Chapter One
Wanted: A Bride for a Bear!
Successfully employed bear shifter, 34, is seeking a curvy, plus-sized human woman, preferably between the ages of 25-35, to become his wife. Must be willing to cook three meals a day, provide companionship to a lonely bear, and live a modest, quiet life in Bear Canyon. Those who are shifter obsessed, or not looking for a lifetime commitment, need not apply.
Olive Campbell read the personal ad again, and then stared at the balance in her check register. The first of August was rapidly approaching, and while she had enough to keep a roof over her head, she didn’t have enough to secure her residence and buy food.
She looked around the small, furnished studio apartment and sighed. The living space was the size of her personal bathroom in her father’s home, but it would be all she needed if she could find a job.
Six months ago, she quit her job as head chef in one of her father’s top performing restaurants and left her childhood home with a suitcase in each hand. She’d packed up most of her clothing, with the exception of the formal ball gowns and party dresses, and all of her personal belongings, which included the only two pictures she had of her late mother.
She’d called in favors to other chefs, rival business owners, and friends, but her father had reached them all first. No one wanted to be on the bad side of Dick Campbell.
In desperation, she’d even tried several fast food chains, but they’d all turned her away based on her resume. A valedictorian of the most prestigious cooking academy in the United States, with several international accolades earned the two years she’d spent abroad in Europe, deserved more than flipping burgers for minimum wage.
If only.
She’d do just about anything to get back in the kitchen again, even if it meant donning a hairnet and hanging out over the fryer. Unfortunately, none of those managers understood her passion, or her plight, and they’d all lectured her on her poor career choices. She’d found the situation ironic, but she’d listened and nodded each time with a smile plastered on her face. At the end of each interview, she’d politely excused herself, and crossed another potential job off her list.
She’d reached the bottom of the barrel.
She either had to start looking in another field, or give up eating. She looked down at her curvy form and shook her head. She loved cooking and she loved food, and her days of dieting to try and fit into what everyone considered normal were long behind her.
She’d made the choice to stop watching her weight when she’d entered the academy, and despite her father’s constant disapproval and dismay, she’d never looked back. She couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t belittled her for being fat, even as he pushed her into the kitchen.
The minute he’d found out she could cook as good as her mother with very little training, he’d hidden her away in the kitchen while admonishing her at every opportunity for wanting to taste her food. It wasn’t like she ate every meal she made, but a chef couldn’t serve without making sure everything tasted perfect.
Unfortunately, in her limited experience with men, she’d only come in contact with men who treated her the same way that her father did. Her high school and college boyfriends were easy to break-up with, but her father’s golden boy had been more challenging.
She and Charles met when she returned home from the academy two years ago. He’d pursued her with a sweet charm that had turned her insides into mush, and she didn’t see his true personality until it was too late. Over time, his charm turned into sickening sweet words that made her skin crawl, and his devotion to her father was disgusting. His inability to take no for an answer had been the final straw, and she’d dumped him.
When her father found out, he was outraged. He loved Charles like a son, and wanted him to inherit everything, including her. When
Wanted: A Bride for a Bear!
Successfully employed bear shifter, 34, is seeking a curvy, plus-sized human woman, preferably between the ages of 25-35, to become his wife. Must be willing to cook three meals a day, provide companionship to a lonely bear, and live a modest, quiet life in Bear Canyon. Those who are shifter obsessed, or not looking for a lifetime commitment, need not apply.
Olive Campbell read the personal ad again, and then stared at the balance in her check register. The first of August was rapidly approaching, and while she had enough to keep a roof over her head, she didn’t have enough to secure her residence and buy food.
She looked around the small, furnished studio apartment and sighed. The living space was the size of her personal bathroom in her father’s home, but it would be all she needed if she could find a job.
Six months ago, she quit her job as head chef in one of her father’s top performing restaurants and left her childhood home with a suitcase in each hand. She’d packed up most of her clothing, with the exception of the formal ball gowns and party dresses, and all of her personal belongings, which included the only two pictures she had of her late mother.
She’d called in favors to other chefs, rival business owners, and friends, but her father had reached them all first. No one wanted to be on the bad side of Dick Campbell.
In desperation, she’d even tried several fast food chains, but they’d all turned her away based on her resume. A valedictorian of the most prestigious cooking academy in the United States, with several international accolades earned the two years she’d spent abroad in Europe, deserved more than flipping burgers for minimum wage.
If only.
She’d do just about anything to get back in the kitchen again, even if it meant donning a hairnet and hanging out over the fryer. Unfortunately, none of those managers understood her passion, or her plight, and they’d all lectured her on her poor career choices. She’d found the situation ironic, but she’d listened and nodded each time with a smile plastered on her face. At the end of each interview, she’d politely excused herself, and crossed another potential job off her list.
She’d reached the bottom of the barrel.
She either had to start looking in another field, or give up eating. She looked down at her curvy form and shook her head. She loved cooking and she loved food, and her days of dieting to try and fit into what everyone considered normal were long behind her.
She’d made the choice to stop watching her weight when she’d entered the academy, and despite her father’s constant disapproval and dismay, she’d never looked back. She couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t belittled her for being fat, even as he pushed her into the kitchen.
The minute he’d found out she could cook as good as her mother with very little training, he’d hidden her away in the kitchen while admonishing her at every opportunity for wanting to taste her food. It wasn’t like she ate every meal she made, but a chef couldn’t serve without making sure everything tasted perfect.
Unfortunately, in her limited experience with men, she’d only come in contact with men who treated her the same way that her father did. Her high school and college boyfriends were easy to break-up with, but her father’s golden boy had been more challenging.
She and Charles met when she returned home from the academy two years ago. He’d pursued her with a sweet charm that had turned her insides into mush, and she didn’t see his true personality until it was too late. Over time, his charm turned into sickening sweet words that made her skin crawl, and his devotion to her father was disgusting. His inability to take no for an answer had been the final straw, and she’d dumped him.
When her father found out, he was outraged. He loved Charles like a son, and wanted him to inherit everything, including her. When
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