Page 58 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

I see you, fucker.

I waited until he backed away, scurrying down the hall like some rat abandoning ship. A feeling of unease crept up my spine, but this was a large, public school. Avery and Rosie would be fine.

I grabbed my phone and shot her a text though, just in case.

Dante

Honey, I want you to make sure you call or text me anytime during the day if you need me, okay?

Honey

Sure. But why do you say that?

Dante

Nothing. No reason. I love you. Have a good day.

Honey

You, too. I’ll see you after school.

* * *

She didn’t text that she loved me back. The silence stung, just a little, like the faint burn of a fresh scrape. But that was okay. We’d get there, eventually.

I just had to remind myself to be patient.

Love didn’t always move at the same pace for everyone, and Avery had her reasons.

Going back to work on the ranch was harder than usual after drop off this morning.

The image of that creep—his leering face, the way his eyes had lingered on my girl—kept creeping into my mind, stoking a slow-burning fire in my chest.

But I trusted Avery. She’d let me know if she needed anything. She wasn’t the kind of woman to shrink away from a problem.

No damsels here. Just pure grit.

Goddamn, she is something all right. Firecracker.

Hell, she’d been a nurse at Dry Creek Elementary for years before we’d even met.

That kind of work took guts, patience, and a heart big enough to handle it all.

Avery wasn’t a shrinking violet. She was strong and independent.

She’d had to be.

Life hadn’t handed her any favors, and she’d risen to the challenge every time. It was one of the things I admired most about her.

And there were a lot of things I admired about her.

I’d move heaven and earth to keep her safe. To see her smile. To make sure she felt the kind of love she deserved every single day.

If some asshole in a baggy suit thought he could crowd my woman, he had another think coming.

My Grizzly stirred under my skin, snarling and snapping in the back of my mind, ready to tear the bastard apart for even thinking about Avery.

It took everything in me to keep the beast at bay. This wasn’t the time for claws and fangs—not yet.

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