Page 3 of Bear My Heart

He shot a curious glance at her, wondering why and where she'd been sitting in the cold, but a smiling young woman came up, said, "Two? Booth or table?" and a moment later led them to a booth in a comparatively quiet part of the pub. "I'll bring you some water and give you a few minutes to look over the menu. Any other drinks to start with?"

Shanti shook her head as she started unbundling, and Pete said, "No, thanks," while he debated whether it was polite to sit down before his mate did.

His date. He should only think of her as his date right now. There was something about her that suggested coming on too strong would overwhelm her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. She glanced at him, apparently understanding his internal debate about sitting, and gave him one of those brief, almost apologetic smiles that seemed like all she was willing to risk. "Go ahead and sit. I've got on about thirty layers and will be here a while."

"Thirty, really. That's a lot." Pete grinned and did take a seat, lifting the menu so it didn't seem so much like he was trying not to gawk dreamily at her, but he couldn't lie to himself: he was mostly watching her as she shed layers.

There might not have been thirty of them, but there were quite a few. The big outer coat that went to her knees. Another coat that went past her bottom beneath that one. A sweater that also went to her thighs beneath that. She hesitated then like she was trying to make a decision, but her brown skin was already turning pink with the pub's warmth, so after a moment she peeled the sweater off, too. She wore a short-sleeved dress beneath that, and a long-sleeved thermal shirt beneath that.

"You," Pete said, "are prepared for Alaska-level winters."

"I don't think so," she murmured as she finally sat down. "If I have to wear this much in New York, I'd probably be unable to leave the house in Alaska."

"Nah. Layers. And we don't usually sit around outside that long when it's really cold. You were…on the platforms?" Pete tilted his head, curious, because the trains weren't running yet, but there weren't any other places to hang around outside at a train station. Not that he knew about, anyway.

Shanti dropped her gaze to the table like she was embarrassed or ashamed. "On the platforms, yes. I've been watching the preparation for the new line going in. It's…" She fell silent, then shook her head. "I'm looking forward to the train coming, that's all."

"It's exciting, isn't it?" Pete smiled crookedly as Shanti's surprised eyes met his. "There's exactly one train line in Alaska and it doesn't go anywhere near Shkalnik. I was still obsessed with them when I was little, and the first time I saw a real one…" He laughed. "I was about ten and we'd gone to Anchorage for the first time and my parents indulged my obsession and brought me to the train station. I was in love. They could carry so many people at once, and if there were enough rail lines, they could go so many places. I wanted to help make that happen. And even after all this time I still think it's exciting."

"That's it exactly." Shanti lit up with astonished pleasure, taking some of the sadness from her eyes for a moment. Pete felt a brief surge of triumph, like that was the proof he needed that he could be good for her.

Of course you can, his bear said peacefully. She's your mate. You're meant to be good for each other.

His bear didn't often comment on anything. Pete was both grateful for its reassurance and wished it would choose to talk when he wasn't already talking to someone. Not just someone, either, but his mate, who he wanted to know everything about. She was looking at him almost hopefully now, as if she thought he might understand something that was important to her. "It's just…like there's so much potential, with the train?"

"Yeah. Yeah, there is. That's what I like about it, too. Have you done much traveling?"

It was the wrong question. Shanti's gaze dropped again and she shook her head, closing off. But then she shrugged one shoulder and murmured, "Well, except to Nepal."

Pete couldn't help a laugh. "Oh, well, except to Nepal. I've never been off this continent. What's it like?"

"Nepal? It's beautiful. A little like what I imagine Alaska must be? Lots of mountains. The mountain."

Pete, knowing she meant Everest, said, "Denali?" anyway, and her eyes popped up to his again, this time accompanying a quick, soft laugh.

"Everest!" Shanti's lingering smile was wide, though. "The Nepali name for it is Sagarmāthā, though."

"Sagarmāthā. I didn't know that. It's like Denali, though. A much more beautiful name."

"I think so too. Not many trains, though."

"On Sagarmāthā? No, people probably wouldn't care about climbing it so much if there was a train to the top."

That got another little smile out of Shanti, which felt like a badge of honor granted from a woman with such sad eyes. "In Nepal. Only one passenger train, and it's only a thirty mile line. I've taken it, though."

"There's only one in Alaska, too, but it's over six hundred miles. It's beautiful." Pete bit down on the impulse to add, I'll take you on it someday, while Shanti's eyes widened.

"Nepal isn't even six hundred miles long!"

"Really?" Pete stared at her a moment, then laughed. "I've spent years building rail lines across the country and I still get surprised by how small most places are compared to Alaska. This whole rail line we're putting back in is a big project, but it's still less than half the length of the Alaska railroad so I keep thinking it's a small job."

"You need to work on cross-country railroads, I guess? The ones that go three thousand miles?"

"I'd think that was a big job, yeah." Pete glanced at his menu, then at Shanti. "Should we figure out what we want, or make the waitress come back three times because we can't make decisions?"

He meant to be funny, but Shanti looked slightly pained and picked up her menu. "Let's not make things more difficult for her. I think I'd like…" She fell momentarily silent, then, sounding almost alarmed, added, "Oh, but everything looks really good and there's so much to choose from. Halloumi fries. Who would have halloumi fries in Virtue?"

"I don't even know what they are. Is halloumi a kind of potato?"