Secrets of Bearhaven by K.E. Rocha Read Free Book Online

Interested despite his determination not to be, he stopped to look in.
    Winston and Jo-Jo were tussling in the middle of the large room. Surrounded by slouchy chairs and oversized toys, both wore sleek silver helmets and gloves that looked likeoven mitts. On a gargantuan screen in front of them, two animated 3-D bears fought to catch salmon as they leaped from a raging waterfall.
    “I am the Salmon King !” Winston howled, ramming his shoulder into Jo-Jo’s.
    “You’d be lucky to catch your reflection, ” Jo-Jo answered, darting away.
    On the screen, the bears fought over the leaping fish. Each time a virtual bear hugged a salmon to its belly, the fish glowed silver, then transformed into a skeleton before evaporating into a sparkling mist.
    “Ten more minutes, boys,” Bunny called over Spencer’s shoulder as she passed.
    “Winston’s going to bed hungry!” Jo-Jo replied without taking his eyes off the game. His on-screen bear snatched another salmon.
    As Spencer turned to leave, Winston called out, “Come play, Spencer!”
    “Tomorrow,” Bunny said from the hall.
    “Thanks,” Spencer added. “I’ll definitely play tomorrow.”
    Bunny was standing beside a closed door, waiting for him. “And this is your room,” she said as he approached. “It’s been your mom’s project for some time now.”
    His mom? What could Mom have to do with a guest room in the Weavers’ house? Bunny opened the door to reveal Spencer’s room.
    Spencer gasped.
    “She wants you to feel like you’re home.”

Spencer stepped into a room that was identical to his bedroom at home. The same blue-and-silver comforters were on the bunk bed, and a Cougars baseball pennant hung above the top bunk, just like his had for years. The pictures of race cars that Spencer had taped to his wall at home were arranged in the very same order on the wall above the same white desk, and his favorite books and games filled the bookshelves.
    Mom had done all of this for him. He imagined her taping up the pictures herself, adding books to the bookshelf here whenever he got new books at home. He examined the short length of rope that was looped around one post of the bunk bed. It looked identical to the one at home, but Spencer could tell it wasn’t the one Dad had used to teach him knot tying. He’d practiced on that rope until it was soft and frayed. Still, it seemed like Mom had tried to break in this length of rope herself, matching it as well as she could to the one that Spencer knotted and untied whenever he couldn’t fall asleep. He should never have said that Mom cared more about bears than about him. Even when she was here, surrounded by bears, she’d been thinking about him.
    He went to the window, where the same blue curtains hung, the shade drawn behind them. Aren’t we underground? he thought as he pushed one of the curtains aside and peeked behind the shade. Yup. Belowground. Behind the curtain there was a solid white wall, but it didn’t matter. With the curtains closed, the room looked exactly like home.
    “There are clothes in the dresser for you,” Bunny said after giving Spencer a moment. He walked over to the familiar white dresser and opened the top drawer. On top of the stack of clothes sat a letter. “Is there anything else you need, dear?”
    “No,” he answered quickly. “Thank you,” he added, turning back to Bunny.
    “All right, then,” Bunny said, and dropped her head to Spencer’s shoulder for just a moment, her soft fur grazing his neck. “Sweet dreams.” Her voice was melodic, like she was singing a lullaby. “Sweet dreams.”
    After Bunny left and shut the large door behind her, Spencer picked the letter out of the drawer. He opened the envelope and unfolded the single sheet of paper, realizing at once that he’d seen it before. It was an exact copy of the letter Mom had given him on his eighth birthday, explaining why she and Dad were giving him the black jade bear. He put the letter back in its