Bear My Heart: A Small Town Paranormal Romance (9 page)

Troy grimaced and went on, “I
should have just gone back to my car.”

“No. You wouldn't
leave someone in the lurch,” Dot said softly but with absolute
conviction.

Troy narrowed his eyes as he
stared at a spot on the far wall. “The rain was getting
heavier and the ground was muddy and slippery, and yet I pushed
deeper and deeper into the woods. I was too careless and stupid. I
should have noticed the claw marks on the tree trunks and the large
paw prints on the ground.”

Dot tightened her arms around
him, and her embrace gave him strength and comfort.

“By the time I saw the
bear, it was too late. There was nowhere to run. The bear kept
attacking me, biting and slashing at me.” He pointed to the
scars on his arms and neck. “When I kicked at it, it bit down
viciously on my leg. It bit right through to the bone. I was a
skinny lad then.” He tried to smile but failed.

“One of the bear's
tooth got embedded in my bone as I tore my leg free. The doctors did
countless X-rays but they couldn't find the bear tooth. The tooth
had somehow grafted itself to my bone and the shifter cells in the
tooth were already multiplying in my body.”

Troy clenched his teeth and
said, “That bear, that rogue bear that was lurking in the woods
that night, is in me now.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE

“No,” Dot
whispered fiercely, holding Troy by the shoulders. “No. That
is not true.”

Troy looked her straight in
the eye and said without any inflection or emotion, “I didn't
allow my bear to claim you tonight. We had sex. That's all. It's
not mating. I won't allow a rogue bear to have a mate.”

“No.” Dot shook
him angrily. “You're not a rogue.

Troy's laugh was dark and
mirthless.

“What happened to that
bear, that driver after...” Dot trailed off.

“I was in too much pain
to see clearly, but I saw him shift back into human form and lurch
away. He was heading towards the road. I tried to follow him. Then
I heard the horrible screech of tires and a deafening crash.”

Dot pressed her hand to her
mouth.

“He was crushed under
an eighteen-wheeler. He died a human.”

“Oh Troy!”

“I stayed in the
hospital for two weeks. But the doctors found nothing wrong with me.
My wounds healed quickly, and I went home to my girlfriend. Evelyn
and I were living together then, but she moved out soon after I came
home. I don't blame her. I was impossible to live with. I was
angry all the time, and I refused to talk to anyone.”

“You were living in the
city then. Why didn't you approach the other shifters in the city?
I know there are communities...”

Troy snarled. “Shifters
are the minority, and shifters have equal rights only in theory.”

Dot looked down. Society
still had a long way to go. She knew that there were many people who
were prejudiced and shifter-phobic. They were suspicious of anyone
who wasn't like them, and they tried to shut them out and exclude
them. Shifters were hunted and murdered, but in many cases, no one
was arrested and prosecuted.

Troy turned to her and said,
“No one tolerates a rogue shifter. No one. Not even the
shifters themselves.” He paused and said flatly, “I
thought of ending my life to rid the world of the evil inside of me.”

“You're not evil. I
know evil. I...I've seen it.”

“Dot...”

“Finish your story,
Troy,” she said, her eyes glittering. “I...I can't tell
you mine just yet. But I will. I promise.”

Troy pulled her to him and
murmured, “Don't be alone, Dot. I learned that when people
need you, you will find the strength and courage to live a good life.
For them.”

Exhaling a long breath, he
went on, “Megan called me one night. I could barely make out
what she was saying. She was crying so hard. Her husband, Howard,
had died suddenly in an accident, and the twins were just a few weeks
old. She couldn't cope, and I could hear the babies screaming their
heads off in the background.”

“My sister and nephews
needed me. So I came to Bear Cove, and I did as much as I could for
them. That's how I became a handyman. I did odd jobs for her and
her neighbors, and her neighbors recommended me to more neighbors.
That's how I became Mister Handyman.”

“And your partner,
Brandon?” Dot prompted.

“Brandon was an angry
young cub.” Troy gave a crooked smile. “He's a born
shifter. His dad was a bear shifter.” A flash of pain and
anger flashed through his eyes. “Brandon's dad was a good man.
He encouraged me and advised me. He was the one who taught me how
to shift back and forth properly and safely. But they killed him.”

Dot paled. “No.”

“Brandon's dad was shot
in the woods. He had never hurt a single soul in his life. Those
sicko killed him for shits and giggles yet they claimed they shot him
in self-defense.”

Troy forced himself to
unclench his fists and continued, “Brandon was twenty when it
happened. I had been in Bear Cove a few months then, and I became
his friend. I dragged him along when I went to do jobs for the
neighbors to keep his mind occupied.” Troy shook his head.
“It wasn't easy to get him to do anything. He kept swearing
and cursing, and he wanted revenge. Those two men who shot his dad
were issued fines. They killed a man, and all they had to do was pay
a fine! It would have been laughable if it wasn't so horrible. You
can understand Brandon's outrage and anguish. He wanted them dead.”

Troy leaned back and said
quietly, “Brandon and I, we were in the same place. We were
both in pain. I thought I was helping him, but in fact, he was the
one who helped me. By healing him, I healed myself.”

“So how can you still
think that you're a rogue, Troy Hillman?” Dot said sternly.

There was a long silence. “I
don't know. That's the thing, Dot. I won't know if I'm a rogue
until I lose control. By then, it will be too late.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

Dot walked into the library
and went up to the counter where Megan was typing away cheerfully.
She looked up when Dot approached the counter and grinned.

“Hi Dot! Where's your
laptop?” Megan said. “You never come to the library
without it.”

“I didn't come here to
write. I came to talk to you.”

Megan's face lit up.
“Really?”

“Yeah.” Dot
cleared her throat. “You asked if I would consider holding a
talk or a writing seminar for the residents.”

“Yes!” Megan said
eagerly. “Would you? Everyone would be so excited...”

“I...I think...”
Dot stammered and swallowed. “I think I'd like to do it.”

Megan let out a whoop before
hurriedly shushing herself. “This is wonderful! Thank you,
Dot!”

“I've never done this
before. I'm not sure what I should talk about...”

“Oh, you can talk about
your stories, and I'm sure everyone will be asking you a billion
questions. It doesn't have to be a formal talk. It's more of a...”
Megan tapped her chin as she searched for the right word. “A
discussion, a question-and-answer session!” She snapped her
fingers. “Ooh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to tell
everybody!” Megan clapped her hands and did a little dance on
the spot. “I'll start putting up the notices and posters for
the talk. Shall we say...next Friday night?”

Dot nodded uncertainly. “I
guess. Yeah, okay.”

Megan hugged her and bounded
away to tell a fellow librarian the good news.

Dot turned away and scurried
out of the library. She released a long breath once she was standing
at the edge of the sidewalk.

She had never done anything
like this before. This was a big step for her. A giant, terrifying,
thrilling step.

This was the first time she
had put herself forward and done something so public. She had always
kept a low profile and tried to stay unnoticed and hidden. For the
first time, she'd stepped forward and volunteered to do something for
the community.

It felt strange and...really,
really
good.

She had never felt like she
belonged anywhere. But it was different here. Maybe it was the
right time, the right place—and the right people. She felt
like she belonged in this town and she wanted to be a part of this
small, close-knit community. Here, she actually had friends,
neighbors, and...a boyfriend.

Troy had taken her out to
dinner at Papa Bear's and another restaurant in town. Before long,
everyone simply assumed they were a couple. Lilly had been teasing
Dot relentlessly. She'd even christened the corner booth “Dot
and Troy's Loveseat”.

Troy often had breakfast with
her at Papa Bear's. Megan and her boys joined them sometimes. So
did Troy's business partner, Brandon. Dot found Brandon to be a very
sweet, gentle young man. It was hard to imagine that he had once
wanted to have the blood of his father's murderers on his hands.

She was learning to live
again. After so long, she could finally breathe freely.

Maybe she was truly free at
last.

Dot got into her old, trusty,
beat-up car and drove home. She parked her car and ran up her front
steps feeling optimistic and determined. She planned to tell Megan
and Troy everything about her past. They had a right to know. They
were family.

Dot unlocked her front door
and froze as she stepped on a piece of paper.

Her heart stopped.

With trembling fingers, she
snatched the paper off the floor and stifled a scream when she saw
the drawing.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

Whistling, Troy stopped his
truck in front of Dot's house. He and Brandon had just finished
unclogging a bathroom sink for old Mrs Bogg. They had also installed
a nice new toilet seat and toilet paper holder for her. It was a
simple job and they'd finished up nice and early. Troy had the whole
afternoon free, and he wanted to surprise Dot with a homecooked
dinner.

He had bought all the
groceries, and stopped by the florist to pick up a bunch of flowers
for her. The plan was for her to chill out at his house while he
cooked dinner. She could bring her laptop so she could do some work,
or she could just watch TV, read a magazine, a book, anything. But
she wasn't allowed to step into the kitchen. He would be her
personal chef today.

Troy strode up to the front
door, bearing the vibrant, fresh flowers. After buzzing the doorbell
repeatedly and receiving no answer, he pounded on the door and called
out, “Dot! It's me.”

Her car was parked in front
of her house and he knew she was home. He could hear movement inside
the house. He heard a door slam and footsteps scurrying across the
floor.

He was about to knock again
when the door flew open. Dot stared at him and pushed a hand through
her messy hair.

“Hi, Troy,” she
said stiffly. “I...I'm sorry. This is a bad time. I'm
busy...”

He leaned in and kissed her
on the cheek. “These are for you.”

Dot winced and bit her lip as
she took the flowers from him. “Thank you,” she
whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

She tried to turn away so he
wouldn't see her tears but Troy held her shoulders firmly.

“Hey, what's wrong?”

She shook her head and tried
to back away. “Please...please leave me alone.”

But Troy refused to release
her. He ignored her pleas and protests and stepped into the house,
closing the door behind him.

“What happened, Dot?”

She jerked away from him and
snapped, “Dot—isn't my real name.”

“I don't care what your
name is. I know who you are,” he said.

Her eyes widened.

“You are my forever,”
Troy said simply, taking both her cold, shaking fists in his hands.

Dot squeezed her eyes shut as
if in pain and whispered, “No...please Troy, please don't make
it harder for me. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do...”

He looked away from her and
noticed her bulging duffel bag on the floor just outside her bedroom.
She was packed and ready to go.

“You're leaving?”

She swallowed a sob. “I'm
sorry...”

“No. You are not
leaving,” Troy said through gritted teeth. “You are not
running away. Not this time.”

“You don't understand,
Troy. I...”

“Then make me
understand,” he snarled. “I told you everything about
myself. I hide nothing from you. But you hide yourself from me,
from your friends and neighbors, from the town. There are people who
care about you in Bear Cove, Dot! And you are just going to drive
away from Bear Cove and disappear without saying a word? How…!”
He took a sharp breath to compose himself. A muscle was working
violently in his jaw as he glared at her. He was beyond furious. He
was mad, hurt and bitterly disappointed. He had never thought of her
as a coward.