A Bear's Baby
Authors: Vanessa Devereaux
Evernight Publishing ®
Copyright©
2015 Vanessa Devereaux
ISBN: 978-1-77233-490-6
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry
Designs
Editor: Audrey Bobak
ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction.
All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
DEDICATION
For my godparents.
A BEAR’S BABY
Kalispell Shifters, 10
Vanessa Devereaux
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Jenna
glanced at her watch. She’d arranged to meet her new client, Brady Walsh, at 1:00
p.m., but her previous appointment had run longer than she’d planned.
Her
father had always instilled upon her and her brother that it was better to be
early than late when meeting a client, especially on a first appointment. It
was a rule she still tried to follow. She pressed the accelerator just a little
harder while hoping there weren’t any cops around. Starlight Café wasn’t far
away, so she’d only be ten minutes late at the most. Surely her father wouldn’t
have found fault with ten minutes.
She’d
never met Brady in person before, although he had hired her for another case
last month. In their previous telephone conversations his voice always sounded
so deep and sexy. Self-assured, too. She was sure he was a man who knew what he
wanted, and somehow always seemed to get it.
The
sign for the café was up ahead. Jenna indicted right and turned into the
parking lot that it shared with both a book and craft store. Ever since a woman
named Hannah had purchased it and revamped the menu, Jenna had heard good
things about Starlight. She found a space at the side of the café, parked, and shut
off the ignition.
She
glanced in the rearview mirror. Her father had also taught her appearance and
first impressions were essential in law.
She fluffed her hair and smacked her lips
together to make sure the lipstick she’d quickly applied before leaving the
office still looked presentable. She grabbed her bag and exited the car. Snowflakes
circled in the air. They’d had a warmer than normal fall, but she knew winter
was around the corner.
As
she opened the café’s door, the bell tinged. Jenna stepped inside and smelled
odors that reminded her just how hungry she was.
“Hi.
Table for one?” asked a woman in her early thirties.
“No,
actually I’m here to meet with Brady Walsh.”
“You
must be Jenna,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Hannah McWilliams. Brady’s
waiting for you.”
Jenna
took off her gloves and followed Hannah to the table.
Five
men dined in the café, but Jenna guessed which one was Brady. She hazarded a
guess he had dark wavy hair and broad shoulders. Only a man with those
qualities would own the deep voice she’d heard on the phone. He tackled a Sudoku
puzzle. The speed at which he filled in the numbers amazed her. His hand moved
across the book like it was on fire.
“Brady,”
said Hannah.
He
looked up. Behind glasses, he had the deepest blue eyes she’d ever seen. Strong
features, high cheekbones, and a cleft chin. Her knees went weak, her heart
beat picked up, and
her pussy did a
happy dance.
Her
father’s words rang in her head.
Always
keep it professional. Remember it’s business and your livelihood depends upon
it.
“Jenna’s
here,” said Hannah.
He
pushed his glasses up on his head and stood while extending his hand. “Ms.
Paxton, or is it okay for me to call you Jenna?”
She
slipped her hand into his. Wow, her hands weren’t small by any description, but
she felt lost in his palm.
What would his
hands feel like touching her body?
This is a client,
Jenna. There will be no patronizing with people you’re paid to work for.
For
some reason she couldn’t get her father’s words out of her mind today.
I can dream, can’t
I?
“What?”
asked Brady.
Holy
cow, she must have said that out loud.
“Yes,
please call me Jenna.”
She
still had hold of his hand or, did he have hold of hers? The latter was
probably true.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, pulling out a chair for her.
Jenna
sat and then took off her coat. Hannah placed a menu down in front of her.
“Can
I get you something to drink while you’re looking that over?” asked Hannah.
“Sure,
you have hot chocolate?”
“We
sure do. Would you like whipped cream on the top?”
Whipped
cream. Yeah, why not. She’d almost given up on her diet anyway. Ski season was
around the corner so she could burn off the calories then.
“Perfect,”
said Jenna.
Hannah
walked left and Brady was about to close his puzzle book.
“It
looks like you solve those easily,” said Jenna.
“I’ve
always liked a challenge with numbers, so these are perfect for me.”
Hannah
arrived with the mug of hot chocolate and placed it down in front of Jenna.
“I
haven’t even looked at what I’d like to eat,” said Jenna, opening the menu.
“That’s
fine, just take your time. However, I can recommend our special of the day,
which is chili with our new herbed cheese bread.”
“Sounds
tempting. Yes, sure, I’ll have that.”
“Make
that two,” said Brady.
“I’ll
put that order in straight away.”
Hannah
walked away.
“Have
you eaten in here before?” Brady asked her.
“Never.
I did see a great review for it in the
Kalispell
Herald.”
“I
haven’t eaten anything here that I didn’t love.”
Jenna
took a sip of her drink and put the mug back down. Brady smiled and touched his
nose.
“I
have whipped cream on my nose, right?” asked Jenna.
He
smiled again and nodded. Before she could open up her napkin and wipe it. He’d
taken care of it by leaning over the table and swiping his finger over her
nose. It tickled, causing her nose to twitch. They looked at one another,
neither one saying anything until finally Brady broke the uncomfortable
silence.
“While
we wait for our food why don’t we talk business?” He took out a letter from his
jacket pocket and slid it across the table to her.
“The City Council is insisting I stop work on
my townhouse project so they can take soil samples and have them tested.”
Jenna
took the letter and read through it. Basically it was ordering Brady’s company,
Walsh Enterprises LLC, to halt work while they ascertained if the soil was
contaminated. The letter stated that since work on the project had begun,
residents in the area had reported foul and dark smelling water. Ten people had
been treated with rashes and flu-like symptoms. She looked up at him. He had
the glasses on again.
She bet he was as
smart as he was
handsome.
“Can
they do that?” he asked.
“If
enough people have complained about the water and gotten sick, then yes, they
can. You probably know the state’s had some problems in places like Butte with
leftover contaminants from the copper mining days. This could be the same
problem happening in a different area.”
“So
there’s nothing you can do, no legal way around it?”
“I
can look into this for you. I’ll be your legal representative and make sure
they don’t procrastinate testing the soil and water. In fact, I think I’ll
draft a letter outlining that you will comply, but if no contamination is found
within a certain time frame, you’ll have the right to resume your
construction.”
Brady
nodded. “You have any idea how long these things take? I know red tape and
councils often drag their feet when it’s not their money on the line.”
“We’ll
make it clear. I’ll outline parameters of what we will consider reasonable
disruption for your business.”
“I
like the sound of this already. I can tell I’ve made a good choice in picking
you as my attorney for dealing with this matter.”
Hannah
arrived with the two bowls of chili. A waitress followed behind with a basket
of the herbed cheese bread. As she sat it down between them, Jenna’s mouth
watered. The bread was still warm and it made the smell of the herbs double
pungent. The chili looked divine, too.
“Enjoy
your meals,” said Hannah.
“You
mind if I keep this letter for my file?” asked Jenna before folding it up.
“Sure,
and if you need more information or anything else, here’s my business card.”
She
ran her finger around the cute bear logo by the words Walsh Enterprises LLC.
She wasn’t sure what the connection was between it and the bear, but the
illustration caught her eye.
“That’s
my direct line and the other number is for Maggie, my assistant. If I’m not
available she can usually help you out or get you any info you’ll need.”
Jenna
put both the letter and card into her bag. It was way past her usual lunchtime,
so she tucked into the chili.
Brady
broke off some of the bread.
“Wow,
this chili is the best I’ve ever tasted,” said Jenna. “My father used to make a
huge batch every winter using the meat from the bear he’d hunted that fall.”
Brady
stopped eating and looked across the table at her. He gave her the stink eye.
She’d said something wrong, but she wasn’t sure what. Maybe he was an animal
rights advocate. Maybe he’d belonged to PETA. Maybe he’d used a bear as his
business logo because he thought they were cute and cuddly.
Another
rule of her father’s was to get to know a client before meeting with him or her.
It was important not to offend him or say something controversial. Stay away
from anything connected to religion and politics. Never say anything of a
sexual nature.
“So
do you ski?” asked Jenna. Change the subject and maybe he’d forget all about
the comment about the chili made with bear meat.
“I
do when I have time.”
“Yeah,
sounds like me, too. I didn’t go at all last year, but I’m determined to this
year.”
“Finding
time for personal things is sometimes tough when you have a career or a
business that ties up most of you time,” said Brady.
And not to mention
dating.
She broke off a piece of the bread and popped it into her mouth. It, like the
chili, was heavenly.
Now that she’d
tried this café out for herself, she’d definitely be back for more food.
“So
how did you stumble upon my law practice? I mean for Ash and Chloe’s case?”
asked Jenna.
“I
knew Ash McWilliams was in a bind because his girlfriend was arrested and
hauled off to Texas. So I went online, saw your name, and that you had lots of
experience in family law.”
“I’m
just glad I could help Chloe out. The adoption’s being finalized in the next
few weeks.”
“I
have to thank you for traveling to Austin on a moment’s notice. You probably
had other clients to deal with so that was very nice of you.”
“It
was my pleasure. And you paid me double the going rate which was very nice of
you, too.”
He
smiled, showing off not only the cleft in the chin, but the dimples in his
cheeks. He had to be, hands down, the best looking client she’d ever had. She
wondered if he had a wife or girlfriend.
No patronizing
with the clients.
It
was almost as if her father was sitting on her shoulder knowing what she was
thinking about.
“I’ve
been invited to Ash and Chloe’s party to celebrate them becoming Sophie’s legal
parents,” said Jenna. Which reminded her she had to pick up a gift for the
baby.
“Did
they tell you that they’ve chosen me as Sophie’s Spirit Guardian?” asked Brady.
“No,
and what exactly is that?”
“Well,
Hannah and her husband, Bear, will be godparents, but the Spirit Guardian is
something that we shif … we…
It
was as if he was suddenly tongue tied and he seemed to have way too much
finesse for that.
“Well,
it’s sort of a thing some people like to have as an extra person to look after
the child’s interests.”
“Spirit
Guardian. I like the sound of that.”
“I’m
gifting her a trust fund so she’ll always be taken care of should anything
happen to Ash and Chloe. To prevent Hannah and Bear having any extra burden of
money to raise her.”
She
had done a little research on him when she’d taken the first case, and by the
sound of things, he was probably in the billionaire range. He could afford to
do it, but it was still a nice gesture seeing how Sophie would probably have
extra needs all her life because she’d been born with Down Syndrome.
“That’s
great, Brady.”
“I’m
just glad I can help them and Sophie.”