Page 42 of Sweeter Than Honey
Her face flushed, though she didn’t look angry. Just, sad. “You don’t have make excuses for not wanting me. We barely know each other.” She huffed a humorless laugh. “I think you’re content living in the constant shadow of grief. Maybe you don’t want to move past it. I don’t know. Only you can decide that. But did you ever wonder what you’re missing by being at a standstill all the time?”
Anger crept up his neck. He took a step back. His mind knew what she was saying, but his heart interpreted it a completely different way. His gaze dropped to her belly and worked up to her eyes. “Do you think Iwantareplacementfamily?”
Cara’s head jerked as if he’d slapped her.
Saying the words gave life to the war he fought constantly inside. Stepping out of his grief, finding someone new and starting again was essentially replacing what he’d lost. Wasn’t it?
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. He’d wounded her. He should apologize, but anger clogged his throat.
“Of course, you don’t.” The words snapped from her mouth. “How could you even ask me that? Do you think I want replacement parents? Just because I might meet someone and fall in love with their family doesn’t mean I’m replacing those that I’ve lost, Jett. I’m adding to my life, helping my loneliness.Living again. There’s a difference, but I guess you’re not ready to realize that.”
She darted away from him. Jett reached for her.
“Cara, wait.”
She reached the staircase and glanced over her shoulder at him. “We’ve both been hiding behind our grief. I lost my parents and consumed every moment of my life with my work as a way to deal with the pain, completely shutting out any chance of a meaningful relationship with friends or lovers. I’ve realized that I don’t want to live like that anymore. I want friends. I want a partner, and don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be you.”
She stormed up the stairs, her long hair billowing behind her with each step.
Jett clenched his eyes. Damn it!
He shifted his weight to go after her, but something stopped him.
There… a scent in the air.
The back of his neck prickled. His hearing automatically focused to pick up on movement outside. Someone was out there; he could feel it. His palms tingled and all the hairs on the backs of his arms stood up as his internal warning system went off. Jett drew in a long breath through his nose. Scents from the house swirled in his brain. The scent of Cara’s shampoo. Flowers. Furniture polish. Like pulling threads to unravel a ball of yarn, Jett sorted through the scents at rapid-fire speed.
There!
A musty odor came through, like wet earth and decaying leaves. A deep vibration churned beneath his diaphragm as his bear homed in on the scent. There was another bear on his property, and it wasn’t one from the Estes Park pack.
His brain clicked into automatic focus as his primal instincts turned on one by one. Hearing, scent, intuition, strength. The long muscles in his thighs and arms burned in preparation for a shift, his joints loosening. The vertebrae in his spine shifted slightly to make room for the bear. His body hummed with the pain of an impending shift. The pain would only get worse if he didn’t allow the bear to come out, but he couldn’t. Not yet. He had to reserve his physical resources until the time was right.
Clenching his eyes, he mentally spoke to his bear. Calm. Not yet. Not yet. It’s okay. Calm.
Jett’s breathing slowed.
Confident he had control of his shift, he went to the front door and cracked it, allowing the scents and sounds from outside to flood in. Daylight was lazily wandering into dusk. His property was cast in lumps and mounds and shapes of shadow, but he knew every inch by heart. He could navigate his property perfectly blindfolded.
He closed the door behind him as he stepped onto the porch and lifted his chin to assess the air. Was there only one shifter, or more? The scent came again, stronger this time, rich in its unfamiliarity. Reluctant to leave the house with Cara unprotected, but knowing he needed to assess the danger, Jett slowly made his way down the steps and into the yard. The scent trail was all around, suggesting the bear had made a loop around the house and then to the wide path that led to the beehives.
Darkness was falling fast. His eyes adjusted easily, shifting into the greenish hue of natural night vision. Something cracked to his left. Jett turned that way just in time to see a huge grizzly standing at the edge of the tree line, staring at him.
Now! He channeled his inner bear and the shift happened fast. Bones and skin stretching. Joints popping. Spine arching. His clothes fell to shreds on the ground as he gave a massive shake, completing the shift. His body mass rolled side to side, his thick coat fluffing as he settled into his new form.
Jett rose on his hind legs.
Leave.
He focused on the intruder, centering his mind, and channeling his inner voice to communicate with the beast.
Leave now.
The grizzly stepped forward, revealing all of himself. He was huge, nearly black, with jagged scars on his muzzle.Not without the woman. She’s free game.
Wrong, Jett snarled.
The grizzly came closer. Jett held his ground.
