Free Bear The Burn (Firebear Brides 1) by Anya Nowlan Page B

with her baking and that the Los Angeles bear was discovering that he didn’t know everything about his bear that he thought he knew. Royce assumed with reasonable certainty that Redmond would be the next one chasing for a wife, and that notion amused him as much as it filled him with hope.
    Redmond scooted up and between the two of them, and they got the crossbeam hammered into place. It was just in time too, as evening was falling and it would get dark soon. As with all mountainous regions the way the sun set was almost like flicking off a light. Dramatic, to say the least. Chatting amongst one another, they got out of the barn and walked over to the house.
    “You thinking about getting in touch with Ragnar?” Redmond asked.
    It wasn’t lost on Royce that both of them avoided the topic of Rhodes, the one out of the bunch of them who would probably be the hardest to sway. But that was a problem for another time.
    “I am. But I figured I’d give you time to woo a bride first,” Royce stated, grinning at the dirty look his brother tossed him. “Hey, you know the rules.”
    “Yeah, I do,” Redmond said with a sigh, heading for the stairs that went to the second floor. “I’ll take a shower and then tell you in excruciating detail what I think about Uncle Herbert’s bird-brained idea. For a bear, he sure had a weird sense of humor.”
    Chuckling, Royce walked into the kitchen, finding Tiana sitting there and nursing a cup of tea. She looked a bit out of sorts, her face twisted between a smile and a scowl and her hands trembling a bit.
    “What’s wrong, honey?” he asked, sitting down next to her.
    She’d come out of the fire surprisingly well. Many people who went through trauma like that would have nightmares and it would haunt them, but Tiana had brushed it off like a champ. For a moment, Royce worried that maybe the memories had finally caught up with her. He sat down next to her, scooping her up in his arms and putting her on his lap. She smiled softly, not fighting him and draping her arms around his neck.
    “I got some news today,” she said, biting her lower lip in that maddening way of hers.
    “Yeah? From Cerise? Austin?” Royce asked, remembering that Tiana had been in talks with the owners of the only bar and diner in Shifter Grove. “Do they want you to start supplying them with bread?” he asked, getting excited for her.
    Her eyes were clouded over a bit, but they cleared as she looked at him, nodding her head slowly.
    “Yes, both of them do. But… that’s not all,” she said, her voice pitching higher than usual.
    “Come on, honey, what is it? You’re making me worried,” he said, cuddling her closer.
    “I’m… I’m pregnant,” she finally said, looking a tiny bit apprehensive.
    Royce almost knocked both of them into the dining table when he jumped up and started bouncing around the kitchen with Tiana in his arms.
    “Are you sure?!” he asked, grinning widely.
    He’d always wanted a family. Badly. But it had never seemed right while he lived in Boston. Not only had he not found the right woman, but the city was no place to raise cubs. It had become abundantly clear when he came back to Idaho and remembered the happiness of his childhood there in the big open plains, thick forests, and gorgeous mountains. The thought of raising a family there, in Hamilton House, with the woman he loved more than anything filled his soul with a joy unlike any other.
    “I’m sure,” she laughed, clinging to him. “We’re having a baby!”
    “Hell, Tiana! That’s one way to make a man work ten times as hard,” he said, grinning. “I’m going to have this place damn spotless by the time the little one gets here!” he rejoiced.
    Everything was falling into place. He had his woman, he would soon have his cub, and at least one of his brothers saw the same kind of opportunity that he did. There was a long road ahead, but Royce Hamilton was confident that everything would work out. It had to.