Mary and the Bear

Chapter Two

The scenery in the mountains was just amazing. Too bad she was too tired to enjoy it. Mary Elizabeth was mentally and physically exhausted. She'd broken the news to the family the next day, during their weekly, Sunday dinner get-together. In hindsight, maybe she should have waited, but there was no time to delay. The longer she waited, the more time her mother had to wear her down.

Her mother didn't take the news of her moving well. To say her reaction was unpleasant was putting it mild. She went ballistic. “Mary Elizabeth Brown, I can't believe you would do something like this. How can you be so selfish? You know with your sister gone, we need you now more than ever. Who's going to cook Sunday dinner? Who's going to drive me to my hair appointments and bridge games? Who's supposed to take our clothing to the dry cleaner? You know we depend on you."

"Mother, you and daddy don't need me. You have a brand new car that you're perfectly capable of driving. You'll be just fine and don't forget about Charles. You know you can call him if you need anything. North Carolina isn't that far. I'll still come home for visits. Between phone calls and emails, it will be like I'm still here."

Nothing Mary Elizabeth said pacified her.

Her mother was dead set against her leaving and did everything in her power to talk her out of it. She got her friends involved. Mary Elizabeth's phone rang off of the hook with people calling to talk her out of it. She couldn't go anywhere in town without someone stopping her to express their opinion of her actions. Her mother even complained to their pastor and then he was on her case as well.

If it hadn't been for her father, Mary Elizabeth would have caved under all of the pressure. Just when she was ready to give in, call Kiesha and tell her she wouldn't be coming after all, her father had a little talk with her.

"Mary Elizabeth, I know I haven't been the best father to you girls. I let your mother have her way because it was easier to give in than to fight for what I wanted. I should have stood up to her more often, especially about her treatment of you. I realized that when Babs died. Don't be like me. Fight for what you want. Take advantage of this opportunity. Do whatever you have to do to get away from here and experience life. You've spent enough of your life catering to the whims of this family. It's time you did something for yourself."

Mary Elizabeth pulled her thoughts from the past and consulted the map. She was getting close and needed to pay attention if she didn't want to get lost. Kiesha said Refuge was tucked out of the way and hard to find, and this hazy twilight that made it seem later than it was didn't help. She tried to leave early so it would still be light when she reached her destination, but Charles showed up at her apartment this morning in one last determined bid to get her to stay, delaying her departure.

Finally, she spotted the last turnoff. From here it was a straight shot into town. Alex, Kiesha's fiancé, made arrangements for her to rent the only available apartment in town. It was located above Refuge's only eating establishment, which was probably why it was sitting empty. Not many people would want to live above a place that was noisy and always smelt like food. She was too happy to have a place of her own to care.

An hour later she pulled into a parking space in front of the crowded diner. The sign above it read, “Eat at Moe's.” Someone had a really strange sense of humor. Hugh Mosely, the owner of the apartment, was expecting her. She'd been instructed to ask for him in the diner.

After locking the truck, she walked inside. Several people stopped what they were doing to gawk at her. Spotting the waitress, she walked over to her. Her nametag read Cyndi. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Hugh?"

Cyndi arched one eyebrow, looked her up and down and then turned away, dismissing her as unimportant. “Hugh! Someone to see you,” she hollered, then went back to flirting with the male customers at the counter.

"I'll be there in a sec.” A deep voice that sent shivers down her spine came from the kitchen area. Around her, she could hear customers speculating what her business with Hugh might be.

"Who wants me?” She turned at the sound of the voice behind her. Holy moly! A great big mountain of a man was coming toward her. He was tall, very tall and built like a linebacker. The closer he came, the bigger he grew and the more her head tipped back to take him all in. Good Lord, and she'd thought Alex was big. He must have been in the kitchen for he was wearing a white apron and wiping his hand on a towel. His jet-black hair was pulled back into a queue. From this angle, she couldn't tell how long it was.

He was an attractive man, despite or perhaps because of his size. He had high cheekbones and a dusky complexion that betrayed his Native American ancestry. His nose was long and sharp and his lips were sensuously full.

She attempted to pull her sluggish mind together. His mammoth size had briefly shocked her out of her weariness, but now it was all rushing back. “Me,” she croaked. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “I mean, I was told to see you about the apartment upstairs?"

"Are you Mary Elizabeth?"

God, she loved his voice. It was deep like Barry White's and made her feel all shivery inside. “Yes."

"Bring your vehicle around back. There's a stairway to the apartment. I'll meet you with the keys.” That said, he turned and walked away.

Okay, obviously a man of few words. Ready to get settled in after the long drive, she trudged back out to the truck to do as he instructed. She backed out of the parking space, drove around to the back of the diner, and parked near the bottom of the stairs. According to Alex, the apartment was furnished, which was a big plus. Less stuff she needed to transport. Her truck was loaded with clothes and personal items that she couldn't bear to part with, and of course, her expensive cookware. The rest of her things she'd placed on consignment at the store back home.

Hugh was waiting at the bottom of the stairs as promised. Turning off the engine, she grabbed her purse and jump out of the truck. He led the way up the stairs, talking as he went. “It's a two bedroom apartment, fully furnished. The furniture is old and the place needs a new coat of paint, but the heat and air work just fine. Brand new appliances and water heater. Anything don't work, you let me know."

He opened the door and motioned her inside. “I'm downstairs in the diner most of the time. Rent is due on the first, no later than the fifth. You need an extension, you talk to me and we'll work something out. Rent is three hundred a month plus a hundred dollar deposit. Feel free to fix the place up any way you like. God knows it needs it. Any questions?"

"You have a lease for me to sign?” He didn't have any paperwork in his hands. She wanted to get everything settled tonight.

"No lease needed. Alex says you're good people and that's enough for me. Here are your keys. If you lock yourself out, I keep a spare set downstairs in the office. If you'd like to eat in the diner, tenants get a fifty percent discount. Come down tonight when you finish unloading and eat, on the house. By the way, utilities are included in the rent. Can't separate them from the diner below so you won't be getting a bill. Stove's gas. Hope that won't be a problem. Phone's already on. Number's listed beside it."

With that, he dropped the keys in her hand, took one last look around and headed out the door. For such a big man, he moved quickly and quietly. She couldn't even hear him on the stairs as he descended.

Looking around at what was to be her new home, she realized she had a lot of work to do. The place was definitely a fixer-upper. A few coats of paint would go a long way toward sprucing it up. You could tell it had been several years since anyone had lived there.

Under the tiredness, there was a tiny spark of excitement growing. She'd always liked do-it-yourself projects and now she could indulge. She'd done it. She'd moved, and now she had two weeks to get settled into her new place before reporting to work.

A brief look at her watch showed it was almost six p.m.. She made herself get moving. There was the truck to unload, the bed to make and some cleaning to be done before she could call it a night. Groceries would have to wait until tomorrow. Good thing she'd packed a few things and stored them in a cooler for the trip. They should suffice until she could get to the store.

Trudging down the stairs, she made the first of many trips to the truck. She doubted she'd get everything unloaded tonight, but at least she'd have the essentials. One thing for sure, after all of this, she shouldn't have any problems sleeping.

It was close to eight o'clock when she finished. She was deeply satisfied with all she'd accomplished today. It had been a long day. She was exhausted, but there were still a few things to do before she could call it a night. She cleaned the bathroom, made the bed and unpacked the few essentials that she'd need in the morning.

That done, Mary Elizabeth gave a sigh of relief. She considered going down to the dinner for some real food, but was too tired. She fixed a sandwich and ate it standing up at the kitchen counter. Now that she wasn't moving as much, she realized it was cold in the apartment. After searching for a few minutes, she managed to find the thermostat and turn on the heat. She made sure everything was locked up tight, turned off the lights and went into the bedroom.

She grabbed her nightclothes and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. She really wanted to soak in the surprisingly large tub, but was afraid she'd fall asleep and drown. Rushing through her shower, she dressed for bed and turned in for the night.

Normally she had problems sleeping in unfamiliar beds and strange surroundings. She prayed that tonight it wouldn't be an issue. She needed sleep. In the last few weeks since Babs died, she'd only napped. If she didn't get any rest tonight, she'd break down and buy some sleeping pills.

As she was falling asleep, her thoughts drifted back to her new landlord. What a strange man. He was appealing, but not handsome in the traditional sense. Grandma Pete would have said that his face had character. Her last thought would have shocked her if she'd been more alert. She wondered if it were true what they said about men with big hands and feet.

Hugh glanced through the open window of the kitchen into the dining room every time the door opened. He wondered when his new tenant would show up. It didn't sit well with him that he'd left her to unload all of the boxes he'd seen piled on the back of her truck by herself. Unfortunately, he had a diner to run and the food wouldn't cook itself.

For a human, she did an admirable job of hiding her reaction to his size. People quivered with fear upon first seeing him. They equated his largeness with violence. Then, there were the women. The ones whose eyes would measure the size of his body before falling to his crotch like they had x-ray vision. Those wanted to see if his penis was a match for the rest of him. It was, but they'd never know. Aggressive women were not attractive to him.

He knew his size was intimidating. It was something he used to his advantage when needed, like while he served in the military. Like all were-bears, he was very large and very strong. In bear form, he was over five hundred pounds of pure muscle. Despite his appearance, he was a gentle man until riled. Fortunately, it took a lot to spark his temper.

One more hour and he could pack up and go home. Again his thoughts wondered back to his tenant. She was a little bitty thing. He admitted to himself that she probably didn't appear small to anyone else, but it was all comparatively speaking. He was six-seven and weighed in at over three hundred pounds of solid muscle. To him, most women were small, especially this one that barely managed to come up to his sternum.

This one managed to bring out his protective instincts. There was a sadness in her eyes that punched him right in the gut. He didn't know what her story was, but could tell she'd recently been through the wringer. If her eyes hadn't given her away, the dark circles under them and her pallor would have. He made his spiel about the apartment as short as possible because she was so tired, she'd swayed on her feet. It made him want to gather her close and tell her everything would be alright.

He would have to pick her up to kiss her. The thought stopped him in his tracks. Where had that come from? He couldn't remember the last time a woman managed to catch his interest sexually. The hours he put in at the diner were long. He had neither the time nor the energy for a relationship. Yes, he had needs but he was past the age where he needed sex just for the sake of sex. He was at a time in his life where he was looking for a long-term relationship, something that would lead to marriage and kids. He was looking for a mate.

His tenant was off limits, for several reasons. First and foremost, Alex requested that he watch out for her. That meant she was under Hugh's protection. Also, she was living in his building and it was bad business to start something sexual with someone he was in a business relationship with. Lawsuits had been won over less. Besides, she didn't need any attention from him. Soon, she'd have men coming out of the woods to take a good sniff at her, literally. Young, single women were in short supply in Refuge. The human men in town would be checking her out to see if she was a potential conquest. The male shifters would be sniffing her to determine if she was their One—their true mate. He would not be one of them.

Finding a true mate among humans was rare. True mates were humans whose DNA was compatible with the shifter to whom they destined to be mated. The odds of his finding a human female match was between slim and none. The lack of compatible mates was one of the reasons shifters as a whole were dying out. There'd be no true mate for him. He didn't have one. As far as he knew, the true mates discovered to date had all been for wolf shifters.

The thought saddened him because his species was nearly extinct. Their birth rates were extremely low. In his lifetime, he'd only run across three other were-bears, and those were all male. Breeding with a female of another species was not an option. Just as in nature bears didn't breed with wolves, the same was true for shifters. While he could and did occasionally have sex with females of other species, he couldn't procreate with them. If he took a woman from another species—including humans—as mate, there would be no children, and he wanted a family.

He was proud of who and what he was. He was determined to do all that he could to continue his species. To that end, he'd been hunting for a female were-bear. He'd managed to find an on-line dating service that matched shape-shifters with others of their species. The service was a well-kept and closely guarded secret. Many of his kind used it in an effort to find compatible mates. So far, the service managed to find two promising prospects.

He'd been meeting with the two ladies in a supervised chat room, trying to get a feel for them. He had no idea what they looked like or where they were located. He was hoping one of them would accept him as mate, but competition was stiff. There were several males for them to choose from. They could afford to be picky and take their time.

Almost closing time. Mary Elizabeth must be too tired to take him up on his offer. He wasn't exactly sure what made him do it. It wasn't like him to offer free or discounted meals—to anyone. He never discounted a tenant's meal. She got to him, and that wasn't good. He'd have to be careful. He was determined to have offspring and she was a threat to all of his carefully laid plans.

It was the sun shining directly in her face that woke Mary Elizabeth the next morning. Squinting, she raised a hand to shield her eyes and looked at the time. Ten a.m. Boy, it felt like she'd just closed her eyes. More sleep sounded like a good idea, but she had too much to do. She got out of bed, and began making plans for the day.

A trip to the grocery store to stock her kitchen was first on her agenda. Then, the apartment needed cleaning from top to bottom. She also needed to see what was available in the way of paint and supplies around town. She was glad Hugh gave her permission to fix the place up any way she liked.

There was nothing she wanted to eat in the kitchen. She picked up her purse and headed to the diner. The heavenly aroma of cooking food hit her nostrils as soon as she opened the door, making her stomach rumble. She sat at the counter and studied the menu to see what her choices were.

"What can I get for you?” There was a different waitress on duty this morning.

"A ham and cheese omelet with toast on the side. A cup of coffee to drink."

The waitress's name was Anne. After placing her order in the window, she came back and poured Mary Elizabeth's coffee. “You must be the new tenant Hugh told me about. You're the friend of Alex's mate, Kiesha?"

"Yes, that's me. I arrived last night."

"That's what Hugh said. Well, welcome to Refuge. There's not much to it, but the folks here are friendly. You need anything, you let me know, ya hear? I can give you directions and help you find your way around until you get settled."

"Thanks. I appreciate the offer. I need to buy groceries and paint. I saw the grocery store on the way in. Is there anyone around here that sells paint?"

"The hardware store closed down a few years back, but there's a Home Depot about forty-five minutes away in the next town over. You might want to get your groceries there, too. The store here is fine for some things, but for a major stocking job like what you're needing, I would do my shopping at one of the stores there. Bigger selection, greater variety and better prices. I can give you directions on how to get there so that you don't get lost."

"Thank you. I appreciate the help and the advice."

"Oops, got to go. There's your food. I'll have the directions wrote down for you before you go.” She walked off to see about her other customers.

Anne was really nice, a true example of small town friendliness. She was an older woman, in her late forties maybe? Her ash blonde hair was liberally streaked with gray. She had a kind face, and the lines around her mouth and eyes suggested that she spent a lot of time smiling. There was a motherly look about her, and her manner enforced Mary Elizabeth's opinion that this woman was the nurturing type. She was looking forward to getting to know her better.

Polishing off her plate, she allowed herself one more cup of coffee before going to the register to pay. Anne handed her the directions as promised. Mary Elizabeth gave her a hefty tip then collected her truck and went to do her shopping.