Wild Bear Winter, Part One

*** Please Note: This short story is part of a longer short story series and is preceded by the stories Hot Bear Summer and Cozy Bear Autumn. I recommend reading these stories first if you have not yet! ***

Tasha Peters took a deep breath, pasted a wide smile on her face, and then walked into the bookstore where she would be spending a great deal of her time from that moment on.

For the first time in a very long time, Tasha had a job.

A paying job, anyway. She’d spent the last several years taking care of her mother, who had been fighting a long, hard battle against cancer. But her mother had lost that battle a little over a year ago, and Tasha needed to get back out into the working world. She had some savings, but not enough to continue sitting at home alone and wallowing in her sorrow.

Luckily for Tasha, the local bookstore had been hiring. Tasha, who had always been a bit of an introvert, loved books. She often found it difficult to talk strangers, but she never found it difficult to talk about books. So even though Tasha felt nervous about her new job, and about having to talk to people she didn’t know, at least she knew she’d be talking about something for which she had a passion. She could handle that.

At least, she hoped she could.

“Tasha, good morning! Good to see you!”

The sound of Emily Hayes chipper voice instantly helped Tasha relax. Tasha’s smile widened into a more genuine smile as she walked toward Emily, who stood at the bookstore’s front counter with a stack of papers in front of her.

“I swear the paperwork of running a business never ends,” Emily said with a small laugh. “Usually, I’d do all this in my office, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss you when you walked in today.”

“Oh!” Tasha said, feeling her cheeks heat. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you!”

“Nonsense! It’s not an inconvenience at all, and I didn’t mean it like that. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. Things have been a little out of control since my last part-timer moved away. I hope you’re ready to work, because I am so behind on shelving books.”

“I’m more than ready,” Tasha said, and she meant it. She was ready to spend time thinking about something other than her own misery. Her mother would have wanted her to move on with her life, and Tasha was finally ready to do that. At least, she was ready to try.

Emily showed her where the boxes of books were that needed to be shelved, and Tasha’s eyes widened. Emily hadn’t been kidding: there were a lot of books to put away. But despite everything in the store being so far behind schedule, Emily remained upbeat and optimistic. Emily’s positive attitude was exactly what Tasha needed in her life, and Tasha resolved to do everything she could to help out her new boss.

Tasha had no trouble catching on to Emily’s system for organizing and shelving books, and the morning flew by.

I should have looked for a job sooner. This is good for me, she thought as she went to the back room to grab another box of books to shelve. When she came back to the front, Emily was surveying the store with a smile. For the first time all morning, no customers were browsing the shelves.

“You’re doing awesome,” Emily told Tasha. “I can’t believe it’s your first day.”

Tasha shrugged shyly. “Well, you’ve got a good system for organizing everything. And being around books is fun for me. It hardly feels like work.”

Emily smiled. “A gal after my own heart. Once the backstock is put away, I’ll teach you to use the register.”

Tasha felt a fresh rush of nerves at the idea of being responsible for the register and money, but she forced herself to smile and nod. “Sounds great.”

She wanted to ask Emily if the store was likely to remain busy through the afternoon. It had been quite busy that morning, at least it seemed so to Tasha. She supposed that, since it was already December, holiday shopping was really ramping up. But before Tasha could say anything else, the bell above the front door jangled and another customer was coming in.

But no: Tasha realized it wasn’t a customer. It was a delivery driver, wheeling in a dolly piled high with more boxes of books. At any other job, Tasha might have groaned at the sight of so much new work. But here, she almost clapped her hands in anticipation. What bookish treasures did those boxes hold? She could hardly wait to dive in. 

Emily did clap her hands, running to help the driver with the door. Tasha started walking over as well to see if there was anything she could do to help with the boxes, but she stopped short when the delivery driver turned around and she caught her first good glimpse of him.

He was hot. Super hot.

Possibly the hottest man Tasha had ever seen. Her jaw dropped, and then, realizing that he was looking right at her and probably wondering why she was gaping at him like a weirdo, she hurriedly clamped her jaw shut again and turned around to walk purposefully toward the back room.

So much for doing whatever she could to help Emily out. The one thing Tasha was not going to do was stand there with her heart pounding and her feelings written all over her face while the delivery man stared at her.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the delivery man and Emily also came to the back room. Tasha should have anticipated that. After all, those boxes of books had to be stored somewhere until they could be shelved.

Tasha tried to look busy, like she had purposefully rushed back to help make space for the boxes that were now being unloaded just a few feet away from where she stood. If Emily noticed that Tasha had been acting a little weird, she didn’t let on. But the delivery driver kept looking at her in a curious way. 

Tasha felt both flattered and self-conscious about the fact that he was noticing her. She kept sneaking glances at him, hoping he wouldn’t see what she was doing. But no matter how sneaky she thought she was being, his eyes met hers every time she looked up.

She finally stopped looking, afraid that she was being far too obvious. Instead, she focused her attention on unpacking the box of books directly in front of her. She kept her ears open, though, listening to the man speak with Emily. She learned from their brief conversation that his name was Max, and that he had just moved to Wood Canyon after a friend of his named Dane had recommended the town as a good place to live. 

“Well, you’re in good company,” Emily said. “A lot of people come here to start over.”

“Hopefully it’s a good start,” Max said, a bit gruffly. “It’s been a rough year, and I could use a few wins.”

Tasha chanced another peek at him, wondering what secrets he hid behind those deep blue eyes. He looked over at her the moment she turned toward him, as though he could sense her eyes on him. She felt her cheeks heating with embarrassment again, but he gave her a wide smile that put her at ease.

It also made her heart pound faster. His smile made him even more attractive than he already was. She smiled back, and felt a flutter of desire in her stomach. She hadn’t felt that way about a man in a very long time. She’d been so focused on all the other things going on in her life that she hadn’t had much time for joy, and she definitely hadn’t had time for romance.

Did she have time for it now?

She bit her lower lip and looked away from Max, telling herself to stop getting ahead of herself. Just because a man was smiling at her didn’t mean he was romantically interested. She had definitely been out of the game too long if she thought that was the case.

But as soon as Max had left and Emily and Tasha were alone in the store once more, Emily whirled on Tasha with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“What was that all about?” Emily asked in a teasing tone.

“What?” Tasha asked, trying to act like she had no idea what Emily was talking about. But Emily wasn’t fooled.

“I saw the way you two were looking at each other. You like him.”

Tasha felt her cheeks heat, and she knew she must be turning completely red in the face. “I mean…he’s cute. You can’t deny that.”

“No, I guess I can’t,” Emily said with a laugh. “Just be careful, though. Men are usually trouble.”

“You think so?” Tasha asked, surprised. “I would have thought that someone who owned a bookstore and sold romance novels wouldn’t be so down on love.”

Emily laughed. “Maybe I’m so down on love because I’ve read too many romance novels, and I know things never work out like that in real life. Fairy tales aren’t reality. Of course, don’t tell my friend Julia I said that. She found herself one of the few actually good men and is now convinced that Prince Charmings do exist.” 

“Julia from the donut shop across the street?” Tasha asked.

Emily nodded. “One and the same. One of my favorite people in the world. But she and her friend Lola both keep telling me I need to give romance another chance, and I keep telling them no way.”

Tasha furrowed her brow. “And you think I shouldn’t give romance a chance, either? You’re really that against love?”

Emily shrugged. “You do you. That delivery man was smoking hot, I’ll give you that. But good looks aren’t enough to make a good boyfriend, and unfortunately sometimes the best-looking ones are the biggest jerks.”

Tasha wondered if a good-looking guy had been a jerk to Emily, but before she could figure out how to word her question so it wouldn’t sound overly nosy, the front door opened and a fresh batch of customers was walking in. Tasha smiled warmly at the customers, as did Emily. Their brief conversation was over, at least for the time being.

Perhaps it was for the best. Tasha liked Emily a lot, but she didn’t know her all that well yet, and Emily was her boss. Tasha probably shouldn’t be spilling her heart to her, especially since Tasha wasn’t exactly sure what it was her heart wanted.

Sure, Max was good-looking. But Emily wasn’t completely wrong. Being good-looking wasn’t enough on its own to make a man a good boyfriend, and Tasha didn’t need her heart broken by a failed romance on top of everything else she’d already been through. Better to focus on her work, especially since a job that surrounded her with books was so enjoyable.

Tasha returned to shelving books, but she couldn’t quite keep herself from daydreaming about a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed delivery man, and wondering when he might be making another delivery.

* * *

Max had to get it together or he was going to lose his brand-new job. After his delivery to the bookstore, he hadn’t been able to properly focus on any of his deliveries for the rest of the day. He’d taken longer than he should have to drive his delivery truck back to the main hub of the shipping company he now worked for, and he feared he was going to get a strict “talking to” from the boss. But his boss didn’t seem to even notice that he was later than he should have been. Instead, the old man told him he’d been doing excellent for his first week, and that he looked forward to seeing him the following Monday.

Max breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way to his car. He didn’t feel like he’d been doing an excellent job, but he forgot sometimes that full humans didn’t know how much stronger and faster bear shifters could be about certain tasks, especially physical tasks, like moving boxes.

How could the humans know, when most didn’t even know bear shifters existed?

Max shuddered, thinking about how much better it was to keep full humans ignorant of shifters. In his old hometown, a few humans had learned of the existence of shifters, and things had gotten scary. Some full humans were fine with the idea of shifters, but others weren’t, and a witch hunt of sorts had ensued. Many shifters had moved away, but Max hadn’t. No one had found out that he was a shifter, and he’d figured he was safe enough. If worse came to worse, he knew how to fight. No one was going to hurt him. They’d have to catch him first, and they never would.

And yet, Max had grown lonely. With few shifters around, he felt that he was all alone in a hostile world. Relief had come from an unexpected source. His friend Dane, who had been more of an acquaintance than a true friend back in his old town, had contacted him and asked him if he wanted to move to Wood Canyon. Dane himself had moved a few months before, and was loving the area. There was another shifter around, because Dane’s best friend Andy lived in the area as well. And, according to Dane, all the full humans kept to themselves.

Max had to admit it sounded like paradise. So, when Dane helped him secure a job as a delivery truck driver, Max had taken the leap and moved. He was so glad he had. The first few weeks had been bliss as he settled in and got to know Dane and Dane’s lifemate, Lola, better. He also met and became fast friends with Andy, and Andy’s lifemate, Julia.

For the first time in a long time, Max almost felt like he was part of a clan. He was, dare he say it, happy. He had everything he needed: good friends, a good job, and the peace of knowing he wasn’t being hunted down at every turn by shifter-haters.

But today, his happy calm had been shattered in the most unexpected way. He’d walked into the local bookstore to make a delivery, and his inner bear had immediately gone wild.

The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen had been shelving books, and Max could have sworn that his heart literally skipped a few beats.

He’d seen some beautiful women in his time, but no one had ever made his heart stop before.

Tasha, her name had been. He hadn’t actually introduced himself to her, but he’d heard Emily, the store owner, calling her by her name. 

Her name that had been bouncing around in his head ever since. Max’s inner bear had been pining for her, but he didn’t want to even consider what that meant. Sure, Andy and Dane, the two other bear shifters in Wood Canyon, had found full human lifemates. But Max didn’t expect to be as lucky as them. In his experience, full humans who fully accepted the existence of bear shifters were rare. And full humans who would be willing to take on a bear shifter as a lifemate were even rarer.

As far as he knew, Tasha had no idea that bear shifters even existed. He had no reason to think she’d be interested in him if she knew he hid a beast within him. Sure, he had caught the way she looked at him with interest. But he knew enough about who he was and how people generally viewed him to know that her interest would likely turn to shock if he told her he was part bear.

He told himself to forget about it, and did his best to put her out of his mind as he got ready for dinner. Andy had invited him over for a group dinner that would also include Dane, as well as Julia and Lola, Andy and Dane’s lifemates. Max was still very much getting to know them, and he didn’t want to come in acting mopey and weird because a girl at the bookstore had caught his eye. 

But his efforts at acting normal apparently failed, because no more than five minutes after he’d arrived, Julia was giving him a hard, appraising look.

“Alright, out with it,” she said.

Max frowned at her. “Out with what?”

“What’s wrong? Why are you frowning so much? I know I haven’t known you long, but it’s not like you.”

Max briefly contemplated spilling the whole story, but just as quickly decided against it. He didn’t want to dump all his problems on Julia, especially because he knew that Julia was close with the bookstore owner, Emily. Max feared that Julia might say something to Emily, and he wasn’t sure he wanted that. As much as he would have loved to talk to Tasha, he wanted it to be on his terms, and not because Julia talked to Emily and Emily then decided to tell Tasha.

No, that would never do. The best course of action was probably to make his inner bear forget that Tasha even existed. He would think about her as little as possible and hope that the ridiculous longing he felt for her would go away.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Max insisted, trying to force a smile onto his face. “My new job as a delivery man is just wearing me out a lot more than I thought.”

It turned out, however, that there was a big flaw with his plan: Julia.

Andy’s lifemate proved to be much more determined than he’d bargained for. Julia frowned and shook her head.

“I don’t buy that for a moment. I’ve seen that look in a bear’s eyes before. You’re pining for a woman, aren’t you? Who is she?”

Max felt his whole face heat up. He hadn’t expected Julia to see through to the truth so easily, and he found himself floundering for words, trying to find a believable excuse for why he might have a look of desire in his eyes that didn’t have anything to do with the woman at the bookstore who had embedded herself in his soul without even knowing it.

“Um…” he started.

“I knew it!” Julia said. “Who is she? Tell me! Does she know you’re interested?”

Then, Julia’s face fell. “Wait, is it someone you left behind when you moved here?”

Max stuttered again. “Well, um, uh…”

And then, almost against his will, the whole story did come out. He couldn’t help it. He knew he might come to regret not keeping it quiet, but his desire to know more about Tasha overcame his desire to not make a fool of himself by confessing his love for a woman he could likely never have. 

He told Julia all about how he’d entered the bookstore and instantly had his bear go wild, but how he thought that Tasha would likely freak out if she knew he was a bear shifter. Julia listened quietly, as did Andy, Dane, and Lola. At the end of the of his tirade, he felt more foolish and miserable than ever. They must all think him such a fool.

But no one laughed at him. Instead, they all gave him sympathetic looks, as though they knew exactly what he was going through. And, he supposed, they did. The men in the room had been in his position recently—loving a woman who had no idea bear shifters existed. And the women knew what it was to be suddenly thrust into a world where shifters existed. When Max really stopped to think about it, he realized that he had been foolish to not want to confide in them in the first place. He felt better after having talked things through, even though he hadn’t actually found any kind of solution. At least he wasn’t alone in his misery.

Julia was the first to speak. She reached over and put a hand on his arm.

“If I were you,” she said, “I’d just do my best to try to get to know her.”

“Why?” Max asked, a small spark of hope filling his chest. “Do you know her at all? Do you think she’s actually the kind of person who might accept a shifter?”

Julia shrugged. “I don’t know her very well, but she seems like a nice enough gal. And I do know Emily, and I can tell you that Emily wouldn’t hire someone who wasn’t amazing and accepting of all types of people.”

Dane frowned. “I thought Emily was anti-love.” 

This made Lola laugh and join in the conversation. “Emily thinks she’s anti-love, but really she’s just scared to say she wants love but then not find it. I’m sure if Max went around and tried to get to know Tasha, Emily would make a show of throwing a fit, but would secretly be pleased that her new employee had a chance at happiness.”

“Agree,” Julia said. “And I think that’s exactly what you should do: you should spend as much time as you can getting to know Tasha. Make sure you’re the driver for all deliveries to the bookstore, and linger when you’re there. Or, just pop in and browse. Ask Tasha for book recommendations, and start up a conversation.”

Max felt his heart beating faster. “And then what?”

Lola laughed. “And then, see how things naturally progress. See if any sparks fly. Maybe you’ll find, once you get to know her better, that she’s exactly the kind of girl who would embrace the idea of falling in love with a bear.”

Max nodded slowly, hoping that his face didn’t betray how wildly his heart was pounding in his chest. Was it possible, truly? Could he be that lucky, that Tasha might actually be the kind of woman who would indeed fall for a bear? The kind of woman he could love and spoil for the rest of his life?

There was only one way to find out.

The next day was his day off from deliveries, and the first thing he did was make his way to the bookstore, hoping that Tasha would be working. 

She was.

The moment he stepped through the door, she looked up at him and the brightest smile he’d ever seen lit her beautiful face.

“Good morning,” she greeted him. “Can I help you with anything.”

“I sure hope so,” he said, as he started walking toward her. What was it Lola had said? See if sparks fly?

They were flying for him for sure. And from the smile on her face, he would guess they were flying for her as well. He leaned over the counter and gave her his most charming smile.

“I’m looking for some new books. Can you help me with recommendations?”

The way she smiled back at him absolutely melted his insides. His inner bear went wild, and he had a feeling that this was just the beginning of many very, very good conversations.

Conversations he hoped would never end. Whether or not she could fall in love with a bear, he was definitely falling for her.

Time to do as Julia and Lola had recommended, and see how things progressed.

 *** Thank you for reading! CLICK HERE to read Part Two of Wild Bear Winter ***