Page 13 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
Barb held June’s gaze and then said, “I’m sure it’s just lost and someone will claim it.”
Oli frowned and stared down at his drawing. “I hope he has a nice home.”
“I’m sure he does,” June replied as she got up. “Why don’t you go and wash your hands while I dish up the soup?”
Oli carefully put his coloring things away in his pencil tin and slid off his seat. As he padded out of the kitchen, June fixed her aunt with a questioning look. “Care to explain?”
Barb leaned back in her chair, swirling her spritzer. “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up because if he were your mate, honey, he’d have known. And he would’ve acted.”
June blinked. “My what?”
“Mate,” Barb said it as if June had misheard her. “Shifters don’t do the slow-burn thing. They meet their mate, they know. That’s it. Wham bam! No halfway.”
The bottom dropped out of June’s stomach.
Her mouth went dry. “I’m sorry…shifters?”
Barb waved a hand. “Didn’t I mention that? This town’s full of them. The Thornberg boys are all bear shifters.”
“Bear shifters,” June repeated numbly.
“Yes, they can shift from man to bear and back again,” Barb said, as if it were no more unusual than a guy owning a pickup truck.
June stared. “You can’t be serious.”
Barb met her gaze evenly. “I’ve never been more serious. And if Stanley didn’t make it clear when you met him, it means you’re not his. So don’t fall for the quiet charm, June. Don’t let Oli get attached to someone who’s just being kind.”
A cold knot twisted in June’s chest. She thought of Stanley’s warm eyes. His careful words. His gentle way with Oli.
“I…” she began, but stopped. The air in the kitchen suddenly felt too thin.
Barb reached for her glass again, tone brisk. “Just looking out for you.”
“I appreciate it,” June said, though a part of her didn’t. A part of her wanted to cling to the soft, private fantasy that maybe, just maybe, Stanley might like her. Mightchooseher.
She sucked in a shuddering breath. Was that what she was concerned about? Whether or not Stanley liked her, when her aunt had just revealed that shifters were real?
“It’s okay, they’re all house-trained. At least most of them are,” Barb added casually.
“What?” June looked up, frowning.
“Shifters,” Barb said with a grin. “You looked a little pale, and I thought maybe you were scared they might eat you or something.”
June snorted. “Well, I wasn’t...”
Barb leaned back and laughed. “Honestly, living in a town filled with shifters is probably one of the safest places you can be. They’re a protective bunch, not just of their own families.”
“Good to know,” June said, though she wasn’t sure shedidknow anything anymore.
“Anyway.” Barb stood and carried her empty glass to the sink. “I’m going to grab a shower before supper. Wash away the day.”
June blinked. “Okay.”
Barb didn’t meet her eyes as she left the kitchen. “Maybe keep this from your boy. For now.”
Her footsteps thumped up the stairs, leaving silence in their wake.
June stood frozen for a moment, her thoughts a mess of tangled threads. Then, as if on autopilot, she gathered the bowls and filled them with soup. Her movements were slow, mechanical, and the smell of carrot and coriander was no longer comforting.
