Beary And Bright (Fire Bear Shifters 6) by Sloane Meyers Page B

her own little cub. She hadn’t had much time over the last few years to think about things like the future. She’d been too busy just surviving. But now, as she watched her young charge run around, she couldn’t push away thoughts of wanting her own child. Clara was still lost in her fantasy of having a lifemate and cubs when a large bang behind her startled her back to reality. She turned around, and saw Carter at the top of a ladder on the side of the bunkhouse. It looked like he had just dropped a small toolbox from the roof to the ground, and he cursed as he made his way down the ladder to retrieve it.
    Clara felt a strong feeling of desire run through her as she watched him. He hadn’t been around lately, and she’d thought the bunkhouse project had been completed. She had been a little disappointed when she didn’t get a chance to see him at the base now and then. His gorgeous face and muscular physique never failed to make her heart race faster. Seeing him out there hammering away every morning when she left for work had been a nice way to start her day. A small part of her had also been relieved when he finished his job and moved on, though. Seeing him every day had also served to remind her that he wasn’t interested in her. He never seemed to notice when she was around. Clara always comforted herself by assuming that he was just too focused on his job, but after a while even that didn’t lessen the anguish of never getting even a small wave of hello from him. Did it really matter whether he wasn’t interested because he wasn’t into her, or because he was too busy? Either way, the end result was the same: Clara would never be with Carter. She had resolved to forget about him, and she had, for the most part. But she couldn’t exactly ignore him when he was right in front of her.
    “Sophia, honey,” Clara said. “Wait here just a minute. I’m going to go see if Mr. Carter needs help.”
    Sophia nodded, barely looking up as she concentrated on dribbling the soccer ball between her feet. Clara shook her head in wonder as she started walking toward Carter. It was really sad that a five year old was more coordinated than she was.
    Carter didn’t look up as Clara approached him. He was picking up tools that had scattered all over the ground when the toolbox fell. He continued to curse under his breath, and didn’t notice Clara until she cleared her throat loudly to announce her presence.
    “Oh, hey,” Carter said, his cheeks reddening a bit as he looked up and noticed Clara standing in front of him. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
    “It’s okay,” Clara said. “Sorry to startle you. I just wanted to see if you needed any help. It looks like your toolbox took quite a nasty tumble.”
    Carter sighed. “Yeah, I’m so annoyed. I like to keep everything in here organized, and now it’s a mess.”
    “Can I help?” Clara said, repeating her offer.
    Carter looked up at her, and a strange look passed over his face. It almost looked like a flicker of desire. But it disappeared so quickly that Clara thought she must have imagined it.
    “Naw, it’s okay,” he said. “Thanks, but it would take more time to explain how to organize it then to just do it myself.”
    “Okay,” Clara said, nodding. “Well, sorry you dropped it. Good luck getting it all back together.”
    “Thanks,” Carter said, then went back to organizing the tools. That would have been a good time for Clara to bow out gracefully, but gracefulness had never been her strong point. She stood there awkwardly, trying to think of something else to say. Carter finally noticed the silence, and looked up to find her still standing there.
    “Was there something else?” he asked, but in a kind voice. He didn’t sound annoyed or impatient, just curious. In fact, his face had an almost hopeful expression on it.
    “Oh, um,” Clara said, struggling to come up with words. “I just was wondering what you’re doing here. I thought you