Christmas Catastrophe: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Brothers Book 2) (2 page)

“OK. Now come down before someone sees you,” Zara said anxiously.

“Coming.” But Robbie turned and looked down, his feet flailing in the air. He gripped the tree again and clung to it, making it waver in the darkening night. “I can’t see where to put my feet.”

“Damn it,” Zara said under her breath. There was nothing for it; she would have to go up there and get him. “Stay still. Don’t move.”

But just as she started up the tree, Mrs. Rodgers arrived in the courtyard, all wrapped up against the cold. “It’s all right, Zara, I’ve called the fire department in Bear Bluff. They are on their way.”

“You didn’t have to,” Zara said, trying to hide her annoyance. “I can get him down.”

This was going to escalate very quickly. Soon the whole of the town would know what Robbie had done, including Zara’s father, who was the leader of Cougar Ridge. He’d probably cancel Christmas for Robbie, and that would make it even more miserable for the boy.

“I knew he would get stuck. You shouldn’t have let him climb the tree,” Mrs. Rodgers said reproachfully.

“I … oh, what does it matter,” Zara said as she climbed higher, feeling the pine needles prickling her arms as she threaded her way up the tree. Ignoring the discomfort, she kept going; she had to get Robbie down safely.

Above her head, she could hear him crying now and calling her name softly. She wanted to tell him she was coming and not to worry, but the tree was already beginning to sway under her weight, making the top move dangerously. Robbie was struggling to hang on, and she knew, without a doubt, that she was never going to get to the top.

“Hold on, I’m coming,” she said as she climbed higher, but she had slowed down—she just needed to keep him occupied until help arrived. “There’s a fire crew on its way. Just stay still and they will get you.”

“I’m scared,” Robbie said.

Zara stopped; there was no way she could get any higher without a real danger of the tree cracking under her weight. She tried to position herself so Robbie could see her and then asked, “Shall we sing?”

“What good will that do?” he asked.

“It might make us feel better and pass the time quicker until the fire crew gets here. Want to give it a go?”

“OK,” his voice wavered. “I like Little Donkey.”

“Little Donkey it is, then,” she said and began to sing. Below her, to her astonishment, a chorus of voices joined in. She hadn’t looked down, hadn’t seen the twenty or so people who had gathered to watch. As she sung, her eyes scoured the crowd; luckily there was no sign of either her father or Robbie’s mom. Hopefully they could get Robbie down before any more drama unfolded.

As they sung, she looked across and saw the flashing blue lights of the fire truck on its way to Cougar Ridge. Thank goodness it had made its way up through the snow, which had been coming down for the last couple of hours. If they were lucky, they would get Robbie down from the tree and get back to Bear Bluff before the roads became impassable.

“Soon be here, Robbie,” she said.

“I can see them,” he said. “I always wanted to ride in the fire truck.”

“Well, maybe that might be one wish that will come true.”

“I only need my one wish. For Daddy to get on the plane and come home to us,” Robbie said. Yet as the snow began to fall even heavier around them, she doubted any planes would be flying, and since her brother, didn’t have a car, Robbie’s dad would be stranded in an airport for the holidays.

Yes. Cougar Ridge had experienced its fair share of bad luck this year, and it didn’t seem as if that was going to change anytime soon.

“I can’t remember the last time I came to Cougar Ridge,” Damon said as they drove up the last part of the road, which climbed steeply towards the town, named after the high ridge it was built on.

Stan, the head of the fire crew, looked out of the window, his head tilted upwards to look at the snow falling. “If this continues, there’s a good chance we will be stuck up here for Christmas.”

“That won’t go down well. We’re not all working for the full three days, and if we are stuck here, then another crew will have to take over our shifts,” Damon replied.

“Then I suggest we get a move on and get this job done as quickly as possible.” Kirsty jumped out of the truck and left the door open for him to follow. He watched her as she moved towards the town centre to assess the problem. He liked her; she was brave, intelligent and loyal.
If only she was the woman for him
, he thought as he got out of the truck. At least then he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

His feet hit the hard ground and his knees gave way, just enough to make him stumble forward. “You OK?” Stan asked from behind him.

“Yeah,” Damon answered. “Don’t know what came over me.”

“Well, this job shouldn’t take too long. And it will only take a couple of us to get the boy down,” Stan said, looking up at where Robbie was clinging to the top of the tree. “If you aren’t feeling up to it, go sit in the truck. Better than you puking everywhere.”

“I have never puked on a job, nor have I ever had to sit in the truck. I’ll get my ass in gear and join you in a minute,” Damon said taking deep breaths.

“When you’re ready,” Stan said, slapping him on the back. “If I didn’t know you better, I would think you were trying to get off Christmas duty.”

“Yeah, but we all know Damon is a sad, lonely bear who has no one better to spend his Christmas with than us,” Kirsty teased, coming back to the truck.

“You mean with
us other poor lonely bears
?” Damon finished with a grin. “It’s not as if you have a great hunk of man flesh waiting for you at home, Kirsty.”

“Oh. So we’re going down that road, are we?” she retaliated. “I guess it’s a good job we have each other or we’ll all be lonely this Christmas. Now, let’s get this young man down before we all end up in Cougar Ridge for Christmas, I wouldn’t mind, but Harry made mince pies and they are waiting at the fire house for us.”

“You missed your calling, Harry; you should have been a chef.”

“I should, but my mom wanted me to be a big, bad bear. She said a pastry chef would never find his mate.” Harry grinned, flexing his huge muscles as he began taking tools out of the fire truck. “I keep asking my mom if she thinks I might have made a mistake following her advice. She just smiles and tells me my mate will turn up when she’s ready.”

“Well, I’m more than ready,” Damon said, coming to join them, trying to control the waves of emotion that kept washing over him. This didn’t make sense: even in the worst car wrecks, he never lost sight of the job. He never let his emotions rule his head, not when people’s lives were at stake.

Pulling the rope out, he carried it to where Stan was standing, surveying the scene. “We’re going to need to raise the ladder. No other way to get the boy down.” He went closer to the tree, and spoke to the other person stuck in the tree, “Ma’am, can you climb down, or do you need us to rescue you too?”

The woman in the tree looked at Stan, then her eyes slipped past him to settle on Damon, and a look of sheer horror spread over her face. Damon staggered back as if the full force of a fire hose had hit him.

“So that’s it,” Damon gasped.

“What’s it?” Stan asked, looking at him and then saw his expression. He turned back to look at the woman halfway up the tree, noted the same dazed look, and then laughed. “I think you might need to rescue her, Damon. She looks like a damsel in distress, and who better to save her than her mate?”

The others all stood around looking at Damon, a couple of them chuckling.

“Not funny, guys,” Kirsty said, going up to Damon and congratulating him. “About time, Damon. You know how much I love you, and I was beginning to think one day soon we would have to resolve the sexual tension between us. I guess that is not going to happen now.”

“What sexual tension?” he asked, coming back to life.

She laughed. “Thought that might make you wake up. Men. Just be careful about rescuing a cat. If she’s anything like us bears, she might well resent you for treating her like a damsel in distress.”

“I thought that was just you, Kirsty; you’re more like a prince charming than a fairy-tale princess,” Harry joked.

“And that is why you are the one who makes pastries all alone in your kitchen,” she spat at him. “Now,
ladies
, let’s get this boy down so Santa can come and fill his stocking.”

Damon was about to follow them when his phone rang. It was Dermot. Don’t say there was an emergency at the hospital, or with Declan? He decided to answer the call.

His brother’s voice sounded strange as he said, “Hi, Damon. Quick call to say I won’t be on duty after all over Christmas.”

“Is everything OK, Dermot?” Damon asked breathlessly. He was still trying to force air into his lungs after the shock of finding his mate.

“Yes.
I’ve found her
.” Dermot whispered loudly.

“You have?” asked a surprised Damon. “Well, that is a coincidence, because I have found my mate too.”

“Are you joking, Damon?” Dermot asked and then continued, “Are you on a call?”

They were positioning the turntable ladder so that someone could rescue the boy. Dermot began to take his coat off; climbing the tree with it on would be dangerous. “Yep. I’m trying to rescue my mate.”

“What? Is she OK? Do you need the ambulance? I can come now if you need me.”

“No. It’s all good. At least it will be. She’s a cat. And she’s stuck up a tree.”

Dermot burst out laughing. “You’re telling me you actually get called out to get cats down from trees?”

“This is not the first time,” Damon said. “Listen, I have to go. Wish me luck, because she looks like she’s full of hellfire and sharp claws. I only hope she calms down when we rescue her.”

“Surely she will, when she knows her mate is waiting with open arms.”

“I hope so. Listen, Dermot, good luck and have a great time. I have to go. Tell Declan not to worry if he can’t get hold of me. Let’s hope he’s not feeling too sore when he finds out he’s the last bachelor brother.”

Damon ended the call, and a sense of excitement replaced the sick feeling in his stomach.
He had found his mate.

Zara clung on to the branches of the tree, while her head spun round and around as if she were on a carousel. What the hell? was all she could think.

Of all the times her mate could show up, this had to be the worst. She did not have time for this; her family needed her, Robbie needed her. But when their eyes locked, she knew there was no escape: she wanted him with every fibre of her body.

Well, her body and his would have to wait
. All he was going to do was make her life more complicated. That was why she couldn’t help scowling at him, although she knew it was unfair. It was pure chance they had met now, but somehow it was easier to blame him.

“Ma’am,” the fire chief called, drawing her attention away from her mate. “Can you climb down?”

“Yes,” she said, trying to calm herself. She would be no use to anyone if she couldn’t think clearly. “But I want to wait until you have Robbie down safely first.”

“Would be a whole lot safer if you were down here with your feet on the ground when we send the ladder up.”

“I said I wouldn’t leave him,” she insisted.

“OK. But if at any time we feel you are in danger, you will have to climb down. I would hate for you to fall and have to spend Christmas in the hospital.”

“I understand, but even if I fall, I’ll land on my feet,” she insisted.

“Normally I would believe you, but
these things
,” and at that moment he slid his eyes sideways to look at her mate.
Her mate
. She never expected to
ever
think those words, least of all today. “These things sometimes upset your equilibrium, if you get my meaning.”

“I do. And thank you for your concern.” Then she turned her head away, looking instead at Robbie who had made himself, if not comfortable, then at least secure, in the high branches of the tree. “You OK up there, bud?”

“I am. They are going to an awful lot of trouble for me,” Robbie said worriedly.

“Well, you are worth that trouble. When we get down I’m going to come over to your mom’s and talk to her. See if there is anything I can do to help.”

“There isn’t anything you can do, Zara. Mom said the planes are grounded because of the snow.” His voice cracked a little. “I always liked the snow, but I don’t think I will from now on. It’s keeping my daddy from being here when Santa comes.”

“I know, Robbie. But don’t let it spoil things. You remember your dad is doing his best to get home to you and your mom.”

“OK. It’s coming up,” a voice yelled from below.

The ladder was beginning its shaky ascent, not helped by the snow, which was falling heavily all around them. The branches of the tree kept it off her mostly, but it made visibility so low, she knew there was no way her brother, Logan, was going to be getting on a flight anytime soon. Even if it wasn’t snowing where he was, air traffic control wouldn’t let his flight take off if it had nowhere to land.

“You OK there, bud?” she asked Robbie again, as the ladder drew closer to him.

“I don’t want to let go.” He sounded scared, and she wished she could reach out and hold him. “When it gets here, I don’t want to let go in case I fall.”

“You won’t fall. The firefighter will make sure he has hold of you first.” She looked up and saw it was a woman in the tower. “Sorry. Assumed you would be a man.”

“Most people do. No offence taken,” she said and then turned her attention to Robbie. “OK, young man. What’s your name and why are you stuck in a tree?”

“Robbie. My name is Robbie.” He didn’t offer any more.

“Well, Robbie my name is Kirsty, and I would love to know why you climbed this tree. And how you got so high, for that matter. Were you trying to get away from someone?” Kirsty looked down at Zara, and Zara suddenly realised what they must think.

“I didn’t chase him,” she said.

“She was trying to get me down,” Robbie offered. “I had to reach the star. It seems so stupid now.”