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

toward him, ready to protest further, but John turned his attention to his phone, pulling it from his pocket.
    “Hey Ma, what’s up? – No, haven’t heard from him since last night, why? – Oh yeah? Well, alright. I’ll give him a try on the way home. – Love you, too.”
    With that John hung up and climbed in his truck. He leaned a hand out the window, grasping hers. “Gotta go harass Deac on the way home and see why he’s not answering his phone. Probably hungover or some shit.”
    He pulled her hand to him and kissed it. Then he threw the truck into reverse and began to pull out of the drive.
    “Don’t you fret while I’m gone, beautiful. I promise, it’s all going to be fine. You’ll see.”
    Catherine watched his truck disappear down the drive before turning back to the house. Grampy Calhoun was sitting there, seemingly oblivious, as was Bennett, wholly ensconced in ravaging his cheeseburger. Bodie was giving her the side eye, then an eyebrow waggle.
    “You shouldn’t be spending time with that fellow, girl.”
    Catherine startled to hear her Grandfather speak. She’d been sure he was oblivious to them all, caught up in his own world.
    “And why is that?” She asked.
    Grampy Calhoun shook his head, his mass of coarse salt and pepper hair stiff over his head. “Those Fenns are trouble.”
    “No they’re not!”
    Bennett swallowed hard, gesturing for her to calm down. She would not be calm.
    Grampy was oblivious to her protests. “You never know when somethin’s gonna happen with that family. They’ve already lost two.”
    “So you’re blaming the dead for getting shot?”
    He smacked his teeth gently, the sound of his dentures moving in his mouth when he was lost in thought. “They keep to themselves, we keep to ours. It’s how it’s done.”
    Catherine’s mind raced. Of course they kept to themselves. What would the world think if it ever got out what they were – what they could do? She wanted to plead John’s case, plead his family’s case, but Grampy hadn’t heard a word she’d said. He was simply finishing his thought, apathetic to any counters she might have on the subject. She grabbed her burger and stormed into the house, slumping down at the kitchen table to eat, alone. She regretted the fervor of her actions, instantly, her backside sending sharp pangs up her spine as it impacted with the wooden seat. She took one bite, and her stomach turned.
    She sat there alone a moment, cursing nearly every member of her family as she took out her phone. Catherine sighed as she discovered another three missed calls from ‘Mom.’ She set the phone aside and tried another bite of her burger. The bite failed.
    Bennett finally joined her at the kitchen table, feasting on the rest of her burger when she confessed her lack of appetite.
    “Don’t mind Gramps, Catie. He’s just set in his ways, is all.”
    Catherine shook her head. “I know, but that’s not an excuse. They don’t deserve the reputation they’ve got.”
    Or did they? She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
    By dusk, Uncle Bodie and Gramps were in front of the TV again, scanning through the millions of channels on their satellite dishes. Catherine kept her phone glued to her, leaning against the kitchen counter as the sun set, watching out the windows for headlights in the driveway.
    She wondered how John’s conversation with the great Patrick Fenn would go, how terrifying a sight it must’ve been. Though she felt almost cornered at the idea of John throwing away his life there in Falkirk’s Seat to be with her, the more she thought of him changing his mind, the more her heart hurt. How could she want him so badly after all this time? How could she be so sure, so ready to run away with a boy she last knew – truly knew – over a decade before?
    Did she ever truly know him? She thought.
    Well, she sure did now.
    “What are you moping about?”
    Bodie snuck up beside her at the kitchen counter, sneaking a peek out the