Page 358 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

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As each warmsummer day melted into the next, Daisy grew more despondent. It was mid-July and they’d only agreed to stay until the end of the month. By August first, the bus would be repaired and they’d be on their way. She should have been elated not to be trapped on the farm any longer, but instead her heartached.

She was standing in the center of a patch of cauliflower when fear wrapped its sharp claws around her heart. The thought of never seeing him again shredded her soul. Torn between her duty to her brother and her blossoming relationship with Greg, she could hardly sleep at night. She needed to talk to Greg. She had to tell him that he couldn’t stop her from leaving—not that he’d tried. If anything, he’d stayed just as distant. But it hadn’t stopped him from casting forlorn looks at her from across thefield.

After setting the basket down, she turned in a circle, trying to locate Greg. She had to talk to him now while she still had the courage to tell him that she really was leaving and that they had to stop gazing at each other like star-crossed lovers. They weren’t even lovers. Other than the kiss the day they’d gone riding, they hadn’t so much as touched each other. They’d carefully avoided physical contact for over a week and it waskillingher.

She carefully picked a path through several rows of vegetables as she headed toward the barn. She’d seen him disappear in that direction over anhourago.

“Where are you going?” Meadow asked. She stood with a basket on one hip as she narrowedhereyes.

“I’ll be right back,”Daisysaid.

“Oh right, so I have to stay here and pick vegetables while you run off withloverboy.”

“I’m not—he’s not my lover,” Daisy snapped. “Besides, I’ve already picked four baskets worth of cauliflower in the time it’s taken you to pick one basket of tomatoes. So don’t talk to me about who’s not doingtheirjob.”

“I would have just hitchhiked out of here if it weren’t for you. We could have gotten Andy to Canada without the bus,” Meadowgrumbled.

“But then we wouldn’t have gotten so tan,” River said as he ambled over. “Stop bitching and start picking, Meadow. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get outofhere.”

“You just want to get on the road so you can meet more women,” Meadow yelled. “Don’t think I haven’t seen you checking out Greg’ssister.”

“Maybe I like looking at her because she doesn’t whine and complain all day,”Riversaid.

Daisy slowly backed away as they continued to fight. She may as well not have even been there for all they cared. Apparently their relationship was crumbling too. She’d expected them to stay together for the rest of their lives. Knowing that their relationship was rocky made her even more determined to find Greg. The sooner she put a stop to his flirtatious smiles, the better. She wouldn’t let his charm destroy herheart.

She hurried into the barn before she could change her mind and called his name. When he didn’t answer, she searched all of thestalls.

“Greg? I need to talk to you,”shesaid.

“He’s not in here,” a gruff voiceresponded.

She jumped and covered her chest with her hand. Greg’s dad poked his head over the edge of thehayloft.

“What did you need?” heasked.

“I just wanted to talk to him,” she said. She couldn’t exactly confess the real reason she needed toseehim.

“He’s collecting some huckleberries in the woods for his mom. He’ll be back in a few hours. I suggest you get back to work. You can talk to him afterlunch.”

“Thank you, Mr. Grant,”shesaid.

She left the barn with no intention of going back to the field. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she sprinted into the woods. She’d been out to the huckleberry patch enough times with his mother and sister that she knewtheway.

When she reached the dense, berry-covered bushes, she scanned the area. A large blob of brown caught her attention. She placed her hand over her eyes to shade them, then squinted.Whatisthat?

As she hiked down the side of hill, a soft chuffing sound carried through the air. She stopped as the brown blob shifted. Still not close enough to see what it was, she inched forward, picking her way through an increasingly dense tangle of bushes. Several yards away, she finally recognized the creature. It was an enormousgrizzlybear.

She froze. Its back was to her so it didn’t know she was there. She tiptoed behind a pine tree and leaned out to look at the magnificent animal. It ambled over to a nearby bush, giving her a better view. Light brown fur covered its face, making it stand out against the rest of its coffee-coloredbody.

It swiped a giant paw across the bush then bent to devour the fallen berries. As it chewed, it stood back on its hind legs and turned its head toward her. She quickly hid behind the tree. The bear might be beautiful, but it also brandished deadlyclaws.

When she peeked around the corner, the bear stretched its furry paws overhead, then dropped to all fours. A strange cracking noise resounded through the forest as the bear reared up. She watched in horror as the animal’s bones snapped and twisted in impossible directions. The fur receded only to be replaced with skin. Its huge paws retracted to form hands and feet. The long line of its snout transformed intoanose.

The man rose to his feet. He was completely naked. She gasped and—without thinking—stepped out from behind the tree. When her eyes met his, a tremor ricocheted throughherbody.

Chapter9

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