Hare Today, Bear Tomorrow (Mating Call Dating Agency #1)(15)

“Oh,” she said, laughing it off and patting him on the shoulder. “I’m not with Gawker or anything, I actually freelance for a real newspaper. We won’t print anything about the kind of underwear you wear.”

“Boxer-briefs,” he said matter-of-factly. “I like the support, but also the feeling of freedom, I—goddam I told you I’d do that.”

Garnet grinned. “Stricken from the record. Although I’ll admit a man in those things is a sight to behold.” The pair shared a quick laugh. “Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Sanderson Douglas. Bear. Now we do gotta hurry this thing along, because that building is gonna fall down in a few minutes and I gotta get going and—”

“Sure, of course. So protests. What’s going on? I saw some sign about healthcare for shifters?”

The old bear scratched at his huge mustache. “Welp, like I said, I don’t wanna get anybody in trouble. But yeah, there was some business about a big protest for the shifter council to support us old folks. It’s expensive, you know, takin’ care of an old bear’s teeth. Or, you know, a beaver’s tail.”

Garnet was nodding and scratching furiously at her notepad. “Go on,” she urged.

“You writin’ this down? Ain’t people your age supposed to mash their fingers on phones or some such thing?”

“I’m probably older than you,” she said with a grin, “in spirit. So these protesters are going on and on about wanting better healthcare for old shifters?”

“Not just that,” his eyes started twinkling. “Aw hell, I’m really gonna get myself in trouble. The damned old bear that can’t keep his damn mouth shut. Look, thing is, we live a hell of a long time, right?”

Garnet, nose twitching at the scent of dust from the collapsing roof, nodded. As the two chatted, she felt like she was falling into The Zone, that special place where her concentration narrowed to a pinpoint, and she felt like she was absolutely in her element. Truthfully, she’d felt like a little of an alien in her own head since she met Stacy, who had taken her heart with a single glance and a chuckle.

And... just like that, he was back in her brain. She was enough of a professional to get the interview finished, and had plenty of notes about pensions, rising costs of healthcare, and all the predictable arguments for and against that she expected. Then again, she’d known about all this before. The protests were nothing new, and having been sent out to look into them in such a remote, and admittedly pretty and expensive place was nice, but it hadn’t made much sense.

All her thoughts turned to his sweeping, curly hair, and his chiseled cheekbones and the way she could imagine the dimple in his left cheek. And before she knew it, Garnet was a million miles away.

“You havin’ some kind of fit?” Sanderson asked, poking her gingerly on the shoulder. “You in there?”

Garnet shook her head hard enough to get a little twinge of soreness in her neck. “Oh, uh yeah,” she said with a shy grin. “Just thinking about something. Bad habit of mine. Sorry. Really, I’m sorry.”

He laughed in a way that brought a slight wheeze to his voice. “You remind me of my daughter. Except she would have told me exactly what she was thinking about and I’m not sure any father ever really wants to know that, no matter what he says.”

“Well, I think that’ll do it,” she said, “I really appreciate it.”

“I didn’t tell you anything you didn’t know. Anyway, whoever he is, he seems like a lucky guy.”

Without anything further, Sanderson did a prompt about-face and scooted outside when the guys on his crew started shouting about something. And just like that, she was alone with her thoughts.

And being alone with her thoughts meant that Garnet was alone with her gigantic, warm-skinned bear. “Of all the things,” she said, laughing. “A bear? I should be afraid of how big he is, huh? But somehow...” she just shook her head. “I guess that is true, what they say about us always finding the one we’re supposed to find, no matter how ridiculous it all is.

And... I’m talking to myself in an empty coffee shop. Good, Garnet. Very, very good.”

She took another deep breath and bent over, bracing her hands against her knees. “I gotta get a grip, I gotta—”

Her phone buzzing violently in her back pocket gave Garnet a slightly pleasant jolt. “Hello? Lita?”

“Got your hotel,” she said. “You get a story yet?”

“I... sort of? I talked to a construction worker who saved me from a falling—never mind. Anyway, I ended up more confused than I was before I talked to him. This is just a garden variety protest about something that’s been going on forever. Why am I here? Seems like a whole lot of expense for not much reader interest?”

Lita disregarded her concern with a careless grunt. “You never know when you’ll find gold in a dumpster. Not that I’m saying that place is a dumpster.”

There was a slight bit of either confusion or irritation in Lita’s voice. It was hard to tell which, but with her there was almost always a hint of one or the other when she talked. “You okay? Sounds like you’re distracted.”

“I’m always distracted. Editors are busy. Anyway, you’re staying at the Four Seasons, uh... suites? I dunno. There’s only one Four Seasons in that place, just go there and tell them who you are.”