A Bear's Baby (9 page)

“I
thought she might be scared of it, but she loves it,” said Chloe.

“That
should keep her entertained when you look after her,” said Hannah.

Brady
hadn’t realized she was talking to him.

“Look
after her?” he asked.

“Sure,
we’re all taking turns to babysit while Ash and Chloe go on their honeymoon,”
said Bear. “You are on the list for Tuesday, Tuesday evening and Wednesday
until noon.”

Panic
suddenly washed over him. He didn’t know the first thing about babies, apart
from dancing bears in front of them. Feeding and changing diapers wasn’t his
thing.
“I haven’t got a crib for her,” he said, sensing that might get him out of duty.
Not that he didn’t love his Spirit Child. She was welcome at his home whenever
she wanted, provided she had an
I know
how to look after babies
adult with her.

“We’ll
bring one from the hospital for you,” said Bear.

“Did
you hear that Sophie? Your Spirit Guardian’s going to be taking care of you. Oh,
what fun the two of you will have,” said Ash, tickling her toes until she
giggled.

Brady
looked at his watch. He hadn’t realized the time, and he was supposed to be at
Jenna’s place in fifteen minutes. Bear haters central.

“I
should get going, but thanks for the meal and company,” he said standing.

Ash
stood too.

“Thank
you for the bear, the doll, and the very generous check,” said Chloe.

“Make
sure you invest it in a good savings plan for her,” said Brady. “If you need
help with it, my financial advisor is one of the best.”

Chloe
stood and kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll see you at the wedding.”

Brady
nodded and said his goodbyes, and then Ash walked him out to his car.

“Don’t
worry about Jenna. She only hates bears because of what happened, which is
understandable. That doesn’t mean she hates you. You didn’t attack her father
and brother, a shifter didn’t do that to them.”

“I
know but…”

Ash
slapped him on the back. “Do not overthink this Brady Walsh.”

Chapter Eleven

Brady
had called about five minutes ago. He was just leaving Ash and Chloe’s place
and was on his way.

“The
man who I told you about will be here very soon,” Jenna told her brother as he
sat, putting together one of the puzzles she bought for him.

“Okay.”

“We’ll
have dessert once he arrives.”

David
did his blinking rapidly thing. Jenna turned on the coffee machine while she
waited. She’d never been so nervous in all her life. Other than the time when
she’d gotten the call about her father, and David being air lifted to the
hospital.

She
heard the doorbell ring and rushed into the living room to see David looking at
her.

“Him,”
he said.

“Yeah,
it’s Brady.”

She
fluffed up her hair and headed to the door. She opened it to see him standing
with two carrier bags with red and green tissue paper sticking out from both of
them.

“Hi,
Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Merry
Christmas to you, too. Come in.”

“Sorry
I’m late, but I got sidetracked at Ash’s place.”

“No
problem.”

She
led him through to the living room where David was about to put another piece
of the puzzle down on the table.

“David,
can you say hello to Brady Walsh? Brady, this is my brother David.”

“I’m
pleased to meet you,” said Brady, walking over to him. He offered David his
hand. David looked at Jenna and then at Brady, finally slipping his hand into
his.

“It’s
Christmas all day,” said David.

“It
sure is and I have a gift for you.”

“For
me?” asked David, pointing to himself.

“Yes,
here you go. Jenna gave me some clues about what to buy you.”

David
took one of the bags from Brady and placed it on the table. He threw off the
paper, letting it glide to the carpet, and then dug inside to pull out another
puzzle and a book.

“What
do you say, David?” asked Jenna.

“They’re
nice.”

“Glad
you like them. And this one’s for you,” he said. He handed Jenna the other bag.

“Thank
you. We have yours under the tree here.”

Jenna
pulled out the box and handed it to him. She hoped he found it as amusing as
she had when she’d stumbled upon it on the Internet.

Brady
took it as she lifted off the tissue from the bag and saw two of the most
beautiful floral scarves she’d ever seen. Pure silk, if she wasn’t mistaken.
And at the bottom of the bag was a book, Emma by Jane Austen, first edition.

“They’re
so pretty. Thank you. And the book. It’s also beautiful.”

“Thought
I’d get you started on first edition collections.”

She
didn’t think she’d be able to afford any more, but this would always be
treasured.

Brady
ripped off the paper on the box, lifted the lid and burst out laughing.

David
looked over at him.

“Star
of the tango,” said Brady.

She’d
found a site that put someone’s image on the front of a magazine with any headline
you wanted. She’d downloaded a photo of Brady from his company Web site, and
thought he’d appreciate his dancing talent being rewarded. She also decided to
frame it for him.

“I
love it,” he said. “I’ll put this on my desk.

“So
I’m still the only one who knows about you being lord of the dance?”

He
laughed again. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be that quick on my feet.”

“Will
you be dancing the tango at the wedding?”

“I
did at Liam and Lucy’s wedding. I took along my dance instructor.”

Jenna
suddenly felt jealous. She’d seen the daggers the woman had thrown her way when
she’d taken Brady away from his lesson.

“And
you’re not inviting her this time around?”

“No,
thought I’d go with you instead.”

 
“I’m being a terrible host. What can I get you
to drink? And we have some pie with whipped cream if you want any.” asked
Jenna.

“I’ve
always got room for that. And a coffee would be fine. That’s what I smell brewing,
right?”

Jenna
nodded. “Sit down and make yourself at home. Visit with David while I get the
coffee and pie.”

Jenna
went into the kitchen and reached up on the shelf for the plates. As she poured
the coffee she heard David shouting.

“Get
away from me.”

She
rushed in to see him biting Brady’s hand.

“David,
what are you doing?”

Brady
quickly moved away. Blood was streaming from the back of his hand.

“He’s
a bear,” shouted David.

Jenna
was partly embarrassed, partly felt bad that her brother had bitten Brady, so
she lost her cool and grabbed David’s shoulders.

“Stop
it, stop it this minute.”

“He
smells like a stinking bear,” David cried out. He worked his way free of
Jenna’s grip and rushed out of the room sending all the pieces of the puzzle
spilling onto the floor.

“I’m
so sorry. Let’s get your hand washed and checked out,” said Jenna.

“It’s
nothing, really.”

“Let
me decide that.”

She
made Brady follow her into the kitchen where she ran the tap. He finally gave
in and let her wash away all the blood from the bite.

“Just
a flesh wound and we… I mean I heal super-fast.”

It
wasn’t as bad as she’d thought. Clearly Brady had managed to get his hand away
before David could chump down on it.

“I
was helping him with the puzzle and he got upset,” said Brady.

Jenna
tore off some paper toweling and wrapped it around Brady’s hand.

“He’s
been a little tense lately. Maybe something set him off with the stupid idea
that you were a bear. I know he got upset last month when a nature show
featured bears. He smashed the TV at care center. I’m still paying for the cost
of that. Maybe I should think about getting him different sort of help.”

She
swallowed the lump forming in her throat. What if he needed to be placed in a
mental facility? She couldn’t do that to him. Maybe medication would help
before she had to take that drastic of a measure.

“I’ll
see if the doctor can prescribe something for him. He’s obviously becoming
delusional,” she said.

“Might
just be a phrase he’s going through,” said Brady.

“Fingers
crossed that’s it. I’ll just go get you a bandage for your hand.”

Jenna
walked down the hall to the bathroom. She saw the door to the guest room where
David was staying, was ajar.

“I
can smell him,” shouted David. “He smells like the bear that attacked me. Get
him out of here.” He slammed the door shut.

Jenna
turned around to see Brady standing there.

“I
think I should be going. We can do this some other time.”

“Let
me get that bandage.”

Jenna
pulled out the box, sorted through it until she found one the right size and
then placed it on the cut.

“Good
as new,” said Brady.

She
knew he was just being nice about the whole thing.

He
slipped on his coat and wedged his gift under his arm.

“I’m
so sorry,” said Jenna.

“Don’t
keep apologizing. These things happen.”

Yeah, but not to
normal people they don’t.

“Thanks
for the cute gift, and I’ll pick you up about four on New Year’s Eve for the
wedding.”

“Merry
Christmas.”

“Merry
Christmas to you, too.”

He
leaned over and simply pecked her on the cheek. Most informal thing they’d done,
apart from shake hands during their first meeting.

She
opened the door. He stepped outside. She waved, but he didn’t turn back. Jenna
closed the door and rested her back on it, hoping it would hold her up because she
felt like collapsing. Her world was falling apart.

Even
if there was a chance that Brady might want a true relationship with her,
tonight’s fiasco had probably brought it to a roaring halt.

****

Brady
watched as the skin from the injury joined together. He threw away the bandage.
 
He felt somewhat guilty. Poor David
wasn’t lying about him being a bear. Bear shifter if he wanted to be picky. The
closeness of the smell of the bear during the attack had probably left the
scent etched in his brain forever. He could only imagine what the poor guy must
have gone through. He knew the fierceness that resided in a bear. Even some
shifters got into scraps with one another, and if someone didn’t stop them they
could rip each other to bits. A rift over mates or some other argument that
escalated and caused them both to shift into bear or wolf, or cougar form at
the same time and there was trouble.

But
bear versus human? A human was always going to come off worse. Poor Jenna had seemed
mortified by what had happened. Her brother was telling the truth, but he
couldn’t put her mind at ease by telling her that. What if she thought the poor
guy was going crazy and had him locked up? How could he explain to her what he
was, what they all were, without giving away their secret?

The
anti-human shifters were right. Being around humans was foolish and dangerous.
But he was somewhat addicted now. He’d had a taste of Jenna and he liked it.
Every time he looked at her, something strange happened in his body. And no, it
was no longer only in his cock.

There
was no future for them. She hated bears. Her brother would go crazy every time
Brady was around. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, make her choose. That would be wrong.
Therefore, their relationship would never work. He sat and pulled the gift
she’d given him onto his lap. He smiled. He liked her sense of humor. Liked it
a lot. He put the frame on the table in his bedroom and walked to the window
where he’d placed the telescope. A Christmas gift he’d brought for himself.

Brady
looked through it. One of the other reasons he loved this house. There was an
opening in the fir trees where he could see the night sky. Being this far out
of town and away from any lights, the stars twinkled and put on a wonderful
show. He didn’t have to wait for their star gazing get-togethers. He could glance
up there and figure out where his home once was.

He
was sure his home was straight ahead. Maybe to the left just a tad. The gap in
a host of stars where their planet had been.

He
bit his lip. He hadn’t cried for years. Not since he was a young boy. A sudden
orphan on planet Earth. None of the surviving adult shifters had taken him in.
Some of the orphans had been lucky to find new families. Maybe they’d seen his
independence even before they arrived here. They had realized this bear could
make it on his own. It was that attitude that had driven him to be Mr. Perfect.
The guy who was going to take the human business world by storm.

A
loner, he’d moved to Vancouver, and then Vancouver Island. He’d met only a
handful of shifters there, and in his heart he’d always wanted to return to the
place where they’d landed. Kalispell. Most of them thought of it as a second home,
a temporary home should they ever find a way to go back to their planet. He
really did like it here. He’d made up his mind to stay.

He
looked into the sky again. Nope, no chance of them ever going back to their
true home. It was gone and gone for good.

Maybe
it was the time of the year. Maybe that’s why bears on earth hibernated. They
were introspective creatures, and the holidays made them sad. Humans thought of
bears as loners but that was all a show, a front. They loved company.

He’d
never felt so all alone in all his life. Perhaps he should find his mate,
settle down and make some babies.

****

Jenna
made an appointment for her and David to meet with a therapist. She’d filled
him in on her brother’s crazy notion that Brady was a bear, and told him about
the biting incident. There wasn’t an opening until after the New Year and she
hoped David would get back to his normal self. Well, normal for David at least,
and maybe the incident would be forgotten.

Brady
would be arriving shortly. She’d purchased a new dress and shoes for the
wedding. It had begun snowing a few hours ago and she’d thought about carrying
them and wearing her snow boots until she got inside The Lodge.

The
doorbell rang. If it was Brady, he was early.

Jenna
quickly zipped up her dress, grabbed her shoes and headed to the front door.
When she opened it, wow, she fell for him big time. Black coat, open with a
neat business suit, white shirt, and blue tie with a pin in it. She almost
wanted to lick him.

“I
know I’m early but I figure the roads are going to be pretty bad and we’ll have
to drive slowly.”

“No
problem, come in. I’ll just get my coat and I’m all set.”

Brady
held her coat for her while she put her arms into the sleeves. “I’m going to
take my dress shoes in this bag and put them on once we get there.”

“Smart
idea, but I could always carry you.”

“You’d
probably break your back.”

“A
big tough guy like me?” He flexed his arm and even through his coat and suit
jacket, his bicep was unmistakable.

Yes,
she definitely wanted to lick him.

“Okay,
let’s hit the road. I hope you’ve been practicing your dance steps.”

They
stepped outside and
 
she looked at him.
Was he joking?

“Don’t
worry, I’ll show you and you can just take my lead.”

They
hurried to his car. Brady opened the door for her. She entered while he put the
bag containing her shoes and the wedding gift, into the trunk. He slipped into
the driver’s seat and shook the flecks of snow from his hair.

“That’s
going to be deep by the New Year. I hope we can make it home.”

He
set off down the road, the windshield wipers working extra hard to clear the
snow.

“Warm
enough?” he asked.

“I
am cozy warm and I might not want to get out. How’s your hand?”

“All
healed up and forgotten, so let’s not ruin the evening by talking about the
incident, okay?”

Jenna
nodded. “I have booked an appointment with a therapist for David.”

“That
sounds good, but like I said, let’s not talk about what happened or about your
brother.”

She
settled back in the seat. He’d turned its heater on and she suddenly felt warm
and safe. She could feltthe heat coming from his body too. She became
starry-eyed and dreamy at the thought of sitting close to him and dancing with
him all night.

****

Jenna
was the most beautiful female there. Her shapely calves were pronounced in the
shoes she’d changed into, and the red and black dress with the flared lower
half, suited her body.

He’d
vowed this would be the last time they’d socialize, other than business. He had
a shifter mate to find, but when he was with Jenna, he couldn’t bring himself to
do it. He ran his finger down her back, right along her spine as they headed to
the ballroom where the ceremony was to be held.

They
were shown to two seats in the middle of the row. Jenna sat and crossed her
legs. He placed his hand on her knee. She hadn’t worn the fishnets, but who
could blame her on a night like this? Instead she’d opted for sheer black
pantyhose. He squeezed her knee while he grew hard. She put her hand on top of
his and gripped it.
 
Nick and Ava sat
beside them and broke the spell.

“Geez,
what a night?” said Nick. “We’re going to be digging our cars out for hours to
get home.”

Ava
pulled her wrap over her growing belly and Nick put a protective hand on it.

“Doesn’t
everything look so beautiful? We should have gotten married here instead of
Vegas,” she said.

Brady
had to admit it was like a fairy tale wedding with the canopy at the front.
Lights twinkled. Maisey King’s parents playing cello and violin, while Dane
serenaded them as more guests arrived.

Brady
waved to Aiden and Charlotte who was carrying their baby girl who wasn’t such a
baby any more. They sat two rows away, and Aiden took the baby onto his lap.

Next,
Trent and Emily arrived by themselves and he guessed the triplets weren’t quite
ready for partying.

Christopher
waved to him as Lilly and her daughter Kaitlin walked behind. Lilly’s belly,
just like Ava’s, was growing big and round.

He
wondered what it would be like to mate with a human. What sort of baby he and
Jenna would produce.

Ash
and Bear arrived at the front of the room and Masiey’s parents began to play
the Wedding March.

Brady
turned to see Hannah entering, carrying Sophie who wore her pink bridesmaid
dress.

She
looked adorable and he’d have to remember to get a photo of her for his desk.
Maybe one day he’d have a photo of his own child to put next to it.

Shortly
after, Chloe’s father led her down the aisle.

Brady
wasn’t going to cry because that was for the female shifters to do. He bit his
lip and tried to think of anything but of how alone he’d felt the other night.

Shit,
a tear slipped down his face as Ash began to say the vows he’d written for
Chloe.

Maybe
Jenna had seen it. He glanced at her and she was crying, too.

****

It
was the most beautiful ceremony she’d ever witnessed. She was glad she’d been
able to help them out so they could adopt Sophie. She knew they were going to
have a long and happy life together.

“You
ready to do some dancing?” Brady stood and held out his hand to her.

She
was going to look an idiot, but the thought of being close to his body excited
her.

Her
period was due in three days. She’d been moody and craving chocolate, and she
guessed it was going to happen. She’d had a long hard think about the whole
Brady fathering her child thing, and she knew it wasn’t fair to do it the way
she had.
 
Before she tried again, she’d
ask his permission.

He moved his hands down on her butt. Maybe
she wouldn’t need to ask him about the donor thing. Perhaps in the New Year
they’d get into a relationship.

They
moved cheek to cheek. He was a great partner, leading her around like it was
the easiest thing in the world. His erection stabbed at her belly.

“Okay,
we’ll stop the music for just a second to count down to the New Year. Get ready
to kiss your partner,” shouted Bear, who stood on the stage. She could tell
he’d had a little too much to drink but hey, it was New Year’s Eve, and he was
best man at his cousin’s wedding.

“Five,
four, three, two, one…Happy New Year.”

Before
Jenna realized it, Brady’s lips were on hers. She wrapped her arms around him,
quickly realizing this wasn’t the usual New Year’s Eve kiss. This was a tongue
sliding over lips into mouth sort of smooch.

“Attention
everyone,” shouted Bear once again. “Our bride and groom are about to leave by
sleigh to travel over to the honeymoon suite in the annex down the road, so I
think it would be great if we all gathered outside and waved them on their
way.”

Brady
grabbed her hand and led her to the entrance where everyone was putting on
their coats and gloves and heading outside.

The
snow was about a foot deep and still falling.

“I
think we need to start heading home soon,” said Trent.

“I
don’t think everyone’s going to get home,” said Christopher. “In fact, we
should see if they have rooms some of us can use for the night.”

“That
sounds like a great idea,” Brady whispered in her ear.

Hannah
stood with Bear and Sam held Sophie in his arms as bells sounded and a sleigh
covered in ribbons and satin pulled up outside.

“Make
way for the bride and groom,” shouted Dane.

Everyone
stepped aside as Ash and Chloe, walked through the crowd, stopping to kiss
everyone and shake their hands.

“It
was a beautiful wedding. All the best for the future,” said Nick.

“All
the very best,” said Liam, slapping Ash on the back.

“Have
a happy life,” said Brady, hugging Ash, and then kissing Chloe on the cheek.

“Sophie,
our little girl, you be good for Bear and Hannah,” said Chloe, kissing her on
the nose.

“And
me, too,” said Sam.

“And
you, too,” said Ash, ruffling up his hair.

As
they got into the sleigh and the driver placed a blanket over their laps, Jenna
thought it was like something from a fairy tale. When she got married
—if
she got married—she wanted the very
same thing.

Brady
wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her before they waved as the sleigh
headed off down the driveway.

“Okay,
let’s see how many rooms they have for us,” said Aiden.

****

Brady
wasn’t usually selfish, but when the group suggested doubling up so everyone
who didn’t want to risk the drive home would have somewhere to sleep for the
night, he’d opted out.