The Cowbear's Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch 2) (9 page)

Her thighs clenched and knees bent as she prepared to sprint to the tree. The backs of her heels rose off the ground as she leaned forward. But before she could take a single step, the truck stopped. Its red tail lights cast an ominous glow through the darkness.

The bear turned as the truck whipped around. It pointed directly at the bear. Screeching tires caught on the road as a cloud of gray smoke blasted from underneath. The truck lurched forward, picking up speed as it closed in on the bear.

Madison panicked and ran toward the bear. Somehow, Mack had become that creature and she didn’t want him to die. She didn’t have time to think; she simply reacted to a primal need to save the animal. But she wasn’t fast enough.

The bear leapt to the side as the truck roared past. It clipped the bear’s hind leg before skidding to a stop.

She rushed into the space between the bear and the truck. “No!”

Ben leaned out of the window. “Get out of the way. I’m going to kill that thing.”

“Leave it alone. Just leave.”

“It’s going to kill you.”

She didn’t know why, but in her heart, she knew the bear wouldn’t hurt her. The realization didn’t make any sense, but nothing about the situation made sense, so she had to rely on instinct.

“Suit yourself. If it kills you, then it takes care of the kid problem too.”

Her spine went ramrod straight. “Fuck you, Ben. You son of a bitch.”

The bear took several running steps before jumping onto the top of the cab of the truck. He swept his paw into the open window less than a second after Ben lunged out of the way. Ben hit the gas. The truck raged forward, throwing the bear over the top into the bed in the back. As if unfazed, the bear dug its claws into the roof of the truck’s cab. Ben ducked. She couldn’t tell if he’d been hit or not because it was too dark.

As the truck hurled forward, the bear ripped part of the roof off and tossed it to one side. The truck teetered as it quickly swerved from left to right. When it suddenly skidded to a stop, the bear flew over the top of it. The bear landed in a heap. The truck backed up then stopped. Ben gunned the engine.

Her gaze darted from the truck to the bear and back. She wasn’t close enough to get between the truck and the bear. Helpless, she watched as Ben raced toward the bear. The grill flashed as it closed in on the animal. With just seconds to impact, the bear raised its head and rolled to its feet. It scrambled to get out of the way and ran into the forest.

Ben pulled the truck up alongside her. “Get in.”

She looked from Ben to the area in the woods where the bear had disappeared. Fur flashed for a second before the bear launched itself onto the passenger side of the truck.

“Shit!” Ben yelled.

She ran toward the truck. Even if Ben was an ass, he didn’t want to kill her. She didn’t think the bear wanted to kill her either, after all, he’d had ample opportunity. But she wasn’t ready to risk her life on a hunch.

As she reached for the driver’s side door handle, the truck lunged forward. She fell face down in the snow. The bear rolled off the side of the truck, landing close enough to her that she could hear its ragged breath.

She leapt to her feet and watched the red tail lights disappear. He wasn’t coming back. Damn him for leaving her.

She didn’t want to stick around and see what the bear would do next, so she ran toward the house. The crunch of paws in the snow behind her kicked her heart beat into overdrive. She spun to face the bear. It stopped. Too afraid to move, she froze in place.

The bear sniffed the ground. It looked up and stepped closer. In an incremental series of movements, she inched closer to the house. She held up a hand as she walked backward up the porch steps. “Don’t come any closer.”

Chapter 9

She’d never been inside the brothers’ house, so the layout was completely unknown. As she rushed through the living room, she looked left then right. Where the hell were all the brothers?

A slow horror washed over her. They were at the B&B eating dinner. The distance between the houses would make it impossible to reach the safety of the other brothers, so she had no choice but to stay put. But she didn’t want to be defenseless, so she ran into the kitchen. There had to be something here that she could use as a weapon.

As she yanked open the drawers, she scrambled through the contents looking for anything that she could use. When she opened a drawer near the sink, she found a tray filled with knives. She grabbed one and held it in her trembling fist. Now she just needed a place to hide.

She crossed the living room and headed down the hall. After opening the first door, she discovered an office. The second door led to a bathroom, and the third door opened to a laundry room. Any of the rooms would have been okay, but she really wanted to hide in a closet.

The door to the fourth room led into a bedroom. As she slipped inside, the front door slammed. She jumped. The bear was coming for her.

When she opened the closet door, she quickly scanned its contents to make sure she had enough space to hide. Fortunately, it was a walk-in closet. She softly closed the door behind her and stepped between two men’s suits. She couldn’t do anything about her feet showing, but she couldn’t risk rattling around and giving away her position.

Damn, in her rush, she’d forgotten to close the bedroom door. She may as well have painted a neon sign saying “I’m in here bear, come eat me.”

The bedroom door creaked open. “I know you’re in there, Maddie.”

As soon as she recognized Mack’s voice, relief washed over her. But she couldn’t bring herself to move. Regardless of whether or not he was back to his normal self, he’d turned into a freakin’
bear
. She had no idea what it would take for him to transform back into a bear. Until she could understand what was happening, she couldn’t risk trusting him.

“I know you’re scared,” he said.

No shit.

“But if you come out of there, I’ll tell you everything.”

Her voice quivered. “How do I know you won’t turn into a bear again?”

“I can control it.”

“If you can control it, why did you turn into a bear and try to kill us?”

“I wanted to teach Ben a lesson. I wasn’t going to kill him.”

“What about me?” she asked.

“I would never hurt you.” His tone carried a hint of sadness.

“I can’t trust you, not after what I just saw.”

His voice came from just outside the closet door. “Please, come out and let me explain.”

When the closet door opened, she cautiously peeked between the suits. Mack stood on the other side of the threshold in all his naked glory. She swallowed as the ethereal sensation of his caresses ignited every nerve ending along her skin.

He said, “My clothes are in the closet. I think you’ll feel more comfortable if I’m dressed.”

She nodded slowly but didn’t move from her spot. As Mack stepped into the closet, she searched his face for any hint of anger or malice. She found nothing but regret. A thread of empathy caught hold of her heart. Although she’d only known Mack a few days, she didn’t sense any evil from him. If anything, he was a strong, gentle, passionate man, not a monster.

When he finished dressing, she stepped out from behind the suits. He held out his hand. Her fingers trembled as she set her hand in his. As he led her to the bed, she took a moment to look around the bedroom.

Deeply masculine, the room had the rugged feel of a Montana cowboy. A pair of well-worn boots sat with their toes tucked under the bedframe. An earth-toned quilt covered the bed. Fabric curtains stamped with a bear pattern covered the window, and a large pine dresser had been aligned underneath it.

Mack sat on the edge of the bed. She ran her hand over the soft comforter. The subtle warmth of the room put her at ease. A monster wouldn’t live in a room like this.

“Did your mom make this?” she asked.

He nodded. “She made that for me the winter before she died.”

“She must have been quite the seamstress.”

“Yeah. She could sew anything and everything. She sewed all of our clothes when we were growing up. It saved money.”

He shifted slightly on the bed to look at her. “I know you’re nervous, but don’t be. I really can control the shift unless I get really mad. When that guy insulted you, rage filled my body and the next thing I knew, I was shifting.”

“How long have you been a… a…”

“Shifter?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been a shifter my whole life. I shifted for the first time when I was thirteen years old. It usually doesn’t hit until puberty. After the first time, the other shifters teach you how to control the impulse.”

“There are more of you?”

“All of my brothers are bear shifters.”

“Your family must be really special. Genetically, I mean.”

“Not really. There are quite a few bear shifters in the Yellowstone area. Mostly brown bears, but there are a good number of grizzlies like my family.”

“How long has this been going on? I mean, were your parents shifters too?”

“There have been bear shifters on this planet as long as there have been bears. We’re everywhere. Most of the polar bears on earth are shifters.”

She paused for a moment to take in the information. Now that he wasn’t in his bear form, she could take in the wonder of such a weird phenomenon. “Are you like werewolves, but just bears?”

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Not exactly. Werewolves live in packs and have some very strict hierarchies.”

She blinked. “Werewolves really exist? I thought that was just a myth.”

“No. When they reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone, the majority of them could shift. There are some animals that are not shifters, but it’s rarer.”

“Why doesn’t the whole world know about this?”

“All shifters live by a code of absolute secrecy. Humans are afraid of what they don’t understand. That’s why seeing me shift was so scary.”

“That and the fact that you have huge claws and sharp teeth.”

“True. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“I wish you’d told me.”

He frowned. “How would that conversation have gone? ‘Hey, Madison. By the way, I turn into a thousand-pound grizzly bear when I get enraged.’”

“Yeah, that would have been… awkward.”

The edge of his mouth tugged up. “I hope I didn’t scare you away. I still want you to stay and work for me until after Christmas.”

“I don’t know. I’m pregnant with my ex’s baby and just found out my boss can turn into a bear. I don’t think staying here is a good idea. I don’t want Ben to come back and bother you again, and I need to figure out what I’m going to do now that I’m pregnant. I need to leave.”

Mack’s face fell. “Please just give me a few days.”

“For what?” Even as she asked the question, the answer blossomed in her heart. Bear or no bear, she was falling for him. Hard.

“I need you to stay. I think we’re meant to spend more time together.”

“I can’t.”

She couldn’t risk another complication in her life. Even if she was falling in love with him, now was the worst possible time to take on a new relationship. Dating was hard enough without adding an ex-boyfriend, a baby, and a bear shifter into the mix.

“At least think about it tonight,” he said. “If you still want to leave in the morning, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

***

The next morning, Mack woke to the sound of his cell phone blasting an Irish bar tune. He glanced at the clock. Six a.m. Damn, he’d overslept. He’d intended to get up and help Madison make breakfast. He considered sending the call to voicemail, but Steve never called him this early. Something might be wrong.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Steve.”

“You’re up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I thought about calling you when the bar closed, but it was the middle of the night and the guy was so drunk, I didn’t think he’d come after you until morning.”

“What guy?” Mack asked. But he already knew. It had to be Madison’s ex. What would it take to get it through that loser’s head that she didn’t want him anymore?

“Some city slicker. He was in here last night bragging about how he’s going to hunt down a grizzly and hang the bear’s head up on his wall with the rest of his trophies. I warned him that you can’t hunt bears around here. He told me a crazy story about going out to your ranch. He said you turned into a bear and attacked him. I know you’re a shifter, but you don’t attack humans, or do I have that wrong?”

Mack narrowed his eyes. “I don’t attack humans. That bastard came out here and insulted Madison.”

“The girl from the bar the other night?”

Mack was surprised he remembered her. “Yeah.”

“What’s she doing on the ranch?”

“I hired her to run the B&B.”

Steve whistled. “Nice. I’d love to have a hot woman like her around all the time.”

If Steve hadn’t been one of his oldest friends, he would have set him straight. But he let the comment go. He had far bigger issues to address.

“Did the guy say when he was going to come back here?”

“He said he was headed over to Wily Hut to get guns and ammo. I called Nate and warned him not to sell anything to the guy.”

“Good. If he shows up here again, I’ll have a hell of a time keeping my bear in check. I would have ripped the guy apart last night if it hadn’t been for Madison. Well, that and the fact the jackass was in a truck and could outrun me.”

“Be careful. I’ve seen some crazy people in the bar, but this guy had bloodlust in his eyes. He’ll shoot to kill if he finds you.”

“I’ll warn my brothers and make sure they’re ready. We have a hefty stockpile of guns. My dad was always worried about poachers, so he kept collecting more and more guns. If the guy steps foot on my property he gets one warning shot and then I’m aiming.”

Steve said, “Just make sure to watch your back. I got the sense that the guy was planning on ambushing you and I don’t want your head to end up on his wall.”

“Don’t worry. I will be. Thanks for calling to warn me.”

“Anytime, buddy.”

After he hung up the phone, Mack turned to find Madison standing in the doorway. She held a bag in each hand. A large luggage bag on rollers sat beside her.

“I decided that I need to leave,” she said.

He jumped out of bed, completely ignoring his nudity. “You can’t go. I was just headed over to help you with breakfast.”

“It’s ready. The stove’s turned off, but I left the food covered so it should still be hot.”

He walked over to her and took the bags from her hands. He set them on the floor. “I can’t let you leave yet.”

“I overheard your conversation. As long as I’m here, Ben’s going to come looking for me. It’s not safe for you or your brothers if I stay here.”

Mack grabbed her hands and gently tugged her forward. He dropped his gaze to her glistening eyes. “I don’t know how to explain this, but you have to stay.”

“Why?”

He grappled with how to tell her that his bear had chosen her as his mate. They were fated to be together. He had to find a way to make her stay.

“I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I think you know that there’s something happening between us. We need time to explore it. If you leave now, we’ll never know what could have been.”

His stomach clenched at the thought of losing her now. His bear, on the other hand, pounded on his heart. If he let her leave, he’d lose the only woman his bear had ever wanted to claim as his mate.

She sighed. “If we’d met at some other time when my life was less complicated, then we might have had a chance. But right now, I’m just not ready for another relationship.”

As he ran through all the possible things he could say to make her stay, his heart sank. The determination in her expression made him realize just how unreachable she was right now. He hated the thought of letting her go, but he wasn’t going to force her to stay.

She pulled her hands away from his. “We should get going.”

He reluctantly pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. He grabbed her bags and followed her toward the front of the house. With each step, his bear struggled to be unleashed. This time, his need to escape wasn’t predicated on rage.
This time, his bear was struggling to keep his mate.

As they reached the door, she started to pull it open. He reached passed her and pushed it closed. “I can’t let you leave.”

Her nostrils flared. “Don’t do this. Don’t make my memories of you into something terrible.”

“Can you honestly say you don’t feel what I’m feeling? Don’t you get that there’s a connection between us that can’t be denied?” He didn’t intend to raise his voice, but the passion behind his words seeped into them.