Page 43 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
Instead, she looked relaxed, with a smudge of dirt on her cheek from her work leveling a space for the hutch. And Oli…
“Stanley! Come and see what we’ve done.” Oli rushed forward and grabbed Stanley by the sleeve, propelling him forward.
“Careful,” June warned. “Stanley has his hands full.”
“I’ll help,” Oli said. “Oh, did you bring cookies?” He reached out for the tin.
“I did,” Stanley replied as he set the rest of his materials down.
“Can I have one, please?” Oli asked, looking from Stanley to his mom.
“Sure, but just one or you will ruin your appetite; it’s not long until dinner,” June said, an indulgent smile on her face.
“On that note, I’ll leave you to it. Some of us have better things to do than watch grown men play with lumber.” Barb gave Stanley a long, lingering look before she headed back out of the garden.
Stanley nodded, grateful for the privacy she was offering. “Thanks.”
Barb turned to look at him. “Just don’t mess it up, Thornberg. Either the hutch or the rest of it.”
See? Terrifying,his bear mumbled.
“These cookies are good, too,” Oli declared, his excitement evident in the way he bounced slightly on his toes. “Did youbring Herbert? And the hutch? Is it hard to build? I’ve been practicing being really careful with tools.”
Stanley crouched down to Oli’s level. “I did bring Herbert. He’s waiting in the truck until we have his new home ready. And yes, I brought everything we need to build the hutch.”
June approached, wiping her hands on her jeans, and Stanley had to remind himself to breathe. She looked beautiful and so much more relaxed. Had Barb told her they were mates?
“Hi,” she said with a shy smile.
“Hi.” The word came out rougher than he intended. “You’ve been busy.” He nodded toward the cleared patch of ground. “That looks perfect.”
A flush crept across her cheeks. “I wanted everything to be ready.”
Tell her how beautiful she is,his bear urged.
But Stanley swallowed the words.Not yet. Not like this.
“Should we get started?” he asked instead, reaching for the hutch kit.
They worked together in the dappled shade of an old oak tree. Stanley laid out all the pieces first, showing Oli how to identify each part, explaining how they would fit together.
“It’s like a puzzle,” he said, guiding Oli’s small hands as they sorted through the pieces. “Each part has a place where it belongs.”
Oli nodded solemnly, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Like Herbert, he belongs with us.”
Stanley nodded. “Exactly like that.”
June joined them on the grass, her knees brushing against Stanley’s as she leaned forward to examine the plans. Thecontact sent a jolt of awareness through him, and he had to force himself to focus on the task at hand.
She’s so close,his bear sighed happily.Can you smell her?Like summer.
Stanley could, in fact, catch the faint scent of her shampoo, something herbal and sweet that made him want to lean closer. Instead, he cleared his throat and pointed to the next step in the plans.
“We’ll attach these panels first,” he explained, keeping his voice steady despite the way his pulse quickened when June’s fingers accidentally brushed against his as they reached for the same piece.
They worked steadily, Stanley guiding Oli through each step, showing him how to hold the screwdriver, how to line up the panels, how to check that everything was square and level. Not once did he rush or take over, even when Oli’s careful movements took three times as long as it would have if Stanley had done it himself.
He often looked up and found her watching them, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
