pretty bold plans for the small, rural hospital.

With a new vision and mission statement, the dynamic director promptly set about upgrading the little hospital. Just because it was a small town hospital didn't mean that their level and standard of patient care couldn't match those of the big city hospitals.

This fundraising auction was a great idea. It was a worthy cause, and Nick was glad that Shadow Point was attracting new residents and talents. The small town was growing and thriving, and new homes and schools were constantly being built to accommodate the rapidly growing population.

Shadow Point was a good town, and Nick would love to bring up his kids in this town.

But…

No mate, no kids.

Nick inhaled a long breath. He had never felt this longing to find his mate—until recently.

Why should he settle down when there was no shortage of females willing to come to his bed? Shifter females weren't shy about sex, and there were always females in heat in town. He enjoyed dating and he enjoyed women. He'd had relationships, but nothing permanent. They were good women, but they just weren't right for him. And they weren't
his
.

He was at the prime of his life. At thirty-nine, he was financially secure and successful. The business was doing well, and he had everything he wanted—good health, good friends, a nice home, a wonderful town.

He should be content. Yet—he wasn't.

He used to hang out with Marcus and the twins, Jax and Josh, but the three brothers were now all blissfully mated. Jax was a proud Papa bear, while Josh's mate, Bella, was expecting their first cub.

Marcus and his brothers would still invite Nick over for dinner at their place but seeing them with their mates just reminded him of the fact that he had yet to find
her
. His true mate. The one female meant for him and his bear.

Nick chuffed and stuffed his ticket into his back pocket. He should stop navel-gazing and get on with the work. As the jokes and smart-assery started back up, Nick kept a watchful eye on the work and his men. Damien seemed a little subdued, keeping his head down and working quickly and quietly. But after a while, with some ribbing from his mates, Damien was back to his boisterous, bawdy self. The crew worked quickly, their hands moving as fast as their motor-mouths, and they managed to finish the job by sundown.

Some of the guys packed up swiftly and hurried home to their mates and families. The single guys made plans to go for dinner and drinks.

Nick went with the single guys. Damien was buying them drinks, but he would buy them dinner. The guys had done a good job. They had rectified the mistake on time and hadn't made a big fuss about having to knock off later today.

Hanging out with his crew was better than going home to an empty house and eating dinner alone in his kitchen.

CHAPTER
FIVE

Zoe stood behind the curtain and peeked out at the crowd gathered in the town hall. It was quite a huge turnout. All the tickets had been sold. The food and drinks for the pre-show buffet was sponsored by a few of the local pubs and restaurants. The show hadn't even started but the food was all gone.

Everyone was chipping in to do their bit. Even the Sheriff of Shadow Point, Winston Knight, and his deputies would be strumming their hearts out for a good cause.

Staring out at the noisy, cheerful crowd, Zoe tried to settle the butterflies in her stomach. There were banners and streamers decorating the town hall, and chairs had been arranged around small tables so that people could sit in groups and enjoy their drinks together during the show.

Zoe caught sight of a few familiar faces in the crowd and some of her patients waved encouragingly to her. Zoe smiled back but she was still super nervous.

Surely she wouldn't be the only one standing on stage without a bid tonight. Would anyone be willing to put in a high bid for her, or would she succeed in raising only a pitiful sum for the hospital?

Zoe gulped and shook away the negative thoughts. Blowing out a breath, she smoothed her clammy hands down her nurse uniform. The nurses had decided that they would wear their uniforms for the auction. We look hot in our uniforms, they said and Zoe agreed. Her uniform flattered her full, curvy figure, and some male patients had remarked that they looked really cute in their uniforms.

As she studied the crowd from her hiding spot behind the curtains, her gaze settled on a handsome, blond man standing to the side of the hall. He was with a group of brawny, boisterous men and she could hear their raucous laughter even from the stage.

The men were all tall, beefy and muscular, and she guessed that they were shifters. They all exuded a kind of animal power and magnetism. But the blond man was even taller and broader than most of his buddies. He had a warm smile, and she saw laugh lines around his sexy mouth. He was panty-meltingly hot and handsome, but there was a laid-back charm and gentleness about him.

Thinking that he couldn't see her, Zoe boldly looked him up and down, admiring his rugged good looks and broad, toned body. Shamelessly molesting his delicious body with her eyes, she squirmed and tugged at her collar, suddenly feeling rather hot and...horny.

As she gawked at him, there was only one word in her mind.