Grizzly Love Read Free Page A

anywhere. Jan’s pregnant.” He announced it starkly.
    Boris might seem calm about it now, but he hadn’t been a few days ago. More panicked than she’d ever seen him, Boris had rushed Jan into the emergency because he’d caught her puking and refusing to eat. It took only a quick test to confirm Jan’s suspicions that she was breeding.
    Poor Boris. The news shocked the man to the core, and Jess had to give him a few stitches after he hit the floor.
    At the announcement in the garage, there was much backslapping and handshaking.
    Once the excitement died down, Reid brought them back to their previous discussion. “Okay, so Jan’s out, as is her dad so he can protect her while Boris is gone. That doesn’t leave us with many choices.”
    No one paid the chair hopping up and down in the corner any mind.
    Jess kept her gaze averted too. While not officially on the council, the nosy grizzly was always underfoot. In her line of sight. Showing up driving everyone—most especially her—nuts. Although her nuts was of a different sort than the guys.
    Given they couldn’t keep Travis out, and he couldn’t stop himself from talking and getting into trouble, they duct taped him to a seat and tucked him in the corner. A corner where he could watch and see everything going on.
    Judging by his antics, he wanted to go on this crazy mission. The guys would probably have let him, too, if they weren’t all so terrified of his mum.
    Aunt Betty-Sue, the name she expected them all to call her, would never let her baby boy go off to a mini war. Not without starting one.
    Funny how the guys weren’t afraid to beat on Travis in the name of toughening the bear up, but no one dared do anything that would put them in a direct warpath with his mother. Taking Travis on a possibly deadly mission? Yeah, none of them would volunteer him for that.
    After they bandied about a few more names that could go, vetoed them all for some reason or another, their core group remained Boris, Brody, Layla, and Gene.
    And…Jess. “I’m going too.”
    For the umpteenth time that night, all eyes swung her way.
    “You’re what?” Reid asked.
    “Given you’re all idiots with no sense of how to take care of yourself, it might be a good idea if I tagged along. You know, to provide medical aid. I can also give you some eyes in the sky.”
    “But you don’t have combat experience,” Gene pointed out.
    “No, but I do know how to fire a weapon, subdue a crazed shifter, and I don’t faint at the sight of blood. I am also utterly tone deaf.”
    “What’s that got to do with the mission?”
    “While it’s never been tested, it’s been hypothesized in shifter medical circles that a Naga’s voice is less likely to influence those who are strong-minded and tone deaf.” She shrugged. “It could come in handy.”
    “But who will handle any medical problems while you’re gone?”
    “Dr. Carter is more than capable still. He often helps out if I get a heavy load.” Retirement had proved less exciting than he’d hoped, and he tended to hang around the center quite a bit. He’d probably jump at the chance to come back full time for a bit.
    To her surprise, they bought her reasons for going, or at least didn’t argue. Did they suspect her true desire for joining this mission, namely to hunt down the husband who refused to come home? More than that, she hadn’t heard from him in what, six months, maybe a bit longer, and it wasn’t because he was missing in action or on a secret mission that didn’t allow communication. Her dear hubby just wasn’t talking to her.
    Not talking.
    Not visiting.
    Not doing a gosh-darned husbandly thing.
    And Jess was mighty tired of it.
    Crash .
    The loud noise came from the corner of the garage. Before she could register what happened, Travis hopped to his feet, tattered duct tape at his wrists and ankles, gag missing to shout, “I’m going too!”
    The guys all eyed each other then the grinning grizzly.
    As one, they