Catching Her Bear (6 page)

His mother sucked in a breath, but he didn’t miss the evil shooting from her eyes. “Brian, we’re sorry that we sent you away, but once the baby arrived, we thought you’d harm her.”

Sorry, my ass.
That excuse was even lamer. “She didn’t interest me.”

His father moved back. “Let’s sit in the living room and you can catch us up.”

Now his father was interested in what he had to say? By asking him to sit, Dad must believe he needed Brian to calm down, that he’d come to harm them, or perhaps blackmail them for money. While the idea of asking for money had merit, Brian just wanted an apology, but he suspected he’d have to wait a very long time for one. Too bad, he had no intention of being in Silver Lake longer than necessary.

“Can I bring you some tea?” his mom asked, acting as if this visit was an everyday occurrence.

“How about a beer?” He wasn’t eight any more.

She glanced at his father who imperceptibly nodded. “I’ll get one for you.”

His father limped over to a striped high-back chair and dropped down. “Tell us why you’ve come.”

Now the cold, unfeeling son of a bitch father he remembered surfaced. “I guess I needed to hear from your own lips why you sent me away and why you never visited me.”

His mom returned through a door carrying a beer and handed it to him. “I’ll answer that. Your therapist forbade us to. We tried to see you, but he thought it would slow your healing if we spoke.”

Brian chugged back the brew, helping to quench his thirst. He didn’t believe a word of it. In retrospect, it was probably for the best. They weren’t sorry that they’d ditched their kid. “Well, thank you for that.” Surely, they’d hear the sarcasm in his voice.

“Brian, you need to understand. We didn’t want to do it,” his father said, sounding pathetic.

“Too late now.” African masks hung on the far wall, and a statue of the Eiffel Tower along with what looked like a green onyx pyramid sat on the coffee table. “I see you’ve traveled a lot.”

Once more, their wide eyes gave away their fear. “You know what we do for a living. Travel is necessary.”

Given the size of the house, the expensive rugs on the floor, and the paintings that he bet were originals, they could have hired someone to shop for them. “Eight months out of the year?”

“Yes,” his mother said, lifting her chin in defiance.

Brian wanted to hurt them like they’d hurt him. He stood. “I gotta take a leak.”

“It’s down the—”

“I remember where it is.”

Brian set his bottle on an expensive looking mahogany table not caring if he left a ring, and headed down the hallway past the kitchen to the small half bath. He didn’t have to go. He just needed to get away from them for a while, to have a chance to think.

Once he was out of their sight, he paced. Before he was able to come up with a plan, the front doorbell rang. Company. Good. That gave him a good excuse to leave and regroup. To his surprise, loud shouts came from the living room. Maybe the Feds were there to arrest them for doing something illegal—like not paying taxes. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

Brian stepped back into the living room and stopped in his tracks. Three sets of eyes shot to him and he swore they could see right through him. These were no Feds. All three were dressed in slogan T-shirts and ripped jeans, and the men varied in height and age.

His mother piped up. “This is my son, Brian. He’s just passing through town.”

Brian took a few steps, not because he wanted to be nearer to these fellows, but because he’d be closer to the front door in case something bad went down.

The big, tall fellow stepped forward and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He then turned to his dad. “Forty-eight hours.”

His father smiled. “No problem. It’ll be here.”

It?
Before Brian could say he wanted to leave, the three amigos left. He turned to his parents, a bit confused about what he’d witnessed. “What was that about?”

The father waved a hand. “We’ve been having trouble getting something they’d ordered from India, but it’ll be here in two days. Nothing to worry about.”

Brian nodded. “I need to head back to town.”

“Do you want to stay here?” his mother said. From the bitter tone, she wanted him to say no.

“I’ve already paid for a place in town. I don’t plan to be here long.”

Her lips pinched. “Elana is coming over this weekend. Maybe you’d like to see your little sister. She’s all grown up.”

“Sure.” Or not. His head was spinning with too much emotion and he was losing control. “Talk to you later.”

He rushed out, relishing the long walk back to town.

‡

A
fter working late
at the station, Kalan had dropped into bed, and seven hours later he’d woken up refreshed. For the first time since he’d seen Elana at the hospital, he’d actually had a full night sleep—no raging hard-on or erotic dreams starring the pretty lady.

Stretching, he patted his gut to make sure he hadn’t grown a second stomach overnight. He hadn’t eaten that many cookies in a long time. It was all Izzy’s fault for making them so damned good. She deserved some kind of medal for that recipe. It was almost as if the added sugar had set him back on track.

Kalan slid out of bed, cleaned up, and dressed in a ratty T-shirt and shorts. It was his day off, and he was determined to enjoy it. The run last night had done wonders for his attitude—or else it had been the cookies.

After hours of thinking, he’d finally figured out that the stress of taking over for his father must have affected him more than he’d realized. A kind of calmness had enveloped him, so much that he believed he would be capable of acting his usual self around Elana—self-confident, charming, and dare he say macho.

He whipped up some breakfast then stacked the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Kalan liked order, but was willing to wing it when it came to women, loving nothing more than to make them happy.

Thinking of women, his thoughts returned to Elana yet again. Sympathy swamped him at what she’d had to endure growing up, and then pride swelled at how she’d overcome adversity to create something as wonderful as her flower shop. A young woman opening a business in today’s economy would have run against some pretty hefty odds, yet Elana had flourished. Or should he say, blossomed?

He shook his head at the way he’d acted around her all three times. Now he knew it had all been due to stress. Seeing things clearly for the first time in days, he realized a woman like Elana deserved happiness. While he had no intention of being with her on a steady basis, he bet she’d appreciate it if he took her to lunch. They’d chat about Izzy and how happy she was, and then he’d steer the conversation to her shop. He bet she could talk for days about what it entailed to be a successful entrepreneur.

At his excellent idea, a sense of generosity rose inside him. Taking her to the Silver Lake café or to Nate’s Pizzeria would be too ordinary. He wanted something special—something she’d remember. He snapped his fingers. He bet she’d like a picnic. The weather would be turning cooler soon and he bet she’d appreciate taking advantage of the balmy conditions while they lasted.

The question was where to go for this outdoor adventure? She didn’t know he was a shifter, so that nixed the area around Silver Lake. A nice mountain view would be spectacular, but most of the areas overlooking the Smoky Mountains required a hike, and she probably didn’t have a lot of time during her lunch break. From what Izzy had told him, she was devoted to her job.

Mentally scanning what the town had to offer, he landed on the region across from the church. The town had put in a real nice park that included picnic shelters. Families with small children would be there, making the experience upbeat and pleasant. Perfect. That solved one dilemma.

Since he’d be bringing the food, all he needed was to find out what Elana liked to eat. Once, many moons ago, he and a date had gone on a hike. Needing something for lunch, he’d packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches only to find out she was allergic to peanuts. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. If Izzy wasn’t home, he’d stop at the Crystal Winds Spa and ask her what Elana enjoyed.

Maybe he’d even buy her a present, and say it was because he’d been out of sorts for the last few weeks, and that he normally didn’t act like a bumbling idiot around women. Flowers were out of the question, but from experience, he found women always liked chocolate. Coming prepared to a date would let her know he was a nice guy. Going out with her would also convince him that his intense attraction and desire had been a fluke.

Because lunch wouldn’t be for another few hours, he straightened up his house then read over the Donaldson file to see if he’d missed anything. Around eleven, he drove to town. Elana most likely wouldn’t recognize his Jeep, so he parked in front of the Crystal Winds Spa and dashed inside. He hadn’t stepped foot in the place in several years, but the store hadn’t changed much other than the beauty and health products that were on the shelves appeared new.

Izzy rushed toward him. “Is Rye okay?”

Crap. It hadn’t occurred to him she might draw that conclusion. “He’s fine. I’m here because I wanted to ask you something about Elana.”

Her eyes shone. “Really? What is it?”

“I wanted to do something nice for her and thought she might appreciate a picnic lunch.”

Izzy cocked a brow. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

No way could he tell her that he finally realized that stress had caused his body to go crazy around Elana. “After hearing how she’d grown up, I thought she’d appreciate the gesture. Is that a crime?”

“No, but she’ll spot a pity date in a heartbeat. She’ll think I put you up to it.”

Fuck
. “You didn’t.”

“I know that, but she won’t.”

The air rushed out of his lungs. “What do you suggest? To be honest, I feel bad about the way I’ve acted around her lately.”

Izzy lifted a shoulder. “Then tell her that. Just don’t mention you heard about how her parents had mistreated her.”

“I promise.” He held up three fingers as if he was back in Boy Scouts. He also didn’t want to lead her on. Damn. This might not be a good idea.

For a few minutes they batted around lunch suggestions, until he was satisfied he had the perfect meal. Armed with a list of what things Elana liked and didn’t like, he headed over to the U-Save supermarket where he purchased fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and a small box of chocolate. Because he wasn’t allowed to take alcohol to the park, he picked up some bottled water. Hopefully, she’d understand this was a spur of the moment idea, which made something fancy and elaborate not possible.

Leaving the food in the back of his Jeep, he parked in front of her store and headed on in. To his total dismay, he took one look at Elana in a pretty pink dress, and his body went haywire. What the fuck? He thought he’d been cured.

“Kalan. What are you doing here?” She pushed some wisps of hair back from her face then redid her ponytail as if it mattered what she looked like.

He couldn’t tell if she was delighted, frightened, or dismayed. From behind his back, he placed the small box of chocolate on the counter. “I came to apologize.”

A burst of excitement shot through him that he was no longer stumbling and fumbling.

Her hands stilled as if she thought this was some kind of trick. “Apologize for what?”

Shit
. He certainly couldn’t say his inner bear was constantly trying to get out every time he was near her. “I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and I wasn’t as attentive to you at the party as I’d wanted.”

Her eyes shone brighter than the sun. “You didn’t have to buy me anything. I understand what stress can do to a person.”

Her comment was more proof that he had been a jerk, but he didn’t need to list all of his mistakes. “Listen, I picked up a few things for a picnic. I know you can’t leave the store for long, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a lunch break at the park?” Sounds from the back indicated she had help.

Her cheeks flushed a delicate rose color, and her blue eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of cobalt. “I’d love to. Let me tell my assistant.”

Elana practically ran to the back, indicating she was excited and not dismayed. So far, so good. He figured once they ate a nice lunch and chatted, the guilt over how he’d acted would surely go away. If his bear would stop being such a demanding ass, he’d call this idea a total success.

At one point, Kalan had been tempted to find a willing female to help get his rocks off, but there was something about the way he reacted to Elana that told him no one else would satisfy him—or could satisfy him.
Damn
. Taking her out only to have his way with her, though, would get her hopes up, and then he couldn’t abandon her. If he did, he’d be no better than her parents. No question about it. He had to keep his dick in his pants.

“I’m ready,” she said.

She’d reapplied her lipstick and blush. The woman seemed to be trying to lure him, but he couldn’t let her succeed, but damn that fresh rose scent of her had his bear pushing and growling.