Brother Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Mountain Book 2) (5 page)

A few hours later, Darcy woke in the darkness.

They were still on the couch, but Seth had removed the back cushions, and they laid side by side. She was pushed up against the back of the couch, and the equivalent of a human blanket covered her. He lay on the outside, but caged her in with his body.

She should have felt threatened, smothered, or at least stiff because she literally couldn’t move, but she didn’t. Instead she felt warm, content and safe. The only other time she’d felt safe over the last few months had been the last time she’d slept in his arms. He didn’t look comfortable, though.

“Seth,” she whispered.

“Am I squishing you?” He opened his eyes and looked down at her.

“No, I love the feel of you beside me, but you don’t look comfortable. My bed is only a little bit bigger, but it might give you more room. Do you want to move to the bedroom?”

“No, I like it here. You have to stay plastered up against me and there’s no way for you to escape,” he smiled.

“Don’t worry. I like it here, too,” she kissed his chin. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter Five

Darcy smiled as she walked down the street toward the café. It was her day off, but after a busy morning, they decided to order take-out instead of cooking.

She and Seth had slept in, and after talking over coffee and a small breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and toast, they packed up her few possessions, and moved her into Seth’s apartment. She went with him to purchase the new door, and he went with her to notify the couple she’d rented from that she’d moved out. They had been extremely kind, and wished her and Seth a lifetime of happiness.

Their next stop had been the police station. There, she retold her story to the sheriff and his deputy, Dave. They asked her several questions, and took pages of notes. Seth was convinced his brother would be able to help, and she didn’t dispute him. It felt good to have people on her side.

Seth had wanted to talk to Gage alone, and she volunteered to pick up lunch for everyone. Seemingly overnight, she’d let her guard down and she felt something she hadn’t felt in months. She was happy.

When she reached for the door on the café, that’s when it hit her. A black sedan with tinted windows had driven past her twice during her short walk. The men who chased her always drove black cars with tinted windows, but it didn’t mean she’d been found. Their town welcomed many tourists, with all kinds of vehicles, every day. She looked up and down the street and shook her head. She was being paranoid, expecting something bad to happen and ruin her newfound happiness.

She went inside the café and sat on a stool at the counter. Kate came over and poured her a steaming cup of coffee.

“The sandwiches are almost ready. Lots of hikers today,” Kate said. “This is the first lull we’ve had all morning.”

“Do you need some help? I could come in after lunch.”

“No, we’re doing okay. Enjoy your day off,” she winked.

Darcy had a feeling the whole town already knew about her new living arrangements, but she couldn’t work up any real anger. She loved Bear Mountain and everyone in it. If they wanted to spread the word about her new relationship, she wouldn’t be offended. If anything, she felt like one of the locals, and their acceptance warmed her heart.

“Thank you for the coffee,” she said, and took a sip of the warm brew.

“You’re welcome, that wind looks like it’s picking up,” Kate observed.

“It is. I’m going to have to invest in a new coat soon.”

“You can borrow one of mine if you want. The best time to get a new coat is at the end of the season. You’ll get almost seventy five percent off if you wait a couple months.”

“Seventy five percent? Really?”

“Yeah. They need to make room for spring and summer styles, so they get rid of the bulky winter stuff as soon as possible. If you don’t mind stopping at every bathroom from here to town, we can plan a trip and make a day of it.”

“Every bathroom? That bad, huh?”

“Oh, it’s already bad and I’m only a couple months in. I can’t imagine what it will be like at the end of winter.”

They both laughed.

“Well, I don’t mind stopping, so it’s a plan. Thank you, Kate.”

“Sure thing. Have Seth bring you over tonight and we’ll go through my stuff.”

“That sounds good. I’ll check with him when I get back.”

“Oh, Ana,” Kate grabbed her hand. “I’m so happy we’re going to be sisters. That other woman Seth had planned to mate sounds like a horrible person. I’m so glad she rejected him.”

Kate was bouncing on the balls of her feet, still holding Darcy’s hand.

No, no, no. Please no.

Dread raced down her spine.

“What other woman?” she asked.

“Um…he didn’t tell you?” Kate stopped bouncing and studied her.

Oh God!

She started to panic, her breathing uneven, and she jumped off the barstool.

“I have to get out of here!” She turned and raced for the door with Kate on her heels.

“No, Ana. Don’t go! It’s not what you think!”

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“It doesn’t matter. I have to get out of here,” Darcy called over her shoulder.

“Ana, please! Don’t go! I shouldn’t have said anything, but let him explain,” she touched her arm, but Darcy refused to look back at her. “It was a mistake and it was a long time ago. Please don’t leave like this. Let me call him and you guys can talk.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Thank you for being a good friend to me. I needed it more than you’ll ever know.”

Darcy stepped out onto the street and ran up the mountain toward Gage and Kate’s house. Kate called after her a couple of times, but she either eventually stopped or her voice faded away. She knew that if she followed the road up to their home, it would eventually lead into the National Park.

The brisk air, combined with her lack of running skills, meant she only covered about a half-mile before she had to walk. It didn’t matter because she had put enough distance between herself and Seth.

She couldn’t believe that she’d been so stupid. She’d been ready to devote her entire self to a man she’d only known for a couple of weeks. Of course he’d lied. Men always lied, and she’d been vulnerable and easy to lie to. Unfortunately, she had no idea what to do next. She didn’t want to leave Bear Mountain, but she couldn’t stay with a man who had lied about her being the only one for him.

Eventually she would need to go back and get her stuff. Hopefully he wasn’t a thief, too, or she would be in worse shape. All of her money was stored in the lining of her backpack. Her heart would eventually heal, and so would her pride, but it took time to save money.

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the car coming up the road behind her until it was too late. The black sedan pulled up beside her with the driver’s side window rolled down. When she glanced over, she saw the two thugs who had been chasing her. The passenger held a gun aimed in her direction.

She dropped to her knees and rolled down the hill into the crop of trees a few feet from the road. A shot rang out, but she didn’t feel any pain and realized they’d missed. Car doors slammed, and she heard yelling, followed by a bear’s roar. The sound echoed around the trees and her ears ached from the anger and pain she’d heard in his release.

The hill had more of an incline than she’d suspected, and she flew down the steep, harsh embankment in a combination of slides and rolls. She grabbed onto twigs, rocks, grass, anything in her path, but she couldn’t stop her decent. Suddenly, she crashed face first into a tree. Her cheek hit the bark and her brain seemed to rattle in her skull before everything went black.

***

Darcy opened her eyes and glanced around the stark white room. The place looked familiar, but she couldn’t place her location or how she’d gotten there.

Am I dead?

Before she woke up, she heard several voices calling to her. Some were familiar and some not, but they all encouraged her to come back. In her dream, she searched but she couldn’t locate them and they eventually would fade away.

She tried to move her fingers, but couldn’t. She looked down and saw Seth.

He sat in a chair next to the bed and his head lay on the mattress near her hip. He held her hand in one of his and she realized his grip was the reason she hadn’t been able to move her digits.

She surveyed the room again and realized she was in the hospital. Suddenly, everything came back, including her discovery of another woman in Seth’s life. She pulled her hand from his grasp, taking care not to wake him.

“You’re awake,” he said.

Too late!

“Yeah. What happened?”

She remembered her conversation with Kate, running up the hill and dodging the bullet, but the rest was a mystery.

“You collided with a tree and gave yourself a concussion. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for five days.”

“Wow,” she whispered. She had no idea she’d been out that long.

“Wow is right. How do you feel?”

“Tired. Thirsty. But otherwise, I’m good. I thought I was dead at first.”

He poured her a cup of water and put it to her lips.

“Drink,” he ordered and she obeyed.

“You could have been killed. It was stupid to run off like that,” he scolded.

“Kate told me about your other mate,” she said.

“I’ve never had another mate, but a long time ago, there was another woman in my life. I’d planned to tell you about my past over dinner the night you ran off,” he said, and sat back down in the chair.

“The woman Kate referred to had been my girlfriend at the time, and Gage and I fought over her. Basically, I wanted her for a mate, and Gage strongly advised me against it. He knew that I’d been lonely, accredited my dating her to that fact, and reminded me of how mean and spiteful she was. He was honest with me, but I didn’t listen, and when I showed Elsa my bear, she ran as far away as she could get.”

“Gage had been right. I had been lonely, and I didn’t even like Elsa half the time. I knew I’d made a huge mistake, but I couldn’t admit my defeat. It’s why I stayed away nearly fifty years, even though I had wanted to come back after a couple of months. When Kate got pregnant, the energies of the cubs called to me and I decided it was time to suck it up and come home.”

“I didn’t lie to you, sweetheart. I probably should have told you about Elsa right away, but honestly, I didn’t think about it. She was never important to me, and the only time I ever think about her is when someone else brings it up. I did ask her to be mine, but I thank God every day that she ran like she did. What I feel for you is real. I love you, Darcy.”

In that moment, it was as if everything clicked into place. She knew she’d acted irrationally when she ran away from the café and her friend. She should have listened to Kate and talked to Seth. What did she care what he did with another woman nearly fifty years ago? That woman had said no. Her loss. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

“I love you, too, Seth. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll make it up to me later,” he said.

Yes, she would. She’d learned her lesson. She vowed to spend the rest of her life making it up to him.

“What happened to the men that were chasing me?”

“Unfortunately, they lost control of their car, hit a tree and burst into flames. When local police arrived on the scene, the only thing salvageable had been the license plate on the car,” he said as if he were quoting a newspaper headline.

“Oh, Seth. I’m sorry you had to do that for me,” she said and laced her fingers with his.

He placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

“Don’t be. You’re mine, Darcy. I told you before, I will do anything to protect you, and I meant it. By the way, when Gage ran the plates, we found out the car had been owned by one of the police officers in the downtown unit you visited. Apparently, several cops in the unit were involved in a huge drug ring.”

“No wonder they wanted me dead.”

“Yeah, there was more at stake than finding a murder witness.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. At least her running hadn’t been for nothing. If she hadn’t stumbled upon that murder, she never would have run. She never would have met Seth, he never would have saved her, and they never would have known about the dishonest cops.

Relief and exhaustion suddenly swept over her after processing the news. Her ordeal had finally ended. It had been a hard couple of months, but she’d made it through. Now she could start living the life she’d always wanted with the man of her dreams by her side.

“Rest now,” Seth said and kissed her forehead. “You need to get better so I can take you home."

Her lips wouldn’t work, so she squeezed his hand in response and slept.

***

The doctor decided to keep Darcy another three days for observation. Seth arrived in the morning every day and left when they told him visiting hours were over. He’d managed to fool them the last night and slept in the tiny lounge chair in her room.

Her activities were restricted to rest and two short fifteen minute walks a day. They spent the time talking, watching movies, and he read one of her favorite romance novels aloud. He told her about the property he’d purchased and after discussing their favorite and most wanted amenities, he’d sketched out the home he planned to build with her approval.

The instructions over the next week had been the same as the ones in the hospital: limited activities and rest. She couldn’t work and as the days wore on, she became increasingly agitated and cranky.

She didn’t even crack a smile when the doctor gave her a clean bill of health and approval to return to her normal activities. He’d tried to start up conversation several times on the drive home, but she continued to grunt her responses and stare out the window.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Were you honest with the doctor?”

“I’m not a liar, Seth,” she sighed.

“Then why aren’t you smiling? I thought you’d be happy to return to your normal life.”