Bear Valley Valentine: Valentine's Day Paranormal Romance (2 page)

“At least think of asking Hadley out,” Hannah pleaded. “Let at least one person in, and we’ll lay off.”

“If I ask Hadley out, you’ll stop worrying about me?”

“Yes.” Hanna rubbed Riker’s neck as the alpha sat stoically with his fingers pressed together in front of his mouth.

Colin sighed, utterly defeated. This was a terrible idea, and likely one that would get both he and Hadley hurt, but the temptation to talk to her in person was a big one. And if it would put Riker and Hannah off pestering him about it… “Fine,” he growled out. “But if I ruin her life, it’s on you.”

Hannah squealed and bounded over to his laptop like an overexcited puppy. “Do it now so I can make sure you don’t screw it up.”

“Oh, God,” he grumbled, pushing himself upward.

He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Riker was hiding a smile.

Hannah gasped and Colin lurched back. “It’s Valentine’s Day this week!”

“That sounds like a human thing,” Colin said as he sank into the desk chair and brought up Hadley’s profile.

“Well, Hadley is human so best you adjust, Bearman28,” she said, squinting at the screen. “Plus, women like grand gestures, and there is no better time to do that than February fourteenth. You can let her know how you feel, and you’ll always remember this
human
holiday.”

“Give in, man,” Riker said, catching Ava as she flew through the air clutching two carved elephants. “Hannah loves Valentine’s Day.”

“So does Hadley, I bet. Ask her.” Hannah adjusted the angle of the computer screen so she could read it better.

“Uh, okay.” His heart went to pounding like it always did when he was about to type something to her.

Favorite holiday? Go.

He sat back and waited. Sometimes Hadley responded right away if she was on a break or it was slow in the flower shop, but sometimes it took her all day.

Her icon popped up on the message board.
That’s easy. Christmas.

Not Valentine’s Day?

Hate Valentine’s Day.

“See,” he said, cocking an eyebrow triumphantly at Hannah.

I have to work all day. Flower business, remember? And I’ve never had a date for Valentine’s Day.

Hannah nudged him like she’d won some secret trophy. “That’s a hint, man! Ask her out.”

“She has to work,” he said.

Hannah stood over his shoulder, staring at him like that excuse didn’t matter at all.

With a rattling growl in his chest, he typed out a response before he could change his mind.

You want to meet up for an anti-Valentine’s Day coffee? We could do it the 13
th
if you want.

He typed
You don’t have to. I understand if this is too soon
, but Hannah poked the delete button before he could give Hadley an out. Meddling woman.

Hadley didn’t answer.

Colin stared at the screen as the minutes ticked by, but nothing. He’d pushed too soon and scared her off. Shit! He’d scared her off him for good. Now there would be no more break in the monotony of his life. No more distraction from his loneliness. No more inside jokes with the woman he liked, and no more living to see a message from her in his inbox.

No more Hadley.

“Don’t say anything else, just leave it like that,” Hannah advised.

But by the time he’d made dinner and eaten with Riker and his family, Hadley still hadn’t responded. A sinking feeling burned in the pit of his stomach, and it felt like something huge was sitting on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

He scooped up Ava and walked Riker and Hannah to their truck.

“It’ll be okay,” Hannah said. “You’ll see.”

But unless this was some hint into the secret world of women that she was privy to and he wasn’t, he didn’t see how anything would be okay again. He felt like he had been actually living again this past month since he’d built a friendly relationship with Hadley. And now, it hurt too much to think about the bleak future ahead of him.

He waved them off, and when he went back inside, swore to himself that he wouldn’t look at the damned computer. Instead, he veered into the bathroom and took a long shower.

Nothing had changed since he’d found Hadley online, so why did it feel like his entire world was crumbling around him?

Bloop.

Colin frowned and poked his head beyond the shower curtain. Shaking his head, he lathered his skin and rinsed off.

Bloop.

Okay, he hadn’t imagined the sound of a message that time. Rushing, he hit the tap and grabbed a towel. He was still soaking wet as he padded down the hall to his computer desk.

Anti-Valentine’s Day coffee, huh?

Sorry it took so long for me to answer. One of my vendors backed out of my Valentine’s Day shipment and I’ve been trying to track down someone else who can deliver two hundred red roses…anyway. Coffee sounds good. Where do you live by the way?

His fingers flew as he typed out a response.

Really? I live near Sheridan, which is why I was attracted to your profile. You live in Buffalo still, right? I can meet you at the coffee shop in town, or we can meet up in Sheridan if it makes you more comfortable.

Two minutes ticked by. His heart was going to jump out of his chest.

Do you know the Dash Inn?

Yes.

Meet there at noon? I have a short lunch break then.

A grin took his face.

Sounds good. I’ll be there
.

Bearman28?

Yeah?

I really hope you aren’t a creeper.

What had Hadley been thinking? She had the perfect relationship with Bearman28. Shallow, not terrifying, not feeling like she was jumping off a cliff, just nice and casual, and now that would all be ruined.

All because of her insatiable curiosity.

Yeah, okay? She wanted to know what he looked like. Obviously, he wouldn’t be some underwear model walking a runway or else he would’ve put a serious selfie on his online profile. Instead, he’d made a joke and put a bear to go with his profile name. She liked that. She did! He had a good sense of humor, and that was important…in a friend, since that was all this was. Coffee with a friend. A friend she liked to imagine was actually a decent guy she could connect with in real life as well as online.

She’d beat herself up over the last couple of days, but he’d been even more charming and endearing than ever. He just seemed grateful that she’d even meet him for coffee. And besides, this was how it worked, right? She had checked the profile Vona had set up because some part of her must believe in online dating. She’d heard stories before. Lonny McGregory met her husband on one of these sites, and Hadley had read gads of success stories on the Internet about people meeting their matches online, too. If she wasn’t willing to at least meet him once in a public, safe place, then why had she been growing a relationship with the man?

She tapped the tiny red stirrer for her coffee in quick succession against the table until it likely matched her drumming heartbeat. She’d stayed up late into the night imagining how her coffee date today would go, then woke way too early to pick an outfit. When she’d settled on a black chunky sweater, black leggings, and black boots for this anti-Valentine’s Day shindig, she’d then spent too much time straightening her hair to an unreasonably smooth texture. And to top her look off, she’d slathered on more make-up than she’d ever worn in her life. Why? Because that’s what men liked nowadays, right? Shit. The two cups of coffee before this one had made her jittery, and now her body felt like it was humming. She should’ve switched to decaf.

Checking her watch for the tenth time, she sighed her acceptance. He wasn’t coming. She’d told him her lunch break was only half an hour thanks to all of the Valentine’s Day orders she needed to ready, and he was now thirty-five minutes late.

This sucked.

She’d been stood up, and like an idiot, she just kept waiting for him.

Her heart sank to the bottom of her new boots, and she bit her lip hard to fight the tears that burned the backs of her eyes. This was supposed to be just a casual thing, but she’d really hoped to meet him. Instead, Bearman28 had hurt her.

Her phone chirped. She pulled it from her purse, then read the text message Vona had sent her.

Need you back at the flower shop ASAP.

Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. She left her unfinished coffee on the table and waved to the owner of the Dash Inn, then bolted for her little hatchback parked out front.

The flower shop was only five minutes away from the café, but she made it there in four. Thank goodness the weather had cleared and the snow had melted over the last couple of weeks. Her patience with the white, slushy inhibitor had worn as thin as spring ice. She threw the car into park beside what looked like a moving van and bolted inside.

As soon as she made it through the door, she skidded to a stop and stared at the stacks of red roses piled in neat bundles across the counter.

“What the hell?” she whispered.

A delivery guy smiled politely as he exited, and Vona peeked over the floral mountain. “Funny story.” Her eyes narrowed. “Strange story. Two hundred red roses were just delivered, and when I went to sign for them and pay, it seems they have already been taken care of.”

“By who?”

“By whoever wrote this note.” Vona handed over a red envelope.

Stepping around the counter, Hadley tore into the top flap, then pulled out a piece of what looked to be handmade paper.

All it said was:

I’m sorry.

Hadley dropped the letter and scrubbed her hands over her face. Son of a biscuit eater. She wanted to be mad and hurt and feel betrayed, but then Bearman went and did this, and it sucked all of the emotion from her. Now, she didn’t know what to feel.

With a growl of frustration, she yanked the hose from the wall and began to fill huge plastic buckets of water. Okay, so Bearman had to have known he was going to stand her up because ordering flowers mid-February took some serious favors and time. Yet, he’d acted like nothing was amiss when she’d talked to him last night.

Vona stood against the counter with her arms crossed, head canted like she could see Hadley’s muddy aura. “What gives, boss lady?”

Hadley didn’t answer. She wasn’t ready to explain how she was feeling hurt and grateful and angry and happy all at once. The man cared to do something like this. He had to. She’d mentioned the failed order of roses one time to him, and he gifted her with the exact number she needed. Who did that? Who was that thoughtful?

Who was Bearman28?

“Can you start calling those folks we had to cancel rose orders for? Tell them plans have changed. We won’t get them all back, but we can try to get as many as possible.”

Paper crinkled as she moved to water the next drum.

“He stood you up, didn’t he?” Vona asked, gripping the homemade paper in a clenched hand. “That douche canoe! He did, didn’t he?”

“Vona—”

“No, Hadley. That’s not cool. Even this doesn’t make up for standing you up.”

“I just need you to help me move all of the roses into the refrigerator before they wilt, will you?”

“I know who he is.”

Hadley froze. “What?”

“I told you I know a nerd, and he tracked down Bearman28’s IP address. He doesn’t live in Sheridan, Hadley. He lives here.”

Shaking her head slowly, Hadley said, “You shouldn’t have done that. It’s a huge violation of his privacy.”

“Well, I wanted to make sure you were being safe about this all, and besides, I wasn’t going to tell you because I thought he’d at least have the decency to show up to your coffee date.”

“It wasn’t a date—”

“Oh, for crap’s sake—it was. You wore ten pounds of eyeliner and a shade of lip gloss I thought I’d never be able to get you to wear. He’s a jerk for standing you up. You look hot.”

Hadley just froze there, squatted on the floor, staring at the roses. “If he didn’t show up, it’s because he doesn’t want me to know—”

“Colin Cross.”

Water splashed all over her boots and she yelled, “Shit!” as she rushed to turn off the hose. “Colin Cross? The mountain man?”

“Yep,” Vona said, gripping the edge of the counter behind her.

“Colin, the one who paid for my lunch last month? The man who then ignored me and never even nodded to me on the street after that?”

“One in the same.”

Hadley stood up, soggy and bewildered. “Why would he stand me up? And how did he find me online?”

Vona shrugged and looked worried. “I don’t know, Hadley. I think maybe I messed up by setting up that profile for you, though. This wasn’t how I imagined your dating life would go, and now you got hurt.”

“Don’t apologize for that, V. You were just trying to help.”

Hadley stared out the window at the post office where he usually came with a pile of boxes. Colin Cross. Huh. She didn’t know whether to be angry that he’d lied about living in Sheridan or happy that Bearman28 was the man she’d been thinking about. He had to know who she was, right? The coincidence was too big that he’d paid for her lunch, then found her online a few days later. Why hadn’t he introduced himself the dozen times he walked near her store?

Why not just ask her out like the other guys in town?

“Vona? Did your friend happen to find out where he lives?”

Vona narrowed her eyes. “That sounds like the beginning of a terrible idea.”

****

Hadley pressed harder on the gas to get over a steep embankment on the worn, dirt road. In front of the car, evening shadows stretched across the road, highlighting the late hour. This was how all the scary movies started. She’d always thought horror movie girls were entirely too stupid for getting in this exact situation, and now what was she doing? Meandering uninvited up to a recluse’s mountain cabin. She clutched a little tighter to the Mace Vona had insisted she bring.

As she crested a hill, a cabin came into view. It was small, but the yard was tidy, and the leaves raked. A log sat to the side of a porch with an ax sticking out of it, and piles of chopped wood were lined up neatly against the house. To the right of the log structure was a shop that was even bigger than the home. Light illuminated the doorway from the inside, so she parked and picked her way carefully toward the shed.

Heavy metal music blared from an old radio plugged into an outside outlet, and when she approached the open door, she froze. Colin was standing with his back to her, muscles flexing against a filthy, gray thermal sweater. His shoulders rippled in rhythm to his hammering on metal, glowing gold against an old anvil. Sweat and dirt trickled down the back of his neck where his dark hair had been cropped short. The rhythmic
clang, clang
of his hammer was offbeat against the music, slower, and he turned and dipped the hot metal into a bucket of water until it sizzled and steamed. With his back still to her, he pulled something off a tool bench and seemed to study it.

Maybe this had been a bad idea. He obviously liked his privacy up here where he could clobber metal and fix things. She was way overstepping the line by stalking him up here.

But…

She couldn’t just leave and not say anything when she was this close.

“Colin?”

He spun fast and fixed his eerie eyes on her, and when she looked down, he was holding a knife. With a screech, she lifted the Mace and sprayed. When a cloud of pepper spray filled the space between them, he cursed and dropped the knife. “Geez, woman. What did you do that for?”

Her eyeballs were on fire. “Owww,” she wailed as she rubbed her eyes and tried to rid herself of the irritant.

She dropped the Mace and fell to her knees as her eyes watered and burned.

“This way,” Colin said, lifting her by the ribcage like she weighed nothing at all.

An old-fashioned pump sat ready on the side of the house, and he jacked the handle until water poured into a bucket. Desperately, they both splashed their faces, rinsing their eyes.

Finally able to stomach the pain and keep her eyes open, she looked at Colin and snorted a laugh. Clamping her hand over her mouth, she murmured, “Oh my God, this is so not funny.”

His eyes were all red around the edges, and she could only imagine what kind of eye make-up mishap was happening on her face.

Colin huffed a laugh, but bless the man, he seemed like he was trying to keep it in. “You maced me.”

“I maced us both. I thought you were going to stab me.”

“No.” Colin leaned back on his folded legs and flung water from his fingertips. “I make knives. I’m a blacksmith. I was just holding the one I was working on, and then you sprayed us.”

“Oh. Well, Vona said you might be a serial killer, so I was prepared. And maybe a little on edge.”

His shoulders were shaking now as he rubbed water from his beard. “This is not how I imagined this would go.”

“You stood me up, Bearman.”

He drew up short and frowned. “You know?”

Tilting her chin up primly, she said, “I have people. Why didn’t you show up today?”

His look darkened, and he dropped his gaze to a pile of stones near the corner of the house. “Because you deserve better.”

“Damn straight, I do. I’ve never been stood up in my life.”

“No, not that. I mean, you deserve better than me.”

“Oh.” She straightened her spine and wrung water from her sweater. That sounded serious. His eyes were so beautiful when he allowed her to see him like this. “Your eyes are an unusual color.”

“Oh, shit,” he looked around frantically, but she reached out and grasped his hand.

“No sunglasses unless you need them. I don’t mind.”

His gaze dipped to their clasped hands, and he squeezed her fingers. “Okay. No sunglasses.” When he lifted his eyes back to hers, some emotion she couldn’t understand swam in the depths there.

“Swear you won’t hurt me,” she rushed out.

His jaw clenched, and his eyes blazed. “I’d never hurt you. Not on purpose. I swear I’m no serial killer, or whatever you’re scared of.”

“Then why do you live way up here by yourself?”

“Who says I live by myself?”

Oh. Perhaps she’d been mistaken. “I asked around town about you.”

He had every right to be mad, but a flattered smile crooked the corner of his lips. “You did?”

“Of course, I did. You paid for my lunch, and I’d never seen you before, and I wondered why you did that. But you ignored me every time you came into town afterward, which makes no sense because you found my dating profile. And how did you find it, anyway?”