Grizzly Flying Home Read Online Free PDF Page B

of one of the tables, and Emily spotted Chance dipping his hand into one of the coolers to grab a beer.
    For a moment, she once again thought about turning around. The group looked friendly, but they all seemed to know each other. Emily wasn’t sure whether she was ready to be the newbie. She had just taken a step backward to retreat to her car, when the tall man behind the grill spotted her. He looked surprised, then glanced to the man on his left and said something that Emily couldn’t hear. Within moments, the group had fallen silent and everyone was staring at her. For one long, horrible moment, Emily felt completely exposed. But then, Chance saw her and a huge smile spread across his face.
    “Emily! I didn’t think you would come,” he said.
    “You know her?” the man behind the grill asked. Everyone’s faces visibly relaxed. Chance nodded, and then leaned over to say something to one of the men in the group, who frowned and glanced in Emily’s direction a few times before shrugging and nodding.
    Chance ran over to grab Emily’s hand and led her toward the group. Emily smiled as bravely as she could, but she got the feeling that some of them were a little miffed at Chance for inviting her and obviously not telling them.
    “I really don’t have to stay,” Emily heard herself saying as she gently tried to pull her hand away from Chance’s. She hated to break the contact with his warm, strong grip, but she didn’t want to be somewhere that she wasn’t welcome.
    “Nonsense,” Chance said, tightening his hold on her. “We have plenty of food, and I want to introduce you to everyone.”
    Before Emily could protest again, the tall man whom Chance had spoken to just a moment ago extended his hand. “I’m Ian,” he said. “Welcome to our barbecue. Sorry if we looked a little surprised. We just aren’t used to having visitors.”
    Chance let go of Emily’s hand so she could shake Ian’s hand, and then a blur of introductions followed. Ian was married to Charlotte. Zach was the one behind the grill, and his wife, Mindy, was running after their two kids, Sophia and Drew. Trevor and Bailey also had child, a tiny baby boy named Collin. Then she met Hunter and Riley, Luke and River, and Carter and Clara. By the time the introductions were finished, Emily’s head was swimming with names, and Chance seemed amused by her overwhelmed expression.
    “Don’t worry. You’ll get everyone sorted out eventually. Now, what do you want to eat? Zach has steaks, burgers, chicken, and bratwurst on the grill. And, as you can see, we have pretty much every side dish you could possibly want.”
    Emily’s eyes widened as she took in the array of food on the tables in front of her. Chance wasn’t kidding. She saw dozens of options, including several desserts.
    “Wow. You guys must be hungry,” she said.
    Zach laughed. “You could say we have the appetites of bears,” he said.
    Emily laughed, but Ian didn’t seem amused by Zach’s joke.
    “Watch it, Zach,” Ian said, giving Zach an angry glare.
    “Sorry,” Zach said, and quickly went back to paying attention to the meat on the grill.
    Emily frowned as Chance handed her a paper plate and told her to help herself to whatever she wanted. This group was strange. They seemed friendly, and seemed to know each other well. But there was an underlying tension in the air that Emily couldn’t ignore. She had a feeling that she was the reason for the tension, although she wasn’t sure why. She tried to push away the worries bubbling up in her mind and focus on filling her plate. Maybe she was more awkward than she realized after going so long without socializing. The thought pained her, and she decided that a drink or two might loosen her up and make things easier for everyone.
    “Can I grab a beer?” she asked Chance. He nodded and started to reach for the cooler, when one of the women, whom Emily thought she remembered was named Riley, jumped in to stop Chance.
    “Wait!