Page 93 of Beastly Mountain Man

That was the point.

Caprice had a job she loved waiting in Missoula. I had a job and a home I loved on Fire Mountain. The problem wasn’t that one of us had made a bad choice. We had met in the middle of two good lives, and now we had to find out whether wanting each other was enough reason to do the harder part after the snow melted.

I dried the last plate and went to find my gloves.

Bear had beaten me to the bedroom.

He was lying across the canvas bag I’d loaned Caprice yesterday, with his front legs planted over the handles and his rope beside one paw.

Caprice stood over him with her hands on her hips.

“I have explained the checkout process twice.”

Bear looked up at her.

“I have also explained that sitting on my luggage will not alter resort policy.”

His tail thumped against the floor.

She noticed me in the doorway. “Would you please tell your associate that obstruction is not an effective retention strategy?”

“I could tell him, but I don’t think he’s going to care after everything you’ve rewarded him for.”

“That attitude is why management has problems.”

I crouched and rubbed Bear’s neck. “Come on. Let her finish.”

He stayed where he was.

Caprice folded her arms. “Interesting.”

“He usually listens, but you’ve rewarded him every time he trapped your feet, shoved a toy at you, or leaned seventy-five pounds of himself against your legs.”

“Apparently, I’ve corrupted him. In my defense, he was persuasive.”

“I know.”

Bear finally stood when I tapped the side of the bag and pointed toward the hall.

Caprice picked it up before he could reconsider.

“You had that authority the whole time, and you let me negotiate with a retriever.”

“I wanted to see how it went.”

“I’m revising my previous statement about liking you exactly as you are.”

I laughed and stepped closer. “You almost done?”

Her gaze moved around the bedroom.

The suitcase was closed. Her toiletry bag sat on top of it. My shrunken sweatpants and charcoal shirt were inside the canvas bag, folded among her things instead of returned to my house.

She noticed where I was looking.

“I’m keeping them. You gave them to me, so I just wanted the record clear.”

“The record is clear.”