Clay (BBW Secret Baby Bear Shifter Romance) (Secret Baby Bears Book 4) by Becca Fanning Read Free Book Online

Dam T-shirt said. “Better to make your way to the hotel and see if they have a room.”

    “Yes, of course,” Dakota said politely, returning her phone to her bag. Having traveled for so long, she’d forgotten what it was like to be ruled by a clock. On the bus, she’d been gripped with an anxiety that scattered her sleep. Her light brown eyes would shut and open within the same day, constantly searching to make sure she wasn’t followed. She felt safest at night, when the stops were few and the bus was quiet.

    There were only a few hours until sunrise. She wouldn’t bother with a motel. Finding peace in her decision to run to West Texas, she made a bench her bed. It was uncomfortable, but she was free to stretch her long legs out, something she couldn’t do on the bus.

    Dakota didn’t sleep. She stared at the stains on the ceiling, pretending they were stars, and she waited for the sun to bring in a new day, a new life.

    ***

    “This is it,” the woman said, inviting Dakota into her apartment. “It’s li’l enough to make a pig claustrophobic, but the rent is cheap and the bills are low.”

    The apartment wasn’t that small. There was room to move. Dakota liked the way the kitchen blended into the living room, both decorated with a country charm. The glasses looked like jars, the cabinets were painted a pale grey-blue, and the doors were made of refurbished wood. It was simple but alluring.

    The same could be said about the woman, Brianna Jackson. With her sleek auburn hair and jade-green eyes, Brianna was stunning, but she was grounded, almost to the point that she seemed burdened. Likely in her late-twenties, only a few years older than Dakota, she was far too young to carry such heaviness around her, but she was friendly in spite of it.

    Brianna smiled kindly. “What do ya think? Could you stand living here without feeling like a sardine?”

    “Can I see the bedroom?” Dakota asked, much more guarded than Brianna. She didn’t want to be discourteous, but she hadn’t come to West Texas so she could make friends. She’d chosen it because the South was loud and rowdy, a place she could get lost in.

    “Sure. It’s just in here.”  

    Brianna opened a barn door at the back of the apartment, next to the kitchen. It revealed a modest room with a double bed pushed under a tiny window. With little light allowed into the room, the walls were haunted by shadows. In the corner, sitting in the shadows, was a dresser.

    “It’s exactly what I’m looking for,” Dakota said. “I’m interested. Is there an application I need to fill out?”

    Brianna laughed, her amusement filled with compassion. “No need, chickling. I’m renting it out myself. No agencies. I don’t really need the money, just the company. I travel a lot, and this town ain’t exactly the safest. I’m looking for a built-in house sitter.”

    “So you own the apartment?”

    “It was handed down to me, but yeah. My name is on the deed.”

    That was good. There would be no paperwork to sign, nothing she needed to falsify to protect herself.  

    Dakota returned to the living room and pulled an envelope from her bag. “I can give you cash up front,” she offered, hoping Brianna would accept. The place was perfect. There was nowhere better she could hide, not unless she was willing to risk bed bugs and drunken neighbors.

    Contemplative, Brianna studied her. “That’s an awful big purse you carry around,” she said, meaning the duffle bag.

    “It’s my belongings.”

    “Your only belongings?”

    Dakota looked away, unwilling to share the details of her past. Maybe the apartment wasn’t such a good idea after all. “All that I have on me.”

    “Gotcha. I was going to show the room to a few others over the week then choose from there, but I like what I see. You have your secrets, no doubt about that, but we all have things we keep hidden. As long as you’re not planning to bring no trouble, the room is