Page 31 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Kayla

“That’s a season wrap on Kayla!” It wasn’t the thunderous applause of the cast and crew that made me emotional to be done with this season of The Wolf’s Moon .

There were times I thought I’d never set foot on set again.

Like when we were stuck in the cabin with no answers, or on the run with no solutions.

It took longer than I expected to get the call to come back, and I’d convinced myself they’d moved on without me.

Sure, there were other roles. So many other things I could explore. But The Wolf’s Moon was my family, and I didn’t want anyone to take it away from me.

So seeing this season through to completion was a victory.

The hugfest was on—starting with my costars, then the director, and then some of my favorite crew members. Television was a collaborative effort, a beautiful tapestry of so many talented people’s visions.

I appreciated it now more than ever, especially since I knew what it was like to lose it.

“You have a very handsome guest,” Amelia said as she hugged me. “I’m so glad the two of you found a way to make things work.”

I could hardly breathe when I saw Beau standing at video village. He was so beautiful in his black button-down shirt and dark jeans. His beard and hair were a little more polished than they’d been in Sawtooth Forest, and I’d never seen this sophisticated side of him before.

Leaving him at the airport was the hardest thing I’d ever done. If I didn’t love my job so much, I’m not sure anyone could’ve convinced me to leave him. We spent lots of time doing video calls, but those visits we’d promised each other turned out to be trickier than we anticipated.

Long-distance relationships were harder than anyone gave them credit for. There were so many things I wished I could share with him every day. But I had grown to love our ritual of telling each other naughty bedtime stories.

I was so jumping this bear’s bones the second I got him alone.

But he was here now, and that was all that mattered. It was so surreal to see him outside of Sawtooth Forest. Sometimes, I thought our time together had been a dream that I’d only get to revisit before I fell asleep each night.

“Hi.” There were so many things I wanted to say and all of it seemed like too much and at the same time not enough.

He took a step toward me. I only meant to give him a quick peck, but once my lips met his, there was no holding back.

The only thing that made him pull away from me was the hoots and hollers of everyone else on set.

“It’s so good to see you,” he said. “I don’t think I realized how much I actually miss you.”

“I miss you too.” It was crazy, we talked every day. But it wasn’t the same as being face-to-face. “It’s so surreal to see you here on set.”

His eyes widened. “I can’t believe I’m here.” He picked up his VIP lanyard. “This is the coolest thing ever.”

“Do you want to meet everyone?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said with the most innocent enthusiasm. It was easy to forget how cool my job actually was.

I took his hand and led him over to a cluster of actors. “Logan, Adam, this is my mate, Beau.”

They exchanged handshakes.

“I’m such a huge fan,” Beau gushed.

“We’ve never seen Kayla so happy,” Logan responded. “We’ve heard so much about you. It’s great to finally meet you in person.”

Beau was practically glowing. “Same. I feel like I know all of you already.”

“You know Amelia.”

She hugged Beau. “How are things in the forest?”

“Crazy as always. We miss you.”

“I’ll be on the next flight home,” she said, and then nudged me. “Where are you two headed?”

I put my hand on my hip dramatically. Just because I’d wrapped didn’t mean I stopped being an actress. “Can you believe he’s kept it a secret?”

All he’d told me was to pack for warm weather. When I spent half of each video call trying to coax the information out of him, all he’d tell me was to plan for adventure.

“I love this.” Amelia beamed at us and then grabbed Beau’s arm. “Will you tell me?”

That traitorous bear leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“Are you kidding me?” I protested.

Her eyes widened. “Kayla, it’s good. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.”

“Jimmy’s waiting in the van with your suitcases,” Beau said. “I’ve already heard all about his granddaughter. He’s ready to bring us to the airport.”

“So Jimmy knows where we’re going too?”

“He approves of the plan, if that makes you feel any better.” He grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Let’s go.” I hooked my arm into his. “And just to make one thing clear. I plan to rip your clothes off the moment I have a chance.”

He raised a brow. “Can we join the mile high club?”

“Did you book a private jet?” I asked.

“Nope.”

The thought of it was still tempting…

“Bear, you are totally different when you’re in the wild.”

“You saw me at work. Now, you get to see me at play,” he said as he led me out the door, to the waiting van.

“Kayla, I’m gonna miss you,” Jimmy said as he pulled away from basecamp. “But I think I’m leaving you in good hands. I like this guy. And he tells me that he’s the one who took care of that creep who stole my van.”

“You would’ve loved it, Jimmy. He kicked their asses.”

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of individuals.” He shook his head as he drove. “There are a few things we take seriously on the set of The Wolf’s Moon , and loyalty is one of them. I think you might have proven yourself as an honorary cast member.”

“So cool,” Beau said. “Now that I know what it’s like here, you might not be able to get rid of me.”

“Promise?”

He leaned over and kissed me. “ You’re never getting rid of me. Doesn’t matter where we are.”

It only took a few minutes to get to the airport. It was only a small regional operation, but they could still get us where we needed to go.

“Are you gonna tell me now?” I asked as we headed to the check-in.

He handed me an envelope. My hands shook as I opened it. As much as I’d pretended to be annoyed that he kept our adventure a secret, I loved that he’d planned the whole trip, and I was just excited to find out what he’d come up with.

I had the opportunity to see a new side of him.

There was a brochure inside, showcasing a lush green island with mountains and palm trees. The cover had a couple on horseback riding along the shoreline.

“We’re headed to St. Lucia,” he finally revealed. “I rented a private cabin. We have a chef and a concierge who will bring us anything we want and anywhere we want to go. As you can see, there’s horseback riding, hiking near a volcanic mountain, and ziplining.”

“So it’s like our time together, but on a tropical island.”

“Yeah, I thought it would be fun to do all those things on our terms.” He tipped his head. “You’re not disappointed, I hope?”

“No, it’s amazing.” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me for a kiss. “But I have a question—how much time do we spend with the chef and the concierge?”

He shrugged. “As much or as little as we want.”

“Good, because I meant the part about getting you naked ASAP.” I kissed him again.

“Sounds like we have the same exact plan.”

We walked hand in hand toward the check in. I didn’t know it was possible to feel like this—and I took everything I said about long-distance relationships back. This was perfect. We were perfect. Beau was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me, and I never wanted that feeling to fade.

**

Thank you so much for reading! I had an absolute blast writing Beau and Kayla’s story, and I hope you loved reading it just as much.