Bearing the Late Thaw (Ice Bear Shifters Book 5) by Sloane Meyers Page A

become more interesting. Boring, dry legal contracts had given way to informational documents outlining the history of the area, and maps of remote areas around Glacier Point. Even though amount of work to do was overwhelming, Christine almost started enjoying it.
    Then, near the middle of May, Steve announced that he was resigning from the firm and would be leaving Alaska at the end of the week. Christine emailed her supervising attorney and told him that she desperately needed help if she was going to finish on time, even with the extended deadline. She received a vague response back, saying the firm would do its best to find more help, but they couldn’t promise anything.
    Christine decided that enough was enough. She had been working like a maniac, and she needed a night off. She also needed to eat something that wasn’t a sodium-laden microwave dinner. She decided to take her chances at going to Northwinds Pub. It was a random Thursday night, after all. What were the odds that Neal would be there, too?
    The odds, it seems, were actually pretty good. As soon as Christine walked into the pub, she saw him. His back was to her, and his head was tilted upwards as he watched the baseball game blaring from the bar’s small television. Christine started backing up slowly. She’d settle for a microwave dinner, after all. The idea of facing Neal tied her stomach up into knots.
    Before she could get fully out of the room, though, the bartender spotted her.
    “Christine!” he said. “Long time no see! I was beginning to think you had left Glacier Point for good.”
    At the mention of her name, Neal, spun around. His eyes met hers, full of questions. There was no turning back now. Christine took off her coat, then took a deep breath and straightened her spine. She walked up to the bar, taking a seat right next to Neal. The least she could do was apologize to him. She should have done that long ago, but she had been too chicken to face him.
    The bartender set a coaster down in front of her, oblivious to the strain in the air between Christine and Neal.
    “What do you want, dear? First round’s on me. It’s just so good to see you,” the bartender said.
    “Uh, I’ll take a White Moose Ale, thanks,” Christine said. “It’s good to see you, too. Sorry for disappearing like that. I’ve been busy with work.”
    Neal sighed next to her, and when the bartender left to get her drink, Christine turned to face him. She forced herself to look him in the eyes, afraid of the anger she would probably see. But when she locked her dark brown eyes with his deep violet ones, it wasn’t anger she saw, but sadness. Around the edges, a faint glow of yellow appeared. Despite everything that had happened, and everything she had said, Christine felt an unexpected rush of affection when she looked at him. He looked tired, but his face remained as handsome as ever.
    He broke their gaze first, turning abruptly to look at the television again as the bartender dropped off Christine’s beer. After Christine ordered the shepherd’s pie, the bartender left again, and Neal finally spoke.
    “Are you sure you want to sit next to a monster?” he asked, his voice bitter.
    Christine’s heart dropped. She couldn’t believe that she had said that to him. But all she could do now was apologize. Admitting that she was wrong wasn’t easy, but, as she sat there and looked at Neal’s profile, she realized she would never forgive herself if she left Glacier Point without at least attempting to make things right.
    “Neal, I’m so sorry I said that. You’re not a monster. I was in shock, and confused, so I spoke without thinking about it. That doesn’t make my actions right, but it does mean that my feelings in that moment were just a stupid gut reaction that was very, very wrong. I don’t know if you can forgive me, but I hope you will at least believe me when I say that those words weren’t true. You’re not a monster. You’re a strong man, just