Page 22 of Coveted By the Bear

“He doesn’t like strangers,” Mira said apologetically.

From the way she looked fearfully at my siblings who hovered in the doorway, she likely shared her dog’s sentiments.

“Mira, this is my brother, Brian, and my little sister, Sadey,” I said, introducing them.

Mira smiled shyly at Sadey and squinted at Brian. “I know you,” she said. “You were outside of the clinic.”

I looked at Brian questioningly.

“Mira came to visit you at the clinic,” he explained. “Your girlfriend wouldn’t let her through the front doors, though.”

If I hadn’t been turning to look at Mira for further explanation, I would have missed the fallen look on her face.

“Becca?” I guessed, and Mira nodded.

A tiny triumphant feeling ignited in my gut that I would have to think about later. I’d been wrong. Mira had come to visit me after all, the brave woman.

I set the bag I was carrying inside of the doorway and nodded for Sadey to do the same.

“How long have you been out of power up here?” Brian asked, taking on his taskmaster voice. He knelt down and opened his bag to check his equipment for the third time this morning. His thoroughness was part of what made him so good.

“We haven’t had electricity since I’ve lived here, but we had a generator that powered what we needed. That went out about nine months ago.”

Brian’s head shot up, and his mouth hung open. “You haven’t had any power for nine months?”

Mira’s cheeks turned the most appealing shade of pink, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the attractive color against the smooth porcelain of her skin.

“No, sir,” she said quietly. “I thought you guys could have some breakfast before you start working. I made some eggs and bacon and biscuits.”

“You didn’t have to spend your groceries on us,” I said.

“I wanted to. It’s the only way I can repay you right now.”

Sadey cut in. She understood proud people because she had been raised with them. “Smells good, Mira. Do you need any help?”

Mira looked relieved and let out a little puff of a sigh. “Maybe you could set the table?”

The girls got to work and, for lack of something to do, I took the two plastic bags Sadey had brought into Mira’s room. I placed them by the door and looked around. She had made her bed, and the green shirt I’d bought her was draped over a wooden chair in the corner of her room as if she were trying to keep the wrinkles from it.

The sight made me smile, and the stretch of my lips felt good.

It had been a long time since I had allowed a grin on my face.

Chapter Eight

Mira

Breakfast had been one part relief and two parts terrifying. Brian and Caleb had remained silent for the bulk of it, but Sadey had kept up a running commentary that included me answering questions about myself. There were only so many ways to avoid speaking on the subject, which had made me most uncomfortable. She didn’t seem to be doing it out of spite, though. On the contrary, she seemed as if she was actually interested.

Brian had stalled on taking the first bite for so long that Caleb had glared at him until he was halfway through and had complimented my cooking. It made me feel uncomfortable for him, so I ate at warp speed to have an excuse to leave the table. When I had stood to rinse my dishes, the atmosphere in the room seemed to relax and Caleb bantered easily with Sadey. I smiled over my dishes at their ease with each other and wished I’d had a sibling growing up. If, for nothing else, just to pacify the ache of loneliness that seemed to hover around this place like a storm cloud.

The legs of the dining chair scuttled across the wooden floor as Caleb pulled out from his place at the table. I turned my head slightly to watch him approach. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and his chin sported dark blond stubble, which only made me want to touch it just to see what his casual face felt like. I wouldn’t dare, but the urge was still present. My stomach clenched as he approached with an easy smile over something Sadey had said to him. His eyes looked off to the left as if he were thinking on the conversation, but I could still see their brilliant cerulean color. Whatever animal instincts I’d dredged up yesterday, his family didn’t have the same effect on his inner bear. He placed his dishes in the sink, and in a gesture so comfortable and casual and unexpected, he placed his hand on my hip to let me know he needed me to scoot over so he could get to the trashcan beneath the sink. My breath caught at his touch, and I lifted my startled gaze to him. His wide eyes met mine and held me.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed.

He was so close to me that I could feel the tickle of his breath and the power that rolled off his skin, as if it was a natural part of him. I pulled away first because I would explode if I stayed captured in his gaze another moment. The absence of his hand over the thin material of my worn tank top was a dull ache. The skin there felt cold, as if it was missing something vital it didn’t know it had needed. He threw his used napkin into the small trashcan and headed back to the table. When I could draw a steady breath again, I began rinsing his dishes.

“What?” he asked ruefully, and I turned to see Brian and Sadey staring at him like their brother had just grown antlers. “Come on, Brian, let’s get this done,” Caleb clipped as his brother rose from the table. “Sadey, I’m going to help him out today. You okay to stay here for a while?”