Hansel's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tale) (15 page)

Now he was allowing himself to be
waylaid, but he wouldn’t feel disgruntled about it. These ladies
had provided a place for him to lay his head, which provided him
with an opportunity to have a night with Greta that he would
remember for the rest of his life.

Backing up until the nose of his ride
was pointed down the drive, he headed toward the three females he
would be following into town.

One week, that was all he’d
spare.

He’d stay far from Greta and soon Den
would be a speck in his side mirrors.

~YH~

A growl was his greeting when he
pulled up behind the three ladies at the large warehouse at the end
of Main Street. A big, bulky were-male was standing inside working
on a piece of dark wood lying across a sawhorse. “What the hell are
you still doing here?”

Hansel slowly got off his ride, not
wanting to make any threatening move toward the agitated Were.
Evidently Rorke was not going to be so welcoming of ‘whatever help’
he received.

Advancing toward the male standing
underneath the open bay door, he held his hand out. “I’m
Hansel.”

Rorke’s gaze lowered to his hand, but
didn’t take it.

“
Rorke, I explained to you
that I would bring you someone that could assist you with your
backlog of orders.” Rita patted the big male’s shoulder. “Hansel
was gracious enough to volunteer to lend a hand when he heard about
your situation.”

“
Wasn’t that wonderful and
kind of him?” Octavia pressed her hands together before her chest
as if she were thanking the Great Spirit.

“
He even put aside his own
plans to be here.” Genma smiled and stepped beside Hansel, a show
of her support.

“
Well, he should just hop
back on his motorcycle and hightail it out of here. Last thing I
need is trouble.”

Lowering his hand, Hansel shook his
head. “I’m not here to bring any. But, if you have everything under
control I’ll leave you to it.” He hooked his thumbs in the back
pocket of his jeans and eyed Rorke.

Rorke stared back at him, his mental
struggle evident in the bunched skin between his brows.

“
Don’t be foolish, Rorke.”
Rita pointed into the warehouse. “We can clearly see all that
lumber you have piled up in there and we know your orders are
toppling over themselves with the festival coming and all the
offspring being born.”

“
Your parents raised you
boys to be proud but not to have so much pride you’d be stupid.”
Octavia folded her arms under her breasts and tilted her head
giving Rorke a stern look.

Dragging a hand through his short
hair, Rorke appeared as if he were a young boy being called to task
for his actions.

“
I’m sure you don’t want
to disappoint your parent in the afterlife with the Great Spirit,
now do you?” Rita placed a gentle hand on the side of Rorke’s
cheek.

Hansel couldn’t help envying the
maternal touch the other were-male received. Until he’d met these
three ladies yesterday he didn’t realize how much he missed the
warm, comforting embrace of his mother and the steady, strong
guidance of his father. It had been something else he kept hidden
from himself not to feel the hurt of the loss.

He turned toward the woods in the
distance behind the warehouse, not only to allow Rorke some privacy
while he wrestled with his emotions and conscience, but also to get
himself together. Standing there he took in a deep
breath.

“
What the hell, I’ll do
it. You ever work with a saw machine before?”

Facing the other male again, he saw
that Rorke had his hand held out to him. Stepping forward he shook
it. “My adult life has been filled with odd jobs. One of them was
as a construction worker with a small company that built houses. So
I’m more than familiar with woodwork.”

Pulling his hand back, Rorke gave a
sharp nod. “Then I’ll run you through the nuances of furniture
building. Shouldn’t take you long to grasp it, it’s just finer
details and craftsmanship than a house.”

“
I’m ready when you are.”
Hansel declared.

“
Well, since you males
have a lot of work to do, we will get out of your hair.” Rita
placed a kiss on Rorke’s cheek and patted his shoulder.

The other two ladies did the
same.

What shocked Hansel was when they made
a beeline toward him. Each of them gave him a soft peck on the
cheek before they headed to their car.

He fought the blush that warmed his
heart and raced up to his face.

Rorke cleared his throat.

Hansel was grateful the sound broke
the spell. He peered at the other Were and saw that Rorke was
rubbing the back of his neck, appearing to be struggling with the
onslaught of his own emotions.

“
Let’s get to work.” Rorke
led the way through the open bay.

“
Definitely.” Hansel
followed, preferring to work with his hands rather than dealing
with the emotions invading his heart.

Chapter Seven

“
Are you going to eat that
soup or play in it?”

Greta glanced up and looked into the
concerned eyes of Ebony. She let her spoon go and it clanged
against the side of the bowl. “I’m sorry. My mind is a little
preoccupied.”

“
It’s been that way for
days now. I thought our trip to the lake had helped you put some
things into perspective.” It was Friday and they were having lunch
at Gobi’s Diner, their end-of-the-week treat. Normally Greta
brought her lunch from home and ate it alone in the park, while
Ebony took lunch with Dainton. Most likely feeding their lust
somewhere because they always returned to the office glowing and
giving each other teasing smiles.

“
It did.”
Until I ran into Hansel.

“
Well, there has to be
more than work on your mind. If it is a mate, I heard the Bear Run
will take care of that,” Ebony teased.

It had been almost a week since she’d
been with Hansel and she couldn’t get him out of her mind. The
thought of the Run made her belly feel tight and her bear
unsettled. She couldn’t even imagine being kissed and loved by
another bear. However, she needed to get her emotions together
because it was just what she needed to do if she wanted to ever
have a life. Besides she and Hansel hadn’t exchanged even one bite
so the feeling she had that they were connected was ridiculous. It
was just because of their past, they were sort of siblings of
tragedy—nothing more.

“
Earth to Greta.” Ebony
snapped her fingers.

Eyeing the fingers in her face, then
looking past them to her friend, Greta laughed. “It seems I can’t
keep my thoughts from straying.”

“
What’s up? You can talk
to me.” Ebony picked up the second half of her smoked salmon wrap
and bit into it.

“
It’s nothing. I think I’m
just tired from the meetings surrounding the festival. Who would
have known that being the honoree at the festival meant I was
automatically placed on the planning committee.” Greta leaned back
against the booth.

“
The other day you said it
was interesting learning how everything came together.”

“
Don’t get me wrong, it
is. But, just makes my days a little long. You would think that
since this has been going on since Den County put up its first
General Store the festival would be a walk in the park. However,
the ten committee members all have their own idea of what should be
different this year from the last. How many booths there should
be…yada-yada-yada.”

Ebony laughed. “Oh, no. That would
drive me insane. I think that’s why I always worked better solo or
in charge. I just need people to do what I tell them.”

“
Then you end up in Den in
a three-deep office.” Shaking her head, she smiled. “Poor,
Ebony.”

Tossing her napkin at her, Ebony
grinned. “It is a change of life for me, but I enjoy it. We each
have our corner to manage and it works. When we come together to
decide on what outside companies to work with Dainton and I come to
a quick agreement.”

Greta rolled her eyes. “If that’s how
you see a two-hour discussion on the same points from two stubborn
Were-bears you’re right.” She rubbed her chin. “Now that I think
about it, the committee meetings are just like work.”

“
Keep it up and I’ll take
your dessert.”

“
I give, I give.” Greta
raised her hands up in the air. Ann Gobi made the best sherbet with
chunks of fruit in it. It was what she looked forward to treating
herself with all week.

“
Figure as much.” Ebony
drank her tea.

Picking up her spoon, Greta ate her
soup.

“
Lidi, I need you when you
have a second.” Ann stepped around the counter holding a large
to-go bag.

Lidi, a slim black female waitress,
picked up her tip from a table, then made her way to Ann.
“Yes?”

“
I need you to run this
food to Rorke over at the shop. He and Hansel have been working so
hard at the warehouse they forget to eat. Octavia usually comes and
gets it, but she’s tied up.”

Smiling, Lidi took the bag. “It would
be my pleasure.”

Ann couldn’t have said
Hansel.

The attractive, svelte waitress
quickly untied her apron and passed it to Ann as a large smile
graced her lips.

She was sure the female was all too
happy to take a lunch sack to a sexy were-male. Greta’s bear went
on alert.

“
Whoa, why are you
growling?” Ebony whispered as she looked around the diner. “Are we
under attack?”

Leaning in, Greta asked, “Did you hear
who Ann said was working with Rorke?”

Ebony shook her head. “I wasn’t paying
attention. Should I have been?”

“
No, no. It’s probably not
even important.” Greta felt agitated. She tapped her thumb
restlessly against the table warring with what she should do if
Hansel was still in town.

A warm hand covered hers, stilling her
movement.

Greta looked up into the concerned
gaze of her friend.

“
It has to be something,
you look like you’re going to crawl out of your skin. For a Were
that’s not saying much, except I’m not talking about you shifting.”
Ebony removed her hand. “So, talk to me.”

For a moment, Greta wanted to say it
was nothing but she did need to talk a little about it. “I think
Hansel is still in town.”

“
Mr. Sexy Biker Bear from
your past?” Ebony’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“
Yes.” Greta sighed. “It’s
none of my business why he’s still here, but the last time I saw
him he was clear about leaving town.”

“
And you’re a little hurt
that he’s been here all this time but hasn’t come to see
you.”

Burying her face in her hands, she
groaned. “I shouldn’t be.” She looked at Ebony. “Hansel’s life is
his own. We don’t have any ties to each other.”

“
Just a complicated tragic
past that the two of you experienced in some form together.”
Ebony’s gaze softened. “I’d find it hard not to feel some kind of
bond with a male that was an important part of my life.”

“
If it wasn’t for Hansel
helping me escape, I never would have made it back to my
family.”

“
Well, take it from
someone who has never had a family. That’s something to be grateful
for and have a special place in my heart for the person who made it
happen.”

Greta knew Ebony was correct. However,
things between her and Hansel were a little more complicated than
that, especially since they had sex. Something she would not have
done if she’d known he planned to hang around in Den.

Liar. Her bear
contradicted.

“
So, what are you going to
do? Sit here or find out why your Were-bear is in town?”

“
He’s not my anything.”
Greta picked up her water and drank, feeling unsure of
herself.

“
Dessert ladies?” Minni,
their waitress, came with her tray and collected their lunch
dishes.

“
I’ll have two orders of
apple crisps with extra honey glaze to go,” Ebony never looked away
from Greta.

Understanding her friend’s message,
Greta dug into her purse and pulled out enough money for both
lunches and tip and placed it on the table. “Nothing for me.” She
scooted to the end of the bench. “I may be a little late returning
from lunch.”

“
I’ll let Dainton know.
I’m sure the dessert will keep away any questions he’d ask.” Ebony
winked at her.

“
Thank you.” Greta covered
her friend’s hand on the table. She wished that she could
communicate more about what was going on, but Greta wasn’t even
sure herself.

“
Anytime.”

Greta left the diner.

~YH~

“
She’s attractive and
definitely has a thing for you.”

“
I guess.” Rorke glanced
out the front of the warehouse window as the bright orange SUV
pulled away. Lidi, a waitress from Gobi’s, had just left after
bringing them lunch.