Husband Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #1)(45)

She picked an onion, the smallest of the potatoes, and pulled a few cloves of garlic from the strands hanging from the rafters, then frowned at an unfamiliar coffee can that sat on the shelf with the jars of salmon. The can made a hollow clunk when she set it down on the small prep table. Inside was a wad of cash, mostly five and ten dollar bills, and a note.



If food gets low, don’t go hungry.

I love you.

Ian



She read it several times to familiarize herself with his scrawled handwriting. She was both flattered and scared at the meaning of this coffee can. Ian was making sure she was taken care of. He was preparing for worst case scenarios, and for that, she adored him even more deeply.

But…

It was early to be making preparations like this, wasn’t it? She still had a month with him, but he was already filling a coffee can with extra money. Maybe he was afraid his hibernation would come early this year. Last night’s pillow talk had brought to light that he didn’t control when he went to sleep, and that some years it snuck up on him.

She stuffed the money and the note back in the can and replaced it on the shelf. She would need that letter from him in dark winter when she was fighting off cabin fever and waiting for him to wake up for their mere hour of time together. Reading his note would be a good way to feel a connection to him when the loneliness became unbearable. That little scribbled paper was the closest she’d ever gotten to a love note. Sure, it was short and simple, but it was the meaning behind it that curled into her heart and warmed her blood. Ian was thinking of every way possible to help her through the cold months, even if he would be as good as a ghost.

Basket of vegetables in hand, she climbed up the steep stairs out of the root cellar and back into the kitchen. Thyme, parsley, bay leaves, butter, sugar, salt and pepper gathered, she seared the rabbit. Once the meat was ready, she got the stew simmering on the stove and finally removed her jacket.

Her muscles were so tired her limbs felt numb, but it was the good kind of exhaustion. It was a fatigue that said she’d had a productive day and would be stronger for it once the soreness left her in a couple of days. She hung her jacket on the coat rack, then strode into the bedroom and scrutinized herself in the mirror. She did this lately because for the first time in a long time, she enjoyed the way her body was changing. There was no wasting away or new bones protruding. She was on the mend and putting on weight that would cushion and insulate her in the cold months.

Ian liked the changes, too. She could tell because he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her curves now—her ass in particular. God, that man could make her feel beautiful with a touch.

Missing him, she meandered into the kitchen for a quick stir of the stew simmering in the cast iron pot before looking out the window. It was full dark now, and Ian and Josiah had lanterns lit on hooks around the hay storage. The sound of the chainsaw was loud in the stillness of the evening, and she could make out Ian making cuts into posts he must’ve dragged up from the old wood pile. Uncle Jim had always reused everything so he’d torn down the old horse shelter five years back and piled the wood behind the barn. His foresight meant Ian and Josiah weren’t going off into the night searching for wood right now. Her brother was digging a posthole several yards outside of the shelter. Neither were talking, but they both seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Capable Alaskan men—there was nothing quite like them. She was proud of how self-sufficient her brother had become and proud that Ian had chosen her to share his life.

She refilled Miki’s water and food bowls in the corner near an old blanket he usually slept on while she puttered around the cabin in the evenings. With cute little puppy snorts, he ate hungrily.

An hour and a half later of hammers on nails echoing through the homestead, she had fresh biscuits made, and the stew had thickened up nicely. Apparently Ian could tell the main course was almost done because he led Josiah inside at just the right time and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he tasted a spoonful of the broth she offered him. The groan of ecstasy he elicited gave her a deep yearning in her stomach. Cheeks flushed, she nuzzled her cheek against the scruff of his jaw and murmured, “You go wash up. Dinner’s on.”

Ian leaned closer and clamped his teeth on her neck for just a moment before he eased away from her, leaving her back cold where he’d been so warm before. He did that a lot, and when she’d asked, he’d told her simply that his bear liked having his teeth on her neck. That it made her feel more like his. She didn’t know what it said about her, but she thoroughly enjoyed him getting territorial and laying those sexy teeth on her skin. There was a sense of danger about it, having the mouth of a wild creature like Ian on her, but at the same time, she trusted him completely. With her life even.

Miki was passed out on his blanket by the time they filled their plates and sat down at the table. It was late, and the day had been long and hard, but that didn’t seem to stop Josiah from stirring the shit. “If you saw Elyse when we were younger, you would run for the hills.”

Elyse kicked her brother under the table and pulled more rabbit meat from the bone with her fork. “Piss of, Jo. I’ve been a looker all my life.”

“What was she like?” Ian asked through a trouble-making grin as he slathered butter on his steaming biscuit.

“So one summer, Elyse decided she wanted to have a boy haircut like mine, so she begged Uncle Jim to cut it. Begged and begged.”