Free Bear My Heart: A Small Town Paranormal Romance by Natalie Kristen

“Really?”
    “Yeah.” Dot
cleared her throat. “You asked if I would consider holding a
talk or a writing seminar for the residents.”
    “Yes!” Megan said
eagerly. “Would you? Everyone would be so excited...”
    “I...I think...”
Dot stammered and swallowed. “I think I'd like to do it.”
    Megan let out a whoop before
hurriedly shushing herself. “This is wonderful! Thank you,
Dot!”
    “I've never done this
before. I'm not sure what I should talk about...”
    “Oh, you can talk about
your stories, and I'm sure everyone will be asking you a billion
questions. It doesn't have to be a formal talk. It's more of a...”
Megan tapped her chin as she searched for the right word. “A
discussion, a question-and-answer session!” She snapped her
fingers. “Ooh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to tell
everybody!” Megan clapped her hands and did a little dance on
the spot. “I'll start putting up the notices and posters for
the talk. Shall we say...next Friday night?”
    Dot nodded uncertainly. “I
guess. Yeah, okay.”
    Megan hugged her and bounded
away to tell a fellow librarian the good news.
    Dot turned away and scurried
out of the library. She released a long breath once she was standing
at the edge of the sidewalk.
    She had never done anything
like this before. This was a big step for her. A giant, terrifying,
thrilling step.
    This was the first time she
had put herself forward and done something so public. She had always
kept a low profile and tried to stay unnoticed and hidden. For the
first time, she'd stepped forward and volunteered to do something for
the community.
    It felt strange and...really, really good.
    She had never felt like she
belonged anywhere. But it was different here. Maybe it was the
right time, the right place—and the right people. She felt
like she belonged in this town and she wanted to be a part of this
small, close-knit community. Here, she actually had friends,
neighbors, and...a boyfriend.
    Troy had taken her out to
dinner at Papa Bear's and another restaurant in town. Before long,
everyone simply assumed they were a couple. Lilly had been teasing
Dot relentlessly. She'd even christened the corner booth “Dot
and Troy's Loveseat”.
    Troy often had breakfast with
her at Papa Bear's. Megan and her boys joined them sometimes. So
did Troy's business partner, Brandon. Dot found Brandon to be a very
sweet, gentle young man. It was hard to imagine that he had once
wanted to have the blood of his father's murderers on his hands.
    She was learning to live
again. After so long, she could finally breathe freely.
    Maybe she was truly free at
last.
    Dot got into her old, trusty,
beat-up car and drove home. She parked her car and ran up her front
steps feeling optimistic and determined. She planned to tell Megan
and Troy everything about her past. They had a right to know. They
were family.
    Dot unlocked her front door
and froze as she stepped on a piece of paper.
    Her heart stopped.
    With trembling fingers, she
snatched the paper off the floor and stifled a scream when she saw
the drawing.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

    Whistling, Troy stopped his
truck in front of Dot's house. He and Brandon had just finished
unclogging a bathroom sink for old Mrs Bogg. They had also installed
a nice new toilet seat and toilet paper holder for her. It was a
simple job and they'd finished up nice and early. Troy had the whole
afternoon free, and he wanted to surprise Dot with a homecooked
dinner.
    He had bought all the
groceries, and stopped by the florist to pick up a bunch of flowers
for her. The plan was for her to chill out at his house while he
cooked dinner. She could bring her laptop so she could do some work,
or she could just watch TV, read a magazine, a book, anything. But
she wasn't allowed to step into the kitchen. He would be her
personal chef today.
    Troy strode up to the front
door, bearing the vibrant, fresh flowers. After buzzing the doorbell
repeatedly and receiving no answer, he pounded