She bit her bottom lip until it hurt as she glared at him. “How long have you been out here?”
“Three years.”
Her jaw dropped. “Three years?” she repeated in disbelief. “Have you seen anyone in three years?”
Logan rubbed his chin as he stared at the ground. “There’s an elderly woman who gets me some stuff about once every two months. Butter, spices, coffee, that kind of thing. She usually leaves them out on her back porch for me.”
“Three years?” she repeated. Three years without any human contact, without any interaction, without any affection. No wonder he was a little rough around the edges.
“Me and civilization just don’t mix,” he said, downing the last sip of coffee.
“Okay, that,” she said, pointing at him. “What the hell does that mean? You and civilization don’t mix. Who the hell says that kind of stuff?”
“People living with crazed animals in them say that kind of stuff,” he answered, running his thumb over his lips.
“Your bear is not crazy,” Bella said, actually feeling bad for the guy. “He’s sweet. I don’t think you give him enough credit.”
“I think you give him too much,” he answered. “You don’t know what he’s done.”
“What?” she asked, leaning forward. “What has he done?”
Logan shook the mug in his hand. “Is there any more coffee?”
Bella ripped the cup out of his hand and marched back inside to refill it. This guy was a master at avoiding questions. And he never answered any of the juicy ones.
“How did you know all that medical stuff?” she asked when she came back out with two cups of coffee, one for each of them. “The symptoms of a concussion. I didn’t see a laptop inside with a WebMD page open. Are you a doctor or something?”
“Wha-” he said, shaking his head as his cheeks turned red. “Do I look like a doctor?”
“I don’t know what you look like,” she said, staring at him. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re like a puzzle but you refuse to give me any freaking pieces.”
“Want to see something really cool?” he asked, ignoring her frustrated rant.
She threw her hand up and huffed out a breath. “Sure.”
“Come,” he said, jumping out of the seat and grabbing her wrist. He yanked her up and then hurried back into the forest, dragging her along as the hot coffee spilled on her hand. “You’re going to love this.”
“Where are you taking me?” Bella asked after about ten minutes of being dragged through the forest. She would have been nervous if Logan didn’t seem so freaking excited.
“Seriously, Logan,” she said, trying to pull him back but it was like trying to stop a train and every time she did, her feet would plant in the dirt and she’d fly forward. “I’m not a bear shifter. I can’t keep up this pace for much longer.”
He slowed to a stop and crouched, pulling her down with him. “Shhhhh,” he hushed, looking up into the trees.
“What are we looking at?” she whispered. All she saw were branches and leaves.
A warmth flowed through her as he wrapped a muscular arm around her shoulders and pointed up. Her breath quickened as she felt his hard body next to hers. It was surprisingly comforting being so close to his large body and her body started reacting in a strong way.
“Right there,” he whispered, pointing up at the tree.
“Right where?” Just as she said it, she saw it. Two little white owls, sitting on a branch high up in the tree.
“No!” she said, her hand flying up to cover her open mouth. Her eyes widened as she stared up at them with her heart racing. She couldn’t believe it. Two sleepy owls.
No wonder I couldn’t find any of them. They were small enough to fit in her hands.
“Wow,” she whispered as she gazed up at them with her chest tingling. She had actually seen them. She wouldn’t have to lie on her paper after all. Well, I’ll still have to exaggerate and make up some stuff if they don’t wake up.
Their eyes were closed as they slept on the branch, their fluffy white feathers looking like a comfy blanket wrapped around their tiny bodies.