Bearly Living: Foxhollow Den #1 (Alaskan Den Men) by Kizzie Waller

 
     
     
Chapter One
     
     
    Grant Wright pushed through the front door of his family’s hardware store at five minutes to closing. The first thing he noticed was that the store’s aisles had been rearranged again. He shook off the irritation. It didn’t matter, the store wasn’t his. The second thing he noticed was his brother Ray, who stood behind the counter attaching paper clips end-to-end making a silver chain that dangled to the floor.
    “I see you’re working hard.”
    Ray stayed immersed in his paper clip art. “Ah, lil’ bro. Welcome back. How was native time?”
    “Boring, and I’m really h—”
    “Horny?”
    Grant hadn’t missed his brother’s annoying habit of interrupting his sentences, or his ability to bring sex into every conversation. “I was going to say hungry .”
    “Whatever. In about a week, every female in a fifty-mile radius will smell like sugary cotton candy. You’ll be hungry all right. For a mate.”
    “I told you before. I’m not as weak-willed as you when it comes to women. Going from bear to regular guy does not mean I’ll need a hook up.” He moved up and down the aisles looking for supplies, unwilling to listen to yet another animal-urges sex story.
    “I remember the last time I came back from going native. I rolled Kristin in the garden. In fact, Marla and Karla were conceived that week.”
    Grant growled. “Stop talking.”
    “Fine. Any sign of Caroline?”
    He tensed at the mention of their absent sister. He knew she probably wasn’t out on the land bearing it up, but he’d promised to keep out of her business as long as she checked in from time to time. A promise he’d keep for now. “She’ll come in when she’s ready. Where are Mom and Dad? I need to talk to them.”
    “Juneau for a couple of weeks. Mom needed a break. I’ve got temporary custody of the trouble makers and the store.”
    Grant grabbed a shovel from a hook on the back wall. He couldn’t blame his mom for needing a reprieve. She’d born three sets of twins, and out of the six kids, at least four gave her constant indigestion. “I’ll give them a call later.”
    “Why? Something exciting happen?”
    “Baiting stations on the east corner of The Hideaway. Three metal containers with fish guts. I want to warn everyone to stay away until I catch the trespassers.” The Hideaway allowed his family and their kind to go native without fear of coming into the crosshairs of a rifle scope. It gnawed at his gut that someone would put them all in danger with bait. Traps were sure to follow. While in bear form, the temptation would be too hard for their kind to resist.
    “You’d think they’d be smart enough to heed the ‘no trespassing’ signs. Well, I got plenty of stuff in here to bury the bodies. I’ll even give you the family discount.”
    “Burying bodies? Where do we sign up?” Their youngest brothers ambled in from the back. Both wore identical mischievous grins.
    Grant didn’t have the patience to deal with Tony and Trevor until he’d been fed. He set the shovel aside. “No bodies. Stay away from The Hideaway until I bury a fish guts bait mixture. I’m going to get a steak.”
    “Not from Moose Run you won’t.” Ray finally looked up.
    Grant cracked his knuckles. “Why not?”
    “It got bought out and turned into a gourmet donut shop while you were gone.”
    “The hell it did.” That little hole-in-the-wall steakhouse was the best thing about Foxhollow. “Who would do that?”
    Ray nodded towards the door. “Speak of the devil. Here she comes.”
    The twins tripped over each other to get out the back entrance of the hardware store while a tall, curvaceous blonde came through the front. Her purple shirt read Total B.S. Donuts on the front. Grant sensed her inner bear the minute her body came within three feet of his. He would never admit it to his brother, but he did pick up a faint sugary smell.
    “Where are they?” She tossed a red spray paint can onto the floor. The