Vivian Arend - Diamond Dust

Diplomacy was what Tyler was good at, but he wasn’t about to boast to his brother. Maybe Frank wanted to assist in the mediations. If he behaved it could work to their advantage. Frank wasn’t the kind of bear anyone wanted to piss off unintentionally. Nearly seven feet of quick-tempered brute? Tyler and Justin were big, but Frank was in a class all his own.

“You want to join me?”

Frank brayed out a laugh. “Ha. Are you fucking kidding me? I’d have the peace talks down to wrestling and blood before the hour was out, and you know it. No, gentle massaging of egos and shit—not for me, big bro. Not anymore.”

If Frank wasn’t offering to help, Tyler was confused, but before he could get clarification, the ride was over. Justin pulled open the door and they crawled out, the Klondike Rib and Salmon Barbeque to their right. A long row of customers stood waiting to get in, the line wrapping around the corner and disappearing from sight.

“Come on, we have reservations.” Frank cleared a path by simply pacing forward.

Tyler eyed the restaurant as he excused himself to the patrons they were butting in front of. Frank had said the place was casual, but this was lower on the relaxed scale than he’d imagined. Two disproportional buildings were smooshed against each other. The larger one vaguely looked like a tent, as if the original Whitehorse-gold-rush settlers had slapped up four walls and raised canvas over the top to make themselves a shop.

They paused inside the doors as the front desk staff cheered at the sight of Frank. Even the servers weaving between the tables with full hands grinned and called out greetings.

“Your brother doesn’t give himself enough credit for knowing how to get along with people. He obviously has a way with them.” Justin stood at his back, speaking over Tyler’s shoulder as they waited for the spontaneous celebration to die down.

“He’s only been here for one week. I can’t imagine.”

Frank motioned them forward. Tyler nodded politely to the girl holding their menus, then followed his brother toward the end of the room.

The tables ran in long rows, communal style. Red and green gingham tablecloths covered their surfaces, plastic ones, from what he could tell at a glance. The couple already seated at the far end of the table were digging into their food, plastic baskets with fake newsprint as their plates.

Frank settled into his seat with a sigh of happiness. “I love this place.”

“They seem to love you.” Tyler accepted the menu from the server. “How often have you been here in the past week?”

His brother grinned. “Some of the pack brought me in for lunch the first day I was in town, and I’ve been back every day since. I’m working my way through the menu.”

No wonder the restaurant staff liked him. “Glad to hear you’re having a good time. What do you recommend?”

“All of it.” Frank nodded. “The ribs are fab, though.”

Justin had directed Tyler into a seat that was as protected as possible, yet still presented a good view of the room. The lineup outside was explained as he realized every seat was taken but for the empty space to his left.

Popular place. Not only with locals, but tourists. While it wasn’t always possible to spot a shifter from a distance, Tyler knew many of the bears who were in town for the next stage of conclave. He’d met them over the previous weeks in Dawson City, and at first glance, out of the hundred bodies occupying the main seating area, he’d guess fifty percent were bears.

There really was no getting away from it. They’d taken over the town.

Not all eyes staring his way were friendly, either. Supporters of his rivals glared. Those undecided which way to vote kept their expressions blank. The bear elected to the top would have enormous power for years, and even those without an agenda were rightly cautious about supporting some unknown.

A waiter shuffled down the narrow space between tables, filling water glasses and taking orders. Tyler was distracted by a rather venomous glare from a bear seated by the door.

“Justin. By the entrance at one o’clock. Remind me of the clan.”

His friend glanced over. “Radium. Bunch of hotheads. I don’t have proof, yet, but I have my suspicions they were involved in the kidnapping.”

That would make sense. Definitely a group to keep an eye on.

Tyler twisted to give his order to the waiter. “Now That’s a Rack.”

He was horrified to discover that instead of the young man who’d just stepped behind him, he ended up speaking to a familiar-looking blonde.

Caroline Bradley raised a brow. “You have a thing for my breasts, don’t you?”

He surged to his feet, his chair tipping into the person behind him. “I’m sorry, I thought you were the waiter.”

Her smirk widened. “Okay, then. I’ll make sure Anthony knows, but he’s already got a boyfriend.”

Tyler scrambled to dig himself out without looking more of a fool. “No, it’s not like that. There’s an item on the menu called Now That’s a Rack . It looks delicious.”

Her upper body, including her delicious rack, shook as she laughed. “I know, I’m just teasing. You have wonderful timing.” She leaned in front of him and gave Frank her hand. “Good to see you again.”

Tyler forced himself to remain in one spot and not accidentally lean into her. His attempt was made more difficult as Frank, ever the diplomat, tugged until Caroline was forced to move forward. Her torso rubbed his, every inch pressed to him for a second until she was yanked into Frank’s arms for a hug.

Across the table, Justin was looking far too pleased.

“Shut up.” Tyler mouthed the words, but that only made Justin grin harder.

Frank finally relaxed his grip on the woman and turned her with great fanfare. “Caroline, I want you to meet my big brother, Tyler.”

Caroline cleared her throat and held out her hand—to Justin. “Nice to officially meet you. Sorry about the little incident earlier today, sir.”

Justin paused halfway out of his seat. Tyler opened his mouth to explain.

Frank beat them both to it. He laughed and pointed. “Hell, that’s not Tyler. That’s Justin, his sidekick. The ugly one over here is my brother.”

If she’d given him a what the hell look earlier for his unintentional sexual comment, her expression had grown miles more judgmental. All traces of amusement were gone. “Oh really. Gee, nice to meet you, Tyler . Frank has told me so much about you. He’s been raving about how you’re so honest and straightforward.”

She held her hand steady until he had to accept it. If he’d not been a shifter, her grip would have hurt. As it was, the additional squeeze she gave to the handshake made his bear rumble in approval.

Feisty. We like feisty , his bear insisted.

When she let him go and greeted Justin, Tyler gave himself a firm scolding and shoved the beast further down. This was not the time or the place to have a discussion with his animal half about the kind of woman they were supposed to be consorting with at the moment.

Although the idea of consorting a lot more intimately? If he was honest, like Caroline had suggested he usually was, then honestly , getting more involved with the woman wouldn’t be a problem for man, or beast.

She should have known this would be one of those days. From the disastrous start with housekeeping, to Evan’s big revelation, to this wonderful twist on her relaxing evening, she couldn’t get an even break.

Screw it. She was going to have fun tonight, and after discovering her bear with the grabby eyes was actually the head of the Harrison delegation, she wasn’t nearly as worried about impressing him.