CARMEN
My heart was pounding so loudly that I was certain Mel and Lori could both hear it.
The moment I heard Tim’s bike, something in me moved before my mind caught up. Nerves, anticipation, fear, and hope tangled together, pushing me out the door toward him as if I had no choice.
Maybe I didn’t, but he was like the light chasing away the darkness within me.
I had asked him this morning—half shy, half desperate—for proof. Proof that he was Mr. Bear. Proof that what I felt last night wasn’t some strange dream my mind created to cope.
And he had smiled at me like he knew exactly what I was asking for, and then he used it as leverage.
“Come to the BBQ,” he had said, that warmth in his voice, that light in his green eyes. “And I’ll show you Mr. Bear. And, I’ll even throw in a bear ride
