by Ellie Pond
Aurora shook her head at Tad and asked Anna. “But I don’t? Right?”
“No. Don’t see why you would need to. I’ll walk you out and get you set up for tomorrow.”
Aurora tucked her crutches under her arm.
“Need any help?”
“No. I’m getting the hang of them. Dr. Cottage offered me one of those scooters. But apparently, certain people don’t think I can be trusted with one.” Aurora pointed at Tad and wobbled on her crutches. He reached for her elbow, but she steadied herself. He sank into another chair.
Yes, he was ‘certain people.’ And no, he didn’t think she should have a scooter. She’d end up in the ocean.
How the lot of them had gone on without him for so many years, he had no idea. He came home for holidays, most of them . . . some of them . . . the important ones at least. When his mother called him a year ago and asked him to come home, he did, for what he hoped would be a visit. Things were destabilizing in the pack. Spencer did a good job. Better than he could have. He understood the needs of the pack and the individuals. But Spencer was right—he needed a mate. One that would help him run the pack. Tad’s mother was an alpha widow, technically an alpha. But not enough. They needed more. He couldn’t leave them again, not until things were stabilized. Spencer needed a mate; Tad just hoped it wasn’t Aurora. It was wrong. It stirred inside of him.
Where the hell was that physician’s assistant? Katie? As the boss of a large corporation, he’d gotten used to never waiting. That’d changed as an English teacher at the Salthills High school. Spencer had e-mailed him the application for sabbatical substitute teacher five times before inviting the principal to the pack pot luck last summer.
‘I’m grateful you’re here,’ Spencer had said. ‘I need you here. However, you’re causing havoc on the job site when you come to work with us. And you’re driving your mother and Aurora crazy in the office. They do not want you to audit the books or redo their file systems anymore.’
Tad knew that from the sign that Aurora had posted on the trailer office door—Welcome all but Tad. Made it pretty clear. When he brought it up to his mother, she didn’t make eye contact.
He wanted a science position. Unfortunately, it was the English teacher who got pregnant, and no matter how much he tried to convince the science teacher that having more offspring would help the pack, at forty-seven years old, with her hands on her hips, she disagreed.
Now he’d gotten used to waiting. Waiting on parents, students, and colleagues. He didn’t have the authority to rule. He didn’t like it but accepted it.
Staccato words flew down the hall, voices raised. Anna dashed by twice. What was going on? He poked his head out of the exam room. The one at the end of the hallway had the action surrounding it. The exam rooms across from Aurora’s lay empty as he moved towards the room at the end of the hall. The rest of the rooms were empty too. He inched closer.
The doc, Anna, Katie, and two large men crowded around a male on the exam table. The exam room was larger and more of an operating room. He could partially make out surgical equipment behind the massive bear shifter. The patient’s lips were an unnatural blue. Tad leaned to the left to see what Elizabeth was doing and his movement caught the attention of the medic closest to the door. His eyes bulged, and he strode out of the exam room.
“Hey, step off.” The bear shifter crossed his arms over his chest.
Tad put his hands in the air and backed away.
“Tell Katie I’ll be back later to see the X-ray.”
The bear shifter pointed his sausage finger at him. “I heard what the girls were talking about, that the doc is yours. You hurt her, I hurt you.”
The phone rang in the little office down the hall. “Mike,” Elizabeth called. “Mike, get back in here. We need you to help hold him.”
“Answer the phone, wolf.” Mike pivoted back into the exam room.
Tad nodded in response to the threat and the request. He raced down the hall. The contraption blinked at him with three lights. But a phone was a phone. He picked it up and pushed the flashing button.
“Dark Wing Infirmary, how can I help you?” He searched the small workstation for a notepad and something to write with.
“Hey, this is Cooper, Cooper Honeycutt. They said to call this number when we were in the new room and got settled. Things are starting.”
“Okay. I’ll let them know. Anything else?”
Cooper on the line hesitated. “No, I guess that’s it. Just thought the doctor should—she said to call, that’s all.”
“I’ll give her the message.”
“I appreciate that.”
Tad scribbled down the message. He took two steps away from the work station and the phone rang again. Tad examined the empty corridor and picked the phone up again.
“This is the captain. How’s our MOB?” The captain barked.
MOB? Man overboard. “Dr. Cottage and staff are tending to the MOB now, sir.”
“How is he doing? Is he awake? Were you able to get a name?”
“I have no information, sir.”
“Well, get some and report back.” The captain hung up on him. Tad stared at the receiver. It was quiet at the end of the hallway. Tad cautiously peered around the corner. The even beeps of a heart monitor told him the man was stable for now. Mike and another orderly stood off to the side as Anna and Katie cleaned the man up and packed him in heated blankets. Elizabeth wrote notes in a tablet chart. He stood still. Mike glanced over.
“Hey.” Mike moved towards the door, barring him from coming in.
Tad held up the note. Mike’s expression changed. “Right, the phone.” He led Tad out of the room. No one else glanced over.
“It was a message from Cooper Honeycutt. He said they were in the new room and things were getting started.”
“Getting started?”
“The mate of the pregnant bear.” Tad helped Mike connect the dots. He’d overheard much of Elizabeth’s conversation with the couple. And while he hadn’t known the expectant father’s name, his middle western accent was memorable.
“Shit. Dr. Cottage.” Mike leaned back into the room.
His mate came out. The front of her scrubs were wet, and her lab coat hung off her, drenched. “You’re here?” She turned to Mike for the answer. That pissed him off.
“I brought—”
“Oh my god, you’re actually still waiting to look at the X-ray?” Katie stepped out of the room, removed her gloves and threw them like a basketball pro into the garbage behind her.
Tad glared at her, and she glared back like a miniature Doberman Pinscher.
“Actually, I was on my way out the door when Mike asked me to answer the phone,” Tad said without taking his eyes off his mate.
Anna joined them in the doorway. All eyes bounced to Mike.
“You called me back because he was convulsing.” Mike tapped his index finger to his chest.
“Right.” Elizabeth held out her hand to Tad. “What’s the message?”
Mike answered first. “Cooper wants you to know that things are starting.”
“Of course they are. Right. Katie, you stay with our man overboard rescue. Captain called down again to let us know that they believe the MOB is from a human cruise ship heading towards Port-Au-Prince that has a missing person. Excuse me.” Elizabeth brushed past him.
“And—”
She pivoted to him. Her hazel eyes glued to his, her scrubs dripping from working on the rescue patient.
“And the captain wants an update.” Tad held up the other piece paper.
“I’ve got that.” Anna took the paper from Tad’s hand. “Get changed. I’ll meet you upstairs.” Anna pointed at Elizabeth.
“I’ll take the cart up to Honeycutt’s room now.” Mike followed, leaving an agitated Katie still glaring at him.
“I’m not showing you the X-ray,” she said.
“I didn’t think you would.”
He followed Elizabeth to her office and o
pened the door without knocking. If he’d knocked, she would have just told him to go away. He was glad he hadn’t. Elizabeth tugged her scrub shirt over her head, but her arms twisted in the wet fabric. Her ivory cream skin was pink from being wet, and her cream lace bra clung to her breasts. She tugged on it and let out an exasperated groan. He wanted to groan, too, but for another reason altogether.
“Want some help?” He wanted to help her wrestle out of the rest of her clothes and change her mind about kicking him out this morning. But she was in the middle of a busy day. Now wasn’t the time, and he recognized it.
16
Longest day part 1
She jumped. “Oh my goodness. What are you doing in here?” She struggled against the shirt, and it plopped off and splatted on the floor. The odd dream of the captain was playing in her head like a movie trailer.
“Did I startle you?”
She stepped towards him and punched his arm. Her hand bounced off his firm muscle. “Did you startle me?” What’s wrong with him? “Yes, you startled me.” She wanted to hit him again. They’d almost lost the rescue victim, but as her dad said, ‘almost’ is another way of saying ‘still alive.’
The step towards him brought him within arm’s reach. His eyes pored over her, and her skin tingled. She needed to take off her wet scrub bottoms. With Tad’s focus on her body, she wouldn’t get any drier. She swallowed. He ran his fingers up her bare shoulder, goose bumps left in their wake. He tilted her chin up and brought his lips down on hers. One hand held the side of her head as their mouths pummeled each other in unison. With his other hand, he thumbed her nipple until it pebbled. His hands trailed down to her scrubs, untying them as he slid them to the ground. Her leg rose to grab his hip.
“Doctor Cottage.” Anna hammered on the door.
“Bloody hell.” Tad pulled away. “You’re busy.”
“I’ll be right out.”
“Sorry,” Anna muttered through the door.
She panted. What a fool, standing in her underwear about to get it on when patients waited. She screamed inwardly. This was why she couldn’t have a mate. Right. “Turn around.”
He winced. “What?”
“Turn around. I need to change.”
“It’s a little late for modesty, don’t you think?”
“Not modesty. Time. I need to change, but you’re going all googly-eyed over there. I need to be quick and your eyeballs on me will slow me down. Turn. Around. Now.”
Tad pivoted slowly. She retrieved a spare set of scrubs from her drawer. With no fresh underwear in her office, she stripped off what she had and went without. Better to be bare than wet and chaffing. Today could be a long one. Keeping her thoughts straight this morning was tough, and it seemed to be getting worse. And with Tad around, all she wanted to do was ride him like her own personal amusement ride. No, they wouldn’t mate, but they could enjoy the time they had. Her body screamed out yes. But not now, she replied.
“You can turn around again.” She glanced up. He smiled at her. “You’re the worst.”
“I’m touched—you understand me.” Tad tapped his chest. The spider plant hanging along the wall swung and smacked Tad in the head.
She shook her head. He tugged her against him with his arms around her waist. She lay her head on his chest for a moment before she pulled away. “I’ve got to go.”
“You want some help?”
Now it was her turn to wince. “Treating patients?”
“I went to med school.” He shrugged.
She had no idea who this male was. She squinted at him. “You’re a teacher.”
“Now. I also own a company that advises hedge fund managers who want to invest in medicine and pharmaceuticals. Started off in neuroendocrinology.”
“You’re a brain doctor and business owner and you led with teacher, EMT, and Kunyon ball coach?”
“That’s the real me. You’re exhausted.” He changed the subject.
She needed to circle back to his omission later. She glared at him. ‘You’re exhausted’ from another doctor and not a mate was a slap in the face. In residency, she would work a 36-hour shift, sleep a few hours, and do it again. Saying ‘you’re exhausted’ to a peer came off as an insult.
“Don’t go overthinking this, Elizabeth. Take the help.”
Ugh, he was right: she was overthinking this. “Fine.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Thank you,” she hissed out. “When was the last time you delivered a baby?”
“Fifteen years?” Another shrug.
Elizabeth marched out of her office. “Let’s go.”
“I called up to Rosa and Cooper’s room,” said Anna. “The dad said contractions have started. Mike’s on his way up with the cart. Katie talked to the captain. He wants to say thank you, personally, later today.” Anna held out paperwork for her to sign.
Elizabeth whipped her head around. “Like in person?” He would want to talk about more than the MOB.
“That’s usually what ‘in person’ means.”
“Good grief. Can this day get any stranger?”
“Watch what you ask for.” Anna smiled.
“Are there any spare scrubs back there for Tad?” she asked Anna.
Anna cocked her head sideways. “Apparently Dr. Larsen’s been holding out on us. I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
Mike’s scrubs hugged Tad’s shoulders. She never imagined scrubs as sexy before, but now she was completely turned on. The elevator walls closed in on her. What? She wasn’t claustrophobic, but she wanted the heck out of there. With a glance at Tad, she gulped. “You don’t like elevators, do you?”
“Not much.”
She ran her hand up his arm and squeezed. He smiled down at her. She took his hand in hers and squeezed again. They were still bonding to each other.
“My old office? It was on the 103rd floor. Made for an interesting start to the day.”
“I’ll bet.” The elevator binged, and Elizabeth led them to the suite she had arranged for the Honeycutts. She knocked on its polished cherry-wood double doors.
“Doctor.” Rosa ushered them in. The suite was a minute version of the captain’s across the hall. At its price tag, it often sat empty. But the captain enjoyed his privacy, so sometimes even when a person could afford it, he didn’t let them stay in it. Off of the front of the living room, a veranda hugged the corner of the starboard and bow. Most of the bow veranda was the captain’s, but a sliver serviced this room. The medical cart sat near twin sofas upholstered in a taupe-colored silk. A hall led to the bedroom, kitchen, and bathrooms. What she didn’t see was Mike.
“How are you doing, Rosa?”
“I’m doing good. I’m sorry Cooper called you. It was two contractions, but they’ve stopped now.”
“That’s okay. I’d rather you called. Why don’t you have a seat and let me have a listen to that cub of yours. Where’s Mike?”
“He and Cooper are out on the veranda with the room service trolley.”
Elizabeth took protective pads from the cart and covered a portion of a silk-covered lounger. “Okay. Do you want me to get him?”
“No, he’s relaxing now. He was making me more nervous.”
Elizabeth motioned for Rosa to sit down. On the way to the kitchen to wash her hands, she touched her locket, thinking of her dad. She’d delivered fifty babies during residency and three in the last two years. Her dad didn’t call her much but he would text her a number. The last one was two months ago: 5,825. The number of babies he’d delivered in his career. Her mom wanted him to retire. He wanted to hit 6,000.
Elizabeth arranged the supplies on the coffee table. She examined and listened to the cub. Rosa wasn’t much further along than the last exam a few hours ago—an additional centimeter. It might take hours, or not.
“Well, things are moving. Anytime now, but you’re not there yet. Have you tried the private tub on the veranda?”
“Can I?”
“Sure
. Let’s turn the temperature of the hot tub down to make it safer for the baby. You might find the water comforting.”
Elizabeth gathered all the pads and tossed her gloves in too. Tad reached out and took the pile from her arms. She’d forgotten that he was there. She held his stare. Her heart raced. A glance at him made her fill with desire. She shook her head out of the daze. There was something more going on than mating bonding. Her concentration kept drifting from topic to topic.
“There should be a garbage bag in the cart,” she told him before following Rosa to the veranda.
The sun blinked below the horizon as she stepped out into the breeze. “Working hard, Mike?”
Mike had a turkey leg in one hand. “Always, boss. I would have told you not to come up, but you would have come anyway.”
“Fair enough,” she laughed. She hated that expression.
“Want one? Cooper here didn’t know what his mate wanted to eat, so he ordered extra.” The cart was overflowing with plates.
“I’m good. Tad, do you want something to eat?”
Tad came out onto the veranda in Mike’s scrubs. Mike gave her a questioning look.
“Dr. Larsen offered to help.”
“Doctor, eh? And I had him answering phones. Love that. Can I order him around some more, boss?”
“Whatever Dr. Cottage says. She’s the boss.” Tad took a grape from the cart and tossed it in his mouth.
“You should have spoken up sooner—you could have helped with the MOB.” Mike ate his turkey with devotion.
“Dr. Cottage had that under control.” He put a claiming hand on her shoulder.
“Always does.” Mike put the turkey leg down. “What do you want me to do, Doctor?”
“We’ll set up the bedroom. And then, if you don’t mind, you can take the first shift hanging with the Honeycutts here.”
* * *
When Tad and Elizabeth left the suite, Rosa was lounging in the tub. Mike was watching baseball on the TV in the second bedroom so he could be available but give the couple space. He’d page her at the first sign of change. But he’d delivered a half-dozen cubs in his former pack. They were in excellent hands with Medic Mike.