Page 4 of Claimed By Her Bear

“Fine. One drink.” She sighed.

Their cheers and claps made her smile. She rolled her eyes at their silly antics. It would feel nice to relax and get out. It had been a while since she had gone out with them. They were a fantastic group of guys and they always tried to include her as one of them.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“There’s a local bar I heard that had great drinks, big televisions, and some lovely food,” Hector said. He ran a hand through his dark hair, pushing it back away from his face. He was a ladies’ man, and from the twinkle in his eyes, he was looking to get into something or someone.

Most of them were from the next town over, Black Fish. The drive normally took her about forty-five minutes to get to Lurton from her home. It wasn’t a bad drive, and luckily enough, they were working during decent weather. If the winter was upon them, she may utilize a local hotel due to the snow. Montana winters could be brutal, and it would just be safer to stay in a hotel while on a job.

“Sounds great. Let’s clean up and then we can head out.” She turned and went back into Saffron’s office.

The woman who owned the shop was nice, and Shekita had heard rumors all the way over in Black Fish that some bear shifter had tried to burn her alive in her shop. A shiver went through Shekita. Her heart went out to the woman. It was never easy to get past trauma, but Saffron appeared to be okay. She smiled and had even fallen in love. Shekita had met Saffron’s mate, Dasha, who was bear shifter. The look in Dasha’s eye when she stared after Saffron made Shekita’s heart skip a beat. She hoped to find someone who gazed at her like that.

As if their entire world was centered around her.

In just few moments she had spent around the couple, it had given her faith that one day she would have that. Even though she was human, she believed in fate. There was someone out there for her. She just had to be patient.

But patience wasn’t one of Shekita’s strong suits.

She wanted a forever with someone.

The crew got to work tidying up the site. She had a firm rule that they had to have their workspaces clean and organized when they shut down. She had started working on a custom-built shelving unit on the wall that matched the desk she’d built for Saffron. She grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the floor.

Since they had arrived to start this project, she hadn’t spent much time in Lurton. Each morning, she drove in to town, got started working, ate her packed lunch, finished for the day, then drove home. It would be decent to at least patronize a few establishments while she was in town.

Her back jean pocket vibrated. She pulled her cell phone out and took in her brother’s name on the screen.

“Hello, big brother,” she answered.

She and Troy were as close as brother and sister could be. She’d kept him and her parents in the dark about her and Bobbie’s tumultuous relationship. Shekita had at first thought she would be able to handle Bobbie, but it had soon spiraled out of control, and she’d found herself lying and hiding things from her family.

“Hey, sis. How is everything going?” he asked.

“Not bad. We are just finishing up for the day and will be heading out soon.”

“What? You’re not working late?” He chuckled.

“Nah, not today. They guys are wanting to go out for drinks here in Lurton and are dragging me with them. I didn’t have the heart to tell them no.” She lifted the oversized dustpan and walked out into the hall where a large trash can sat. She emptied the dustpan into it. She glanced toward the front and didn’t see anyone. She smiled and headed back to the office.

“It would do you some good to get out. You work too hard.”

“And because of my hard work, we should be done with this project a few days early,” she boasted. She was proud of the timeline they had kept to. She would admit she was a workaholic and had stayed late multiple times. The town ice cream shop was important. The children of Lurton needed to be able to come and get their frozen desserts.

“There are six respectable men on that project that will get the job done. You need not try to do it all on your own.”

Her brother was always the voice of reason. He knew she was a hard worker and a perfectionist. When they were younger, it was he who’d helped start her on creating with wood and building things. She loved crafting beautiful pieces of furniture and giving them one-of-a-kind designs.

She put up the broom and dustpan and walked through the building, shutting off the lights. She made it to the front and found herself alone. She chuckled and grabbed her bag and hefted it up on her shoulder. Her phone vibrated, signaling a text. She glanced at it and found Mike had texted her the address to the bar.

“Was there anything in particular you wanted, dear brother?” she asked. Not that she minded him calling, but she was sure it was for a reason. Shekita did one last sweep through the shop then exited the building. She locked the door and headed toward her truck.

“Do I need a reason to check in on you? It’s getting late, and I didn’t want my sister working late five days a week.” He laughed.

She scowled, because apparently, he knew her too well.

“And, Mom told me to call you to let you know that Sunday she’s cooking and we are to be there.”

Shekita’s mouth watered thinking of what her mother could potentially be cooking up. Her food was famous. It was amazing that the entire family wasn’t grossly overweight. Jolinda Harper’s love language was food. She enjoyed feeding her family and ensuring they were well-fed at all times. It didn’t matter the time of day, if Shekita called her mother hungry, there would be a hot plate waiting on her when she arrived at their home.

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