Bear Meets Bride (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance) (5 page)

“Yes, there are only two main paths coming from the mountain and you’re heading to the wrong one. If you start going uphill, that will take you to the right one, and even if you have to try a few of the paths that lead from there, the man was insistent the body is less than a hundred feet away.”

“Okay, that sounds good. Hey, you set a date yet?”

Nana was now engaged to be married, and the last time Tom had spoken to her, she’d been trying to figure out a good date for a wedding.

“Not yet, but it’s all in hand,” she replied.

“Well, good luck getting the place you want. I’ll see you back at the office.”

“Thanks! Bye.”

Tom might have ended the conversation in a friendly manner, but the look on his face told a completely different story. He had been challenging the two colleagues to break his stare but, perhaps spurred on by thinking they outnumbered him, their beady eyes continued to point his way.

“What’s your problem, guys? You want to say something, just say it.”

Nothing came back, though Tom felt all eyes turn his way.

“Well, come on! Do you think I’m the killer or what?”

“Woah there!” Jake was at his side in a flash, hands raised to calm the situation. “Let’s not get carried away. He’s right, though. Boys, if you want to say something then now’s the time…come on now, we’re a team here. Let’s say what’s going through our heads.”

Eventually one of them piped up, half sulkily, half apologetically now that Jake was involved.

“We just wondered if…if Tom must know this killer? That‘s all,” the first lad said. “We weren’t accusing him of anything.”

“You mean we’re all in it together? All us bear shifters, we meet at night and fuck in the woods then keep it to ourselves when one of us goes a bit nutty?” Tom replied, his hands balling into tight fists by his side. “Well, let me educate you. Bears are solitary creatures; when I’m in bear form the last thing I want to see is another bear. There are hundreds of us in Montana, though, so if you want to arrest us all, start here.”

“Well, that would be really useful for our investigation,” said Jake. “Losing the one person who really understands bears. Tom, why don’t you give me a few moments with our young recruits here; they need a bit more educating…”
 

7

Feeling sleepy-headed, though still in a state of bliss, Erin was on a bit of a ‘go-slow’ at work but hoped that her current customers didn’t mind. Most of them came to her bakery for something casual and laid-back, so it was about time she got in on the act for a change. Last night felt like the sweetest dream she was still waking up from, feeling satisfied by the slow realization that it had all really happened.

The wait to feel so desired had been worth it, and the man she had chosen was really something of a dream. Erin felt so comfortable with him, and if he was the kind of man to play on a woman’s dreams and then never turn up again, then he should have been making his way to Hollywood because he was clearly a skilled actor. He had promised to call her later in the day, even if work meant he could only be brief, and she didn’t imagine he would let her down. What’s more, she couldn’t think of even any frivolous reason as to why he might not be the man for her. Having sought love and attention after too long on her own, Erin might have even found a permanent solution at the first time of asking.

Dreamily, she went about her tasks, daring to wonder what strange turn of events or dark secrets could possibly come between them. As far as she was concerned, they were both good simple folk, which was exactly what she wanted to be. There was no reason for the feelings between them to ever become sullied or complicated if they remained true to each other, and if all the evils in the world stayed away. What could it possibly want with them anyway?

“What sweet snacks do you recommend?”

Looking up, Erin’s reverie was interrupted by a man she hadn’t seen come in, although he was as tall and broad-shouldered as anyone who had been in her bakery. She didn’t recognize this man, which wasn’t unusual considering the amount of truck drivers from out of town she was able to serve, but a tone of familiarity in his voice almost made her think she should have. Unusually for the area, he had platinum blond hair and looked very Scandinavian in origin, though his accent was pure Montana.

“Er…sweets?” Erin replied, trying to get her brain working.

“I just have a ravenous and shameless craving today,” the man explained, “to completely cut out vital nutrients altogether and head straight to the good stuff. You know, the guilty pleasures.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you,” Erin said with a smile.

“I was wondering, though, your bakery is clearly a popular place, so you must have a signature dish? You know, a local favorite to which people often say ‘You must try…’?”

“The lemon meringue pie!” One of Erin’s customers, who was just finishing his burger, suddenly called out to them, accompanied by a few nods of the heads from fellow diners.

“I was just about to say,” Erin confirmed, having opened her mouth only to find the answer coming from elsewhere, “the lemon meringue pie.”

“Much obliged, sir,” the blond-haired newcomer gestured to the trucker who had yelled up. Then turning back to Erin, he said, ‘Well, you can’t get more evidence than that; the consumer has clearly spoken. Young lady, I’ll take one—no—if I may purchase two slices of your fine lemon meringue pie and a bottle of Coke, I suspect I will leave here a happy customer.’

“Two slices it is,” she replied, “and I hope the second is just as satisfying as the first.”

“Oh, you’re underestimating my appetite, Miss… erm?”

“Silguero. Erin Silguero.”

“Erin, my name is Andrew Karl Neiman,” he told her, reaching out to shake her hand with a most courteous smile.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Neiman.”

“Call me Andrew, and…”

Just then the rhythm of the conversation was interrupted as Mr. Neiman stopped and appeared to sniff the air, as if coming across an aroma from distant memory he was unprepared to encounter.

“You thinking of something savory, Andrew?” Erin asked, following his gaze to a case which was filled with spinach and ricotta rolls.

“No, it’s just…I mean, it’s not the food, I think it was your perfume. Reminds me of an old acquaintance. But I apologize, my mind does drift very easily from one subject to the next. Yes! Lemon meringue pie is the dish of the day as far as I am concerned. I understand the need for good health, but a man can allow himself a detour every now and then.”

“Coming right up,” Erin replied, not sure what to make of the perfume comment, although the exchange was still due to become even more complex.

“You’re right, you know,” another one of the truck drivers spoke up. “Hard-working folk like us shouldn’t be afraid to treat ourselves more often.”

“I thoroughly agree with you, sir,” Mr. Neiman replied.

“In fact,” the man, who was a regular but one Erin had never learned the name of, went on, “young Erin, if you want to dish me up one of those fine slices it would be mightily appreciated.”

“Me too,” added the first trucker.

“Why don’t we see if we can make a bit more out of this solidarity, gentlemen?” Mr. Neiman then continued, raising his voice so as to address the whole bakery. “Let me see now, how many of us fine hard-working folk are here now? One, two… nine of us—and how many slices of this fine pie? Let me see, yes ten pieces; well, this is perfect, gentlemen!”

Neiman then clapped his hands with great delight, and Erin noted with some bemusement that he genuinely had the attention of all her customers. It was the first speech anyone had made in her place and looked like it was going down pretty well—and all because of a craving for lemon meringue pie.

“If we are so inclined to seize the moment, gentlemen,” he went on, “I’d wager the whole bunch of us can bring ourselves to relieving young Erin here of her entire lemon meringue pie, and up her income for the day in the process.”

“Yeah, let’s do it’,” and “Count me in,” were just two of the comments that then flew back, and that was how Erin sold an entire lemon meringue pie to nine customers at the same time. Very soon she was lining up the plates and, thanks to Mr. Neiman insisting she serve everyone before him, had shared out the slices and allowed them all to start tucking in.

“I’m ravenous but I do love anticipation,” Mr. Neiman explained when she finally got round to serving him. “And if this pie is every bit as good as I think it is going to be, Erin,” he added, “then that price is daylight robbery.”

“Then I might have you arrested,” she replied, catching her breath, “but not till you’ve finished the pie, I’m not that cruel.”

“Why, is this a cop hangout or something?” he asked, pretending to look perturbed.

“Very much so,” she replied.

“Ooh, I’d better watch my step then,” he said with a wink, before finally heading off to sit down and sort out his most publicized of appetites.

Erin wasn’t sure she had ever heard such a contented sound in her bakery as that which then ensued; the sound of nine spoons frequently tapping their plates as her entire lemon meringue pie was consumed. It was a surreal moment, and Mr. Neiman was clearly quite a character, but she didn’t see anything wrong with confidence and eccentricity, especially when her customers found it so charismatic.

Having decided to hide in the backroom for a minute so no one could see her smirking, Erin was only brought back to the counter when she heard another individual entering and returned to see that it was none other than Nana Morgan.

The two of them had something in common in that pretty much everyone in Cold Lake knew who they were. Erin knew that Nana was highly-spoken of and, though she didn’t know her incredibly well, realized then that she must have known and worked with Tom. If their relationship was not so young she would’ve been tempted to ask about his police work, but it would’ve been bad to give the game away and allow the other cops some gossip before Tom had the chance to tell them himself. Erin couldn’t help but be curious, however, especially as Nana ordered a lot of coffee and muffins, causing her to wonder if any of them were destined for her lover’s lips.

“You got a few hungry mouths back there at the station?” she asked.

“You bet,” Nana replied. “Haven’t seen us all this busy for quite a while.”

“And they’ve got you sourcing supplies for them?”

“Oh, this is a treat they don’t know about,” Nana replied. “Most of them have been skipping lunch today trying to draw up leads and handling the press, so they should appreciate the sustenance.”

“They’ll be singing your praises, I imagine.”

“It keeps them in my good books for when I’m shouting orders at them down the receiver tomorrow,” she confessed. “So it’s not completely selfless.”

“Is it this murder spree thing?” Erin asked.

“Yep. Another body today. Seriously, Erin, don’t be lingering around your bakery at night alone. All he’s killed is men so far, but no one is safe. Of all things, a bear shifter serial killer.”

“I didn’t know
that
!” Erin replied, realizing she hadn’t paid enough attention to what was going on. “That’s pretty, erm… controversial, isn’t it?”

“To put it lightly. Gonna take a lot of guns to bring this one down, and I wouldn’t want to be the one praying the trigger I pulled turns out to be worth it. If not, what chance do you have?”

“Wow, the police are really going to be in danger themselves, huh?” Erin remarked, unable to avoid thinking of Tom and the risk he might face.

“I don’t envy them,” Nana replied, “unless we can find a way to trace the killer in their human form, but that’s not going to be easy.”

“What a stupid thing to do!” Erin said, suddenly thinking out loud and remembering back to when she had found a bear eating all her produce.

“What’s that?” Nana asked, looking confused.

“Oh, sorry, I just remembered something. A few months back,” Erin told her, “a really doofus story, but I found a wild bear in here one morning eating all the food.”

“You’re joking! A black bear?”

“No, a big grizzly or something, stuffing its face. The stupid thing was, I was so angry and not thinking straight that I grabbed a broom and just started swatting at it and screaming at it for eating all my pies.”

“
What
?”

“I know, if it was vicious or something I wouldn’t have stood a chance, but for some reason I just went crazy.”

“We might need some of your bravery in the days ahead,” Nana told said, astounded by the story, “but, Erin, please don’t do that again.”

Both of them agreed this was wise, and Nana left armed with the coffee and muffins she had come for. In deep thought for a couple of minutes after the exchange, it was only then that Erin noticed that Mr. Neiman had also left after failing to touch his second lemon meringue slice. Not such a sweet tooth after all, she thought, but why hadn’t he asked for a bag to take it with him?

***

It was near closing time when Tom finally called. By then, Erin was really exhausted, but hearing his voice succeeded in bringing a smile back to her face.

“Hey you!” she answered.

“There’s a voice I’ve missed all day,” he replied, causing a feeling of warm contentment to ignite deep inside her. Knowing that a man fancies you was one thing, hearing that he misses you was even better.

“You too, officer,” she replied.

“Listen, I was sort of hoping to come by,” he said, “but we’re snowed in with work here at the office.”

“That’s okay, I heard,” she said. “Nana was in here earlier—how were those muffins?”

“Nana? Oh yes, great as usual. She’s always looking out for our morale, that one.”

“Well, I’m glad they sufficed.”

“Listen,” he offered, “I don’t know when things are going to calm down, but as soon as they do either I’ll give you a call, or else I’ll come straight to the bakery and see you.”

“Sounds great. No worries, just catch that nasty bear shifter,” she replied.

“Erm…yeah, sure,” he replied, with a curious half laugh.

“See you soon,” Erin told him, closing her eyes tight and letting her skin recall every touch and caress from the previous night.

Her body still tingled wherever his lips had been, though some parts were sore and sensitive too…but in a good way.