Bear Me Away (Alpha Werebear Paranormal Romance) (A Jamesburg Shifter Romance) Read Free

The red, paper-like peels lay like freshly slaughtered corpses. The whole scene, really, was shocking. Considering the subject matter of the murder, that was more than a little ridiculous, but still, someone went after these hapless veggies with rage that Elena had never seen, even in the case of the angriest spurned mate.
    The pea plants, watermelons, squash, and green beans were in a similar state of disarray. Okra had been erupted all over the ground, gooey insides spilled out onto the carefully tilled soil. Someone cared for these plants. Someone nurtured them, raised them from seeds.
    Elena carefully tiptoed around a combination raspberry and strawberry area. She stared down at the red, seedy plant gore that soaked the dirt in horror.
    Someone had loved these plants, and then someone else had come in and taken it all away.
    “Oh my God ,” Elena whispered as she finished her circuit and came to the pumpkin patch. Cut down in the prime of their lives, the half-grown, green globes were cracked, some were smashed, but they were all a mess of seeds, stems, and whatever that gooey crap inside a pumpkin is called.
    Taking a step back, Elena took her sunglasses off and wiped the back of her arm across her forehead. It was a hot day, sticky and humid, and the field of carnage at her feet didn’t help one damn bit. Completely absorbed in cataloging the mess, she took out a notepad, grabbed one of the pens she had stuck in her hair, and began jotting notes.
    She chewed her lip, as she always did when she was deep in thought. “Pumpkins there,” she said to herself. “Radishes, corn... oh yuck what a mess. Lettuce, Vlad the Impaler’s cabbage patch,” she trailed off, sketching the perfectly sectioned field. As she did, she backed up slowly, making sure not to miss any details on the map.
    Taking another step back, Elena felt her heel sink into something, gasped, and stumbled back.
    The mushed-up rutabaga rolled away as she fell backwards. She stuck her hands out behind her, trying to somehow balance out, but sometimes, even a fox takes a fall.
    Except the impact wasn’t her tailbone hitting the ground, it was a firm, but gentle pressure under her arms. Elena blinked a couple of times and looked to the sides, then down. A pair of cowboy boots with leather so aged she could see the steel in the toe-tips, protruded from between her splayed out legs.
    Effortlessly, the massive arms underneath Elena’s lifted her back to her feet. She turned as he set her on the ground, not noticing the blush that had somehow crept back onto her cheeks.
    “Uh, hi,” Elena said, “I’m Elena.” She stuck out a hand and didn’t even notice when the massive, jeans-and-tight-shirt-wearing man in front of her took her hand and shook.
    “Ma’am,” he tipped his hat toward her, and smiled in a way that embarrassed her a little even to think about. “I’m West,” he said. Dark blue eyes sparkled underneath his thick, shaggy, black hair. “My name is actually Thomas James Westing, Jr., but... right, West.”
    Elena gulped. “Hi, West,” she mouthed, more than said. Her breath hitched in her throat. “I’m, uh, Elena.”
    The smile that spread across the huge bear’s face took her a little by surprise. Underneath the tanned, dirty-from-honest-work face, perfectly white teeth sparkled. A dimple on his left cheek peeked out from under the growing stubble. She was still shaking his hand as her eyes unconsciously slid down from his face to his neck to his huge shoulders, and the arms that made his shirt strain.
    “You’re still shaking my hand,” he observed, with just a little bit of a drawl. “Not that I mind, but—”
    Elena snapped her hand back, grinning again. You’re West, and I’m in trouble.
    Her heart thudded, her breath came hot and quick. “I’m Elena.”
    “You already said that,” he said, smiling again. “But in case I missed something, I’m West.”
    When he said his name, she swallowed hard. Yep , Elena