Finding Her Bear (Bear Creek Clan 2) (3 page)

She turned to him and smiled, and his tongue grew in his mouth so that he couldn't speak. Another deep breath, he let it out slowly, trying to gauge if it was safe for him to speak. Knowing his luck he'd drool or something instead.

"Hello. Aren't you cold? The water is freezing," she said.

He couldn't say, 'no I'm a hot blooded bear', not even in a joking way. He wasn't that smooth. "I don't feel the cold too much. Guess it comes from living in the shadow of the mountains."

"They are beautiful. I love it here. Have you lived in Bear Creek all your life?"

"Yes. My ancestors were one of the founding families of Bear Creek. None of us have ever felt the need to leave."

"I can see why." She looked at the waterfall. "This is my favourite place. Right here watching the water. I love to listen to it splashing into the pool, before it tumbles down the mountain."

"It's one of my favourite places too. Although the next fall is more dramatic."

"There's another fall?" She looked at him, actually interested in something he had to say.

"Yes. It's a bit of a climb. But well worth it. The pool isn't as big as this. But the height of the fall is a lot higher."

"I've never gone too much further up. I never liked to on my own."

This is where he should offer to show her. Come on. You can do it. "It's quite safe. The trail is uneven and steep for a hundred metres, and then it levels off and zig zags." Say it. "I ... I could show you. If you want."

"I'd like that."

He sat down by her. "When you're free, give me a shout. I'll pack a picnic."

"A picnic. I haven't ever had a picnic. I like the sound of that."

"You've never had a picnic?" His voice did sound shocked.

"Well. Not a proper one. I've bought a packed lunch up here. But I don't know if it counts."

"Then I should introduce you to a Bear Creek picnic. In the summer, when we were kids we used to haul so much food up onto the plateau just above the falls. It's where the spring is. The one that feeds the mountain stream. Where all this water comes from. We'd play hide and seek in the trees. It was the best time."

"I can imagine."

"So your parents never took you on a picnic? To the park or the beach?"

"Not that I remember. I was only six when my mom passed. Then my sister and I went from one foster home to another. No picnics then. In every sense of the word."

"I'm sorry. That must have been rough."

"It was. My only constant was my sister. We were very close."

"I'm sorry. Has she passed too?"

"Oh, no. She is busy climbing the corporate ladder. Made a different kind of family."

"And you? You didn't want to spend your life working in an office?"

"No way. Even the diner is too crowded for me. I think that's why I like it here so much. I'm only glad it doesn't look as if I'll have to leave after all."

"Oh. Johnny keeping you on?" He tried not to sound too relieved.

"No. Will offered me a job at his hangout. At least I think that's what they call the place."

"Yes," he said trying to keep his voice even. "That's what they call the place."

So that's what Will was up to. He knew exactly where he was going once he had made sure Kayleigh was safely home. Will would answer for this.

They stayed for a while longer, until her feet felt like lumps of ice. The cold mountain water had made them numb and tingly. Being next to Daryl had distracted her and she didn't notice until they were red and cold. She slid herself back from the water. Lifting her feet up, she put them on the ledge, so she could rub them dry with her socks. It wasn’t the most ideal thing, but it was better than nothing.

“Wow. I can hardly feel my toes.” She tried to wriggle them, but they didn’t want to respond. Slightly disturbing.

“Here, let me.” He undid his top buttons, and then pulled his shirt off over his head. He balled it up, and then used it to rub her feet dry.

Holding one foot in his left hand, he used his shirt to dry all the water from it. His touch warmed her skin instantly. By the time he’d finished, her foot wasn’t the only thing that was hot. She had a deep ache at the pit of her stomach, and the thing it craved was him.

His touch burned deep inside her. She wanted to pull her foot away, the feelings he stirred in her were too confusing. But she left it where it was, and endured the wonderful feelings he evoked. In fact, she could lie back right here, and let him touch her skin. And not just the skin of her feet. He was welcome to inflame every nerve ending in her body.

“Are you alright?” His words made her jolt out of her daydream.

“Yes. Thank you.” Her face flushed red, she was never good at hiding her emotions. “I guess I’m tired. I had the early shift at the diner.”

“I’ll walk you home if you want?”

“It’s OK. I’ve done this trek so many times I’ll be fine on my own.” Well, that sounded like a brush off. So she tried again. “Unless you don’t mind. I don’t usually have company up here.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he smiled, and for the first time she noticed he had dimples. He really should smile more often; it was a beautiful sight. If you could describe a six foot plus male as beautiful. But there was something about him; he didn’t seem to be a muscle bound lout after all.

“I’m not always good at saying what I mean. I spent so many years never really getting to know anyone. One minute we thought we were settled, and the next minute it was time to move on. I haven't changed much since then. I’ve kept moving, not allowing myself to get to know people. In case they’re disappointed in me.” She sat still, her mouth open, shocked at her own words. “Sorry. That was too much information. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I think it’s finally sunk in how much I want to stay here. And that’s a first for me.”

“I’m glad you like it here, Kayleigh.”

He knew her name.

"Of course he does you idiot. He might not have ever really spoken to you. But he’s seen your name badge enough times in the diner," she said to herself. This mountain air seemed to have turned her into an idiot.

“Right. Thank you for err ... drying my feet.” That sounded weird. This day was going to go down as one of the more memorable that she had experienced for years. A job offer and a man drying her feet. Bear Creek and its inhabitants sure were different. Different in a good way, or at least she hoped. What if he was some weirdo after all? A weirdo with a foot fetish.

Kayleigh quickly put her socks and hiking boots back on. Managing to put her full concentration into doing up her laces. It was the only way to stop herself looking at the huge amount of bare chest in front of her. If he was a weirdo, he had to be the best looking one ever.

But those muscles also made him dangerous. He was so strong, if he wanted to overpower her, she wouldn’t stand a chance. He could pin her down and have his wicked way with her. She switched off her brain for a second.

That was her problem. With no real experience of getting to know people on a long term basis, she had never learned how people behave. How to tell if they were honest. Most of her foster parents had been nice. However, the two sisters were never in one place past the new, honeymoon period. She never built up trust with anyone other than her sister. People confused her.

“No problem.” He was saying. “You know when you’re out hiking you have to look after your feet. No hoof no horse, as they say ... not that I’m saying you're a horse.”

She smiled. Her worries swept away by the way he appeared to be blushing under his tanned skin. Perhaps he was as people shy as she was. It would explain an awful lot about his behaviour towards her at the diner. She always tripped over her own words, worried in case she said the wrong thing. As a kid, she had depended on Antonia so much in that way. Antonia, being the eldest, had always spoken up for them both.

“Shall we go? I’m getting hungry. All that talk of picnics has made me think I should have packed some food. I only bought water.”

He stood up, his body moving in one fluid sinewy movement. It made her visualise him naked. The way he had swam through the water, so effortless, his athleticism disguised by those big strong muscles. Reaching down he held out his hand for her.

This time she didn’t hesitate. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up. For once in her life she felt as light as a feather, he was so strong. But it caused her to over balance and stumble into him. Unintentionally, of course. He caught her, his big strong capable hands grasping hold of her upper arms. His thumbs brushing the sides of her breasts as she tipped forward.

She gasped at the contact. It was more intimate than she had ever been with a man. As ridiculous as that sounded, she had never been on a date. Maybe it was because she had never been in one place long enough. Or maybe it was because she was scared. Scared of ending up like her mom. What was the point in dating a man if you never intended to have kids?

“Sorry,” he said, his voice hoarse, his warm breath on her neck. He gently righted her.

“You have nothing to apologise for. It’s me who’s clumsy. Always have been.” She turned away from him so he couldn’t see the heat that inflamed her cheeks once more.

“Come on. Which way did you come up?” He asked, his voice normal now. The awkwardness past.

“Across the lower slope, and then through the edge of the forest.”

He looked up at the sun, which would pass over the mountains soon, leaving this part of the valley in shade. “If we hurry, we’ll catch the deer grazing in the last rays of sun.” He took a step forward, and then looked for her response. “If you’d like to see them that is. Or did you want to get home soon?”

She grinned at him. “No that would be really kind of you. I’ve been up here exploring on my own. But I think you have to have lived somewhere for a long time to get to know all the special places.”

“There are lots of special places I'd like to share with you, Kayleigh.” He smiled; those dimples again. But instead of questioning his motives, for some ridiculous reason she believed him.

“I’d like that, Daryl.”

His smile widened, and they set off across the lower edge of the pond. Daryl leapt the mountain stream as it dashed down the steep slope and into the trees. The water had washed the soil away around the bottom of the trees, exposing their roots. They still clung on tightly to their upright position. So old, so fixed in place. She only wished that when she was old, she would be able to say she had firmly put roots down in one place.

Holding his hand out, he helped for jump the river. She squealed in delight as the bubbling water splashed over the rocks below her. When she reached the other side, she didn’t want to let go of his hand. The feeling seemed mutual. For a few moments, they walked together, like two lovers holding hands. Then he released her and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Worried he had abandoned her she stopped. Looking for where he had gone. When he reappeared with some blackberries, she smiled.

“Wow. How did you know where to find those?”

“You get used to all the best spots for wild food. Depending on the season. Soon there will be wild hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts.”

“You’re a proper country boy aren’t you?”

“Yes. I could never imagine living anywhere else. This place is my home, and I don’t just mean Bear Creek. It’s the mountain, the forest, the air.”

She laughed and ate the blackberries. Which although not as plump and juicy as the ones in shops, were full of flavour, and sweet. Just like Daryl Cartwright.

This day had most definitely opened her eyes to a wider world around her.

An unexpected turn of events. To meet her here, to actually talk to her. Like a real person. Ever since he first met her, and realised what she was to him, he had longed for this day. He hadn’t realised what a heavy weight it had been dragging him down. To have the person you are destined to spend the rest of your life within easy reach, and be too afraid to take that first step. Did that make him a coward?

For a fierce bear he had always been a little on the timid side. When he was human anyway. As a bear he was ferocious, would fight until the bitter end for the right cause. Yet stick a human brain back in him and he was a meek little sheep.

He smiled to himself. A little sheep. That would have to change if he was going to see off his competition, Will. He certainly didn’t want to fight Will. They were not exactly friends, but they still watched each other’s backs. Will had demons of his own, mostly caught up with his own mate. He would hate Will to release some of his frustration by causing trouble for him and Kayleigh.

“They were wonderful,” she said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed them. Now, we have to be quiet, and move up the mountain a little. It means we’ll be down wind.”

She wet her finger. He was mesmerised by the way she put it in her mouth and slowly sucked on it as she brought it back out. Then she lifted her hand over her head and stuck her finger in the air. “I can’t feel a breeze.”

“Believe me, there is one. It’s very faint, but it sweeps around the valley. The deer will smell us coming.” Well, him anyway. They could scent a bear even if he was in human form. They spooked very easily. He would feel like a complete fraud if they were gone before he had shown them to Kayleigh.

“This way,” he said. Daryl reached for her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Then he set off through the trees. They had to duck down low, and he could feel the heat of her body next to his. His whole body was attuned to her presence. When she breathed, he felt her draw her breath in, and push it back out. He wondered if their hearts beat in time together.

“We have to go really quietly. They have excellent hearing, and they are constantly on their guard. Ready?”

She nodded, and they slipped out of the deeper forest, to stand in a small belt of trees. Before them was an open grassy plain. At first, they couldn’t see anything. Then he led her forward two more steps. She gasped when she saw the flicker of their short tails as they swished at the flies. Their feet occasionally stamping.