AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 29
Cassie
I’ve been called stubbornmore than once. I’ve been called that a lot, actually. I take it as a compliment.
Stubbornness got me through the police academy when it was a lot harder than I expected and I was one of two women in a class of thirty-six. Stubbornness got me promoted to detective years before anyone expected I would. And stubbornness will get me the small-town bookstore I’ve dreamed of owning.
Stubbornness also drove me to call an Uber and walk through the snow to get to it when Bear had already offered to drive me home. So, you know, my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness.
The important thing is, I recognize this flaw in myself. Which is why I let Bear drive me home.
But once we’re in his Jeep, I wonder if I should have waited for Irma. Even walking the three or four miles home on the side of the road might have been safer. Maybe not physically, but definitely mentally.
The drive is short, and Bear and I talk little, but I have to fight to keep my focus on the road ahead and not the current running between us—a longing that charges the air, threatening to snap if I don’t handle it carefully. When Bear shifts in his seat, my skin prickles with wanting to touch him. When he rakes his hair away from his forehead, my fingers itch to drag through his hair and beard. And when I take a breath, I can’t get enough of his scent.
I wonder if he feels it too, but the stakes are too high to find out. We’ve got three days before the city council decides which of us gets the shop. My loan is close to being funded, and the closer I get to my dream, the more ready I am to leave LA behind. Especially since I’ve heard very little about the investigation into my complaint.
Everything seems to point to me staying in Paradise, and I’m happy about that. But I’m also nervous about what that would mean for Bear and me. If he loses the pond, will he forgive me? Will we have a chance to explore the attraction between us? Or do I have to lose to win him?
Of course, all those questions are based on the assumption that he doesn’t already have something going on with Grace. I don’t think so, but my first impressions of Bear were totally wrong, so my impressions about his feelings for Grace could be, too.
After I park the Jeep behind the shop, neither of us says anything for a few seconds. Then Molly barks and he blurts, “I should go,” at the same time I say, “Do you want to come in?”
“Suuuure.” He drags out the word with what could be surprise or uncertainty about how to say no.
“You don’t have to, I just…” I don’t know how to end that sentence.
“I’d like to. I can show off my work.” He flashes a grin that settles my racing pulse.
I grab Willy from the backseat while Bear lets Molly out to run around before he follows me to the door.
I let him in first, and he stops just inside the door. “I think I got everything back in place, so it looks okay. But, like I’ve already told you, you shouldn’t stay here.”
I can’t see anything until I step around him. And he’s not wrong about how it looks. “Wow. You cleaned up your mess pretty good.”
I walk past Bear, and he growls. “Wasn’t my fault. And I see you smiling.”
I have to hold back a laugh as I set Willy down by the door. He’ll have to stay in his carrier until Bear leaves, which I’d like to put off a little longer.
Which is crazy, I know. Sirens clang in my head, warning me I’m asking for trouble. Warning me I’ve been swept up in all the nice things he’s done for me in the last day. Washing and folding all my laundry. Bringing me dinner. Letting me use his bath, sleep in his bed. Taking care of me.
I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I never have.
Someday I’ll let someone take care of me, but that someone will be the man who wants to take care of me forever.
I know Bear is attracted to me; I just don’t think it’s in the same way that I’m attracted to him. The way that involves dreaming about him wrapping his arms around me, holding me all night. Or making me breakfast, just because, not as an apology. Or letting me sleep in his jersey every night.
How could he want any of those things when I’m trying to take his real dream away from him?
I gather all my willpower and face him, ready to thank him for the ride and say goodbye.
But when his eyes find mine, what comes out is, “I’m sure you’ve got a lot to do today, but do you want coffee before you go?”
He smiles. “Sure.”
“It’s just Keurig. Nothing fancy like Britta’s.” I grab my basket of pods and hand it to him to choose one.
“Nice. You’ve got my favorite.” He grabs the pod and passes it and the basket back to me.
