Page 60 of Mountain Wood

Does Dean still have his pocketknife? Can we scare it off with that?

What do we do?

Terror has me trembling. Dean slowly spins around to face me, his boots not making a sound as he moves. His gaze locks with mine. “I’ve got you,” he whispers.

My attention swings between him and the bear that’s a little further away from us now. Still taking in the sites, the animal is clearly unbothered by us. Its long tongue rolls out and big teeth glint in the sun as it yawns.

It disappears out of my sight, but Dean’s facing me now, which means he’s tracking it behind me. I’m in awe of this man. He’s so brave. So protective. He doesn’t look flustered at all—just a predator watching another predator.

The bear must be out of sight now because Dean relaxes a fraction. His gaze hits different when he looks at me and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Are you?”

Without saying another word, he cups my chin, his eyes roaming all over my face and then he presses a fierce kiss to my forehead. “I don’t know what I would have done if that bear…” He lets out a shaky exhale.

Oscar makesher way to us, her tail not wagging like normal. Dean gets down on his knees and rubs her ears. “You did so good, girl.” She wags her tail as he kisses the top of her head, too.

The reality of being in bear territory truly, finally hits me. I can’t tell if it’s fear or excitement thrumming through my system. I…loveit here.

Quietly, in case the bear makes a U-turn, Dean laces his hand in mine and escorts both me and Oscar back to the truck by way of a different path. My heart does jumping jacks the whole time, and when we make it back to the truck and are safe inside, Dean lets out another long exhale and leans against his steering wheel like he wants to collapse.

“We just saw a bear.” My smile is a mile wide. “Not in a cage at the zoo. But in thewild.” I’m not scared anymore. I’m fucking ecstatic. “That was amazing! I can’t believe I saw a real bear. He was so fluffy too! And did you see how sweet his face was? Aww, floofy boy.”

Dean slowly turns to gawk at me. “That floofy boy could have attacked you.”

He’s right. And the fact that Dean put his body between me and the bear, fully prepared to get mauled to save me, is not lost on me either. I can’t believe he did that. Instead of acknowledging how bad it could have gone, I take another approach. “Yeah, but did we die?”

“Grace, I’m being serious. That bear could have eaten you.”

Me. Not him. He’s only thinking about me and my safety. Again, I have no clue what to say so I go with, “Not likely. I read about them the other night after you told me there were black bear here. They’rerarely aggressive towards people and are pretty shy. We just can’t be close to their den or babies or food.”

Dean cocks his brow. “And do you know where the den is?”

“No.”

“Exactly.” He closes his eyes and sighs again. “Jesus, I feel sick.”

“You’ve lived here your whole life. This can’t be the first time you saw a bear.”

“I see them all the time.” He looks pale. His hands shake when he scrubs his face. “I can’t believe this shook me up so much. I hunt these damn animals. I live with them in my backyard. I should have known better than to traipse around when they’re still getting ready for hibernation, I just…”

“Wanted to share a piece of yourself with me.”

“And almost ended up sharing a piece of you with a bear.”

“He wasn’t interested in us.”

“But if he had been?”

“You put yourself between me and him. You protected me.”

Dean swallows hard. When he looks at me again, his eyes are dark with aggression. “I will always put myself between you and danger, Grace.” He shudders again and closes his eyes. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

It seems that me getting hurt, threatened, or married are all on Dean’s list of big no, no’s. To see him this shaken up worries me. I don’t want him to think I can’t be on my own here. And he can’t guard me twenty-four-seven. “I’ll take bear spray whenever I leave the cabin.”

His jaw ticks.

“And I’ll bring Oscar with me when I go on walks, if you want.”

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