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

when discussing my family history and grandfather’s whereabouts, but if we were going to be searching for him together—and if there was any hope that our friendship might become something more than that, which I flattered myself there was—then eventually she would learn the truth about me. It was probably better that I broke the news myself, lest she think I was keeping secrets from her.
     
                  And how she reacted after that was up to her. I’d had girlfriends in school who had not taken it well when they learned that I was a shifter. The memory of one in particular, who had stormed out in a rage and never returned my calls, particularly rankled. Sometimes prejudice was too entrenched. But I had never forgotten something Granddad said to me when I was a boy: “There are going to be people in this world who can’t accept you for who you are, and those people aren’t worth your time. You know who you are, and that’s all that matters.”
     
    By the time Olivia returned to the table, our desserts had arrived. “Could I keep this and take a closer look at it?” she said, holding up the stone. “Just for tonight.”
     
                  “Promise not to steal it.”
     
                  She glared at me. “I’m kidding,” I said. And I was, mostly.
     
                  Standing up, I threw a wad of cash onto the table. Nickels and quarters rolled across the table with a satisfying plinking sound and came to rest around the vase in the center of the table. “That should cover dinner. Find me tomorrow in the small cave just north of where you were digging this morning.” When I left the tavern, she was still peering hard at the amulet.
     

             
     
    Chapter 5—Olivia
                 
     
                 
     
                  The next morning I awoke after only a couple hours’ sleep. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, threw on a stained t-shirt and was on my way out the door when someone placed herself in front of me, blocking my exit.
     
                  It was Carrie, her hair tied up in a loose bun, newly minted morning sunlight streaming in behind her and turning her into a glowering silhouette.
     
                  “We need to talk,” she said in an ominous voice.
     
                  Carrie was a great friend, but she was also a notorious meddler in other people’s affairs. At least once a week she would take me aside for a serious chat. I had come to dread them the way you dread going to the dentist or filing your taxes.
     
                  “Do we have to do it right here, in front of all these people?” I asked, motioning to the dining hall which I realized only too late was completely empty.
     
                  “Listen,” she said, waving a batter-caked spatula with one hand. “I realize it’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help noticing what’s going on between you and that man.”
     
                  I blushed to the roots of my dark hair. “Going on between us? Carrie, we just had dinner. It was one night. There is absolutely nothing going on between us.”
     
                  “Liv, don’t insult my intelligence. I’m smart enough to know when a man is flirting, and that man is smitten with you. His eyes never left you. He laughed at everything you said, you had him hanging on your every word . You may not realize it yet, and he may not realize it, but you’re falling for each other. You’re working together, you’ve been looking for ways to get out of work so you can see him, you’re infatuated.”
     
                  “And what if that’s true?” I asked, feeling red in the face. “I’m not saying you’re right, but if that happened, how is that a bad thing?”
     
                  “He doesn’t deserve you,