Temptation: Reckless Desires (Blue Moon Saloon Book 2) (17 page)

“I found someone to help here all next week,” Tina said. “After that…well, I’m working on it.”

The shadow of a passerby drifted past the front windows, and Soren looked up in spite of himself. Damn those dreams he’d had last night. He was seeing Sarah everywhere now. Her flowing red hair. That smile that lit his world up. That tomboy spunk lying just under the surface of a tough, no-nonsense woman.

He shook his head and turned away from the windows, shaking his head. He hadn’t been raised to be a fool. He’d been raised to be the alpha of a bear clan, and damn it, that’s what he’d do.

He forced himself to talk business with Tina’s mate Rick, the owner of a local ranch. That’s where his mind ought to be — finding and pulling in new hires to keep the businesses growing.

But a commotion broke out by the front door and he couldn’t help but look up. Cole was leading someone in off the street, and the women in the café all flocked over to help. What was going on?

“Oh, you poor thing,” Jessica said to the rail-thin woman Cole guided to a chair. Probably another tourist who’d had too much of the Arizona sun. So why was his pulse skip a couple of times?

“Rick, get her a cushion,” Tina said.

“Get her a glass of water, too,” Jess added, kneeling by the woman.

“I got it,” Soren said, going behind the counter for a glass. He counted to ten as he filled the glass. Damn, why was his hand shaking? And why was his heart suddenly revving in overtime? It wasn’t as if he’d witnessed a terrible accident. It was just some lady feeling faint. His inner bear, though, reacted like it was much more, pacing and growling inside his mind.

What?
he wanted to yell.
What?

He glanced outside as he carried the glass to the woman. Only a few weeks ago, a band of rogues had made their second attack on members of his clan. Were they back? Was that why his bear was suddenly on alert?

But there were no suspicious vehicles or strangers sulking about. Not much of anything happening outside on a Sunday morning. All the action was in the café.

He kneeled in front of the woman and held out the glass. The hand that reached for the glass was covered in wicked burn marks, and he winced a little, just seeing them.

“I’m fine,” the woman said, straightening. The curtain of her hair parted, and Soren froze.

For a minute, everything froze. His heart stopped beating. The blood slurped to a stop in his veins. His lungs halted in mid-breath, and even his bear went from rattling the bars of the mental cage he kept it cooped behind to absolutely, positively still.

Her hair was darker. Her scent had changed a tiny bit, too. And she was thin, far, far too thin. But the second his eyes locked on those impossibly green eyes, he knew.

“Soren?” It was barely a whisper, but her voice shot straight to his heart.

“Sarah,” he managed.

Mate!
his inner bear roared.
Alive!

It was Sarah.
His
Sarah. Alive!

He wanted to grab her and dance her around. To crush her to his chest and never, ever let go. He wanted to roar loud enough for folks all the way back in Montana to hear. To sit her down and start feeding her hearty meals to make up for whatever illness or hard times responsible for making her so gaunt.

But before he could do any of those things, her hand dropped her belly. A stretched-out, round-as-a-basketball belly so out of place on that thin frame. His breath caught as his mind slowly processed what that meant.

Pregnant. She was pregnant.

For a split second, his bear nearly jumped for joy. But then his mind caught up, doing the math. He hadn’t seen Sarah in nearly a year — the time he’d been forced to leave home plus the months since then, when he thought she was gone forever. Nearly a year, which meant…

The glass he was holding slipped out of his grip and shattered on the floor.

Please,
Sarah’s beseeching eyes cried.
Please let me explain.

###

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