Tracking the Bear (Blue Ridge Bears Book 1)(5)

“What’s up, Uncle Mack?” I asked, keeping my tone polite. The last thing I wanted was to irritate him further by exercising my sarcasm muscle, or as he called it, “my damned sassy mouth.”

“Your brother.” He grunted. Aunt Carol slid a cup of coffee and a plate of eggs across the table to me. Aunt Carol’s solution to any problem was to cook until it went away, or to pray. Sometimes she did both at the same time. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I speared a bit of egg on my fork and dutifully swallowed.

“Is Luke okay?” I asked, suddenly worried. I’d ignored the two missed calls I’d seen on my phone. I knew I was one of his three emergency contacts. Had he been hurt?

“Your brother has dropped out of college. He left a message on the answering machine this afternoon, saying he was sorry for God knows what, and telling us he was never coming home.”

I stared at his wide, purplish face for a moment, not comprehending. No. That wasn’t right. Luke had loved college. He’d been irritatingly proud of the football scholarship that earned him a position at a top university while I’d still been in traction. He wouldn’t just quit.

“Why?” I asked, finally taking a seat next to Aunt Carol. She took my hand and squeezed it gently.

“He didn’t say.” Uncle Mack hadn’t sounded this irate in years. “But he’s dropping out. No consideration to how it looks. I thought I taught that boy manners. Thinks he can just walk out on his obligations? Well, when he comes crawling back he won’t be welcome here.”

“Uncle Mack,” I began slowly. “He’s not obligated to finish college. If he wants to drop out, he can.”

Though I’d go clear to Ohio to kick his ass if that was the case. He had to have a reason, even if Uncle Mack didn’t want to hear it. I wasn’t letting my baby brother ruin his life on a whim.

He jabbed a finger into my face. “See, that’s the attitude that got you stuck here, Lucy Elmsong. You’ve got a lot of quit in you. I never pegged Luke as someone to lay down and die like that.”

For a moment I thought about biting the finger nearly touching my nose. Is that what he thought I’d done? Lay down and die? Didn’t he see how hard I’d been fighting to be free of this town?

“I’m going to bed,” I said shortly, batting his hand away from my face.

“You need to eat your eggs first,” Aunt Carol protested. “Protein is good for you.”

“So is reading the Bible,” I snapped. “Why don’t you both do something useful and talk to Jesus? I think there’s something in there about not trying to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

I stalked out of the kitchen and into my bedroom. The small wood-paneled place had never looked less like home to me. I grabbed a suitcase from my closet and threw it onto the bed. I began rifling through my drawers, trying to hastily compile a mental list of what I’d need.

“You listen here young lady-” Uncle Mack thundered, stomping into the room after me.

“No!” I shouted back. “No. I’m not going to listen to you lecture me about what Luke and I should or should not be doing with our lives. I’m leaving in the morning, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t get in my way.”

“Where are you going?” Aunt Carol fretted in the doorway.

“To Columbus. I’m going to talk some sense into Luke.”

“But that’s eight hours away!” She exclaimed.

“I’ll rent a motel room along the way,” I said, throwing a handful of socks and underwear into the suitcase.

“You can’t just leave,” Uncle Mack spluttered, some of his fury draining away.

“Watch me.”





Chapter Two


Chance


Ursula’s right tit, why did I have to find my mate here? Why had it been this little town?

I’d known better than to follow her to her home, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t wanted to. I wanted to know more about the bright-eyed Lucy. I wanted to know the story behind her injured leg. I wanted to know who I needed to hunt next. My bear rumbled its agreement within me. Whoever had crippled our mate was going to pay dearly for it.

But thoughts of the hunt were finally what brought me out of the semi-murderous state I’d been in most of the night and allowed me to concentrate. I was already on a hunt and I could pursue Lucy at a later date. I rolled over, retrieving the manila folder from inside my duffel bag. I removed the rubber band that held the thing shut and let the photos spill onto the crisp white bedding.

The evidence arranged on the bedspread was the only thing that could draw him away from Lucy, with her enticing scent, her perfect curves, her—Damnit Chance, focus. I’d been on the road for nearly a week, cutting my vacation with family short to come deal with the renegade. Technically, the case wasn’t in our jurisdiction. Luke Elmsong hadn’t lived in the area for over four years. He hadn’t lived in any of the three states I patrolled as an enforcer, either. So technically, I hadn’t needed to leave my father’s cabin to track him down.

But I’d wanted to. Tracking was the only thing that soothed my bear and kept me from devolving into the same sort of psychotic monster I hunted. I walked the dagger’s edge of sanity if I tried to go for much longer than a few weeks without a mission.