Bearly Consenting: Russet Falls Series by W.H. Vega

looked long and hard at Drew.
    Drew never really knew who his mother was inside and he
realized that she never knew him either.
    “Well if you think of something that I can do to help, let
me know,” he said quietly. “I just came over to say goodbye. I need to head
back to Portland.”
    “Yes, go back to Portland,” she sneered.
    Drew nodded, he was done arguing with her.
    He turned to Flynt who scoffed at him. “I don’t care what
you think of me,” he said in a low voice so that their mother wouldn’t
overhear, “but take care of her.”
    Flynt looked away but nodded.
    “Goodbye,” Drew said to both of them, before walking out of
the house.
    He got into the car, threw it in reverse and backed out. The
sooner he got Russet Falls behind him, the better.

 
     
    Chapter Eight

     
     
    Avery sat on the bed in her room back in Portland, staring
at the wall. She had been home for over an hour, but she couldn’t shake her
uneasy feelings. The weekend had been so much more than she had anticipated,
and she was trying to feel like Portland Avery—the Avery who lived a pretty
decent life and taught Kindergarten, and had a handful of close friends who
made her feel whole.
    But she couldn’t quite get the right feeling back—as hard as
she tried, she couldn’t feel like Portland Avery. Yet, she didn’t feel like Old
Avery either—Old Avery who lived in Russet Falls and loved Drew—no that Avery
was long gone. That was old Avery.
    Or maybe she was just crazy.
    That was probably it.
    Who went away for the weekend and came back feeling like a
different person?
    She had thought that one day she might run into Drew again—after
all, they had grown up in the same, small tribe. Hell, they came from a clan of
werebears—basically the entire population didn’t even know such creatures
existed.
    But she thought it would be years from now if she ever ran
into Drew again. And honestly, she had envisioned herself married with babies,
and she always imagined that Drew was married too. She had imagined the run-in
many times in her mind—she and Drew were in their forties, each with spouses
and children. They would look at each other, probably not smile, but they could
see that the other was okay, that they had survived without one another. Avery
pictured herself going home and having a good cry as she hugged her babies
closer. She would tell herself that it was okay that she didn’t end up with
Drew because she had her family.
    But that was not what happened.
    Avery was nowhere near forty.
    There was no husband.
    No babies.
    No wife or babies for Drew either.
    There was no coming home and hugging her children and being
grateful for the path her life had taken instead.
    No. None of that.
    Instead, she felt off balance now. Her world had shifted
slightly and she didn’t know how to go back. How to un -know that Drew
was single and living in Portland, of all places!
    No, it was like opening Pandora’s box and now there was no
going back. She would think about him constantly.
    And Drew had promised to call her, so even if she wanted to
cut ties, she knew the wound had been reopened.
    Like it or not, she and Drew had somehow connected again.
    “Avery? You in there?” A knock came at the door and Avery
jumped.
    “Come in!” she called back to her roommate Molly.
    “Hey,” Molly said coming in, “I heard you come in, but you
disappeared up here.” She pushed back a lock of her short hair. “Everything
okay?”
    Avery gave her a big smile and nodded. Her smile was forced,
but Molly didn’t question her. She had met Molly back in college when they were
both studying elementary education. Molly was originally from Portland, and she
moved back to Portland after graduation. She and Avery had always kept in
touch, and after Avery’s failed year of living in San Francisco, Molly had
urged her to come to Portland, plus Molly had an extra room in the house she
shared with her cousin.
    Molly’s cousin, Lindsay, was an