Page 38 of Once Upon A Bear

Normally they would have sparred longer, so Kellan was simply taking it easy on him, but he didn’t mind. His leg was burning, not with pain, but with exertion.

He’d better not undo everything Guinevere had done for him.

He heaved a deep breath and collapsed against the fence next to his brother, who was also breathing hard. There was something about beating each other up with swords—wooden swords, at least—that made everything feel like he could breathe a bit easier.

And it was a good distraction from the fact that Gideon had started to feel something in that tiny cottage that felt an awful lot like love.

Gideon Rendon was not currently looking for love, no matter how smart, and beautiful, and caring she was. He had a curse to break first.

“It was good to spar with you,” Kellan said.

He didn’t have to say the words underneath it—that if Gideon was around more, they could spar more often.

I can’t spar regularly because I keep turning into a bear.

Gideon didn’t bother trying to say the words out loud. No matter how desperately he wanted to, it never worked.

Chapter fifteen

Guinevere

Guinevere entered the Cozy Cat Café, where she saw Linnea behind the counter, a smile on her face and a tray of cinnamon rolls in her hand.

Perfect.

This was exactly what she needed. The sugar would help her replenish herself, even if only slightly.

The building smelled of peace and baked goods, and the light streaming through the windows filled it with a glow that made it feel like it belonged in another world.

It felt like home.

“I’ll take one of those, please,” she called as Linnea knelt to begin putting them in the case, her head popping back up over the counter when she heard Guinevere.

Linnea grinned. “Good morning. Craving a cinnamon roll today?”

“When am I ever not craving a cinnamon roll?” Guinevere asked as Linnea slid one across the counter. They were Linnea’s specialty, and they were delicious.

“How are you?” Linnea said. “It’s been a bit since we’ve seen you.”

“I’ve been working with a patient at home,” Guinevere said. “It’s important, but I’ve missed coming here.”

“I hope all is well with your patient,” Linnea said sincerely. “Has it been a difficult case?”

Guinevere took a deep breath. Difficult was one word for it. In a way, it hadn’t been any more difficult than any of her other cases…but in some ways, it had been much more.

She’d never spent so much of herself in trying to heal a patient before, and that was problematic. If she’d pushed herself too far…well, she didn’t know what would happen.

Hopefully, she’d never find out.

But for her to never find out, she had to break Gideon’s curse before he got into a scrape that forced her to push herself beyond her own abilities.

She didn’t want to admit to herself that he was a weakness for her now.

“Oh, Guinevere is here,” a new voice said from the corner.

Guinevere smiled at Eugenia as she joined them at the counter. “Hello, Eugenia,” she said. “How are you today?”

The elderly librarian was one of Guinevere’s favorite people, simply because she didn’t care what anyone thought, and she would do anything to get a good story out of someone. If only Eugenia knew that Gideon—Lord Gideon Rendon—was turning into a bear…that would be the story of her lifetime.