Read Online Bear Mine for Christmas: BBW Holiday Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Shifter Romance Book 2) by Ariana Hawkes - Free Book Online

seconds. Karen had correctly anticipated just how much they’d need to eat. The conversation continued when they’d finished eating, with no-one in a hurry to leave the table, although everyone kept yawning. It felt like a cozy, relaxed family dinner, as if everyone had known each other far longer than they had. The guys were lively conversationalists, constantly cracking jokes at each other’s expense. They talked about their business, explaining that Brock worked as a tree surgeon and Riley and Grayson worked as carpenters during the summer.
    “The Christmas tree thing was just to tide us over during the freezing months, but it’s actually become our biggest earner. So much so that we might get to take a couple of months off next summer,” Grayson said.
    “Will you go on vacation?” Abbey asked.
    “Yeah, we’ll probably do a lot of hunting and fishing, but that’s nothing new,” Brock said with a grin. Abbey looked a little confused. Madison thought how she’d always known about shifters. She’d understood that it wasn’t something to share with people who lived outside of the town, but it hadn’t been a secret apart from that. It had just been an alternative identity. It seemed sad that it had now become something to conceal from the younger generations.
    When the mulled wine was finished, Madison got up from the table.
    “Time for bed, I think,” she said. “So who’s coming with me?” The wine made her sound casual, but inside she felt anything but.
    “Well, I think mom should stay here tonight. There’s no way we can take the chair out in the snow.”
    “Oh, I’d be very happy to bring you across, if you’d like?” Grayson offered. Elsbeth’s face took on the gracious expression it’d had when he brought her to her chair earlier.
    “Well, there are a couple of things that I really need back home,” she said.
    “I’ll take you,” Grayson said. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
    “And I’ve got room for one more,” Madison said, her heart beating fast.
    Brock got to his feet.
    “That’ll be me,” he said with a grin. Madison saw Karen shoot a glance at Riley. Only a sister would have known that she was also excited and nervous to have a man she was attracted to staying under her roof.
    “Ok, let’s go,” Madison said. “Night, Karen, kids, Riley.” Everyone said goodnight, and she picked up her mom’s crutches and made for the front door. Grayson swept Elsbeth into his arms as easily as he’d done earlier, and Madison mused that she’d never seen her mom looking so young and girlish before.
    “It’s just around the corner,” she called to the guys as they walked out into the blizzard, the freezing, wet air lashing their faces. Grayson had wrapped Elsbeth’s coat right over her head so she was protected from the elements.
    A few long minutes later, they burst into Madison’s place, gasping from the shock of the cold.
    “Brutal,” Brock concluded, pulling his boots off.
    “It is,” Madison said. Her face was stinging and her lungs burned.
    “Where can I bring you, Elsbeth?” Grayson asked.
    “One floor up, if you wouldn’t mind,” she replied.
    Grayson clumped up the stairs with his bundle, leaving Brock and Madison alone together, in front of the Christmas tree. They turned to face each other, and the tension in the air seemed almost palpable.
    “Beautiful tree,” he said.
    “Thanks!”
    “And thanks again for having me stay.”
    “Anytime.” She should have showed him where the spare room was, but instead, they continued to stand stock-still, holding each other’s gaze. Brock’s beautiful, intense eyes seemed to burn into hers, making her feel lightheaded. He took a step forward, bringing him within two feet of her. Her heart hammered in her chest and she fought the urge to look away, but somehow she managed to keep looking into those dark pools of eyes.
    The stairs creaked, signifying that Grayson was on his way down. They stumbled apart, guiltily.
    “Oh,