Bear My Soul (Fire Bears Book 1) Read Free

had seen it six years ago. It was still the same color of periwinkle blue with white trim. It had always reminded her of the doll house her father had built her when she was a child. Grass didn’t grow very well in Breckenridge because of the altitude, but Aunt Leona had a green thumb that bordered on magical, and she’d somehow got an entire yard of wildflowers and hardy bushes growing in her front yard.
    Rory took a deep, steadying breath as she put the car in park. Cody was here in this tiny town…somewhere.
    “Come on, little buddy. She’s been itching to meet you, too,” Rory said as she unbuckled Aaron from his car seat.
    Aaron grabbed his miniature backpack from the floorboard, then bolted up the gravel path lined with cedar fence posts to keep the wild foliage at bay. Rory laughed despite the nervous tremors that blasted up her spine every time she thought about what she was doing. After tugging the monumentally heavy single suitcase from the car, she shut the hatch back door, settled the luggage on its wheels, and rolled it up the path to Aunt Leona’s.
    There was a long porch in front with three rocking chairs where her aunt and her two best friends probably watched the joggers and dog walkers who were headed up the street toward the mountain hiking paths. She imagined them giggling and guffawing at the handsome men who passed. Leona always had hilarious stories about Nina and Doris when she and Aaron talked to her on the phone on Saturday evenings.
    Aunt Leona was already wrestling the screen door open by the time Rory bumped her luggage up the steps. She was beaming as she bent down and scooped Aaron up in a bear hug.
    “You!” she exclaimed. “How are you so big? The last time I saw you, you were a tiny baby.”
    Aaron giggled, then patted her bouffant hair. “Blue,” he observed.
    Aunt Leona’s grin broadened, and she nodded. “Clever lad. My hair is blue. Do you want to know why?” She offered a wink at Rory over his shoulder. “One of my very best friends said she could dye my hair just the shade it used to be, but when she was finished working on it, it came out this color. Can you believe that?”
    Aaron smiled shyly and shook his head.
    “Well, I was mad as a hornet and wanted her to change it back immediately, but when she did, it was still this exact color. To make me feel better, my friends, Doris and Nina, dyed their hair the same color. When we went to a town meeting, someone called us the Blue-Haired Ladies, and the name stuck. Byron Crosby even wrote a play just for us to star in over at the local theater called The Land of Blue-Haired Ladies . And now the hair has to stay, because people would be sad if there were no Blue-Haired Ladies around anymore. We even got ourselves a float in the Fourth of July parade again this year.”
    “A float?” Aaron said on a bewildered breath. “What’s that?”
    “It’s a ride with lots of colors. And we get to throw out candy, so if you can beg your mommy to stay through the week, I’ll make sure to throw you extra on account of you being the most handsome little man Breckenridge has ever seen. And that’s saying somethin’, boy, because this town is chalk-a-block full of handsome men.” She lifted her chin and leveled him with her happy blue eyes. “Why do you think I’ve been living here all these years?”
    Aaron scrunched up his face. “For handsome men?”
    Aunt Leona poked his nose and nodded once. “See? I knew you were a clever lad. Hey, darlin’,” she said, pulling Rory in with her free hand and squeezed them both. “I’ve sure missed you, girl.”
    And here in Aunt Leona’s embrace, Rory could finally admit to herself how blasted much she’d missed her, too. When Aaron had been born, everyone had jumped ship and bailed on her. Everyone except Aunt Leona. It had been way too long since she’d snuggled into one of her aunt’s legendary hugs.
    When static rang from somewhere in the house, Rory frowned. “What was