Page 18 of Bear’s True Mate

The wind whipped my hair around my face, and the clouds had gone from gray to nearly black. The first drop of rain hit my arm, fat and cold while I thought about Maribel’s reading and the thing Eleanor had said about sea glass.

Then the sky opened up above me.

It wasn’t a drizzle. It wasn’t even regular rain. It was a wall of water that came down so fast and so hard I was soaked within seconds. I broke into a run, and my clothes became plastered to my skin. The duplex was still a good ten-minute walk away, and I was already drenched from head to toe.

A truck slowed beside me.

The passenger window rolled down, and Nolan leaned across the seat with a dopey smile on his face.

“Didn’t think to bring an umbrella?” he shouted over the rain.

I gestured at myself—soaked hair, soaked clothes, water dripping from my chin. “Clearly not.”

He laughed in a way that made it seem like he hadn’t expected me to be funny, and then nodded to the passenger seat. “Hop in.”

I hesitated. Getting into his truck felt like crossing a line I’d been carefully maintaining.

A crack of thunder vibrated the sky directly overhead, close enough to shake the ground beneath me.

“Coastal storms are no joke,” he said, his laughter gone. “Get in, Rose.”

I climbed in.

The cab was warm and dry, and I immediately felt guilty about the water pooling on his seat because of me.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling at my wet shirt. “I’m getting your truck all wet.”

He waved it off and gestured at himself. He was covered in grass clippings and dirt. “I’ve been doing yard work all day. Trust me, a little water isn’t going to hurt anything in here.”

The drive back took three minutes. By the time he pulled into the driveway, the rain was coming down so hard I couldn’t see the front door through the windshield.

“Ready?” he asked, cutting the engine on his truck.

“For what?”

“The sprint.” He grinned at me. “Three... two...”

“Wait—are we actually⁠—”

“One. Go!”

We threw open the doors and ran. The rain hit me like a shower set to arctic blast, and by the time I reached the front door of my rental—fumbling with the key and laughing in spite of myself—I was even more drenched than before. Nolan was at his door, equally soaked with his dark hair plastered to his forehead.

“Thanks for the ride!” I shouted over the thunder.

“What?”

Thunder cracked again.

“I said thanks for the ride!”

He cupped his hand behind his ear, grinning. “Can’t hear you!”

“Thank you!”

“No problem!” He gave me a two-fingered salute and disappeared inside.

I stood just inside the door for a second, dripping onto the floor, with a stupid grin on my face that I couldn’t explain. Until I realized the power was out. I flicked the light switch twice to confirm.