Desires of the Cowboy Bears (BBW MMF Menage Shapeshifter Romance) Read Free

help me get
out of the truck.
    The town our ranch was technically part of wasn’t very
big and catered to ranchers, but everyone was friendly and they had most everything
we needed. The rest we got from Amazon and had it shipped to the local post
office, which I informed the guys of as well.
    “How about some dinner while we’re here?” Hudson
offered as we walked by The Saloon. “Our treat.”
    God, I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say yes so badly
it hurt, but I had to turn him down.
    “I can’t,” I told him. “I need to get back home and
have a quick nap before I take the horse out tonight.”
    “Tonight?” Flynn asked, his eyebrow raising as he
studied my face.
    “Yeah, we’re having some trouble with the cougars,” I told
him. “And one of our hands said he spotted a couple bears out last night. It’s
my turn to keep an eye on things.”
    “I don’t think the bears will cause you any trouble,”
Hudson said. “They are probably just passing through.”
    “I don’t want to chance that,” I said. “We can’t afford
to lose any more cows. We had three killed already, and two more broke their
legs. Bears just add to that. I don’t want to have to do it, but if I see one
around the herd, I’ll have to put it down.”
    The two men glanced at each other once again, but didn’t
say anything. They didn’t need to, though. I saw the worry on their face and I
didn’t know if I should reassure them that their herd would be safe once we got
rid of the problem. They knew that, though. I was sure they did.
    “Just be careful,” Hudson said.
    “You can usually scare them off with a warning shot,”
Flynn added. “And who knows, maybe the bears will scare off the cougars. They
usually go after fish anyway, so chances are they won’t hurt the cattle.”
    “I know,” I agreed. “But I just can’t risk it. I
promised my dad.”
    “We get it,” Hudson said. “Come on, let’s get you home
then.”
    The ride back home was awkward and silent. I had no
clue what I’d done wrong, but neither man spoke the entire hour long trip back
to the ranch and I searched my mind for something to say, anything, but I could
find nothing. Something was wrong, but I knew I’d only make it worse by asking
them what that was.
    “Be careful tonight,” Flynn offered me as I got out of
the truck, but that was all he said. No good-bye, no flirting, just words of
caution before I watched the two men drive off and me left standing there with
a carton of milk in my hands.
    I tried to sleep before the sunset, but there was no chance.
I’d somehow ruined my shot with the two men, at least for now, and I had no
clue how I was going to fix it.
    Patience , I told myself as I saddled my horse. Just
give them time and the awkwardness will go away.
    What else could I do? I had to concentrate on the task
at hand and I forced the thoughts out of my mind as I loaded my rifle. I had a
long night ahead of me, and now I was hoping I saw no sign of anything but the
cows.
    For most of the night, I was lucky. It was quiet, the
cows were grazing or sleeping, and I plodded my horse along the trail that cut
through our property. It wasn’t much, but Jose was out in the back and Miguel
was toward the west. I had the east and thankfully, it was quiet.
    Until I saw it. In the light of the moon, two green
eyes glinted back at me. They weren’t the big dull eyes of a cow, but predator’s
eyes, bright and green.
    Slowly I slipped my rifle off my shoulder. One tagged
cat might be all it took to scare the rest away and I didn’t want to lose my
shot.
    But when the gun cocked, the cat took off toward the
fence. One noise and it was gone, but I wasn’t going to give up. Kicking at my
horse, we gave chase, forcing the cat to flee.
    Easily it cleared the fence that separated our
property from Flynn and Hudson’s ranch, and I forced my horse over the fence to
follow. Something told me they wouldn’t want me killing the cat on their
property, but I