by Marla Monroe
Caleb heard Beverly call out, wanting to know what was wrong. He didn’t have time to tell her anything.
“Stay up there and don’t come down here!” Jeff yelled.
The creature ran from under the table into the pantry and down the cellar steps. Caleb hadn’t closed the door when he came out to see what was going on with Jeff. Hell, if they cornered it down there, the gunshot would deafen them. They didn’t both need to be deaf for any length of time.
“Stay up here, Jeff, so the noise doesn’t mess up your hearing. I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t like you down there with that thing by yourself,” he said.
They were both staring at the steps with their guns pointed that way in case the creature ran back up. As much as he didn’t relish the pain it would cause, he had no choice but to do it. They didn’t want it to get back into the main part of the house.
“We don’t have time to argue. If it got inside from down there somewhere, it might get out the same way and we will never find it.” Caleb stepped deeper into the pantry and aimed the gun down as he took the first step. “Close the door behind me. If it heads back up the stairs, either you’ll shoot me aiming for it, or I’ll shoot you aiming up the stairs. Stay away from the door until I open it or I call for you.”
Jeff scowled but nodded his head. Caleb took another step down, and he heard the door close behind him. He hoped like hell Jeff had remembered to get away from the damn door. With each step he took deeper into the cellar, Caleb searched the area around him. Sweat slid down his back and beaded on his forehead. He hesitated to wipe it off in case the little bastard moved and he lost the shot. If he waited too long, it might roll into his eyes and blind him for a few crucial seconds.
Nothing moved around him. Before he took the next step, he quickly wiped away the sweat over his eyes and regained control of the gun. Another step and he heard something to his left. Swinging around, all he saw were the shelves filled with jars of food. He continued down, moving slowly and listening between each step he took. By the time he’d made it all the way to the bottom, his shirt was soaked.
Along the bottom of the shelves there were boxes holding empty jars and lids ready to be filled from the garden come fall. Along another wall, bins held the root vegetables they’d brought back from the city. He’d put them there himself, so he knew there was not space between them or behind them. He looked over to the right. It was mostly empty space except for the box of Beverly’s garden tools and some empty cans that had held seeds. It had to be behind some of that. There just wasn’t anywhere else it could be.
Caleb eased toward the box and cans, trying to be as quiet as possible. When he was close enough he could touch the box with his booted foot, he pointed the barrel of the rifle at the box and kicked it. Nothing happened there, but behind him, something squealed. He swung around, still aiming the rifle to see a cat-sized, brownish looking rat jump from the top of the shelves toward him. He stepped to one side and shot it in mid-leap. The noise was deafening like he’d expected. Pain pounded into his head, and for a second, his vision dimmed.
As soon as he was able, Caleb located the muskie and poked it with the rifle to make sure it was really dead. It didn’t move, and he didn’t see any sign that it was breathing. They’d guessed right, going by the pamphlet, as to what had hurt her. The brindled, brown creature was the size of a small cat and had wicked-looking claws and, from the brief glimpse he’d had when it was sailing through the air toward him, seriously sharp teeth.
He hurried up the steps and opened the door into the pantry. He couldn’t hear Jeff, but his friend had heard him and hurried around the door to check on him. He tried to read his lips, but the best he could do was shake his head and hope he was telling the other man he was fine. At least the roaring had changed to a loud ringing now. He was going to have one hell of a headache.
Jeff followed him down to look at the dead animal. They used a shovel to poke at it and make doubly sure it was dead. Then Jeff scooped it up in it and carried it up through the kitchen and outside. He grabbed gloves and hurried after the other man. They needed to use gloves to be sure they didn’t get anything on them. The blood and saliva was dangerous.
He caught up to his friend at the gate and opened it for him. As soon as they were far enough away from the house and barn, Jeff dropped it to the ground and took the gloves from him. He dug a hole and scooped the muskie into it before covering it up again. They turned over the dirt a few times where it had rested while they dug the hole then headed back to the house. Caleb made doubly sure he closed and secured the gate before walking back inside the kitchen. He needed to figure out how to get rid of the blood on the cellar floor.
Jeff touched his arm to get his attention. He had a tablet and pen and had written something down for him. Caleb leaned over and read it, laughing when he did.
Good job. Beverly is freaking out upstairs. I told her everything is okay, but you need to go check on her. I’ll clean up the mess downstairs.
“Be careful of the blood. Don’t get it on you.” At least that was what Caleb thought he said. Maybe he should have written it down as well.
Jeff nodded and smiled, pushing him toward the living room and the stairs. He needed a shower and something for his head. As he climbed toward the second floor, he hoped Jeff had warned Beverly that he couldn’t hear. Well, he could hear, but only the blasted ringing noise. He wondered how long it was going to last.
When he walked into the bedroom he barely managed to keep Beverly off of him.
“Don’t touch me ’til I’ve had a shower. I want to be sure none of that creature got on me.” She frowned but seemed to understand him well enough.
When he started pulling his clothes off in the bathroom, he turned around to find her sitting on the counter watching him with a frown. Crap, had he hurt her feelings? He didn’t mean to, but he wasn’t taking a chance that something from the muskie got on her off of him. He turned on the water and adjusted the temperature before climbing in and letting the water flow over him.
He’d just soaped up his bath cloth when he thought about his clothes lying on the floor. He leaned out of the shower and pointed at them.
“Don’t touch them. They may have something on them.”
She nodded and gave him a tentative smile. He smiled back and hurried to finish washing off. When he stepped out of the shower, his clothes were gone and so was Beverly. Fear and anger rushed through his veins as grabbed a towel and rushed into the bedroom. Beverly was sitting on the bed, but his clothes were nowhere to be seen. When he opened his mouth to ask her where his clothes were, she pointed at herself and shook her head before pointing toward the door. Good, Jeff must have gotten them. He let out a breath and wondered if it sounded as loud as it felt like it did.
Caleb toweled off then dropped the towel then returned to the bathroom to find something for a headache. They had a few basic medications that were easy to create here on Alpha like mild pain pills. He found what he was looking for then strode back into the bedroom and used Beverly’s water to swallow it down. He felt her eyes on him and turned to find her patting the bed for him to get in.
As soon as he lay down, she curled up against him, laying her head on his shoulder. She felt good there, close to his heart, right where she belonged. He knew it was early yet, but his head hurt and the constant ringing in his ears was driving him crazy. He could use a nap.
* * * *
Beverly hurt for Caleb. When Jeff had called up the stairs to tell her what was going on and that Caleb wouldn’t be able to hear anything for a while, she’d nearly passed out with worry. When he had finally made it to the bedroom, she wanted to throw herself at him, but Jeff had told her not to in case there was something on him. Caleb had reiterated that when he walked in the room. Actually, he’d yelled it, but she knew it was just because he couldn’t hear how loud he was talking. Still, it had startled her.
When he shuffled into the bathroom, she followed and cli
mbed up on the counter to wait for him to finish his shower. She needed to touch him. She’d been terrified when he’d been down in the cellar with the creature. Then hearing the gun go off had scared a year’s growth out of her.
After drying off, he finally looked at her sitting on the bed where she’d returned when Jeff came to get his clothes. He smiled as she patted the bed, understanding that she wanted him in bed with her. As soon as he was settled, Beverly wrapped herself around him and listened to his heart beating with her head on his chest. She knew the minute he fell asleep. His breathing evened out, and the arm that had wrapped around her loosened until it dropped to the bed.
She hoped when he woke up again that the pain was gone and his hearing was back. She had no idea how long that could take. When Jeff returned, she would ask him. The idea that Caleb would have to endure more than a few hours of it really bothered her. If only she had not been so self-conscious and nervous around them that she hadn’t confided in them what she had heard and thought she saw.
She spent the next twenty minutes fussing at herself until Jeff returned completely nude. Evidently he had gotten rid of his clothes when he discarded Caleb’s. He walked over to the bathroom and turned back to stare at her. One look from him settled her down. He seemed to be able to tell that she was beating herself up over it, and he wasn’t going to let her do it anymore.
“Stop it. It’s over now,” he whispered.
She nodded and relaxed against Caleb once again. Jeff stepped into the bathroom, and a few seconds later she heard the shower going. It wasn’t long before he returned still drying off with the towel. He walked around the bed and climbed in, scooting up close to her. His skin, still warm from the shower, felt delicious against her cooler body. He squeezed her shoulder and draped an arm across her waist.
“Did he take anything for pain before he got in bed?” he asked in a soft whisper.
“Yes. He fell asleep almost immediately.”
“Good. Maybe he’ll feel okay when he wakes up. We need to search the cellar to figure out how that thing got in so we can make sure we don’t have that happen again.”
Beverly couldn’t help the shiver that traveled down her spine. The thought of having one of those things in the house again turned her stomach. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to walk around on the floor anytime soon. She was afraid to go back to sleep, too. It was a given that she would have nightmares about monsters under her bed and in the closet like she did as a child.
“You’re thinking too hard. I can almost hear the wheels turning in that head of yours.” Jeff’s whispered voice sounded so damn sexy.
“Just worrying about having bad dreams now. I used to have dreams about monsters being in my closet and under my bed. Drove my dad up the wall. My brothers would tease me and play tricks on me because of it.”
Jeff’s soft chuckle should have made her mad, but it didn’t. It warmed her instead. She had no doubt that he understood. He would check under the bed for her, and she was positive Caleb would look in the closets.
“Don’t worry, baby. We’ll keep you safe from the bugaboos.”
Several minutes later, the only sound in the room was the wisp of air in and out of their mouths as her two men slept. She wasn’t the least bit sleepy. After all, she’d slept for several days straight and had spent the last few days in bed. As much as she ached to get out of the bed and move around to loosen up her stiff muscles, she wanted to be with them more. That and she was scared to get out of the bed now. No one had looked under their bed yet.
Funny how different she felt. Now, instead of feeling silly about wanting them to check under the bed and in the closets, it didn’t bother her. They cared about her. She knew it in her heart. That, more than anything else, settled her inside. Now all she wanted to do was make them happy—keep them happy.
Thoughts of how they’d been the last two days reminded her that they still had something they were keeping from her. No doubt it was something major since it worried them how she would handle it. What could be worse than being attacked by a muskie and ending up with yellowish, bumpy skin? Since the bite or scratch or whatever it had been had made her so sick, she was sure the stuff was in her body now. Maybe that was what they were worried about revealing to her.
The other thing that was bothering her was that neither man seemed like they wanted to be intimate with her again anytime soon. The thought that they were worried that she might pass something on to them curled her insides. If they were worried about that, what did that mean for them as a family? There was no way they could live like this without touching each other, loving each other.
The more she thought about that, the more logical it sounded. Why else were they avoiding intimacy? She was well now. It was almost as if they didn’t trust themselves to just kiss her because it would lead to something more personal—pleasurable.
Beverly struggled to stop thinking about it. When they woke up and Caleb’s hearing was back to normal, she was going to confront them about it. The old Beverly would have ignored the situation and tried to muddle through it. The new, improved Beverly wasn’t taking that crap from them. They were going to come clean or she would have their heads.
The soft, steady thump, thump, thump of Caleb’s heart soothed her as she forced herself to relax. She was going to need all of her strength and wits to deal with them when they woke up again. Even though she wasn’t sleepy, she could rest. Letting the rhythm of Caleb’s beating heart wash over her, Beverly closed her eyes and patiently waited.
Chapter Eighteen
“Hey, honey.” Caleb’s deep voice alerted her that he was awake.
Beverly lifted her head and smiled down at him. He wasn’t yelling, so maybe his hearing was back to normal again. She hoped so.
“Hey yourself. Can you hear me okay?”
“Pretty much. The ringing is still there, but I can hear around it now.”
“What about your head? Do you have a headache?”
“Hmm, dull throb. Much better than it was earlier.” He looked over at the bedside table. “Wow, I slept a long time. It’s late.”
“You needed the sleep. You could probably do with more. You guys have been functioning on so little ever since I got sick. I’m fine now though. We can all get back to normal now.” She smiled at him.
Feeling naughty, she smoothed her hand over his chest before raking her nails lightly down to his bellybutton. He shivered and caught her hand with his.
“What are you doing, Bev?” he asked.
“Just touching you. I’ve missed you. Missed holding you, being held by you.”
She felt the hitch in his breath as he tried to think what to say. She could feel him struggling with how to get out of letting her go any farther. She refused to let it hurt her. There was something going on.
“You’ve been sick, honey. You almost died. Let’s make sure you’re well.”
She ignored him, spreading her hand out against his abdomen before dragging her tongue across his nipple. The swift hiss of breath settled her soul. No, he wasn’t unaffected by her. He was trying to be cautious, protect her from something. She’d find out what it was one way or another.
“Beverly.” His voice had dropped even lower.
“What’s going on, guys?” Jeff asked, pushing up to lean over her.
“I’m trying to make Beverly understand that she’s been deathly ill. It’s too soon for messing around.”
“I’m not messing around. I’m serious.” She nipped the now-wet, flat disc of his nipple.
“Aw, hell. Beverly, stop that.”
Jeff wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over toward him. “Don’t torture him, baby. He’s injured.”
She rolled over and climbed on top of Jeff before he could stop her. His eyes grew wide as she managed to rub her wet pussy over his aroused cock. She could tell he hadn’t expected it from her. Well, they had a lot to learn about her now.
“Ah, Beverly?” Jeff clamped his hands o
n her waist, making it impossible for her to move and impale herself on him.
“Jeff, we’re going to have to tell her. She’s obviously not going to accept that she’s not ready for sex right now.” Caleb rolled out of bed and sat on the edge with his head down.
Beverly stilled in Jeff’s hands. The sight of Caleb hanging his head in what appeared to be dejection frightened her. Maybe there really was something terribly wrong. She lowered her eyes to Jeff’s face. He held her gaze for a few seconds then closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
She didn’t say anything else. Beverly got off of him and climbed out of the bed, no longer worried about something under the bed. She was much more worried about whatever was hanging in the air between them as a family. Whatever it was, she knew it would change everything. Her heart sped up, stammering every few beats.
Clothes. She needed to dress. She wasn’t having this conversation nude. The men watched her as she grabbed shorts and a tank top after pulling on underwear. She didn’t bother with a bra. When they didn’t move from where they were, she ran her hands through her hair and sat in the chair next to the bed.
“What’s going on?”
They adjusted their positions so they could both face her. Neither man spoke at first. Finally Caleb drew in a deep breath and started talking. He didn’t look at her as he told her about the cell or whatever it was that was probably in her bloodstream now thanks to the muskie attacking her. He explained that, more than likely, they would all have it soon anyway from eating the food grown there, just that she would probably have more of it.
“They don’t know much about it right now. They think it helps protect you from a lot of sickness, but they really don’t know.”
She listened as he continued. She had already figured she might have something left over from the creature inside of her. Now that he said they all would have it eventually, she wasn’t sure what the problem was. Then he started talking about Rachel’s little girl. The more he talked, the sicker she felt. Her own ears began to ring.