Page 53 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas

“Now, who do we have here,sha?”

The voice nearly startled me out of my skin. I jumped and let out a truly embarrassing yelp. Jeez, I didn’t even know I could hit that note.

I whirled to see a man in his forties with a pleasant smile on his face. He was a touch taller than Remy, with skin almost as pale as mine, and tightly curled auburn hair close to his head. “Whoa, sorry there,cheri.Didn’t mean no harm.”

“No, it’s okay.” I offered my hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jeannie.”

Smooth and most definitely not awkward in the slightest.

“This is Cuz Amédé,” Remy said, giving the other man a nod, which he returned. “Cuz, as you heard, this here is Jeannie.”

“S’a lovely name.” His blue eyes twinkled much like Remy’s, but they weren’t nearly as dashing. Probably because I was biased. “Nice to see a new face on our family lands. Please, lemme know if there’s anythin’ you need.”

Was it my imagination, or was his accent doing the opposite of what Remy’s was and lightening up because I was there? I hoped not. I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable with my presence.

“Don’t worry, Cuz, I got her back.”

“I’m sho ya do,sha.” His gaze flicked back to me and he winked. “Ol’ Remy LeBeau do be one of those,ki,real Prince Charmin’ types. Got thebonlooks, all the charm, andbeaucoupmuscles, yeah?”

He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I blushed again. Yeah,I had definitely noticed Remy’s muscles. It was impossible not to. Not only was he jacked—one of his thighs was nearly as big as my waist—but he wasthickin all the ways that spoke to me.

While I admired the hard work that went into bodybuilding, I wasn’t attracted to that physique—all shredded and veinywith three percent body fat or whatever. I would always cheer them on if they were doing what they loved, but it wasn’t for me. However, a man wholookedlike he was actually mighty and could handle me? Be still my heart! Something about a double-barrel chest, that very particular stomach competitive strongmen tended to have, and shoulders broader than my hips was like a siren’s song to me. And Remy had that in spades.

“Ey, enough, enough of all that,” Remy said.

Wait, washeblushing too? It was harder to tell on the light umber of his skin, but I was pretty sure it was there. “We were just gonna get some grub. Wan’ come with?”

“Sho do. That’s why I came round anyways. Otherwise you know I’d be napping.”

“Heh, you do like your naps, Cuz.”

“Aya, at my age, I’ve earned them!”

“Your age?” I asked. “You can’t be older than your early forties.”

He let out a bellow of a laugh, and while it wasn’t identical to Remy’s, I could definitely pick up on the family resemblance. “Try sixty-three!”

“Sixty-three?Now I know you’re lying.”

Remy shook his head. “He ain’t. We all tend to look a bit younger than we are. My father still hasn’t gone gray and he’s nearly seventy.”

That wasmind-boggling. While I’d dipped from my own family before I was eighteen, I remembered the compound being full of gray-haired and wrinkled people.

“I’m… I’m gonna need a minute to digest that,” I said, completely baffled.

“Speaking of digesting,” Remy said. “Food, right?”

My stomach rumbled in response, and Cuz and Remy laughed.

“Food,” I agreed, my cheeks coloring yet again—although, I wasn’t sure I’d stopped blushing this entire time. “Definitely food.”

“The lady has spoken!”

I finally remembered to look around at my surroundings. I’d been so caught up in our conversation, I forgot I was in the equivalent of a giant log mansion.

Somehow it was evenmorebeautiful on the inside. There weren’t any overwrought, crystal chandeliers or elegant stained glass windows, but it didn’t need it. It had an understated opulence.

The ceilings were high, with natural wooden paneling between huge cedar rafters. It reminded me a bit of the chapel back on the commune, but about three times bigger and without all the uncomfortable religious allegory.