Reforming the Bear

by Vanessa Devereaux

  “Is that your car up ahead?” he asked her.

  “Yes, like I said, it broke down.”

  “I can probably help you with that tomorrow, but for now we’ll get your bag and then I’ll call Bear … uh, Dr. McWilliams,” he quickly added, just in case she thought he was a real bear. Well, actually he was, but that was beside the point.

  Liam pulled the Mustang behind Lucy’s car. “How about I get the bag for you so you don’t have to get out of the car?”

  “The key’s still in the ignition. I just ran and didn’t think about it.”

  “You sit tight. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Liam got out of the car, walked over to her car, pulled open the door and reached in for the key. He noticed her purse sitting on the passenger seat and knew she’d want that as well as the bag in the trunk. Strange that she’d thought of the bag and not her purse. He slung it over his shoulder and then walked around to the trunk, opened it and saw both a bag and a suitcase sitting there. Something else she hadn’t mentioned, and he guessed she’d want that too so he took the two pieces of luggage out of the trunk and made sure it was locked up securely. He’d drive back tomorrow, check out her car and if needed, tow it to his garage.

  Liam walked back to the Mustang and opened the door. Lucy jumped.

  “It’s okay, it’s only me. I also got your purse,” he said, handing it to her. “And your suitcase. Okay if I put it and the bag in the trunk?”

  “Actually I’d prefer to have the bag with me,” she said.

  He passed it to her wondering what was so special about the bag. Maybe she was sick and her medication was in there. He didn’t like people prying into his business and tonight he’d take his own medicine and not ask her any questions. Liam put the suitcase in the trunk and then dug out his cell phone from his jacket pocket.

  He got back into the car and dialed Bear’s number as he glanced at Lucy who had the bag cradled on her lap, her arms crisscrossed over it like she was protecting a baby. Now he was intrigued as to what was inside it. He heard Bear’s number ringing.

  “Hello, Dr. McWilliams speaking.”

  “Bear, it’s Liam.”

  “Hi, Liam … how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing fine, however, I found a young lady on the side of the road and she’s hurt her leg. She can’t put her foot to the ground without lots of pain and she’s pretty badly scraped up. She doesn’t have insurance so I was wondering, if I brought her by the hospital, could you take a look at her?”

  “She’s human?”

  “Yes,” said Liam moving the phone to his other ear, hoping Lucy hadn’t heard what Bear had just asked. He probably hadn’t realized she was sitting so close to him.

  “You helping out a human?” asked Bear.

  Liam made a fist. Yes, this was sort of out of character for him. However, he’d never let anyone, not even a human suffer needlessly.

  “Can you help her or not?” he asked.

  “Of course I can. How soon can you be at the hospital?”

  “In the Mustang? Oh, I’d say about fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Okay, and say hi to Sam for me.”

  Liam pressed the end call button and started the ignition. “He’s going to meet us at the hospital.”

  “Thank you,” she said. Her voice sounded weaker now, almost as if she was about to fall asleep.

  “Just sit back and relax.”

  “You’re very kind,” said Lucy, resting her head on the side of the car’s interior.

  First time anyone had told him that. Had he not been kind in the past? He could be a little rough around the edges but it hadn’t always been that way. His brother Danny’s sudden death had made his heart bitter, but then he learned about Sam. Maybe it was Sam who was changing him for the better.

  “The doctor’s one of the best in town,” Liam assured her.

  “He’s a relative of yours?”

  “No … well, he’s going to be my nephew’s stepdad very soon.”

  Liam wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear the whole story but he was going to tell her as a way to pass the time and take her mind off the pain in her leg. He wasn’t usually a man of many words––well, sometimes angry ones––but she was scared and talking might help her.

  “Sam, that’s my nephew, is my younger brother Danny’s child. Danny died and didn’t know that Sam’s mom was pregnant.”

  This was beginning to sound like a soap opera. He hoped he wasn’t boring her but he’d started the story now, so he might as well finish it.

  “Sam’s mom, Hannah, fell in love with Bear … Dr. McWilliams, and they’re getting married at the end of the month.”

  “How old is Sam?”

  “He’s seven. In fact, I have a photo of him somewhere in my wallet.”

  Liam leaned over on his left hip and pulled out his wallet, resting it on the steering wheel and opening it up to the spot where he had the snapshot of Sam. He handed the wallet to Lucy. Her hand shook as she took it and Liam turned on the overhead light so she could see it more clearly.

  “He’s so cute. He has freckles? I did too when I was a kid.”

  “Yeah, he gets those from both his mom and dad. He’s a great kid.”

  Liam smiled. All uncles and parents thought that, right? Sam was his whole life now. It was almost as if fate had brought Danny back to him, albeit in a smaller and newer form. “I’m going to look after him for a couple of weeks while Bear and Hannah go on their honeymoon.”

  Boy, was he looking forward to that. Two weeks of him and Sam and no one else. And Hannah had trusted him enough to agree to the arrangement. Coming from a human, it had meant a lot.

  Lucy handed the wallet back to him.

  “Do you have any kids of your own?” she asked him.

  “Nope.”

  “You married?”

  “No, not married either. How about you, husband or kids?”

  “No, none of the above.”

  “We’re going to be at the hospital in a couple of minutes,” said Liam, turning off the main road.

  “I can’t thank you enough for doing all this. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do tonight.”

  “Who, me? Nah. I’d just be watching TV and drinking beer.”

  Liam pulled up the Mustang up outside the front entrance of the hospital and spotted Bear already waiting by the door with a wheelchair.

  “You stay in the car and Bear and I will help you out,” said Liam.

  Liam got out of the car and waved to Bear who headed toward them with the chair. Liam opened the passenger door.

  “Lucy, this is Dr. McWilliams, or as he likes to be called, Bear ... Bear, this is your patient, Lucy Hunt.”

  “Hi, Lucy. Liam says you hurt your leg so let’s get you into the wheelchair and inside so I can take a look.”

  “Hi, Doctor … Bear,” said Lucy.

  “You want me to hold your bag for you?” Liam asked her.

  “No, that’s okay. I can keep it on my lap.”

  Bear got one side of Lucy, Liam the other. She cried out as they lifted her up and then eased her down onto the wheelchair.

  “It’s okay, Lucy. Bear’s going to take good care of you,” Liam assured her.

  Instinct kicked in again and he held her hand as Bear wheeled her inside the hospital and along to one of the examination rooms.

  “Thank you for everything,” said Lucy, shaking his hand.

  “Is it okay if I wait outside until Bear’s done examining you?” asked Liam. He suddenly wanted to continue protecting her. Maybe that was the bear in him, or the fact he didn’t have a mate of his own to watch over.

  “It’s okay … but you really don’t have to stick around,” said Lucy.

  “I know, but I think I should. You know, just in case you need some more help.” Even if she demanded that he go, he’d stick his ground and insist on staying at the hospital.

  Bear winked at him as he shut the d
oor. The hospital was quiet at this time of night and Liam wasn’t sure what to do. Being a single bear, a loner in fact, he wasn’t sure what the protocol was. Go wait in the family room? Maybe lean against the wall outside … He opted to pace. Yeah, pacing was good because it got out all his pent-up feelings and nervousness over hoping Lucy was going to be okay. He’d chosen to be her bear protector, and he’d stay in that role until she was one hundred percent okay.

  A few minutes later, Liam heard the handle on the door opening as Bear wheeled Lucy outside into the hallway.

  “I’m taking her to get some X-rays of her leg and then we need to get all these scrapes cleaned up.”

  Liam nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

  He began pacing up and down again, but decided to go to the waiting area and get himself a coffee from the vending machine. He sat and sipped it. Not as good as the sort he made at home, but it would keep him alert.

  Liam picked up a magazine and began paging through it. Someone coughed and he guessed it was Bear. He looked up to see him leaning against the wall.

  “Is Lucy going to be all right?”

  Bear nodded and walked over to sit beside him. “She has some deep scrapes and cuts, but I’ve cleaned them up and given her a tetanus shot. The really good news is her leg isn’t broken. However, it is badly sprained so I managed to convince her to stay here overnight. She didn’t want to say much about what happened. How did you find her?”

  “I took the Mustang I’d just fixed out for a test drive and I saw her crawling along on the shoulder. She said her car broke down, some trucker stopped to help and then tried to rape her and she took off and fell.”

  “Jeez. Did either of you report this to the police?”

  “She didn’t want to get them involved.”

  “Yeah, she does seem a bit guarded … and what’s with that bag? I had to pry it out of her hands so I could X-ray her.”

  So it wasn’t just Liam who noticed her overprotectiveness of it.

  “I don’t know, but she was adamant that she went back to her car for it. Once she had it she treated it like her baby.”

  “I guess everyone’s entitled to their secrets. We should know that better than any human,” said Bear.

  Liam finished the last of his coffee. “Can I go see her before I head home?”

  Bear smiled. “Sam really has been a good influence on you. I think you’re beginning to see that humans aren’t all bad.” Bear stood.

  Liam wouldn’t go as far as that, but Lucy seemed vulnerable and it brought out his bear’s protectiveness. It didn’t matter whether or not you were a shifter or a human. It was always a good thing to have someone watching out for you.

  Chapter Three

  Lucy jumped when she suddenly noticed someone standing in the doorway of the room Bear had wheeled her to. He’d gotten a nurse to bring her a robe and she’d settled Lucy into the bed, where at least her poor banged-up body finally felt some relief.

  “Sorry, Lucy. I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was Liam––and she was happy to see that he’d stuck to his word and waited around a bit.

  “No problem. It’s just been a strange sort of night,” said Lucy.

  “Yeah, I can imagine it has been. Is it okay if I come in and visit with you for a few minutes?”

  She was tired and wanted nothing else but to go to sleep but he’d probably saved her life tonight. Lucy had no idea what would have happened if he hadn’t come along when he had. She probably would have laid on the side of the road, and maybe even been run over by a car. When he’d first walked over to her she’d been in too much pain and shock for his good looks to really register in her brain. Now that she felt safe and he was standing in the light, she realized Liam was the most gorgeous man she’d ever set eyes upon. She’d been saved by Prince Charming himself. What girl didn’t fantasize about that?

  “Sure. I’d love to have you visit for a bit.”

  “Bear said you’re staying in overnight so I’ve brought your suitcase in from the car just in case there’s anything you need,” he said, carrying it into the room and sitting it by the chair where she’d placed the bag. As long as she still had it, well, that was all that mattered. How stupid of her to run like she had. To take off leaving it in the trunk unattended … but she’d panicked when the trucker had begun manhandling her.

  Her carelessness told her she wasn’t the right person for this job. Tonight had been proof that she didn’t have what it took to survive when the going got rough, and if Mike was correct, the going could get a lot rougher.

  Liam pulled up a chair. The jeans he wore stretched across his thighs. Lucy sat spellbound. “Do you want me to check out your car for you tomorrow? If I can’t fix it roadside, then I can tow it to my garage. I fix cars for a living.”

  “You really are turning out to be my guardian angel,” said Lucy. Maybe someone was out there looking out for her and Mike.

  Liam blushed. First time she’d ever seen a guy do that.

  “Just your lucky night, but maybe you don’t see it that way,” he said.

  “If you hadn’t come along, who knows what would have happened to me.”

  “Just glad I could be of some help.” He stood. “I think I should let you rest and get some sleep.”

  “I’ll pay for the car repairs, and the gas you used driving me here and out to my car.”

  “Unless it’s something really expensive that needs fixing, it’s going to be on the house. I get more pleasure out of putting cars back on the road than my customers realize. In fact, I should be paying them rather than presenting them with the bill.”

  He smiled. He had dimples and beautiful blue eyes. Kind eyes. Yeah, Liam Ahern was a bit too good to be true. A universal truth said he had to have some fatal flaw, because all handsome men with charming personalities did. It got her wondering just what Liam’s actually was.

  “I guess if you enjoy fixing them, then I won’t argue with you,” said Lucy.

  “I’ll drive out to check out your car first thing in the morning. Then I’ll stop by here to let you know what I found. You have a good night.”

  “I’ll try, and thanks again.”

  He left the room, the smell of his aftershave still lingering minutes after he’d made his exit. Sort of musky, with a hint of spice. Lucy liked it. Had done, even when she’d been shaking with fear and planted her nose in his chest as he’d carried her along the road. She dimmed the lights in the room, still too apprehensive to turn them all the way off. She’d liked a nightlight shining in her room when she was a child. Kept the monsters under the bed away.

  Now that her big brave hero had left, she was suddenly scared all over again. She slid down under the sheets and pulled them up around her shoulders, wincing as the bottom sheet caught her foot and twisted her leg.

  How lucky she’d been that Liam had been driving along and that she’d managed to crawl back to the edge of the highway. Another lucky thing about this hospital … more like a small clinic rather than a hospital, but it was clean and the equipment all looked new.

  Lucy heard footsteps, which made her heartbeat quicken. A woman in her late thirties looked in on her.

  “I’m Fiona, the night nurse. I just thought I’d say hi and see if you needed anything.”

  “Hi. No, I’m doing fine right now and thought I’d get some sleep.”

  “Good idea. Just press the call button if you need anything during the night. I’ll be just down the hallway.”

  “I will, and thanks.”

  Fiona was gone so Lucy first of all checked that the bag was still there. Yes, it was. It was safe. She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come easily and quickly because she really was exhausted not only from the cross-country journey but also from the attempted assault, falling, and being brought here. When she’d woken up that morning she never thought she’d be spending the night in a hospital.

  Her mind drifted to Liam again. She’d heard pride in his voice when he’d talked about his nep
hew. She’d seen love on his face when he’d dug out the boy’s photo and shown it to her. She loved her niece and nephew too, and that was one of the main reasons she’d agreed to do this for her brother. If anything happened to him or them, well, she didn’t know what she’d do.

  Lucy eyed the phone sitting on the table by the bed. She wanted to let him know that she was, as they’d agreed, in the middle of nowhere. The bag was safe but they’d agreed she shouldn’t have any contact with him. He’d call her on the cell phone he’d placed in the bag when it was safe to return home.

  Her eyelids grew heavy, so she took a chance and turned off the light all the way. She glanced up at the ceiling. A constellation of glow in the dark stars twinkled, holding her spellbound. Lucy guessed it was there probably to relax patients. She’d never been into astronomy before, but after seeing how beautiful they looked she suddenly had an interest in all things cosmic. She lifted her hand and traced each star. So pretty, like lights on a Christmas tree.

  Her hand felt heavy and she could no longer keep it in the air. She let it drop by her side, suddenly feeling very sleepy. Maybe she’d dream of a tall, dark and handsome stranger coming to her rescue.

  ****

  Liam pulled his truck in front of Lucy’s car. The road was one of the busiest in the area and cars and trucks would start their morning commute soon, making the car’s position somewhat of a hazard. He’d set out early knowing the sooner he got it either fixed or towed back to his auto shop, the better. He’d known a few disabled cars to get sideswiped when big semis had misjudged the width of the road. The last thing Lucy needed was her car getting totaled.

  He got out of his truck, walked back to her car and opened the door. He pulled on the lever to pop the hood. He raised it and secured it so he could do a quick visual check. Liam couldn’t see anything that had broken or snapped. He checked the oil and saw it was fine. Spark plugs and filters could both do with replacing, which he’d get to when he got the car back to the garage. However, he didn’t think that was the problem. He got inside the car and tried to start the ignition, but nothing happened. It was too dangerous to be under the hood out here on the road. Plus, it was already beginning to get hot. He’d tow it and then do a more in-depth inspection in his garage.