RANCHER BEAR’S BABY(46)

“Get out of this room. I am not some poor man’s Mallory. Some sad, sorry, second choice. Thanks for the fuck. Thanks for taking my mind off of everything. Now, GET. OUT.”

He actually looked hurt and that made me feel terrible. Which pissed me off even more. He still wasn’t moving, so I opened the door and then pushed him out of the room using all of my strength. After he was out, I slammed the door shut and locked it.

In the quiet of the room, without Lucas standing there looking at me, I could finally think again. Unfortunately, my thoughts didn’t make me feel any better.



I got dressed and went downstairs to find Mason. I just wanted to hug him and forget about what I’d just done. I’d taken a few minutes in my room to try to make sense of what had happened, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t grasp onto any logic that made sense of any of it. It wasn’t like me to have sex with someone I just met. It definitely wasn’t like me to have sex with someone I just met minutes before sitting down to breakfast with his family.

I hadn’t even been upset when Lucas had started talking about soulmates. I got upset that he thought I was a good backup choice. My emotions were all over the place, and this wasn’t like me at all. I had always been cool, steady, and level-headed.

Loud voices echoed from the kitchen and I groaned when I thought of all the people that were in there. I just wanted to go back up and hide in my room with Mason.

“Come on in here, Sammie. We all heard that.” Alex called.

I looked up at the ceiling and shook my head. Life was just getting stranger and stranger.





CHAPTER 8: Lucas




Sammie walked into the kitchen and I snapped a chunk off of Mom’s wooden dining table. I’d been holding onto it out of frustration, but seeing her in the tiny dress and smelling my scent on her sent me overboard.

Mom spotted the chunk in my hand and shrieked. “Lucas! Not my table! Dammit! You boys. This is why I should’ve had more girls. Look what you did!”

I winced. “Sorry, Mom.”

Alex snorted. “And the plot thickens.”

Elizabeth giggled when she saw Sammie coming in. “Oh, Sammie. I accidentally gave you a mini-dress. I didn’t realize how much taller than me you are.”

Sammie shrugged. “It’s okay. Thank you for the dress. I’ll have to be careful when I sit or bend, but it’s still nice.”

Michael turned to look and I let out a vicious growl. “Keep your eyes to yourself, little brother.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “You’re serious?”

I glared at him. “Deadly.”

Sammie noticed the empty seat next to me and then went to stand in the kitchen with Mom. She wouldn’t even meet my eyes and it was driving me crazy. “Where’s Mason?”

Mom grinned. “He’s playing with Bailey. Come see.”

I gritted my teeth and made myself stay where I was. I wasn’t going to push her. I groaned. I’d fucked up. I hadn’t even realized what I’d said until I was out of her room. She had every right to be pissed at me, but I still didn’t like it.

“How did you fuck that one up so royally, brother?” Alex pulled Elizabeth into his lap and laughed at me.

I got up, forgetting about my decision to give Sammie space. “It wasn’t hard, believe it or not.”

I followed her scent into the small playroom behind the kitchen and found her sitting next to Mason on the floor. She was tickling him behind the ears and whispering to him that she was going to tickle him until he told her all of his secrets. My heart felt like it grew a couple of sizes in my chest. That could be my family. That would be my family. No way was I going to let her slip through my fingers.

I sat down next to them and focused on my son. I wanted to will him to change back to a little boy. I wanted to see the signs that he was comfortable enough here. He’d already made progress, just in letting Mom hold him, and my sister Bailey play with him. I wanted to be able to bond with him as a man, but if it took me being a bear, I’d do it.

I stripped out of my clothes and then shifted. My bear immediately moved closer to Sammie and nuzzled her hand, where it was resting on her lap. My nuzzling was a little rough and forceful and she tipped backwards, laughing.

“You silly bear. You’re a little bigger than me.” She sat back up and gently stroked my fur. “Don’t think this means that I’m not mad at you anymore. It just means that I’m a sucker for bears. You two are just really cute like this.”

I gently nipped at her fingers and she popped me right on the nose. Mason watched us and rolled over onto his back, making a laughing sound. Sammie caught on and waited until Mason was watching again to lightly swat me.