Bearly Hanging On (A Werebear Shifter BBW Romance) (Laid Bear Book 3) by Marina Maddix Page B
Authors: Marina Maddix
Ads: Link
monotone.
Thump-thud! Thump-thud!
Uncle Max blew out a lungful of air and pinched the bridge of his nose, no doubt exhausted by Chet’s broken heart. Sorrrr-yyyy! Chet thought sourly.
Thump-thud!
“Could you stop with that already? It’s driving your aunt crazy.”
Thump-thud! On the return, Chet palmed the ball and traced its white outline, intent on not looking at his uncle.
“You ready for the big day tomorrow? You’ll finally be a full-blood member of the Skookum Clan. Exciting stuff!”
Chet tried for a smile but even he could feel how weak it was. “Sure.”
Uncle Max sighed again and shook his head as he turned to leave. “Well, try to get some sleep, okay?”
“Sure.”
His closet door eased open and Sandy’s green eyes peeked out. Tiptoeing to the door, she pressed her ear to it, listening for her dad. Once she was certain he was gone, she half-opened the door before turning back to Chet. “It doesn’t have to end like this, you know.”
He’d run out of energy to get angry or upset or sad. His emotional gas tank was on empty and there was no fill-up station in sight. He couldn’t even muster the strength to point, he just said, “Out.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Now Sandra Jean Pearce, don’t you so much as think about getting out of this car, do you understand me, young lady?”
“Got it, Mom. Geez!” Sandy crossed her arms with a huff and slumped back into the passenger seat of her mom’s Caddy, glaring out the window at the liquor store.
“I’m serious. I’ll be back in five minutes. If I even suspect you got out, I’ll tack on another month.”
“I told you I got it!” She used the special high-pitch screech reserved for really special occasions, like when her parents were being total nimrods. Only teenage girls could access that particular frequency and no parent was immune to it. Especially werebears, with their extra-sensitive hearing. The trick was not to overuse it or it lost its power.
“Okay, okay,” her mom said as she scrambled out of the car and slammed the door. Sandy smiled to herself at her mother’s discomfort.
But the smile faded quickly. This whole Chet and Crystal thing really had her buggin’. It was all her fault they weren’t together right now doing the nasty and making lots of cute little cubs for her to dress up. She had to fix it but couldn’t figure out how.
She’d snuck into her dad’s study and used his private line to call her human friends a few times but none of them would take her calls — skanks — and Crystal’s grandparents weren’t listed in the phone book. Add to that the fact she was grounded for life, and there was no chance for her to make it right. She was out of ideas.
As her mom scurried up the sidewalk to the liquor store, a finger wiggling in her ear in an effort to stop the leftover ringing from Sandy’s screech, fate decided to cut the teen some slack. In her rearview mirror, she spotted Crystal walking up the street. She didn’t look as cute as Sandy remembered — her skin was a weird gray color, her hair was tucked under a faded Pearce Forestry baseball cap and she was in some super-schlumpy sweats. It looked like she was trying to hide or something.
Her mom said she couldn’t get out of the car, but she didn’t say anything about talking with anyone. Jabbing the button on her armrest, she got her window down just as Crystal was passing by, oblivious.
“Psst, Crystal!” Sandy waggled her fingers when Crystal turned toward her. “Got a minute?”
Alarm grew in Crystal’s eyes and a hand shot up to push her hat lower on her head. Looking around frantically and seeing no one else, she edged closer to the car. Sandy spotted the instant she recognized the car as the one Chet had driven on their last date.
“H-hi, S-Sandy,” she stuttered, poor thing. Sandy would have to work hard and work fast to get it all out before her mom came out.
“Hey. Listen, Chet and I have been on lockdown all week and
Thump-thud! Thump-thud!
Uncle Max blew out a lungful of air and pinched the bridge of his nose, no doubt exhausted by Chet’s broken heart. Sorrrr-yyyy! Chet thought sourly.
Thump-thud!
“Could you stop with that already? It’s driving your aunt crazy.”
Thump-thud! On the return, Chet palmed the ball and traced its white outline, intent on not looking at his uncle.
“You ready for the big day tomorrow? You’ll finally be a full-blood member of the Skookum Clan. Exciting stuff!”
Chet tried for a smile but even he could feel how weak it was. “Sure.”
Uncle Max sighed again and shook his head as he turned to leave. “Well, try to get some sleep, okay?”
“Sure.”
His closet door eased open and Sandy’s green eyes peeked out. Tiptoeing to the door, she pressed her ear to it, listening for her dad. Once she was certain he was gone, she half-opened the door before turning back to Chet. “It doesn’t have to end like this, you know.”
He’d run out of energy to get angry or upset or sad. His emotional gas tank was on empty and there was no fill-up station in sight. He couldn’t even muster the strength to point, he just said, “Out.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Now Sandra Jean Pearce, don’t you so much as think about getting out of this car, do you understand me, young lady?”
“Got it, Mom. Geez!” Sandy crossed her arms with a huff and slumped back into the passenger seat of her mom’s Caddy, glaring out the window at the liquor store.
“I’m serious. I’ll be back in five minutes. If I even suspect you got out, I’ll tack on another month.”
“I told you I got it!” She used the special high-pitch screech reserved for really special occasions, like when her parents were being total nimrods. Only teenage girls could access that particular frequency and no parent was immune to it. Especially werebears, with their extra-sensitive hearing. The trick was not to overuse it or it lost its power.
“Okay, okay,” her mom said as she scrambled out of the car and slammed the door. Sandy smiled to herself at her mother’s discomfort.
But the smile faded quickly. This whole Chet and Crystal thing really had her buggin’. It was all her fault they weren’t together right now doing the nasty and making lots of cute little cubs for her to dress up. She had to fix it but couldn’t figure out how.
She’d snuck into her dad’s study and used his private line to call her human friends a few times but none of them would take her calls — skanks — and Crystal’s grandparents weren’t listed in the phone book. Add to that the fact she was grounded for life, and there was no chance for her to make it right. She was out of ideas.
As her mom scurried up the sidewalk to the liquor store, a finger wiggling in her ear in an effort to stop the leftover ringing from Sandy’s screech, fate decided to cut the teen some slack. In her rearview mirror, she spotted Crystal walking up the street. She didn’t look as cute as Sandy remembered — her skin was a weird gray color, her hair was tucked under a faded Pearce Forestry baseball cap and she was in some super-schlumpy sweats. It looked like she was trying to hide or something.
Her mom said she couldn’t get out of the car, but she didn’t say anything about talking with anyone. Jabbing the button on her armrest, she got her window down just as Crystal was passing by, oblivious.
“Psst, Crystal!” Sandy waggled her fingers when Crystal turned toward her. “Got a minute?”
Alarm grew in Crystal’s eyes and a hand shot up to push her hat lower on her head. Looking around frantically and seeing no one else, she edged closer to the car. Sandy spotted the instant she recognized the car as the one Chet had driven on their last date.
“H-hi, S-Sandy,” she stuttered, poor thing. Sandy would have to work hard and work fast to get it all out before her mom came out.
“Hey. Listen, Chet and I have been on lockdown all week and
Similar Books
