Page 4 of A New Bear-ginning (Bruin Ridge Bear-Ginnings #5)
MATEO
I’d been at the B&B in the busiest of high seasons and managed to glide through it with ease. This was different. There would be no gliding.
The workers were here for just that…work. And somehow that made them more entitled than the snootiest of guests. And not just one of them. All of them.
If only we’d been big enough to house the contestants. They were probably happy as clams with getting the free stay and food. I didn’t see any of them complaining that we brewed our coffee with a drip maker instead of creating craft pour overs of fancy blends. The entire thing was ridiculous.
We were going to be stuck with them for weeks.
Weeks. And if the snow kept coming down at its current clip, they were going to be stuck inside for days.
The roads might be plowed quickly around here, but their location wasn’t on a city road.
The odds of it being cleared right away were slim to none.
And they didn’t come from a place with snow. Their ability to drive in flurries probably didn’t exist, and this was no flurry.
I put the rest of the groceries away. It had been too slippery outside to go to the big store up the highway.
Instead we went to the tiny mom and pop place.
I didn’t mind that it cost more. Keeping money local was worth that sometimes.
But they carried a ton of small items, and that was driving me up the wall.
That and being unable to buy huge trays of frozen lasagna and danishes—items that would make our lives easier as we tried to feed everyone.
I’d done the best I could picking things out. Beyond breakfast, Colton and I were far from expert chefs. I went with easy, and if they wanted to be all entitled about it, they could figure out a way to feed their own selves.
It was safe to say I was feeling a bit grumpy.
And by bit, I meant a whole lot.
Things were not going well with Colton. He loved me unconditionally.
I felt that deep in my soul. He was walking on eggshells around me, though.
I had him feeling that uncomfortable. I hadn’t meant for him to see me like that, all broken.
I tried to hide. I just wasn’t strong enough.
Not anymore. This infertility thing ate away at what fortitude I had left.
“Mateo.” Colton called from the door of the pantry.
“I brought someone to meet you.” Behind him stood a younger man, no more than early twenties, his eyes a brilliant green reminiscent of the sea, his hair all messy and wet, most likely from the snow, his coat still on.
His coat was very much not enough for this weather.
“Want to come in or me to go out?” Colton hadn’t called me to the front and I had a feeling that meant that this was private to some extent.
“Here is good.” They stepped inside the decent-sized room lined with shelves.
“This is Scotty. He’s looking for a job, and I thought maybe we could give him a temporary one until the crew is gone?
” What wasn’t he telling me? Colton wasn’t one to pressure me like this, not about anything. Not even when I needed the push.
“We do have a lot of people here. What kinds of work are you familiar with?” I asked, thinking it a generic question. Instead of a list of past jobs, he tore out my heart.
“When I was young, I was in charge of the den bathrooms. You know, scrubbing them and such. And, as a teen, I had laundry added on. Not everyone’s, just the Alpha family. And after Mama Flora died, I took on kitchen work. So, you see, I know how to do an awful lot of helpful things.”
He scented of fur, wet fur, and I couldn’t place what kind of bear he was, but I wanted to find that den and give them a what for, my protective side needing to do something for this man.
To be working as he did at such a young age.
Cleaning the den’s bathrooms before he was even a teen. Did he have no childhood?
“Mateo.” Colton grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “What do you think? We need to do all those things.” And we did, daily. It was wearing us down.
“Yes. Of course. I don’t think we’ll have full-time work once they leave, but for at least a month we can use the help. You could start as soon as tomorrow.”
His face lit up at my words.
“I was wondering, since this is a B&B, if it would be possible for me to get a room as part of my salary. I have money for a little while, if not. I just thought—” His gaze fell to the floor.
“I just booked the last room,” Colton said. “But maybe I could call the Red-Tailed Inn?”
“Or, if you don’t mind,” I put in, “you can stay with us. We have a pull-out couch. It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s a place.”
“Thank you,” Colton whispered close to my ear. I knew he’d agree. He wanted to help this man out, too, which was why he brought him here, to the pantry, for a sorta kinda job interview.
“I’ll take it, and I’ll work really hard. I promise.”
“How about you promise me you’ll work just hard enough?” I suggested, and he looked at me quizzically.
Colton said, “How about I show you to our apartment and then the three of us can figure out a plan for what to do when all these guests are stuck in the B&B because of the snow.” He was right. It wasn’t an if. It was a when. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.