Free Bringing Home the Bear by Vanessa Devereaux Page B

truth.”
    She’d
always rushed to the mirror to see what he’d meant, but she hadn’t been able to
see any signs of moisture. However, it was true. He could tell when she lied
about not doing her chores, or that it was her and not her baby sister who’d
broken something.
    Yeah,
he’d know all right. And then there was the thing with the bear…she’d need help
with that. Shit, that sounded dangerous, but she’d promised him.
    Emily
turned onto her back, thinking that all the fresh air would have made her
sleepy, but it hadn’t. She reached for her phone. Maybe she’d call a few of her
friends to see what they were doing tonight. She reached for it, turned it on,
and saw something she didn’t want to. No
signal.
    What
did she expect stuck out here in the middle of nowhere? She wouldn’t have
picked it in a million years, but her dad had told her this was the place to
be.
    She
took a deep breath and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. If
she lay here any longer, she’d start pacing and listening to all the thoughts
milling around in her head. Silence was a strange companion.
    She’d
go for a nice evening stroll before it got too dark to find her way back to the
camper.
    ****
    Trent
finished the last of his burger and took the plate to the sink. He turned on
the taps and glanced out at the last tiny sliver of the sun as it went down on
the horizon. Tonight was a full moon and he’d hazard a guess it was going to be
a beautiful evening. In fact, he’d drag out the telescope and do some star
gazing. Lots of shifters in their group often got together for some mass star
gazing and reminiscing. They’d listen to the elder shifters tell them stories
about where they’d come from and what their old home had been like. They’d take
turns guessing whereabouts in the sky their home planet had once been. Maybe
he’d get the group together and do that again sometime soon. Perhaps have them
over at the house for a barbecue too.
    He
wiped his hands, turned, and walked along the hallway. He pulled open the
cupboard door and reached up on the top shelf for the telescope and its stand. Trent
placed both on the ground and assembled it, remembering fondly that he and his
dad had used it almost every night during their first summer in this house. He
carried it into the living room and sat it in front of the window. He dragged a
chair over behind it and sat.
    Swiping
away some dust from the lens, he glanced through the eyepiece and focused on
the stream. That was the best thing about this place; complete privacy and no
one around to disturb the peace.
    He
moved the lens upward, looking into the sky. Some stars were already twinkling.
He was young enough to remember what their lives had been like on their home
planet. There you didn’t need artificial lights because the stars were so
bright they lit up the night sky and reflected back down onto their homes and
streets.
    Trent
moved the lens downward.
    He
swallowed.
    She
was back. Not fishing this time, but strolling along in a brown jacket and some
very tight jeans.
    Maybe
she was a figment of his imagination. His mind conjuring up a
female mirage because it had been so long since he’d been with a woman shifter
in their group. He took a deep breath. If he looked at her any more,
he’d be jerking off again and then need another cold shower.
    He
had to quit looking.
    Wolves
howling in the distance caught his attention. He listened closely. They were
part of his shifter’s group. Announcing a small get together
tonight once the moon was out. Maybe he’d go. No, he felt more like
staying in and watching this woman who continued to fascinate him so much.
    Was
she living around here someplace? The nearest house was a mile away and he hadn’t
seen a for sale sign outside it. That didn’t mean she wasn’t staying there as
someone’s guest though.
    He
glanced through the lens again just as the wolves howled another message. Bring your own food and beer.
    And
then