Page 28 of Bear

Last night, Bear had left me with a lightness in his step and a contented little smile on his face. Today was a far cry from that lovestruck man.

“Bear?” I said softly.

He reached toward me. Then he pulled back, scrubbing a hand over his mouth.

“Are you busy?”

I shook my head. “Maisie’s asleep. Come in. What’s going on?”

As Bear entered my apartment, he was quiet. Too quiet. I’d never seen him like this before. I frowned and slid my hands down his arms, threading our fingers together.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Justin at the supermarket today?” he whispered.

There was no heat to his words and his thumbs smoothed back and forth over my knuckles in a comforting rhythm. I’d withheld information from him and he wasn’t even angry.

“I…I didn’t want you to worry, Bear. It was nothing.” But as I looked up into Bear’s bruised face, it dawned on me with horror. “Justin did this to you, didn’t he?”

Bear pressed his lips into a thin line. That was all the answer I needed. His silence landed like a kick to my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I pulled away, shaking my head.

“This is my fault,” I said. “He’s acting out because of me.”

“Shelby,” Bear said, his voice firm, cutting through my rising panic.

Tears blurred my vision. He stepped closer and cupped my face so tenderly that a sob tore from my throat. I brought my shaking hands up and placed them against his chest. Through his thin t-shirt, I could feel the hard planes of muscle underneath, the thrum of his heartbeat so steady and reliable beneath my palms.

“I can take a few hits, honey,” Bear said with aching softness. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“But it bothersme,” I countered, my voice wobbling. “I…I love you and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt because you’re…”

I trailed off when my throat grew too tight to speak.

He was defending me. Protecting me and my daughter.

I thought I’d loved Justin. But that had merely been desperation and hunger. Clinging to something familiar, too afraid to let go.

Standing before me now was a man who gave me everything I’d been starving for. Bear had exhibited an endless amount of patience and gentleness with Maisie. He’d been supportive and caring with me as I barely held my crumbling life together, endeavoring to get back on my feet.

Even now, despite Justin’s threats, Bear stayed. He could walk away. He could claim I was more trouble than I was worth. Instead, he stood firm, even if that meant a brutal beating waited for him around the corner.

I thought I knew what love was. I thought I could find it with Justin if I worked harder to be a better girlfriend and mother.

With Bear, his love was already there. Every touch, every word, every look, his tenderness was on display for the world to see.

I was his Achilles’ heel.

“What if…what if I left?” I asked. “I’ll disappear. A friend of mine lives in Arizona. I haven’t seen her since high school but I could stay with her for a little while.”

Bear frowned. “Is that what you want, Shelby?”

He was trying so valiantly to hide the pang in his voice at the prospect of me leaving but I still heard the rawness of it. I swallowed hard against a fresh surge of tears and blinked them back.

“I don’t want you to get hurt any further.”

He hummed in thought and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

“If you stay here,” Bear said, “Justin is outnumbered. I have my club to back me up if there’s trouble.” He paused then added, “But if you leave, I can’t protect you. Or Maisie. And if you choose to disappear, Justin might blame me.”

I blew out a huff of frustration, knowing Bear was right.

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