Alpha Rancher Bear: BWWM Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Bears of Pinerock County Book 3) Read Online Free Page A
with her dad, visiting the ranches and getting to know the back country.
So a little winter weather didn't scare her. Still, it might be worse tomorrow. She stopped by the grocery store to make sure she had enough staples to last for a few days just in case she got snowed in, along with a six-pack of her favorite beer. In the checkout line she chatted with the clerk, whose sister's baby Charmian had just recently delivered. One thing about being the daughter of the vet and the county midwife: she probably knew two-thirds of the people in the county. In fact, it was a little surprising that she'd managed to go her whole life without running into Tall, Dark, and Grouchy before, although she had seen Saffron's husband Remy around town, even before Saffron started coming into the clinic.
He's probably one of those rural weirdos who doesn't ever come down from the mountains. Just a grouchy old hermit. Not the first rude person you've run into, Charmian, and he won't be the last. Stop obsessing on it.
But she couldn't seem to shake him out of her head. As she got into her Jeep, she got a flash of Alec lounging on his truck, his big body somehow exuding powerful sex appeal even bundled in a coat. She clenched her teeth and put the Jeep in gear, but she kept seeing those piercing blue eyes boring into her soul; she kept feeling the warmth and strength of his hand on hers.
I'd love to see what else those hands can do ...
Aargh.
At least, once she turned off the highway, she had the drive to distract her. Charmian's house wasn't in the absolute middle of nowhere, but she was in a little maze of roads that generally only got plowed when the county had finished clearing the bigger thoroughfares, unless one of the locals got to it first. She discovered, in fact, when she got home that one of the neighbors had plowed out her driveway. She'd have to be sure and find out which one it was, and drop off a bottle of wine at his door.
She had to smile to herself about living in a place where so many of her neighbors had snowplow attachments for their trucks that it could have been any one of half a dozen people.
"Honey, I'm home!" she called, opening the door.
There was a pattering of toenails on tile and Bucket launched himself at her legs. Charmian set down her grocery bags and sat on the floor to pick up the little bundle of scruff in her arms. Bucket was a wiry-haired mutt who had been left at her dad's veterinary office years ago, literally in a bucket, hence the name. Charmian had seen the damp and shivering puppy when he was brought in, and it was love at first sight. She'd always preferred big dogs and never thought she'd give her heart away to a creature that was probably ten pounds soaking wet, but she liked to say that Bucket had the heart and soul of a much bigger dog. He even liked to go jogging with her. By now Charmian's neighbors had become used to the sight of the small woman running along the back-country roads, with an even tinier ball of fluff bouncing intently along at her heels.
She let him out into the fenced yard and went to put her groceries away. Munching on a granola bar, she filled some bottles with water just in case the power went out, and checked her supply of candles in a kitchen drawer. Power outages were relatively common here in the winter, and had become a minor inconvenience rather than a major headache for her by now, but part of what made them that way was making sure to take care of preparations beforehand.
Right now, the snow seemed to be slacking off. If the forecast was right they'd be in for a dumping over the next few days, though.
Saffron lived somewhere up in the mountains. Had she and Alec made it home okay?
"Which I'm only wondering," she said aloud, "because I'm worried about my client, obviously."
Vigorous scratching from the back door provided a convenient distraction just as her thoughts started to wander in the direction of blue eyes and big warm hands again. She let in Bucket,
So a little winter weather didn't scare her. Still, it might be worse tomorrow. She stopped by the grocery store to make sure she had enough staples to last for a few days just in case she got snowed in, along with a six-pack of her favorite beer. In the checkout line she chatted with the clerk, whose sister's baby Charmian had just recently delivered. One thing about being the daughter of the vet and the county midwife: she probably knew two-thirds of the people in the county. In fact, it was a little surprising that she'd managed to go her whole life without running into Tall, Dark, and Grouchy before, although she had seen Saffron's husband Remy around town, even before Saffron started coming into the clinic.
He's probably one of those rural weirdos who doesn't ever come down from the mountains. Just a grouchy old hermit. Not the first rude person you've run into, Charmian, and he won't be the last. Stop obsessing on it.
But she couldn't seem to shake him out of her head. As she got into her Jeep, she got a flash of Alec lounging on his truck, his big body somehow exuding powerful sex appeal even bundled in a coat. She clenched her teeth and put the Jeep in gear, but she kept seeing those piercing blue eyes boring into her soul; she kept feeling the warmth and strength of his hand on hers.
I'd love to see what else those hands can do ...
Aargh.
At least, once she turned off the highway, she had the drive to distract her. Charmian's house wasn't in the absolute middle of nowhere, but she was in a little maze of roads that generally only got plowed when the county had finished clearing the bigger thoroughfares, unless one of the locals got to it first. She discovered, in fact, when she got home that one of the neighbors had plowed out her driveway. She'd have to be sure and find out which one it was, and drop off a bottle of wine at his door.
She had to smile to herself about living in a place where so many of her neighbors had snowplow attachments for their trucks that it could have been any one of half a dozen people.
"Honey, I'm home!" she called, opening the door.
There was a pattering of toenails on tile and Bucket launched himself at her legs. Charmian set down her grocery bags and sat on the floor to pick up the little bundle of scruff in her arms. Bucket was a wiry-haired mutt who had been left at her dad's veterinary office years ago, literally in a bucket, hence the name. Charmian had seen the damp and shivering puppy when he was brought in, and it was love at first sight. She'd always preferred big dogs and never thought she'd give her heart away to a creature that was probably ten pounds soaking wet, but she liked to say that Bucket had the heart and soul of a much bigger dog. He even liked to go jogging with her. By now Charmian's neighbors had become used to the sight of the small woman running along the back-country roads, with an even tinier ball of fluff bouncing intently along at her heels.
She let him out into the fenced yard and went to put her groceries away. Munching on a granola bar, she filled some bottles with water just in case the power went out, and checked her supply of candles in a kitchen drawer. Power outages were relatively common here in the winter, and had become a minor inconvenience rather than a major headache for her by now, but part of what made them that way was making sure to take care of preparations beforehand.
Right now, the snow seemed to be slacking off. If the forecast was right they'd be in for a dumping over the next few days, though.
Saffron lived somewhere up in the mountains. Had she and Alec made it home okay?
"Which I'm only wondering," she said aloud, "because I'm worried about my client, obviously."
Vigorous scratching from the back door provided a convenient distraction just as her thoughts started to wander in the direction of blue eyes and big warm hands again. She let in Bucket,
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