Page 35 of Taken Home By the Grizzly

“You did real good, baby,” Lock says.

“I didn’t do anything. It was all you.”

He crooks one of his thick eyebrows. “Are you kidding? You took the job, knowing it was gonna be difficult. You gave them more love and care than they’ve had in a long time. And you protected them as best you could. That’s why we’re here now.”

I shrug. “Guess I’m not as hopeless with kids as I thought I was.”

“Honey, you’re a natural. Trust me.”

* * *

Ellie and Vince, the kids’parents, invite us to their cabin. They’re both crying non-stop and they can’t stop thanking us. They are part of a big shifter community. Deep in the forest is a bunch of log cabins, organized around the edges of a clearing, and there are shifters milling around, some in human form, others in bear form. Most of the humans are naked, but they hurry indoors and put some clothes on when they see us approach.

“This is… amazing,” I say to Lock. I’m still getting used to the fact that there’s this whole other species that lives under the radar of human existence.

“It’s normal.” He shrugs happily. “Me, living by myself, like some crazy mountain man—that was not normal.”

I squeeze his hand. “But you were hurting.”

“Iwas.”

We exchange a long look. It’s weird, but I’m starting to feel like I can pick up on his thoughts. Whenever we lock eyes, I somehow hear his voice in my head. Right now, he’s telling me he stopped hurting the moment I walked into his life.

Same here.I think the thought real hard. A second later, Lock breaks into a smile.

“You heard that, right?”

“Course,” he says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Inside the family home,Ellie and Vince make hot drinks for us all, and we sit down and debrief, while the kids cling to their parents like they never want to let them go again. Ellie explains that Jenny and the twins were snatched two years ago, and they’ve been looking for them tirelessly, but there were no leads. Vince asks all about the abductors, his knuckles whitening as I describe what happened. I hand over the deeds of the house and all the other bits of information I’ve gathered about them.

“I can help you track them down,” Beau offers.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Vince rolls his shoulders. He’s a huge, meaty guy, but I see how much the loss of his children has broken him.

“And how about you two?” Ellie asks, pulling her long braid over her shoulder. “How long have you been mated?” I see her gaze drift to the mark on my neck and I feel a surge of pride. Her dark eyes are kind and interested.

Lock draws me closer on the couch, and we relate our whirlwind romance, and how Mari’s—uh, Jenny’s—river dive brought us together.

“Thank you, all of you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everything you’ve done.” Ellie lays her hand on her chest with a deep sigh. “Now, can we offer you a place to stay for the night?”

Beau and Savannah explain that they have their RV, so they’ll head home.

“What do you think?” Lock says close to my ear.

I look out the window. It’s already dark and it’s a long drive home. “We could stay, if she really means it?”

He chuckles. “She means it, trust me. Bears are real sociable. Uh, apart from me.”

I grin. “I reckon you’re pretty sociable. Or at least, you have potential.”

* * *

The ‘place to stay’is actually an entire vacant log cabin. Inside, it’s neat and super cozy. It has a separate bedroom with a king-size bed, and Ellie brings us some fresh sheets.

“This is lovely,” I say, bringing my bag in from the truck.

“Nicer than that creepy old house, huh?” Lock replies.

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