The Easter Bunny's Bear

By Zoe Chant

Special Sneak Preview

 

There he is, she thought with an internal sigh. At least this will keep the ponies fed another week.

She wrinkled her nose when she stepped out the door. He was driving the sort of sleek, polished SUV that people who’d never actually set foot inside a stable or onto a field drove. That didn’t bode well.

Then the door was opened, and out stepped one of the most stunning men she had ever seen. Heat rushed to her face when she realized just why her mother had sounded so smug about sending the stranger to her farm.

He wasn’t wearing an expensive Armani suit. Actually, he was dressed quite sensibly in a pair of jeans that hugged his legs and a simple shirt of dark blue that stretched across a broad chest. She swallowed when her eyes lingered on his upper arms for a moment. The guy definitely worked out―he looked like he’d be able to chop wood for hours, or wrestle a stubborn pony.

His hair was brown, just long enough to curl a little. And his eyes…

Wow.

Lisa felt her heart give a little jump when he looked at her and smiled with obvious relief. His eyes were brown too, deep and warm, like old, polished wood. His mouth was generous, surrounded by the sort of small lines that revealed that he smiled a lot, and a chiseled chin that made her think of old movie stars.

“Hi,” he said and held out his hand. “I’m Desmond Brown. I was told that you still have a free room for the next few days?”

Lisa had to tear her eyes away from the vision of manliness right before her. She quickly wiped her hands on her jeans, then realized with embarrassment that she was still wearing the old shirt she’d put on to do her cleaning. Hastily, she tugged at the bottom of it to try and hide the soft curve of her belly before she shook his hand.

“Welcome! I’m Lisa Wilson,” she said. “I hope my mother told you that I’m usually renting those rooms to girls who come for the ponies. They’re quite simple.”

“A bed is really all I need. And I promise I won’t bother your ponies,” he promised with a soft laugh, his voice warm and dark.

She could feel her knees weaken. He was far too good to be true. What was a guy like that doing on her farm?

She nodded towards the door. “Let me show you around then. The children can get a little loud when they play, but their parents make sure that they go to bed on time. So they won’t keep you awake.”

He had only brought one bag, she saw as he followed her inside. She wondered what had brought him here. It was a popular spot for hikers, but a guy like that, all alone...?

He probably has a girlfriend at home.

"Here it is," she said when she had opened the door to his room. "Breakfast at eight in the kitchen downstairs. There's also Easter egg painting this evening for the children, but you probably have better things to do. And the pony riding, but..."

He laughed with delight. "No, thanks, I'm good. I'm a little scared of horses, actually."

"Really?" she asked and raised a brow, giving his biceps a pointed look.

He shrugged, his eyes warm as they rested on her. "They're just... really big. But at least that means that your children won't have to share."

Lisa couldn't hold back her laughter as she imagined this bear of a man on one of her ponies.

"That's probably better for everyone involved," she agreed. "Anyway, I'll leave you to get settled in. If you have any questions about the hiking trails, I'll be outside, feeding the ponies."

Again her eyes lingered just a heartbeat too long on his face and the warm, dark eyes that were watching her with such amused attention. It felt strangely good to talk with him. How long had it been since she'd felt this attracted to someone?

Nothing will come of it, she told herself. You know that it never does. But maybe mom was right. At least I can enjoy looking at him while he's here...

"Thanks again," he said softly. "You're a real lifesaver. I know I should have booked a room in advance, but this was a bit of a last-minute holiday. I'll see you at breakfast."

She smiled again, her stomach flip-flopping, and then forced herself to tear her eyes away from his strong arms and handsome face.

As nice as it was to watch him settle in, her ponies wouldn't appreciate going hungry just because she couldn't stop ogling the new guest.

 

***

 

"Hey, you devil," Lisa called out sharply when she finally made it to the small paddock where a small, black stallion had begun to produce quite a racket, to the delight of a freckled, red-haired girl watching from a safe distance. The pony had taken hold of an empty bucket with his teeth and was now happily banging it against the wooden posts of the fence.

"I wish you'd never learned how to do that." Lisa scowled as she wrestled the bucket free, then turned to wave at the young girl. "Hey, Ashley. Do you want to help me feed him?"

"Oh yes," the girl said in delight. "I didn't get close to him, I remembered what you told me."

Lisa gave the stallion another despairing sigh. He was now prancing along the fence in impatience, whinnying for her to hurry up.

"He's tame as a lamb with a rider, but you'd better leave him alone when he's outside. He loves showing off."

She let Ashley fill the bucket with oats, then put the bucket back down in front of Lancelot, the hungry pony, who managed to thrust his entire head into the bucket so quickly that Lisa pulled out her fingers with a wince.

"You little devil," she said again, petting his neck. His mane gleamed dark in the sunlight. He looked fine today―of course, she'd had to wash him yesterday because he had managed to find the only muddy spot on the entire paddock and rolled around in it. But right now, his coat was gleaming in the sunlight, and his mane was smooth and full.

As obnoxious as he could be, he was the finest horse she owned, and his foals usually sold for good prices to parents with competitive children. One of Lancelot’s sons had even won the regional eventing championship. And he'd given her a fine crop of foals this year.

"He's only such a terror because he knows how gorgeous he is," she said to Ashley.

The girl was staring at Lancelot with wide-eyed awe, and Lisa decided she'd have to let her ride the little beast later today. He’d never been anything but gentle and careful as soon as he had a child on his back, but she still didn't like her guests to get too close to him when he was blowing off steam out on the meadows.

"Come on, let's feed the other ponies," Lisa suggested. When she turned to walk towards the stable, something made her look up and search out the windows.

Her heart gave a little jolt when she saw a familiar face looking down at them. After a moment, Desmond raised his hand and gave her a little wave. She felt herself flushing and quickly waved back, then escorted Ashley into the stable where she kept the mares who hadn't foaled yet.

The work was familiar. She'd done this for so many years that she was certain she'd be able to do it in her sleep. Which meant that it wasn't a good distraction from Desmond...

What is a guy like that doing on my farm, she thought again, pausing to wipe a dusty strand of hair out of her face.

Then she winced when a mare used the moment of distraction to stomp on her foot.

Serves me right, she admonished herself. What good does it do to dream of someone you will never have? You’ve got work to do!

She knew what her grandmother would have said. Mooning over a man like this... No, her grandmother would have had words for her.

Of course, it had been different for her grandmother. She had been a fox shifter, finding her perfect mate in a dog shifter, and so fox and dog had lived happily together here on the farm for all their life. It wasn’t as easy for Lisa, who sometimes wished she could just forget about the existence of shifters altogether.

"You're so distracted today," Ashley said with the sternness only a ten-year-old pony enthusiast could show.

Lisa looked down at where she had just managed to pour half the contents of a dirty water bucket over her jeans and grimaced.

"Sorry," Lisa said. "I'm thinking about what we'll do this evening. How do you feel about coloring eggs?"

Ashley gave a long-suffering sigh. "That's for babies," she declared. "But Katie loves it, so Mom says I have to."

Lisa bit back a grin. "I think we'll find a way to make it fun. You can decorate a Lancelot egg! I'm sure your mom would love that."

Once Lisa made it back inside to change out of her wet jeans, she ran straight into Desmond, who had a map spread out over the kitchen table. The sunlight that fell in through the window made his hair gleam in all sorts of different shades of brown and auburn. Breathlessly, she wondered what it would be like to touch it. She wondered how those strong arms would feel around her…

He looked up and smiled in apology, and Lisa felt something in her chest tighten.

"I'm sorry, I'm just about to head out," he said and moved to fold his map up.

She shook her head. "No, take your time. Any questions? There's a trail that starts right behind the fields to your left, you'll enter the forest... here," she said, and pointed to a spot on his map.

"I was thinking about driving out here," he replied and drew his own finger up the road that led towards the hills further east.

Lisa gulped when his hand brushed hers, heat shooting up through her body from the simple contact.

For a moment, Desmond did not move; when he finally spoke, his voice was a little hoarse. "Sorry. See, I wanted to park the car here and then hike to the summit; in the town they said it's a beautiful spot."

Lisa nodded. It took a moment until she found her voice. "You'll have a great view. And it won't take too long if you drive; you'll make it back before sundown."

Desmond's eyes shone as he turned away from the map to look at her. All of a sudden, Lisa realized how close they were. If he wanted, he would be able to kiss her now. All it would take was to lean forward to close these precious few inches between them…

 

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