Page 98 of The Grizzly Situation

I smirked. “You fainted.”

“Oh, bullshit. I never—wait. Did I really just see Brent turn into a bear? That was a dream, right?”

“Nope, that’s what you saw.”

He frowned. “But that’s not possible.”

“It is, and not just for Brent. Most everyone in the town can shift. Even the boys.”

“Oh, come on,” he said, denying what he’d seen with his own eyes. I remembered doing that same thing.

“Brent and his people are ursine shifters. Before you ask, no, we don’t know how or why.”

“But that’s insanity!” he cried out. “I’m taking you home with us.”

“You most certainly are not!” I shot back. “This is my home. Brent is my husband. Those are my boys.”

“Uly, he’s dangerous. He’s a freaking twelve hundred pound bear.”

“He’s only six hundred pounds, asshole. And if hewastwelve, it would be because of the cakes you keep sending.”

His eyes were still wide, and his breathing was short and shallow. “I need you safe.”

“Who’s going to fuck with the mate of a grizzly bear?” I asked. “Or who will get near me in a town full of them? Nowhere is as safe for me as here.”

“He could maul you! You’re nothing but skin and bones, and wouldn’t even be a mouthful to him.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected this kind of reaction, though I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. Jamie was always no nonsense and had lost his whimsical side when we were both still young. Despite Mom and Dad working hard, things were tough on occasion, and he went out and got a job to help with the bills. He grew up way too fast, and I regretted it, but still, he needed to see I was right where I wanted to be.

“Look, let me tell you right now. Never once has Brent said I wasn’t a mouthful, and if there’s mauling done, I’m the one who is the happy recipient. In fact, my chest looks like a tapestry when he’s done with it.”

He stuck his fingers in his ears. “La la la la la, can’t hear you.” I yanked them away and he smirked at me. “Never say that shit to me again.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll try not to. But you have to understand, Brent and the boys are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I will not walk away from it, not even for you.”

He assessed me keenly, his gaze raking over my body, then settling on my face. “I have to admit, you sound happy.”

“Because I am.”

“And he did talk to me about dating you.”

“He didwhat?”

“That was years ago. He was afraid I might not like him and that would make you worry about the two of you working out, so he enlisted our help.”

Sneaky bastard. But hey, I couldn’t argue with the results. “I love him, Jamie.”

“I can see that. And you swear you’re safe?”

“Yup. Brent would never let anything happen to me.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to talk to Deb so she can bring me up to speed on… what did you call it?”

“Shifters.”

“Yeah, that.” Then he frowned. “But I’m going to have to listen to her tell me about guys doing it.”

“Huh?”