Bear In A Boutique

2. Chapter One

She should get a cat.

A woman in a lawn chair held a crate of mewling kittens, smartly sitting near the park entrance where spring festival goers passed by.

“Five dollars each, or two for eight!”

Little poof balls of white fur with brilliant blue eyes, stood on their back legs and meowed louder as Olive Kent peered into the crate. Their little pink noses and fuzzy ears made her heart ache from the cuteness. As if sensing her longing, the kittens clamored to climb from their box. They were so sweet! So small, so… dependent. She’d always wanted a cat, but the timing was never right.

Having a pet was a responsibility that demanded stability. She moved around too much and though she’d been in Estes Park for over a year now, she didn’t have the best track record in putting down roots. Maybe one day things would be different, and she’d fill her home with cats and plants and all the other things she wasn’t sure she could commit to right now.

Stepping into the flow of pedestrians heading into the park, Olive brushed off a pang of disappointment at not leaving with a kitten and pulled in a breath of clean, warm air. Spring had finally come to Colorado. It was very welcome after a harsh winter had dealt a record amount of snow and freezing temperatures, so she’d overheard during morning coffee at Sticky Sweet Bakery, where the long-time residents gathered around a plate of sticky buns to complain about their arthritis and the weather.

She’d managed winter just fine. Living in a small apartment above the CARA ONE boutique where she worked meant she didn’t have to commute or deal with the elements. She simply walked down the stairs to her job in the morning and walked right back up at the end of the day.

It was the perfect arrangement, and she loved her job and living here, bad winters and all.

You have a fancy new life now, huh? Don’t forget where you came from.

Curling her upper lip, Olive shoved the intrusive memory of her sister’s words away. She never should have visited Megan last month. What a disaster that had been. Fiddling with the citrine crystal pendant on her necklace, Olive increased her pace and reminded herself that everything would be fine if she kept her past to herself.

The scent of mini donuts and cotton candy wafted her way from the massive white tent just ahead. A long line of people waited to get in. The spring carnival was a tribute to the town’s Wild West days and marked the end of winter. It looked like the entire town had come for the festivities.

“Olive!” Her friend Lulu Orlando-Mitchell waved her hands from the front of the tent, eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed. “I’m so glad you’re here! I have a job for you.”

There were bits of wood and bark clinging to her friend’s oversized sweatshirt and leggings.

“Why are you so dirty?”

Lulu looked down at herself. “Fox and I were in a log-chopping contest. We lost.”

“You were chopping logs?”

“Ha. No. I just stood there and cheered him on. It turns out that you need arm strength to swing an ax.” She curled an arm and pointed to her bicep. “I was zero help, but Fox has enough muscle for both of us and then some.”

So does his brother.

Stop it, Olive! Not again.

“Come on.”

Lulu was a born and bred city girl and a fashion vlogger with a massive following who looked to her for advice on the latest in everything beauty and style. There was a time when a speck of dirt on her clothes would make her panic. But since Lulu had come to Estes Park to chase down grizzly shifter and wilderness survivalist Fox Mitchell for a work assignment, and ended up falling in love with him, she’d completely changed.

It seemed Estes Park was good for everyone.

Lulu gestured to a table set with plates, water glasses, and a stack of red and white checkered bibs. “Here we go.”

“What’s this?”

Lulu squeezed Olive’s arm gently. “Just hear me out before you say no.”

“Oh, no. What did you sign me up for—”

Her voice trailed off when she spotted him. Well, them. The Mitchells.

Dax, Jett, Desi, Fox, Ryker, and the patriarch Rowan. The family of grizzly shifters was hard to miss with their impressive height, powerful bodies, and kind, beautiful smiles that knocked the breath out of your chest.

Especially Ryker’s.

Her heart thumped as she glanced at him, his auburn hair glinting shards of red and brown. He was the youngest of the bunch, probably a year or two older than her, and despite being friends with the women in his family, Olive didn’t know a whole lot about him. Probably because he went out of his way to ignore her when she was around.

She’d taken the hint a long time ago and stayed out of his way.

But when he smiled…oh, did it twist her into knots.

A hot flush worked over her face. Glancing down so no one would see, Olive fiddled with her ponytail as a diversion.

Ryker Mitchell had helped save her, and Jett’s wife Cara, after they’d been kidnapped by rogue grizzly shifters a year and a half ago. Olive hadn’t been able to get him out of her head since, figuring it was some kind of trauma response at first. Falling in love with your rescuer and all that. But as the months went on, her quiet infatuation didn’t go away, even when it became obvious that he wasn’t interested. They crossed paths every morning at Sticky Sweet Bakery, each getting their morning coffee, neither of them ever saying a word to the other. He never looked at her, never offered a polite greeting. Nothing.

Hint taken.

If only her heart would get the memo and let go of its pathetic crush. Realizing Lulu was looking at her curiously, Olive picked up one of the bibs and held it up.

“A bib isn’t a good sign, Lu.”

“Did you eat this morning?”

“No. I figured we were going to eat straight carbs and sugar, as one does at a festival.”

“Yes. We are. But first—”

Commotion came from the group of Mitchells. Lulu sighed in annoyance and Olive did a double take, her heart back-flipping into her throat.

Fox and Ryker were suddenly shirtless. Tanned, supple skin covered their heavily muscled, beautifully sculpted frames. These shifter men had strength and power that radiated pure primal masculinity and though the Mitchells loved to walk around with their shirts off, Olive never tired of looking. No woman in her right mind would get tired of that.

Lulu crossed her arms, seemingly unimpressed. “There’s no sense in telling him to put his shirt back on.”

“Why… would you want him to?”

“Close your mouth, Olive. Your tongue is hanging out.”

Realizing she was gawking, she turned to her friend with an apologetic wince. “I’m sorry. I’m not poaching on your husband. I promise.”

“Oh, I know you’re staring at Ryker. You can never keep your eyes off him.”

“Yeah,” she confessed without thinking. “I mean, it’s hard not to look, right? Look at them. It should be illegal to look like that.”

“They have an entire bear inside of them. They need all that muscle to hold it in.”

“I love bears,” Olive sighed.

How many times had she imagined Ryker naked? Too many to ever admit to anyone. God, she was pathetic. But how could anyone blame her?

A bright red Maltese Cross covered his left shoulder blade with a firefighter’s ax beneath it. He had an emergency radio clipped to the waistband at the back of his jeans, and a pair of gloves flopped from one rear pocket. Ryker worked for the forestry service and was a member of the town’s volunteer fire department, and search and rescue squad alongside Fox. They always carried a radio of some sort and frequently ditched whatever they were doing when a call came in.

Ryker was hot, and a hero.

“What are they doing?” The words tumbled hoarsely from her suddenly dry mouth.

“Who knows? It’s always something with those two.”

The men moved to the ax-throwing cage next to them and went inside. A crowd gathered around it, blocking Olive’s view. Lulu tugged her along and made no qualms about pushing her way to the front of the crowd so they could see.

“Fox, honey?” She called sweetly.

He picked up an ax and assessed its weight in his palm. “Yes, dear?”

“Don’t embarrass your brother too badly.”

Ryker whipped her an amused look. “Aww, my big brother needs a woman to boost his ego. I never thought you’d be so domesticated, Foxy.”

“You should try it sometime.”

Ryker scoffed and picked up two axes, assessing them before putting one back. “Over my dead, cold body.”

Lulu rolled her eyes and grinned at Olive. “Funny. That’s what Foxy said when I met him and look at him now.”

Olive watched the exchange in amusement, but also with a pang of loneliness. She and Lulu had been college roommates back in Missouri. Lulu had been ecstatic when Olive decided to stay in Estes Park and wasted no time introducing her to the other Mitchell wives and making her feel welcome. Olive loved her friends, but she couldn’t help feeling a touch of jealousy at their happy, partnered lives.

She lived in a three-hundred-square-foot apartment above the boutique, alone.

She’d spent the bulk of her early life worrying about where she’d sleep at night, and she appreciated her apartment even if she sometimes fantasized about having more one day.

“Want to make a bet, little brother?” Fox looked Ryker square in the eyes.

“You know it.”

“If I win, you have to ask a woman out on a date. A real date. Not this one-night stand with women from dating apps that you never call again shit.”

Ryker grinned cockily. “What do I get when you lose?”

“Nothing because I’m not going to lose.”

“This is the lamest bet, ever.”

Ryker’s gaze slid her way. His eyes flicked over her as if just realizing that she was there. Her chest clenched, but the reaction was short-lived as he quickly diverted his attention. She was used to it by now—being invisible to him, which made her unrelenting crush that much harder to tolerate. He was a no-strings-attached dating app guy, apparently, and she was not a one-nighter dating app girly. It was clear they weren’t meant to be, and the crush could die anytime now.

If only it were that easy.

The men started the contest to the delight of the crowd. Fox and Ryker took turns lopping their axes against the large circle of wood at the end of the cage, teasing and goading each other the entire time. She didn’t understand the rules and she was too focused on how Ryker’s bicep bulged deliciously with each throw to care. His back muscles moved with each throw, the lines and dips changing slightly with each motion.

What would it feel like to have all those muscles against her body?

Lulu nudged her. “It’s the last throw and I think they have the same points so far.”

The spectators fell silent as the last throw was given. Both axes stuck on the bullseye and the crowd went crazy.

“They tied. Of course, they tied.” Lulu snickered.

Ryker didn’t seem happy. “Want to throw one more and finish this thing?”

Fox set his axe down. “Everyone knows I throw better than you. This tie is a fluke.”

“Since we tied, I’ll go back to my Netflix and one-nighters.” Ryker pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans and slipped into it. Olive felt like she could finally take a full breath.

“Wait!” A spectator pointed at the board. Ryker’s ax tipped back, the blade slipping from the bullseye. The crowd went silent… and the ax broke free and fell on the floor.

Ryker smirked. “That doesn’t count.”

“It counts!” Someone from the crowd shouted, followed by the same input from several more onlookers.

“Well, well, can’t argue with the crowd. Looks like you lost, little brother.”

Lulu snagged Ryker by the wrist before he could retort. “Come on. I found you a partner.”

He was scowling when she arranged him in front of Olive, who was too confused to feel the full effects of the butterflies in her gut. “Partner?”

Lulu gestured to the table. “It will be fun, Olive. I promise.”

She had no idea what was going to be fun but as Ryker’s expression turned from grumpy to skeptical to annoyed, her competitive side perked up. He looked her up and down and shook his head like she was a car he decided not to buy. “No.”

No? Her hairline heated at his dismissive tone.

“What do you mean, no?” Lulu challenged.

“She’s too small.”

“Everyone else is busy.”

“Forget it. She’s not the right one.”

Olive felt that like a punch in the heart. Stepping in front of Lulu, she crossed her arms and looked up at him. Screw his handsomeness. Forget how woodsy and wonderful he smelled.

He was an asshole. And she wanted to prove him wrong in the worst way.

“I’m not the right one, huh? Try me.”

Their eyes clashed. He looked at her hard as if trying to stare her down. Ignoring the lump in her throat and the ache between her legs, Olive stared right back.

He finally grinned but there wasn’t any humor in it.

“Fine, but I hope you’re good at stuffing ten inches in your mouth.”