Page 3 of Bear

“Would you like a hand with that?” I asked.

The woman flinched and shot me a wary look. I held up my hands in surrender, hoping it might make me seem a little less intimidating. Then again, I was nearly three hundred pounds of muscle and my face had taken a beating tonight. I wouldn’t blame this poor woman if she ran away screaming.

“I’m fine,” she said. “You can just…go.”

Another cry came from the baby in the car. With a small sound of desperation, the woman pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. She was within seconds of losing her patience.

“Take care of the baby,” I said. “Let me get the stroller for you.”

The woman frowned as she rubbed the back of her neck. Now that I was a little closer, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes. When was the last time she’d slept?

“I really don’t need any help - ”

“Ma’am,” I cut in. “You look dead on your feet and it’s almost midnight. It seems you’ve got your hands full, and I can’t really do much to make life a little easier for you, but I can get that stroller out of your car at least.”

The wariness in the woman’s expression faded a little. Then she nodded.

“Thank you, Mr…”

“Just call me Bear. Everyone does.”

She paused. “Bear?”

I shrugged. “My real name is Hector. Family name. But it…uh…well, I never really liked it. And when puberty hit, I bulked up. So my friends started calling me Bear and it stuck.”

She made a thoughtful noise with a nod. “Bear. It does suit you. I’m Shelby, by the way.”

“And the little one in the car?”

“My daughter, Maisie.”

There was no mention of a husband, boyfriend, or significant other of any kind, I noted. But I didn’t know how to ask without sounding like a creepy stalker and potentially spooking her.

“You and Maisie are always welcome to drop by my apartment if you need help with anything,” I said instead. “I’m in 13A.”

A faint smile flickered at the corner of Shelby’s mouth. She hurried around to the passenger side of the van and retrieved Maisie from the car seat. I tugged the stroller free from the back of her car.

“You’re all ready to go,” I said, carefully sliding the stroller in her direction.

“I really appreciate it, Bear,” Shelby replied softly. Her gaze roamed over my face and I knew she must be wondering about the bruises. I thought about telling her where they came from, but with a baby bundled in her arms, I didn’t imagine it was the right time to bring up my cage fighting.

“Please tell me you’re not out here by yourself,” I said. “I would really hate to walk away right now, knowing you’re…in a dark parking lot. Alone. With a baby.”

Shelby shifted in place, chewing her lower lip.

“It’s just me.”

She paused and glanced down at her child.

“You know, you’re three times my size, Bear. If you’d wanted to hurt me, I wouldn’t stand a chanceso…” She took a bracing breath and let it out. “Would you mind walking me to my apartment? I’m in 22C.”

I nodded with a smile. “I’d be happy to.”

Chapter Two

Shelby

Settling into my new apartment had been nerve-wracking enough. With a baby in tow, and at night, it had ramped up my stress even higher. What was I going to do? All I had to my name were the belongings I’d managed to shove into the car and a coffee can of meager savings. Maisie and I couldn’t live off that for long. Pretty soon, I would need a job.

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