Page 234 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

“A bear?” His bearperkedup.

“Don’t bears live in Yellowstone?” sheasked.

“Yes. We have grizzly bears and black bears, but they don’t just live in the park,”hesaid.

His bear clawed at his chest, trying to break free to give her the bear sighting she wanted.Calm down bear; we can’t exactly shift in front of her.The beast didn’t see a problem with it, of course. But Cody knew better than to shift in front of an unknowing human. He’d probably give her a heartattack.

“Where can I go to see bears?” sheasked.

He briefly considered mentioning the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, but decided that he’d rather show off his bear. Maybe she’d even let him keep the painting. He’d pay her double what she earned at thegallery.

“You might be able to see a bear by the lake. They usually come down in the afternoon,”hesaid.

“Aren’t they hibernating right now?” sheasked.

Damn, she was sharp. How was he going to talk his wayaroundthat?

“Well, normally the males don’t come out of their dens until March, but every once in a while, a bear will venture out early.” He held his breath, waiting to see if she’d believe his idioticstory.

“That’s weird,”shesaid.

“We saw one the other day.”Way to compound the lies, he chided. He hated being deceitful, but he couldn’t exactly come out and tell her, “By the way, I turn into a thousand-pound bear and I’d be happy to poseforyou.”

“I’ll stake out the picnic table. Maybe I’ll spot one later today,”shesaid.

“Sounds like a plan,”hesaid.

Relieved that she’d bought his story, he made up an excuse to leave and hurried through the house. He wanted to circle around the front through the woods so she wouldn’t see him shift. He would be taking a huge risk and would have to be careful not to get caught, but he needed to see that stunning smile of hers again. If shifting and prancing around the lake would do the trick, then he was happy tooblige.

When he reached the woods, he wound a path through the trees until he was far enough from the house that he couldn’t see it. He called to his bear, and in a cracking, snapping display of power, he began toshift.

Long, sharp claws sprouted from his fingertips. Hair thickened on his arms to form a coat of light brown fur. As his face elongated into a snout, his teeth lengthened. He dropped to all fours as his hands and feet morphedintopaws.

After the transformation was complete, he roared. Nearby trees shook snow from their frozen branches. He cocked his head to one side and sniffed the air. The scent of pine filled his lungs. He hadn’t shifted in several days, so he wanted to run full speed through the forest. But he’d have to wait until after he posedforAbby.

He lumbered to the tree line and sat back on his haunches. When two hours had passed with no sign of her, he stood and paced. Eventually, he’d stomped the snow into an icy crust. As he turned to make another pass, he slipped on the well-wornpath.

Dammit. He couldn’t waitanymore.

Rather than risk getting caught, he shifted back to his human form before exiting the woods. He’d wasted half the day already. Where the heckwasshe?

As he stalked back toward the B & B, he noticed a small form crouched down near the edge of the lake. His bear went on alert. As he moved closer, he recognized Abby’s hair. Hunched over, her shoulders quaked. Was shecrying?

He picked up the pace and hurried toward her with renewed determination. No matter what, he was going to find a way to cheerherup.

Chapter6

Abby squattedat the edge of the lake and stared into its icy depths. Even though chilly air pierced the thick insulation in her snow pants, she couldn’t bring herself to move. Phone calls with her mother usually ended with Abby agreeing to her demands. This one didn’t. She still couldn’t believe she’d had the courage to stand up to her mother and tell her that she wasn’t coming home until she wasready.

But instead of feeling elated, a heavy burden gripped her heart. Guilt ate at her soul. Was she being selfish? Her mother had yelled at her for not considering how her behavior would reflect on her father. Abby was sick of worrying about every decision she made. Even the most mundane choice required getting theiropinion.

Until now, she’d never stopped to think about why she kept caving in to their demands. The conversations she’d been having with Cody and Vicki were giving her a new perspective. She’d never defied her parents before—not when she’d wanted to pull her paint set from the trash, not when she’d secretly dreaded her first day of law school, not when she felt like throwing up before her first court case.Never.

But now… now she wasn’t sure what to do. Paralyzed by the stress of the situation, she couldn’t even decide whether or not she wanted to stand up and walk back to the B & B. She needed a break from the warring thoughts in her head. If she could just get a few minutes of peace, she could figureeverythingout.

A sound startled her. She turned to find Cody walkingtowardher.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked. “I thought you’d bepainting.”