Bear Mine for Christmas: BBW Holiday Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Shifter Romance Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

forecast is for heavy snow later this evening.”
    “It’s important to keep secrets, but sometimes it’s more important to be safe,” Madison added. Abbie’s lips formed a tight O .
    “Sometimes Sophia hangs out with Marina and two boys,” she said at last.
    “And? Where do they go?”
    “I’ve seen them heading out of town, on the mountain track before.”
    “And she told you she was going today?”
    “No. When I saw her going before, I asked her about it, and she made me promise not to tell you.” The sisters stared at each other.
    “Sophia’s been keeping things from me? I can’t believe it. My own daughter!”
    “Hey, she’s 14. All kids are like that at that age,” Madison said.
    “She told me it wasn’t a big deal, but you’d freak if you knew, so I shouldn’t tell you in case it made your blood pressure high.” Karen gasped.
    “What? That naughty little minx!” she exclaimed.
    “Full marks for cunning,” Madison said.
    “What’s going on?” Brock cut in, his deep baritone startling everyone.
    “My teenage daughter seems to have run off into the woods with two guys and another girl,” Karen said.
    “Hey, hold on, we don’t know that’s what’s happened,” Madison said. Just then, a gust of wind hit them, and the snow began to fall at an oblique angle.
    “I’m guessing you don’t have phone contact now, if your reception is anything like mine?” Brock said.
    “No.” Karen looked at her phone yet again and tried to dial.
    “What network are you all on?” Brock asked each of them. “Ok, let’s all try, one at a time.” Everyone had the same result – a fuzzy connection that couldn’t hold out long enough to connect the call.
    Madison looked around. The heavier snowfall had encouraged people to disperse, and their group was now standing by themselves on the frozen road, beneath the orange streetlights.
    “Let’s not start to panic, but we should try and find out exactly where she is right now,” Brock said. “How about we go and speak to everyone out here and see if anyone’s seen her. In the meantime, maybe one of you guys can go home and check whether she’s there, and we all meet back here in ten minutes?” Even in the dark, Madison could see Karen’s face paling.
    “Hey, it’s ok,” she said, squeezing her arm. “It’s not a search party, we’re just making sure. She’s probably at a friend’s house or something.” She turned to Brock. “Thanks for your help. This sounds like a good plan.” He inclined his head.
    “Do you have a photo?”
    “Yes.” Madison scrolled through her camera roll and picked out a close-up of Sophia’s face. “She’s about 115 pounds and 5’3’’ tall.”
    “We can share via Bluetooth, even if there’s no signal, right?”
    “I think so.” She and Brock switched on their Bluetooth connection, and before long, the photo was shared onto Brock’s phone. His uncle and cousin gathered around and took a careful look at it.
    “Ok, let’s go,” Grayson said, immediately heading off towards a park that eventually led to the mountains.
    Everyone else spread out, walking in different directions.
    “You stay with your mom, kiddo,” Madison said to Abbey. “I think she’d benefit from your laser eyesight.”
    Madison spoke to a lot of people. Her lawyer’s experience helped a lot as she asked people very direct questions, trying to get them to remember, as efficiently as possible. But she heard the same thing over and over: almost everyone knew Sophia, but no-one had seen her that day.
    Fifteen minutes later, everyone was back, with no good news.
    “There’s no sign of her at home,” Karen said, her eyes wide with worry. The snow was settling on people’s clothes and it had become noticeably colder.
    “Abbey, did Sophia tell you anything about what she does when she goes up the mountain?” Madison said.
    “She says she goes to the ravine,” Abbey replied.
    “The ravine? Oh my God, that’s so dangerous!”