Christmas Catastrophe: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Brothers Book 2) (3 page)

“Ahh. So is the star special, or did someone dare you?” she asked. The ladder was nearly in position next to Robbie.

“My dad has been working a long way away, and I want him home for Christmas. So I climbed up here to wish on the star, because my dad always said it was special. But I was wrong, I’m old enough to know Santa doesn’t exist, and wishes don’t come true.”

“I don’t think any of us really stop believing in Santa,” Kirsty said. “There. OK, Robbie, you have to climb down next to me here. Can you do that?”

Zara couldn’t see what was happening anymore. The ladder blocked her view. All she could do was wait, and hope that her nephew was going to be OK. She glanced down, purposely keeping her gaze away from her mate, although she could pinpoint his exact position down there amongst the other people.

Then a cheer went up, and she knew Robbie was safe. Now she had to climb down. She only hoped that when she reached the ground her legs would support her, because inside she felt like a trembling, lovesick fool. Zara began her descent, one foot after another, stopping to look up occasionally to see the ladder—with Robbie safely in Kirsty’s arms—dropping back down to the awaiting crowd.

The lower she got, the harder it was to breathe, not because she was tired but because of the crushing realisation her life was about to change forever. There was no escaping her fate. Her whole body was attuned to him, her senses straining to catch their first scent, first touch, of him.

Inside, her cougar stretched. It had slept through the whole drama of Robbie climbing the tree, knowing her human form could handle it. Now the leggy feline got up, stretching her long sinuous legs, claws digging into the ground as she prepared to cast her eyes on her mate. She wanted to assess him, to see if he was fit to run with a cougar over the mountains that were her home.

Zara could tell her cougar wanted him to be a predator, not something small and frightened, like a little rabbit.
Oh please, not some small rodent
.

Zara hoped so too, because her father was going to be mighty mad that she hadn’t found herself a big old cat as a mate. A bear
might
be tolerated, but really, he had always envisioned her mating with a lion or a tiger. They had their pride, after all.

Close to the ground, she was tempted to shift into her cougar and take off. It would be the easiest way to avoid all the commotion that was going on below. They didn’t need her, Robbie was safe, and she would rather go off alone and collect her thoughts.

However, since her brother was away, she had assumed his role in the town. As daughter of the leader, she had responsibilities; she couldn’t run off. That gave her an idea; maybe she could keep this quiet, tell the people that there was no harm done and imply that her father didn’t need to know about Robbie’s adventure.

They might do as she asked. Everyone realised that Robbie was having a hard time without his dad here. But she was fooling herself: the fire truck had brought the attention of the whole town to the square. And there, in amongst them, was her father. She could see the anger on his face and knew Robbie was in trouble.

To compound the situation, her mate approached from her right, while to her left, her father moved towards her, the crowd parting for him. This was about to get worse. She only hoped Robbie wasn’t going to bear the brunt of her father’s disappointment when he found out her mate was a bear. Was there any way to stop this happening?

“Hello,” her mate said, reaching out and touching her arm, sending shock waves through her body. “I’m Damon.”

Her knees felt weak, but she found her inner strength and made herself stand firm. She turned to him, meaning to tell him to back off. But she was taken off guard by the look of wonder on his face, the excitement of meeting her for the first time so obvious. When she spoke, her voice was soft, imploring. “Can we leave this for now? Please.”

“Leave what?” her father asked sharply, coming up to stand by her.

She put a mask over her own wretched face, hiding the sparkle in her eyes that she knew would tell her father everything. What was she supposed to say? Her mind went blank, but her mate stepped in and saved her.

“Leave the tree as it is.” He hesitated and then went on, “We were concerned that another kid might try to do the same thing. I’m not sure if some kind of barrier around the bottom might be useful.”

“Damn it. That tree has stood there for generations. Just because one stupid child climbed it, doesn’t mean that every other child is going to want to do the same. You can take your health and safety rules and keep them. I will deal with the boy.”

“Dad,” Zara said, mentally thanking Damon for deflecting the conversation. “Robbie does not need telling off.”

“Yes, he does. You of all people should know what happens if order isn’t kept. It was reckless and dangerous. Robbie saw it as a dare, a way of getting attention. Now he’s got it in the form of a rescue by a fire truck. He needs to learn, all the children need to learn, that is not how we behave in Cougar Ridge.”

“Dad. He’s upset. Logan isn’t going to be back for Christmas. He only went up there because he misses his dad.”

“So it was for attention,” her father snapped.

“No. He wanted to wish on the star. You know how Logan always makes this big thing about the magic of Christmas. Well your grandson needs some of that magic. What he does
not
need is his grandfather telling him off.”

Her father closed his mouth, pressing his lips tightly together. His emotions weren’t hidden from her, no matter how hard he tried; she knew him too well. He was fighting himself, wanting to set an example, but knowing how much Robbie missed his dad.

“We all miss Logan; we all wanted him home for Christmas,” Zara said softly.

“I can’t just let it go,” her father said sadly. “You know how things have been this year. We are falling apart and if I lose control, what do we do then?”

“You will gain more respect by showing your compassion, Dad. You know that.”

“Sometimes I think it’s time I handed over the running of the town to Logan … or you. I am getting too old for the changes that are upon us.”

She touched her father’s arm, wanting him to know she loved him. Behind her, she could feel the heat of Damon’s body as he stood, looking the other way as she spoke to her father. He was waiting for her. Wanting to be there for her, just as he would always be there for her.

And as her father nodded and walked over to speak to Robbie, she knew there was no way to put off the inevitable.

He couldn’t walk away from her. Despite her making it obvious she didn’t want to see him right now, because of her father. It hurt that she hadn’t introduced them to each other, but then he reminded himself they hadn’t been properly introduced themselves; he didn’t even know her name.

His mood soon shifted when he heard her talking to her father. From what they said, he knew that things were not right here in Cougar Ridge. Eavesdropping was wrong, but he needed to know everything about her—particularly why she had been halfway up a Christmas tree.

She stood facing away from him as her father walked off. He saw the rise and fall of her shoulders and knew that meeting him right now was not exactly on her list of things to do. Surely she couldn’t fight the need to be with him, the same need that was telling him to reach out and grab her, then drag her off to bed, right now.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked quietly. Hoping she didn’t reply by telling him that he needed to get out of her life.

“No. Thank you. I’m sorry I was so abrupt,” she said, trying to avoid looking him in the eyes.

“It’s OK. I understand how you feel. This is all so totally unexpected. You know your mate is out there, but when you don’t find her for years, you kind of stop looking. And then here you are.”

“Here I am. Here you are.” She allowed her eyes to flick up to his for a moment, and then she looked behind him, to where the rest of the crew were standing. “I should thank them.”

The snow was falling more thickly, landing in her hair, which was the colour of autumn leaves. He lifted his hand and brushed some flakes off her shoulder. “They will understand if you don’t. If you want to go somewhere more private.” He saw her expression change, saw the shock there. “I meant to talk. Not anything else… Well, not yet.”

“They all know?” she asked.

“They are like family to me; we all know each other so well. They saw it instantly.”

She looked tearful when she said, “Sounds as if you have a close family.”

“Aren’t yours?” he asked, seeing her shuddering breath as she tried to steady her emotions.

“My brother and me, yes. My dad, not so much. He has run Cougar Ridge for so long, I think sometimes he forgets that he is our dad first, the leader second.” She looked up, putting on a false smile. “That’s unfair, but you know sometimes you just want your dad, not the man who makes the law in town. I guess that’s why I can sympathise with Robbie for being so upset about not having his dad around for Christmas.”

“Why can’t he be here? Is he OK, or in trouble?” Damon knew that if her brother was in trouble he would do anything in is power to help him so that his mate would be happy. That was what he was here for.

“No. Nothing like that. He couldn’t earn a living here. There was an accident a few months ago and his business collapsed. Anyway, to make ends meet he took a job on the other side of the country. Now he’s trying to get home, but his connecting flight has been delayed because of the snow. If he doesn’t get on a plane, then he won’t be home for Christmas.” She looked up at the snow. “And this shows no sign of stopping.”

“It might.” However, he didn’t believe the snow had any intention of stopping for the next few hours. “That reminds me, the crew will be wanting to leave.”

“You go,” she said, although he could see the strain on her face. Or was he reading too much into it?

“Do I get to know your name?” he asked.

“Oh. Zara.”

He smiled, watching the snow land on her lashes. Damn, if he didn’t want to kiss her right this minute. “I was thinking of sticking around, Zara. If you want me?”

So much confusion crossed her face. She was fighting to find the right words to say. All he hoped, was whatever those words were, they meant yes. Because he couldn’t bear to tear himself away from her.

“Damon, I want you to stay. I really do. But this is so sudden, and I can’t think straight,” she said.

“Then don’t. Don’t think. I’ll stay, and we’ll do something together. Go for a drink. Or let’s go for a run in the snow,” he suggested.

“You’re crazy,” she said, but the thought of getting away from everything was too enticing.

“Then be crazy with me. What do you have to lose?” he said, his hand touching her hand, stroking her skin.

“I have to sort things out for Robbie,” she said, tilting her head to look for her nephew. “And say thank you to your crew.”

“OK.” He took her hand and pulled her over to his crew; they were getting ready to leave. “Stan. Everyone, this is Zara. Zara, this is everyone.”

“Nice to meet you Zara,” the pretty young woman who had been on the ladder said. “I’m Kirsty. Since Damon is so appalling at introductions.”

“Hi, Kirsty, thank you so much for getting Robbie down,” Zara said, wondering if there was more to Damon and Kirsty’s relationship. Had they been lovers in the past? Jealousy was not an emotion Zara had ever experienced before.

“You have a good man there,” Kirsty said. “’Bout time someone came along to keep him out of trouble. Or to stop him being a lonely bear.”

“Lonely bear with a sore head.” Another big, dark-haired firefighter stepped forward. “I’m Harry. If you ever get tired of Damon, look me up,” he said, receiving a blow on the arm from Damon.

“And I am Stan,” an older man said, who had been in charge of the rescue. “And I’m afraid that will have to do for the introductions. I don’t want to be rude but if we don’t get the truck down off this mountain soon, we are going to be spending Christmas here. Once the snow clears, you are welcome to visit us at the station.”

Kirsty nudged her and winked. “We can tell you all of Damon’s embarrassing stories. And there are a lot.”

“No need,” Damon said quickly.

“Thank you again,” Zara said. “Did my father thank you?”

“Yes. Then took Robbie off for a talking-to. You might want to rescue the boy,” Kirsty said. “Plucky to climb that tree. I hope he gets his wish.”

“I hope so too.” She looked at Damon, who had not taken his eyes off her. Something about his look made her go all warm inside, as if she was melting over a roaring fire.

“I’m staying,” Damon stated.

“We guessed as much,” Stan said. “Honestly, I was going to tell you to stay. You are never going to have your head on the job when you have a new mate. I’m long in the claws, but I still remember those early days when love is new, you know.”

“Mrs. Stan is bringing lunch over on Christmas day. It’s a tradition. We’re like their surrogate cubs,” Kirsty said. “Least we’ll be able to eat your share, Damon.”

“It’s so nice to be missed,” Damon joked back.

“You kids have fun,” Stan said.

“See you around, Damon. Zara, I can tell you are going to have your best Christmas yet,” Kirsty said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. Then they got in the truck and it drove off down the sloping road, crawling along so the wheels didn’t skid.

“She hasn’t got a mate either?” Zara asked.

“Nope. She wants to settle down and have cubs. We all do. But as you know, there is no way to
make
this happen.”

“Is she in love with you?” Zara asked. She normally accepted that mates slept with other people before they met up. Otherwise it might be a long, lonely life. But she hated thinking of Damon sleeping with another woman.

“No. We’re more like brother and sister. Fight, tell each other our problems, but nothing more. We are aware that if we slept together, it would change the way we worked together, and we are a good, strong crew.” He came and stood close to her. “And no matter what is in either of our pasts, our loyalty is to each other now, above all else.”