Page 20 of Bear for the Holidays

“Of course. Gotta get back here and claim my mate, don’t I?”

Another siren-howl. Another thump on the roof.

“As soon as everything’s taken care of,” Deanna promised fervently. “Now go.”

CHAPTER SIX

∞∞∞

The snow was deceptively soft, and beautiful, but the moment he stepped out into it, Nik remembered why his people spent most of the winter indoors or asleep. It was falling slowly and steadily, and it clung to his body as he walked the perimeter of the cabin’s clearing and set up a few warm boxes. They were insulated and stocked an accessible supply of food and water, and if the bat-winged cat in question could get into one, he would likely make it through the snowstorm just fine.

“Hell, he’ll probably be warmer than we are,” he said, stopping back in the cabin. “If we catch him, I’m going to make him get a job and pay for that window.”

Deanna had the stew on the stove just starting to simmer, and she came over to give him a kiss on his raw red cheek.

“Make him get a paper route, make sure he understands the value of money?”

“It’s the only way he’ll learn. Better get back out there, I want to check the shed that’s a ways down the path.”

“Be careful.”

For some reason, as he headed back out into the wind, it didn’t feel as cold, and he thought about how warm Deanna’s lips had been against his cheek.

An hour later he came back in to the stew bubbling on the stove, the smell of pork and apples in the air, and underneath it something sweet as well.

“Did you bake?” he asked, startled, and Deanna nodded proudly.

“I know how to bake one thing, and it’s these peanut butter cookies that my third grade teacher showed us how to make. All you need is peanut butter, sugar and eggs, and you have plenty of all three, so I didn’t think I’d been starving us if I made a batch or two.”

“That sounds amazing. Is it almost done?’ he asked, and she shook her head.

“Another five minutes or so on this batch and then fifteen for the next. Your oven is tiny. I’ll take the stew off the pot to rest in ten, though.”

“Then I probably better get outside. I think I saw him lurking in the treeline, and I want to see if maybe I can get him to just come to me. Cass says he got one just by sitting down and not chasing him.”

Deanna glanced over his shoulder at the snow that was still coming down.

“No sitting down out there. I don’t want you to get buried while hoping you get a bat-winged cat in your lap.”

“It’d be fine. I’d just hibernate until spring.”

She gave him a mock-fierce look, smacking him lightly on the arm.

“If you’re going to hibernate, you’re going to do it in here,” she said. “Now get going so you can come back faster.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The worst thing was that he could sometimes see the cat in question, a dark shape that would suddenly fly off to the side or over his head before he could turn to see it properly, let alone catch it. He got the idea it was observing him, trying to figure out what he wanted and what he was doing.

“Just trying to help you out, buddy,” he muttered. “Give me a break.”

No break was forthcoming, however, and as the light was already starting to go, he finally had to give up and head back inside, shedding the weight of his clothes and boots. Even with his bear’s ability to resist the cold, he was weary and wired at the same time. He was a little embarrassed over how little it had taken to tire him out, but then he remembered that he had been out extremely early and that he had met his true mate that day.

And that’s not even mentioning the pregnant cat in my underwear drawer and the aggressive bat-winged cat lurking around outside.

He stepped into his slippers and walked into the cabin proper. He started to call out, but then he smelled something amazing and his brain short-circuited. There was his mother’s stew, which was always a prize winner, but underneath that, there was a warm, sweet smell, complementing the smell of the stew so perfectly that he thought he had died and gone to Heaven.

“Nik?”

---