Page 14 of Flare
Ward could sense the capital-D Drama about to emerge.“And?” He tried not to sound too eager.
“She said she’s in trouble. And she’s on her way back to Bearpaw Ridge right now.” Maggie shot him a significant glance.
Someone hurt Emily?Ward’s inner bear stirred with sudden angry protectiveness. It had always had a soft spot for her.“Whatkindof trouble?”
“She said it was a nasty breakup. And I think her ex might’ve been the one who answered my text last week. It didn’t sound like her at all.”
“And she’s coming here?”And she’s single again?He tried to squash his sudden upwelling of hope, but it lingered stubbornly.
Maggie nodded.“I told her she could stay at the ranch.”
“Good. If her ex tries to come after her, he’ll have to deal with you.” Ward allowed himself to smile at his cousin.“Beware of a pissed-off Swanson.”
Including us, his bear said. Ward wholeheartedly agreed.
If some jerk had hurt Emily, he’d do his damnedest to ensure it never happened again.
“That was the idea,” Maggie said.
Ward finished his sandwich, started in on the pastries, and tried not to dwell on the way his heart beat faster at the idea of seeing Emily again.
Maggie returned to cleaning the café’s espresso machine. The sharp scent of coffee and milk cleaner filled the air, mingling with the ever-present fragrances of vanilla, butter, cinnamon, chocolate, and yeast.
Ward watched his cousin work as he polished off the almond croissant and the macaroon.
Maggie had inherited her mom’s gift for making the tastiest treats, and everyone in town was happy to see the bakery’s famous cinnamon rolls still being baked, even after Aunt Annabeth’s retirement.
Like most of the Swanson kids, he’d spent time behind the counter at Cinnamon + Sugar during his high school years. He remembered dealing with this end-of-day cleaning task for an earlier incarnation of the espresso machine.
These days, he ran his own business as a qualified journeyman carpenter, earning a good living dividing his time between restoration projects and working as a subcontractor to Dad’s cousin Tyler, who owned Swanson Construction.
Ward could out-drink, outwork, and out-wrestle pretty much any guy in Lemhi County, human or shifter. But even with all that, he still hadn’t found a girl that made his bear sit up and take notice.
Except for Emily.
She’s finally coming home!He tried to tamp down his excitement, but his bear wouldn’t let him.
Chapter 4
Sanctuary
Six hours later
It was just past 10:00 p.m. when Emily crossed the familiar bridge over the Salmon River that connected the highway to downtown. The Subaru’s headlights illuminated a green sign:
Welcome to Bearpaw Ridge
Population 3,442
“Where the Mountains Meet Home.”
Emily clenched her steering wheel.Almost there!
She’d spent the long drive bracing herself for Andrew’s BMW to race up in the rearview mirror, or for some cosmic hand to snatch her back to Spokane before she made it here.
Now, rolling down Main Street in the dark, everything looked so safe. Sonormal. She wanted to sob with relief.
The town hadn’t changed much in the seven years since she’d last been here. Same antique brick buildings, same vintage iron lampposts with hanging flower baskets filled with petunias and pansies.
