Bear of Interest (5 page)

Chapter Five

“So what do you think of it?” asked Lucy. Cole followed her through to the kitchen.

“I don’t know what it looked like before you did your magic on it, but it looks great to me.”

“Did you know I lived here when I first came to town?” asked Lucy.

“No, I didn’t. Is that how you met Liam?”

“Not exactly. We met when he picked me up on the highway, literally.”

“Really?” asked Cole.

“And kindly opened up this place to give me somewhere to live. I know it was tough for him because it had once been Danny’s place.”

Danny Ahern. Yeah, Cole remembered him well. Motorbike fan, smart guy, but was a rebel at heart and had often landed himself in trouble with just about everyone.

“When I do find a place to buy I’m going to hire you to do the interior design,” said Cole.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. So are you going to take this place or not?”

“Would you be open to a six month lease instead of the one year? Just in case I find the perfect home sooner than I think.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. And as you’re not a member of the group, but also one of Liam’s fellow bear shifters I’m thinking we can give you a break on the rent.”

Cole lifted his hand. “Lucy, you don’t need to do that. I’m guessing you and Liam need the money.”

“Okay, how about fifty dollars off the rent and we’ll both be happy.”

He slipped his hand into hers and they shook. “Is it okay if I move in here at the weekend?”

“Any time you want. If Liam’s around, I’m sure he’ll help you carry in boxes or whatever you have. It will be great having a member of the group living close by. We’re going to try a new restaurant near Glacier next week. Maybe you’d like to invite a date and come along with us.”

They walked outside. Someone else trying to get him paired up. “I suppose you have someone already in mind?” asked Cole.

“No, but I hear you’re almost as popular as Bear was when he first arrived in town, so I’m sure it won’t be tough to find someone.”

“Almost,” asked Cole. He was messing with her and he hoped she knew it. Bears had a sarcastic sense of humor. Hopefully she’d figured that out from being married to one.

“Are you giving him a hard time?” Liam called over from the garage where he was working on a car.

“Just trying to get him a date,” Lucy called back.

Liam wiped his greasy hands on a rag and joined them out front.

“Cole is going to be our new tenant and he’s moving in at the weekend,” said Lucy.

“I like the sound of having another bear around. And honey, no offense meant.” He winked at her. “We can go running together. Sam comes along with me on Sunday mornings.”

“As long as I don’t run into any more dead bodies.”

“Yeah, we heard about that,” said Liam.

“I had to go sign my statement this morning. The detective was asking about bear prints around the body and lack of human ones.”

“Shit,” said Liam.

“You think he’s going to pursue it?” asked Lucy.

“Detective is a she,” said Cole.

“Did I detect a little twinkle in your eye when you told us that?” asked Lucy.

“No, I mean. Yes, she’s cute but…”

“I think you should ask her out and come along with me and Liam to the restaurant.”

“I think my wife needs to open a dating agency and forget about interior design,” said Liam. “She won’t even let her own brother have five minutes peace without trying to find him a new wife.”

Cole smiled. “There’s no way I could. I mean not going to the restaurant bit, but the asking her out part.”

“Okay, but let us know if we need a table for four instead of three,” said Lucy.

****

Sam balanced her two bags of groceries on her knee when she heard her cellphone ringing in her purse. Damn, why did people always call at the most inconvenient times? She placed both bags up on the ledge by her front door before digging her hand inside her purse. She pulled out the phone and saw that it was a private number.

“Hello Detective Samantha Hardy.”

“Hi Detective Hardy. It’s Cole. Cole MacDonald.”

Just the sound of his voice, the mere mention of his name, made every nerve ending in her body tingle and do the happy dance.

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“I… I…don’t know how to do this.”

Was he about to make a confession, turn himself in for Margo’s murder?

“I mean I do, but it’s been a while since I have, and I don’t know you that well. Damn, I’m rambling on like an idiot.”

He really was but she didn’t care because she loved listening to that deep voice of his. Women were supposed to react to a deep voice right? It made a female’s ovaries sit up and take notice. By pure instinct, women knew a deep voice meant the man would produce top notch offspring.

“I was wondering if you’re not doing anything Saturday night—if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

If she’d still been holding the grocery bags she would have dropped both of them.

Where had this come from? Not that she wasn’t ready to do the happy dance all the way down the path leading up to her townhouse.

“Please forgive me if you’re already seeing someone or even have a date that evening, but some friends of mine are trying out a new restaurant and asked me along. I don’t want to seem like a third wheel and thought of you….I mean not that I think you’re someone’s third wheel.”

Yeah, she knew how that was. Going along with some of her girlfriends and their husbands and feeling so alone and left out. She smiled as he continued to ramble on. She liked the fact there was a touch of insecurity about the way he was asking her for a date.

“Sure, I’d love to go with you.”

She was somewhat of a foodie but couldn’t cook to save her own life. The two grocery bags were full of frozen dinners and goodies from the deli.

“Great. They’ve booked the table for seven so I could come by and pick you up around 6:45.”

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s the cop in me, and I always meet a date at the restaurant when it’s our first one,” said Sam.

She’d checked him out. He seemed legit and respectable but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“I’ve no problem with that at all. It’s the
TreeTop
Restaurant on highway 93, just west of the entrance to Glacier.”

Things were getting even better because she’d heard great things about the place. In fact, the Death by Chocolate dessert was named best in Montana.

“I will be there.”

“Okay, I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Yeah, see you then.”

She ended the call and picked up her shopping again. Her two lonely bags of food for one. Guess she wouldn’t need the Salisbury steak in gravy with the side of mashed potatoes she’d bought for her Saturday evening meal after all.

****

Cole paced up and down outside the
TreeTop
. Liam and Lucy had offered to wait with him, but he’d sent them inside. He didn’t want anyone to see just how nervous he was. He also didn’t want them to see if he got stood up which was looking more likely with every passing minute. He looked at his watch again. Fifteen minutes past seven and no sign of her. First time he’d not had a date show up, and hopefully it would be the last.

He had to face the humiliation of going back inside and breaking the news to Liam and Lucy. Cole gave one last look around, but there was no sign of her. He opened the glass door and headed inside and down to the restaurant where Liam and Lucy were studying the menu. Even from this distance he could see them playfully sliding their feet up one another’s legs.

They were basically newlyweds, in love and they’d never have to go through all this dating shit again. He felt jealous, sick to his stomach, and wondered if being a bachelor bear wasn’t the easiest way out.

Lucy looked up when she saw him approaching.

“I’ve been stood up.” There it was out in the open. The shame and humiliation. He sat down and resigned himself to being the third wheel tonight.

“Maybe she got lost,” said Lucy. “You can easily get turned around once you head off the main road.”

“Lucy’s right. And you know women, they take forever to get their make up right and get dressed. She’s probably trying on yet another dress and hasn’t realized the time,” said Liam.

Cole checked his watch again. “Yeah, like forty minutes late. Let’s just order some drinks and help me forget this evening ever happened.”

He saw Liam and Lucy glance at one another. Liam called the waiter over. “Two beers and a white wine,” he said.

“Coming right up sir. And should I take away this fourth place setting or will someone else be joining you?”

Cole was tempted to pick up the salt shaker and hand it to the guy and say
yeah, rub this in some more.

“Could you leave it because we do have someone else dining with us, but she’s running late,” said Lucy.

Cole squeezed Lucy’s hand. He could see why Liam had gone from anti-human to marrying one. Lucy was a sweetheart.

“So, does anything catch your eye on this menu?” asked Liam.

“I’m leaning toward the lobster gnocchi,” said Lucy.

“Steaks all look pretty good,” said Liam.

Cole had been looking forward to this meal all day but now he didn’t think he could eat one morsel.

The waiter returned with their drinks. “Would you like some more time to look over the menu?”

“Yeah, if you could give us maybe five more minutes,” said Liam.

Cole took a drink of his beer. Maybe he’d have a salad or appetizer, something so he didn’t look suddenly like a party pooper.

“You know the grilled chicken with the huckleberry salsa sounds good too,” said Liam.

Since moving back to Kalispell, Cole had forgotten how great huckleberries were. Lots of the shifters grew them in their backyards and had to actually fight off real bears for them.

“Yeah, I think that’s what I’m going to have,” said Liam, closing his menu.

Cole didn’t want to look at it any more. “I think I’ll have the same.” And he’d force that chicken down his throat rather then look like a miserable bear.

The waiter returned. “Are we already to order?”

“We definitely are. I’ll have the lobster gnocchi,” said Lucy.

“And the grilled chicken with the huckleberry salsa for both of us,” said Liam.

“Excellent choices. I’ll bring out a basket of bread to get you started. Do you still want me to leave the fourth place setting?”

“Yes, because she should be here any minute,” said Lucy. She winked at Cole.