Reforming the Bear by Vanessa Devereaux Read Free Book Online Page B

understand … if I give her away, will she still be my momma?”
    “Sure
she will. It’s just a term that’s used when someone, usually the bride’s father,
walks her down the aisle and hands her over to her groom.”
    “That’s
Bear.”
    “Sure
is. And remember, at the weekend we’re going with him to try on our suits.”
    Bear
had chosen his cousin Ash as his best man, and Charlotte’s husband Aiden was
going to be an usher. Hannah had picked Charlotte as her bridesmaid and the Renners’
niece Kaitlin, who was Sam’s favorite pal, was going to be flower girl. Liam
had only expected to be given an invitation but they’d chosen him to read
something during the service. Probably more for Sam’s sake than Liam’s … but
still, it meant a lot to him to be included.
    “Can’t
I wear my shorts and t-shirt?” asked Sam.
    “Nope,
you have to look the part. And you , you’re
going to look so handsome.”
    Liam
smiled, wondering what Danny would think. How proud he’d be of his son standing
in as father of the bride. In fact, he’d get the good luck medallion mended and
cleaned so Sam would wear it on the big day.
    “You
want to hand me the wrench?” asked Liam.
    Sam
instinctively knew what it was without ever having to be told. Liam guessed he
got that from his dad. Just like Liam was good with cars, Danny could fix a
bike everyone else had given up on.
    “Will
I fix cars like you when I need to make a living?”
    He
looked at Sam. That’s the last thing he wanted for Danny’s son. Sam was going
to do so much more. He was going to university. Hell, he might even become a
doctor like Bear. “Nope. You’re going to work with your brain.”
    “But
that will hurt me.”
    Liam
burst out laughing. “You’re going to use it when you go to university. You’re
going to solve all the world’s problems. You’re going to find a cure for every
illness known to man.”
    “I
am?”
    “Sure
you are.”
    He,
like a proud father, wanted the best for Sam. An education, a future, and a way
to earn a good living. He knew his future stepdad would see to that and for that
reason he’d been happy to hear Bear was going to marry Hannah. Of course, it
was perfect for Sam to have a family, but in truth Bear and Hannah were both
head over heels in love.
    “What
did you think of Lucy?” asked Liam.
    He
wasn’t quite sure why he asked that right after he’d thought about Hannah and
Bear being in love.
    “She’s
pretty,” said Sam.
    He
obviously wasn’t too young to see what made a person attractive. Liam wondered
if, like his father, Sam would grow up to be a ladies’ man. Yeah, he probably
would. But, education first and women second.
    Boy,
he was starting to sound like a strict father rather than the fun uncle he
hoped to be for Sam.
    “Okay,
that’s about done. You want to come inside and watch TV while I shower and then
we’ll head out for pizza?”
    ****
    Lucy
smiled when Sam laughed while watching SpongeBob SquarePants. Her niece and
nephew loved the show too. For that matter, so did she. She finally gave in and
laughed along with Sam. He turned and smiled at her.
    Sam
was a nice kid. No wonder his uncle thought so much of him. How sad that his
father was dead and wouldn’t be around to watch him grow up into a young man.
    She
thought of Mike and his kids as she glanced over at the bag. Lucy was tempted
to call him from a pay phone, but he’d made her promise she wouldn’t. Not only
for his welfare –– for hers too. She’d never break her promise to him, ever.
    Sam
laughed again and she suddenly felt guilty for leading all these wonderful
people on about why she was actually in Montana and what she did for a living.
The bit about doing interior design work in the apartment had rolled off her
tongue without a second thought. Besides painting the walls in her own
townhouse, she didn’t know the first thing about design, but now she’d have to
keep her promise.
    She
stood up, thinking she should put on