Page 6 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Chapter Five

Kayla

I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was something I had to keep telling myself through this whole journey.

In good faith, I’d trusted the wrong people, gotten burned, and had no one to be mad at but myself.

My wolf had serious reservations about that investment, and I dismissed her as being too safe, too conservative. Now, she was picking up the pieces.

Beau had been cordial after I’d spilled my guts.

A little distant, as we’d watched a movie neither of us had seen.

I was probably reading too much into it, but I was used to having my every move scrutinized by the press and paparazzi.

It was one of the reasons why my wolf urged me to be careful.

I liked to think I had thick skin, but they managed to get under it from time to time.

Beau’s here to help you , my wolf reminded me.

Of course he was. He was being paid handsomely to do so. Between the security detail and the money I lost in the crypto scam, I prayed that The Wolf’s Moon ran for forty more seasons.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I slept in. I was used to early call times, and the four o’clock morning meeting with my anxiety. Finally telling someone my whole story had benefits.

I found a note on the counter. Out with Gigi

Lucky dog, getting the heck out of this cabin. I never thought I’d envy a pet, but here I was. I brewed coffee and put some yogurt and berries into a bowl.

They had to come back soon. I would assume that they wouldn’t want to be spotted either. Anyone who was looking for me would easily be able to figure out that Beau worked for Sawtooth Security.

If they’ve already found you in the middle of Sawtooth Forest, you’re in more trouble than you think.

My wolf was right. She was always right, and it was time I started trusting her.

I was done with breakfast, and Beau and Gigi still weren’t back. Gigi didn’t seem like a high-energy dog, but Beau was definitely a high-energy bear. If I was already getting stir crazy, he had to be feeling it too.

If his team was as good as everyone claimed, we wouldn’t be here that much longer.

Something about that made me sad. I’d heard bits and pieces about the local pack from Amelia, one of my castmates who was from Sawtooth Forest. She’d been spending all her downtime here now that she’d been reunited with her fated mate, who was also from the Sawtooth pack.

By her account, the local wolves checked all my boxes—progressive, protective, and playful.

Maybe I’d get a chance to meet them before I left.

Maybe you’ll be spending more time here than you think , my wolf suggested, and I groaned. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how the bear looks at you.

He was my babysitter, I reminded her. And he probably thought of me as a flight risk, and moon knew what else after I’d told him how I’d fallen for that scheme lock, stock, and barrel.

Not to mention he was at least ten years younger than me, and besides the post-shower encounter, he’d been nothing but professional.

I needed to stop thinking about him, Mark Peters, and all the other things that would be sure to be keeping me up at night sometime in the very near future.

Reading more of my steamy book was definitely not the answer. I combed the books on the built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace, but they didn’t seem like the kind of books that were meant to be read—more displayed to show that whoever lived here valued knowledge.

And all I could think of was snuggling with a certain bear in front of the lit fireplace while snow fell outside.

On one of the lower shelves, there were board games and a jigsaw puzzle. Perfect. There was no way to have scandalous thoughts while I pieced it together. I cleared off the table, opened the box, and sighed.

This wasn’t an easy puzzle. It had been a minute since I’d put one of these together, but my auntie had loved doing them, and I used to help.

I’d grown up in a Hollywood family, and it was a simple thing that had felt so normal.

My heart warmed as I remembered sitting by her side, considering the pieces as I sorted.

Edge pieces went together in one pile, then pieces with sky in another, and the mountain pieces in another.

I’d forgotten how relaxing this was. There was no way I’d finish this today. Even my auntie, who I would proclaim as expert level, would’ve needed at least a week for this one.

A key turning in the lock made my heart jump into my throat.

Fear paralyzed me. What if one of the goons who was able to walk into my workplace and steal my driver’s van managed to find me here?

That was ridiculous. Beau should’ve been on the property.

But a dozen things should’ve happened to keep that guy from abducting me.

The door opened and my vision tunneled. I was vaguely aware of the click-clacking rhythm as Gigi trotted into the room. She stopped short, her fur rose, and she started barking her head off.

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, where Beau was, but the words were stuck in my throat like someone gripped it with their hand.

“Who’s there, girl?” Beau said. Relief washed over me, but my body was still frozen. He appeared in the living room, moving slowly, and holding a gun. “Where’s Kayla?”

Gigi only barked in response.

My gaze met Beau’s, and he wasn’t the sweet, easygoing bear I was falling in…something with. He was all animal instinct and ready to protect what was his. His eyes were hard, body on point, like he was ready to shift.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What happened?”

I barely managed to shake my head.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

His eyes searched mine, and he decocked the gun and put it back in the holster. He stepped closer, and Gigi launched into a brand new bark storm. “It’s okay, girl. Kayla’s right here.”

And that was when the sob escaped from my throat. My hand flew to my mouth, trying to contain it, but it was too late, because it wasn’t an isolated thing. I broke down.

Beau slid a chair beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Hey. I’m sorry if I scared you, but when Gigi started barking like that, I thought something had happened to you. And I”—he bowed his head and gave it a slight shake—“no one will hurt you on my watch.”

That should’ve comforted me, and it did, but it only made me cry harder.

He sat with me—warm and strong, that protectiveness back in spades as he murmured comforting things to me. Gigi nestled her head in my lap.

I put my hand on her head, shocked how much her presence comforted me.

“I’m so embarrassed,” I said when all the emotion had passed. “I have no idea what came over me.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said.

I shook my head and managed a chuckle. “I’m not. I just thought that?—”

“Kayla.” His voice was firm, and it demanded that I meet his gaze.

“Someone abducted you, and you had to shift and escape a moving car. Not to mention you got ripped off by an international crime syndicate who tried to extort you for more money. And had a stalker. Now you’ve been torn away from everything you know and stuck in this cabin with me and Gigi.

It’s pretty amazing that you haven’t lost your shit before now. ”

I laughed as I wiped tears away from my cheeks. “Guess I’m not as good of an actress as I thought.”

He tipped his head, and was that a twinkle in his eye? “You’re a great actress.”

“You watch the show?” He didn’t seem like the type.

The assumption had been a relief, because I didn’t feel like I had to be Regina or even my Kayla public persona around him.

That person was a character too, crafted to make the public fall in love with her.

I’d seen actresses get put through the wringer for saying or even wearing the wrong thing.

The last thing I wanted was to be canceled, but now here I was, out of commission for moon knew how long.

A blush crept up his cheeks, above his beard. “It’s my favorite show. I used to watch it with my mom. Pretty sure I’ve seen every episode. You’re…” The blush intensified. “Never mind.”

“Oh no, you say that and then tell me to never mind.” I teased. “I’m what?”

He took a deep, slow breath. “You’re my celebrity crush.”

My lips parted. So those feelings that had resonated between us when he was wearing nothing but a towel had been mutual.

And when he thought someone might have broken in here, it wasn’t just a job for him.

So many emotions were swirling through me…

and it took everything I had to not lean in and kiss him. “I’m flattered. Thank you.”

“I hope I didn’t just make things weird.” He pushed his shoulders back, and the blush faded. His gaze shifted to the table. “You like puzzles?”

Sweet moon, he was adorable. It didn’t make the urge to find out what the bear tasted like fade.

“I haven’t done a puzzle since I was a kid.

I didn’t remember them being this hard.” I picked up one of the pieces and snapped it into its neighbor.

“And things were bound to get weird when we’re together in this cabin twenty-four-seven for who knows how long. ”

He looked up from the puzzle, and his eyes were telling a very different story now. One that made the muscles between my legs pulse.

You should really lean over and kiss him …my wolf suggested.

No! Absolutely not. Even if my wolf was right, I had to be professional.

Do you really? He just said ? —

Ugh. Yes. Even if it was exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Why did you think something was wrong when you came back?” I asked, changing the subject before my wolf made me do something that would make everything a hundred times more complicated.

“I could feel your fear the minute I opened the door. Gigi too, obviously,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you, but I had to be prepared for every scenario.”

“Don’t apologize for doing your job.” I snapped another piece into place. “I must have come out of my bedroom right after you left, because you were gone for a while, and I was worried those guys found you.”

“They’d be sorry if they did,” he rumbled. “What can we do to make you feel safer?”

That was a damn good question. I’d had a lot of feelings about the whole situation—anger, humiliation, and sadness, to name a few. I hated that these assholes took so much from me.

“I know I’m not supposed to leave the house, but…”

He nodded. “I get it. It’s hard to clear your head when you get stuck in one place. Want to come out with us next time I take Gigi for a walk?”

“That would be great. Wait, do you leash her?”

“Not while we’re here. I got her from Forever Home, the local shelter, and I’ve spent a long time training her. But if we were in a less predictable environment, I’d leash her.” A corner of his mouth curled up in a grin. “You want everyone to be free.”

“She’s a fellow canine. I don’t want to see her held back.”

“She’s growing on you.”

“She is.” I glanced over at her. Once she was convinced I’d be okay, she’d found her beloved Rudolf and lay in the middle of the living room, happily giving him a chomp. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, right? Is there anything else we could do without getting caught?”

“Like what?”

I was so surprised he was willing to entertain the idea, I didn’t have a request prepared. “I’d like to go horseback riding.” Where did that come from? “And you mentioned the cookout?—”

He held his hand up. “The cookout is probably a pipe dream, but I’ll see what I can do about the horses. Do you ride?”

“I had a few lessons for a scene on the show. I kept saying I wanted to do it again, but it never wound up happening.” I sighed. “I love my job, but sometimes, I hate that everything has to take a backseat to the production schedule.”

Beau’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. “What else would you like to try?”

“I’m not really a hiker as a human. But I like it as a wolf.” I had to think about this. Like I had just said, all these little side quests had been left to fester on the back burner, and I stopped adding new ones. “I’ve always wanted to try ziplining.”

“Love that idea. Don’t know if I can make it happen while we’re here, but”—that blush was back—“maybe we could do it once the case is closed?”

Heat pooled in my core. I squirmed in my seat, but the sensation only intensified. “I’d like that.”

I should’ve turned back to the puzzle. Really, I should have. But I was mesmerized by the bear. “Where did you go?”

He furrowed his brow.

“Just now. It did seem like you and Gigi were gone for a while.”

“We stayed on the property.”

His tone was hesitant. I raised my brow. “And?”

“Talked to Barrett. Made sure he knew what you told me.”

My heart thumped in my chest. “How’s the investigation going?”

Beau stiffened. “He wasn’t as forthcoming with details as I was. But he assured me they were making progress, and the case would be solved ASAP.”

My wolf didn’t like that as much as she should. You need to make the most of every moment with this bear, she said.

Once I was alone, I’d remind her that he was way too young for me, and sometimes crushes were best left alone—I still had yet to learn that lesson.

But there was something about this bear that wouldn’t be easy to say goodbye to. So I’d take my wolf’s advice and take advantage of the time I had with him.

“Do you like working for Sawtooth Security?” I asked.

He let out a sigh. “This is my first civilian job out of the military. And I might have come into it with something to prove.”

“Have you?” I asked. “Or do you think they’ve underestimated you?”

“Maybe.” He pursed his lips. “But then I remind myself, this assignment is a big deal, and keeping you safe is just as important as being the one who catches the bad guy.”

I nodded, and that reality check made it really easy to turn back to the puzzle.

The pieces were blurry, and I had to remind myself of a few things too.

Beau was flirty, sexy, gorgeous…and this was his job.

It didn’t matter that he loved the show.

Thinking this could be anything more than it was, a raging case of full-on Bear Cabin Crush Syndrome, was a huge mistake.

I was a middle-aged lady who attracted trouble and made terrible decisions, and he was being paid quite well to babysit me.

Any other thoughts about the bear…especially kissing him…would have to remain a fantasy.