Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) by Sydney Addae Page B

okay?”
    “Help me lady who runs faster than me. Don’t leave, I was just showing you the phone.”
    “Camilla?”
    “Who are you? Go away. You don’t smell right.”
    “Come with me. ” She tried to fight him but her arms wouldn’t move.
    “ Tag! Help me .”
    A wave of crippling grief washed over her at the mention of his name. Heavy-hearted, she accepted he wasn’t her knight. For years she’d thought of him, even tried to find someone like him and failed. In the eyes of every man who talked to her, she searched for him. Good Lord why him? He wasn’t the most handsome, or the smartest? But like a needle in a craw he stuck in the back of her mind. She couldn’t flush him out. Why did he epitomize the perfect man in her dreams? Dreams …Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. In the quiet of her mind the truth spoke and hurt, he didn’t want her. There would be no future with him.
    No babies. No home. No Tag .
    He never asked for her. Never cared for her. Never thought of her and that was killing her.
    “Camilla?”
    Stop! She didn’t want to talk to anyone anymore. She didn’t know who was looking for her or where Ryan was. Her cousin traveled all over the world just like Tag… no, stop thinking about him.
    “Camilla.”
    She frowned at the raised voice. He sounded real. Close. It hurt to see but she had to be sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks again and peeked. A hazy vision of a man stood nearby. “Tag?” she whispered her deepest, darkest wish, not what she considered reality.
    “Yeah, it’s me…”
    The deep timbre of his voice awakened every part of her, resurrecting hope and crushed dreams. Questions floated haphazardly across her mind but she couldn’t lock any of them down. The needs of an empty belly and a dry, sore throat rose to the top of her list for correction.
    Strong, callused hands touched her arm after all the years of waiting. This time she wouldn’t let him go.
    “Camilla, you need to drink this.”
    It hurt to talk, open her eyes or move. Hearing seemed okay.
    “No,” she whispered. The bed, dipped. She gasped at the pain but didn’t cry out.
    “You have to drink this; it’ll make you feel better.”
    Focused on his voice, she fought her way through the dark cotton. “Tag?”
    “Yeah. Do you remember me bringing you here yesterday?”
    Tag was here? He came to see her? What? Yesterday? He took her somewhere? Camilla struggled against the pain and discomfort and opened her eyes. Through the dimness of the room, she barely made out his features. Not a dream. Tag. They were together somewhere.
    “Here drink this. My mom swears by it.” He held the cup next to her lips and she took sip of the warm liquid, moaning in pleasure as it coated her throat, easing the pain. Neither spoke until she drained the cup. There were a few tense moments when her belly revolted and she thought she’d embarrass herself but he was patient, much more patient than she remembered.
    Finished, she leaned back. Through hazy shadows she saw his thick eyebrows over intense russet-colored eyes. He wore his hair longer than she remembered. But his triangular face, sharp nose and long lashes were the same. She traced the scar near his eye with her fingertip. “This is new.”
    Tag leaned back, breaking their connection. “Not really, I’ve had it for a few years.” He paused. “Do you remember anything that happened?”
    “Happened?” She didn’t understand.
    “You were running in the park then you called Tyra… your roommate, to tell her you didn’t feel well. She looked for you but you had left the park. Do you remember any of that?”
    Frowning, she searched for his hand, took and threaded their fingers together.  The pad of her thumb slid back and forth over one callous on his palm. “No. Well, bits and pieces. I’m not sure what’s real or not. Like right now.” She looked up and cursed her poor vision, this time she wished she could see him clearly. “This is real, right?”