Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) Read Free

of knew
that Dad wouldn't last long without Mom. They loved each other very
dearly.”
    “I know. I remember
the way your parents looked at each other,” Nicole said softly.
“I thought it was so amazing, because...it was so different
from what I saw at home. Your parents gazed at each other with stars
in their eyes whereas I could see daggers shooting from my parents'
eyes when they glared at each other.”
    “How's your mom?
And...your dad,” Luke asked tentatively.
    “I don't know about my
dad. He completely disappeared. He never paid child support and he
never bothered to contact me. He just disappeared totally from my
life after the divorce.” She shrugged and fell silent for a
while. “Well.” With another shrug, she turned to him
and said brightly, “Mom got married last year.”
    “She did? Wow!”
    “Yeah.” A
delighted laugh bubbled from her. “It really is so wonderful!
My stepdad's a great guy. They're on their honeymoon now, a
year-long honeymoon,” she emphasized. “Oh, let me show
you their wedding pictures.” Nicole pulled out her phone and
scrolled through the photos. “Don't they look great?”
she gushed, thrusting the phone into his face.
    Luke looked at the pictures
of the beaming bride and groom, surrounded by a crowd of smiling
people of all ages. “That's my stepdad's elder sister and her
entire family. These are her children and her grandchildren.”
Nicole pointed excited at the screen. “And here I am, carrying
her great-granddaughter, who is wearing the same pink dress as me,
just many sizes smaller.”
    “Beautiful,” Luke
breathed.
    “I know, right? Mom
looked so beautiful in her wedding gown. She didn't want to wear a
wedding dress initially. She just wanted to wear a plain white dress
for the wedding, but my stepdad wouldn't hear of it. She said she's
just a sixty-year-old bride, but he said that she's his bride.” Nicole chuckled, her eyes shining with joy and pride.
“He made her choose a real wedding gown and he got his tuxedo
specially tailored. My stepdad's a widower, and he doesn't have any
children.” Nicole tucked her phone back into her bag. “He
treats me like his only daughter, so he and Mom have been nagging me
to give them some grandkids soon.” She shook her head and
laughed. “Yeah right. To do that, first I need to find a
man.”
    Luke cheered inwardly at her
confession that she was single. To his surprise, his bear reared up
and growled. It wasn't an angry growl. It was more a possessive,
territorial growl. His bear wanted to stake its claim. Mine.
    Luke jerked. What the…?
    “Huh? Did you say
something?” Nicole squinted at him.
    Luke shook his head mutely.
He didn't trust himself to speak. His bear might decide to take
charge of his voice box and let out another growl to show him who's
boss.
    Gritting his teeth, Luke
pushed his bear down. He was in control of his beast, not the other
way round. Dylan had taught him to leash his bear and harness its
power. He couldn't lose control of his beast and himself. He
couldn't become the monster that he was made to be…
    “Luke?”
    He started and gave himself a
shake. Focus, stay in the present, stay in control. Luke dug
his nails into his palms as he wrestled furiously with his emotions
and his bear. He would not allow himself to slide back into that
dark, dark place.
    Luke looked into Nicole's
deep, brown eyes and saw the worry and concern there. “You
okay?” Nicole put a hand on his arm. “You seem a
little...”
    “I'm fine,” he
growled, then coughed hurriedly.
    “Maybe you're tired,”
she said as she pulled herself away. She adjusted the strap of her
handbag on her shoulder and smiled. “It's getting late. I
should be getting home. Maybe we can catch up some other time...”
    Luke felt his nails sharpen
into claws as the sharp tips gouged into his palm. His bear was
rearing up, ready to rip out of his skin and pounce on her. His bear
wasn't going to allow Nicole to leave.
    His