Bear With Me (10 page)

“Bear,
why all the questions, and the sudden interest in the guy who got me pregnant?”

Shit,
he’d set himself up for this. He was pathetic at being subtle.

“Suddenly
jealous I guess,” he said, pulling her on top of him.

“Jealous, eh?
Nothing to be jealous about because I’m all yours.”

She
eased her body up on his. Without asking, she reached over for a condom.

He
turned hard thinking about having sex with her again. She sheathed him, doing
it so much more efficiently than he ever could. He reached down between her
legs, thinking he’d have to do some work to get her wet, excited, and ready to
accommodate him, but she was hot to the touch and moist. For good measure he
slid his finger inside her.

Hannah
leaned over and kissed him. Had she been with a shifter before?
If she had then the vibrating cock wouldn’t have taken her by
surprise.
Unless of course Sam’s father hadn’t used it
on her.

He
was about to ask her but thought it inappropriate. Damn, he wished he knew who
it was. She lifted her butt, spread her thighs, and impaled herself down on
him. It hadn’t been a lie, he was jealous of the fellow shifter she’d been
with.

She
began moving up and down his cock, pulling her feet into the bed, riding him
hard. This wasn’t his favorite position and he had to take control. She laughed
as he lifted her, making sure his cock didn’t slip out, and flipped her so they
both lay on their sides, him pounding into her so hard she grabbed the bed
sheet.

He
bit her neck, ran his tongue over her skin, tasting her perfume and scent.

“Fuck
me harder.”

“With pleasure, princess.”

Chapter Twelve

Bear
had changed. And not just because they’d now had sex.
Had she
been too needy in the fuck me hard department?
She had warned him. She
glanced over at him as he drove toward Christopher and Lilly’s house. He’d
offered to go pick Sam up with her.

He
hadn’t said much since they’d gotten in his car. Did he have regrets about what
they’d done? She’d thought she might, but strangely enough she didn’t. She’d
done the right thing because this guy was special and not like the rest of the
guys who were the love and leave them type. And yes, that included Sam’s father
who for some strange reason, Bear was suddenly very interested in. Could she
believe it was down to jealousy?
Maybe.
However, he’d
even asked, very casually she might add, about him again while they’d eaten
breakfast.

Obviously
realizing she was looking at him, he finally turned her way. He still didn’t say
anything, but instead reached over and put his hand on her knee and squeezed
it.

“You’ve
been really quiet. Everything okay?” she asked.
Dumb question
because men usually kept things to themselves.
“You haven’t said much
since you woke up.”

In
fact, since he’d taken the call last night.

Old girlfriend wanting to get back with
him maybe?
Perhaps he didn’t have the heart to tell Hannah. She swallowed. She hadn’t
known this guy long, but he’d already etched a place on her heart. His kindness
to Sam and his patience with her son had truly won her over.

“I
guess I’m tired that’s all. The hospital needs to hire more doctors because I’m
carrying most of the workload.”

“That
shouldn’t be hard, should it? There are plenty of doctors looking for work I
would think.”

“Yeah,
but Charlotte’s very picky. They have to meet certain requirements.”

Hannah
nodded as Bear pulled up the driveway of the Renner’s place.

“I
hope Sam’s missed me,” she said, getting out of the car and walking beside
Bear, feeling more dwarfed by his size and height than ever before.

He
rang the doorbell, setting off the frenzied barking of Barney. Christopher
opened the door to them.

“Come
in. Sam and Kaitlin are just having some lunch in the kitchen.”

She
followed Christopher while Bear tagged along behind her.

Both
children along with Lilly sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen eating
what looked like mac and cheese.

“Hi,
Hannah, Bear,” said Lilly.

Sam
looked over at Hannah.
“Momma.”

She
smiled and walked over to him, kissing the top of his head. “You have fun?”

He
nodded and then blinked rapidly. She couldn’t help but notice Bear and
Christopher exchanging glances. Something was up and maybe it had to do with
Sam. Maybe Bear as a doctor knew something, didn’t want to alarm her, and hence
the silence. Panic washed over her. Maybe they’d figured out what was really
wrong with her son and it was bad news.

“Barney
had lots of fun too,” said Lilly. “He spent all night sleeping in bed with
Sam.”

“I
want a dog. I want a dog,” said Sam.

“Plenty
of dogs looking for a good home,” said Christopher.

“We’ll
think about it,” she told Sam. “So you ready to come home?”

He
shook his head. “I think Lilly and Christopher have probably seen enough of
you,” said Hannah.

“Nope,
he’s been fun to have around and it’s kept Christopher busy,” said Lilly,
winking at her husband.

“Can
he come back soon?” asked Kaitlin.

“Sure,”
said Hannah.

“Are
you guys going to Nick and Ava’s party at the lodge next weekend?” asked
Christopher.

Bear
looked at her. “You want to be my date?”

“I’d
love to. They’ve both eaten at the café. In fact, I think they had their first
date there.”

“Really,”
said Lilly, taking the dirty dishes to the sink.

“Hopefully
Liam won’t be there causing any trouble. Word is he plans to do just that. That
guy’s a complete dickhead.”

“Christopher,”
said Lilly, turning around to give him a dirty look.

“Sorry,
forget young ones are present,” said Christopher.

“What’s
a dickhead?” asked Kaitlin.

“Someone
who’s an as…idiot,” said Christopher.

“How
are Charlotte and Aiden doing with Bridget?” asked Bear.

“They’re
tired as every new parent is,” said Lilly.

Christopher
laughed.

“I
don’t know what’s so funny. Wait until it’s your turn, buddy,” said Lilly.

Bear
winked at him.

“Well,
I have to get back to the café, so Sam you thank everyone for letting you stay
over,” said Hannah.

“Thank
you, everyone,” he said. He leaned over and hugged Kaitlin.

“He’s
my bear friend.”

“Kaitlin,
what have I told you about that,” said Lilly.

Kaitlin
shrugged her shoulders and then burst into a fit of the giggles.

Hannah
and Sam went ahead and got into Bear’s car. Hannah watched as Bear and
Christopher stood on the foot door step. They’d occasionally glance over at the
car. Something wasn’t right. She sensed it.

****

Bear
couldn’t make it too obvious, but he did his best to get Sam on his own.

Sam, can you
understand me?

Sam
blinked.

Sure, why
wouldn’t I?

What are you
feeling?

What do you
mean?

Do you ever feel
the need to
…
He couldn’t use the word shift.
Be someone, something different?

Kinda
, my skin tingles sometimes is that what you mean?

“What
are you guys doing?”

It
was Hannah. Bear jumped, not realizing she was around.

“We
were playing a game. Seeing which one of us looked away first,” said Bear.

“Oh
Sam will beat you at that one.”

Sam
rubbed his eyes and pulled a face.

“You
tired, honey? You want to go take a nap?”

He
nodded.

“Okay,
let me pull the drapes for you and you can sleep until supper.”

****

How
lucky for her that Dane and his wife Melanie had decided to skip Nick and Ava’s
party because Melanie was feeling overly big, clumsy, and too tired to stand on
her feet. They’d also wanted some practice being around children and had taken
an instant liking to Sam and vice versa. Once again Dane and Bear had done lots
of conversing and whispering before they’d left. Maybe she was paranoid, maybe
that’s how Bear and his buddies were and there was nothing to worry about after
all.

They
pulled into the Lodge parking lot and the place was already packed.

“You
have your dancing shoes on?” asked Bear, holding the door to the main area open
for her.

She
heard music and lots of voices and immediately saw Charlotte and Aiden carrying
the baby carrier with Bridget tucked safely inside it.

“Hey
there, little girl,” said Bear. “I think you’ve grown already.”

“We
weren’t quite ready to hand her over to a babysitter so thought she could come
along and meet everyone,” said Aiden.

“I
think that’s a great idea,” said Bear.

“Nick
and Ava are through there if you want to say hi,” said Charlotte.

Bear
grabbed Hannah’s hand and saw Nick and Ava, arms around one another, standing
by a table with drinks and glasses.

“Hi,
Hannah,” said Ava.
“So nice to see you again.”

“You too.”

“Hi,
great to see you and we’ll be by soon for another great meal,” said Nick. “So
Bear how are you enjoying Kalispell?”

“It’s
great.
Lots of places to run and fish.”

“You’ll
have to come up to the cabin one weekend,” said Nick.

“I’d
love too.”

The
DJ made an announcement that the dancing would start in five minutes in the
next room.

“I
think that’s our cue to get in there and mingle,” said Ava. “See you later.”

“You
want something to drink?” Bear asked Hannah.

“Sure,
white wine would be great.”

“Coming
right up,” said Bear, reaching for the bottle and pouring them both a full
glass.

Hannah
suddenly heard shouting and raised voices coming from the next room, and Bear
turned his head to look.

“Wait
there and I’ll go and check that out,” said Bear.

She
didn’t know what was going on but whoever was shouting didn’t sound too happy.

Bear
had told her to stay where she was, but curiosity got the better of her. She
walked to the door to see a man with his back toward her. He was the one doing all
the shouting.

“I’m
entitled to come here the same as everyone else.”

“Liam,
let’s not have any trouble. This is a happy event. A social event for the group,”
said Aiden, trying to grab him.

“Aiden
Renner, get your fucking paws off me. You’re the one you started all this by
marrying her.” He pointed to Charlotte, who now held onto the baby carrier like
her life depended upon it.

“Hey,
let’s go outside and talk,” said Bear, stepping forward.

“Well,
well, if it isn’t Dr.
McDreamy
himself.
 
I hear you’re dappling with humans too.”

What
the hell was this guy mumbling about?

“And
as for that freak baby of yours,” he said, pointing to Bridget. “The best of
both worlds you say. Her birth’s signaled the beginning of the end for us.”

“Okay,
that’s enough,” said Bear, getting a firm grip on his arm. Aiden got the other
one and before they could drag him the man had hit both of them, but Bear threw
what looked like one mean punch and the man went flying backward landing close
to Hannah’s feet. He was out cold. Everyone looked toward her. She looked down
at the man they’d called Liam. His face was bloodied, but she recognized him
immediately. The man lying close to her feet was Sam’s father.

Chapter Thirteen

Bear
had no idea that Hannah had been standing there and for how long he didn’t
know. What had she heard? What had she understood? She looked at him and then
down at the man. She looked like she’d lost every bit of color in her cheeks.

“
It’s
okay, Hannah. This guy is trouble and a jerk,” said
Bear.

“He
might be, but he’s also Sam’s father,” she said.

He
had to be imagining he’d just heard her tell him that Liam had fathered Sam?

“What?”
he asked.

“That’s
the guy I had the one night stand with. I’d know him anywhere.”

“You sure?”

She
nodded.

Bear
got down on his hands and knees. He pulled Liam up, but the guy was still dazed
from the punch.

“Aiden,
you want to help me get him somewhere?” asked Bear.

“Outside
would be the best spot,” said Aiden.

“He’s
Sam’s father,” said Bear.

“What?”

“Come
on let’s take him to chair or couch,” said Bear.

They
carried him to the reception area and placed him on the couch just as he was
starting to come around. Hannah was close behind. She looked at him again. No,
she hadn’t been mistaken. This was Sam’s father.

“What
the hell?” he asked, rubbing his jaw.

“Seems
we are not the only ones dabbling in humans,” said Aiden. “Guess you
conveniently forgot to mention that you fathered this young lady’s son.”

Liam
looked up at her and sniffed in the air. “What the hell are you talking about?
I certainly do not and will not put my dick into human pussy.”

Bear
turned to Hannah. “Are you sure this is the guy?”

“Don’t
you remember me? We met at the Lookout Bar about two miles outside of Whitefish?”

“You
ever been
there?” Aiden asked him.

“Do
I look like the sort of guy who would go to a bar in the middle of fucking
nowhere?”

Bear
squeezed his arm. He believed Hannah more than he believed Liam. It would
explain Sam’s condition. Bridget wasn’t the first hybrid. Sam was.

“The tattoo.
You have a
tattoo of a bear on your butt,” said Hannah.

Bear
looked at Liam and raised his eyebrows.

“Okay,
if this will prove I’m not who this crazy woman thinks I am.”

Liam
stood, unzipped his pants, wasn’t too ashamed to lower them and his boxers in
front of Hannah, turned around, and showed everyone his butt.

Not
a tattoo in sight.

Liam
turned back, pulling up his pants and then zipping them.

“Wait
a minute,” said Aiden. “Didn’t your brother get a bear tattoo on his ass for
his 21
^st
birthday?” asked Aiden.

“Yes,
but…” Liam stopped. “Nope, he wouldn’t have done that. Not with a human.”

“What’s
this human nonsense?” asked Hannah.

Bear
hadn’t wanted her to find out about them, about him, this way.

Liam
burst out laughing. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

“Know
what?” asked Hannah.

“That
if it was my brother you were with, that you got fucked and knocked up by a guy
that shifted into a bear. That’s what we all are.
Shifters.
The Kalispell Shifters.
Isn’t that what you call us,
Aiden?”

“That’s
enough,” said Aiden.

Liam
wouldn’t stop laughing now. Hannah burst into tears and took off running toward
the exit.

“You
piece of shit,” said Bear. “Just so you know the child your brother fathered is
a boy. He’s having some trouble and I think you might be the one to help him. Even
if I have to beat you, you’re going to do it.”

“In your dreams pretty boy.”

****

Hannah
ran outside but couldn’t figure out which way to run. She had to be dreaming.
Bear shifters.
The guy she’d slept with,
reproduced with,
was
a freak. Sam had been fathered by
a monster. What had she done? She fell to the ground, sobbing and certain her
whole body was going to break into tiny pieces. Her son was a freak too. And
she’d been recently sleeping with another monster. Shit, what if she’d gotten
pregnant again? She couldn’t bring another boy like Sam into the world.

“Hannah,
there you are,” said Bear.

“Get
away from me. Don’t touch me or I’ll scream.”

Not
that it would do her any good. Everyone here was probably a shifter. Oh dear
god, what if they killed her to silence her so she couldn’t tell anyone? What
would happen to Sam? Would they spare him because he was like them?

“Hannah,
let me explain.” He went to grab her arm, but she pulled away, struggling to
her feet.

“I
don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

She
started to run, but her legs felt heavy. Her stomach churned and bile rose in
her throat. Sam. She just wanted to get to him, take him, and run before anyone
else found out the truth about him and they took him away. Locked him up,
experimented on him.

“Hannah,
please don’t do this,” shouted Bear.

“Leave
me alone. I don’t want to ever see you again.”

She’d
dug into her purse for her phone, but it wasn’t there. Damn, now she remembered
she’d left it on the table by the door when she’d let Dane and Melanie inside.

Fuck,
were they
bear
shifters too? Her son was being looked
after by wild animals.

She’d
make her way back to the main
road,
do what she always
told herself she’d never do. She’d take her chances with a stranger and
hitchhike back to town so she could save him.

She
ran, feeling the heel on one of her shoes snap. It was getting dark and where
she was running to
had
no lights. The next thing she
knew she’d fallen into water.

A lake.

She,
like Sam, couldn’t swim.

****

Bear
dived into the water. He’d seen her heading that way and she wouldn’t listen.
He went under the surface and saw her sinking downward. He grabbed her, swiftly
put her in his arms, and rose to the top, pulling her quickly to the side of
the shore where he climbed out and set her down on the grass. She spat out
water and then saw him and screamed.

“It’s
okay. Do you really think I’d hurt you or let anyone hurt you for that matter?”
asked Bear.

She
burst into tears.

“You’ve
had a bad shock tonight. Seeing Sam’s uncle and learning that we’re not exactly
like you.”

“My
son’s a freak.”

“He’s
not and we’re not. Please, Hannah. We can help him. Christopher thought that
maybe Sam was a shifter like us. He can talk to us with his mind. He’s a
perfect little boy inside his head.”

“No,
please don’t hurt him.”

“We’re
not going to. Please have faith in me.”

She
shivered. “Let’s get you to the car and home so you can get warm and we’ll talk
there.”

He
picked her up and carried her to the car without any protest on her part. He
wrapped his jacket around her and then pulled the seatbelt across as his
cellphone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but he needed to take it.

“Hi, Dr. McWilliams speaking.”

“Hi,
Bear. It’s Dane. Hope we’re not spoiling your evening.”

Oh god this was
about Sam. Something was wrong with him.

“It’s
Melanie. Her water broke and her contractions are strong and pretty close
together.”

“Okay,
can you take her to the hospital?”

“Sure,
but I’m going to need to take Sam with us. That okay with Hannah?”

“
It’s
fine and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He
pressed the end call button. “Melanie’s in labor so we’ll need to go straight
to the hospital and don’t worry because they have Sam.”

He
turned on the ignition and backed out as soon as he could.

“Is
Melanie a bear too?” she asked.

“Nope,
she’s human. Charlotte is.
Ava, Emily, and Lilly, Kaitlin
too.”

“How
can you be bears?”

He
was going to tell her there were other animals too not just bears, but one
thing at time.

“It’s
a long story. We came here about twenty-six years ago.”

“From where exactly?”

He’d
started this and now he had to finish it.

“Another planet.”

“My
son is the result of me mating with an alien?”

“That
sounded horrible, Hannah, and that’s not the case.”

“How
else would you explain it?”

“Where
we’re from it was perfectly normal to be an animal shifter.”

“Was?”

“We
crashed here when the planet was destroyed.”

She
shook her head. “And no one knows about you?”

He
shook his head. “I guess a few people who we’ve felt could keep our secret, but
no, mostly we’ve kept to ourselves.”

“Until Aiden met Charlotte.”

“Yeah,
Sam’s uncle isn’t very pro-human.”

“Sam’s
uncle is a terrible man,” said Hannah, resting her head on the side of the car.

****

Hannah
had never been so glad to see Sam. She hugged him and kept hold of him, almost
afraid they’d take him from her.

“Mel
having baby,” said Sam.

“Yes
she is honey.”

“Dane’s
funny. I like Dane.”

“I’m
glad to hear that.”

“He
fixed the computer.”

Hannah
smiled. It hadn’t been working properly for ages. She’d been meaning to take it
into town to get it fixed because Sam liked playing games on it.

“He’s
clever. Mel made me hot chocolate with little pillows.”

Hannah
touched his head.
In his head he’s just
like a normal kid
. She wanted to believe everything Bear had told her that
evening.

She
thought about calling a cab to take them home, but Sam had settled down on the
chair next to her, put his head on her lap, and before she knew it he was
asleep. She stroked his hair and bit her lip. If they could help him, then maybe
this would be a blessing in disguise. She’d have the normal son she’d always
dreamed about.

****

 
“Okay, Melanie, one good push,” said Bear.

By
the time they’d reached the hospital Melanie had been almost ready to give
birth. Dane held her hand as she cried out and made a blowing sound with her
mouth.

He
could see the head and knew unlike Charlotte’s labor that this was going to a
fairly easy delivery for Melanie.

“And
again,” said Bear.

She
grabbed Dane’s hand and cried out as she pushed again.

“You
are doing great,” said Bear.
 
Take a rest
and then do the same again.”

Melanie
drew in her breath, pushed, and this time Bear was able to help ease the baby’s
head and shoulder out. Without being asked, Melanie pushed again, allowing the
baby to fall into his hands.

“It’s
a boy,” said Bear.

“You
hear that, honey? We have a son. Dane Reynolds has a son.”

He
kissed her head as Bear checked out the baby. He like Bridget had the shorter
nose, long fingers and toes, and Bear was guessing he weighed in at just
under
ten pounds. Melanie had done great.

“Welcome
to the world,” said Bear.

****

Hannah
woke when she felt someone touching her shoulder. She looked up. It was Bear.

“You
okay?” he asked.

She
nodded. “Did Melanie have her baby?”

“Yep,
a boy named Jacob Marc. You want to come see him?”

“I
don’t think I should. I mean…”

He
pulled her up. Sam woke too.

“Hey,
Sam, you want to come see Dane’s son and then I’ll drive you and your mom
home?”

Sam
nodded and blinked. They followed Bear to the nursery and peeked through the
window. Jacob looked exactly how Sam did when he’d been born.
Shortest nose, wide jaw, and lots of dark curly hair.

“Sam’s
probably going to help Bridget and Jacob because now we know what problems they
might encounter.
Jacob’s needing
oxygen just like
Bridget did for the first few days.”

“He’s
fat,” said Sam.