Bearliest Catch (7 page)

Not that she really wanted to be some
plastic, picture perfect version of herself. She was who she was,
and she had begun to really like herself over these past years
spent in self-discovery, in the ocean. Things were a lot simpler
there.

They were just about finished with lunch,
when the little bell over the door to the bakery tinkled,
indicating a new arrival. The men greeted the newcomer—a powerfully
built man with an extremely commanding presence. Introductions were
made, and before she realized it, Jetty had met the Alpha bear.

John, as the Alpha insisted she call him,
joined them at the table, and more coffee was poured and snacks
refreshed. It looked like she was about to have her meeting with
the Alpha bear right then and there, which was just as well.
Everything Jetty had seen of Grizzly Cove had impressed the hell
out of her.

Just this one final thing to tick off her
list and she’d have made her decision—in favor of accepting the
bears’ offer of safe harbor. All she had to do was go back and tell
her hunting party, who would then send messengers to the pod. But
first, she had to lay out a few things for the bears, so they’d
understand the full meaning of their offer.

Drew was listening intently as Jetty got down
to business with John. Everything that had happened so far felt
really positive. He thought the town had done its best to impress
Jetty. And he knew Grace was thrilled to have her friend here.
Grace’s enthusiasm was obvious and would go a long way toward
convincing Jetty that the offer of asylum was real and honest.

Talking with John was the logical next step.
He was glad when the Alpha showed up. With any luck, they could get
this all wrapped up before dinner, and Jetty would be convinced to
come back and stay here while the danger lasted out in the
ocean.

If Drew had anything to say about it, he
would do his best to convince her to stay much longer than that.
Maybe forever. And that wasn’t such a scary thought, the longer he
was in her presence.

He almost suspected… No. It couldn’t be that
simple. Nobody found their mate so easily.

Did they?

“So you see, John,” Jetty was saying as the
conversation turned serious, “my hunting party is just a small part
of the larger group.” Drew noticed Grace nodding at Jetty’s side,
and he tuned into the conversation once more. “The hunting party is
one of several that guard and provide for the pod. Our pod consists
of a few dozen families. The singles of suitable age and ability
form the hunting parties. So the terms need to be made clear. Are
you offerings safe harbor to just my hunting party, or will you
extend it to the pod?”

“When you say families, you mean children?
Mothers. Fathers. Aunts. Uncles. Right?” John seemed to be thinking
hard, a frown marring his brow.

“Grandfathers and grandmothers, too, though
the mer population has always skewed more toward the female. Males
of any age are few and far between,” Jetty told them.

John grunted, his bear showing through in the
sound. The idea of more females in the area would appeal to all the
single men, so that was a plus as far as Drew could see.

“We can’t leave them out there to fend for
themselves against the leviathan,” Jack said, holding hands with
Grace. “Not when concentrating our people here is what lured it.
We’re responsible.”

John looked at Drew, seeking his opinion
without words. Drew nodded. They’d always been about protecting the
innocent. That was their mission. Always had been. Drew knew the
rest of the unit would feel the same.

“It’s what we do, John,” Drew said. “Our
mission has never changed. We protect. It makes our bears
happy.”

“Yeah,” John allowed, sitting back in his
chair. “I think we won’t get any argument in extending the
invitation to the entire pod.”

Relief flooded Grace’s expression as she put
her free hand over Jetty’s and squeezed. Jetty smiled, but still
looked cautious.

“Thank you, Alpha. It means a lot that you
and your people would be willing to do that for us. There are just
a few details we need to work out before I can go back and give
them this great news.”

“Details?” John asked.

“Yeah, like what are they going to wear on
land?” Drew thought, starting to warm to the logistical problems.
“And where do they come ashore? We have a pretty steady flow of
tourists nowadays. We can’t have mermaid sightings drawing
crackpots up here. It’ll have to be discreet.”

Jetty laughed at his crackpot joke, but
nodded. “If there could be some sort of structure…like a boathouse
or something, where we could surface indoors and clothes could be
stored.”

“That’s perfect,” Drew replied, already
thinking of possible locations for such a building.

“And we need at least one of the shops to
begin stocking more women’s clothing. And a bank branch would be
awesome too. Our people have ties in the banking industry since we
tend to pop out of the water all over the place and need funds in
the local currencies. We could probably arrange for a satellite
branch to open up here, if you all agree,” Grace put in, surprising
the heck out of Drew. She was being a lot more forthcoming with
information about her people now that Jetty was here.

The women went on planning, and John made a
few phone calls to get more of the unit to join them. It looked
like this was going to be an all-out effort, and it was important
to have all the guys on board from the beginning. One by one, the
key individuals arrived at the bakery for an impromptu meeting.
Tables were pushed together and coffee served as the planning began
in earnest.

As Jetty was introduced and the situation
explained, every single guy agreed with the plan. Drew was proud of
his buddies. Not one of them even entertained the idea of leaving
those mer out there, in danger. Before long, a plan was devised,
and work would begin at sunset. The basic structure of the
boathouse would go up overnight, with all the guys pitching in.
Some of the other things would take a bit more time, but the
important point was that things were being set in motion.

Through it all, Drew watched Jetty interact
with his friends. The single men mostly found her attractive. Some
flirted. Some even issued invitations, which made him want to
growl, but she just smiled and remained noncommittal with them all,
which made him feel a little better. If she was going to accept an
invitation, he preferred it was one of his.

He was planning to throw his hat in the
ring—for better or worse—before he’d let her swim away. His bear
was having a hard time with the idea that they had to let her go,
though he knew she had to communicate what she’d learned to her
people. The furry side of him growled at the knowledge that she
would have to leave. It wanted to stop her. It wanted to keep her.
All to himself.

It was way too early in their relationship—if
they even had a relationship—to be thinking things like that. Drew
knew his thoughts were a little too possessive. A little too
emphatic. A little too primitive. But there it was. Caveman Drew,
at your service.

It didn’t make a whole lot of sense. He was
fighting instincts he didn’t fully understand. Animal instincts.
The bear was clawing at his insides, trying to get at her, but not
to hurt her. No, the bear just wanted to be near her. To rub up
against her and stand between her any possible danger.

When the meeting finally broke up, it was
nearly dinnertime. They’d spent all afternoon in the bakery, having
a marathon planning session. A lot of good points had been raised,
and a lot of really solid plans had been set into motion. All in
all, Drew was really pleased with the outcome of the day.

The only thing that would make him happier
was if he could convince Jetty to stay with him just a little
longer. It was selfish, he knew. Every minute she delayed her
departure was a minute her people were still in danger. The sooner
she spread the news of Grizzly Cove and the welcome that waited
here for the mer, the better.

But he’d only just found her. The more he was
around her, the more he wanted to be in her presence. He would
follow her into the depths of the ocean, if he could. Barring that
extreme, he’d try to enjoy the few moments they had left to their
fullest.

He couldn’t really do that in a crowd. Rather
than stick around after the meeting, sharing small talk with his
buddies, Drew ushered Jetty out the door, right along with Grace
and Jack. Drew stood impatiently as the two mer women said their
goodbyes, hoping to avoid any more delay in returning to his home.
He had plans, and they were running out of time. She had to leave,
but before she did, he wanted to make it clear to her that he was
interested. More than interested, actually.

The kiss they’d shared had awakened his
primitive side, and the bear wanted her. The human side of him
wanted her in his bed, in his life, but the bear wanted to protect
her. Always.

But he also didn’t want to scare her off. It
was going to be a delicate conversation. One he’d never had with
any other female. Jetty was special. More special than she
knew.

Jetty was glad when the meeting broke up. She
had been very impressed by the bears’ willingness to help her
people. Their planning and logistics expertise was very apparent,
and she felt content to leave preparations in their hands. Grace
would oversee things and guide them in the right direction, if
necessary, but Jetty had great confidence, after talking with them
all at length, that they would create something very special here.
As they had, in fact, with their entire town.

Grizzly Cove was pretty amazing. She’d really
enjoyed herself today, which was something she hadn’t anticipated.
She’d figured one town was very much like another, and after LA, a
small artists’ colony on the rugged part of the Washington coast
wouldn’t be all that interesting. Boy, had she been wrong.

The place was idyllic. A peaceful slice of
Americana dressed up in shifter style. Oh, it wasn’t obvious that
the town was full of shifters. They still had to keep a low
profile. Humans could wander through at anytime, after all. But the
pervasive feeling of the place was one of acceptance and peace. It
was like nothing she had ever experienced outside the ocean
before.

Certain parts of the Pacific had that same
feeling, but they weren’t as plentiful as they once had been. The
oceans were being damaged in places by pollution and human traffic
on the surface, in their giant container vessels, crisscrossing the
earth’s oceans at will. Humans were everywhere nowadays—even in the
deeps.

They weren’t that bad, usually, but the idea
that Grizzly Cove was populated by a large majority of magical
beings made it very attractive. Jetty thought most of her mer
friends would fit right in. And a lot of the single women would
find dates readily enough with all those hunky single men.

Grizzly Cove was about to be invaded, and
they really didn’t understand the full power of the tsunami that
was going to hit them. Jetty almost laughed, thinking about it as
she sat next to Andrew, in the passenger seat of his car. They were
heading back to his place. She had an hour or two before her
planned departure, and she wanted to spend the time with him.

She’d been happy when he ushered her out of
the bakery and suggested going back to his place. She’d liked the
people she’d met today, but it was Andrew who really captured her
attention. He was so very handsome. And sometimes, he looked so
lost. So sad.

That’s what had drawn her to his boat, day
after day. She’d spied on him, watching him from the water.
Wondering what drove him out there, rain or shine. She sensed
something in him that called to her to help. To observe and devise
a way to heal.

She knew it sounded ridiculous. Even she had
a hard time believing the silly thoughts that dashed through her
mind at times. Still, the idea refused to let her go. And the more
she was around him, the more she talked to him, the more she
wanted—no, needed—to find a way to help him. He was in need. She
just didn’t fully understand what it was he needed.

She’d vowed to figure it out. Maybe not
today, but at least she’d made a start. She’d befriended him,
deepening their connection today, laying the groundwork. She would
work on him until he let her in and allowed her to learn how to
soothe him.

Ridiculous, maybe, but it was her goal.

Andrew was too special to leave in pain. Too
handsome to ignore. Too honorable to deny.

He pulled the car up in front of his house.
From every angle, the structure was absolutely gorgeous. She loved
his house, outside and in.

“Do you have to go back right away?” he asked
as he opened the door for her.

“It would be best to leave after dark,” she
replied. “I want to hug the shore as long as possible to stay
within the wards, but parts of that path are shallow, and there’s a
possibility, however slim, that someone could spot me from the air
during daylight hours.”

“After dark it is, then,” he agreed with a
merry tone in his voice as they went into his house. “Does that
mean I can interest you in some dinner?”

She put one hand over her stomach, thinking
about all the delicious pastries she’d eaten at the bakery.
Luckily, she had a mer metabolism, which meant she was pretty much
always hungry because she burned so many calories swimming all the
time. Things were a little different on land, though.

“Maybe in an hour?” she suggested. “I ate a
lot at the bakery.”

“That works,” Drew told her. “I’ve got some
steaks marinating in the fridge. I can fire up the grill, and we
can eat out on the deck. That’ll help us pass the time. I’ve also
got a nice bottle of wine, if you’re interested.”