Read Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) for Free Online Page B

high beams there.
    She closed her eyes, and tried to recall the summers
she’d spent right here. However, it was all fuzzy. For too many years her
mother wouldn’t allow her to talk about Den County, her grandmother or how much
she missed it. Lillian Hoodman was having none of that.
    “Forget it, Rena. Just leave it alone. Wipe that place
from your memory.”
    Over and over, for two years following their final
departure her mother would repeat the same words.
    “I guess you got your wish, mom.” Rena opened her eyes,
and saw how the expansive lake narrowed downstream and took in the low
mountains in the horizon. New memories , she told herself.
    Testing her grandmother’s theory, she lowered her feet
from the dock and first dipped her toes then sank to her ankles in the icy
water. It was cold, but refreshing in a way she could not understand.
Everything in her body began to settle some. The queasy feeling in the pit of
her stomach calmed several degrees as she just concentrated on the sensation of
the water around her feet and breathed.
    When her toes began to feel numb, she pulled them out.
    Not wanting to keep her grandmother waiting any longer,
Rena rose and followed her earlier path back to the house.
    At the house, her grandmother had a towel tossed over
the back of the vacant rocker and a shawl beside it. Did the woman think of
everything?
    “Thank you.” Rena sat in the seat and dried her feet,
rubbing them vigorously until they were warmer. She slipped them back into her
shoes that sat neatly at the side of the chair.
    “How was the water? Good?”
    “Cold.” Her teeth did a little chatter, but Rena still
let the smile rise. “But good.” She wrapped the shawl tightly around her
shoulders.
    “Here, have a little tea. It’s my own special blend.” Her
grandmother poured her some steaming hot beverage and passed her a cup and
saucer.
    “Wow, that’s some kettle, it is still warm.” Rena held
the cup up to her face and allowed the steam to remove the slight chill from
her skin.
    “It’s the hot plate.” Her grandmother tapped the metal
plate below the pot. “Octavia got it for me a few Christmases ago. She and I
love sitting out here and watching the snow melt as spring sets in.”
    “Ah, how is your friend?” Rena recalled numerous phone
conversations she’d had with her grandmother about her friend and the things
the two women were up to. If someone had overheard their communication they
would probably believe Rena was talking to a teenager. Her grandmother went
swimming in the lake, out for long hikes, caught salmon with her hands, camped
in the mountains and went berry picking. 
    “Octavia is very excited about going away tomorrow.”
    “Her family’s okay with her leaving on a trip? I
remember you telling me she is close to them. Isn’t her husband mayor or
something?” Rena sipped her tea. It was syrupy sweet just as she liked it. A
custom she’d gotten from her mother. She’d watched her mother over the years
add extra sugar or agave nectar, saying ‘it’s never quite sweet enough’.
    As if something was missing. However, this cup was
perfect. Soon, Rena consumed that one and poured another while her grandmother
slowly drank her own.
    “Benat previously was mayor… some time ago. Now their
son, Jasper, holds the position. Benat doesn’t deny Octavia anything that she
wishes.” A shadow crossed her grandmother’s face and Rena wondered if it was
brought on by loneliness of her friend having family around her.
    Going out on a limb, Rena asked, “Are you thinking
about grandpa? I’m sure you miss him. Will you tell me about him?”
    Her grandmother sighed, stared off into the distance as
she held her teacup steady. “Osborne,” she whispered reverently. “He has never
left my side.” She drank from her cup, and as if it had never been there, the
shadow cleared and she smiled as she glanced at Rena. “But that is a
conversation better saved for later…perhaps when I