Bearly Hanging On (Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (The Jamesburg Shifters Book 6) (20 page)

"Shut up," she laughed softly. "I went out there - to see Ryan, to tell him that he needed to stop all the, all the shit. Anyway, he took me to meet a couple of elderly koalas that—"

"Mature," Jenga said. When Jamie gave him a quizzical look, he continued, "we prefer to be called mature these days."

That got her to laugh again, which she really needed. She took a deep breath and squeezed Jenga's hand. "Right, a couple of mature koalas. They were fighting and bickering, just like in an old movie. But God, did they love each other."

Her voice was starting to thicken, the back of Jamie's throat tickling a little with the buildup of emotion. "They just... every time that old woman sniped at the old man, they'd give each other the most irritated looks, and then they'd just smile. You know what I mean?"

"I do," Jenga said, his eyes seeming to get a little misty, as he looked off in the distance. "What was it about that?"

"The old woman, Cora, she asked me if I was pregnant, which she said later was just her way of making fun of Ryan for never having found a mate."

"Ah," Jenga said, smiling gently. "Yes, well, that would certainly do the trick. Does he know? Ryan?"

"God, no," Jamie said, almost too quickly. "I was with Dominic for six months and never told him anything. Of course he started wondering why I tended to get kinda weird about sex sometimes, but I’m glad I never told him. But this guy, I," Jamie trailed off for a second. “I told him about me being a kid. I told him a lot, more than I’ve told pretty much anyone except you. But I avoided certain things.”

"Hmm," Jenga intoned. "Yes, he was... well, I'm not here for personal opinion sharing. Have you thought about letting him all the way through your walls? You seem to be closer to him, or at least, want to be?"

"That's where I'm screwed," Jamie said, puffing out another laugh. "I
do
want to. I want to tell him everything. He asked me the other day, he asked "where are you from?" and I quickly diverted that into talking about... something. Cows, or something, I don't even remember."

"And do you know about him?"

"That's the other thing. I asked him about himself and he avoided answering just as deftly as I did."

"Ah," Jenga said, steepling his fingers and smiling over the top of them. "Seems like you've found your match, then?"

"I can't," she said. "Not with all this stuff in my guts chewing at me. I tell you everything, and I feel better, but then I feel like if I'm going to let someone in - like really let someone, in, I have to dredge all that old shit up again and relive it again."

"We," Jenga said, in that distant way that meant he was about to say something surprisingly profound. "All of us, we are a collection of the experiences we've had, the things we've felt, and the things we've been dealt, yes?" He coughed again. "Do you have to tell someone all of your secrets to love them? No, of course not. But if they love you, they'll want to take the burden of those secrets - not away, mind you - but they'll want to help carry it. That's what love is, Jamie. And—"

"That's why I've never felt it before now."

The rock hit the bottom of her stomach. All at once, the realization hit her, met with a heavy dose of fear, revulsion and indescribable relief. She looked from the rickety book shelf, to ghastly collection of specimen jars, to Jenga, and back to the books. "What the hell am I going to do?"

Jenga stood up, resting his hands on Jamie's shoulders. "Are you busy for the next half hour?" he asked.

"I work for the Jamesburg city government. Does that answer your question?" She smiled through the sniffles, and dabbed another red streak off her cheek.

Jenga boomed a laugh. "Yes, well, that does answer me quite ably. Very good, I know just the thing to lift your spirits."

He deposited two milk jugs - one a gallon, and one a quart - beside the pile of Soap Opera Digest. "Do you mind?"

That rock in the pit of Jamie's stomach turned into a toad that started climbing its way back out. "Oh, no," she said. "Ohhhh no. You want me to carry that stuff?"

Jenga nodded, giving her an eager, yellow-toothed grin. "How long has it been since you saw Atlas? And have you seen him in his, er, uniform?"

"Oh my God, you can't be serious. He wears a uniform? What kind? Did the hyenas somehow make one that fit him? I bet this is the most absurdly adorable thing in the universe."

Somehow, even though all her troubles were firmly entrenched in the back of her mind, just like Jenga said, the thought of that ridiculous, impossibly lovable monster in a police uniform was just too much. She blinked hard. "Okay, all right, fine. Do you have anything I can use to keep these lids on? I don't want to drop this stuff on some unfortunate pedestrian who happens to be underneath me when I catch a gust and lose one."

He pointed at the lids, both of which were heavily taped on. "Don't fly with open containers," he said with one of his twinkling-eyed looks. "You know better than that."

She grabbed the jugs, stood and turned toward the door before she froze in place. "Do you think I'm crazy?" she asked. "About Ryan and wanting him to know all about me, and the... and all that?" She was able to blink back the red tears this time before they came.

"Oh no, dear child," he said. His voice was back to jangling. "No, no, not at all. I think I'm slightly off-kilter, but you? You, I'm afraid, are as normal as bears that turn into people. Or wait, no, that's..."

"I get what you mean—," she said, the left corner of her mouth twitching in a smile. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and tell Atlas to make sure to bring Sara home early tonight. He's worn her so ragged that a few parts need adjusting."

The sort of laugh that’s only possible in the case of unexpected Nerf bat to crotch contact burst out of Jamie. "That is... basically the last thing I expected to hear. But, sure, I'll make sure those two crazy kids get home early so you can sew... whatever needs sewing."

Jenga was back to whistling standards, and singing every so often. For Jamie? Spreading her wings and tasting the gusts that took her up into the sky had never, ever felt so good.

*

A
bout eight minutes after taking flight, she touched down at the intersection of Pine, Beard, Magnolia and Bondie. The site was utterly, unbelievable, inconceivable.

Atlas, the giant zombie bear, lovingly sewn together from many parts, was standing in the middle of the street, waving two stop signs with the grimmest, most serious look on his face Jamie had ever seen this side of a Steven Spielberg movie.

Except that he was wearing the same kind of sash that sixth graders wear when they're on the safety patrol.

And absolutely nothing else.

That is most definitely not a regulation police uniform.

A car pulled to a stop, and Atlas turned, checking both other directions before waving it through. But, the second he saw Jamie touch down, he dropped his signs and ran toward her, barreling into her, lifting her stilettos off the ground, and giving her the biggest, beariest hug she could imagine. Dutifully, Sara picked up the signs and directed traffic. She was wearing her normal flowered dress and flip-flops combo.

He set her down, and stared at her, smiling and drooling, just like a really, really happy bulldog.

"Well look at you!" Jamie patted the giant on the shoulder. He ate up every ounce of attention, he loved it to pieces. "Looking good, Atlas, how you like working?"

"Not... work?" he said. "Every day I'm... vacation. I'm on vacation, and making... safe? I make safe. Everything. Safe."

She was used to him not wearing much in the way of clothing, but seeing the bear's giant dork swinging around every time the breeze caught it was something... very Jamesburg.

"I brought you, er, lunch," she said, handing the jug to Atlas, and collecting his massive paw of a hand to drag back to the intersection. By the time they got there, which was roughly a fifteen foot walk, Atlas had somehow guzzled half of the jug.

All around Sara's feet were Cadbury Creme Egg wrappers. "Hey Sara," Jamie said, giving the slightly smaller zombie a high-five, which she enjoyed a whole bunch. "Boo-ba-bar!" Sara shouted, opening, and then eating, another whole treat.

"Jenga told me you were watching your figure," Jamie said. "But more importantly, where the hell do you get those things in the fall? I could seriously use some of them."

Sara shrugged. "Atlas found," she said. "Want one?"

Turns out, she had an entire duffel bag full of them. Jamie peered inside, and felt like a dragon opening a treasure chest full of gold coins. All the types - caramel, peanut butter, chocolate, original - all were there. "Sure," she said, grabbing an original and a caramel. "But this doesn't look much like a diet to me."

Sara made a honking noise. "You smelled?" she pointed at the jug. "Not lunch. Not good. Not for nobody." She ate another chocolate. "Sara don't care about diet, but Sara not stupid."

Atlas gave her a huge, wide, beaming smile, finished his jug and then opened hers. "Anyway, he stupid. He likes."

As soon as he was finished, Atlas conscientiously placed the two jugs in a bin marked "RESICKEL" that he had on the ground near his feet. "You should too," he said, pointing at the trash on the ground near Sara. Before he could pursue that further, a car approached, so he had to very carefully direct it through the empty intersection.

"Dump...ster," Atlas announced when he turned his attention back to the women.

Jamie cocked her head to the side, and took a bite. This was gonna hurt like hell in about three hours, but sometimes, it was worth the pain. She stuck her tongue down into the magical filling and slurped it back. "God, that's good. What about a dumpster?"

"Egg," Atlas said, picking up the sign again, as two cars approached, and he had to judiciously assist both. "Egg from dumpster."

As the creamy fondant slid down her throat, Jamie immediately felt torn between the fact that this Cadbury Creme Egg was in a dumpster somewhere, and the fact that it was a Cadbury Creme Egg. "Shit, it was wrapped," she muttered, taking another bite of chocolate.

She stood there for a few minutes, watching Sara devour chocolates, and watching Atlas and his flopping dork direct traffic. For those few minutes, everything seemed pretty normal, all told.

"I told you!" she heard Atlas boom, breaking her caramel-filled respite. "I tell... you! No yooner, no... no yoonie, no... no!" He was growling and starting to get more than a little hulked out.

"Unicycle," Sara added, helpfully.

"No yooner...cycle!"

"It isn't a unicycle, it's a fairy cart," came a voice, odd and smooth, and thoroughly detached from reality.

Glenn. Great
, Jamie thought.
Just when things were going right, here comes the king of the not-fairies.

As she feared, Glenn, the werewolf who either pretended to be, or had gone sufficiently crazy to believe he had turned into, an actual, literal fairy, wheeled up on what was most definitely a unicycle.

"And why not?" he twirled, after dismounting. The bells on his bizarre, green tunic jingled. "Why can't fairies go through here without fear of... reproach?" he rolled his r's. Of course he did.

"Not... safe!" Atlas growled. "And... stupid." Atlas shrugged. "Don't like."

"Oh well, that's too bad," Glenn said with an overdramatic pout. "Because I don't care what you like or not! I don't like you!"

"Uh, Glenn?" Jamie walked over, and put her hand on the strange werewolf's shoulder. "Do you think maybe antagonizing the giant monster isn't the smartest thing in the world?"

"How can you see me?" he asked, very suspiciously. "I'm invisible."

Jamie rolled her eyes. "No you're not. And you weren't invisible when you got arrested for taking a whiz out back of The Tavern."

"Shhh!" the green-clad wolf hissed. "Quiet! They can hear you. They'll know I'm here."

"Who can? Atlas? He already knows. You yelled at him and he started growling. Do I need to call the hyenas again?" She sighed, and lifted her eyebrows into arches. "Seriously, cut this shit out."

He twirled again. "You can't see me," he said. "I'm not here."

"Okay, fine," she said. "Then disappear, and no one will call any hyenas. Deal?"

Before she could react, Glenn did what he always did, and pulled a huge handful of glitter out of his tights, threw it directly at Atlas and Jamie, and pedaled off as quickly as possible on a unicycle, which is not very fast. Atlas immediately began watching his hand sparkle as he turned it back and forth. Jamie pulled her wings back, tucking them away, glad for the shield, but slightly worried she might distract some drivers with reflections off her wings next time she flew.

Sara was just shaking her head, eating another egg. "Stupid," she said, plainly unimpressed. But then she snorted a laugh that came with more than a small helping of drool. "Look!" she yelled. "Look at Atlas! Jamie! Look!"

"At what?" she asked, as her eyes ran down the giant. "What am I... oh, God."

First Jamie sighed, then she laughed. "That, right there, gives a whole new meaning to 'disco stick' doesn't it?"

Belly laughing, even though he had no idea why, Atlas's disco-dork swung around in wild, sparkly, shimmery circles. Around and around it whirled. The whole time, the giant bear howled with laughter.

"And that," Jamie said as she waved to Atlas and Sara, who were both thoroughly impressed with the helicopter show, "is absolutely the last thing I expected to see... ever."

––––––––

J
amie sat up, stiff and straight, like she'd just been roused from the dead.

Come to think of it, this was worse. She remembered being literally roused from the dead, and it was a much gentler, winding process than what just happened. A siren outside was blaring, and since she lived in the middle of town, that meant something was going on.

She dashed to the window, threw it open, and squinted. Cold, midnight air brushed against her body, making her skin prickle with goose bumps wherever it kissed. She leaned out as far as she could without showing off her nudie sleeping habits to anyone within a block or so, and then remembered the reason she couldn't see anything is because she didn't have her contacts.