Page 8 of The Bear's Chosen Mate
“James is back,” Kaylee interrupted.“But he headed straight home.I’m sorry, I was supposed to tell you.”
Grandpa Giles clicked his tongue, worry erasing his happy expression.“I need those papers.I’m meeting virtually with the investors in a little over an hour, and I definitely need all the signatures in place.”
Amber bit her bottom lip, obviously flustered as she rearranged and straightened papers on her desk.“I have an appointment later today.I’ve been invited to go to the dog sledding place.You know, the one where they run with teams over the grass?I don’t want to cancel, but if I have to…”
“No.Don’t worry about it.I can help,” Kaylee offered.
The change in Grandpa Giles was astonishing.The sadness in his eyes vanished between one second and the next.He straightened up and looked her over with approval.“Would you really?Oh, you have no idea how big of a help that would be.I can keep the investors entertained during our conference call if you get James’s signature quick enough.”
While some things were beyond her skill set, this she was more than capable of.“It’s not a problem.I wanted to make sure he was taking care of himself, anyway.”
Curiosity and concern darkened Grandpa Giles’s eyes.“Not feeling well?”
“He thinks he caught a cold from the group of investors he flew home.Either that, or it’s the bug that’s going around town.”
Grandpa Giles nodded slowly.“Dangerous things, summer colds.And I know my grandsons—always neglecting their health.Good thing you’re going to drop in on him.Someone needs to double check he’s taking care of himself and getting lots of rest.”
Amber had been working diligently in the background.She slid papers into a file folder and handed it to Kaylee.“Page four.Once he signs it, take a picture and send it to me.I’ll have time to take care of the rest before I head out for the sleds.”
“Amazing women,” Grandpa Giles offered up as if he were reciting a prayer, “the world would be a sadder place without you.”
Kaylee exchanged a secret smile with Amber before grabbing the file and slipping from the room.
Outside, the blue skies had vanished behind a mass of clouds that were roiling in like high-speed time-lapse photography.The threat of the storm was no longer just a suggestion.
Her inner cat took one look overhead, shuddered, then vanished.Hiding from the coming rain with incredibly self-centered preservation skills.
Thanks for nothing,Kaylee muttered.
A faint echo answered her, mostly prim, but with a faint hint of apology.You chose to go outside.You chose to get wet, notme.
True.But some things had to be faced and not hidden away from.
Kaylee clutched the file and raced for her truck.
In spite of her terrible history with inclement weather, as the first huge droplets smashed against her windshield on the short trip over to James’s apartment, it wasn’t fear that made her heart pound erratically.
Somehow it felt as if her world was on the edge of tumbling into something new.Something massive and earthshaking.
She parked in the nearest parking space to the door.No one else lived in the apartment building yet, which meant she was only a few feet from the entrance.Kaylee pushed open her door, barely catching it in time as the howling wind ripped in to tear it from her grasp.Her hair was instantly drenched, rain slashing against her skin.The fabric of her coat and her hair flailed like out-of-control whips.
Storms had terrified her ever since she’d been caught in one at age ten, when her parents had carelessly locked her out of the house when they went exploring without any warning.
Her cat had hated every minute of the situation.They’d been wet and cold and scared, and only her inner animal had given her the strength to deal with just how petrified she’d been.
Come to think of it, that was probably the last time the beast had being willing to deal with that kind of stress, and Kaylee didn’t blame her.
Yet the tingling in her entire body had nothing to do with the memories of spending that long-ago storm hiding all alone in a shaking and unsteady treehouse, and everything to do with putting her thumb to the security lock James had given her access to only a couple of weeks ago.Had everything to do with her dripping her way to the elevator and hitting the button to the penthouse suite.
Because as foolish as it was, her heart kept hoping for what could never be.
4
Heat.Pulsing heat.It wrapped around his body and tangled tentacles into his brain, sending his thoughts in a million directions.
James sat on his couch and died a million deaths.He’d reached for the phone a half dozen times before letting his hand fall with a plop to the leather seat beside him.It had to have something to do with the fever, his lack of ability to concentrate enough to make the next move.Who was he going to call, and what would he tell them?
His brothers?Hell, they’d laugh right before they reminded him that more was on the line than just his freedom—and reminded him of their pact.
