Read Idle Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Mountain Book 4) for Free Online Page B

small-town fatty, she meant nothing to him.
    The truth hurt, but she had to face the facts. They were nothing more than two people passing the time together.
    After a shower, a cup of coffee and a quick pep talk, she walked down to the café to pick up the muffins and sweet rolls for her guests. Luckily, she had a standing order for Sunday morning and Randy, the café owner, would be expecting her.
    When she arrived at the eatery, Kate let her in and locked the door behind them. A pang of longing shot through her heart when she saw her friend, but she pushed it away. Aaron had revived her long buried feelings of having a family again, but she knew her fate and that dream needed to die and never resurface. She had to accept the fact that she’d probably grow old alone.
    “Can you stay for a cup of coffee?” Kate asked.
    “That sounds great,” Sara said, sitting at the counter.
    She felt bad about letting her friend wait on her, especially since she was six months pregnant and most likely carrying twins, but she knew not to intervene. Gage was the only person in town who could convince his wife to rest and take it easy, though he hadn’t persuaded her to quit her job yet.
    Kate set a cup and saucer in front of her, then filled it with the coffee pot she held in her other hand. She returned with a bowl filled with little containers of cream and a glass of water. Sara absently ripped the sugar packets and prepared her coffee as she waited for her friend to join her at the counter.
    “Thank you for loaning me some clothes,” Sara said when her friend sat down. “I’ll get them back to you soon.”
    “Don’t worry about it, there’s no rush. Just get them to me when you can,” Kate assured her, and then took a drink of water. “How are you doing? Do you want to talk about it?”
    “I’m okay,” she lied, but in the silence that followed, she decided to tell some of the truth. “I mean, I’m hurting, of course…and I feel really embarrassed…but life goes on, right?”
    “Yes, it does,” Kate agreed. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, though. Gage really believed Aaron was going to stick around, or he wouldn’t have encouraged you to give him a chance.”
    “I know, but it’s not that, and it’s not his fault. I’m the one to blame. I thought Aaron felt something for me, something more than he did, and I was wrong. I made my own choices, and now I have to live with them.”
    “Oh, Sara,” Kate half-hugged her. “I think he does feel something for you, but he doesn’t know what to do with those feelings. They probably scare him because he’s been hiding for so long.”
    “It doesn’t matter. He’s moved on, and one day, so will I,” she said.
    “I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”
    “Thank you,” Sara said, desperate to change the subject. “Hey, Gage isn’t worried about me saying anything is he?”
    “Not at all. He knows he can trust you,” Kate assured her.
    “Great.” She didn’t want the sheriff to worry about her sharing his secret. She’d never tell. “I guess I’d better get going. Thanks for listening.”
    “Anytime. Do you want to do something later? That huge craft fair is going on today. We can drive over and check it out?”
    “I can’t leave until eleven, but that sounds great.”
    “Good. I’ll see if Darcy and Sam can join us,” Kate said, getting up from the counter. “Oh, I almost forgot. Gage picked up your prescription last night, but I wouldn’t let him take it over in case you wanted to be alone. I hope you weren’t in too much pain without it.”
    “Thank you, Kate. I appreciate it,” Sara said, gathering up her box of sweets and the medicine. “I definitely needed the alone time, and I forgot about the pain until my shower this morning, so I’m grateful to have it.”
    “We’ll pick you up at eleven, okay?”
    “Sounds good. See you then.”
    “See you.”
    Sara walked back to her home and mentally planned her day, grateful Kate had