Daddy Bear Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Foreword

  Chapter One – Jamie

  Chapter Two – Dani

  Chapter Three – Jamie

  Chapter Four – Dani

  Chapter Five – Jamie

  Chapter Six – Dani

  Chapter Seven – Jamie

  Chapter Eight – Dani

  Chapter Nine – Jamie

  Chapter Ten – Dani

  Chapter Eleven – Jamie

  Chapter Twelve – Dani

  Chapter Thirteen – Jamie

  Chapter Fourteen – Dani

  Chapter Fifteen – Jamie

  Chapter Sixteen – Dani

  Chapter Seventeen – Jamie

  Chapter Eighteen – Dani

  Chapter Nineteen – Jamie

  Epilogue

  Get In Touch

  Also By Harmony Raines

  Daddy Bear

  Return to Bear Creek

  (Book One)

  ***

  All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  © 2017 Harmony Raines

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  Daddy Bear

  For bear shifter Jamie, the army was easy compared to taking on the duties of a daddy bear to two orphaned children. When his best friend dies in a car crash, Jamie is solely responsible for Jasper and Juliet. When he meets his mate, in the form of delectable Dani Darling, he is scared he will be torn between his love and duty toward the children, and his love and need for his mate. Add in the minefield of being a single dad at the school gates, and he’s in for a bumpy ride.

  Teacher Dani Darling has moved to Bear Creek for a fresh start. She’s known heartbreak and loss, and wants this fresh beginning to be uncomplicated, so she sets herself a rule—No dating parents, or relatives, of the children in her first-grade class. But she had not factored in Jamie, and the way he makes her feel.

  Can she put her heartbreak behind her, and will Jamie still want her when her secret is revealed?

  Find out in Daddy Bear.

  Chapter One – Jamie

  “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” Jamie’s sister, Caroline, asked, looking at him with concern.

  “Nope,” Jamie said.

  “Then walk away. Let the kids go to a foster home,” Caroline said. Her words made sense, complete sense. But it wasn’t an option. Jamie had not come this far to walk away now. He could do this; the courts thought he could do this. But it was the scariest thing he had ever done. And he’d done some scary shit in the time he’d spent serving his country.

  “I’ve known… I knew Rich my whole life. We grew up trawling the mountains for rabbits together, we served together for ten years. He saved my life more than once. I can’t walk away. It’s my duty to care for those kids.”

  “Those kids don’t need duty, they need parents. That’s right, plural. Not a single dad with no experience of raising kids,” Caroline said. She was playing devil’s advocate; Caroline was an expert, and always had been.

  “I can do this, I will give it 110 percent.”

  “But is it the right 110 percent?” Caroline asked.

  She was trying to be gentle, he got that. He also got that she had a point. He wasn’t your typical dad material, but then this wasn’t your typical dad scenario. His best friend had survived Iraq, Afghanistan, and some other places that were too classified to talk about. IEDs, suicide attacks, missiles, you name it, they had faced them and lived. The irony, that Rich and his wife Mary, could wind up dead on a country road, less than ten miles from their home, was not lost on Jamie.

  “Yes, I believe it is. I can’t see them farmed out to a foster home. What if they get split up?” Jamie said, opening the car door and getting out.

  He breathed in the fresh mountain air. Bear Creek, his childhood home, the place his bear had missed every day of his life when serving in hot, arid countries. Jamie had always planned to come back here—when his work was done, his time in the army served, and he’d made a difference. Now he was going to make a difference in a smaller, more intimate, way.

  He wasn’t going to change the world, he was going to change two lives. Wait, make that three lives. He was about to turn his life around and take it in a whole new direction. It scared the hell out of him. But he couldn’t let Caroline see that, nor Rich’s kids.

  “The baby is under a year old, the little girl is only six. They will adapt, and no doubt forget each other and their mom and dad. And maybe that is for the best,” Caroline said.

  “The baby, the little girl? They have names, Caroline. Jasper and Juliet.” His voice rose in anger, and she flushed red. “Since when did you become so cold?”

  “I’m not being cold, I’m being practical. You are a soldier, we are soldiers, and here you are about to become a homemaker. What kind of crazy number are you trying to do on yourself? You think sacrificing your army career for two children is going to bring Rich back? I loved him too.”

  “And when was the last time you came back here? Huh? Have you even met his children?” Jamie asked.

  “No, and you know why.”

  “I do, Caro. I’m sorry, it was out of order.” His little sister had been in love with Rich all through their childhood years. Despite knowing that love was never going anywhere, and that Rich only ever saw her as a little sister, nothing more, Caroline had still been heartbroken when Rich met Mary, his mate.

  “No, you’re right. I should be supportive.”

  “Yes, you should, Aunty Caro.” Jamie chuckled at her. “If you ever have a maternal bone in your body, I will climb to the top of that mountain naked.”

  “And let the whole of Bear Creek see your ugly butt,” Caroline said, looking out of the window at him. “I’ll come in and hold your hand if you want me to.”

  He moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk, retrieving his pack. It contained pretty much everything he owned in the world. The army had been his life. This was a new, unexpected beginning. He wasn’t just about to learn to be a dad to two bereaved children, he was also going to have to find a job to pay the bills. Rich and Mary had life insurance, enough that they could have a comfortable life, but he didn’t want to touch that, he wanted it to be there for Jasper and Juliet when they grew up, and needed money for their first car, or a deposit on a house.

  “You sure you are OK?” Caroline asked.

  “Yes.” He walked around to her side of the car, and leaned in, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for the lift.”

  “Well, you know where to find me, if you need anything. I’m staying in Bear Bluff for a couple of weeks, I said I’d help out an old army buddy, but I’ll come over and see you. Hey, the guy I’m staying with, Jordan, works for a guy called Dylan. Want me to ask if they have a job for you?”

  “That would be great, as long as I don’t have to put on a suit,” Jamie said.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers,” she called back to him as she drove off up the road, leaving him standing in the road. He took one look at his new home, hitched his pack onto his shoulder, and walked up the path toward the front door. He spared a glance at the front yard, with Mary’s immaculate, well-loved flower beds. Only now there were weeds poking through the dirt, and the lawn was long and needed a fresh cut. These were the only clues that gave a hint that all was not well in the Markham house.

  Jamie made a mental note to drag the mower across the lawn first chance he had. His promise to Rich had been to look after his family, and his house, if anything happened to him. That promise had included Rich’s mate, too. Neither of them could guess Rich and Mary would die side by side in a car wreck. They’d always imagined they would go out with a bang. Literally.

  The climb up the porch steps was more difficult than any mission he had ever been on, each step taking him closer to two heartbroken and confused children. Caroline was right, they were too young to know what was going on. Too young to understand that they would never see their parents again, never feel the warmth of their mother’s love, or feel the comforting arms of their dad. Each step also made the situation more real.

  Until he lifted his hand and knocked on the door, and waited for it to be opened by a stranger, this could have been just another visit to see his best friend, and the family he adored.

  “Hello, Jamie?” The woman behind the voice had a kind face, with a hint of firmness. She reminded Jamie of an old-fashioned nanny. In her mid-fifties, she wore her hair pulled up into a knot on top of her head, and her clothes were a dark color, consisting of a serviceable skirt suit and flat black Oxfords. “Fiona Heath. I’m here to rubber-stamp the handover of the children into your care.”

  “Good to meet you,” Jamie said, offering her his hand.

  Fiona took it, a little reservedly. “You are not exactly what I was expecting.” r />
  “In what way?” Jamie asked with a smile.

  “I was expecting a woman. A female. A mother figure.”

  “I’m anything but a woman,” Jamie said, his smile widening.

  “As I see.” Her face showed her disapproval.

  “Is that a problem?” Jamie asked. “I thought Rich and Mary had made it quite clear they wanted me to be sole guardian.”

  “They did. But for some reason, there is a picture of a woman attached to the file. My predecessor was less than organized.” Fiona shook her head. “I have only just been given this case. Due to its special qualities.” Without further explanation, Fiona turned on her heel and walked away from him.

  Jamie hesitated, a sick feeling in his stomach. The house, Rich’s house, sounded different, the children too quiet, no laughter filling the rooms. It smelled different too. “Where’s Bailey?”

  “I’m sorry, who?” Fiona asked.

  “Bailey. Labrador. This high. Likes to lick your face.”

  “Urgh. The face licker. Yes, terribly unhygienic, and I figured since it would be a difficult adjustment for a soldier… They did get that right, didn’t they?” She looked him up and down, and he nodded. “Well, a soldier, with two children to care for… I thought that it was best that the dog went to the pound.”

  “The what?” Jamie asked.

  “The pound, you know, the place they take unwanted dogs.”

  “He’s not unwanted.”

  “Wrong choice of words. Unneeded.” She smiled at him, and he realized he had mistaken kind for interfering.

  “I would think Juliet and Jasper would like having him around. He’s familiar, a link to their parents. Mary loved that dog, when Rich was away…”

  “Jamie, I am the healthcare professional. You are a soldier. And a man. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but dogs are man’s best friend. And I, as a woman, and a mother, can tell you that the children do not need that dog. You do not need the added stress of a dog. Children adapt. Now, shall we go and sign the paperwork? Or do you wish to delay the handover? If you need a few days to readjust to this new role, or if you have changed your mind, I completely understand. No one will blame you for walking away.”

  “I am not walking away,” Jamie said. “Not now, not ever.”

  “Good,” Fiona said, although her expression was not sincere.

  Fuck. He’d traversed dangerous terrain before, but Fiona was turning out to be about as difficult as navigating a canyon in the dark. One false move, and he was likely to go tumbling over the edge into oblivion.

  “Are the kids here?” Jamie asked.

  “Afternoon nap. I’ve instilled a firm routine.”

  “Juliet hasn’t had an afternoon nap in the last three years.” He knew, because Mary had complained to Rich often enough that Juliet was a demon child who didn’t appear to need sleep.

  Fiona raised her eyebrows at him. Damn, he was beginning to loathe this woman. Still, all he had to do was sign the papers, get guardianship, and then they could get on with their lives and to hell with routines and afternoon naps.

  “You have a lot to learn. Which is why I will be checking in regularly.”

  “You will?” he asked his hopes of a peaceful life dashed.

  “Of course, I cannot in good conscience hand these children over to a stranger and walk away. I have a responsibility, a duty to them and their poor dead parents.”

  “Of course,” Jamie said.

  “Right. Here we are, this is the picture we have on file.”

  “That’s my sister, Caroline,” Jamie answered. “I have no idea how you got that.”

  “Human error,” Fiona said with distaste. “Too late now.”

  “Too late for what?” Jamie asked.

  “To ponder whether a girl needs a mother. You know, there are certain facets of a young girl, as she grows up, that a man can never truly understand.”

  Jamie wanted to tell Fiona that he had grown up with a very close relationship with his sister, and there was practically no facet of a young woman he had not been exposed to. “My sister is only a phone call away. And I know plenty of people in Bear Creek who will help me out.”

  “I’m sure. Now, you sign here, and here, and I will leave you to it.” Fiona looked at her watch. “Unless you want me to wait. The children need to be woken up at three.”

  “On the dot.” Jamie signed the papers, after scanning them closely.

  “Good.” She gathered the papers together and then pointed to the kitchen. “I have left bottles for the baby and a healthy snack for Juliet. She will try to tell you she needs chocolate, but it’s bad for her teeth and her digestion. There is dried fruit instead.”

  “Dried fruit. Yum.” What did this woman expect him to do, feed the children army rations?

  “Very nutritional. I expect that is one thing you know all about, nutrition. It’s how you keep that body of yours so… fit.”

  “It is,” he said with a nod. “Shall I see you out?”

  “No. I know the way.” She smiled at him good-naturedly, but it held no enthusiasm; he could tell she expected him to fail, and to fail quickly. Well, Jamie was a man who liked to rise to a challenge.

  “I’ll see you soon, then, Fiona.”

  “You will. I’ll stop by in a couple of days. Oh, I have left a note of their routine on the kitchen table. You should note that Juliet starts school on Monday.”

  “Monday? You don’t think she might need a little more time to get over what’s happened? Time to adjust.”

  “No. Onwards.” Fiona smiled. “Don’t pander to a child, Jamie. If you do, they will wrap you around their little fingers.” She held her pinky finger up and wriggled it, then Fiona turned and headed for the front door.

  As it closed behind her, Jamie let out a sigh. Then he grabbed his phone and Googled the local animal shelter.

  “Hi. I hope you can help me. I’m trying to locate a dog that was brought in during the last week. A golden Labrador. From Bear Creek.”

  “I’ll just check our records,” the voice on the end of the phone said. There was a long silence. “Here we are, brought in by a Fiona Heath?”

  “That’s the one. Bailey, can I come and collect him? I can make a donation to cover your costs.”

  “I’m sorry, but Bailey has already been rehomed. Yesterday.”

  “I see. Can you give me the address of the rehomer?”

  “No. It’s confidential. I’m sorry. The paperwork is all complete. There is nothing I can do.”

  “Thanks for your time,” Jamie said, and ended the call.

  “Uncle Jamie?” a voice whispered loudly from the top of the stairs.

  He walked out into the hallway and looked up to see the pale, pinched face of Juliet. A lump formed in his throat, and he had to cough before he could speak. “Hi there, Juliet. How are you doing?”

  “Is Fiona there?” Juliet asked, in her high voice.

  “No, she just left.”

  “Does that mean I can come down?”

  “It does, honey.”

  Juliet came down the stairs, one step at a time, holding on to the handrail. Jamie met her at the bottom of the stairs and knelt down to catch Juliet as she launched herself at him. She hung on so tight he thought she would never let go. “Have you come to take care of us, Uncle Jamie?”

  “I have,” he answered.

  “You promise not to leave us?”

  “I promise.”

  “Cross your heart. But don’t hope to die.”

  “I cross my heart,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

  Juliet didn’t answer, she just clung to him, and he clung to her as tears ran down his face.

  Chapter Two – Dani

  “Are you going to sit there and just look at me, or are you going to come for a walk?” Dani asked Brimble.

  Brimble sighed and looked at her with mournful eyes. Dani sighed too and went to sit next to the dog she had adopted from the pound two days ago. They sat in silence, looking out at the hills and mountains Dani hoped they would one day explore together, if Brimble ever made the effort to get up.

  “You miss your old owner, huh?” Dani said, stroking Brimble’s head. Brimble lifted his head and placed it on Dani’s thigh. “That’s a start.”