Free Mountain Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Bear Haven Book 1) by Terry Bolryder Page B

raising one dark eyebrow. “I mean, I realize the man is hot as fire, but I think the only way this rush job is going to work is if you’re clear from the start that you’re going to be your own woman. Besides, we still have our rental car. I drove it up here. And we’ll take the Taser.”
    Ruby thought about it. Maybe Harmony was right. She couldn’t really imagine just always staying here, the good little woman, while Shane was out working the ranch.
    It would be good for her to see the small town, maybe stop by the barber and see if he was interested in a partner at all. She wouldn’t expect much in the way of pay after all.
    A knock sounded on the door, and all three women looked up.
    “Lunch is ready,” Shane called.
    The three of them stood and opened the door, and he stood there, looking tall and breathtakingly handsome as ever.
    His green eyes only for Ruby.
    “Hi,” she said.
    “Hi,” he replied in a deep voice.
    “Oh, please,” Harmony said, walking through them, waved her hand. “This is getting embarrassing.” She stopped and pinned Shane with a glare. “Oh, and we’re going into town today after lunch. We’re sure you have stuff to do around here, so we’ll take Ruby off your hands.”
    Shane’s face darkened and one eyebrow arched high. “Is that so?” He looked at Bonnie. “You okay to travel?”
    Bonnie flushed and stammered a yes, and Shane’s serious eyes moved to Ruby as if curious to see what she thought.
    “It’d be nice to see the town. And I don’t want to get in the way of your work.”
    “We’ll have the Taser, big guy,” Harmony said. She walked back to Ruby and put a hand around her shoulder. “And it’s not negotiable. We’re big girls. We can take care of ourselves. And I know Ruby, and she can’t live in quarantine.”
    Shane took a deep breath and finally relaxed his shoulders, nodding. “I can’t stop you, then. But be back well before nightfall. The mountains get dangerous after sundown.”
    Harmony nodded flippantly. “We’ll be fine.” She rubbed her hands together and walked forward, ignoring the awkwardness between Shane and Ruby. “Now, where’s lunch?”
    Bonnie walked forward to join her, leaving Ruby behind with her cowboy.
    He stared down at her quietly, and she fidgeted with her hands before rising on her toes and giving him a shy kiss on the cheek.
    “I’ll be back tonight,” she said. “And I’ll come to your cabin.”
    A grin spread across his face. “All right,” he said. “Fair deal. I guess if you’re thinking of settling here, you need to see the place. But I’d rather you go with me than your friends.”
    “You can’t be with me all the time,” she said, threading her arm through his in a way that felt natural.
    He let out a low growl. “But that’s the thing. I want to.”
    She laughed. “You’ll live. I promise I won’t get into any bar fights. We’ll stay on the main street.”
    “Okay,” he said. “But I’m probably going to send someone down to keep an eye on you. At a distance.” He looked in Harmony’s direction. “Don’t tell your friend.”
    “Okay,” she said. “Just not Mav. I think we’ve had all we can handle of him today.”
    Shane rubbed his hands together. “Oh, don’t worry. We’ve got him taken care of. I think Jesse already locked him inside his cabin.”
    “Although, just between you and me, I think Harmony kind of likes him…” Ruby said playfully.
    “You two coming?” Harmony yelled, and Shane gave Ruby a grin.
    “Guess we better catch up. As for her wanting Mav, she should sooner want a wild bear,” he said. Then he barked a laugh and walked forward, pulling her with him.
    As long as they were together, Ruby just felt good. Perhaps it was right that she spend a few hours without him and make sure she wasn’t under some spell and unable to think straight.
    Because she was seriously already falling in love.

9
    R uby and her friends walked down the center of Main Street,