Catching the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

heard the stories.”
    “Stories?”
    Another giggle tricked through the Jeep. “I’m not a one night stand kind of girl.” Her voice dropped and I caught the hint of sadness in her scent again. She twisted that ring like it was the only thing keeping her safe.
    “Who was he?”
    Kenzie glanced at me quickly before hanging her head again. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she whispered.
    “You know, my brothers always tell me that it helps them when they talk about their issues.”
    “They do?”
    I shrugged. “Well, I tell them that, I guess.”
    A small smile graced her sad features. My bear wanted to take her away and hide her from this sadness. My bear. The very same bear who’d shown zero interest in any of the multiple women that have been in my life over the past decade.
    I was in trouble.
    “It happened a long time ago. Seven years actually.”
    I stayed quiet, letting her speak at her own pace. In fact, she stayed silent so long that I didn’t think she would share anything more.
    “We were teenagers and he gave me this promise ring.”
    “A promise ring?” I asked.
    “You know, like a promise that someday, when we were adults and had careers, we would get engaged and then married.”
    Her voice drifted off again and I caught her wiping at her eyes. Damn it, I’d made her cry.
    “It’s stupid, though. I don’t even know why I still wear it. It happened so long ago,” she said again.
    “What was his name?” I asked quietly, doing everything I could not to reach over and comfort her.
    She let out a deep breath. “Evan.” Turning to look out the window, her breathing increased. Scared. “I should have died, too.”
    “What?” I shouted, nearly veering off the road at the thought of her not sitting next to me right now.
    “I was in the car with him,” she said after grabbing onto the door handle for support.
    “An accident?”
    She nodded.
    “I’m really sorry,” I said, meaning every word.
    “I still don’t know how I survived,” she whispered. “I missed his funeral.”
    I found myself at a loss for words again. Her pain was palpable in the tiny space between us and I would have done anything in the world to take that away from her. Without second guessing myself, I reached over and grabbed her hands. Giving them a tight squeeze, I tried my best to provide some sort of comfort for her. Her soft skin ignited below mine. But she didn’t smell of fear anymore and that let me know that we were making progress.
    We drove in silence for another ten minutes, my hand still holding hers, until I remembered that I had to make a stop. “I need to pull in here and get something for Calvin. Do you want a snack? You must be hungry. What do you want?” I sounded like a babbling idiot but at least I got a smile.
    “Do they have popcorn?”
    “Popcorn?” It was a strange request.
    “Yeah, the cheddar kind?”
    With a laugh, I nodded my head and jumped out of the Jeep. “One cheddar popcorn coming up.”
    “Oh, and an iced tea!” she called out after me.
    I gave her a thumbs up and jogged into store. Five minutes later I came back with our supplies and passed them over to her. Kenzie dug through the bag and pulled out her snacks. Then she lifted the extra-large bag of salmon jerky. “Is this for you?”
    “No. For Calvin. It’s his favorite and he can’t get it out where he lives.”
    “Bribing him then?” she teased.
    Damn if I didn’t love the way she looked right now. All smiles, and teeth, and bright blue, happier eyes. “Hey, whatever works. Although you’re the one that supposedly has all the skills of persuasion.”
    “Oh, I have skills,” she said and then immediately slapped her hand across her mouth. “Oh my god, I don’t even know where that came from.”
    I laughed and relaxed back into my seat. “Well, maybe I’ll get to see those skills at work.”
    “You wish,” she said and then opened her mouth to apologize again.
    It only made me laugh harder. “Look,