Catching Her Bear by Vella Day Page A

cleavage, he might have had to excuse himself.
    She asked you a question, dickweed. “Exciting? That might not apply to any of my cases, but perhaps my most rewarding one involved locating a kidnapper.”
    “Can you tell me about it? I’ll understand if it needs to stay hushed up.”
    Hushed up? Cute. “The case is closed now, so I can tell you a little about it. We were able to use the GPS signal from the fugitive’s cell to find him. For days, he’d been so careful, but for some reason, that day he turned it on, allowing us to find his general location. Add in an eye witness, and we were able to locate the little girl unharmed.”
    “Wow. That was wonderful, but I bet you’ve experienced heartache too.”
    Many people never consider the toll this job had on a cop, but Elana seemed to possess a lot of empathy. It was almost as if she were a witch herself. “Yes, quite a lot, but the people involved always suffer more.” He didn’t want to spend their date talking about him though. “Enough about me. How did you get started in the flower business?”
    She helped herself to more beans and another piece of fried chicken. “Growing up, we had a gardener who was really nice to me. We also had a cook, but she didn’t like me hanging out in the kitchen, which is why I suck at cooking, despite my large size.”
    Her comment about her size dug a hole in him. “I love your body.” Oh, fuck . He hadn’t meant to blurt that out.
    Her lips pressed together. “You don’t have to be nice just because I’m Izzy’s friend.”
    Being unjustly accused of something really got his goat. “Izzy has nothing to do with this.” That was as much as he was willing to say about the matter. No way would he tell her that because he was a larger man, he liked a woman he didn’t feel he’d crush if they were in bed.
    “Oh, sorry.” Her face colored an appealing shade of pink. “Anyway, I spent a lot of time outdoors watching our gardener, Mr. Jenkins, take care of the plants. His wife helped out in the spring, planting the flowers, and she’d taken the time to explain things, like what plants grew well and how to take care of them.”
    As lovely as that story was, his heart ached as he pictured her as a little girl not having her mom to teach her those things. “Starting a business takes a lot of work, but also cash.”
    If her parents had lent her the start-up money, they couldn’t be all bad.
    “Don’t I know it? Izzy’s dad was nice enough to lend me the money, which I’m paying back every month. Not only does he own the cellular phone store and the entire strip mall, he owns my building across the street too.”
    Rye had mentioned that a while back. So much for nice parents, but if they raised such a wonderful daughter, they had to have some redeeming qualities. “I bet your parents are proud of what you’ve accomplished.” He had to act as if he knew nothing.
    “They haven’t really said. I do know they’re happy I didn’t want to go into their import-export business with them.”
    Don’t even go there. Kalan’s body shot into protective mode, and that meant it wanted to shift. He inhaled deeply to forestall that event. “Well, I think you’re remarkable.”
    If her parents were too self-centered to care, it was their loss.
    Her face turned a slightly darker shade of pink this time. Damn. He’d never met a woman who seemed unaware of how amazing she was. Kalan wasn’t going to let her work ethic, coupled with her lack of ego, get to him though. He didn’t want a steady girlfriend—not with taking over the Clan business.
    “Thank you, but I think you’re pretty remarkable too.”
    For some reason, her comment took him aback. Had she been aware he was a bear shifter, he might have understood her sentiment. A human would be impressed he could alter his form, but she was only commenting about who he was as a man, and that pleased him. “I appreciate you saying that.”
    Her eyes widened. “I’m sure