Free An Ember To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 5) by Sloane Meyers Page A

and smiled at the fresh, earthy scent of spring that hung in the air. He loved this time of year. The seasons weren’t as pronounced in northern California as they were in other parts of the country, so the changes in the weather weren’t that dramatic. But Zach had still missed the freshness in the air that spring brought, and he indulged in another deep breath before buckling down to work.
    He needed to inspect his parachute in preparation for the upcoming smokejumping season. The crew members all repaired their own parachutes, and were responsible for doing safety checks to make sure their gear remained in good condition. Zach carefully went over the thick fabric of the parachute, trying to find any holes or tears. Then he started inspecting the lines that connected the parachute to the container, which was the backpack-esque contraption used to secure the parachute to Zach’s body during a jump.
    Zach started humming some lines from a recent country music hit, and lost himself in his work. He didn’t know what the rest of the crew was up to right now, but he was enjoying having the hangar to himself. Ever since he had stormed away from the barbecue, a noticeable strain had hung in the air between him and the other clan members. He knew they were upset with his attitude, but he refused to apologize. If they didn’t like the way he acted, they could just stay the hell out of his way. Which, it seemed, was exactly what they were doing today. Fine by him.
    Zach kept humming as he started repacking his parachute. He hadn’t found any problems with the gear, so he was ready for the next job assignment. He would probably be waiting another month for an assignment, but, now that the weather was beginning to heat up again, it was best to be prepared at all times.
    Zach’s happy solitude was interrupted a few minutes later by the sound of women laughing. He frowned as he heard their voices getting closer, and he tried to quickly finish packing his gear up so that he could leave the hangar. He couldn’t complete the task fast enough, however. As he yanked the flaps of his parachute rig closed, he saw Bailey round the corner of the hangar. She was holding a large, clear plastic container, and was looking over her shoulder to talk to someone behind her.
    “We can set these supplies up for now, and then go back to get more if we need to. But I think this should give us a really good start.”
    Zach rolled his eyes. Not only had Ian let Bailey, yet another human, move out to base to live with the crew, but he had also given her permission to run her jewelry business out of the hangar. Zach didn’t think that an airplane hangar was a good place to do arts and crafts, but Ian had stood firm, saying that they had plenty of room and there was no reason for Bailey to have to spend the money to rent office space in town.
    Zach felt a pang of sadness hit him as he realized that it had been a long time since he and Ian had engaged in a conversation that didn’t end in an argument. Zach missed the good old days, when Ian was his best friend and they would spend hours hanging out, drinking beers, and just enjoying life. They both still referred to each other as best friends, but their arguments had been outshining any sense of camaraderie for the last year, at least.
    “Good morning, Zach,” Bailey said brightly.
    Zach grunted in response, picking up his gear to put it away and get away from the hangar as fast as he could. As he turned to put the parachute on its rack, however, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
    “Good morning, Zach.”
    Zach froze. That couldn’t possibly be who he thought it was, could it? He sniffed the air, and her scent hit him in full force. Slowly, he turned around, and found himself face to face with Mindy. An unexpected rush of conflicting emotions ran through him. He felt the warmth of desire creeping through his veins as his bear roared within him at the sight of Mindy. He felt embarrassment at having