Read Online Unexpected Love (White Oak-Mafia #2) by Liza O'Connor - Free Book Online Page B

needed him, both on a professional and emotional level. No man had ever treated her with so much respect.
    If only she hadn’t told him Gram’s story.
    But she had, and now she’d made her lack of trust an issue.
    She considered his words about firing employees he couldn’t trust. It was a reasonable attitude if you trusted more people than your grandmother. If she had a choice between hiring people she trusted and didn’t trust, she’d sure as hell choose the first.
    She stopped and turned, expecting to see him pulling up behind her.
    Nothing.
    She waited five minutes, but still he didn’t show up.
    God, what if he’d fallen and broken his ankle or knocked himself unconscious? What if Grumpy was tearing at his flesh as she stood here like an idiot?
    She ran full speed back the way she’d come. Dr. Castile wasn’t hurt. He’d probably returned to the mounds. Yes…
    She slowed a bit at the probable answer.
    He had most likely returned to the mounds and was presently photographing them.
    But no. He’d said he would leave. There was no reason why he’d photograph the mounds now.
    She resumed her full-out run. Upon reaching a bend in the path, she came to a screeching halt. Black fur stretched eleven feet onto the trunk of a white oak.
    “Tess, get back before the bear sees you,” Steel warned.
    Too late, Grumpy turned in her direction and roared in fury. Before the bear could make a move toward her, Steel hurled a hammer from the tree and smacked him on the head.
    The bear bellowed in rage as he returned his focus on Steel who stood on a limb twelve-feet up. Problem was, this was a tree with low-hanging branches large enough that Grumpy could climb.
    Tess pulled loose her bear spray, disengaged the spray lock, and approached the bear, yelling “Scat!” Unfortunately, the bruin remained focused on Steel. As she moved closer, she slowly bent down and grabbed the hammer that had bounced off the bear and landed twelve feet away. She hurled it at the bear just as Grumpy attempted to pull himself onto the first branch of the tree.
    The hammer smacked him on his head and got his full attention. He twisted and leapt from the tree in her direction.
    His teeth were only feet away when she shot the bear spray full force into his mouth and eyes. She emptied the entire contents of the can on him. When his misery took hold, she ran for a smaller six-inch diameter white oak and scrambled high into its branches
    “Any chance your Gram packed a gun somewhere on me?” Dr. Castile yelled over the raging bear beneath them.
    “No, I think it’s in your dresser drawer,” she replied. She focused on Grumpy swatting the base of her tree in rage. She could feel each thump vibrate up the trunk. The poor tree would probably be stripped of its bark, but it should remain standing.
    “Tell me what I can do?” he asked.
    “Well, you could try to make it home while I keep the bear distracted.”
    “Got another plan?”
    “You could climb up the smaller tree about seven feet over. Grumpy can’t climb that one.”
    “And how is that going to solve our problem?”
    “It won’t, but it’ll keep you alive. Grumpy can climb the tree you’re in.”
    “So both of your plans save me, but not you. We need a better idea.”
    “I’d offer to run home and get help, but Grumpy is too focused on me. Hold on. That’s it. We’ll take turns distracting Grumpy. To do this you’ll need to run fast while I distract the bear. When my distractions cease to work and he goes after you, I’ll yell ‘tree’ and you need to climb a tree no more than twelve inches in diameter. Grumpy can’t climb those. But he will try to shake you out of it.”
    “And how does this get us both home?”
    “I’ll drop and run, which will get Grumpy refocused on me. When he gets too close, I’ll climb a tree and then it’s your turn to run again.”
    “I’m not crazy about this, but let’s give it a try. Okay if I drop this backpack?”
    “You can toss