Bearly In Love (The Carlton Brother Series Book 2)

  Bearly In Love

  J. S. Wilder

  Copyright © 2015 J. S. Wilder

  Bearly In Love

  By J. S. Wilder

  All rights reserved.

  This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the properties of the author and your support and respect is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Both author and editor have taken great effort in presenting a manuscript free of errors. However, editing errors are ultimately the responsibility of the author. This book is written in US English.

  ***Author’s Note***

  This is Part two of a three part series about Honey Point.

  ***This is a standalone book with no cliffhangers.****

  Prologue

  The woods were the only place where Ben Carlton felt happy anymore. In the forest, there were no expectations, no demands, no failures. No; when he was in the forest, he could just run. He could be himself. He could truly be free.

  Because in the woods, he could shift, and no one would see him.

  Ben only felt that he was truly himself when he shifted. It wasn't that he didn't love and appreciate his life on the ranch; he did. He just felt that every day had become mind-numbingly predictable, and he was beginning to resent it. His older brother Joe had married his sweetheart Raine, and while Joe still worked on the ranch, the business side was still on Ben's shoulders. Caleb, a marine, had been sent to the Middle East, and Ben was proud of him, but he missed his little brother.

  Things were difficult for Ben, mostly because he was so lonely. He wanted a mate of his own, a family of his own, someone he could share his life and his secrets with. So for now, he ran. The woods were his home, and maybe he had to run alone for now, but at least he had room to do it at all.

  The sounds of the forest were welcoming; the call of the birds, the howl of the wolves, and the scurrying of the deer as they took cover among the trees. Everything was as it should be.

  Until it wasn't.

  All of the creatures in the wood went silent as the echo of screeching tires filled the sky. Ben's senses were alight with urgency, and he hurried toward the source of the sound, just as it was followed up by the deafening crunch of metal. Ben sped up his pace, his legs moving faster than he thought possible.

  When at last he reached the edge of the forest next to the road, he saw a small car, wedged between two trees. And in just the right light, he could almost see...

  Long, silky hair, wafting out the broken driver's side window.

  Chapter One

  -River-

  River was about thirty seconds from smashing her head on the coffee table, just to shut out the noise around her. Her mother had been lecturing her since she got home two days ago, and it was beginning to wear her down. She looked up at her father, who was sipping whiskey and looking as beaten down as River. Her mother's voice was becoming an irritating buzz in the background.

  “River, darling, I just don't understand why you couldn't marry Craig. So he slipped! Many men do. It's not a valid reason to let good stock like that get away. I just don't understand you, River. I really don't.”

  River put her head in her hands and took a deep breath. The Wales family was one of the most prominent not just in Honey Point, but in all of Alaska. Her great-great grandfather had started a chain of luxury hotels that had turned into luxury resort destinations for vacationers who preferred rustic landscape and whale watching to a caribbean cruise. All the Wales family cared about was status, and River's life had been planned for her since she was a little girl.

  As soon as she graduated from high school, she was sent to an Ivy League college in the lower 48, where she got her medical degree, and would train as a doctor. But really, it was all a ruse: her mother had all but auctioned her off to oil baron Rock Lloyd's son for marriage as soon as she got out of school, and no one intended for Rain to work a single day in her life.

  Rain had no use for Craig Lloyd; he was a lazy cad, who was always trying to change her. She was never thin enough, never blonde enough, never fashionable enough. He would poke at her womanly curves and tell her she needed to spend more time at the gym. But Rain had put up with all of it, because it was easier than fighting her family on the issue.

  Then, after a two year engagement, Rain and Craig's wedding weekend finally came. Rain smiled for cameras, and put on a happy face at her bachelorette party, but mostly, she just wanted it all to be over with. But on the night of Craig's bachelor party, Rain was just curling up for her last night's sleep in her own bed, when her phone notified her that she had a text message. It was from one of Craig's friends, and it contained pictures of Craig having sex with another women.

  Rain was livid, not so much about the cheating, because she didn't feel anything for Craig, but that he'd made a fool of her. She wasn't about to spend her life with someone who was going to run around sleeping with other women, because she would never do that to him. So she packed a bag, left a message on Craig's machine telling him it was over and he could tell everyone the wedding was off, and she drove back to her home town of Honey Point, Alaska.

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire, she thought as she pulled into her parent's driveway.

  Her mother hadn't let up for one minute since she got back. Marjorie Wales hadn't married Magnus for love, and she didn't understand her daughter's obsession with romance. As far as Marjorie was concerned, marriage was a business arrangement, and it was reflected in the bored way River's father looked at her mother over the dinner table every night. No; River wasn't going to spend her life with a man who didn't respect her, and she didn't care what her parents thought.

  She would stay in Honey Point just long enough to get back on her feet, and then she would go live with family in California, where she could finish her internship at a hospital there. And as far as River was concerned...

  Her mother would just have to deal with it.

  Chapter Two

  -Ben-

  Fall was the busiest time of year at Carlton Ranch, second only to spring, when the time came for the foals to be born. Fall meant visits from schools to learn about what went on at the ranch, and people bringing their horses to be stabled at Carlton's high-tech facilities for the winter. Ben loved being busy, because it meant he didn't have to stop and think about how lonely he was.

  It was one such busy October day when decided he needed a break. The ranch was full of second-graders from the elementary school, all learning to ride the ponies and milk the ranch's few dairy cows. Carlton patriarch George was on hand that morning, instead of at the diner for breakfast like most days, so he was helping out with the kids. George wasn't much of a talker, but when children showed up, he turned into Santa Claus.

  The weather was beautiful; the sun was bright, the air was crisp, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ben knew he needed to be the forest for a while, needed to be his true self. He walked out to the riding ring and gave his dad a soft pat on the back.

  “Dad, can you handle things here for a while? I need to go for a run.”

  George turned and looked at him with concern in his eyes. He'd noticed his middle boy's increasingly isolated behavior, but he didn't want to push.

  “Just watch your back, son. It's hunting season and I don't want you getting
hurt,” George whispered conspiratorially. Ben nodded and pulled his father into a quick embrace. Then he yelled over his shoulder for the kids to have a fun day, and started for woods. He heard a few of the parents whispering, wondering where he could be going in the cold in only a t-shirt and jeans. He also heard one of the younger mothers make an off-color comment about his “ass in those jeans.”

  Sometimes, Ben wasn't sure if his enhanced hearing was a blessing or a curse.

  Once Ben made it to the edge of the forest, he took off his boots and t-shirt, and left them under a wood crate he'd kept there for just this purpose. The feel of the branches and moss and falling leaves under his feet gave him a comfort he couldn't explain, but it was a comfort he couldn't find anywhere else in the world.

  Shifting hardly took him any time anymore; he'd adjusted to the family affliction with a lot more ease than Joe had. But unlike Joe, Ben had his father and big brother to talk him through it. Their Haida Indian ancestry had left them with a remarkable ability, the ability to shift into the mighty grizzly bear at will. But unlike Joe, who only shifted when it was absolutely necessary, Ben felt most at ease when he was in his animal form. Running through the forest, the wind at his back, that was the only time he felt free.

  Shifting wasn't painful. It was an almost euphoric experience; he'd feel a tingle run through his entire body as his bones and skin stretched and elongated to suit his animal form. Every time he shifted, he gave thanks to his ancestor Akecheta, for bestowing him with the unique ability to become such a powerful creature. While it wasn't the life George would have chosen for his boys, it was a life that suited Ben just fine.

  That day, the river behind the ranch was flowing cold and clear, which was Ben's favorite time to go for a swim. He rarely ate while in bear form; hunting wasn't his style. But he loved the power to wade through even the deepest water and the strongest undertow without fear of being pulled under.

  Since George wouldn't be expecting him back for a while, Ben began his run to the water, his long, lean legs stretching and bending, sending that tingling feeling from his head all the way to his toes. By the time he reached the river, he was a strong, brown grizzly, and everything was right with the world.

  Chapter Three

  -River-

  “So you're sure I can stay with you guys for a while? It won't be a problem?”

  River was on the phone with her cousin Melody. She couldn't stand staying with her parents for one more minute, and that meant fleeing Honey Point a few months ahead of schedule. Her internship at the hospital in San Francisco didn't start until January, but if she stayed in the same house with her mother for much longer, she was going to end up poisoning someone's dinner. She didn't even particularly care who's dinner it was.

  Melody laughed softly. “No, it's totally fine. I know how it feels to be stuck at home for longer than you want to be. Plus with all that crap Craig pulled on you... I know you need to get away. Just pack up the car and head down! How long do you think it will take you?”

  River mentally calculated the distance from Honey Point to San Francisco and grumbled when she realized how long a drive it was going to be.

  “It's going to take me at least five days, even if I drive ten hours a day. So it's going to be a while. But I'll check in from the road. Thanks for this, Melody. I just need to get out of this house ASAP.”

  The cousins said their goodbyes, and River made her way to her room to start packing. She was only in her room for a few moments when her mother came in, a Bloody Mary sloshing around in her hand. River sighed as loudly as she could, trying to make it clear that she didn't want to be interrupted. Her mother didn't take the hint.

  “Honey, I'm sure Craig will still take you back. It's not too late. And then you won't have to go expose yourself to all those... people... in a hospital. You can just stay home!”

  River scoffed at Marjorie. “I wouldn't go back to Craig if I was living in a box on the street. And I have no interest in 'just staying home.' Just because Craig didn't want me to work doesn't mean I don't want to. I'm leaving, mother. And nothing you say will convince me to stay. So just... go back to your drinking.”

  Marjorie clicked her tongue at River as she walked out of the room. River had put up with her mother's behavior for too long, and she was tired of it. It was time to get away, even it meant driving for almost a week to do it. Once she had all of her clothes jammed into a few duffle bags, she made her way out to her old Toyota sedan (that she'd bought with her own hard-earned money), and chucked her bags in the back. She was just about to get in the driver's seat when she saw her dad standing on the front step. His face looked sad, but resigned.

  River rushed over to him, and wrapped her father in a big hug.

  “I'm sorry, daddy. It's not your fault. I just... couldn't stay here. I couldn't listen to her telling me I'm living my life wrong. Not for one more minute.”

  Magnus kissed his daughter softly on the head.

  “You made the right decision, little girl. You deserve better than a man who doesn't see how wonderful you are. Go find something spectacular.”

  River gave her father one last hug, and rushed away to her car, hoping that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes as she left.

  - - -

  The road out of Honey Point was deserted, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. River couldn't help but notice how quiet and desolate everything was. Usually there were a few other truckers or locals out driving during the day, but it was rare that the main road out of town was this empty. River tried to put it out of her mind, though, and turned up her radio to full volume, as she sang along to the classic rock blasting from her speakers.

  River turned the corner that lead through the woods and out to the interstate, when she realized she had no idea where her cell phone was. She reached over and tried to dig through her purse with one hand, but she couldn't feel anything that felt like her phone. If she'd left without her phone, going back home to get was a humiliation she wasn't ready to bear. Frustrated, she glanced away from the road for a few seconds to try and see if she could spot it.

  It was just one second too long.

  When her eyes were on her purse, a doe darted out into the street, and stopped directly in the middle of the right lane. By the time River looked up, it was too late to stop, but her instincts prevented her from running down a deer. So she swerved; she swerved hard, and she swerved fast. The last thing she saw before the lights went out were a tree, coming at her at top speed, and there was nothing she could do about it...

  - - -

  Dusk was approaching as River fluttered back into consciousness, and the impending dark made it even harder for her to remember what had happened. She took a deep breath and began to try to recall the sequence of events. The phone. The deer. The crash. That's why everything she hurt. But why couldn't she move? She felt like she was pinned between between her seat and the steering wheel, but she couldn't move her legs either.

  I'm in the middle of nowhere, and I still don't know where my phone is. Crap. Shit. Crap, she thought bitterly. She had no idea what she was going to do. She hadn't seen a single car when she was on the road during the day, so what were the odds anyone would come by and find her now? River refused to get upset, or waste energy crying, even though that was all she wanted to do. No, she would take long, slow breaths, and use the energy she had to try and figure out what she had injured.

  She began trying to estimate the damage that had been done to her body, but she could tell that the cold was starting to mess with her head. River was just about to start screaming when she heard the furious growl of a bear in the distance. With a frustrated sigh, she muttered, “You have got to be kidding me.”

  The only benefit to her situation was that while she was trapped in the car, it would be almost impossible for an animal the size of a bear to get anywhere near her. But if she was bleeding, and she suspected she was, River knew it wouldn't be long before the small animals started nosing around
to see what was left of her. She made the decision to save her screams for scaring off coyotes and mountain lions, when the sound of crunching metal surrounded her like a symphony of terror.

  Had someone else crashed into the car? Was her car collapsing around her? River was convinced that she was about to die, but instead of the car exploding or buckling, the roof disappeared, as if it were being pulled off from above. She looked up as best as she was able, her neck pulling from tension and pain, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a massive grizzly bear standing over her. River blinked several times in an attempt to push the hallucination away.

  When her eyes cleared, the bear was gone, and the final sight she made out before she passed out again were the crystal clear eyes of a man... a man who was completely naked.

  Chapter Four

  -Ben-

  Nestled deep in the woods, a fire crackled warmly in the corner of a one-room log cabin. The cabin was small, but cozy, with more than enough furniture for a single guy living alone. When Ben had turned twenty and learned the truth about his heritage, he'd made the decision to move off of the ranch and into his own place, where he could figure things out. He'd found an abandoned cabin in the forest a few miles from the ranch, and fixed it up himself, adding electricity and indoor plumbing. It was perfect for him.

  But now, having this broken, beautiful woman in his bed, he couldn't help but feel it was a little small for someone to convalesce in. He knew he should have called the police or an ambulance or something, but he had no idea how he would explain the torn-off roof. Instead, he carefully removed the woman from the car, and once he was reasonably sure her neck and back weren't broken, he hastily carried her back to his cabin.