Bear My Heart: A Small Town Paranormal Romance by Natalie Kristen

afternoon.”
    “Be careful, Olga. I
want you to call me right away if...”
    “Yes, sir!” She
gave him a smart salute and hopped out of the truck.
    At the library entrance, she
turned and waved to him. Then she slipped into the cool, quiet
interior of the library.
    Megan wasn't on duty this
morning. Another librarian was at the counter and she looked up and
smiled brightly at Olga. “Morning, Dot!”
    “Morning, Helen,”
Olga greeted her, wincing a little. She hadn't told anyone except
Troy her real name. To everyone else, she was still Dot.
    Sighing, she placed her bag
and laptop on her usual table at the back of the library. Then she
hunkered down and concentrated on her writing.
    Her life wasn't going to
grind to a stop because of him. The Artist was obsessed with her.
But she wasn't going to return the favor. She wouldn't spare him a
second thought.
    After a while, she found her
rhythm and her story began to take shape. Working steadily and
efficiently, she actually lost track of the time. By the time she
looked up, she saw that the library had become quite crowded. The
children had been dismissed from school and she heard the librarians
telling the schoolkids not to run or talk too loudly in the library.
    “Dot! Dot!”
    She turned around and saw Leo
and Logan running excitedly towards her. Megan was behind them,
carrying their schoolbags.
    “Mom picked us up from
school and told us we could spend the afternoon in the library
today,” Logan said, clambering into the chair beside her.
    Leo tried to push his brother
out of the chair. “I want to sit beside Dot!”
    “I was here first!”
Logan argued.
    Megan came up and pulled the
twins apart. “Dot's working. You boys go read quietly in the
children's section.”
    The twins sighed. “Okay,
Mom.”
    After chatting with Olga for
a few minutes, Megan went off to look for the twins and Olga got
right back to work.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

    Olga closed her laptop and
slid it into the bag. She was pretty pleased with her progress
today. She had finished a story and started on another one.
    Megan came up to her and
tapped her on the shoulder. “Why don't you and Troy come over
for dinner today?” Megan said, beaming.
    “I don't...” Olga
began.
    “You'll be doing me a
favor. You can help the boys with their homework while I prepare
dinner. Leo and Logan have been asking and asking when you can come
over for dinner and play 'Snakes and Ladders' with them again.”
    Olga gulped and Megan flashed
a thumbs-up. “I'll go collect Leo and Logan,” Megan said
cheerfully and scuttled away. “Meet you at the entrance in
five minutes!”
    Olga got up and shook her
head. She'd wait for Megan at the entrance and decline her
invitation politely but firmly.
    She was walking briskly and
digging into her bag for her phone when Logan barreled right into
her. “Dot!” Logan panted, waving something in his hand.
    “Hey, Logan, you okay?
I think your mom's looking for you. Where's your brother?” she
said, holding the boy's arm gently to steady him.
    Logan shrugged. “I
don't know. Leo said he had to go to the bathroom. But he's been
gone a long time.” Logan held up a small sealed envelope.
“Someone told me to give this to you.”
    Frowning, Dot took the
envelope and opened it. She pulled out a piece of paper and froze.
    The envelope fluttered to the
floor as she pressed her hand to her mouth to stopper her scream.
    “Logan,” she
whispered. “W-who gave this to you?”
    “A man.”
    Olga jerked her head up and
scanned the crowded library, the blood draining from her face.
    All she saw were school kids,
their parents, a bunch of elderly ladies sitting round a table and a
couple of harried librarians.
    “Where is he?”
she hissed.
    “Huh?” Logan was
peering at her curiously.
    “The man.” Olga
grabbed Logan's shoulder. “The man who gave this to you.
Where is he now?”
    “I don't know.”
The boy looked a little frightened. “He just pointed you out
to