Page 29 of Caught Bear Handed
“We can go back.”I fumbled for the remote, which had gotten lost during the kiss.
“We can’t.”She sighed as I furrowed my brow.“I don’t want to pretend you didn’t kiss me.”
“No, I don’t either.I’m sorry?—”
“Don’t apologize.”She paused and pressed her lips together like she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say next.“Because I’m not sorry it happened.”
Every muscle in my body relaxed.“Good.That’s really good.”I sounded like a blithering idiot.That kiss made me stupid.“But you know, as you hired me, I?—”
“It’s okay, Beau.I won’t tell your boss that you kissed me.”She gave me a grin worthy of the big screen, and I had no idea where I stood with this woman.“We don’t have to make it weird, that’s all I’m saying.Let’s just watch the movie and figure out our plan for the cookout.”
I’d hardly slept a wink, replaying all the mistakes I made with that conversation.And of course, that amazing kiss.Yesterday hadn’t been my best work.I’d fallen under the spell of this woman, and I needed to get my shit together.
It was cool—she didn’t feel the same way about me.She didn’t come into this arrangement with an existing monster crush on me like I had on her.
But she wasn’t sorry that you kissed her, my bear reminded me.And she likes the idea of being your girlfriend at the cookout.
She’s treating it as another role—but I didn’t have time to argue with the beast because it was time to put this plan into action.
What are you gonna do when it’s time to kiss her in front of everyone in Sawtooth Forest?
Barrett came and picked me up in a black pickup I’d never seen before, and drove to a turnoff near the Salmon River.There were so few cars that passed by that we could’ve conducted the meeting sitting on the yellow line in the middle of the road—but we weren’t only dealing with humans, and we needed to be on high alert.
“You can’t be serious.”No surprise that Barrett hated our proposal for the cookout on the Fourth.“Let me play devil’s advocate.Say you are serious, and we bring Kayla, our highest profile client to date, to the biggest social event of the year in Sawtooth Forest.Not only would we be leaving her vulnerable, but we’d risk destroying our reputation.Who the hell would hire us after we brought someone in witness protection to a hot dog eating contest?”
“She says she can disguise herself.But to have a fair chance for her to execute that plan, we need to order the supplies now.”I’d prepared for the opposition.There was no way Barrett would ever go for this plan, but I had to give it my best shot.“And you have to admit, she’s got a valid point—Amelia was involved in the crypto scam, and they know she’s close with Kayla.Granger Falls is just remote enough to make it the perfect place to strike—and chances are, they won’t even consider we know how deep and dark this case goes.If they’ve got their eye on Amelia, they could get into her messages.And then they’ll be on to us.”
Barrett mashed his lips together.“What would she need?I’m not saying that this plan is a go—there are still some serious concerns we need to address—but we need to be prepared in the event we decide to do it.”
“She already gave me a list.”It took everything I had to suppress my grin.“Amelia hasn’t hired us, but she could have information that helps us close out this case.”
“That’s true.”Barrett stroked his beard thoughtfully.“But Kayla would have to be completely unrecognizable.”
Holy shit, was he actually considering this?“She says she can do it.”
I had no idea what her skills were, but there was a wig and a lot of makeup on the list she gave me.
He nodded.Hadn’t lost him yet.“What’s the cover story?If you show up to the cookout with a woman no one’s met before, everyone will have questions.”
“We thought of that.Our plan is to say we’re dating.”
Barrett groaned.“And you think that will satisfy them?You’ve gotta be kidding me.Tegan and Clover will be ready to swoop in and take the new girl under their wings.Not to mention the entire Sawtooth pack will be ready to welcome her with open arms—especially when they realize she knows Amelia.They might guess she’s got a connection to the show from that alone.Then what?”
Fuck.Those were excellent points neither of us had considered because we’d gotten too lost in that kiss to think straight.I should speak for myself on that matter.Again…dropping the ball.
“Maybe we can stage a breakup?—”
Like hell you will, my bear didn’t want to let me finish the thought, and neither did my boss.He crossed his arms and shook his head.
“Sawtooth Forest isn’t a place anyone passes through.No one comes here without reason.She’ll have to craft an entire personality?—”
“It’s literally her job,” I reminded him.
“And no doubt the ladies will get attached to her.You think they’ll just accept that she’s gone?Especially since they’ll think she’s important to you.”
“She is,” I said before I could stop myself, which earned another groan from Barrett.
“I would be a hypocrite if I told you not to get involved with your client,” he said, fighting his grin.“Maybe there was something bigger at play than seeing if you could handle a one-on-one protection case when I decided to assign this one.But here’s the thing—you’ve got to keep your head and your heart separate.Believe me, I know that’s not an easy thing to do.”