Bear Seeking Bride: Tyler: (BBW Mail Order Bride Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Bear Canyon Brides Book 2) Read online

  “Me too,” Tyler said. “Thanks Travis, and quit being an ass Trent. One day your time will come.”

  “Not likely, little brother,” Trent growled.

  He ignored his brother’s foul mood and sat up straight in his chair. He moved his briefcase to the floor and opened his laptop. Things suddenly looked brighter, and he couldn’t help but hope. Maybe she would be the one.

  He couldn’t wait to hear about Sabrina’s friend.

  Chapter Two

  Dawn turned on the TV and searched through the menu of her on-demand service until she found the movie she wanted to watch. It had been a long work week, and she’d treated herself to her favorite Chinese take-out and an iced-coffee.

  Caroline had a date tonight, but they would see each other the next day.

  She took a bite of eggroll and the phone rang, as if mocking her. She decided to ignore it, she wasn’t expecting any calls, but when she saw Sabrina’s picture flash on the screen she immediately panicked.

  Why would her friend be calling on a Friday night? What had happened?

  “Hello,” she said around a mouth full of food.

  “Well-low,” Sabrina mimicked, and laughed. “Chinese?”

  “Yes,” she swallowed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, in fact, everything is great. Why do you think something is wrong?”

  “Well, you’re calling me on a Friday night and you’re married now. I thought you’d be out on a date or something,” Dawn admitted.

  “You obviously have the wrong impression about married life,” Bree laughed. “It’s much more fun to stay home, if you know what I mean.”

  “You’re terrible,” Dawn laughed. “If that’s true, then why are you calling me?”

  “Okay, okay. We are staying in tonight, but it’s because we’re both so tired,” she laughed again. “Travis is out picking up a pizza, and I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “What is it?” Dawn asked, feeling panicky again.

  “Remember I told you that Travis has a brother I thought you’d be great with?”

  “Yeah,” she said, slowly drawing out the word.

  “Well, his name is Tyler, and—”

  “No.”

  “You don’t even know what I’m going to say,” Bree pleaded.

  “His name is Tyler, he’ll be in town for a few days, and could I show him around,” Dawn stated, deadpan.

  As much as she would love to meet Tyler and show around a handsome shifter, she couldn’t burden him with her. She’d hate for him to feel obligated to take her out because she was his sister-in-law’s best friend. They’d both be miserable.

  “Nope, you’re wrong. See, you don’t know everything,” Bree sassed, and she could tell her friend was sticking out her tongue. “Actually, he’s thinking about placing an ad for a bride, but I asked him to meet you first.”

  “Please tell me you’re joking,” Dawn whispered.

  How humiliating. She knew her friend meant well, but she was horrified. What would happen when Tyler took one look at her and ran screaming for the hills? Everyone would be embarrassed, and there would be a rift between Bree and her new brother.

  She couldn’t agree to something so crazy.

  “I’m definitely not joking,” Sabrina said. “He, Trent and Travis are so close in age, they almost look like triplets, but Tyler is a bit more muscular and a tiny bit taller.”

  More muscular? Taller?

  She’d never be able to land a man like that. She’d met Travis, and he was as close to perfection she’d ever seen. Bree had certainly won the wedding lottery based on his looks alone, but he was also funny, smart and friendly.

  “He’s also sweet, kind and caring. Even though he’s the youngest, he’s usually the peacemaker, and for that reason, he handles a lot of the business meetings. He’s the best at smoothing things over with unhappy clients, too, although that doesn’t happen very often.”

  “Sabrina—”

  “Don’t say no,” Bree interrupted. “I know you’re nervous to try again, but you shouldn’t be. It was a one-time deal, and that guy was an idiot. You deserve to be happy, sweetie. I hate the thought of you hiding out in your apartment all the time.”

  “I’m not hiding out, I work from home.”

  “Yes, you are, and you know it, but that’s not really the point,” her friend continued. “He’s good looking, financially stable, ready for a commitment, and he wants to meet you.”

  “Bree, I…”

  I’m afraid.

  As much as she wanted to say the words, she couldn’t. Bree would never understand because she’d never been rejected in the same way. Men liked her, and she’d dated often.

  “I showed him your picture,” she admitted, “and he really wants to meet you.”

  “You did what?” she yelled.

  “I showed him your picture, what’s wrong with that?”

  “Which picture?”

  “The one of the three of us at the lake.”

  Okay, that one wasn’t so bad.

  “And the one of us with the ice cream sundaes.”

  “Sabrina!”

  In the second photo, they’d made sundaes at home and she’d had a whipped cream mustache from biting the cherry off the top of hers. The picture had been private, at least in her eyes, and she felt violated.

  “How could you?” Dawn seethed.

  “I love that photo, you know that, and I wanted him to see your smile. I don’t have a lot of recent photos with you smiling.”

  “I always smile,” Dawn protested.

  “Those are fake and you know it. I’m sorry about the photo, but I think you look beautiful in it, and now he wants to meet you. Give him a chance, sweetie. You never know, it could change your life.”

  Or ruin it.

  If she and Tyler didn’t work out, she’d most likely lose her best friend. Tyler lived in the same town, and he was related, which gave him precedence. She was now nearly eight hours away, and single, which meant she could easily be replaced.

  “I don’t want to lose you as a friend,” she finally stated.

  “Oh, honey, that will never happen. If it doesn’t work out, then you both move on. No pressure, I promise.”

  “Okay,” she hesitated, but reluctantly agreed.

  Sabrina squealed into the phone, and she shook her head as she held it at arm’s length.

  No pressure.

  Right. Sure.

  She hoped he didn’t run away screaming.

  ***

  Tyler walked through his home again and checked the time.

  How did Travis survive this?

  He hadn’t talked to her yet, hadn’t exchanged a single email, and yet he was about to go insane.

  Dawn had left her hometown nearly six hours ago and should be arriving in Bear Canyon in about an hour and a half. Luckily, he wouldn’t have to wait until tomorrow to meet her. He’d see her at Travis and Bree’s for dinner in a little less than three hours.

  He thought about the pictures he’d seen and smiled. He’d been pleasantly surprised when Dawn had been everything he’d wished for in the car on his last trip into the city. She was bigger and curvier than Bree, her face rounder, and she stood a couple inches shorter. She looked absolutely beautiful in the photos, and he couldn’t wait to see all those luscious curves in person.

  When Bree told him Dawn didn’t want to stay with the newlyweds, he’d immediately offered to cover the cost of her hotel, or the comfort of one of his guest rooms, but she’d rejected his help. She hadn’t denied him personally, of course, but the refusal to accept his help had hurt more than he cared to admit. Deep down, he hoped he wasn’t expecting too much from her first visit.

  Liar.

  Even as he thought the words, he knew they were lies. He wanted a mate, and he wanted Dawn to be everything he’d dreamed of, and more. He wanted to stop looking, claim her, marry her and settle down and start a family.

  Hopefully she wanted those things, too. Even though they hadn’t met, she was Bree’s best friend, and they’d known each other a long time. The women had to be at least remotely alike, and unless she’d been hiding something from Bree during their entire friendship, she might be the one.

  Slow down.

  He knew he had to relax or he’d make a fool of himself, so he shifted into his bear form, lumbered outside, and started running. He stayed away from the hill that led visitors in and out of town, and the center square, and instead chose a path along the south end near the canyon wall. The area was heavily dotted with shrubs and trees, and they were perfect hiding places for grizzlies.

  He weaved in and out of the greenery, climbed rocks, explored a cave in the canyon wall, and rolled into a stream. The warm water did nothing to cool his fur, but the rock bed in the stream massaged his back and relieved some of his stress.

  He stretched in the water one last time, and then rolled onto all four paws and started to walk home. The faint whimper of a bear cub caught his attention and he listened and then sniffed out the baby.

  When he saw the cup sitting against the tree, he shifted back into his human form.

  “Hey, are you lost?” he asked carefully.

  The cub nodded and he knelt down beside her.

  “I bet your parents are looking for you. Do you know your address?”

  The cub shook her head.

  “Can you shift back?”

  She shook her head again, and he mentally cursed.

  Children started shifting forms between the ages of five and ten, but they didn’t fully master the change until adolescence. Shifts were usually triggered by over excitement, and birthday parties and first days of school were common triggers. Even the most prepared cub often felt scared and alone during the first few t
imes.

  “I know you’re scared, but try this okay? Take a deep breath, and think about your human form.” He watched as she inhaled deep. “Good, now let it out. This time, close your eyes, and think about changing back. Ready?”

  She closed her eyes and nodded.

  “Okay, deep breath in,” he said in a soothing voice. “Think about your human form…and let it out.”

  He saw her fur start to recede, and she transitioned gradually. A fully grown shifter changed forms in about thirty seconds, but cubs took a little longer. During the next two minutes, hands and feet replaced her paws, a nose and mouth replaced her muzzle, and long blond hair replaced her fur.

  The magic allowed their clothes to change with them, and she wore a pink swimsuit and matching flip-flops. She looked to be about five years old, and he decided she must have wandered off from a pool party or her family’s backyard.

  “Good job,” he said, once her form had completely changed. “Were you at a party?”

  She nodded again.

  “Okay, well, let’s see if we can find your family.”

  An hour later, he handed the lost little girl over to her worried parents. It had been her first shift, and they’d been frantically searching for nearly two hours. They’d thanked him profusely, and after he’d shared his account of the story, he headed home.

  The reunion only confirmed his belief that shifters needed to stick together. He winced when he thought about what would have happened if the girl had gone missing in the city.

  By the time he got home, he was already an hour late for dinner.

  He cursed when he looked at his phone and saw two messages from Travis, and a text from Bree. When he thought about meeting Dawn for the first time, being late had never been one of his scenarios. It wasn’t the way he wanted to start out their relationship, but at least he had a good excuse.

  He texted Bree and his brother, and then jumped in the shower.

  In less than thirty minutes, he would come face to face with the woman of his dreams.

  Chapter Three

  Dawn checked her phone again and mentally calculated when she could reasonably use the tired excuse to go back to the hotel. Tyler was nearly an hour late, and though he didn’t answer his phone or text messages, no one seemed too concerned.

  The drive to Bear Canyon had been long, tedious and draining, but she’d agreed to dinner because she desperately wanted to see her friend. After she checked into her room, showered and changed her clothes, she felt as good as new.

  Bree met her in the coffee shop next to the hotel, and after some serious squealing and hugging, they ordered their drinks and went back to the house. Travis welcomed her with open arms, and she was once again awestruck by the compatibility between the newlyweds. It was as if they’d been married for years, not weeks.

  Trent had already arrived, and labeling him the grumpy brother had been an understatement. He cussed, complained and grouched through their entire introduction, and when they were left alone, he’d tried to embarrass her by questioning her motives toward Tyler.

  Luckily, Travis swooped in and shooed his brother outside. The men hovered over the grill, and Bree left her in front of the veggie tray and flitted around the kitchen like a bumblebee. She’d known the woman long enough to know when she was hiding something, but Dawn didn’t confront her.

  She was certain she didn’t want to know the truth.

  Tyler had obviously changed his mind.

  Her stomach growled embarrassingly loud and she realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch. She picked up a celery stick and checked her phone again.

  Earlier, when Bree had offered to pick her up, she’d been elated. She would have done anything to avoid getting behind the wheel again so soon, but now she was stranded and at the whim of her host. As much as she hated confrontation, she refused to dance around the subject all night until she could no longer keep her eyes open. She was tired, disappointed and uncomfortable. After dinner, she’d go back to the hotel, even if she had to walk.

  Tomorrow would be a new day, and she’d visit with Bree, explore the town, and enjoy her lavish hotel room before she went back home. She’d worked hard to get ahead of schedule so she could have a week off of work and she intended to enjoy it, even if she had to enjoy it alone.

  “Expecting an important call?”

  Trent’s words skated over her back and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She had no idea how he’d been able to sneak up on her, but it was a nifty little trick. She made a note not to zone out anywhere near him again.

  “Excuse me?” she asked.

  “That’s about the millionth time you’ve checked your phone. Do you have a boyfriend waiting for you back home?”

  “What? No, I wouldn’t…,” she stared at the veggie tray, searching for the right words. “It’s just a bad habit, sorry.”

  Why is he stalking me?

  “So no important calls?” he pressed.

  “What? No, just checking the time. I think the trip has finally caught up with me.”

  Please leave me alone.

  “Good. I know there’s a decent reason he’s not here yet, and I can guarantee it has nothing to do with you. You’re lovely and you have nothing to worry about,” he said.

  “Thank you, but I…”

  Trent left the room before she could finish her sentence, and she stared after him in disbelief. The man was an enigma, and she didn’t envy the woman who ended up with him.

  “Dawn, Tyler just texted,” Sabrina said. “I don’t know all the details, but he’s been helping a lost child find her parents for the past two hours. All is well, and he should be here in about thirty minutes.”

  “Oh wow,” she said. “That’s…great.”

  “Yeah, it is. Dinner’s almost ready.”

  Suddenly, she felt as if she was going to hurl.

  I don’t want to do this.

  Helping a lost child? Really? It seemed more like Travis and Trent got on the phone and told their brother to get his ass over to dinner. God, why did these things always happen to her? She wanted to crawl under the table and stay there until tomorrow morning when everyone left for work.

  She resisted the urge to check her phone again and tried to act natural. She only needed to get through dinner, and then she’d probably never see him again.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Sabrina said.

  Everyone walked out to the patio, sat down and loaded their plates. The burgers were huge, and when she added lettuce and tomato, the top part of the bun teetered. She added a scoop of both potato and fruit salad, and then stabbed a piece of cantaloupe and ate it.

  “Hey, everyone. Sorry I’m late.”

  The deep, sensual voice was followed by the scrape of the screen door rolling along the rails. Everyone spoke at once as Tyler stepped outside and closed the sliding screen.

  “It’s about time.”

  “Finally. Dude, what happened?”

  “Tyler, this is my friend, Dawn.”

  She turned to look at Tyler, and she forgot to breathe.

  Oh, holy hell!

  Sabrina hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the brothers could be triplets. They were only a year apart, and all three had dark brown hair and eyes. They shared the same facial structure, but each one had their own redeeming qualities and Tyler didn’t disappoint.

  He had the baby face of the group, but he in no way looked like a baby. At six foot, three inches tall, he only had an inch over his brothers, but it made a world of difference. He towered over her, and though she’d always been short, she’d never felt protected.

  His chest was wide and muscular, his biceps bulged out of his t-shirt, and she had a feeling he’d have no problems throwing her over his shoulder like a caveman. The thought reddened her cheeks and sent of surge of electricity straight to her core. Her panties dampened and she shifted to press her thighs together.

  Unlike with his brothers, she immediately sensed the power of both the man and the beast, and she desperately wanted him. It never crossed her mind that he would be so perfect, and her response proved it.

  Dawn got up to shake his hand and realized she’d been holding her breath. She inhaled, and prepared to speak, but forgot about the cantaloupe. What followed was a blocked windpipe, a coughing fit, and several distressed gasps for air.

  Sabrina rushed to get a glass of water while Trent and Travis watched with concern. Tyler grabbed her hand and rubbed soothing circles on her back. The heat from his hand, combined with his hushed, consoling words, caused her to relax and she coughed up the offending piece of fruit.