Gingerbear Christmas (Howls Romance Howliday Special) Read online

  “Smile, dear.” Mrs. Behr gave her a nod. “It will be fine, you’ll see.”

  She opened the door before Haley could say anything in reply.

  “There you are, Clancy. Everything ready for your guest?”

  “Everything’s been ready, Mrs. Behr. I came into town to pick up some cut lumber that Mr. Behr set aside for me.”

  “That’s not the only thing you need to pick up. This is Haley Woodward. She was able to come to Allaway early to enjoy the winter here. You have her room ready, yes?”

  Haley would have thought that Mrs. Behr’s comical wink was adorable if she hadn’t turned to look at Haley and given her a thumbs up after introducing her.

  Clancy’s laughter turned both of their heads in his direction. “Yes, I have her room ready. It’s been waiting.” He swallowed and Haley’s eyes eagerly followed his Adam’s apple as it bobbed in his throat. “Glad you’re here in time for all of the winter activities. If there’s one season we do right around here, it’s winter.”

  His smile, like the rest of him, was super easy on her eyes. It would only be too easy to stand there staring at him all day, but that would only make things more interesting for Mrs. Behr. The older woman was already looking between them like an avid tennis fan at Wimbledon.

  “Well, you can tell me all about it after we get to your place.”

  If Clancy thought it was odd that she seemed only too eager to leave, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he stepped back and made room for her to follow him.

  Haley felt her heart kick in her chest at the gesture. A gentleman. There was a shortage of those in the world, so it was nice to see it in living color. She gave him another smile. “I’ll be right out. I just want to help Mrs. Behr with the dishes.”

  Haley started toward the table to pick up her cup, but Mrs. Behr set her hand on Haley’s arm. She wouldn’t have thought the older woman would have been that fast.

  “Don’t worry, dear. It’s just a cup. I’ll wash it when I’m finished with my cider.”

  Dropping her hand from Haley’s arm, Mrs. Behr picked up the plate she sat down on the table and waved it in the air. “Don’t forget these cookies. If you’re nice enough to Haley, maybe she’ll share some.” The wink she gave Clancy was outrageous, but Haley had the feeling that it was a common occurrence since he just nodded. “When you’re done with the plate, Haley, you make sure to come back to town and I’ll fill it up with something else that’s sweet and tempting.”

  Haley grinned. “Sounds great. I have a huge, sweet tooth.” Before she could stop herself, she gave the curve of her hip a pat, and then tried to keep utter mortification off of her face. Yes, standing in full view of the hottest man on the planet and she’d just drawn attention to her wider-than-fashionable hips.

  Great job, Haley.

  She had no idea what drove her to look at Clancy. The last thing she wanted to see was a negative expression on his face.

  The trouble was, the look she saw in his eyes was... interest?

  She was probably just too exhausted from the drive to read anything with any accuracy. The best thing to do was get a move on. Right?

  “Okay then. I guess we should get going. I’ve been driving all night. I’m pretty sure once I get comfortable, I’m going to fall asleep.” She accepted the plate of cookies and thanked Mrs. Behr for the snacks and her gracious hospitality and then she stepped out onto the porch to wait for Clancy to say his goodbyes.

  Haley stifled a yawn and wanted to kick herself for saying what she had. If she hadn’t brought up the idea of sleep, she probably wouldn’t need to yawn. In that, she was exceedingly suggestible. Even when she read about someone yawning in a book, she had to yawn too.

  She growled at herself under her breath as the thought brought on another urge to yawn.

  Just as the urge started to abate, she heard a soft laugh at her side.

  “Do you growl often?”

  She looked up at him and had to take a half step back to see into his eyes without hurting her neck. “Me?”

  He leaned a little closer and her eyes widened at the way he stared intently at her. “We’re the only two out here.”

  Just hearing him say the words made it feel more intimate. She was sure that Mrs. Behr was inside peering out from the window, but still, there seemed to be some kind of wall around them making the air feel a little tighter.

  A little warmer.

  “Yeah,” she couldn’t help but smile. “I guess everyone’s inside where it’s warm.”

  He shook his head. “The cold doesn’t bother us. We’ve all been here forever, and the cold is just part of life here. You’ll get used to it the longer you’re here.”

  It took Haley a moment to shake herself loose from the warm tones in his voice, the almost hypnotic pull he had on her. She knew he was just being nice. She was going to be there for a few months. He didn’t mean his words the way her heart wanted to take them.

  An invitation to stay.

  “I’m looking forward to developing a thicker skin.” She used her free hand to rub up and down her arm to stimulate some blood flow. “It’s a little chillier than I’m used to.”

  The look in his eyes darkened a little and his eyes narrowed on her. “Do you have a coat in your car? We should go and get that.”

  The last thing she wanted to do was be a bother. “That’s okay. I’ll get in my car and follow you back to your house. That is... if you’re done here.”

  He slid a glance to the curb where she’d parked her car.

  “Do you have snow chains for your car?”

  “I’ve done okay so far.” She gestured at Sally. “If it’s not far to your place, I can just make do.”

  Clancy held out his hand. “Keys.”

  More than a little affronted at his demand, she shook her head. “No thanks. Seriously, I can just drive-”

  “The road up to my house is steep. And it’s been snowing all through the night. My truck made it through and while you might be able to follow in my tracks, without chains you’re going to slide right off the road. We’ll get your bags and put them in my truck and tomorrow, Manny can tow it to his garage and put on the chains. If he thinks it will make the drive, then you can drive it home.”

  Home.

  The word shocked her a little, but not enough that she could ignore everything he was ‘telling’ her.

  Grudgingly, she gave him the keys to her car and followed him down the steps to the sidewalk. When he opened the passenger door, he reached in and picked up her bag. Instead of giving it to her, he put his arm through the strap and then slung the colorful woven bag over his shoulder.

  As cute as he looked holding her bag, once he headed toward the back of her Rabbit she followed quickly after him. “You don’t have to do that.”

  His steps didn’t falter, and with a quick twist of his wrist, the trunk opened. “I’m getting your bags.”

  As he reached in to grab her smaller suitcase that was on the top of the pile in her trunk, she bounded from the sidewalk and slipped a little on the ice under the snow.

  For a moment she worried that she would fall and end up with bruises on her backside, but that fear only lasted a moment.

  All of a sudden, she stopped moving and felt the frame of her car at her back and two large and incredibly strong hands grabbing her upper arms.

  Clancy was breathing hard, but she knew it wasn’t because he was winded. No one looked like he did and had problems with saving someone from falling on her butt.

  She could see the concern in his eyes that warred with another emotion that was almost a glare.

  “Please,” the word ground out between his clenched teeth. “Be careful, Haley.”

  The sound of her name in his voice felt as if it was a kind of caress. The ragged rise and fall of his shoulders gave her a rush of feeling inside her chest. He was worried about her. Concerned. While she felt bad that he had cause to be, knowing that he felt a connection to her, felt good.

&n
bsp; Felt right.

  “Promise me.” His fingers tightened on her upper arms. His grasp didn’t hurt. She felt protected. Maybe even cared for.

  And it had been a long time since she’d felt that way.

  “I promise.” She had to work to force the words out because she knew he wanted to hear them, but she also felt the warmth in her chest spread up to her cheeks when she realized that she wanted to see him smile again.

  And he did.

  “I’m glad,” he nodded. “I need you to be careful, Haley. I need...”

  His words faded away, but the look in his eyes deepened. What it said... what it meant... she didn’t know.

  But she wanted to.

  And if he wanted to pick up her bags and take her home with him, well she was going to let him.

  Maybe he sensed her acquiescence, or maybe he saw some clue in her expression, but moments later, Clancy reached into the back of her VW and pulled out both of her suitcases. Then he took a few steps back to give her room to shut the trunk. When she did, she moved to his side to walk with him as they crossed the street.

  She couldn't believe how strong he was. She’d had quite a time muscling the bags into her trunk. Watching him carry them as if they were two handbags had a strong effect on her.

  Haley realized that she was out of her league in so many ways, but that little ember of hope flared inside of her and she hoped that Mrs. Behr’s words were true and that things would work out.

  It had to sometime in her life, right?

  2

  Clancy hoped he hadn’t made her too upset when he insisted that they take the bags out of her car. He had his reasons.

  First, there was no way he was going to let her drive home without chains on her car. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her now that he found her.

  And yes, the underlying reason was that Haley Woodward wasn’t just the woman who he was playing host to, she was his.

  His woman.

  His mate.

  His everything.

  And that’s why he was so glad that he had a suitcase in each hand. It had taken every ounce of self-control to keep him from putting his hands all over her. Yes, in the middle of Main Street. She was just that tempting.

  Mrs. Behr knew it too. He could sense the excitement in her the instant she opened the door. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the light in her eyes reminded him of fireworks. She had been excited, but he knew she was also excited for him.

  When she’d first posted the advertisement for a quilter, he’d been the one to post it on the internet. He loved the older woman like a mother, and she had treated him with a great deal of care for most of his life since he had come to Allaway as an adolescent bear. When he’d groused about the idea of bringing a stranger to town, she’d cuffed him on the arm and told him to do as he was told. It hadn’t been hard to get more information from her. Theadora Behr was always bursting with something and when he’d focused his attention on the computer screen and his work posting her flyer, she’d blurted out the whole story.

  At first, all he’d heard was Pinterest and Etsy and a few fabric stores that she was always ordering from, but when she said the word mate and then followed it up with his name, or vice versa, he’d paid more attention.

  Apparently, she’d seen examples of Haley’s work and knew that she was ‘the one’ for him. He’d laughed off the idea the first twenty or so times that she’d mentioned it, but once he heard that Haley had indeed applied for the artist in residence position (that was already hers), he’d decided not to scoff too much at the idea.

  Definitely not in front of Theadora.

  Clancy had been open to the idea of a possible match, but he didn’t tell her that he wasn’t going to hold his breath. It wouldn’t have shaken Theadora’s resolve. Instead, it would have inspired her to keep pressing on and on about the idea.

  But he knew by the look on Theadora’s face that he was going to endure a lifetime of ‘I told you so,’ and he would be more than happy to suffer that.

  The problem was that he wasn’t sure how much it would take to convince Haley that they were meant to be. As far as she knew, he was just giving her a place to stay while she was in town, so Clancy knew that the most important thing that he needed to do was make her feel at home. Everything else could come after that, but if she felt like an outsider that would be a huge problem to convince her that she was meant to be with him.

  A quick gust of wind brought her scent to him and his bear lunged toward the surface of their connection. Clancy had to fight him to back down. Had to make it a demand instead of a request as the wall between the two halves of his soul became dangerously thin. His bear had no worries about convincing Haley to stay. The bear would be more than happy to lay her down in the closest snowdrift and seduce her. His need was all about instincts and his bear was sure that once he had her under him, she wouldn’t have a single issue with being claimed.

  Clancy knew better.

  Or rather, he had more concerns. Allaway was a haven for shifters, but not everyone knew that. It had only been a couple of years since the televised outing of shapeshifters had happened in Sylvan City, a few hours away. Until the moment Devlin Kerr shifted on live television to protect his mate, shapeshifters lived their lives mostly in secret, unless they were lucky enough to live in remote, out of the way places like Allaway.

  They had enough friends on the road leading to town that would alert them to the presence of people who might be outside of their world. He knew that Theadora hadn’t asked Haley about shapeshifters. That, she’d told him, was something she’d left for him to explain.

  Like there wasn’t enough to weigh on his shoulders.

  “Clancy?”

  He heard the sound of Haley’s voice, but those sweet tones only settled him more into his thoughts of what lay ahead for them. It was such a temptation to wallow in the sensation of her voice and the soft, gentle quality of it that called to him on a baser level. Both sides of his nature wanted… needed to hear her call his name over and over again.

  “Clancy, are you okay?”

  He shook himself free of his thoughts and realized that he’d stopped in the middle of the street, holding her bags, and even though his gaze was focused on Haley’s face, he knew that there were people watching from every house and business along the street.

  Growing up in Allaway, he knew what people cared about.

  And it was each other.

  That didn’t mean that all the attention was good. That wasn’t the fact anywhere, but in Allaway most of the curiosity was well-meant. Still, jealousy existed there, and he was no stranger to it. His friend Manny had found his mate earlier in the year and Clancy had isolated himself for awhile until he could get that green-eyed monster under control.

  Haley hadn’t moved yet, but her curious look had become more concerned than anything else. He didn’t want her to worry about anything.

  He centered himself, leaning closer and shielding her from as many curious eyes as he could. “I’m sorry, Haley.” He was fairly sure that the rumbling growl he felt in his throat was clear enough for her to hear. “My mind is going a mile a minute.” He saw the brightness in her eyes dim a little and he chased after that light, hoping to bring it back. “I’m worried that I upset you when I took your bags out of your car. I’m sure I’ll hear about it later from Mrs. Behr.”

  Haley’s smile was back, her eyes sparkling with humor. “I’m sure she knows that you did it for a good reason.”

  That surprised him a little.

  “You understand why I did it?”

  It took a moment for her to nod in agreement. “I understand, but” she gave him a little sideways look, “that doesn’t mean I’d be happy with you doing that all the time. I know we don’t really know each other, but I want to make sure that we understand at least that.”

  He thought through her words making sure he did consider what she was saying.

  His bear wanted him to agree to anythi
ng… everything so they could get her home, but Clancy knew better. Haley was all human. He could tell by her scent. She needed to have her feelings considered; he wanted to give her that and more.

  Clancy wanted to give her the world.

  “I understand what you’re saying, but I want you to know that I don’t have any experience with women.”

  He saw her eyes widen and he swore that her jaw went slack.

  “Really?”

  He shrugged and saw her eyes shift to his shoulders for a moment as she took an indrawn breath.

  Her expression changed and he caught a hint of suspicion in her eyes. “You can’t tell me you don’t have women following you around all day.”

  His smile returned in a heartbeat and he made a good show of looking one way down the street and then the other. “Do you see anyone following me?”

  Clancy couldn’t help feeling a measure of pride that Haley thought he was handsome enough to warrant female followers in town. He didn’t want to disavow her of the idea too quickly. His bear reared up inside of him, wanting to bask in her attention.

  He didn’t blame the bear for having those feelings, he wanted to bask in a lot more than just her attention. He wanted her hands on him, her body draped over his, her mouth-

  “Okay, so I was wrong about being followed around by women, but you know you’re gorgeous.” Her cheeks were almost flame red and he loved the color on her.

  His bear leaned against the barrier between them and without wasting any words, it showed him images, in great detail, of what he’d like to see on her. A lot of bare flesh rolled by like an intimate film and Clancy had to fight off the wave of arousal.

  He had to remind himself that they were still standing in the middle of the street and Haley, unlike everyone watching them with avid interest, was human and a sudden seduction would likely be met with a slap across his face.

  “I know what the ladies tell me, but they’ve all known me for years and are probably happy that I turned out to be passably good looking. But I’m just happy you like the way I look. I like that a lot, Haley.”

  Her color heightened and the blush that he saw on her cheeks was matched by the beautiful flush of color high on her chest. He could only hope that he’d get to find out if the color went any lower when she was aroused.