Bear The Flame (Firebear Brides 2) (2 page)

“What do you have in mind?” she asked, curious enough to hear anyone’s take on what she could be doing to untangle herself from her current mess.

Kari grinned mischievously, plucking Rose’s phone off the table. “Hey!” Rose protested, but Kari had already unlocked the screen and was skimming through her apps.

She pulled up SassyDate, and what had just been a bit of a flush on Rose’s cheeks earlier had now turned her lobster-red with embarrassment.

“Kari! What are you doing!”

“Hold your horses, girl. No shame in liking this thing. You don’t think I figured that your ex had to be a shifter? I knew you had a thing for the big burly types that could rip a guy’s throat out if need be,” Kari chuckled. “I’m just showing you one that I think you’d like. Maybe he’d even be a solution to your current problem!”

In a moment, Kari turned the phone back around on Rose and showed her the profile of a tall, handsome, blond-haired man with the most striking blue eyes. He had a cocky grin and an easy charm, with a black leather jacket hung over his shoulders like a second skin. She could tell that he was hiding tattoos underneath. He was just the kind of guy who would.

“He’s in Los Angeles. And even if he weren’t, how’s getting
another
man in my life going to untangle the crap I’m in?” she asked, grinning at Kari’s mischievous smile.

She didn’t really see how any of this would help her but damn did she enjoy Kari’s flavor of problem solving. Throwing a hot guy into the mix would have usually been the kind of thinking Rose would have happily applauded.

“But he’s not, you see. He’s in Idaho now. And he needs a bride. And you need a man to drive away your ex, so what’s not to love, huh? It’s perfect!”

“He needs a what?!” Rose asked, incredulous.

“A bride! It’s the latest thing. These sexy beasts move out of the city, to get closer to their ancestors or whatever, and then they find that there are no women out in bumfuck wherever. They have to resort to flying them in like some twisted mail-order bride scene from the eighteen hundreds! I love it. It’s just insane enough to be completely awesome,” Kari laughed, handing the phone back to Rose.

“It’s insane all right,” Rose said, but her eyes kept wandering back to the cute guy grinning back at her from the ad.

“He’s not even looking for a forever wife. Ad said he needs some sort of a temporary arrangement. And hey, Idaho has mountains and forests and whatever, right? Sounds too good to be true,” Kari said, snickering as she stood up to get more wine.

“Maybe,” Rose said, shutting the app down.

But she made a point of remembering the guy’s name beforehand. Kari was by her side in a second, filling her glass up again.

“Well, in any case. You gotta drink up and tell me all the dirty little deets about your time as a stripper! I feel like I’ve known you since first semester and I always thought you were this sweet, nice girl, and now it comes out you’re some sort of vixen!”

Rose groaned good-naturedly, taking a long swig from her wine. This was going to be a
long
night. But maybe with enough wine, she’d get a good enough idea to fix the jam she was currently in.

Hell, maybe that idea could even include a sexy-as-sin werebear in Idaho…
 

CHAPTER TWO

Redmond

The burnt tree trunk weighed heavily on his back as Redmond dragged it across what used to be a long stretch of pristine wilderness. Now it was a charred mess, the mere remnant of a wild sanctuary that he’d known for only a short while before he lost it. The low hum of a chainsaw in the near distance caught his ears as he shrugged the log off his shoulders and let it fall in a pile of similar burnt trees.

Redmond stood up, growling low as the muscles on his back contracted and protested against the harsh treatment he was showing them. Wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, he glanced in the direction of the noise. The big, almost monstrously wide form of Battle watched as a tree tipped back and then fell to the ground, its scorched and dead trunk cracking and breaking into pieces on impact.

It was just Redmond and Battle in the forest now, though the morning had seen more helping hands. In Shifter Grove, one family’s misfortune seemed to be shared by the whole town. It was certainly different from Los Angeles, where having a lick of decency seemed to be reserved for you only if you were exorbitantly wealthy.

“Battle, you calling it a night?” Redmond hollered, grabbing his discarded shirt from on top of the pile.

“Just about, I think,” Battle answered, cutting the felled tree into manageable chunks.

Redmond wandered over to the other werebear, his hands shoved into the pockets of his worn jeans. He breathed in through his nose and his bear murmured its pleasure, trying to coax him into running home through the woods instead of taking the truck.
B
eing in Idaho was damn different from the Golden State, that was for sure. Being in a forest already was sort of a cultural shock and the fact that he liked it was weirder still.

Redmond Hamilton had come to Idaho on a whim. Led by his brother Royce’s invitation to come see the family homestead left to them by their late uncle, he’d cashed in his three weeks of vacation and hopped on a plane. Instead of finding a rundown farm and a general sense of disinterest about it all, Redmond had found himself entirely entranced with everything.

Bits and pieces from his past came back to him, consuming his memories and making him look at everything a bit differently. He’d lived on the grounds as a child, before the unfortunate death of his father, and somehow he’d managed to block all of that happiness and buried it in the back of his mind. Stepping on Hamilton grounds brought it all back in an instant, though, leaving the Los Angeles firefighter and seasoned playboy considering a whole different kind of life from the one he had always known.

“I appreciate the help,” Redmond said, putting one leg on a scorched trunk and leaning in as Battle packed his gear.

“Don’t mention it, man. I remember your family from way back. I’m not much older than you are, but my clan always thought highly of the Hamiltons. I remember the elder members discussing your little settlement down here all the time. It seems only right to give back, you know?”

Battle grinned his big, perfectly white smile and Redmond returned it with one of his own. Next to Battle’s hulking, tank-like build, Redmond seemed almost lean at his six-foot-four height and wide-shouldered swimmer’s build. Working as a firefighter, a firebear as they were jokingly called, had given him a physique built for speed, agility, and strength. And living in Los Angeles had shaped his sense of style into something more urban sensible compared to the rugged, outback types that seemed to be the main force in Shifter Grove.

Redmond pulled his hand through his slick hair and rose up, cringing slightly as the ache in his joints caught up with him. He was physically fit, yes, but getting used to this country lifestyle had been no easy task. His body still protested to the constant toiling.

There’s always that ticket home,
Redmond thought grimly, remembering that he was supposed to head back to Los Angeles the day after next.

“Will we meet up again tomorrow? I don’t have work until Monday,” Battle offered, picking up his saw and hard hat.

He looked like the long day of work hadn’t phased him one bit.

“Sure. Have a good night. Send Keesha my greetings,” Redmond said, waving at Battle as they took separate routes to their vehicles parked on the dusty country road.

The dead grass and foliage crinkled and cracked under Redmond’s work boots, signaling the end of something but also a new beginning. The work they were doing to clean up the patch of forest damaged by the wildfire a week ago was just to give nature a chance to bounce back faster and easier. If there was one thing shifters could count on, it was that nature always found a way. But sometimes it was good to help.

His rental truck came into view, and when Redmond jumped up on the seat, he had to take a second to decompress. Pushing his head back on the headrest, he shoved the keys in the ignition and turned, fearing what was coming next. Being alone meant having time to think. Having time to think meant having an opportunity to make the wrong decisions. He turned the truck around and started heading back toward Hamilton House, thoughts rolling through his head in rapid succession.

This whole damn thing is insane,
he told himself for what seemed to be the tenth time that day.

He’d come to Idaho expecting one thing, and what he’d found was something completely different. For the first time in decades, he felt at peace, like he’d finally arrived home. It was something he hadn’t expected to like as much as he did. But what added to the ridiculousness of the situation was not that he liked the place, but what he would have to do to make it permanent.

Namely, his uncle had left the grounds and the buildings to him and his three brothers, but with certain rules attached. Each and every one of them had to move back to Idaho and get married within a year, and two of them had to have wives pregnant with cubs by the time their deadline was up. All four of the Hamilton brothers were scattered over the United States working as firefighters, and they barely even had contact with one another for more than the mandatory “Happy Birthday” and “Merry Christmas!” wishes every year.

Even more, none of them were married! Or, well, Royce was well on his way, but that was a whole can of worms that Redmond wasn’t exactly ready to get into either. A steadfast bachelor, Redmond had enjoyed his life in Los Angeles as the hot, attractive fireman bear that women liked to take home but not keep there. That was fine with him; he was a love-them-and-leave-them kind of guy and that worked perfectly for him.

The forest turned from charred and blackened to lush and green in the areas where the fire hadn’t reached. It had been a serious scare; the sudden wildfire almost killed Royce’s bride-to-be Tiana, and no one knew what had caused it. Though, considering the dry foliage and the fact that it hadn’t rained in ages, a simple accident seemed to be the culprit.

He kept his big paws on the steering wheel, driving in silence until the road hit the five-way fork that led to Hamilton House. He took the left-most option out of the three roads that would take him home, preferring a longer drive.

I should just pack up and go home,
he thought glumly.
I don’t have any more vacation time left. But that means that we won’t get the house… and while this isn’t LA, I guess it has its charms.

The sun was setting slowly behind the high mountains and it would get very dark very soon.

“But what if I stay,” he said out loud, just as the house came into view.

Yeah. What if? He’d have to get a wife. And that seemed like an impossible feat. He’d have to find something else to live for other than his job. Though Shifter Grove obviously needed a fire station, so maybe that could be an option? And he’d have to get used to backbreaking labor day in and day out. The way his bear murmured in agreement to that seemed like it would be the least of his problems.

Grumbling under his breath, he slammed on the gas pedal and sped up the truck until it was bouncing and rolling on the road leading up to the house. It was bathed in red light and looked even more majestic than it usually did. A small smile spread on his lips as he took in the sight of the Hamilton House. It was home. But was that enough?

Getting closer, he noticed that it wasn’t just his brother’s and Tiana’s trucks that were parked in front of the house. Not only that, but Royce and Tiana were on the porch, talking to someone he didn’t recognize. A frown crossed over his features and he cranked the hand brake, wheeling into a spot next to Royce’s truck. He clambered out and slammed the door behind him, striding up to the stairs at a leisurely pace.

Her eyes were on him: big, blue, and completely maddening. There was a look in those baby blues that made his heart jump a couple of times before settling on a pace that was far faster than what the werebear was used to. Hell, he might have even been sweating a little, all because a pretty girl with long blonde hair and a pouty mouth was looking at him like he might just be her savior. Or was she looking at him like that because he’d be her undoing? Well, whatever, he liked the look.

Who is that pretty thing,
he mused, putting on his cockiest smirk and letting his natural swagger fall into his step.

Redmond was so enthralled with the sexy minx standing on the porch that he almost walked into Royce on his way up the stairs. Grinning, Royce stopped him with a hand to his chest, shaking his head as Redmond forcefully tore his gaze from the blonde angel that had landed in his life, making his bear stand up and take notice.