Free Colby (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 3) by Becca Fanning

life in hiding wasn’t whole. It had no joy. It was freedom, but it wasn’t sanctuary. It wasn’t happiness. There was no light, no matter how bright the sun shone.

    “Maybe I should go back home,” she mused to herself, refusing to get out of bed, to face another day on the run. “If I go home, then the next time I meet a man like Eddie, I can kiss him all I want. We can have our fireworks.”

    Except she didn’t want a man like Eddie. She wanted Eddie, the real him, not the imitation. She wanted the bear.

    “Miss Dakota!” Brianna hollered from the living room, summoning her, too perky for the morning. Miss Dakota was her nickname. She hated it, but she was getting along well with Brianna, so she endured it.

    Reluctantly, Dakota managed to roll out of bed and pull a pair of denim shorts on under her red tank top, the same she’d worn the first day at the rodeo, her possessions few.

    “I’m awake,” she said, dragging herself out of the room. “Is this a fire drill?”

    “You have a package,” Brianna told her, shaking a box excitedly. “It’s from Eddie.”

    “Let’s hope it’s not porcelain,” she mumbled. “How early do they deliver here?”

    “It’s almost noon,” Brianna revealed, pointing to the clock.

    “Noon?” She’d finally gotten her sleep. She felt better, a lot more refreshed than she had sleeping on the bus, but she could have easily gone back to bed for a few hours.

    “Chickling, a handsome cowboy has left you a package, and I’m pretty sure it ain’t dynamite. Aren’t ya going to open it?” Brianna asked.

    Obliging her, Dakota sat on the couch and pulled open the top of the box. Inside was the blanket with the apples woven into it. Delighted, she lifted the fabric to her cheek. Made of wool, it scratched her, but it smelled wonderful, like summers on the orchard.

    “Awe, wasn’t that just sweet of him,” Brianna sang. “You’ve got him hooked like a fish.”

    Dakota dropped the blanket, eyeing Brianna carefully. “Why are you being so supportive?” she asked. “Yesterday, you wanted push the entire Tyrell Clan off a mountainside.”

    Brianna waved her hand dismissively. “All is forgiven. I got the sponsorship. They called this morning. I sign the papers today.”

    “That’s great,” Dakota said. “Congratulations.” She wasn’t the type to throw hugs around, but she was genuinely happy for Brianna.

    “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Now I can travel more, really get my name out there.” She patted Dakota’s knee. “Let’s go celebrate. There’s a bucket of beers waiting with our name on it.”

    “Why does that sound literal?”

    “Because it is. There’s a barbeque down at the gorge where a lot of the rodeo folk are camping out. No fans, just the crew.”

    Dakota thought of how she’d left things with Eddie, and she curled into a ball on the couch. “Do I have to go?”

    “No,” Brianna said. “But I know you want to.”

    She smoothed down the corners of the blanket, unable to refuse. “Yeah. I do.”

    ***

    The gorge was an area near the stadium not far from where the bonfire had been the night before. Rocky inclines stood in the distance, past a river that ran through the valley. There was a good distance between the campsite and the river, land covered in tumbleweed and sand, where cacti sprouted in jagged intervals.  

    Full of trailers, the campsite could be mistaken for a Western movie set, the actors sprawled around with cans of beer in their hand while smoke rose from a number of barbeques. While Brianna went to sign the papers for her sponsorship, Dakota walked around, hoping Eddie hadn’t left yet for the next stop on his rodeo tour.

    He hadn’t. Near their trailers, the Tyrell Clan played a game of horseshoes. Eddie sat on a log, talking with Jacob as Owen took a shot. A fourth man stood beside them. He resembled Holden, with his dark hair and noble stature.

    Colby , she thought. That