RANCHER BEAR’S BABY(19)

I’d tossed the plane ticket in the nearest dumpster and had gotten on a bus right away. The trip was longer and harder that way, but it wouldn’t leave a trace.

I turned away from my reflection and went back to my seat. There wasn’t time enough to spend in any bus bathroom that would make me look more like Maggie Stevens, excited bride to be. I hugged my knees to my chest and settled in. Maggie, or not, I was about to land in Matt Long’s lap.





CHAPTER 2: Leila




“Good luck out there.”

I nodded to the bus driver. “Thanks. Have a good one.”

He drove back the way we’d come and slowly disappeared from sight. I looked around at the town and took in a refreshing breath of crystal clean air. It was fresh, but ice cold and I immediately started shivering, but the air was cleaner than anything I’d smelled in the past two days. By far.

The bus stop was in the middle of a tiny town, surrounded on one side by mountains and the other by a rolling river. Tall pines grew up around the place like a comforting blanket. I instantly felt safer than I had in longer than I could remember.

A woman walking down the street cast me a strange sideways glance and hurried past. I shrugged and looked around a bit more, after remembering that I was supposed to be meeting my new fiancée.

I spent the next couple of hours walking up and down Landing, going into stores, and asking around. No one would tell me anything. In fact, the town was so secretive, you would think that it was running from a dangerous ex., instead of the other way around. I was about to give up and rent a motel room for the night when a woman drove by in a pickup truck and stopped for me.

“You lost?” She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and sent a sweet smile my way.

“Do you know who Matt Long is?”

Her eyes narrowed and she blew out a sigh. “Unfortunately. You looking for him?”

Worry edged its way into my stomach. “Yeah. Should I not be?”

She pushed open the passenger side door and motioned for me to get in. “I’ll take you to his cabin. There’s no reason for you to be standing out there in the cold.”

I climbed in and held out my hand to her. “Maggie. Thanks for the lift.”

“I’m Elizabeth. I saw you making your way around town. The townsfolk can be pretty closed off to newcomers.”

I stared out of the window as she drove towards the mountain. “Yeah, I noticed. It was nice to see your friendly face.”

“I was new here not too long ago. I definitely understand. So, why are you looking for Matt?”

I looked back over at her and tried not to feel threatened by the question. Living with my ex had taught me to be distrustful of even the simplest of questions. “We... have some business to take care of.”

She laughed. “You sound like you’ll fit right in here. Maybe you can get the giant stick out of Matt’s ass while you’re at it. He’s been a big bear lately.”

“Why?”

“Just natural for him, I guess. The family’s been going through some changes and he’s been locked away in his cabin for months. Probably up there ranting and raving.” She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, under all the broody bullshit, but I haven’t had the privilege of witnessing it yet.”

I sighed. As long as Matt wasn’t a hands on kind of guy, like my ex, we would be fine for as long as I needed to stay there. It did suck that he was apparently a cranky hermit. Maybe, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I’d hoped for a kind, generous, handsome guy to welcome me to my new home. Reality check.

I couldn’t make sense of why a cranky hermit would invite some strange woman into his home. It did explain why he hadn’t been there to pick me up, though.

Elizabeth dropped me off at the end of the driveway with a good luck and a promise to get together later if I was still in town. I waved her away and made my way to the front door.

“Here goes nothing.” I blew out a breath and knocked on the heavy wooden door.





CHAPTER 3: Leila




A loud roar sounded from inside the cabin before the door flew open to reveal a huge bear, easily the largest bear I’d ever seen, standing on its hind legs. It growled and stared down at me through two beautiful, glowing, golden eyes. Its dark brown fur was ruffled and messy, and it looked dirty and unkempt even for a wild animal. The creature might have been in worse shape than even me.

I took a deep breath in and then blew it out slowly while putting my hands on my hips. “You’re shitting me.”

The bear took a step closer and huffed, sending little tendrils of spit flying at me.

I reached up and swatted its nose before stepping around it and letting myself into the house. “I don’t appreciate being spit on, you big idiot. I should’ve known something was up when Elizabeth called you a bear. Just my luck. Just my freaking luck. Run from a gator and end up with a bear. What are the chances?”