Bear My Heart: A Small Town Paranormal Romance Read online

  BEAR MY HEART

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  BEAR MY HEART

  A Small Town Paranormal Romance

  Copyright © 2016 by Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this Book

  Troy Hillman is Mister Handyman to the small town of Bear Cove. Sweet, sexy and protective, he is one of the town's most eligible bachelors but he doesn't want a girlfriend. He loves his sister and nephews, but he won't allow anyone to get close enough to see his scars and his secrets.

  Until he meets her…

  Dot has just arrived in Bear Cove. She doesn't intend to stay for long. After a few months, she will have to move...again.

  As long as she keeps moving, he will never find her.

  But something about Troy makes her want to settle down in this small town and have a home at last. His touch awakens long-buried feelings and desires, and his kisses promise the most wicked, sinful pleasure.

  When he holds her close, Dot finally feels safe, protected and loved.

  But falling in love is the most dangerous thing she can do...

  Troy can't reveal his dark past to Dot, and she refuses to tell him what she is running from.

  But this time, the stakes are too high. He won't allow her to run from him.

  As they bare their hearts to each other, they uncover dark, painful secrets about their past—secrets that will put their lives and the lives of those dearest to them in deadly danger...

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Dot walked quietly into Papa Bear's Diner and headed straight for the corner booth at the back. She had been coming to Papa Bear's Diner almost every day since moving to Bear Cove. Papa Bear's was a cozy mom-and-pop diner, the mom and pop being Daisy and Bernard Grove. Their chatty, curvy daughter, Lilly, was everyone's favorite waitress at Papa Bear's.

  “Hi, Dot!” Lilly greeted her brightly as she poured Dot a cup of freshly brewed coffee. “How's the writing going?”

  “Good,” Dot answered automatically.

  “That's great. Bear Cove is a small town, so it's nice and quiet around here. The surroundings, I mean,” Lilly said, gesturing with her coffee pot. “Rolling hills, trees, beautiful sunsets.” She lowered her voice to a dramatic whisper. “The people, though, aren't so quiet. We can be noisy—and nosy sometimes.”

  “Speak for yourself, Lilly Grove,” Daisy huffed at her daughter as she strolled to the back to grab some paper cups from a cabinet. “You're the nosy one. Not me.”

  “Oh?” Lilly turned around and arched a brow at her mother. “And who was asking Troy Hillman yesterday if he was seeing anyone?”

  Daisy chuckled gleefully. “There's a difference between being nosy and showing neighborly concern.” Daisy winked at Dot and bumped her hip playfully against Lilly's as she ambled towards the kitchen.

  “Mom, you almost made me spill the coffee all over Dot!” Lilly mock-grumbled.

  Daisy stuck her tongue out at her daughter just before she disappeared into the kitchen.

  Dot watched the interaction between Lilly and her mom with amusement and envy. It was obvious that Lilly enjoyed a very close and loving relationship with her parents. Lilly and Daisy were very much alike in looks and personality. They were both beautiful, vivacious, warm-hearted women.

  What would it be like to be part of such a lovely, loving family?

  Lilly studied Dot for a moment and said conversationally, “Have you lived in a small town before?”

  Dot gave a small nod.

  Lilly smiled. “Then you'd know how it is in a town as small as Bear Cove. Everyone knows everyone's business. But don't worry. We're not blabbermouths,” Lilly added earnestly. She mimed zipping up her mouth and throwing away the key. “Everybody is really nice. Even Grumpy Joe, when you get to know him.”

  “This is a really nice town,” Dot said politely.

  “Oh it is,” Lilly said, her eyes lighting up. “It's home.”

  The last word made Dot wince. Home. She hadn't had one in a long time now.

  Quickly and carefully, Dot arranged her features so that her expression was neutral, blank and unreadable. It was an automatic, instinctive reflex. She could do it so naturally now. She was so used to hiding her feelings, her fears, her real name, her real self.

  Sometimes it occurred to her that while she was alive, she wasn't really living. But that was just semantics, wasn't it? The important thing was to stay alive. And she was alive.

  She had escaped, and she was alive. And she planned on staying alive, even if it meant constantly moving from place to place, never ever having a place to call home.

  Dot looked up and saw Lilly staring at her curiously. Her carefully constructed facade of cool indifference must be slipped temporarily. Had Lilly glimpsed the fear and darkness swirling just beneath the surface?

  “I'll have the fish and chips,” Dot said quickly.

  “Coming right up.” With a nod, Lilly moved away from the table. She knew that Dot wanted to be left alone.

  Dot didn't really want to be alone. But she had no choice.

  She didn't want to drag Lilly, her parents, and this peaceful little town into trouble.

  Dot sipped her black coffee and realized that her hands were shaking badly. Putting down her cup, she watched Daisy and Lilly chat with the few customers in the diner as they made their rounds. The two women were rocking their bright red aprons with the words “Mama Bear” and “Baby Bear” emblazoned across their bellies. Lilly's dad, Bernard, was “Papa Bear”. Dot could sometimes hear him belting out oldies in the kitchen as he waltzed from the stove to the oven.

  Happy family, Dot observed, allowing herself just a tiny smile. Papa, Mama and Baby Bear, working, living and laughing together. It was a slice of heaven right here in Papa Bear's Diner. Perhaps that was why she kept coming to the diner every morning.

  Dot knew she would never have a happy family of her own. She'd had a brief taste of happiness before her mom died when she was seven.

  She struggled to hold on to the precious memories, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember her mother's face. She didn't have a single photograph of the only person she had ever loved and who'd loved her back just as fiercely and unconditionally.

  Dot looked out the window and saw a bunch of children in school uniform walking to school. Two adults were walking with them. The children were laughing and the younger kids were skipping happily down the path.

  Dot didn't remember much about her childhood. She had been in too many foster homes, and there was nothing she wanted to remember about those years.

  How she longed to be part of a real, solid, loving family. She wanted to be loved, cherished and protected as a person, not a possession.

  Dot shuddered involuntarily as she shook herself firmly out of her reverie.

  It wouldn't do her good to long for something she could never have.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Troy Hillman parked his truck in front of his sister's house and got out. The moment he opened the front door, he was greeted with excited shouts of “Uncle Troy! Uncle Troy!”


  His two grinning six-year-old nephews wrapped themselves around his legs and began to climb him like a tree.

  “Leo! Logan!” Megan scolded the twins as she hurried into the living room. “Stop monkeying around. Sit down and finish your breakfast, or you'll be late for school. Hey, Troy, come on in. We're having pancakes this morning. Boys!”

  Troy grinned at his elder sister. Leo and Logan shrieked with laughter as he picked them up and tickled them mercilessly.

  Megan put her hands on her hips and glared at them. “Finish your breakfast. Now,” she ordered.

  “Okay, Mom,” Leo answered breathlessly as he scooted away from Troy.

  “It's Uncle Troy's fault,” Logan said as he rushed to the table and sat down beside his twin.

  Troy sat down opposite the boys and helped himself to the pancakes. Twice a week without fail, he would come by to pick his nephews up and drive them to school. Megan always insisted he sit down for breakfast with them. His elder sister was a great cook and a great mom.

  Megan was a single mom to two lively twin boys and she worked as a librarian at the local library. Troy took the boys whenever he could so Megan could have some free time to herself. Troy loved his big sister and his nephews dearly. If not for them, he wouldn't be here today. Megan would deny it, but she and her boys saved his life.

  “Can we have ice-cream at Papa Bear's after school today?” Logan asked, stuffing the last piece of pancake into his mouth.

  Leo's fork hovered in the air. His hazel eyes sparkled mischievously. “Yeah, Mom, you said we can have ice-cream if we cleaned our room. We did.”

  “Shoving your toys under the bed is not cleaning your room,” Megan answered flatly.

  “But Mom!” the twins cried in unison.

  Leo and Logan turned beseechingly to Troy, but Troy kept a straight face and concentrated on his pancakes.

  “Uncle Troy, are you coming to fetch us from school this afternoon?” Leo asked eagerly.

  “You'll let us have ice-cream, right Uncle Troy?” Logan said.

  Megan narrowed her eyes at him. Troy cleared his throat and said carefully, “Only if your mother agrees.”

  The twins groaned, their shoulders slumping in defeat. “We knew you'd say that.”

  The boys finished their breakfast and scampered away from the breakfast table to grab their schoolbags. Megan sat down opposite Troy and drank her coffee.

  “Have you spoken to her?”

  Troy shrugged.

  “Why don't you talk to her?” Megan persisted. “You like her, don't you?”

  Troy blew out a rough breath. “How can I like her when I haven't even spoken to her?”

  “Then why are you watching her?”

  “She's new in town. I don't trust newcomers.”

  It was Megan's turn to shrug. “Her name's Dot,” Megan volunteered. “She comes to the library every afternoon. I think she's sweet, just rather shy and quiet. But newcomers tend to be reserved. That's understandable. You kept pretty much to yourself when you first came to Bear Cove,” Megan pointed out. “In fact, you didn't speak to anyone at all. You wouldn't even confide in me. And I'm your big sister.”

  “Megan...”

  “Back to the topic at hand,” Megan said deftly. “Dot, the newcomer. We should be more welcoming to her.”

  “I don't think she plans to stay in Bear Cove for long. She rented Mr and Mrs Yong's house for just six months.”

  “I think, maybe, she's looking for a reason to stay,” Megan said, looking intently at her brother.

  “The woman is hiding something,” Troy growled. “She has secrets.”

  Megan gave him a long look. With a sigh, she stood up and said quietly, “Don't we all.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Enjoy your meal,” Lilly said as she placed a large plate of fish and chips on the table.

  Dot turned away from the window. “Thank you, Lilly.”

  Lilly stood beside the table for a while, shifting her weight and chewing her lip. “How...how's the food?” Lilly asked at last.

  Dot knew that wasn't the real question that Lilly wanted to ask.

  “The food is great. I love coming here,” Dot replied as cheerfully as she could.

  “I know. You eat here every morning, and you sit at the same table every day,” Lilly answered with a smile.

  Dot glanced behind Lilly. The diner wasn't very crowded and even Bernard had come out of the kitchen to have a cup of coffee and share a plate of fries with his wife. Lilly turned and slapped a hand dramatically over her eyes when she saw her dad pinch her mom's bottom and waggle his bushy brows.

  “My folks embarrass me all the time,” she mumbled, suppressing a giggle.

  “You're lucky,” Dot said softly.

  Lilly nodded, but the laughter was gone from her eyes. The sympathy and understanding in Lilly's kind, friendly eyes crumbled the last of Dot's defenses.

  She was so tired of being alone. She had never had a friend before. Friends remembered you. And it was dangerous to be remembered.

  Lilly was around her age, and she genuinely liked Lilly and her family. They were kind to her and they tried to take care of her in their own quiet way. It didn't escape Dot's notice that Bernard always cooked extra large portions for her and Daisy would often come by with a glass of milk or juice for her. “On the house,” Daisy always insisted. “You drink that now. I made sure my Lilly finished her glass. You growing girls need extra vitamins and goodness.”

  At twenty-nine years of age, Dot was pretty sure she wasn't a growing girl. But there was no arguing with Daisy. She had witnessed Lilly's futile protests. Daisy wouldn't budge from her daughter's side until Lilly had gulped down every drop of the freshly and lovingly squeezed juice.

  So that was what having a mom and dad was like. They piled your plate with food, fussed over whether you had enough vitamins, watched you grow and insisted you keep growing.

  “If you're not too busy at the moment, could you sit and chat for a while?” Dot began tentatively. “I...I'd love to hear more about the town. I'm getting a lot of inspiration from the people I see in your diner.” The words tumbled out in a rush.

  “Really? That's great!” Lilly's face broke into a wide grin. The young woman immediately scooted into the booth and plonked her tray on the seat beside her.

  “Am I in your story? What are you writing about?” Lilly asked breathlessly.

  Dot smiled. “Actually, I'm thinking of naming one of my heroines after you.”

  “Really?” Lilly squealed and fanned herself. “Oh my! I'm going to be famous!”

  Dot laughed. “It's a short story though. I freelance for a few magazines and publishers.” Dot decided that she would tell Lilly as much of the truth as she dared.

  “Are you a romance writer? I think you have a romantic soul,” Lilly said, smiling.

  “I don't write romance.” Dot winced. How can I when I have never experienced it?

  Dot hurriedly cleared her throat and gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. “I stick to science fiction and fantasy. Stories far removed from reality,” she said.

  “Oh, no mysteries or crime fiction? I love a good whodunnit!” Lilly said enthusiastically. “I can never put a mystery book down until I reach the end. But my guesses are always wrong! I can never figure out who the killer is until the hero or heroine catches him. I can't stop halfway. I need to know who the bad guy is!”

  Dot wrapped her arms around herself and sucked in a painful breath. Lilly's last sentence was like a sucker punch to her gut. It hit too close to home.

  So do I. Dot gritted her teeth. So. Do. I.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Do you use a pen name?” Lilly was chatting animatedly. “I know some writers use different pen names for different genres. What do you call that? Some kind of plum or non plum.” Lilly screwed up her face in concentration.

  “Nom de plume,” Dot answered.

  “So do you ha
ve one?” Lilly was interested to know. “A plume.”

  “Yes. It's A. Dot.”

  “A dot?” Lilly looked confused. “What dot? Like...polka dots?”

  “It's my pen name. A. Dot.”

  “Oh!” Lilly's eyes lit up. “Like O. Henry!”

  Dot smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

  “I used to read O. Henry's stories when I was younger,” Lilly mused. “But now I read mostly whodunnits. Which you don't write.”

  “No.” Dot managed to keep the tremor out of her voice. “I find crime fiction...difficult.”

  “I can imagine,” Lilly said. “It must be really hard keeping track of all the characters in your head. Who said what, who did what, who's pretending to be someone else...”

  Dot had to swallow hard. She hadn't told anyone her real name, but that wasn't because she was pretending to be someone else. She was just trying to stay hidden and stay alive. She never stayed in one place long enough for anyone to remember her...

  She wondered if Lilly had figured out by now that Dot wasn't her real name. It was her pen name, and the name she was most comfortable using.

  As Lilly prattled on, Dot realized how nice it was to have someone to talk to. Lilly had been the first person to talk to her when she arrived in Bear Cove three weeks ago. The residents in Bear Cove sometimes gave her a friendly smile and nod when they passed her on the street but she always kept her head down and avoided talking to them.

  She could have made so many friends, if only she had stopped to talk. She could have been part of a community.

  She could have had a normal life.

  A cold, sharp anger began to burn deep within her. But this wasn't the old, familiar, buried anger she'd always felt.

  This anger burned deeper and fiercer, searing away the fears and nightmares that had been haunting her for so long.