Bear in Mind Read online

  Bear in Mind

  Pacific Northwest Bears

  Moxie North

  Last Page Publishing

  Contents

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  About the Author

  Also by Moxie North

  Copyright

  About the Author

  More Moxie North Titles on Amazon

  Subscribe to Moxie’s Newsletter

  Copyright © 2015 Moxie North

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Design by Jacqueline Sweet

  @MoxieNorthBooks

  MoxieNorthBooks

  Chapter 1

  Wyatt Rochon loved his brother, truly he did. But watching him with his new mate and fiancée was annoying as hell and bittersweet at the same time.

  Driving through the forest heading to base camp, Wyatt couldn’t help but ponder the changes his family had gone through in the last few weeks.

  Finding someone to date was hard, finding one’s mate was nearly impossible, at least it seemed that way to Wyatt. How was a shifter supposed to find The One? As a bear shifter from a long line of bears, Wyatt felt like he had been looking his whole life.

  His family lived in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. The Rochons were the sole owners of Rochon Enterprises. They managed, logged and processed thousands of acres of private and government timber every year.

  Being bear shifters they had always found their home in the woods. For generations, they had roamed from Oregon to Canada as their families grew. Keeping to themselves to guard their secret, it was often a lonely life.

  Werebears could date sure, they could even have sex and enjoy it. But it was never enough. There was always that crucial part missing. To Wyatt’s thinking the whole idea of The One was make-believe even though he felt the absence himself. Granted, his parents were mated bears, but they could have just fallen in love like average people and called it mating.

  When his brother Cage found his mate Sophie, Wyatt couldn’t deny it any longer. His brother was struck down with the enormity of finding his One. The immediate love and belonging that his brother showed to the curvy British beauty had him no longer doubting it was possible.

  At forty-nine years old and the middle son, he was grateful werebears aged slower than humans since he didn’t look a day over thirty. The odds of finding his mate seemed impossible and he needed every year he had. He always assumed it would be another bear if not another shifter. It wasn’t unheard of for shifters to cross breed. Their cubs usually ended up one or the other depending on dominate genes.

  After meeting Sophie, his new sister-in-law, a whole new world had opened up for Wyatt. What if his mate was human? She could be anywhere. He could find her today, or tomorrow, or never, he thought glumly.

  He used to call his brother a grumpy bear, now he had taken on that title. His brother was a blissfully happy bear now. It was like some messed up dwarf tale replaced with bears.

  Shit, he needed to get his mind on his work. Usually, he was the Push for the teams, managing the cuts and making sure everything ran smoothly. They were also dealing with the possibility of a saboteur in their midst, which kept him distracted from the running of the company.

  Sophie had been hurt a number of weeks ago, spending the night in the hospital and making his brother almost bear out at the doctor. Someone had clearly tampered with their equipment causing the hydraulic line to break and hit Sophie.

  Normally the family had protesters not liking how they harvested trees, or that they touched them at all. They didn’t mind using giant poster boards made out of paper from the trees they cut down to tell them how terrible they were though. The irony was never lost on him.

  The Rochon family had worked hard to make their business the best they could, in the safest and the least environmentally impactful way. Wyatt ran the cuts and his little brother, Conner, was in charge of replanting. They always planted two trees for every one they harvested. Time and careful conservation made sure they always had timber and the animals always had a home.

  It was more than money to them, their bears needed land to roam. Other shifters needed the forests too. A wolf pack just north of them in Canada would come down and visit for a change of scenery sometimes. They were also close to a pack of cougars in Northern California. The land was crucial to their clans and other packs’ happiness.

  Someone was threatening their happiness and Wyatt was not about to let that happen.

  Pulling into the lot where they kept their work trailers, Wyatt unfolded his six-foot-four-inch frame from his red truck and headed towards the mess hall. He should check in on Cage and Conner but he really hoped Cage had let poor Sophie out of bed long enough for her to rustle up some grub. His brother was making up for lost time being celibate waiting for his mate.

  Sophie was the cute, curvy British girl Cage had hired as their cook. And she could cook. He hadn’t heard one complaint from the crew since she started. Hoping to get at least a to-go box, he strode into the hall to the smell of bacon and eggs. He found huge trays of some kind of egg bake in the warmers along the buffet line. He loaded up his container and grabbed a handful of bacon. Stopping to top off the travel coffee mug he brought with him, he headed over to the office to see if Cage was in yet.

  Seeing his brother sitting at his desk, Wyatt dropped to the seat across from him, kicked his feet up on the desk and crossed them at the ankle. This earned him a glare from his big brother. Flipping open the lid on the box he dug into the cheesy egg bake.

  Moaning and trying to chew with his mouth closed, he looked up to see Cage glaring at him.

  “What?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

  “Must you eat in here, stuffing your gob?” Cage growled.

  “Gob? Seriously? Sophie’s slang is wearing off on you, bro,” he replied shoveling another forkful into his mouth.

  “I know, she says her mother would throw a fit if she ever heard her use it,” he said with a chuckle. Sophie’s family was upper crust and as Sophie described, true snobs. He hadn’t met them yet, but he knew the day was fast approaching. Sophie still hadn’t told them about Cage or that they were getting married. They were already mated, the wedding was just a human formality.

  “Better play nice with your momma-in-law,” Wyatt taunted.

  “Just you wait, smartass, your time will come,” Cage promised.

  “So you say, I think you may be the one and only producer of cubs for mom to spoil,” he said sadly.

  Shaking his head at his brother, Cage offered, “It will happen when you least expect it, little brother.”

  Wyatt just sniffed and kept eating.

  “By the way, we got another call from the DNR again. They want to review the last cut to ensure we haven’t missed anything,” Cage grumbled into his desk as he shifted through his paperwork.

  “Fuck me,” Wyatt threw his container on the desk. “Those assholes know good and well we don’t miss anything. We just finished that cut and haven’t had time to do clean up. We aren’t even ready for replanting yet.”

  “I know that and you know that. Hell, they even know that. But if they didn’t bust our balls about it they wouldn’t be able to justify their paychecks.”

  �
�It’s not even summer! It’s a sopping wet mess out there, I doubt we are at risk of a wildfire anytime soon,” Wyatt said, getting to his feet. Damn, he hated those busybodies. He worked with all sorts of government officials in his line of work. They had a great partnership, managing the lands for the betterment of the community and for the sake of maintaining the natural habitats. But every once in a while one of the bureaucrats rubbed him wrong, and his bear didn’t like to be touched.

  Last year, he had a Department of Natural Resources officer that was sure they were clear cutting to cover up a marijuana grow on the other side of the ridge. Obviously, it was not the case, but it was a hassle nonetheless.

  “Just handle it, Wyatt. Play nice and show them we are on track and aren’t delaying the clean up.”

  “I’ll deal with them if you call them. I can’t listen to another tubby s.o.b. huffing into the phone from the desk he never leaves telling me about my trees,” he barked and stomped out the door. He had work to do and it didn’t involve bored pencil pushers.

  Heading to his truck he saw Sophie walking towards the office with a container that probably contained breakfast for Cage.

  “Morning, sugar cookie,” he teased as he saw her smile and blush.

  “Don’t let Cage hear you saying that,” she giggled and gave him a quick brotherly kiss on his cheek before heading to the office.

  Jumping into the cab, he started up his truck and headed to the next site they were prepping to cut. As he drove, his mind went over his lists, roads were being cut and graded into the stand of trees. That should be done any day now. Most people don’t realize there aren’t prepared roads into most of the tree stands they cut. Especially the difficult terrains on steep hillsides. Loggers would cut the trees and then they would be dragged down the hill with giant cables to the waiting trucks.

  Their job was dangerous, Wyatt and his brothers weren’t just managers, they often worked side by side with their employees cutting trees. Luckily, it wasn’t as dangerous for them as bear shifters were tough and healed quickly. But no one could survive getting crushed by a tree.

  Wyatt let his mind drift to Cage and Sophie again. They would be starting a family soon. Cubs for his mom to coddle and for him and Conner to spoil. He wanted that for himself. He wasn’t as resigned as Cage had been. He wasn’t sure he would find The One, so he dated, and then dated some more. He liked women, he liked sex, but it wasn’t fulfilling. It was still good, it just wasn’t great and something deep inside Wyatt knew that it could be great.

  His bear, a grizzly, was as impatient as he was. Wyatt let his bear out more often than his brothers did. Often his human skin was too constricting, like he couldn’t breathe. When his bear came to the surface and he allowed him to run and play, Wyatt felt free.

  His bear wanted permanence. Wyatt wasn’t sure what he wanted. His brother looked happy, and apparently the sex was great since his brother couldn’t keep his hands off of Sophie.

  Maybe it was time for Wyatt to take a vacation. He’d never really been anywhere, never felt the need to stray too far from home. But what if she was out there? Somewhere, in another state or another country even? Should he seek her out or should he be patient and let the fates decide. He knew the fates had already decreed him a mate, or so the elders had always said. The fates matched him with his grizzly, so he guessed they could find him a woman too.

  Looking out the window, Wyatt watched the trees pass by as he traveled down the dirt roads that led to the job site. He might be able to travel, but this would always be home. He couldn’t imagine being trapped in a city where he couldn’t breathe.

  And now he had to deal with some dumbshit from the state. Maybe he could pull off the road and let his bear out just for a bit. Give him a chance to settle down and focus before he had to start his day.

  Finding a road that was cut into the trees that he knew was only used by the most rugged of backpackers, he parked his truck and took a quick sniff making sure he was alone. Stripping off his clothes, he let his bear shimmer to the surface. When he was relatively calm his bear seemed to fold out of him. When he was agitated or angry it seemed his bear pushed out of him in a shower of sparks and color.

  Sucking in the cool crisp air, he let his bear take over as the trees rushed by. He ran as fast as his bear could, the trees whipping by him. His bear was happy being out, he knew daylight trips were a treat as Wyatt and his brothers usually stuck to late night adventures to reduce the chance of anyone spotting them.

  A quick trip through the river and the luck of finding some early huckleberries had Wyatt in a much better frame of mind when he made it back to his truck. Putting his clothes back on he took a final restful lungful of mountain air and headed to camp.

  Chapter 2

  Pulling into the camp, Wyatt saw his crew already hard at work. He hired good men that he could trust. His foremen didn’t need to be micromanaged. They knew they had a job to get done and they did it. Most had families to feed or were single and saving for a rainy day. Either way, they worked hard for their money.

  Wyatt strode up to Jake and gave him a slap on the back. “How’s things, Jake?”

  “The usual, boss. Road will be done by Friday, we’ll be able to start moving equipment down Monday morning. Heard we got a pencil pusher coming in to check on the north ridge?” He gave Wyatt an annoyed expression.

  “Heard that did ya?”

  “Yup, Cage called to give us the heads up in case he showed before you. I was thinking boss, I’m gonna be awful busy getting this road finished…”

  “Don’t go getting your panties in a twist, Jake. I’m handling this one,” Wyatt said with a chuckle. Seemed there wasn’t a man on this mountain that wanted to deal with paperwork.

  Sighing, Wyatt ran his hand through his dark trimmed hair. Looking down at his boots, he figured there was nothing for it. He had work to do and the trees weren’t going to log themselves.

  A few hours later, Wyatt called a break for the crew as they all grabbed a seat or a stump and relaxed for a few. Tipping his head back to take a slug of ice water from his thermos, he heard a car coming down the road. Aiming his sunglasses down the path, he saw a nondescript silver SUV coming down the new road, kicking up dust.

  Great, just what he needed.

  Capping his thermos, he stood up and gave Jake a knowing look. Turning, he faced the car and crossed his arms over his chest, his aviator glasses hiding his angry eyes.

  The car pulled to a stop and the door swung open. Wyatt reminded himself to keep his mouth closed as out stepped a short, round in all the right places, redhead with a large metal clipboard. Her hair was braided down her back and little curls were trying to escape their confines. She was dressed in a black polo shirt with the letters D.N.R. stamped over the pocket which was slightly stretched due to the proportions of her breasts. She was wearing seriously tight fitting jeans that hugged her most generous hips.

  If Wyatt wasn’t already ramped up he would have appreciated that this woman was just his type. Curvy, luscious and probably fiery based on her hair. Instead, his eyes locked onto her sunglass covered ones and waited.

  As soon as the woman closed the door, she strode to the front and surveyed the group of men all staring at her.

  A breeze blew through and the scent of lilacs and sugar coated Wyatt’s tongue. He swallowed around the taste and closed his eyes to appreciate the bouquet. Damn, she smelled delicious. His bear thought so too. And by the stiffening of his cock it seemed man, beast, and manhood were all on the same page.

  “Is there a Mr. Rochon here?” The little spitfire asked.

  This pulled Wyatt out of his stupor and realizing he didn’t want to be standing in front of his crew sporting a hard-on, he cleared his throat. “Who’s asking?”

  “Jinger McCann, Department of Natural Resources Wildfire Analyst. I was told that there would be a Mr. Rochon here to escort me to the previous cut to review for violations.”

  “First, ma’am, there are no v
iolations on a Rochon job. Second, you haven’t even been to the clearing, so for you to assume there are violations is getting a bit ahead of yourself don’t you think?”

  “I’m here to make sure that regulations are followed, sir. Wildfires are no laughing matter, they are pure destruction and can wreak havoc on the ecosystem not to mention the toll in human lives. And I don’t appreciate your attitude. Now, if you would kindly let Mr. Rochon know I’m here, I can be on my way,” Jinger said in a huff.

  Jinger knew she was being a little snippy, but she always felt like she needed to be on the defensive with loggers. They were usually big and gruff and they intimidated the hell out of her. The big one in front of her was a case in point. He was very tall with big muscled arms and shoulders stretching a plaid shirt. His worn and dirty jeans fit him like a glove and big steel toe work boots added, at least, another inch to his formidable frame.

  His dark hair was cut short and he was tan, probably from spending so much time outdoors. Yup, he was a big man. A man like him almost made a chunky girl like her feel normal sized. She really just wanted to find the man in charge and get the review over with. She liked the desk part of her job more than the traipsing through the forest part. She loved hiking and camping, but surveying clear cutting sites always made her a little sad.

  She knew from growing up in the area that it was necessary. There was no other way to harvest trees efficiently. She saw the re-grown forests as she drove the long stretches of road for her job. Raw spaces, freshly harvested, then a patch with tiny seedlings dotting the hillsides. A few years would pass and it would look like a huge Christmas tree farm. More years would pass and you would never know the land had been stripped bare.

  But the site of so many living things cut down always pulled at her heartstrings a little. She was a softy that way.