Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears #1)(31)

He was sharing his ritual. Sharing his compulsion.

She would follow this trail later with her camera and take pictures for her scrapbook. As beautiful as these Wyoming mountains were, they deserved a full spread in the story of her life.

They were a part of her now, just like the menagerie of animals who walked beside her.

Dad had been right. She’d never fit in when she’d lived in Buffalo Gap. But here, walking beside the man who held her heart, among people who were just like her, she finally felt like she was home.





Chapter Twelve




Today had been hellish. It had been windy, which not only kicked Harrison’s instincts up, but made it more dangerous to cut trees. Mason and Kirk were hard workers, but Mason was used to being behind a processor, Kirk was a sawmill worker, and neither had a ton of experience cutting trees on the side of a mountain. A deadly combination that kept Harrison instructing them more than getting his own work done.

They’d missed Damon’s numbers, and by a lot, even though they’d all worked until sundown. Add to that, Clinton had been a bear on a rampage, and had Changed twice during the shift when they’d gotten into yelling arguments on the jobsite. And then he’d pitched a fit when Harrison had ordered him to come along for dinner at Moosey’s Bait and Barbecue. It was Audrey’s first day of work, and he wanted them there to show support. She deserved to build a bond with shifters like them after all the lonely years. Plus, over the last few days, he’d noticed a massive change in her. She was joking and playing with the crew, opening up little by little. She even owned being a tiger shifter now, where she’d been utterly secretive about that part of her life when he’d first met her.

Oh, Harrison knew part of it was him. She was falling for him like he was for her, but he knew better than to take all the credit when the others were so clearly a part of her growing confidence.

“I still don’t know why I had to come,” Clinton groused from the front seat of Harrison’s truck.

“Dude, just eat some barbecue and stop bitching,” Kirk said from the back seat.

“I don’t approve of what is happening, and it’s horse crap that I’m forced to participate in all this kumbaya shit.”

“Clinton, kindly shut the f*ck up before I put my boot up your poop-chute,” Bash muttered from the back seat.

Clinton turned in the passenger’s seat and started punching at Bash, who was kicking up front with his big muddy work shoes.

Harrison slammed on the brakes in a parking spot outside of Moosey’s and shoved Clinton hard against the window. He gripped his shirt, pinning him in place, and gritted out, “I’m beyond sick of your shit, man. You always hurt Audrey. You can see that, right? The way you treat her makes her smell sad and look sad, and she’s been through enough rejection in her life. Do you seriously not care about someone who obviously cares about you? You know the beers that magically showed up in your fridge the other day? Her. You know the old barbecue grill that just happened to show up on your back porch? She spent four freaking hours refurbishing it. For you. Stop being an *.” Harrison released his shirt and growled as Clinton immediately got out of the truck and slammed the door.

“C-team,” Mason muttered, shaking his head as he got out.

Harrison scrubbed his hands over his face. He wanted to throw the damned truck into the woods just to work off some of his agitation. He’d known this wouldn’t be easy, but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard.

Maybe this was a bad idea. He didn’t want to stress Audrey out more on her first day. She had an hour left on her shift, and he didn’t want to ruin the end of the night by putting Clinton in her path.

He cut the engine and turned off the headlights, then followed the guys across the gravel parking lot.

Moosey’s had started as a bait shop for the fishermen who traveled here from all over. Locals and tourists alike had made it thrive enough that Joey Dorsey, the owner, had added on a barbecue joint on the side that looked like an old, rustic garage. On warm days, like this one, Joey opened up the trio of doors that made up most of the front wall. From here, Harrison could see the busy interior. Most of the long picnic tables inside were taken, and half of the outside ones as well. Joey’s meat man, Duncan, was standing in front of a massive grill, checking the temperature on a rack of ribs. Duncan waved a pair of tongs when he saw Harrison.

“Hey,” he greeted him, forcing a smile. He was still pissed at Clinton, but Audrey wasn’t just some human with dull senses. She would know immediately if he was angry, and he needed to get his growly bear under control.

He smelled her before he saw her. Mango shampoo, cherry lip gloss, and deliciously sexy fur. His crew was filing in through the open garage door to the left, but Harrison froze just on the edge of the parking lot. Audrey wore a tight black T-shirt with the bright pink Moosey’s logo and short cut-offs that showed off her summer-tanned legs. She had her straight, dark hair pulled up high in the back of her head with a hairband, and she wore a smile on her lips as she wiped down an empty picnic table. Selfishly, he hoped she was thinking about him and that he was the cause of her happy expression.

Her nostrils flared slightly, and she turned to the crew who were making their way down the row toward her. All but Clinton who was now standing in line for food. Ass.

She hugged the boys one by one, and then looked around until her eyes locked on Harrison. The smile that had been so damned pretty a second ago turned boner-inducing. Fuck, his mate was gorgeous. His mate. He sighed as relief slid over his shoulders. Screw the bad day. She made everything better. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he gave her a smile and mouthed hey.