The Christmas Tree Bear: A Bear Shifter Paranormal Holiday Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

 But I’m free this weekend.”  She felt silly, as soon as she said it.  She didn’t like to make herself so available to guys:  they always disappointed her when she showed them how interested she might be.  
     
    Willis, however, did not disappoint.  “How about Friday night, after we finish up here with some of the church kids?  A friend’s band is playing over at Dusty’s.  We can pretend we can both shoot pool while telling each other doofy stories about growing up around here.”
     
    “Or I can hustle you at pool.  Which ever works out.”
     
    Willis barked out a laugh, and that made Charlie laugh herself.  “I’d be okay with that,” he whispered.  He was leaning in toward her, glancing down at her lips and back at her eyes.  
     
    “Willis, are you still in here?  Can you-- oh!”  
     
    Charlie closed her eyes and tried to will herself to fall through the earth instead of being caught by a guy’s mom as they were about to kiss.  Willis let out a huff, the hot arm hitting her face and her mouth.  She opened her eyes to see Willis’ sparkling at her.  “Sorry,” he mouthed at her.
     
    “Yeah, mom?” he called down as he leaned around Charlie’s back.  
     
    Charlie tried to school her expression into a neutral sort of friendly instead of flustered.  “Hi, Jolie!”  she called with a wave as she turned about.
     
    Jolie looked both suspicious and embarrassed as she eyed the two of them pressed together on the tractor bench.  “I’m sorry!”  She honestly sounded sorry.  “I didn’t know you were still here, Charlie.”
     
    “I was just heading out.” Charlie turned back about and started to climb down.  “Willis was just showing me how he was fixing up the tractor.”
     
    “Oh, you don’t have to leave!”  she heard Jolie shout.
     
    “Hey, I got you.”  Willis jumped down the other side of the tractor and reached up.  He put his hands on Charlie’s waist and lifted her down the rest of the way.  “There we go.”  He grinned at her as he pulled her against his side.  Charlie flushed and glanced at his mother.  Willis glanced at his mother as well, then let her go.
     
    “Please don’t rush out,” Jolie went on.  She eyed Willis but flashed Charlie a smile.  “I was only going to ask Willis if he had seen his cousin.”
     
    “Elvis?” he asked.  “He’s probably asleep in the hay loft again.”
     
    Jolie scrunched up her nose.  She marched over to the rack of farm tools and pulled down the pitchfork.  “We’ll just see about that,” she muttered as she made her way out of the workshop and back toward the barn with the reindeer.
     
    “Should...should we be concerned?”  Charlie asked.
     
    “Nah.  She hasn’t managed to kill him yet, and Elvis has only gotten smarter as he’s gotten older.  He’ll be fine.”  Willis glanced down at Charlie again.
     
    Was he going to go for their interrupted kiss?  Or was this an awkward silence?
     
    “Can I see your phone?” she asked quickly.  
     
    He blinked at her, then dutifully dug his phone out of his back pocket and handed it to her.  
     
    “You don’t have a security code on it?” she teased as she unlocked it and flipped to his contacts.
     
    “I’d forget it,” he admitted.  He was close, leaning in right behind her and breathing on her ear.  “What are you doing?”
     
    Charlie quickly typed in her name and her cell.  “Giving you my number.”  She offered the phone back and tried to be smooth.  “You could text me.  If you like doing that.”
     
    “...yeah, I’d like that.”  
     
    They were leaning close together, smiling at each other.  Charlie shook her head and turned to go.  
     
    “I should--” she started.
     
    “Hey, wait.”
     
    Willis hooked two fingers in the back belt loop of her jeans and tugged her back.  Charlie let out a startled laugh.  He pulled her back against his chest then slid an arm around her waist.  He tipped her