Jen did that, and Kennedy caught her as she pushed off into his arms. He’d never held her close, and for a moment, he didn’t want to release her because it felt so good. He quickly loosened his hold. Jen turned to stare at Four Toes.

“He’s huge,” she said. “He’s bulging out over the sides.”

“Yeah, well, he’s been well fed all his life. When he was a cub, there was a big conspiracy in town to help Slade feed him. Half the businesspeople in Mystic Creek contributed stuff. It was the best-kept secret of all time. Sheriff Adams never got wind of it until last September, and now Slade has a special permit to keep Four Toes on the ranch. I’ll show you his night compound later. We don’t let him wander after we turn in. During the day, we can keep an eye out and make sure he doesn’t take off.”

Jen cradled her right arm against her midriff, making Kennedy worry that she’d hurt herself. “Why is he in the side-by-side? He doesn’t fit.”

“Tell him that. He loves to go for rides, and I guess he hasn’t been on the scales lately.”

Jen giggled, and Kennedy stopped worrying. If she were hurt, she wouldn’t be laughing.

“Silly bear.” She glanced up at Kennedy. “Why can’t he go with us? He’s already in, and getting him out may be difficult.”

As in almost impossible, Kennedy thought. “You sure you can enjoy yourself with a bear his size resting his chin on your shoulder?”

Jen nodded. “I worked all last summer with rescue bears. I’m not afraid of them. It’s the wild ones that frighten me. Not to say that bears aren’t dangerous, even if tamed. They can turn cranky in a blink.”

Kennedy grinned. “When Four Toes gets in a grump, we just toss him a squeeze bottle of ketchup. That always mellows him out. Slade and Vickie keep a plastic tub of ketchup stocked in the pantry. We probably have forty bottles.”

Vickie went back inside and returned a moment later with the picnic basket. “If you let Four Toes eat all these baked goods, you’ll never again steal fresh lemon meringue pie from my kitchen,” she told Kennedy.

“No, ma’am. I’ll guard your baked goods with my life.”

The ranch tour went well. Jen used the pillow to cushion her sore arm and seemed to be delighted with all the things Kennedy showed her. It was all old hat to him, but he was glad she enjoyed herself. He ended the drive down at the creek where the old fallen log provided a great place to sit.

“Here’s where we’ll have our picnic.”

“What about dinner?” Jen asked. “If I eat now, I may be full. I don’t want to offend Vickie. She seems really nice.”

“Yeah, well, around Vickie, you have to eat the goodies and the meals.”

Kennedy liked how Jen fit into his world. She didn’t complain about the mud on her sneakers, and she’d taken a shine to Four Toes as if having a bear as a tour companion was commonplace. Kennedy set their basket between them on the log. He was eating a brownie and drinking Coke from a can, and Jen was nibbling on a cinnamon roll when Four Toes walked up behind them and snatched the picnic basket.