Page 20 of A Bear's Journey

Chapter Five

Olivia

When she saw them,Olivia nearly dropped the coffee mug she’d been holding. This time, the guy she’d seen outside the library — Jasper, a name she knew she’d never forget — was there with another man.

The three of them stared at each other for a beat, and once more, Olivia felt like there was a shower of sparks washing over her, raining down over her skin, hot and icy all at once. Her bear sat up and took note, growling just a little, but she didn’t feel like it was about to burst through her skin.

This time, she didn’t open her mouth and cover her eyes or start sweating everywhere or practically have a meltdown in public.

Instead, she half-smiled. Whatever it was about these guys, she liked it. It was terrifying and overwhelming, yes, but maybe in a good way. The guy who wasn’t Jasper, with the blue eyes and the reddish short beard, lifted a few fingers in a tiny wave.

Then she turned and walked out, silently congratulating herself on acting like a normal person. It hadn’t felt any different from the first time she’d seen Jasper, taken by surprise on that bench, but at least she’d handled it better.

“You know those guys?” asked her cousin Austin.

“I met one of them really briefly,” she said. She could feel the color rising to her cheeks, just a little, at the memory. “I, um, left something on a bench and he gave it back.”

Well, he tried, she thought. Instead I ran away and he’s still got my book.

“Why, do you know them?” she went on.

He just shook his head.

“I don’t get out here enough, and it’s mostly to see family,” he said. “I’m not up on Granite Valley gossip anymore.”

Olivia laughed.

“Me either,” she said. “For obvious reasons.”

They walked up to her car, parked on the street, and stopped.

“This is me,” she said. “See you Saturday?”

Austin nodded. He had brown hair, tan skin from working in the sun, hazel eyes, and seemed to perpetually have a thin layer of stubble on his face, like he’d always forgotten to shave to a few days in a row.

“Six, at your place,” he said, then looked at her, a slight frown creasing his forehead between his eyes. “Listen, Olivia, I really want to make sure you’re comfortable with this.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” she said. “If I start freaking out, we can always just leave.”

“Of course,” Austin said. “And Barb and Bill really want you to know that Buck doesn’t represent all wolves.”

“I know he doesn’t,” Olivia said.

A tremor went through her. Buck was the wolf who’d kept her in a cage for days as retaliation for killing two of his pack. He’d only fed her kitchen scraps, though there had been one kind wolf who sneaked her steak and sausage. She wished she could remember the kind wolf’s name or what he looked like, but all she could remember was the timbre of his voice and his scent: sweat, horses, and the fresh smell of pine needles.

Kind of how Austin smelled, actually.

Must be from working on the ranch, she thought.

“It was good to see you, kiddo,” Austin said. “Can I hug you?”

Olivia wrapped her arms around her cousin and he hugged her back. He felt warm and safe, solid and protective.

I should add that to the list,she thought. Hugs from cousins.

“See you Saturday,” she said as she got into her car and drove away, Austin still watching from the sidewalk.

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