Page 4 of Hot For Her Bear

“What are you talking about? I’m never mean to her.” Dasha put the plates her mother had left on the table around for each placing.

“You’re always growling and glaring at her.” Pola folded her arms. “Especially the summer after we graduated from high school. You always made her feel unwelcome.”

“You two were teen brats, always home. What older sister wants to be bothered by her young sister and friend?” Dasha snickered. She shrugged and finished setting the table. “Plus, I’m a bear. I tend to growl at everything.”

“You didn’t even live here then!” Pola laughed.

“But every time I came over, both of you were here.” Dasha tried to smooth things over. She didn’t want to admit to her sister that she had been attracted to her friend. Especially when they’d been out in the yard in their bikinis, sunbathing. She remembered ignoring both of them and just going into the house.

“Something is wrong with you.” Pola shook her head, a small smile on her lips. She came over and hugged Dasha, then stepped back. “Okay, well today, be nice.”

“I’ll try.” Dasha sighed.

Her sister’s smile grew, and she spun around and raced back into the house. Dasha hadn’t thought she had been as bad as Pola described, but her point had been received.

Leave me be.

Dasha took her time ensuring the table looked nice. She wasn’t sure why, but she wasn’t going to entertain the thought that it had something to do with Saffron joining them. Her bear paced, anxious to see Saffron. It had been a while since she had seen her.

Dasha went back into the house to see what else her mother needed help with, and she was put to work. Dasha got the grill started and soon had the meat going while her mother finished off the sides. By this time, everyone was out on the patio, but Saffron had yet to arrive.

“Where’s Saffron? I thought she was coming?” Amos asked. Her father sat back in his recliner on the patio, holding his cold longneck beer.

“Yeah, where is the little brat?” Junior asked. He sat next to their father while they were all catching up since the last time they had seen each other.

Dasha tried to not act as interested in the question. She faced the grill and checked on the large steaks her mother had purchased. Her mother had purchased enough food to feed a football team, but it was only to be the six of them. Bears had healthy appetites and could eat crazy amounts of food compared to humans.

“You know Saffron. That girl would be late to her own wedding.” Pola laughed. She picked up her cell phone and typed off a message. “There, I just sent her a text asking where she is. She promised to come because I told her if she didn’t, I’d tell Mom she refused.”

Chuckles went around. Theola was very protective of her cubs. Even though Saffron wasn’t her biological child, Theola would do anything for her.

“You children know me so well.” Theola stepped out onto the patio carrying another covered dish. She set it on the table and came to stand next to Dasha. “Everything okay over here?”

“Of course.” Dasha snorted. There was no way she’d let meat burn on the grill under her watch. The aromas drifting up had her stomach and her bear growling.

“She’s turning onto the street now, she said,” Pola announced. She gave a squeal and jumped up from her seat. “I’ll be back.”

She raced off and disappeared around the house to go meet her friend.

“It’s about time,” Junior grumbled. “We won’t have to wait to eat.”

“I’ve taught you better manners than that.” Theola laughed. She moved away from Dasha to gripe at Junior.

Dasha ignored their banter and tried not to think of her sister’s friend.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She just hoped no one saw how she tensed up she was when Pola had announced Saffron’s location. Her heart was pounding hard and racing. She picked up the tongs and took in the sight of her hands trembling. She gripped them tighter and checked on the ribs.

She had to act normal. She’d been around Saffron before, but she didn’t know why she was responding this way. Honestly, Dasha couldn’t even remember the last time she’d seen Saffron.

Something was wrong with her. She held back a laugh and shook off this crazy feeling. Today would be a day to enjoy her family and relax. She had a ton of work to do when she returned home that would keep her busy for weeks until the next time she needed to come down from her cabin.

“Come on, boys. Get to the table. As soon as Saffron and Pola come back here, we can eat,” Theola announced.

Dasha busied herself by taking the meat off the grill. Her stomach growled again, signaling how hungry she was. She had skipped eating earlier, knowing she was going to have a good meal waiting at her parents’ home. She didn’t want to do anything that would ruin her appetite. Now she was hungry enough to eat a horse.

Her father and brother had taken their seats at the table while her mother flew around removing the tops from the containers. Dasha went into the house to quickly wash her hands off. She had grease and black soot from the coals on her fingers. She stood in front of the sink with the cool water running on her palms, and her ears picked up her sister’s voice.

“Look who I found?” Pola joked.

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