On his first night renting a cottage on the Cornish coast, widower John Tennant comes face to face with, of all things, a grizzly bear. Fearing for his life, John tries to convince the animal he isn't worth eating, and is relieved when the bear ambles away. Maintenance man Mitch Benjamin is two hundred years old but doesn’t look a day over forty. As a werebear, he needs to stay under the radar. The new renter is making that difficult. Not only is John attractive, but his vulnerability triggers all of Mitch’s protective instincts. If that wasn’t trouble enough, Mitch is struggling with his inner bear’s desire to befriend John. He knows what his bear is up to, but Mitch doesn’t want another mate. His last one was murdered ninety years ago, and he’s still grieving. John is confused by Mitch’s mixed signals. Physically, Mitch -- with his bulging muscles and hulking frame -- is a gay man’s wet dream come true. But emotionally, he keeps closing down. John discovers more comfort with the magnificent grizzly bear he occasionally meets on his evening walks along the beach. In an effort to help, Morwenna, the owner of the cottages, uses her psychic gifts to give John a message from his dead lover, George. Far from helping, it adds another layer of strangeness to what’s already turning out to be the strangest summer John can remember. Can a well-meaning medium and a determined grizzly bring John and Mitch together? Will Mitch come clean about his werebear nature? If he does, can John accept that a man and bear exist in the same body?

Summer's Lease

“There’s more coffee if either of you want it,” Morwenna said, clearing away the breakfast plates.


“Not for me, thanks,” John said. “I’m more of a tea drinker.”


“I’ll have more,” Mitch said, sliding his mug over to Morwenna.


That was one of the worst aspects of coming to England—it was almost impossible to get good coffee. How they could drink that instant crap, Mitch couldn’t understand. When he’d mentioned this to John once, a couple of days later a packet of coffee beans arrived in the mail from a store in London. It was just one of many examples of how John looked out for Mitch.


“Now,” Morwenna said, settling herself back in her chair. “You said you had some questions.”


John nodded, swallowed nervously and reached for Mitch’s hand. Mitch started to worry.


Morwenna nodded, her face serious. “It’s quite well established. I think I know where you’re going, but please tell us.”


Chapter 83