“I’ve been in contact with Gaea. You remember her, don’t you? She’s the one that sentenced you to prison for the rest of your life?” When he didn’t answer her, Lucy demanded that he did. “If you think I’m fucking around with you, then you’re sadly mistaken. Answer me, you cock sucker.”
Mom cleared her throat, and he saw Lucy wink at her. Things were going to come to a head in a little while, and he hoped his mom was going to be all right with it. He was. Ian had cleared his head and heart of any good feelings for this man when he’d been told what kind of person this Hollie was.
“As is my right as the injured party, I hereby ask that you are sentenced to death.” Hollie stood up, and Ian growled. His dad did the same. No one moved when he sat back down. Then Mr. Shoe patted Lucy on the back and told her he had this. “He injured me, Mr. Shoe. I don’t want you to get into trouble for this.”
“I won’t. You might say that Gaea and I have ourselves a little understanding.” He looked at Ian, then smiled. “Ian, if you would allow me to avenge your wife, I will gladly do so with no stipulations on it. I will end this man’s life for the sole reason that he had the nerve to think you would fall for his ploy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going home.” Mr. Shoe turned and looked at Hollie when he stood up. That was all it took for the naked bear to take his seat again. “This isn’t right. I’ve done nothing at all wrong, and I will not be harmed in any way. I’ve changed my mind about you, Ian. You’re not a fit person to be caring for the lands I’m leaving behind.”
“Lands? You said nothing about lands.” Lucy looked at Ian. “Did he mention lands when he was telling us how we were going to be taking care of the bear population? Did he say anything about it when we were being told about the magic we’d receive? That he’d changed me into a bear or that I was having a child? I don’t remember any mention of lands. Do you?”
Lucy turned back to Hollie. Ian couldn’t see her face, but he could almost taste the tension in her body. As Mr. Shoe spoke again, Ian watched Hollie. The man moved—not a lot, but enough to put him on his guard. As soon as he moved the second time, Lucy leapt at the other bear.
~*~
Sitting as still as she could, Lucy didn’t look around the room. She didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone just yet. Nor did she want to look at the area that was, quite frankly, covered in blood. When Ian came back from upstairs, having been given permission to shift and dress, she took his hand like a lifeline.
“It’s going to be all right.” Lucy glared at him. “Honey, I’m not trying to upset you, but you’re hurting my hand. Please allow me to have some blood to go my fingers.”
She let go of him but took his hand back after he shook his hand and kissed the back of hers. Gaea and another woman moved by her again, but she didn’t look at them. It was hard enough, she thought, knowing she’d been lied to about a great many things. Hollie was dead. Knowing that was making things like the lies a little easier to swallow.
“You well enough to speak to me now, Lady Lucy?” She told the voice no. That she didn’t want to talk to anyone ever again. “I don’t think that is even remotely possible, do you? My dear, it will only take a moment for me to release you from your own hell. You did the right thing in killing him.”
“You said I wasn’t a bear.” The woman got down on the floor next to Ian. It was impossible not to see her now. She thought someone said she was Mother Nature, but in her mind, there wasn’t a real Mother Nature. Was there? “Gaea said that I wasn’t a bear. She told me I had been tricked. She lied to me too.”
“You’re not bear.” Lucy asked her what the fuck she was talking about. “You’re not. I don’t know where the magic came from that allowed you to shift your hand into a claw and take off Hollie’s head, but I’m ever so grateful he didn’t hurt you. Aren’t you?”
“That’s not the point.” The woman, she still didn’t know her name for sure, told her it was. “I’ll decide what makes my point and doesn’t.”
“Lucy? You’re not making any sense.” She knew that too but didn’t appreciate Ian pointing it out. So she kicked him in the leg. “Yes, that’s the perfect way to win an argument. Kicking me while I’m down. You saved us both, love. Had you not moved and killed him when you did, he would have killed Mr. Shoe and myself. I didn’t know that he had a silver stake on his person when he was naked. I’m sure no one would have thought to check his back for them either.”
“Why?” Ian asked her what she meant. “Why was I able to kill him the way I did? I’m not bear. That’s been pointed out to me numerous times already.”
“I can answer that if you’d not mind.” Everyone turned to Gaea. She smiled at them. “Mr. Shoe did it. When he touched you, he gave you the power to end the man’s life in any fashion you needed. He told me to tell you both when you finished feeling sorry for yourself. I think he thought it might take you a bit longer to get around to questioning how it happened. But he’s very powerful. More so than I think even I realized.”
“I’m going to have to reward the man.” The woman spoke from the floor, and that was when Lucy looked at her. Really stared at her. “You know me, Lucy. I’ve been with you before. When you were caring for your sisters.”
“You were a homeless woman.” The woman nodded. “You told me you knew where I could get hot food. Where I could get enough for my sisters and myself. That was where I met the McCrays. You planned this, didn’t you? Who are you?”
“Mother Nature.” Lucy wondered if she thought her joke was funny. She certainly didn’t think it was. “I am, child. Mother Nature. Gaea is one of my daughters, one of many that helps me keep things in check. I saw you struggling and decided you’d be the perfect bride for one of the McCray men. I had no idea Ian would be the one. But having you in this family is going to mean great things for a lot of people. Like the idea you have for the homeless.”
Her face heated up when she mentioned her unspoken idea. Ian asked her what it was. She told him she’d go over it with him when they got home.
“We are home, love. Tell me.” She explained what she wanted to do. His face told her he loved the idea. “Giving the homeless a time to come in and get warm in the winter months by working for you is an excellent idea. I love you’re going to make sure all the leftovers are donated to the local charities to use. You’re a very smart cookie, have I told you that lately?”
“No, no one has ever said that to me.” She hugged him when he stood up and pulled her from the chair. “I killed a man, Ian. I don’t know what to do about that.”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. He did harm you. And he would have killed me too if you’d not reacted faster than me.” Ian lifted her chin up, and she saw his love for her in his eyes. “You saved my life and that of Mr. Shoe. He’s gone home now to rest. He said he’d return when things were calmed down, and he’d give you his gift. I’d not turn it down if I were you either. Demi said he means to give it to you.”
“I killed a man, and I don’t want to be rewarded for it.” Ian kissed her. “I want a child with you, Ian. Please? Let’s work on that as soon as we can. I want to hold your child in my arms.”
“I’d like nothing better. Yes, we’ll work on that as much as we possibly can.” When he wiggled his brows at her, she laughed. It didn’t hurt her as much as she thought it would. Laughing after killing a man. “I’ve sent for your sisters. They’ve finished up the cookies and are headed home. Thanks for bringing them into my life as well.”
Chapter 10
Josh didn’t know what to do about his face. Yesterday he’d walked out of the hospital when they told him they couldn’t do anything else for him. What they were telling him, in their sly way, was that he was going to have to live with his face looking like a train wreck. Also, they weren’t going to help him with any more surgeries because he was as fixed as he could be. The doctor had actually told h
im he had to heal before he could be operated on again. He didn’t want to heal, looking like this. Every time he looked in the mirror, it made his belly sick. Josh didn’t want to be fixed later either, damn it. It needed to be perfect, as he’d been before this bullshit.
Last night he’d spent in an old barn with more holes in the roof than not. It took him nearly an hour to find a place that wasn’t dripping water on his head. Then longer than that to find a place not soaked with mud. Lying on a bed of straw wasn’t as comfy as it was made to look on the television either. All sexy and shit wasn’t happening.
There hadn’t been a bit of food for him. Not that he expected someone to find him and feed him, but it would have been nice if he’d been given some money upon leaving the hospital. He told them to charge it to his nieces, but they said they were not a bank and didn’t work like that. Fuckers. Every last one of them.
He’d been walking around since the farmer or whatever the hell he’d been walked into the barn and found him sleeping next to his tractor. There was no dealing with some people, Josh had discovered. The man didn’t give a shit about it being the only place in the barn to rest. Josh was chased out of the place with a huge sharp devil-like pitchfork.
There wasn’t any humanity in the world anymore. People were out for only one thing, and that was whatever they wanted. Josh was the same way, he knew that, but his had been just cheating his family. Not the rest of the world. Someone should have thought of that too. Josh wasn’t a horrible person to everyone. Just family. If more people were like that, they’d not have all these other things going on.
He’d seen the two younger girls of his brothers several times over the last few hours. They wouldn’t have shit on them to steal, so he left them alone. It was the only reason he’d not bothered them. Once he thought about just kidnapping one or both of them, but he knew for some reason, he wasn’t up for keeping them. They’d hurt him. Josh wasn’t going to get himself hurt any more than he had to. They’d go for his face too, he just knew it.
A lovely scent made its way to him. He knew the smell—bread. Fresh from the oven. His mom used to bake bread when she was upset. It seemed toward the end of her life she would be caught baking every day. He, mostly, was the cause of it. Not that he really cared, but Josh knew he’d not been the easiest kid to raise.
Donald had been easy. Of course, he was Mom’s favorite because of that. He didn’t get into trouble, never had a bad grade, nor did he cheat on things like tests or girlfriends. Not that he was nice. Donald did have a reputation for being somewhat of a prick at times. Then after he and Lucille were married, the two of them seemed to live for doing shit that involved them traveling a great deal. Also, not sharing their good times with him. Not even having children slowed them down. Most of the time, he found out, they left the kids at home, in the care of the household. Who did that to kids?
He would have, he realized in a heartbeat. Josh thought that he’d have left them on the doorstep of some unsuspecting neighbor, so he didn’t have to spend any time with kids. Not that his nieces were all that bad, but damn, they could make a man wish he’d opted out of having anything to do with them. Girls whined and moaned about every little thing he did.
The television was too loud for them to sleep. Christ, then sleep in another room, he’d told them. There wasn’t any food in the house. Because he’d gotten to the point of hiding it in the room with him. And he told the staff not to purchase anything that he didn’t approve of. He knew they had. The girls seemed to be just fine while they lived there. But he had griefs too, damn it.
The hot water would forever be out when it was his turn to use his shower. It seemed to him they were draining the fucking hot water tank just to piss him off. Also, the rooms that he’d claimed as his own were not being cleaned up. Even when he ordered the fucking staff to do it, he’d come into the room with it looking just the way it had when he left it. The staff was fucking with him. But he couldn’t fire them. He needed them to answer phone calls and get the mail. About all they were good for.
At first, he would share his food with the girls. But what he bought was never right. Why did they have to have different things for meals other than just pizza? It didn’t satisfy them with him buying meat pizzas, veggie ones, as well as just cheese. That didn’t go over well, so he stopped trying. Nor did they like that he never bought juice or milk. Mother fuck, it was like he was living with a bunch of Donalds, and he had enough.
Lucy was the worst of the three of them. She would come into his office and demand that he take care of things. Like the bills her parents had incurred. Why the hell should he be responsible for his brother’s bills? Then she wanted to see the will.
“I don’t think you’re going to be able to understand it.” She told him if he could, she’d not have any trouble. “Don’t be a bitch, Lucy. You’re just lucky I’m allowing you to live here. You and your sisters are going to do what I want, or I’m going to show you the back of my door.”
“It’s the back of your hand, moron.” Lucy told him she wanted him to hand over his copy of the will. “I want to make sure you’re really here to care for my sisters. I have no idea why anyone would think you’d be a good choice to keep an eye on two little girls.”
“You’re mentioned in the will for me to take care of too.” She told him she was an adult and hadn’t lived at home for years. “So? You think that mattered to your parents? It didn’t. I’m your only living relative, and what I say goes. You’d better get used to that, or I’ll set you out of the house once and for all.”
Three days later, he did just that. Lying to them had become a fun pastime. But they were catching on to him faster than he could come up with a plausible lie. He dropped them off at the mall, telling them he had to get some cash from the bank, then he was going to take them out to dinner. He’d had a fine steak dinner that night, while they— Well, he had no idea what they had, and didn’t give a good fuck either. So long as they were out of the house.
“Hello, Josh.” He turned and looked at the man standing in front of the bakery shop he’d been looking into. He didn’t know who he was, but he did look like someone he might well have hung out with. Money. The man had it to spare too. “You don’t know me, do you? I’m hurt.”
“I’m sorry, buddy, but it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Tell me who you are over a couple of nice dinners, and we’ll catch up.” The man laughed. “Yes, it’s a funny world we live in now, don’t you think?”
“It is. Even funnier if you think I’d buy you dinner for not knowing me. I’m Lucy’s husband, Ian McCray. You remember me now, don’t you? I’m sure you do every time you look in the mirror. You’re a piece of shit.” He told the man he was rude. “Rude? I guess that’s your opinion. However, I think you’re a piece of shit. Leaving helpless, defenseless girls out on the streets while you live it up in their family home. Shame on you.”
Josh laughed. “That’s the best you can do? Shame on me? Here I thought you were this great big bear that was going to teach me a lesson. Well, for your information, you’re going to get billed for what you did to me. Look at this shit. I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life, thanks to you.” Ian told him he didn’t care. “You’d better care. Because when I’m finished with those girls, I’m going to come after you.”
Ian just walked away, laughing. Josh couldn’t stand to be laughed at, but it was worse when someone walked away from him when he still had things to say. Just as he was coming up behind the man, to do what he wasn’t sure, he got a slight pain in his face that reminded him what had happened to him the last time he’d tangled with the prick.
Then he saw her. Jilly. Christ, she’d grown up over the last few weeks. Looking at her now, he couldn’t believe he’d let this one get away. He could have made some major bucks off her—even the younger one. Seeing them there together, their heads close, talking about who cared what, Josh tried to think wh
at was the best way to get them back to the house where he could get some serious bucks off them.
“Touch them, and I’ll never even think about what I did to you.” He looked at the very large woman that was standing beside him. “You might want to rethink a lot of shit that’s going through your head right now, Josh. See that woman over there staring at you? She can put you in a world of hurt and not touch you once.”
“Are you fucking with me right now? You’re so big I’d have trouble getting my dick in you. The other one? Well, she’s just as happy as a pincushion sitting over there. I doubt she’s even aware we’re talking about her.” She asked him if he was referring to his tiny prick. “Listen here, bitch. I’m not tiny at all. I have women all over the world, talking about my sexual manliness.”
He’d not meant to say that. Hell, he’d not even meant to engage with her. But her laughter had him reaching for her. Just as his hand grabbed for her, she moved in a way that left him with a handful of air. Then he found himself on his back with a foot at his throat. The woman sure could move fast for as fat as she was. Then a man, another one of them fucking bears, came into his view.
“You thinking of cutting me up too, mister?” The man said he thought his wife had it just fine. “You’re going to let the little woman—or I should say, fat slob—take care of me? Wow, are you pussy whipped.”
“Nope. Just a man who knows his wife is more badass than he could ever hope to be. But my manliness, as you called yours, is all right with her being the one wearing the pants.” The man laughed. “She’s not fat, either, but carrying our child. How does it feel to be taken down by a pregnant woman?”
“Sure, she’s fat. Just look at her. Who would want to fuck that thing?” The pain in his head had him closing his eyes against the sudden and very real thought that his head had been split open like a melon. “What the fuck did you do to me?”
Ian: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 13