Big Sexy Bear Read Free Page A

didn’t have money for. She needed to keep everything they had so they could get where they were going and settle someplace safe. A hotel or motel would eat that up rapidly.
    When this had all started, she’d had plenty of money. But she’d never known it would drag on this long.
    Maude stared at them for a moment, folding her arms and pursing her wrinkled lips. Then she turned to Ares. “Where are their things?”
    Ares bit his lip, looking slightly adorable. Now that they were out of the dark, his height wasn’t quite so intimidating. She could tell, although he was indeed large, he wasn’t someone who liked using that size against anyone. He had an easy manner about him, like he was trying to make everyone else feel comfortable.
    It was definitely working on her.
    “I thought I’d bring them back so you could feed them and then I’d head back for the stuff. They were already soaked and I wanted them out of the rain.”
    “Humph,” she said. “So you can do something right.” Then she grinned and got on her tiptoes, and he leaned down so she could give him a kiss on the cheek. “All right, you rascal. Get out there and get it done, then come back so we can talk about arrangements.”
    “I’m sorry,” Kat said. “I don’t—” Embarrassment flooded her. “How much is it per night?”
    Maude gave Ares a narrowed glance and turned back to her. “Not like my boy here to not tell a lady that in Bearstone Village, we don’t take advantage of people in a fix. We take care of them.”
    Ares just rolled his eyes but looked at Kat over the top of Maude’s head. She could sense he was trying to make sure she was comfortable, and with the warmth in those stunning green eyes, she was beginning to feel more than comfortable. And he was in construction. He wasn’t like the dangerous or indigent men she’d met before.
    She shook her head. Don’t be dumb, Katrina. Don’t let yourself hope again. All we can be right now is careful. There isn’t time for hope.
    Ares seemed to sense the change in her mood, and he took a half step forward that had her looking up in alarm. He stopped, and Maude glanced between them, quickly assessing the situation.
    “All right, you big brute, get out. You’re scaring them.” Kat stifled a laugh as Ares grumbled and Maude pushed him to the front door. “You come back with her things, and I’ll get them all settled. We’ll talk business tomorrow, because I can tell that little one needs to get to bed.”
    “Do not,” Mac said, yawning, just the top of his blond head sticking out from the jacket she’d wrapped him in.
    Maude gave him a fond look and then shoved Ares the rest of the way out the door. “You come back when you’ve done what a man should do and taken care of business.”
    Ares muttered something about how he was being pushed out a door he himself had repaired, but Maude wasn’t having it. A moment later, the front door was shut, and Ares’s truck rumbled away.
    She was left alone with Maude, who winked at her before going into the kitchen.
    She rested back in the couch, grateful for the comfort and quiet. A moment off the road where they were safe. For now. Perhaps the car breaking down hadn’t been the worst thing. They were at least a few days ahead of Ben, and even if he knew they broke down, he wouldn’t know where they were.
    She ran her hands through Mac’s hair and let her thoughts drift with the rain falling gently outside. For some reason, she already couldn’t wait to see Ares again. Perhaps because despite being a stranger, he was still the person she knew best in this town. But perhaps because of something more.
    Maude came back with little sandwiches on plates for her and Mac, and Mac got down off her lap and ate them eagerly, smiling up at the kind older woman.
    Kat allowed herself to relax.
    At least for now, they really were safe.
    “Now,” Maude said, sitting forward with a gleam in her eye as they ate. “Let me tell you about our man