Page 2 of Bound to Two Bears

His main concern was processing the loss of the future he’d envisioned. He cared about Deidre, he really did. They hadalways been good friends, even at the end, but in that moment he just wanted to get away from her. Maybe down the road… maybe they could salvage something. But not now.

“Just let me get out of here so you can clear out your stuff in peace.”

“If that’s the way you want it,” Deidre said, her voice low. “Just know I want what’s best for you. And that’s not me. You deserve someone who loves you, bone deep and forever.”

Carson turned his gaze to her. “Yeah. You deserve that, too.”And I know that’s not me. He released a sigh. “Be safe out there in the big, bad world.”

Deidre finally fully met his stare. “You, too. Don’t get eaten by a bear up there on that mountain.”

Carson grinned wryly. “I doubt my week can get much worse.”

Deidre brushed her hand down his arm in a half-hearted slap. “Don’t say that. This might be goodbye… but it’s hello to what’s next.”

Maybe.

Carson leaned in and kissed Deidre’s forehead. She clutched the front of his t-shirt and smiled up at him as he pulled away.

“You’re a good guy, Carson Davies.”

After grabbing his duffel, he headed for the front door, knowing the minute he walked outside, he would be closing the door on that chapter of his life. As the knob clicked behind him, he paused, squeezing his eyes closed.

It was done.

Not with a roar, but a whimper.

The gnawing ache he’d felt for months grew in his chest, and he suddenly recognized what it was.

Loneliness.

Even with Deidre at his side, he’d felt lonely. They’d been kidding themselves to think the relationship could’ve been rescued. Thankfully she’d admitted it when he’d not been able.

The elevator doors shut behind him and only made the emotions swirling within stronger. Alone inside, he faced the mirrored doors and saw the sadness in his own blue eyes staring back in the reflection.

What happened next?

Carson didn’t make a good bachelor. He liked having someone to come home to. Someone in the bed beside him at night. He liked feeling a sense of belonging to another person, sharing his life. That was likely the reason he’d remained with Deidre for so long, even when that sense of belonging had faded.

Me. Myself. And I.

It’s all I need.

This weekend alone will prove that.

The elevator dinged just before the doors opened to the parking garage. With a deep breath, he stepped out and on toward new adventures.

“All of the guests have arrived, except for one. Last name Davies for the Larchmont Cabin,” Royce shared as he straightened up the desk he seemed chained to as of late. Staying inside was wearing thin on his soul. He belonged outdoors, running through the trees, not bound to a hunk of old wood. “Two occupants and they’re signed up for two wildlife tours. One tomorrow afternoon and one Sunday morning. If they don’t show, we won’t have a full booking for either. We may have to cancel them.”

Jared glanced at the lackluster sign-up sheet. Royce knew neither tour had more than three people on the list. If they lost two, there was no reason to keep them open.

“No one cares about hiking the trails anymore. They all come up here to fuck,” Jared said with a smirk. “Our treehuggers seem to be a thing of the past thanks to our little celebrity.”

They’d recently had a B-list actress more famous for her drunken and drugged mishaps than anything she’d done on the silver screen make use of one of their cabins where she’d tried to reconnect with her latest boy toy. It had been a last-ditch Hail Mary in order to salvage their train wreck of a relationship.

The pair of them had been a handful and the worst guests ever, but once she’d posted videos to TikTok about her experience at the Bear Mountain Inn, their phone had started ringing off the hook. Their business suddenly seemed the go-to for marriage counseling from her army of fanatics.

Too bad it wasn’t the main reason they were open.

And their tour operation was also suffering because of the new business—to the point it could be on its last legs.

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