Woodsman Werebear Read Free

hair, then flung them forward. He cast her a narrow-eyed glance as she approached, then froze fast, as if he’d been electrocuted. “You aren’t a dude.”
    She gave him a humorless smile. “Nope. Definitely not a dude.”
    “You’re not a Boarlander?”
    His face was smeared with something. Dirt? Grease? “What’s a Boarlander?”
    “You’re in Boarlander territory. Why?” he asked, sauntering toward her, his gait graceful compared to her shuffle.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re asking,” she murmured tiredly. “And I’m super bad at riddles, had a crap couple of days, and the only possible ride I’ve seen on this road ignored me, then called me a dude.”
    “Well, your hair confused me, and I only saw you from the back.”
    “We can’t all look like Fabio,” she deadpanned, coming to a stop in front of him and arching her neck back to take in his full height. Holy hell balls, he was tall. His eyes were a piercing blue, all surrounded by that…mud?
    “Ha,” he huffed out. “That’s what my crew calls me, too.”
    “Your crew.”
    The man’s nostrils flared, and he frowned. “What are you doing way out here?” Looking around pointedly, he said, “This ain’t exactly a good spot to vacation.”
    “Oh, the hitchhiking gave me away as a tourist, did it?”
    “Dead giveaway.”
    Riley liked the easy way in which he bantered. Oh, he was still mad about his flat tire, but at least he could plaster on a smile and talk cordially, and right now, as tired as she was, she was going to say that spoke well of him.
    “Want me to change that for you?” she asked.
    His gold brows lifted high, and a small smile ghosted his lips. “You’re offering to change my flat?”
    Riley snorted and pressed her palms against her aching back. “No, I was joking. I will, however, sit over there by that tree and watch you change your flat while cheering you on, and then I will graciously accept a ride from you when you are through.” She meandered off through the dry, early autumn grass and called over her shoulder, “I’m Riley Miller, by the way.”
    “Drew Hudson,” the man said in a troubled tone. “Are you hurt?”
    “No, why?”
    “Because you’re walking funny.”
    “You sure know how to compliment a dude-lady.”
    “No, I mean… Sorry. Forget it. Give me twenty minutes to change the tire, and I’ll give you that ride.”
    “Go, Drew, go,” she said, waving her fists half-heartedly in the air and fulfilling her promise to cheer him on.

Chapter Three
     
    Riley Miller. Drew liked her name. It suited her no-nonsense attitude and relaxed demeanor. She dressed like a hobo, clutched an oversize duffle bag in front of her like a shield, and her hair looked like she’d cut it herself, but her face…damn. Riley was a stunner.
    Dark hair, dark lashes, and an olive complexion that said she had something exotic in her bloodline. Pacific Islander or native Hawaiian, perhaps. She certainly didn’t look like the usual fare of townies down in Saratoga, and he’d bet his favorite pair of work boots she wasn’t from around here. It was her eyes that had held him stunned when he’d turned toward her. They were wide, like a wood sprite’s, and slightly slanted, and the color was a light brown-green he’d never seen on a human before.
    And more curious than anything was the way his bear had stopped bitching the moment Drew locked eyes with the strange woman. In fact, his inner monster had seemed just as rocked by this little force of nature as Drew had been.
    He cast a quick glance over at her as he loosened the spare tire from beneath his truck bed. She sat down under a stately pine tree, clutching her duffle to her stomach. With a sigh, she leaned back against the bark and offered him a smile. The expression didn’t reach her eyes, though, not like it had a minute ago, and it struck him how much of their conversation had been an act for her. She looked exhausted now.
    Worry