Big Bear, Little Bear
Midnight Rodeo, #3
by Julia Talbot
Date of
Publication: September 1st 2016
Publisher: All
Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Erin
Dameron Hill
Genre: Gay Shifter Romance
From The Book Junkie Reads . . . Big
Bear, Little Bear (Midnight Rodeo, #3) . . .
Grizzly bears-shifters. One a huge
rodeo clown, Ozzie. The other a little, injured, horse trainer, Ben. Both
wanting the other, but one feels that he has been rejected. The other wants
time to allow for the other to grow up. Time lapses and things just don’t seem
to add up any longer. Ben has recovered from his accident or not accident. And
now, Ben feels that Ozzie seems to be interested but that seems not to quite be
enough for Ben.
Things around Ben are not as they
seem. Ozzie because concerned. Why can’t Ben shift any longer? What was going
on to change things? How can he, Ozzie, fix things with Ben? Can they create a
lasting bond?
There was a bit more going on here
than Ozzie and Ben not thinking the other wanted the other. I did find the bits
of mystery fascinating. I also found this to be a good addition to the Midnight Rodeo series.
Midnight
Rodeo series:
Welcome to the Pack – Midnight Rodeo, #1 SEE REVIEW
Oklahoma Rain – Midnight Rodeo, #2 SEE REVIEW
Big Bear, Little Bear – Midnight Rodeo, #3
Light a Rocket – Midnight Rodeo, #4
Freaked Out – Midnight Rodeo, #5
Tails and Whiskers – Midnight Rodeo, #6
BLURB
Little bear comes
into his own.
Ben Ursa has been out of the Midnight Rodeo
game for a while, recovering from a terrible head injury. When he comes back,
he finds a whole new place in the pecking order, his trained horses in high
demand.
He also finds rodeo clown and grizzly
shifter, Ozzie, who rejected him for being too young before. Now Ozzie thinks
he's just right, even if he is a little black bear. Can Ben really recover and
become Ozzie's mate, or will his family scheme to keep him "little
bear"?
Buy Link: ARe
“Man, the bullfighters all have their
panties in a wad. I hope to hell they settle it out.” Ozzie wiped makeup off
his forehead, growling a little at Thack’s assistant, January.
“You and me and the boss and the big
boss and every other creature here, sir.”
Sir.
God, the wee little brownie was
adorable. Such a cutie, with his little square glasses and his tiny soul patch
of a beard.
Squishable.
Ozzie wanted to hug January and lick
him, maybe. Definitely sniff him. Ozzie reined in his bear tendencies, which
could crop up at the least convenient times. His desire wasn’t even sexual.
More teddy bear like.
“So, tell me about the next venue,”
Ozzie said. Their next stop was at a brand new arena.
“It’s near Santa Fe, sir. A charming
arena with adequate facilities and a fabulous local pool of talent. They’re…
surprisingly active there.”
“Are they? Good. We need more talent
in the timed events.”
“Yes. Yes, I believe Ben Ursa will be
rejoining us. Mr. Thackery is very pleased.”
Ben? Ben Ursa?
Poor kid. Ozzie remembered him well,
and not only for his name, which was as bad as Osbourne McMahon. Bear Son of
the Bear. Ben Ursa was Grizzly Adams meeting Latin.
“They get his brains all unrattled?
Last time I saw him, he was in a bad way.”
“That depends on who you ask. January,
I need the manifests for the drivers.” Thack nodded to Ozzie as January
scrambled.
“Oh. Poor kid. But he’s good to ride?”
He had to admit he’d had a thing for Ben, but he’d ignored it, waiting for the
kid to be more confident. Hell, he felt like shit over it because the night the
kid had gotten hurt, Ben tried to make a move on Ozzie, which he rebuffed.
He wanted Ben to be all grown-up
first.
“He’s got a hard head.” Thack
shrugged. “Shit, man, you know the kid is terrible at his job. He trains the
best horses, though.”
“He does.” Good hazing, roping, and
bulldogging horses were worth their weight in gold in their business. Worth
enough to give a bad bulldogger a job. “I’ll have to stop by his trailer and
say hi.”
It would be good to have another bear
on tour again. Someone who understood about naps and salmon. Mmm. Salmon. He
did love that stuff. Honey, too.
“He’s in the big black trailer with
the bear painted on it.”
“Good deal.” He’d drop by on his way
to get some food. Wave. Sniff some.
Thack nodded. “Good show, man.”
“Thank you.” Ozzie loved his job. He
got to play on his natural bearish clumsiness and be a smart-ass at the same
time.
Thack smiled, and Jesus fuck, that was
creepy. All teeth and horns. Demons. Scary like whoa sometimes.
Ozzie waved and headed to see the
little bear. Wow. That trailer was nicer than his. Way nicer.
Little Ben had family with money, with
land, with amazing horses. Talk about a bear with a silver honey spoon in his
mouth.
Ozzie grinned. Of course, the kid had
also been hurt so bad a few seasons ago that he had to learn how to walk all
over again. That meant the kid had grit. Determination.
He knocked on the trailer door, the little
bear’s voice ringing out. “Coming!”
Ozzie tried to peer inside, but the
window by the door was too small to get a good view.
The door opened up, bright button eyes
shining at him from Ben’s smiling face. “Oz!”
“Hey, buddy.” Oh, look at that. Ben
looked so much better than he had last time Ozzie had seen him.
“Come in. Come in. I just got here.”
Ben was little for a bear, but a solid, broad shouldered man with a shock of
pitch-black hair. He looked healthier, the skinny and pallor wore clean off
from when he’d been hurt.
“Thanks. Thack said you were back.”
“I’m trying to be, yeah. It was touch
and go.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re better, kiddo.”
Man, the inside of the fifth wheel was amazing, a big kitchen and a huge
platform bed visible in the back.
“Have a sit.”
The place was like a rolling
condo—someone’s momma wanted to assure her cub was comfortable and safe.
He didn’t even have to move dirty
clothes off the built-in sofa before he sat. “Nice place.”
“Yeah. Momma Bear. You know.”
“I do.” He’d met Ben’s mom. She was
something else.
Ben blushed, head ducking, and Ozzie
saw the scar, heavy and thick against his scalp. Damn.
“Hey, my mom still packs my lunch when
she comes to visit. Smoked salmon tea sandwiches,” Ozzie said.
“I like smoked salmon. Lots. You want
a beer?”
“Honey wheat?”
Ben nodded. “I got a six-pack. You’re
off work, hmm?”
“I am.” He settled back, just—Man, it
was nice to have another bear around, the scent familiar. Comforting. He
forgot, sometimes, how alone he felt. Seeing Ben reminded him how much he’d
liked the kid, too.
Little Ben brought him a beer,
settling down across from him, all grins. Such a cutie. Really, Ozzie felt a
little pervy around Ben. Just a little. Ben was gentle, peaceful, not a bit of
growl in him.
Ozzie grinned. He had a lot of grr. A
lot of grizzly.
Buy Link: ARe
Author Info
Julia Talbot lives in the great Southwest,
where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat
and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published
by Samhain Publishing, Dreamspinner Press, All Romance eBooks and Changeling
Press. She believes in stories that leave a mark, and that everyone deserves a
happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys,
girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when
her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on
Twitter.
Author Links:
Hosted by
Presented by
No comments:
Post a Comment