“Please let this go well,” I mumble to myself as I get out of the truck.

I should have been nicer on the drive over. I should have talked more and helped ease some of her nerves and took away some of her fears, but this is all so overwhelming. My tongue was tied, and I was too nervous to speak. This is the girl I’ve been thinking about since I was seventeen years old, and she suddenly comes back into my life out of the blue. I just wasn’t prepared for it, and instead of charming her and trying to get her back, I just clammed up and stopped talking.

Real charming, Lachlan. Way to go.

She shouldn’t even be here. I have a raging grizzly bear inside of me who can hurt anyone—even the people closest to me.

I told her I’d protect her, but I know I’m more dangerous than whoever she’s running from. Who’s going to protect her from me?

“This is so beautiful,” Jessie says as she looks around the ranch. “You live here?”

The Grizzly Ranch is a beautiful place, I’ll give it that. The dragons gave it to us after we helped with the clear out. They were even generous enough to build five log cabins on the property, even though there were only three of us Grisly Grizzlies left at the end.

Maximus, Kneecap, and I each got our own cabin. Caleb came later, taking one, and then the twins, Tito and Ronin shared the last one.

We built the stables and bought the horses—over a dozen now. But the real beauty is not the log cabins with the wisps of smoke snaking out of the chimneys, it’s the rugged wilderness of Big Sky Country.

Everywhere you look, you see mountains. Some are up close, some are far back, but they’re all magnificent and perfect for a shifter to let his bear roam around in.

We have thick forest to the left, roaming horses to the right, a river in the back, and a lake with a sandy beach about a twenty-minute ride away. It’s truly paradise on earth, and when the beauty of it suddenly hits me, I often wonder why I deserve to be in a place like this.

It’s like the universe has made a mistake. A paperwork mix-up. A glitch in the system. They sent me to paradise when I should be in hell.

Jessie is staring at the wide-open pasture that’s overrun with bright wildflowers. She smiles when she sees a fat gopher in the middle of it chomping on bright purple pedals.

“I can’t believe you live here,” she says as she looks around, trying to take in all of the scenery.

The scenery is beautiful, but my eyes are stuck on her. The wind is blowing, taking her silver-blonde locks up for a ride, and she’s looking around with such a gratified smile on her face that I can’t help but feel a bit more relaxed.

“That’s my cabin,” I say, pointing to the one on the left. The five cabins are scattered around the property and mine is beside the river. Most mornings after I feed the horses, I grab my fishing rod, cast from the back balcony, and sit with a coffee as I try to catch lunch.

“That’s the barn,” I say, pointing to the old dilapidated barn that was there before we were. “It’s mostly filled with junk. Horse stables are over there.”

“You have horses?” she asks with her face lighting up.

“Fifteen of them,” I say with a nod. “Want to go ride one?”

“I really do,” she says, biting her bottom lip excitedly. “But what I really want, is a shower. I stink.”

I’ve been enjoying her scent since she arrived, but I know how self-conscious girls can get.

“This way,” I say, waving her over. “Let’s just hope we don’t run into any—”

“What the hell is this?” Tito says, laughing as he walks over with his twin trailing close behind him. “Did you win a bride at your poker game?”

“I didn’t realize you guys play with such high stakes,” Ronin adds, laughing.

My inner bear huffs and starts pacing within. I can feel his anger turning to rage as they come over, laughing at my girl.

I’m taking deep breaths to control the bear and to control myself when Jessie steps forward with a grin on her face.

“Actually, he won me at the Win-A-Bride claw vending machine at the arcade,” she jokes. “Luckily, he did because it was getting hot and sweaty in there with all of the other brides.”

She wraps her arms around my bicep and kicks her back leg up like a wife from the fifties and my bear instantly settles. It’s like her touch is an instant soother.

“He’s my savior,” she says, looking up at me as she bats her eyes. I can’t help but think the same. Maybe she’ll be my savior too.

“You might want to crawl back into that machine,” Ronin says with a laugh. “I think you got the raw end of the stick.”

“I’m Jessie,” she says, offering her hand.

My bear lets out a low growl as Tito shakes her hand.

“Okkaaayyy,” he says, quickly snapping his hand back. Both twins shoot me a questioning look as they back away from the confused girl. The growl was low enough that she couldn’t hear, but the twin grizzly bear shifters definitely did.

“That’s Tito and Ronin,” I say in a bristling voice. “It doesn’t matter which one is which. They’re both the same. Equally obnoxious. Equally annoying.”

“And equally good looking,” Tito says.

Ronin rolls his eyes. “He still doesn’t know that he’s the less attractive one of the pair.”

They look the same to me, and if it weren’t for their different scents, I would never be able to tell them apart. Not that I’d ever care enough to try.

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Jessie says, letting her hands fall from my arm. The warmth flooding through my body suddenly dissipates, and I’m left with a cold feeling that lingers without her skin touching mine.

I can feel the twins watching us curiously as we walk the rest of the way to the cabin. They’re wondering what she’s doing here with me. I’m not the type to bring home girls—that’s Caleb’s job. Let them wonder. I don’t care.

“Sit here for a second,” I say, pointing to the chair on my front porch. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Is your place a mess?” she asks with a grin. “I don’t mind.”

If I knew she was coming I would have made sure that every inch of my place was spotless. Even the back of the toilet, under the stove, and the tops of the ceiling fan blades—it would have been immaculate.

But I didn’t know she was coming, and it looks like a depressed bear shifter with a self-destructive lifestyle lives in there, and that won’t do for Jessie.

She sits down, looking in the far distance at the cattle grazing in the field as I rush into the cabin and clean up as fast as I can. Ten minutes and a whole lot of empty beer cans later, and the place looks decent.

“It’s cute,” she says as she looks around.

I’m suddenly very self-conscious of it in a way that I’ve never been before. I want her to like it.

It’s not much, just a small living room, a decent-sized kitchen, a nice bathroom, two spare bedrooms filled with boxes, and my bedroom.

“You can take the bedroom,” I say, guiding her around. “I’ll sleep on the couch. The bathroom is here, and you’re welcome to take anything in the fridge, although it is a little sparse. I wasn’t expecting company.”

“I’m sorry to show up unannounced,” she says, looking uncomfortable. “I really don’t want to put you out. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No,” I bark a little too roughly. “It’s fine. I want you to have the bed.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but I give her a look that means it’s not up for discussion.

“Thank you,” she says shyly.

I take a deep breath, and before I can decide if the words are a good idea or not, they’re sliding past my lips. “I’m really happy you’re here, Jessie.”

Her cheeks turn pink as her face lights up in a smile. “Me too.”

The air is thick with something as we stare at each other for a long moment before she takes a short breath and turns with her skin flushing red.

“I better get in that shower,” she says. “I’ve been in this hideous dress for far too long.”

I set her up in the bathroom with a fresh towel, some soap, and even give her some spare clothes that will be way too big on her.

She closes the door, and I rush into the bedroom to change the sheets when I hear the ceramic cover of the toilet moving. I stop and listen, wondering what she’s doing, but when she puts it back and starts the shower, my mind is on something else.

Jessie is in my cabin right now. She’s naked in my shower.

I can’t focus on anything but that until the water shuts off and I hear the faint sound of her feet stepping onto the tile.

She comes out a little while later wearing my clothes. “They’re a little big,” she laughs, holding up her arms. My shorts almost go down to her ankles and my shirt is so baggy that the sleeves end halfway down her forearms.

“Just a tad,” I say with a smile. “But you look beautiful.”

And she does. She looks so natural, like the angelic girl I fell in love with all those years ago. Her hair is hanging down after a towel dry, and all of the makeup is washed off her gorgeous face. Her lips are a natural pink that looks so kissable, and I can see the cute freckles on her cheeks that I absolutely adore.

I make her some coffee and get out a mug before I go into the bathroom to take my own shower. Before I step inside, I take the ceramic lid off the back of the toilet and look in the tank. There’s a bag full of money floating inside.

Benjamin Franklin is staring at me from the stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills as I pick it up.

Now that the initial shock of seeing her again is starting to wear off, I’m wondering what the hell is going on with her. Why did she show up out of the blue in a wedding dress with a stack of cash?

I put the money back where I found it and carefully put the lid back on without making a sound.

My mind is swirling as I step into the shower, letting the hot water wash over me.

What kind of trouble is she in?

* * *

A flash of panic rushes through me when I get out of the bathroom and find the cabin empty. My heart is pumping as I rush outside and look around, only to see Jessie by the firepit laughing with the twins.

I’m so absorbed in admiring how beautiful she is that I don’t even notice Maximus walking toward my cabin until he speaks.

“Is that the same girl?” he asks, yanking me out of my daze. “Emanuele Marchesi’s daughter?”

I turn and watch him as he walks up the path to my cabin. He stops at the bottom of the stairs and watches me with a curious gaze.

“What’s she doing here?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I haven’t gotten the full story.”

He takes a deep breath and slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he looks at her. “You should find out, Lachlan. Last we heard, Marchesi still had connections with the Hell’s Howlers, and I don’t need to tell you how dangerous they can be.”

I’m not afraid of the wolf shifters in the Hell’s Howlers. I’ll take on every single one of them if it means protecting her.

Maximus rubs his short beard as he looks at her. “How long is she staying for?”

Forever, hopefully.

“Not sure. Maybe a couple of days.”

“Just be careful with her,” Maximus says. “We don’t need the Hell’s Howlers showing up. We’re already on thin ice with the dragons after Kneecap busted up the The Dirty Ashtray last month.”

I nod as I rub the back of my neck. “Don’t worry, Max. I’ll be careful.” The last thing we need is the dragons coming down on us because of a brawl with some pesky wolves.

“I know you will,” he says, giving me more credit than I deserve. He walks away but then stops and turns. “And Lachlan…”

“Yeah?”

“Try to have some fun,” he says. “I’d like to see the Lachlan I knew back when you first fell in love with her.”

“That Lachlan died with Carter,” I say, feeling a thickness in my throat.

“I know,” Maximus says. His body tightens from just hearing the name. “I changed that day too, but I think it’s time for you to move on.”

“And what about you?” I say, maybe pushing a little too far for my own good. “Is it time for you to move on?”

He takes a deep breath and looks at the trees as they sway in the wind. “I don’t get to move on,” he says with a sadness in his eyes. “But you do. You did the right thing.”

I’m done talking about this.

“Are we finished?” I ask in a sharp voice.

He watches me for a moment and then nods. “Yeah,” he says softly. “We’re done.”

My breaths come out rough and heavy as I watch him walk away. I did the right thing, he says.

Yeah, right.