Free Brash Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 3) by Natalie Kristen Page A

Bella and Celia.
    “And he'll pay—just
not with his life.” Josh worked hard to reign in his predatory
instinct and blood lust. “Call the Sheriff,” Josh
instructed his brother. “Winston Knight and his deputies won't
go soft on scum who prey on defenseless, elderly ladies. Don't
worry. He'll be put away for a long time.”
    Jax grumbled under his breath
but pulled out his phone. He glanced at Bella and huffed, “You
okay?”
    “Yes.” Bella had
managed to untie Celia and was helping the lady stand up. She gave
Celia a hug and whispered, “I am so, so sorry, Celia. I should
have taken the ring back at once. This wouldn't have happened if...”
    Celia patted her shoulder.
“I'm okay, aren't I? And I wasn't really afraid. I was just
playing along. I pretended to be so shell-shocked that I was
speechless. I just babbled nonsense, but I'd never tell him where I
hid your ring. Hmph!”
    Celia turned to Harlan, who
was pinned to the floor by Josh's boot. “You don't intimidate
me, punk. When I was a teacher, I taught in a really rough
neighborhood. My students thought they were real badasses, until
they met me. I made them sit up and shape up. I still receive cards
and flowers from some of them on Teachers' Day,” she smirked.
    The sound of a police siren
cut through the air. Josh came to Bella's side and put his arms
around her shoulder as the Sheriff and his deputies handcuffed Harlan
and hauled him away.
    “We'll like to take
your statement,” a deputy told Bella gently. “I
understand you're shaken, so any time you're ready...”
    Bella didn't hesitate. “I
am ready.”
    She was ready to close this
chapter. This was the last of her past. Hopefully Harlan would turn
over a new leaf after serving time. But what he did with his life
wasn't her concern.
    She didn't want to see him
again, but she didn't want revenge either.
    She had a wonderful life
ahead of her, and she didn't want to waste a minute of it.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT

    Bella came out of the kitchen
holding the huge apple pie aloft and asked, “Who wants
dessert?”
    All hands shot up. “Me!”
    Jax jumped up. “I'll
get the ice-cream,” he volunteered.
    “I want to get the
ice-cream, Daddy,” Ashley protested.
    “Okay, princess, you
get it,” Jax chuckled.
    Ashley grinned and pulled out
two tubs from the freezer. Bella gave the girl a smile as she came
marching out with her favorite flavors. Ashley knew every corner of
her place and where she kept everything. Josh's family came over for
dinner almost every weekend. Josh always went next door and invited
Celia to join them. And he wouldn't take no for an answer. Celia
was family too, as far as they were concerned.
    Bella and Josh had discussed
if she should move to the big house he shared with his brothers, or
if he should move in with her. In the end, Josh decided that they
should stay in her house. “I've done so much work on it. We
should enjoy it. It'd be a pity to rent it out,” he said,
surveying his handiwork with pride.
    He had certainly transformed
her shabby little house into a beautiful home. He'd built new
cabinets, repainted the whole place and replaced the flooring. He
spent almost all his free time doing up her house and was at her
place so often that when he wasn't around, the house actually felt
too big and empty without him. So they had taken the logical step
and moved in together.
    Bella loved living with Josh.
They knew each other's habits and quirks, and they didn't try to
change each other. She'd made many friends in Shadow Point but she
was just naturally quiet and introverted. She was comfortable with
Josh's family, but she was still a little nervous when his work mates
came over. But she was getting to know some of the guys quite well.
And Nick wasn't just a good friend. He had become almost like a big
brother to her as well.
    As Ashley scooped the
ice-cream onto the warm slices of apple pie, Josh and Celia handed
out the plates. They always had apple pie for dessert