Ignite: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 3) Read online

  He wasn't sure what Mary was hoping to prove, but he liked where this was going.

  Then, for the first time since Evan's childhood, his bear took control with a silent roar. This is the wrong one! Not our mate!

  Shocked, Evan found himself staring down at Mary, who was now sitting on the rug at his feet, where he had dumped her off his lap.

  "Oh God, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened!" Evan exclaimed, mortified. "My bear, it just took over!"

  To his surprise, Mary didn't appear to be angry. She began to laugh, even as she rubbed her bruised hip.

  "Oh yeah," she said, with mingled amusement and regret. "I know exactly what's going on now."

  "Then can you please tell me?" Evan said in exasperation. "And I really hope it isn't, your bear is going rogue so I'll just have to shoot you now, Evan."

  Mary shook her head. "Nope. But you're probably going to think it's just as bad."

  "What?" Evan demanded. "What is it? Just tell me already!"

  "Evan Swanson," Mary said solemnly. "I believe you've just met your fated mate." She rose from the floor and went back to the couch.

  "My what?" Evan asked incredulously.

  "Fated mate," Mary repeated. Her blue eyes gleamed with mischief.

  "Steffi? Steffi Tristan is my fated mate?" It was too ludicrous to believe. "But I just met her, uh—" He glanced up at the clock over the fireplace mantel. "—fifteen hours ago. We hardly know each other. How the hell can she possibly be my fated mate?"

  Mary's open amusement faded. "That's supposedly how fated mates work. You just know when you've met them. And once you do, your animal half won't settle for anyone else."

  It couldn't be true! Not with the one woman who didn't want to date him!

  His bear unhelpfully picked this moment to retreat and go silent.

  "Are you sure you're not just pranking me?" Evan asked, clutching at straws. "Have I done something to piss you off?"

  Mary shook her head. "Nope, and nope. I'd feel sorry for you, Evan, but I think this has been a long time coming."

  "You are mad at me," Evan accused. "What did I do?"

  He couldn't think of anything he might have done, offhand. Between his day job at Fish and Game, his nighttime shifts as a volunteer firefighter, and Mary's rotating shifts as a police officer, they were lucky if they got to spend enough time under the same roof to have sex.

  "I'm not mad at you," Mary assured him. "Just laughing at the irony. And a little sad that things never worked out between us."

  Evan stared at her, reeling from two shocks in a row. "But you were the one who said you weren't interested in anything serious with anyone who wasn't a wolf!"

  "You're right, I did say that," Mary admitted. "It's just…well, my feelings for you have changed over the past couple of years. I really like you, Evan. You're a great guy, and you're great in bed. I only wish you wanted more from me."

  The gut punches were coming one after the other in this conversation. Evan eyed his rapidly cooling chili on the coffee table and realized that his appetite was gone.

  "I—I had no idea," he confessed. "I mean, I really like you too, and I thought we had the perfect arrangement. As friends with benefits."

  "We did," Mary said. She drew her feet up on the couch and rested her chin on her knees. "And it's not your fault that I started to want more. After you broke up with what's-her-name, uh, Emily?"

  "Emma," Evan corrected gloomily.

  "Right, Emma. Anyhow, after you broke up with her and called me, I did some thinking and realized that my happiest times since my divorce have been when we were together. And that I'm always depressed when you find someone new and go chasing after them. But I've always known you'd call me again, sooner or later, when that someone new scared you off."

  "I'm sorry," Evan said. And he was sorry. He just didn't know how to fix this.

  "Hey, if it was meant to happen, it would have already happened," Mary said philosophically. Her expression was composed, but her scent spoke of concealed grief.

  Evan felt like shit. Mary was one of his oldest friends. She had stuck with him through the various ups and downs of his dating life, and he had been there to help her through the rough patches of her post-divorce life.

  "Look, if there's anything I can do—" he began.

  "Yeah, actually there is," Mary said. Her smile was back. "You can sleep in the guest room tonight."

  "Of course," Evan said. And felt a genuine pang of regret at realizing that both of them would be sleeping alone tonight. He hated sleeping alone unless he was outdoors.

  He wanted to deny her guess about Steffi being his fated mate, but he couldn't deny that something weird was going on with him right now.

  I need to talk to either Dane or Mark ASAP.

  Mary suddenly chuckled.

  "Why are you laughing?" he asked, somewhat grumpily.

  "I was just imagining that your mom is going to flip out when she hears she might be getting another Ordinary daughter-in-law. She's been telling everyone that two Ordinaries in the family are fine, but the rest of her boys really need to settle down with mates of their own kind."

  Evan groaned.

  Chapter 9

  Despite her exhaustion and a comfortable bed, Steffi had a hard time falling asleep that night. Whenever she closed her eyes, her mind kept replaying scenes from her very long and event-filled day.

  The pictures parading through her head alternated between the terror of the fire and subsequent appearance of the silver SUV, and Evan Swanson.

  He had saved her life. He had asked her out. He actually seemed to find her attractive!

  Why, oh why had he turned out to be the kind of guy who dated more than one woman at the same time?

  If he'd been available, she would have been ecstatic to go out on a date with him. He was funny, kind, smart…and sexy as hell.

  And a great kisser.

  When he held her hand at the restaurant, just that chaste contact had been enough to start heat throbbing between her legs again. She'd never reacted to anyone so strongly before. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like if he actually ever made love to her.

  But she liked Mary, and Mary was in love with Evan, so Steffi wasn't going to cause any trouble between them if she could avoid it.

  Besides, she was only staying here for a week.

  But she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss Evan again. And to go to bed with him. He'd seen her at her worst this morning, in a nightshirt with bedhead and without makeup, and he didn't seem to care.

  When she finally dozed off, she had nightmares about trying to find Olivia and Royce in a maze of dark, smoky rooms, knowing that fire was chasing her and she had to find them before it was too late.

  Olivia woke her right after dawn. Bleary-eyed, Steffi stumbled to the kitchen and got the coffee maker going before she fed Royce and changed Olivia's diapers.

  She heated up a jar of the baby food she'd bought yesterday, while Olivia fussed in her high chair. Though normally a cheerful baby, she seemed cranky and out of sorts this morning.

  Steffi couldn't blame her niece—the past few days had been filled with disruptions to her routine. She wondered if Olivia missed her mother and father or if she was too young to realize that Steffi wasn't the real thing.

  The morning round of baby-related chores completed, Steffi had just finished showering when her phone rang.

  The Caller ID displayed Swanson, Margaret. Olivia's grandmother.

  Steff hit Answer. "Hello, Mrs. Swanson."

  "Is this Stephanie?" asked a woman. Without waiting for Steffi to answer, she continued, "I heard about the fire and those people who tried to kidnap you! What is this world coming to? Are you and little Olivia all right?"

  "We're fine," Steffi answered. "Annabeth and Dane offered me their apartment in town, and I've had a chance to go shopping and buy new clothes and other stuff."

  "You should really come out here to the ranch," Margaret said. "It wou
ld be safer. And I have an extra bedroom, or Elle could find something for you. She's got that big ranch house all to herself these days. And I know for a fact that Thor's place is empty. He's living in Denver these days."

  "I appreciate the thought," Steffi said. "But I hear this is a busy time of the year for the ranch's bed-and-breakfast business. I wouldn't want any of you to turn away paying guests on my account."

  "But Olivia is family," Margaret insisted. "She should stay here, with us."

  "I'd rather stay here in town," Steffi said patiently. "Where I can walk to the stores if I need to pick up anything." She forced herself to laugh. "I'm new at this whole baby thing, so it feels like I'm constantly heading out for more diapers and stuff."

  To her relief, Margaret took the hint. "Do you need anything? I heard that you lost everything in that fire. I'm only thankful that you both made it out safely."

  "Thanks for the offer, but Annabeth, Dane, and Evan have already been very generous," Steffi said. "And Dane and Evan are the reason that Olivia and I were able to escape the fire."

  "Thank God you're all safe." Margaret sighed. "I don't think I could bear any more bad news."

  A surge of compassion and pity for Patrick's mother spurred Steffi to ask, "Would you like to meet Olivia? That's why I came to Bearpaw Ridge, after all."

  "Oh, yes!" Steffi could hear the longing in the other woman's tone. "She's my first grandchild, you know." Margaret hesitated, then said, "I know Elle has already invited you to her Sunday family dinner tomorrow night, but I'd like to treat you to lunch today. Just you, me, and little Olivia."

  "I'd love to, but I don't have a car at the moment. I'm still waiting for my insurance to come through with approval for a rental," Steffi said.

  "Oh, don't worry about that, dear," Margaret assured her warmly. "I'll come to town. Would noon be all right?"

  * * *

  Margaret Swanson was a tall woman with shoulder-length straight brown hair heavily frosted with gray, smooth skin bare of any makeup, and a warm smile. Crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and the smile lines bracketing her mouth enhanced the air of quiet strength and kindness that surrounded her.

  She was currently standing in the middle of the apartment, crying her heart out while Olivia nestled against her shoulder and Royce paced around and around, looking anxiously at Steffi.

  Remembering her own fit of weeping yesterday morning, Steffi hurried to fetch the box of Kleenex from the bathroom.

  She handed Margaret a Kleenex, then led the older woman over to the couch. Steffi sat down next to her and put a tentative hand on her shoulder, feeling it shake under her hand.

  "P-patrick's really gone, isn't he? My precious boy," Margaret said between sobs.

  "I'm still holding out hope that the searchers will find something," Steffi said. "Maybe they're all camping out somewhere, waiting for rescue."

  That was the story she was telling herself to keep her own spirits up. Because Jessica couldn't really be gone forever. She couldn't really be dead.

  Margaret bent over the baby on her lap, and Steffi saw dark spots of moisture from her tears dotting Olivia's onesie. "This little girl might be all that's left of him."

  "I refuse to believe that," Steffi said, feeling like a fraud. "People fly up to that dig site all the time in the summer. Someone will find them."

  But Margaret only shook her head and kissed the top of her granddaughter's soft head.

  Olivia had reacted with delight when Margaret had first arrived and picked her up from her playpen. She had smiled and eagerly grabbed for Margaret's colorful burgundy-and-gold paisley print blouse. Royce had been more cautious in his approach, but he behaved himself and allowed Margaret to pet him.

  Except for the similarity in their smiles, Steffi couldn't see much of Patrick in his mother. He had looked more like Dane and Evan in his build and coloring, with dark hair and hazel eyes.

  Steffi waited quietly until Margaret had cried herself out, then rose and got a glass of water for the older woman.

  Margaret took it gratefully, drank, and blew her nose. "I'm so sorry."

  "Don't be," Steffi said. "You should have seen me after my Dad called me with the news. I can't believe that Jessica is dead…or Patrick either. We just have to wait for news. Good news."

  "With all my heart, I hope you're right, dear." Margaret took a deep breath and rose from the couch. "I have something to show you," she said.

  Still holding Olivia, she led the way out of the apartment and down the stairs. Steffi hastily grabbed her purse and the diaper bag off the coffee table as she followed Margaret, pausing to arm the apartment's security system before locking the door firmly behind her.

  Even with the police on the lookout for that silver SUV, there was no use taking chances.

  There was an old black Subaru Forester parked in front of the bakery.

  "This car belonged to Patrick before he got that job in Anchorage," Margaret said as she halted in front of the Subaru.

  She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a keyring with two keys. She held it out to Steffi.

  "Forget about the rental car," she ordered, in the tone of a benevolent dictator. "This is yours to drive as long as you're here. You can even take it back to California, if you like. It's still in very good shape."

  "Thank you so much," Steffi said, touched by the gesture. She walked over to the car and peered in the window. "This is really thoughtful of you."

  Dear God, is this car actually a stick shift? She hadn't driven a stick shift in years. And she was pretty sure that they didn't even sell stick shift cars in America anymore.

  But the car did look to be in decent shape despite its age. It was dusty and dented in a few places, and there was a scattering of hay in the hatchback cargo area, but the gray upholstery was still in good shape, and the tires looked fairly new.

  There was also a brand new infant car seat strapped into the rear seat.

  "I bought the car seat on the way into town," Margaret said proudly.

  And that was when Steffi knew that there was no way she could turn down this loan in favor of a newer rental car.

  "I really appreciate this," Steffi said, turning to Margaret. "I felt stranded without my car."

  "And now you and my granddaughter have one that will do well on all the dirt and gravel roads around here," Margaret said, smiling. "I know Patrick would approve."

  * * *

  "So, have you noticed anything…special about Olivia?" Margaret said in a carefully casual tone, an hour later.

  Margaret, Steffi, and Olivia were sitting on the patio of the Dancing Cow, a burger restaurant located on the side of the highway just outside the city limit of Bearpaw Ridge. Steffi recalled passing it on her way into town on Thursday night.

  Now she froze. Had Evan or Dane mentioned something about Olivia's shapeshifting incident to their aunt, after all?

  "What do you mean?" Steffi asked now, caution competing with a burning desire to talk to someone about the sheer weirdness of seeing your niece turn into a bear cub. "I mean, I think everything about her is pretty special, you know. And I'm, uh, not that experienced with babies. This past week has been kind of a steep learning curve, you know?"

  She knew she was babbling and forced herself to shut up.

  Margaret gave her a long look, assessing look. Steffi held her breath and waited to see where the other woman took the conversation.

  To her relief—and disappointment—Margaret nodded. "I admire you for taking on such a huge responsibility on short notice. Babies are a lot of work, even if you're prepared for them and you have a spouse to help."

  She paused as the waitress delivered their orders. The burgers were huge and sat on a nest of seasoned fries inside a big basket lined with paper.

  At Margaret's urging, Steffi had ordered a small salted caramel Belgian cookie milkshake and was astonished that it was anything but small.

  It was utterly delicious, though…and the waitress brought a
tiny cup with a lid and straw for Olivia, explaining that there had been a bit of milkshake left over from Steffi's order.

  Once they had each taken a bite or two, and Olivia was happily chomping on a few French fries placed on the high chair tray, Margaret asked, "You're not married, dear? No children of your own?"

  Steff shook her head. "Nope, I'm currently living the bachelorette dream in Silicon Valley," she said. "I haven't found anyone I want to settle down with, not yet, anyway."

  "So you've been doing this all on your own?" Margaret's eyebrows went up. "Without any support?"

  "Oh, I wouldn't say that. My parents live in Redwood City, just a couple of towns up from Cupertino," Steffi assured her. "And my boss has been great. He gave me permission to work from home while Jessica and Patrick were up at the dig site…"

  Her voice trailed off when she saw the pain in Margaret's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

  Margaret sighed. "You know, I wanted Patrick to study something useful in college, like Farm and Ranch Management. But he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a paleontologist, and he wouldn't listen to reason, no matter how much I argued that there weren't many good jobs in that field. But he was a Swanson, through and through, and they're stubborn." She shook her head. "I was proud of him for earning that doctorate, though, even if it meant that he had to move to Alaska for a job. I can’t tell you how much I regret that I never had a chance to meet Jessica."

  If you wanted to meet my sister, then why didn't you come to their wedding? Or visit them in Anchorage any time in past three years? Steffi thought but did not say.

  This wasn't the time or the place to reveal that Jessica had once told her that her mother-in-law had bitterly opposed Patrick's marriage to her.

  But Margaret was able to interpret Steffi's expression anyway. She had always been bad at hiding her thoughts.

  "I suppose you've heard that I didn't want Patrick to marry your sister?"

  Caught out, Steffi nodded.

  "It's not that I had anything against your sister," Margaret said. "I just thought Patrick should have chosen a—a different woman. Someone local. He was dating someone before he went away to college, and they stayed in touch for a long time. I had hopes that he might marry her and move back home to Bearpaw Ridge someday."