Boone McScott might as well have been labeled sex-on-a-stick. I hadn’t stopped starting at him since he appeared. Why hadn’t anyone warned me he looked like that? He was the exact definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Except I couldn’t leave out there was something mysterious and brooding about him too. Maybe it was the thick beard, or the secrets he carried in his coal black eyes. This man made me shiver. And it was involuntary in every way.

I didn’t know what to think about his admission. I couldn’t process that this town had a shifter population. And right now, the only thing that really mattered was that there was a two-year-old child missing her parents. Her mother had to be freaking out.

I had to ignore that I had probably met the most gorgeous, sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on. And that he’d just revealed himself as one of the Twilight Hollow bear shifters.

My head spun. My knees were shaky. The girl whimpered, bringing me back to reality. I tucked her under my arm. The baby came first. My insta-crush and lust needed to take a backseat.

Boone stepped closer. I felt my heart race despite my inner lecture. “There’s no one looking for her at the farm. And after spending a few minutes with her, I’m certain she’s been out here a while.”

“Then we should get her to the medical center and call the police,” I suggested. “Someone needs to take a look at her. She could be dehydrated.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. That’s not going to happen.”

I froze. “You can’t be serious. She needs her family.” I patted her head. “And she needs a bath. And I’m sure she’s hungry.”

“I gave her an apple,” he grunted.

“An apple? That won’t fill her up. She’s practically a baby.” I pulled her tighter to me, ignoring the smell from her skin. He was right. This wasn’t a child who had recently wondered away. She had been hiding in the orchard for a while.

“She can stay at my cabin until we figure something out,” he stated as if it was already a determined fact.

“We?” I gawked. “You’re dragging me into this? I met you two minutes ago.” I could list a thousand reasons why his idea was crazy.

“She likes you. Come on. We’ll take her there.”

He started to walk away, and I stared in disbelief. He clearly thought the discussion was over. I huffed. He left me with no choice but to carry the little girl with me. His truck was parked at the bottom of the hill beyond where I had left the golf cart. Boone started the engine and I didn’t have a chance to argue with his plan. We should be headed to the police station. I’d feel even better if we could take her somewhere to get a check-up.

I climbed into the cab, holding her close. Boone put the truck in reverse and backed onto the road. We drove toward the thick forest bordering the last row of apple trees. There was a dirt trail, wide enough for his truck, but nothing else.

As we traveled deeper into the woods, I realized we had left the light and colors of the orchard behind us.

After a bouncy winding journey, we stopped when the road ended in a small clearing. There was a cabin, but it looked more like an expensive mansion built from logs. I eyed the three stories as I carefully hopped to the ground. Houses like this didn’t just exist in the middle of the woods.

“I’d carry her for you, but I think she’s afraid of me,” he explained, meeting me on the other side of the sidewalk. “I don’t want to scare her.”

“It’s all right. I don’t mind.”

Boone led me inside the house. He turned on the lights as he walked from room to room.

“There’s a guestroom with a full bath down the hall. Why don’t you put her in the tub and I’ll make her something to eat? I’ll skip the apples this time.”

I nodded, although I wasn’t sure why I had agreed to any of this. There was something about the tone of his voice and the way he looked at me that told me I shouldn’t disagree. It was starting to make sense why I needed to get his help with the festival. There was no doubt he had a commanding presence. I could see why people in Twilight Hollow would listen to him. Look what I had already done. But dealing with a missing child was never supposed to be a part of my job duties.

I carried her along the hall, peeking my head in the different rooms. There was a study, a workout room, and then a guestroom. There was an oval tub under a skylight. I turned on the warm water and let it run. The girl clung to my neck.

“Shh. It’s just a bubble bath. You’ll feel better.”

After a few minutes of struggling with her tattered clothes, she finally let me lower her into the tub. I washed her hair, lathering it with several rounds of shampoo and conditioner. I worked silently, not sure how to get her to say more than she had. I wondered what her name was. I tried a few different ways to get her to tell me, but she just babbled.

I wrapped her in a big fluffy towel and searched the guestroom for something I could dress her in. I wasn’t putting her back in smelly old clothes.

I found a stack of T-shirts in the closet. I held one up. They were from last year’s Twilight Hollow Fall Festival. It was too big for her, but it was better than what she had.

“Perfect.” I smiled, showing it to her. “You can wear one of these.”

I combed out her hair. The knots and tangles were gone. “There. Much better.” I showed her her reflection in the mirror. “Let’s see what’s for lunch,” I suggested. “I know you’re hungry.”

I took her by the hand and we walked to the kitchen to find Boone.

His broad shoulders spanned the width of the stove. I watched his arms flex every time he gripped the spatula. Did he work out every day, or was that just how shifters looked? Cut and ripped like cover models. Who was this man?

He turned around just as we walked into the gourmet kitchen.

“Grilled cheese ok?” he asked.

I nodded, trying not to stare too hard. It was difficult. Everything about this situation was out of the ordinary.

I waited for the toddler to take a few bites of her sandwich before I pressed Boone for more answers. I cornered him by the stove, keeping my voice quiet.

“Why exactly aren’t we calling the police? We need to report that we have a missing child. I understand things are different here, but they can’t be that different.”

His eyes hardened. Dark stormy eyes that made my knees wobble.

“You’re not from here, Ms. Aprils. I don’t think you need to stick your nose in Twilight Hollow business.”

My hands landed on my hips. “But, you brought me into it,” I sputtered. “I don’t understand what’s going on. We can’t keep her here. Or at least you can’t.”

He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the next room. I looked around at the posh laundry room. Everything about this place was a surprise. Then my eyes landed on his. He was staring at me with more than just a persuasive argument gaze.

He dropped his grip as if I had burned his palm.

He grumbled. “Look, I think I know who she is. And you are definitely not taking this to the police.”

I refrained from stomping my foot. “Then why don’t you tell me,” I pleaded. “Tell me what’s going on. Explain why you’re even thinking about keeping her.”

He hung his head. “You aren’t going to like it.” He stepped back, leaning into the washer.

“And you think I’m happy about the current situation?” I tilted my head. “This isn’t right. Her parents deserve to know where she is.”

He folded his arms across his bulging chest. “All right. But you have to agree to stop fighting me on this.”

I chewed the inside of my lip. “I don’t know if I can do that. There is a child at your kitchen table eating a grilled cheese. We don’t know where her parents are. And in three days your farm is supposed to turn into one of the hot spots of the festival. Are you planning to hide her somehow? Because I can’t go along with that.”

“You either agree to go along with everything I have to say, or you can leave. Now.” The growl emanated between us.

It sent chills along my spine. Something in me started to shake, but it was a deep quiver in my core. A place I should definitely not be feeling this way. Not with so much on the line.

As much as I wanted to cling to my principles and standards. As much as I wanted to tell him he could shove his secrecy, I couldn’t. I was too curious about the little girl. She had already found a way into my heart. I didn’t want to admit it, but part of me was drawn to the mysteries of the bear shifter man towering over me. I couldn’t leave.

Shit. I wasn’t going to do anything he didn’t want me to do. I was falling way too fast.

“Fine.” I pretended to be defiant. To have a choice. “But you have to tell me everything.”