Read Bear In The Rough: Book 1: Treasure Hunt (BBW Bear Shifter Romance) for Free Online

on the kitchen table saying he had gone to find the amulet, and he wasn’t going to throw away his only shot. He was an adventurer at heart. Like me, I guess. I’m surprised he ever got married.”
     
                  “I think I would have liked your granddad, very much,” said Olivia.
     
                  “You would have gotten along,” I said. “He was a loner. Heaven only knows how he ever got married. If it was up to him, he would’ve spent the rest of his life backpacking around Europe, probably dying penniless in a canal. Luckily he met Nanna and she took care of him for the rest of his life. She talked him out of many a suicidal venture, but once she was gone and I was gone there was no one and nothing to stop him. All those self-destructive tendencies that had been held at bay by the responsibilities of his profession and family suddenly came roaring to the surface. He used to drink in moderation, but after her death I never saw him without a glass of wine in his hand.”
     
                  “But he loved you,” said Liv. “He must have, or he wouldn’t have been able to hold down a job and look after you, without a fuss and without wavering, for so many years. It takes a rare stability and, well, love to be able to do that. And he passed that love of family down to you, else you wouldn’t have trekked halfway across the world to come find him.”
     
                  I shrugged. “I guess so. I wasn’t just going to let him wander off without saying goodbye. I need that goodbye. Even if he’s no longer here to give it, I need to find him.”
     
                  I felt like an idiot mouthing my fond memories of my grandfather, even if he had been a father to me. Men are expected to be tough and unsentimental, like a slab of jerky, and it must have been disorienting for Olivia to see me going from stoic and prickly to thoughtful and loving in the space of a single day. But with an uncommon appreciation for the multifaceted nature of individuals, she laid a reassuring hand on my arm. For a woman who occasionally seemed to be holding a perpetual grudge against the world, she too could be awfully softhearted.
     
                  “You’ll find him,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
     
                  “Thanks, but there’s really not much you can do,” I told her, and not just because I was reluctant to take on a partner. “The trail ends on Oak Island, the site of his last letter. I’ve interviewed all the storeowners, shopkeepers and inn managers in town, and the last time anyone matching Granddad’s description was even seen on the island was over a month ago. He was here. I know it. I don’t think he left, not when he was so close. Either he’s still seeking the treasure, or…”
     
                  I paused, suddenly distracted by the rattle of cups and plates at a neighboring table. After a month alone in the wilderness, a nice dinner with a beautiful and charming companion was more than I felt I deserved. Liv sat there quietly, softly stroking her hair behind her ears, lost in thought.
     
                  “Ready for dessert?” Carrie addressed herself to Liv, glancing at me narrowly from the corners of her eyes.
     
                  “I’ll have the mango cobbler with ice cream and chocolate morsels,” said Liv, handing in her menu.
     
                  “I’ll have the roasted mango and lemon bears,” I said. They both looked at me. “Did I say ‘bears’? I meant bars.”
     
                  “Oh, and I’ll have a glass of ginger ale with a twist of lemon in it,” said Liv.
     
                  Carrie took my menu without once looking at me and picked up our plates and dishes. While Liv was in the restroom I sat there wondering how she would react when she found out about my true identity. I had kept it carefully hidden