“My eating habits don’t have anything to do with it, either. Geeze, you know people are as ignorant about vegans as they are about shifters?”
“Hey,” he said, stepping back with a chuckle. “I like vegetables. I’ve been growing my own ever since I got back from Iraq.”
Summer crossed her arms over her full breasts, not expecting that from the big man. Gardening, huh? Maybe he wasn’t as bad as she thought.
“You should taste my huckleberries. Best in the state.”
“Huckleberries?”
Chance frowned and rubbed the back of his neck as if he was embarrassed. “Um. Yes. Some of the local ladies like to make jam from it. Bertha McLaren wins at the county fair every year. You can buy her homemade jam at her shop in town.”
“I’ll have to check that out,” she said, eyeing him. Is that flirting? She couldn’t tell.
“Well, ma’am. I’d like you to come down to the station so I can get your formal statement, and you can meet the sheriff. He wants to speak with you before we begin working on the case.”
“So I’ll be working with you?” she asked, a thrill sparking in her belly.
Chapter Four
The more time Chance spent with his mate, the more he liked her. Even the way she got angry about silly little things excited him. He could tell the woman was a handful, in more ways than one. Her luscious curves certainly were. He imagined gripping those full hips and plump breasts as she rode in the passenger seat of his truck.
He glanced over and watched her breasts bounce as they bumped down the rocky road toward where they’d found Balor’s body. He sucked his lip into his mouth and held back a moan of pleasure. He had to get his hands on this woman somehow, but he was pretty sure she didn’t like him.
Chance was a guy who liked a challenge, and Summer Madison certainly was that. He was determined to figure her out and find what made her tick. She’d been interested in his gardening. He hadn’t expected to start trying to get close to her so soon. They had work to do on the case, and it probably wasn’t the best idea to get distracted by Summer’s luscious curves until it was solved.
He pulled off the road into a turn-about and cut the engine. Summer looked around with a determined expression on her pretty face, her dark, full lips puckered and her brow furrowed. He could see the honey-colored curve of her breasts under the tank top she wore. His bear rumbled inside his mind. Mate! Mate! Summer gripped her testing kit and jumped out of the truck, marching up the hill before he even had the door open.
He hurried to catch up with her, watching her full behind sway as she charged up the hill. Goddamn, that woman is sexy. He shook his head, and his bear roared. He’d never dated a woman like Summer in his life. Go figure his mate would be as determined and strong-willed as he was.
He caught up with her and reached out to take her testing kit, which seemed pretty heavy. It dug into her shoulder, making it look red and sore. She pulled it away from him with a shocked expression on her face.
“It looks heavy.”
“Fine, here. It is heavy.” She pulled it off her shoulder and thrust it into his arms. He smiled at her offering to let him help, but she just charged off. A moment later, she turned back to him and stopped. “Thanks,” she said softly, her barriers coming down. She was even prettier when she softened a bit, the sight of gratitude and humility in her eyes made Chance’s heart melt. This might be easier than he’d thought.
They made their way into the clearing where they’d found Balor’s body.
“This is where he died. Do you want to take samples here?”
“Yes,” Summer said, opening the kit. She pulled out her equipment and started taking samples from the trees and soil. Chance sniffed the air, opening his bear senses to take in the scents around the scene. He couldn’t make out anything but the scent of the people he already knew had been there. Most likely, Balor had been alone in the forest when he’d died.
She set up her test tubes in a stand on the forest floor and dropped testing solution into the samples she’d taken. “This will take a few minutes,” she explained.
“So what made you want to become a scientist?” Chance asked, watching her kneeling on the forest floor. She was bent over the test tubes, her ass in the air. He wondered if she knew how unbelievably hot she looked like that. Chance could barely keep himself from gripping her hips and taking her right then and there. She smelled of strawberry lemonade and the forest after it rained. The scent of her almost undid him. Grrr…
She looked back at him and blinked at his question. Standing, she brushed off her knees and sighed. “I always wanted to understand how things work. I’ve been fascinated with scientific principles and the natural world since I was a child. It was only natural for me to become an environmental biologist. I want to protect nature. As a scientist, I have the tools to do it.”
“That’s very noble,” he said, tipping his head toward her.
“Thanks.” She looked away and inspected her vials again. Looking back at him she said, “So why did you become a game warden?”
“I wanted to protect nature, too. As a game warden, I oversee hunting and fishing in my district. I protect wildlife from criminal hunters. Without licensing and oversight, hunters would shoot everything until there was nothing left. Like the buffalo or the California grizzly.”
“I never thought of it that way,” she said, glancing back at her test tubes. “Look,” she said. “There’s no arsenic in any of these samples. That’s strange. I would expect some to have contaminated the forest around the pool.”
“Let’s go check the water,” he said.
She got another syringe and they moved through the forest to the edge of the fishing pool. A few fish had washed up dead on the side of the river and a crow lay feet up beside them. Summer cringed and knelt to get her sample. “They were clearly poisoned by the water,” she said, pulling a sample into the syringe.
She dropped it into a testing vial and mixed it with testing solution before they headed back to where her kit sat. She labeled the vial and put it in the holder next to the rest of the samples.
“You mentioned that you fought in Iraq,” she said, not looking up from her work.
“Two tours. Special Forces. After the war, I came home and took up gardening.”
She giggled a little and continued her work.
“What’s so funny?”
“A Special Forces military guy becomes a gardener. It’s cute.” She stood and faced him, her face bright with mirth.
“I don’t get it.”
“Never mind. What are you growing this year?” she asked, crossing her arms and popping out her hip as she gazed up at him.
His heart fluttered as her arms pressed her full breasts together and upward. His bear pranced around inside his head, roaring to claim her on the forest floor. Chance gulped.
“Tomatoes, zucchinis, lettuces, eggplant. I’m going to harvest my garlic soon, and the pumpkins are ripening. I’ll have a nice batch by Halloween. And of course my huckleberry patch is unrivaled.”
“How do you grow wild huckleberries? I didn’t realize that was a thing.”
“Sure it is. I started with a few wild bushes. I took cuttings and now I have a whole patch. They give me all the sweetest fruit because I give them what they need.”
“I see,” Summer said, flushing.
Chance could smell the heavy scent of arousal wafting off his little, curvy mate. He was going to have to do something soon because keeping his distance would make him lose his mind.
His bear was not a patient animal.
Summer turned away and picked up the water she’d just tested. Frowning, she looked up at him. “I don’t understand. There's barely any arsenic in the water today. It’s basically at safe levels. How is that possible?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked, confused.
“We need to go up to the copper mine and look around. At the levels I got yesterday, they’d have to be dumping tons of arseni
c waste into the water every day, but maybe they only do it on certain days of the week.”
“I’m still not convinced it’s the mine,” Chance said.
“What other explanation is there?” Summer asked haughtily.
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
Chapter Five
Summer packed her samples into her test kit, flustered at how Chance affected her. Getting unbelievably turned on while conducting a scientific investigation was unprofessional. She had to get herself under control. Chance wasn’t even her type.
That’s what she kept telling herself anyway.
Nevertheless, every time she looked at him or got a whiff of his musky cologne she practically swooned. The whole thing about taking up gardening after coming back from Iraq–– that just did it. She was lost in a haze of sexual attraction she couldn’t understand.
She handed Chance the testing kit as they walked together down the hill. Neither of them spoke, only stealing shy glances at each other as they trudged through the underbrush. When they made it to his truck, Chance opened the door for her and offered her his hand. She looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
Finally, she took his hand. His skin felt warm against hers, and that spark of desire flooded through her as he helped her climb the high steps into the raised truck.
“Thanks,” she said.
She didn’t really need help climbing into the truck. It was like two steps. But the fact that he had offered, and the feeling of his hand on hers, made her start to reconsider her original assumptions about him.
He was a gentleman for sure. That trait had its place and was incredibly attractive from an ex-military guy as big as the broad side of a barn. Summer never expected to be turned on by that kind of thing. But there was a small place inside her that always felt vulnerable in the world. Usually, she shoved that part of herself down as far as she could. Chance seemed to uncover that vulnerable spot and hold it in his strong hands, making her feel protected and safe.
Back on the highway, they turned into the parking lot of the mine and found a space near the front office. Summer set her expression, ready for a fight as she got out of the truck. She’d have to stay focused, stay tough. These mining corporations were as slippery as they came. They’d hide any wrongdoing behind wall after wall of bureaucracy. She hoped Chance had the willpower to stick around to do the digging.
She took a deep breath as Chance pulled open the door and held it for her to walk inside. At the front desk, a skinny, blonde receptionist fluttered her eyelashes and smiled broadly as soon as she saw Chance approaching.
“Chance Baker, didn’t expect to see you around here today. What brings you out to the Black Butte Copper Mine? And who’s your friend?” she said, frowning at Summer.
“We’re here on official business. A shifter was found poisoned to death downriver from here. We need to investigate the mine for any possible environmental issues.”
“We just had our environmental oversight inspection not two weeks ago,” the girl said irritably.
“High levels of arsenic were found in a pool downriver from here,” Summer said. “How do you explain that?”
Chance frowned and waved his hand. “We just need to look around and ask a few questions,” he said. “We can come back later with a warrant if we need to.”
The girl sighed and pushed away from her desk. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. I’ll inform Mr. Leland that you’re here.” She stood and walked through a doorway, closing it behind her. Summer put her hands on her hips and glared at Chance.
“We should just get a warrant anyway,” she said. “There’s no way they’re going to tell us the truth without one.”
“I’m sure we can find out everything we need to know just by looking around and asking a few questions.”
“You have a lot more faith in these people than I do,” she grumbled under her breath as the office door opened.
A man with dark hair, dark eyes, and wearing a Western-cut suit walked into the front lobby and held out his hand to Chance. “I paid for my fishing license this year. Emery Leland,” the man said with a grin, reaching out to shake Chance’s hand. “What brings you out to the mine today, Warden?”
“We found a dead grizzly shifter downriver from here. Autopsy confirms it was arsenic poisoning. Our consulting scientist found a sample containing dangerous levels of arsenic in a popular fishing hole near where the dead shifter was found. We took another sample today, and it was clean. We just want to have a look around and ask a few questions.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Emery Leland said, scratching his chin. “As I’m sure Stacy told you, we had our environmental checks just a few weeks ago, and the reports will be coming in soon. We have some of the strictest environmental regulations of any mine in the country. We all fish these waters ourselves,” Mr. Leland said, slapping Chance on the back. Chance growled and frowned, looking uncomfortable. This guy was laying it on thick. Summer didn’t buy it for a second.
“I know you do, and I’m sure you’re right, but I still have to do my due diligence. Don’t want to have to go through the trouble of getting a warrant.”
“Of course, look around as much as you need. Stacy will show you around.”
Stacy looked at Summer and glared. Sighing, she stood from her reception desk. “Follow me,” she said, directing them to the entrance of the smelting plant.
They took their tour, and Summer got to ask extensive questions of the engineers around the wastewater processing for the smelting plant and mine. They answered all her questions, which seemed to satisfy Chance. Summer still wasn’t convinced. She was sure that the engineers were hiding something. There was no other explanation for the shifter’s death. And proving that the mine was contaminating the river was the entire reason she’d come to this part of Montana in the first place.
At the end of the tour, Stacy offered them the use of the breakroom, where they could get some soda from the vending machines before they left. Chance got himself a soda and offered to buy something for Summer.
“I’ll take a bottle of water,” she said. Chance bought her water and handed it to her just as a group of miners walked into the breakroom.
“Mr. Leland has been laying off all the shifters who work here as soon as they come out. How do you explain that?” asked a big, burly man with a dark beard and dark eyes.
“Because shifters are lazy animals who take more deserving humans’ jobs,” said a man with a wrinkly, tanned face in a sneering voice.
The first man approached the second man, growling, and they pushed each other as if a fight was ready to break out. Chance stepped in front of Summer and blocked her from the gathering crowd of angry miners.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room. When they got to the parking lot, he open the passenger door first and waited for her to climb inside.
“Why did you hurry out of there when those men started fighting? We could’ve gotten some valuable information.”
“I wanted to keep you safe,” he said, starting the engine.
Chapter Six
Chance grumbled inwardly as he drove back to town. The men fighting in front of Summer had brought out his bear’s protective instincts, and he had to get her out of there as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that meant he didn’t get a chance to investigate what the men had been fighting about.
As he was considering the implications of shifter layoffs at the copper mine, his cell phone rang. He checked the ID and saw it was his clan mate. “This is Chance,” he said into the phone.
“Chance, thank God. Have you heard about the Owenses up on Aspen Drive?”
“No. I’ve been out of town all day. What’s going on?”
“They’re all sick. The kids are bad off.”
“Why are you calling me? They should get to the hospital.”
“Tim Owens doesn’t want to take his family to the hospital. Too scared of retaliation. Th
e family came out as shifters before the hate groups hit. He thinks someone in town is out to get them. He’ll only trust another shifter. I tried to talk sense into him, but he wouldn’t have it. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”
“I’m on my way,” Chance said before hanging up.
“What was that about?” Summer asked from the passenger seat. Her honey-brown skin glistened in the afternoon sunlight that streamed through the window. Her dyed, red dreadlocks were wrapped around her head in a halo, making her look like an exotic angel. Her beauty made his bear wake up and roll over, panting. Those thoughts would have to wait for another time.
“A shifter family downriver has taken sick. We’re going out to talk them into going to the hospital.”
Chance pulled onto the road headed toward the Owens’ ranch down in the valley. Outside, the scenery changed from pine forest to open plains dotted with cattle and sheep. As they came to Aspen Drive, the road was lined with the black- and white-dappled bark of aspens and their quaking green leaves. He pulled into the Owens’ driveway and parked in front of their big ranch house.
Chance got out and helped Summer with her testing kit. Something told him there might be a connection between the Owens’ mystery illness and the poisoned bear shifter they’d found in the woods the day before.
They were greeted at the front door by Tim Owens himself, looking pale and sick. On a man as big and burly as Tim, the effect was even more dramatic. Tim had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, heavy bags under his eyes, and dark blotches on his skin.
“Chance, what brings you here?” he asked in a weak voice.
“I came to check on you and your family. The clan is worried since you won’t go to the hospital.”
“Come in,” Tim said, stepping out of the way. Chance and Summer walked into the house that smelled of musty bodies and sickness. The family was gathered together in the living room, looking weak and frail. A little blonde girl sat huddled on the couch in a pile of blankets, black spots all over her pale skin.