Damesha helped him into some night clothes, brought him a glass of apple juice, and they’d settled in the bed to watch television. Kane had tried to start conversations twice but Damesha stopped him. Covered in bruises and with bandages still covering a good portion of his body, now wasn’t the time. He needed to heal. He’d murmured he loved her and before long he’d fallen asleep.
Damesha still couldn’t quite take in all of the last twenty-four hours. She knew each moment, but she just couldn’t believe it. She’d found out she was pregnant only the day before, not just a few minutes ago. She’d thought at the time that nothing more could shake her world. Then she’d had to decide whether to go back to Kane or stay in New York. Then the mad dash to the hospital. How was she even awake?
Settling into the covers and turning the volume down on the television, Damesha prepared to spend her first night in her now permanent home. The weight of it settled on her for a moment and her hand went to her stomach. A slight bulge on the flat plane could be felt there but nothing anyone else would notice. She hadn’t even told Erika yet!
Annie snuffled at her feet and made an exasperated noise but Damesha brushed her foot along the dog’s back and she calmed. Smiling that secret smile of expectant mothers once more, Damesha reached out for Kane. His shoulder was cool and smooth in her hand, the air conditioner keeping the room as cold as he liked it. This was going to be an excellent place to raise a child. Kane was going to make an excellent father. This was going to be excellent. She just had to remember it in the coming days because if they were anything like the last twenty-four hours it could be a rough ride.
“You’re healing really…well, Kane.” Damesha was examining Kane’s head a week later, wondering if the cut had only looked worse than it was that first night. It was almost freaky how well it was healing. Scary, even. Humans didn’t heal as fast as Kane was healing. Not any she’d ever known anyway. It should have taken months for these wounds to reach the level of healing they were at!
“I’m a quick healer. It’s my metabolism. That’s why I got rid of the nurses after the first day. I didn’t need them.” Kane stood awkwardly as she moved away from him in the bathroom to put the antibiotic ointment back in the medicine cabinet. Putting his shirt on hid the healing line of lacerated flesh on his abdomen from her view. “I’ll be able to get those stitches out tomorrow I bet.”
Damesha smiled at him and followed him back to the bedroom, Annie hot on her heels. “What are you going to do today then?”
He’d been sleeping a lot during the day, but yesterday he’d gone out for hours. She assumed he was out walking. He’d come home and slept for hours then gone back out again, this time to Cade’s he’d told her. She didn’t like him being gone so long, but he was healing so perhaps she shouldn’t worry.
“I’ll ride the fence-line for a little while today. Annie’s figured out the logistics of riding on the back of the four-wheeler with me so I’m guessing she’s going with me. Are you going to do more writing?” He wandered up close to her, inhaling her scent as he buried his nose in her hairline at her neck. She’d write for hours while he was gone, preparing chapters, footnotes, and other aspects of the book she was preparing.
“Oh baby, don’t do that or neither of us will work today.” Damesha laughed and gently pushed him away as his lips grazed her ear but his hands remained at her hips, pulling her to sit in his lap on the bed with him.
“Maybe you should take a break.” His lips found her neck, his hot tongue licking at the sensitive flesh.
“No, your hip is still healing. Behave!” Damesha continued to laugh, hugging him close for a moment before standing. “I’m a little jealous of you, you know. You’ve stolen my dog from me!”
Annie had refused to let Kane out of her sight since they’d brought him back from the hospital and she accompanied him on his wanderings now. Damesha would feel jealous but she knew how hard it was for rescue dogs to trust humans again. If she loved Kane that much it was a good thing. Besides, Annie devoted herself to Damesha when she came home, spending hours cuddled up to her as close as she could get.
“Besides, I have to figure out why I heard a monkey last night so I can’t go out with you and Annie.” Damesha dropped that into the conversation casually but kept her eyes turned to Kane to gauge his reaction as she sat back in his lap once more.
Kane pulled away suddenly, looking at Damesha. “Monkey?”
“Yes, you hadn’t come back from Cade’s yet, I was sitting on the porch and I could have sworn I heard a monkey. That doesn’t compare to the hyena though.”
“Hyena?” Kane’s eyes were all but bulging out of his head, his words coming out in a gasp. Damesha looked at him with concern.
“Yes, why? Weird isn’t it? It’s alright, baby, I’m sure I’m just hearing things, or warping the sound of a passing car into a water buffalo. But the elephant was hard to mistake.” Damesha got up from her perch in his lap and went to her laptop. “There aren’t any of those animals here so maybe it’s something in the house? Maybe Annie snatched some kid’s toy. I’ll have a look around today in the yard. That’s where I’m hearing it.”
Kane blinked and got up, distracting himself with putting on his boots. “Yeah, or maybe it’s a television or something.”
“It’s hard to tell but if I catch somebody out there making jungle noises I’m going to be upset.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing malicious, honey. I’ll see you later on. Take care of yourself today, you hear me? Don’t stay locked up in your office for eight hours with no breaks! It really isn’t good for you!” Kane gave her a stern look before he kissed her, taking away the bite of the look. “Love you.”
“I love you too, Kane. Be careful. And don’t be out too long, that hip is still healing, and even on a four-wheeler you’re stressing it.” Damesha’s voice came out happy but with a note of steel. He needed to rest.
The words came easily now, simply. They hadn’t said the words before the accident, only exchanged some meaningful glances, but after the accident, everything changed. Kane had changed as well. He was still the laugh-machine that supported her but he’d become a little more serious, a little more concerned about what was going on with Damesha. They hadn’t necessarily talked about the future yet but she knew from the look in his eyes, the one that shouted that she was his, that they definitely had a future together.
Damesha wandered into her office, thinking over the last few days. Those animal noises were weird, and she only heard them when Kane was out or asleep. That made her suspect whoever it was messing with her was waiting until she was by herself. She’d stopped sitting on the back porch but she could still hear the sounds through the windows when she had them open.
Damesha lost herself in typing for the next two hours, her world zeroing in to nothing more than her monitor and the thoughts in her brain. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, her eyes staring only at the monitor as she typed. Every now and then her fingers would tangle together the way the keys of an old typewriter used to, and she’d laugh, telling herself to slow down. Elspeth’s story was just flowing from her mind and she knew it wasn’t going to take long to get the first draft done.
Damesha started to feel an ache in her back and shifted in the leather chair she’d settled in, and sat cross-legged. She dropped her feet right back to the floor when she heard a howl pierce the air. Her head swiveled to the window but she didn’t see anything. It sounded like the howls were coming from a stand of trees just outside of the house. Was that the call of a howler monkey?
Damesha liked nature programs and had learned a lot about animals over the years, despite living in a city, and she knew that was some kind of monkey outside making that racket. She really wanted to go investigate but her hand went to her stomach instead. She had more than herself to think about now.
Since Kane’s crash, she’d wanted to talk about the baby, but hadn’t told Kane yet. He was still healing, still getting used to her being there. She’d tell
him soon. For now, she was going to stay put and ignore whatever it was out there squalling like it was being beat to death. He could handle it.
A banging noise let her know Kane had come back in but she kept typing for another twenty minutes, wanting to finish out her thoughts on that section. Hitting save on the file, Damesha got up and started towards the stairs. She was considering what they should have for dinner when she got to their room.
“Kane? You in the shower, baby? What do you want for dinner?” There was no answer and the door was shut so Damesha turned the handle. She could hear that the shower wasn’t running so she stopped. “Kane?”
Still no answer. She pushed the door open and saw the room was empty. Where was he? She went through the upstairs rooms then went downstairs. Damesha could find nothing. Kane wasn’t in the house. She’d heard the door shut though, and his footsteps. Maybe he went back out?
Damesha checked both of the decks, even the swing in the backyard, but couldn’t find him. Irritation prickled at her neck but she pushed it down. He wasn’t playing a game, Kane could be fun but he wasn’t malicious. As Damesha started up the steps of the back deck she heard the wolf howling once more, only this time it was even closer.
“Oh, that’s it! It’s time to go back inside!” Damesha looked over her shoulder and then ran back in the house. Something had moved in the shadows of the trees and it looked like the shape of a wolf!
Slamming the door shut and locking it, Damesha pulled the blinds so that nothing could see in through the double glass doors. Running upstairs, she wasn’t sure if she was afraid of what could be outside or angry for letting fear make her run like that. Telling herself she was being silly she went back into the bedroom, pulling off the clothes she was wearing. The cotton top and shorts suddenly felt too tight, constricting, so she found a loose dress to put on instead.
Throwing her bra and panties on the bed before moving to pull the dress over her head, Damesha heard a tiny sound, something odd and out of place. Looking back over to the bed, Damesha felt dread rising in her throat. Something was moving under the thin duvet and skimming along under her panties. If the thought of running had entered her brain she wouldn’t have been able to move because her legs were frozen, fear gluing her feet to the floor. Her eyes went wide as the lump moved closer to the edge of her panties, an odd noise like snuffling coming from that area.
Damesha opened her mouth wide, a scream just starting to bubble out her throat and for a moment she wondered if anything would come out. Maybe it would be like those dreams where you’re screaming your head off but no sound comes out. And just as the scream forced itself past her closed throat, a tiny white head popped out of the leg opening of the discarded underwear. The scream died as confusion took the place of fear.
“What the hell?” She stared down at the tiny creature before going to pick it up. The silky fur on its tiny body was white with a few black spots on its head and back. A tail wagging fiercely at its bottom end turned Damesha’s fear to a fit of giggles.
“Oh, Annie is either going to love you or eat you in one bite! Where did you come from then? Kane? Kane, where are you, baby? Thought Annie needed a friend, huh?” Damesha paused as she went down the stairs to look for Kane once more. If Kane was home where was Annie?
Kane would never leave Annie out there on her own. Maybe he’d dropped her off somewhere, with Cade maybe, while he went and got the puppy? But if that was the case where was Kane now?
Her frustration levels started to rise again and the critter nestled in her arm started to squirm. Damesha held it up to her face, the tiny creature barely filling her palm. A tiny tongue slipped out and swiped her nose experimentally, tentatively. It sat back and looked at her with acceptance.
“Awwwww!” Damesha’s heart melted instantly as the tiny Chihuahua settled in her hand, deciding it was nap time. “Where did you come from?”
Damesha knew Kane wasn’t in the house now, it was ridiculous to think he was. Surely he would have sprung out of a closet by now, or wherever he might have hidden, to yell surprise or whatever he might have yelled. No, this puppy had magically appeared out of thin air. She decided that was just as stupid an idea and carried on down the stairs. Right, she was losing it, hearing wild animals and finding unexplainable but adorable pets in her bed. But this puppy felt real, it felt as real as that wolf in the backyard had looked.
Going into the kitchen Damesha couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. She was sitting thousands of miles from everything she knew, pregnant, and with a man she’d almost lost needing her help. She’d worked hard over the last few days caring for Kane those first days when he slept constantly, working on her book in between checking on him and bringing him food. She was overworked, that was all, it had been a rough few weeks, and now her mind was paying the price.
The puppy still slept, cradled in her hand, and it felt far too real. Nope, she wasn’t crazy, this animal was real. But how would she know if she was crazy and imagining all of these things? Damesha had heard pregnancy hormones could make you do strange things, eat strange things, she wondered if they made you see and hear, even feel strange things? Shaking off the thought that she was losing her mind, Damesha decided the puppy was real, she wasn’t crazy, and somebody was messing with her. Which meant someone had been in the house, at some point.
She quickly found a box to put the tiny dog in with a blanket, and went through the house locking windows and doors. She even locked bedroom doors from the outside with the skeleton keys used in the old fashioned locks. It might have been crazier than thinking she was seeing things, but she felt safer locked away. She wished Kane would come home.
Knowing she’d worked herself into a state, Damesha prepared a cup of herbal tea and sat down to watch the puppy. Whoever it was couldn’t be too malicious if they’d brought her a puppy. Psycho killers and stalkers didn’t leave cute little puppies, did they? They left dead rabbits and creepy notes, stuff like that, she told herself.
The hours passed, Damesha made dinner, the puppy at her side in his box. She’d checked to see, and the puppy was male. He did a lot of sleeping and was generally quiet as she prepared the meal. He was quiet as she sat waiting for Kane to come home with Annie, he was quiet when the food went cold and Damesha put it all away in the fridge. He only woke up when she carried his box into the living room to wait for Kane. Where was Kane?
Damesha fell asleep on the couch, her face streaked with tears. She didn’t have any numbers to call Kane’s family and wasn’t sure whether she should call the police or not. She’d fallen asleep waiting for him, her fears growing as the hours passed. She was exhausted though, her body and mind too worn out to stay awake. Curled up on the couch her eyes had closed and refused to open. The tiny puppy was in his box beside her, sleeping as soundly as she was.
Around three in the morning, her eyes popped open and she sat up on the couch, her mind finally kicking into gear and forcing her to wake up with one realization. Whoever had left the puppy might have done something to Kane and Annie. If Kane had been hurt, surely Annie would have come home, she was always sniffing around, she could have sniffed her way home. If Kane was staying out, he’d have called her and let her know. No, whoever had left this puppy must have Kane and Annie. And they’d left the puppy to replace them.
Chapter 10
Damesha was about to call the police when the puppy started to whine and bark at her, his little face in a panic. He pawed at her frantically when she picked him up and squirmed a lot, sniffing at her madly. Realizing the poor thing hadn’t been outside all day and that she was probably being very silly thinking someone had taken Kane and Annie, Damesha took him out to do his business. The puppy dashed around the yard sniffing every rock and blade of grass until it finally found one that smelled suitable. He squatted to do his thing but then looked up at Damesha. He looked offended that she was watching and barked at her.
“Oh hush and do your business. You aren’t my boss. You couldn’t even fight you
r way out of a wet paper bag.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at him.
The puppy barked some more, giving a growl for good measure. Damesha looked at it and laughed.
“Oh go on now, do what you need to do. A mosquito could bite harder than you.” The puppy ducked its head in shame and Damesha felt horrible. “Oh alright then, I’ll give you some privacy you little bully.”
She turned around and the puppy went quiet. Damesha gave it a few moments and turned back around. The puppy was standing at her feet, his little tail wagging ninety miles a minute. She picked it up and went back into the house.
“Look, if you’re going to be trouble you can just go back where you came from. Kane is going to get his ass kicked when he finally comes home, and you’re about to get a good talking to. Men!” With little sleep and feeling exhausted, Damesha was close to tears as she went back to the couch and sat down. “Where is he?”
The puppy whined and snuffled around on Damesha’s chest, trying to settle. Her breasts were starting to become bigger and the puppy had a good place to rest as he put his head down and whined at her. His large dark eyes were sad and Damesha wondered if he was hungry again. Putting a hand under him, she went back to the kitchen.
She fed him some slices of ham and gave him some water. This being in a relationship thing was proving difficult, she mused as she looked down at the now the sleeping dog. Kane had never done anything like this before so she’d give him the benefit of the doubt, but this was really hurting her feelings. The prick of tears in her eyes made her a little mad; she wasn’t supposed to be crying over a man! She left the dog in his box and went into her office. She’d get some work done while she waited. It wasn’t like she was going to get back to sleep anytime soon.
Damesha worked for an hour but couldn’t get much done. She’d type a few sentences then her thoughts would wander back to Kane and Annie. She’d snap back to awareness and start typing again. She finally gave up and saved the file, deciding to go back to the movie she’d fallen asleep to. Kane obviously wasn’t coming back tonight.
Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 8