Page 298 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

She wasn’t evenpregnant.

Jesus, he could still feel the avalanche of relief he’d felt the day her father had driven out to the ranch to apologize. Drew had gone into the woods and cried so his brothers wouldn’t see how hurt he’d been by her betrayal. That was the day he swore off women and decided to spend the rest of his lifealone.

He cracked his neck and stared out of the windshield. A crimson sunset blanketed the snow with fire. He knew what he had to do, but he wasn’t sure he could do it. Was he really ready to confront another liar? Should he stick to his self-imposed exile and forget he’d ever met her? Or could he take another chanceonlove?

Chapter9

Drew foundher behind the B&B near the newly dug fire pit. His brother Logan couldn’t sit still for two seconds without constructing something. The obsession worked out well when it came to building a barn for his wife, Kate, but when would he calm down and stop taking on newprojects?

Cindy sat in a low-slung wooden chair with her back to him. She held a metal skewer in one hand with something on the end of it. As he stepped closer, he realized it was a marshmallow. His bear frantically clawed at his belly. The damn thing was always hungry. Having an ultra-high metabolism was great in some ways, but having to eat all the time just to maintain his weight wasfrustrating.

“Hi,”hesaid.

She jumped and looked over hershoulder.

“Hi.”

“I see you found the pit,”hesaid.

“Madison told me about it. She was going to come out with me, but she wasn’t feeling very well. She said she’d come out later if shecould.”

He almost asked her if he could join her, but it was his ranch. He could sit wherever he wanted to, so he chose the seat across from her andplunkeddown.

“I went to the sheriff,”hesaid.

Her eyes went wide. The marshmallow caught on fire. She didn’t notice until it had turnedblack.

“Oh, crap.” She pulled the stick out of the fire and waved it through the air until the flames disappeared. She plucked at the charred mess a few times beforegivingup.

“There’s more in the bag,”hesaid.

“I know. I was just trying to salvage it,”shesaid.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The guarded expression on her face tore through his anger. He didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already felt. But he also wasn’t ready to just set his frustrationsaside.

“I spoke with the sheriff. He confirmed yourstory.”

She looked up as the last rays of sunlight caught on her hair to cast it in a crown of fire. For a moment, his breath caught. She was so incredibly beautiful. But that wasn’t enough to maintain a relationship. Her hair would gray and her body would lose its voluptuousness to time. His mate would have to be more than just a pretty face. She’d have to be someone he could see himself with for every phase ofhislife.

“I don’t know how to move forward from this.” The confession left his mouth before he’d thought itthrough.

“Want a marshmallow?” sheasked.

The corner of his mouth tugged. She was obviously trying to break thetension.

“Sure,”hesaid.

He stood and circled around the fire to sit in the chair next to her. She handed him a skewer and a marshmallow. After piercing the fluffy glob, he held it over the flames. He didn’t like burning the outside. A perfect level of crispness could be achieved if you did itright.

“I don’t know how to move forward either,” she said. “That’s why I keeprunning.”

“That’s no way to live,”hesaid.

“I know. But how can I stop when I know he’s outthere?”

He twisted the skewer to expose theotherside.

“You could go back. Hire abodyguard.”