Edward (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 1) (7 page)

She’d barely had a chance to look at him as they led him out of her classroom in cuffs. They had made eye contact for the briefest of seconds and Talia had been shocked to find herself captivated by the stranger’s golden-brown eyes. They had made her feel
different
, almost like her insides were melting. Talia shivered.
 

“Ma’am,” the cop said, leaning heavily on the desk. He was a large man, and it was obvious that the quick run down the school hallway had strained him. “We have no idea. The administrative assistant said that he came in, asking to see you. When she went to look in your file, you know, to see if he was a registered visitor, he slipped out of the office. Then she called the police to report an intruder, and well, here we are.” He gave her a folksy smile. “I take it you don’t know this man?”
 

Talia shook her head nervously. She twisted her long brown braid in one hand. “No,” she stammered. “I’ve never seen him before.” She frowned at the police officer. “He was really looking for me?”
 

The cop nodded. “Maybe he had the wrong name,” he said with a shrug. “We’re gonna check him out, and if there’s nothing on record, we’ll have to let him go this afternoon.”
 

Talia nodded. Her feeling of anxiety and uncertainty was returning, stronger than ever. “I get that,” she said softly.
 

“You keep that fire hydrant handy, you hear me?” The cop winked at her and Talia blushed.
 

“Sure,” she muttered as the cops and administrators trickled out of her office. “Thank you.” To her surprise, she was already starting to feel slightly guilty for whacking the intruder over the head.
 

--

The rest of the morning felt like a wash after what had happened. Talia’s kids were being unusually unruly – they couldn’t stop leaping up from their chairs and pretending to whack each other over the heads.
 

“Don’t do that at home,” Talia cautioned, her tone full of anxiety. The
last
thing she needed was angry phone calls from parents, accusing her of exposing their precious children to violence.
 

By the time she left the building and headed towards the parking lot, she was a wreck. To her shock and horror, she saw the same man who had barged into her classroom prowling around the parking lot. He’d make a circle, pause, then do something that almost looked like sniffing the air. Fear trickled down Talia’s spine in an icy chill, but she knew that she had to get home as soon as she could.
I’ll just walk to my car and get in, and then just drive away if he’s bothering me
, she decided.
I can always call the cops when I’m on the way home. I just have to get to my car, I just have to get to my car…
 

“Hey,” the man said loudly. Talia was attempting to scurry past him, but the deep sound of his voice made her jump. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier,” he said in a rush.
 

Talia stared. She slowly backed away as sweat began beading on her pale forehead. “It’s fine,” she stammered. “I’m just going to go now,” she said in the same kind of voice you’d use on an angry dog. “I’m just going to get in my car and leave,” she added.
 

“Don’t go yet, please?” The man held up his hands in a gesture of goodwill. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and Talia was suddenly captivated by how handsome he was. He was tall and muscular, with close-cropped brown hair and golden-brown eyes. His tan skin made him look like he spent a lot of time outdoors, and there was a playful twinkle in his eyes. Talia felt the same unnerving slipperiness in her lower belly that she’d felt earlier.
 

Stop that
, Talia ordered her body.
You don’t know this guy! He could be anyone! He could be a serial killer, for chrissakes!
 

Talia took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to smile. “I really have to get home. I have a son, at home, and the sitter gets angry with me when I’m late.” She paused and blushed. “I’m sorry that I hit you, by the way,” she added. “I really hope I didn’t do too much damage.”
 

The man grinned lazily and knocked a fist against the side of his head. “I’m pretty solid,” he said generously. “And besides, you had to protect your kids. I get that, you know, those protective urges.” He cracked another smile and Talia was horrified to find herself reciprocating. “I would have done the same thing.”
 

Talia bit her lip. She knew that she should leave, but she couldn’t. There was something about the man’s eyes that was captivating her, making her feel rooted to the spot.
 

“I’m Alec, by the way,” the man said. He reached out with one of his giant hands. Talia hesitated, but reached out her own. She gasped when Alec touched her – his hand was so large that it practically dwarfed her own.
 

“I’m Talia,” Talia said. Alec squeezed her hand firmly and Talia felt a pleasant, warm shiver down her spine.
 

“I’d say nice to meet you, but…” Alec trailed off. “I think our first encounter was probably not all that nice.”
 

Talia blushed bright red. “It’s fine,” she said softly.
 

“Talia,” Alec said in a low, husky voice. Talia found herself captivated. She couldn’t stop staring at Alec’s wide, sensual mouth. “Talia, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner?”
 

“What?” Talia gaped. “I mean,” she said, blushing. “I’m sorry. You want to go on a date? With me?”
 

Alec looked around, pretending to scrutinize the rest of the parking lot. “Well, as I see it, you’re the only woman here,” he said in a deep, humorous voice. “So yeah, I guess I
am
asking you on a date.”
 

“Okay,” Talia said before she could even think about it. “Yes. I’ll go with you to dinner.”
 

Chapter Two

The whole drive home, Talia’s mind was spinning. She couldn’t stop thinking about everything: her son, James, Danny, now Alec and the crazy day she’d had….it was enough to make her feel like she needed to lie down.
 

Talia was relieved to see the babysitter and James sitting together on the front lawn. The sitter, Amelia, got to her feet as soon as Talia’s small car pulled into the driveway. She ran over with a twisted grimace on her face.
 

“He’s doing it again,” she said quickly, before Talia had even climbed out of the car. “He’s chewing on the table legs.”
 

Talia frowned. “Didn’t the sour spray work?”
 

Amelia shook her head. “No,” she said. “I sprayed it on, but it was like he didn’t even notice. He crawled over there and just started chewing!” She looked disgusted. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Talia. Your kid is just nuts!”
 

Talia walked over to where James was sitting on the grass and scooped him up, gasping a little at her son’s weight. Even though he was slightly less than two years old, he weighed as much as an older child. He was bigger, too – strangers regularly asked Talia where he went to pre-school, or even kindergarten.
 

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Talia said defensively. She gazed into James’s golden-brown eyes. He looked like he was in a good mood; his eyes were crinkled up at the corners. “He’s just bored, that’s all. Kids do weird things when they’re bored.”
 

“I never chewed on wood when I was a kid,” Amelia said in a snotty voice. She kicked at the asphalt driveway with the toe of her sneaker. “You really need to do something about him, Talia. He’s out of control.”
 

Talia rolled her eyes. “He’s fine,” she snapped. “All of the doctors have agreed.”
 

Amelia blushed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
 

Talia nodded. “Amelia, would you be willing to stay late for an extra fifty dollars? I have….a meeting,” she lied. “I should be home by ten or so.”
 

Amelia frowned. “A meeting that goes until ten?”
 

“We always go out for dinner afterwards,” Talia ad-libbed. For some reason, she didn’t feel quite like disclosing about her date. Even though Amelia was young, Talia had the feeling she’d be judgmental about a single mom dating with such a young kid at home.
 

“Ah,” Amelia said. Talia couldn’t tell whether or not her lie had been convincing. “Sure,” she said. “Thanks.”
 

When Amelia left, Talia carried James inside. He seemed content to sit on the kitchen floor and bang against pots and pans. Talia perched on the counter and watched him. She hated to admit it, but part of her felt that Amelia was right about something. James had always seemed a little different, not bad, just….
off
, somehow. He was incredibly hairy for a toddler – he’d come out of the womb with a full head of hair, and now it was shaggy and long. Plus, he
loved
chewing on wood, and he had surprising strength for a child of his age.
 

He definitely wasn’t like any of Talia’s children at school.
 

Talia shivered as she remembered the day she’d told Danny that she was pregnant. At first, she’d thought about lying. Telling him that by some miracle, she’d managed to get pregnant! It had seemed like a good idea when she was lying in bed, trying to think of how to break the news to him. But in the morning light, she knew that she couldn’t lie. She and Danny had been together for years, and he deserved the truth. She knew that he’d be angry, but she wasn’t expecting him to fly into a blind rage. Talia had been afraid for her life, and she’d thrown Danny out after he threatened to hurt her and the unborn baby. Ever since then, they’d stayed broken up.
 

Unfortunately, Danny managed the apartment complex where Talia lived with James. She kept meaning to move out, but after taking James to a series of specialists over the summer, she hadn’t been able to afford a security deposit anywhere. Then her lease had started up again, and she knew that she was stuck there, at least for another year.
 

“Mom!” James called. It was one of the words that he liked to say the most. Even though he wasn’t speaking in sentences yet, Talia could usually tell what he meant. She liked that, the seemingly psychic bond with her child. She wasn’t sure if that was a typical part of parenthood, but she enjoyed it all the same.
 

“What is it, baby?” Talia turned towards James and gave him an indulgent smile.
 

“Bang!” James said. He smiled gleefully and mashed two pots together.
 

Talia’s head throbbed.
This is going to be a long night
, she thought to herself.
A very long night indeed
.
 

--
 

“Bye Mom!” James waved his arms in the air and Amelia’s face took on a look of panic. Talia hid a guilty grin.
That poor girl can’t lift him up either
, she thought to herself as she left the apartment and walked down the sidewalk.
He’s getting too heavy
.
 

For once, Talia was determined to put her troubles to the side. Alec was waiting for her on the curb, leaning against his car and smiling a roguish grin. He was just as handsome as Talia remembered, maybe even more so.
 

“Hey there,” Alec said. He grinned at Talia and she felt butterflies in her stomach. “Where to?”
 

“What, you didn’t have a place in mind?” Talia giggled.
 

Alec shrugged. “I just want to make sure you enjoy yourself,” he said in a deep voice. “Can’t take you to an Italian restaurant if you’re craving Chinese.”
 

Talia blushed. It had been a long time since she’d dated, and even longer since she’d dated anyone who actually cared about what she might like to eat. “Anything is fine with me,” she said. “Honestly, anything that isn’t cooked by me is going to taste amazing.”
 

Alec laughed. “So I take it I should steer clear of your cooking?” He winked at her and Talia felt her blush deepen to a bright red.
 

“No!” Talia said quickly before laughing nervously. “I mean, I just haven’t gone out to eat in a long time. I’m always busy at home.” She dropped her eyes shyly to her lap. “I have a son, you know, he’s almost two. And he takes up all of my energy. I’m lucky if I can even get the pizza out of the oven before it burns.”
 

Alec was quiet. Talia was afraid that she’d scared him off. Deep down, she’d known that she would have to disclose her status as a single mom pretty quickly, but now she was afraid that she’d been too hasty.
 

“Is that a problem?” Talia’s voice was shaky. “I mean, that I have a son.”
 

“No,” Alec replied. “Not at all. I was just thinking that you sound like a good mom.”
 

Talia blushed again. “Thank you,” she said softly.
 

As Alec drove, she found that she couldn’t keep from staring at him. He was so incredibly handsome, and she couldn’t stare at his hands without feeling more aroused than she wanted to admit. His hands were large and veiny, with tufts of hair sprouting on their backs. She thought about how they would feel on her body – surely rough, and calloused – and felt a shiver down her spine.