Saving Her Bear: A Second Chances Romance by Alana Hart, Michaela Wright

gaze.
    “Hey there, Bodie,” he said, feigning complete ignorance to the slight. John had never been one to acknowledge poor manners – unless he needed to teach someone better ones.
    “You staying for dinner then, John boy?”
    John and Catherine both turned for the front door as Bennett appeared, a platter of burgers and dogs in his hands and a massive set of tongs dangling from his hip.
    “No, Benny. Thank you for the invite though. Gotta head back.”
    Catherine frowned at this, but she knew it to be true. The Fenn family had their ways, and one of those ways was to never let Patrick Fenn stay angry at you. He would need to go smooth things over, and she knew it.
    Catherine quickly put in her burger order, and let John lead her around the house toward the woods. Given the events of the past two days, the last thing she ever wanted to do was go wandering in those woods again.
    “I’ve been thinking,” John said as they reached a solid distance from the house. They could hear Bodie and Bennett arguing by the grill, Grampy Calhoun now settled into one of the Adirondack chairs on the deck, sipping at a beer. He was most likely deaf to the commotion taking place over the burgers.
    Catherine turned to John, waiting for him to go on. He stared down at the ground, as though counting blades of grass.
    “I’m gonna go talk to Gramps, and I’m gonna tell him he can shove it.”
    Catherine’s jaw dropped. She reached for him, ready to still him, but he kept going.
    “There’s nothing keeping me here. I’ve no ties. Mum has Deacon and she’s traveling down to Portland almost every weekend these days. Dad’s still driving a truck, isn’t home half the time.”
    “Calm down, honey. Don’t jump to conclusions. Just wait for this to blow over.”
    “It’s not going to. And I don’t want to have to wait for someone else to tell me I can have you in my own home. I won’t fucking have it.”
    “But your house,” she said, trying to still this fervor he’d found. Yet, she’d known him well, and he’d changed very little. When John had something in his teeth, he didn’t give it up.
    That suddenly seemed so fitting, knowing what she knew.
    John snorted. “You heard him. It isn’t my house. I just live there.” He exhaled out his nose again, sharply. “Having a place to live is nice unless someone’s holding it over your head. Then it’s more a prison than anything else.”
    Catherine watched his face, waiting for him to go on. He wasn’t meeting her gaze.
    “I mean, we could get a place, right? You and I?”
    “What?”
    The shock of her statement sounded a little more appalled than simply surprised. She flinched to think he might have heard it that way.
    “John, I just got here.”
    “So? You’re mine. I want to be with you.”
    She took hold of his lapel, searching for words to calm him. “We’ve only just seen each other again two days ago. You can’t be making these kinds of claims after only a couple days -”
    “Why not? I know what I want. Why? Do you not want me?”
    She froze, staring at him. He was all she’d ever wanted. Still, hearing him proclaim such devotion – the kind that would make him completely upend his life? It felt huge. It felt like being in the presence of a bear all over again. “I do. I want you.”
    “Then it’s settled.”
    John turned back toward the house, sauntering as though he’d won some fist fight. She gave chase, tugging at his shirt sleeve to slow him. He just glanced back, his intentions too settled to be slowed.
    “Please, John. I don’t want to be the reason you leave your family.”
    He scoffed. “If I’m leaving, it’s their fault, not yours.”
    They rounded the house, coming into earshot of the dinner conversation. Bennett held up a cheeseburger, perfectly dressed with all the fixins. Suddenly, Catherine couldn’t imagine taking even a bite.
    “I’ll come back by later this evening. We’ll figure the rest out then, yeah?”
    Catherine moved