Read The Fox and her Bear (Mating Call Dating Agency, #2) for Free Online

situation.”
    “Upon which I’m guessing you don’t want to expound?”
    A smile crossed Dawson’s lips. “I just take care of him sometimes. Old bear without a mate, I just... don’t want to end up like that, I guess. But like I said, nothing out of the ordinary. I’m not getting any younger, and at some point I’d like to take the piano thing to another level. Although I’m pretty sure at this point I’m too old for that sort of thing.”
    “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Eve said. “When you were playing I was a little amazed that you were sitting there in that bar. You seem like the sort of person who could really go a long way. Talented, I mean. But let’s go back to this dad thing.”
    Dawson grumbled. “I’d rather not. It isn’t very happy.”
    “Well, I need to know what I’m dealing with. You don’t have to give me the details if you don’t want to, but it’ll make this go easier.”
    “I was,” he swallowed. “Not from around here, I’m from out west.”
    Eve nodded, scribbling on her pad.
    “My dad got caught up in some bad scenes. He was kind of a small time drug dealer, nothing serious. But he got mixed up with the wrong people. Started getting more serious about his choice of profession, and that ran him against one of the gangs out that way.” He sighed heavily. “My mom died of a heart attack when I was six, so the family was just dad, brother, me. My brother getting caught up in the gang thing almost killed my pops. And then...”
    “Take your time,” Eve said. “I know this is difficult.”
    Dawson clenched his fists and relaxed them. “They killed him to convince my dad to get the hell out of the dealing business. He’d gotten too big, and was cutting into their profits big-time. I, uh, I didn’t know what to do. I went to the cops and told them what I knew. Knowing how furious I was, they got me to go undercover to try and bust up the gang.”
    “That explains the whole bridge issue a few years back?”
    Dawson arched an eyebrow. “The... how did you know about that?”
    “I take my job seriously, Mr. Lex,” Eve said. “I’m not known for setting people up with felons. Er, not that I’m saying you’re a felon, just that I do thorough background checks.”
    “The bridge thing was... yeah, that’s one reason I don’t go much of anywhere. I was trapped on a bridge, those guys that killed my brother had me cornered and knew who I was. I think they knew all along, but just played with me for fun. The four of them made a move to put me out, and instinct took over and... well, I made it out and they didn’t.”
    “The report I read said that you disappeared for a while afterwards, and the next place you showed was Tenner’s.”
    “I’m not sure what this has to do with,” Dawson trailed off as he noticed that Eve wasn’t going to stop without an answer. “Yeah, okay. Tenner is an old friend of my dad’s. He kinda raised me when my mom died and dad ended up falling down a bottle. Tenner moved out here when my dad got better, and Tenner was getting serious with a girl. They broke it off, but he took me in, and after my troubles, he let me crash in his place for a time. I needed work, he needed a piano player, so it just clicked.”
    Eve set down her pen. “That’s a lot more honesty than I was expecting,” she said. “You have no idea how many people have honesty as their first requirement. Lots of bad stories.”
    “Yeah, well,” Dawson said. “I doubt many of them have ‘seems normal, but goes on rampages,’ or ‘can generally keep his temper,’ on their list. I’d be willing to bet that ‘erupts into a fury when anxious’ is hardly a sought-after trait.”
    Eve was still scribbling. “You’d be surprised how much people are willing to forgive for the right person. And let’s be serious here for a second – you’re a bear. What the hell are you supposed to do when you’re cornered by a bunch of idiots with guns?”
    Dawson lifted his