Free The Christmas Tree Bear: A Bear Shifter Paranormal Holiday Romance by Rosie Lynne Page B

dad, “it’s Charlotte!  Baby, where are you?  We’ve been calling your cell.  Are you alright?  Beth Anne was about to get Jeff to start digging out the pickup so they could go by Lynne’s house.”
     
    Charlie smiled and let her mother’s thick southern drawl wash over her.  “I’m fine, mama.  I promise.  I’m still at the tree farm.”
     
    Her mother paused.  “At the farm?  Why in the world are you over there?”
     
    “The car skidded off the road not far from the farm, and Willis came and got me out.  We’re staying in the little cabin on the property.  Willis is outside right now trying to get the gas generator started.  We’ve got the fireplace and wood stove, but a little more power would be nice.”
     
    “You and Willis?” her mother asked.  “Are you alright?  Is the car?”
     
    “I’m fine, mama,” Charlie promised again.  “And I think the car is fine.  I managed to slide into a bit of a snow pack and couldn’t get free.  We already called Bill Poole this morning--”
     
    “Oh, he’ll get you out in a jiffy.  He’s got that big tow truck and both his boys are home from college.”
     
    Charlie laughed.  “Yes, mama.”
     
    “Well, we have power, somehow!  The weatherman is saying we got almost an inch and half of ice before it turned into eight inches of snow.  Can you believe that?  Ice and snow, that much, down here!  I don’t even remember the last time we had snow like this.  Your dad doesn’t ever remember it being this cold and snowy.  We’ve got the dogs in here with us and we’re thinking about when we’re supposed to shovel.  I don’t even know how that--”
     
    “Mama!”  Charlie cut in.  “Can you do me a favor and call Beth Anne?  I don’t want her to worry and make Jeff go out.  I’m fine.  If, you know, a little stuck.”
     
    “Of course, baby!  But are you sure you and Willis are okay?  Do you have food?”
     
    “Yes, mama, we have food.  Not a lot of variety, but we’ll be fine until Bill can come clear the drive and get us out.”
     
    “Willis,” her mother hummed.  “Such a nice boy.  And so handsome!”
     
    “Mama,” Charlie warned.
     
    “Always so polite.  Works so hard on the family business.  And I ran into Jolie recently at the store, and she was telling me how annoyed she was at him for letting yet another Christmas pass with no girlfriend and no grandbabies--”
     
    “Mama.”
     
    “And he is such a looker, don’t you think?”  Her mother asked with a giggle.
     
    “Mama!”
     
    “Oh, you’re thinking it,” her mother teased.  “Do you want me to call Bill, too?  Tell him to take all the time he needs to clear up the road--”
     
    “I’m hanging up now.  Say hi to daddy for me.”  
     
    “Did Willis come back in?  Tell him--” Charlie heard before she stabbed the end button.
     
    She couldn’t help but let out a laugh.  Bless her mother and her never ending quest for more grandchildren.  Beth Anne was already pregnant with twins, yet still she wanted more!
     
    Determined to put her mother’s future marriage and baby plans out of her mind, Charlie set out to put together something for breakfast this morning.  She was going through the drawers in the kitchen to find a knife or a good pair of scissors to help cut out the package of bacon she'd found in the freezer.  They might not have eggs or any sort of bread for toast, but bacon alone would do.
     
    She found, shoved in the back of one of the many junk drawers, a big box of condoms.  She stared at it.  On one hand, she had questions about why there was a giant box of condoms in this cabin that was rarely used.  On the other hand, it was a giant box of condoms, and she was trapped with the hot guy she was rapidly realizing was going to be more than a couple of dates worth of fun.
     
    She cooked up the bacon and covered it with a plate once it was done until Willis finished fighting with the gas.  When he came