Sherman's Pride [Spirit of Sage 6] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Jools Louise

  “You can thank us by getting better,” Jamie said with a wink. Once the last serving was handed over, they headed for the next ward with chicken noodle soup for Kathleen and the sicker patients, plus some chicken sticks, veggies, and more mashed potatoes for the kids.

  Sherman was there already. Chaz was startled to see Kaden, as well, and glanced between the two men, expecting fireworks at any moment. They were both talking quietly, and Chaz relaxed as he studied their body language. There was an absence of animosity, which was a relief.

  “Hello, Chaz,” Kathleen greeted from her bed, smiling.

  “Kathleen.” Chaz dragged the trolley, and parked it in the middle of the large room. “Jamie here has soup or chicken sticks,” he said, grinning at a chorus of cheers from the youngsters. “Who wants soup?”

  Kathleen raised her hand, laughing as the cheers turned to groans. Chaz sent a chiding look at the children. “Your mother gets to eat first, isn’t that fair?” he asked, and saw the quick nods and shame-faced looks as he ladled soup into a bowl, and placed a hunk of fresh bread on a plate, then handed it to her carefully. “We need her to get well again,” he added.

  “Sorry, Mom,” Drew said, flushing, since he’d joined in the cheering squad.

  “Why don’t you help plate up for your brothers?” Kathleen said. Drew immediately slid from his bed, and opened the lids of the children’s meals.

  “Thanks, bud,” Jamie said. “If you want a job at the restaurant, we’re hiring,” he smiled.

  Drew looked up, his eyes bright. “You’d hire me?” he asked, glancing at his mother hopefully.

  “We need someone in the kitchen, washing dishes, and prepping the veggies. The town’s filling up fast, so we’re busy all the time now. We need the help.” Jamie replied, nodding. Chaz knew Jamie had said it as a joke, but judging from Drew’s expression, he was eager to help out.

  “When can I start?” Drew asked.

  Jamie grinned, then looked at Kathleen. “Ask your mom, she’s the boss,” he said.

  Kathleen laughed. “Once the doctor gives you the all-clear,” she replied, earning a hug from her son. “Don’t forget, there’ll be school soon, too.”

  He groaned at that, wrinkling his nose. “Really?”

  “Really,” she said, ruffling his hair. “That is, if there is a school here?”

  “David could get him up to speed,” Chaz said. “He’s a qualified teacher, and could get the right books. There’s the rez school, but most of the kids home-school around here, until the new high school is built. David runs the care center for the little ones, but we desperately need something for the older children. We broke ground on it last year, but we’re waiting for extra funding to get it off the ground properly.”

  “I don’t mind being home-schooled,” Drew said quickly.

  “Me either,” Charles and Harvey piped up in unison.

  “What’s homeschool?” little Moe asked, his mouth smeared with mashed potato, carefully balancing a loaded spoonful of green beans, then shoving it into his mouth.

  “Moe, sweetie, be careful or you’ll choke with all that in your mouth,” Kathleen warned, and received a thumbs up in reply from the three-year-old.

  Chaz bit back a laugh, seeing the twinkle in Moe’s eyes. He was a cutie, full of beans—literally. After their initial shyness at the cabin, for obvious reasons, over the last two weeks they’d all blossomed, their true characters emerging, and all were showing the astounding resilience of youth. They hadn’t completely bounced back, and had suffered night terrors, but those were decreasing. The townsfolk had volunteered to spend time with the kids over the past two weeks. The fact that Drew was wanting to go and work at the old diner, and Moe was being a little cheeky, was a good sign.

  Sherman, who had been talking to Kaden, wandered over, kissing Chaz and tugging him into his arms. They embraced, shared another kiss, then turned to see the interested looks from the boys, a wide smile from Kathleen, and Kaden’s wistful stare.

  “Did you get news, yet?” Sherman murmured, nuzzling Chaz’s ear. Chaz shivered, nodding, trying to focus on the fact that he and his mate had an audience. Sherman could tempt a saint.

  “We closed an hour ago,” Chaz whispered back, grinning at Sherman’s shout of joy. He yelped when Sherman lifted him, then swung him around and around before gently depositing him back on the floor again.

  “Someone looks happy,” Kaden drawled, rolling his eyes, amused.

  “We just bought ten acres of land, and got planning permission to build our own house,” Chaz said, grinning excitedly. “We want to have one main house, and then a number of smaller cottages, just like at the ranch, for those who need them. We’ll be landlords, and rent some out, the others will be for family.” He looked at Kathleen, and saw her slight hesitation, and the terror in her eyes, as though she wanted to say something, but didn’t know how.

  “What’s wrong, Mom?” Sherman asked quizzically, frowning slightly.

  She sighed. “Nothing’s wrong, exactly,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve spent the last few years living in the wilds of Colorado. I’m not sure how soon I want to visit the wilderness again. I’d kind of hoped to stay in town, for a while. It was…difficult for me there. Alfie came to visit, and he said there’s an empty shop unit, which has living quarters above it. With enough room for a small art studio, as well.”

  “You’re going to paint again?” Drew said, looking pleased.

  She nodded. “Yes, that’s my passion, and I’d love to get back to it. I want to open an art supplies store, as well, since there doesn’t appear to be one in town. I could start classes, for anyone who’s interested, once I get established.”

  “Mom, we’re happy to live with Sherman and Chaz, if you’d prefer to live in town. We all love the woods, still…I know you had some bad times there,” Drew said, and looked sad.

  “Darling, we’ve all been through some bad times,” she said, stroking his hair gently. “And we’ll heal, it’ll just take a while, that’s all.”

  “We can get somewhere in town,” Chaz said quickly. “Something so you can have the boys with you. Pace and his husband are moving from their penthouse apartment, out to one of the bigger houses. Their apartment will be free soon. It has three bedrooms. And there’s another one, below our old one, which is a two-bedroom unit, if you want to take a look.”

  “Mommy, I’d like to be in the forest,” Flint piped up, his little face solemn. “But I don’t want you to be sad without us.”

  “I’d like the forest, too,” said Moe, nodding firmly, copying his brother. The rest of the brothers all agreed. Chaz looked at Sherman, who shrugged agreeably.

  “I’ve had Cooper draw up plans for the buildings,” Sherman said. “And we have spare construction workers who are happy to work on the project. My crew can certainly help out. If the boys don’t mind, and you’re okay with that arrangement, we’d love to have them live with us. If you change your mind, just let us know. After being locked up myself for a decade and a half, I kind of understand how you feel. It’s a little overwhelming to have so much space all of a sudden. Takes some getting used to.”

  Kathleen nodded, looking relieved and guilty at the same time. Moe finished his meal, placing the empty place carefully on the shelf underneath the trolley, then scrambled up onto the bed beside his mother, giving her a big hug.

  “Mommy, it’s okay. We’ll come and see you every day,” he said, giving her a messy kiss. She laughed aloud, tickling him until he squealed for joy, squirming like an eel under her fingers.

  “You certainly will see me every day,” she retorted. “I’ll be helping with the teaching,” she added. She looked at Sherman. “I graduated with a master’s degree in art and education. I can open the store part-time initially, so we can set up a proper routine for the children. I’m sure there’ll be someone who’d like to work at an art store.”

  “I’ll let you speak to David,” Chaz said, delighted that everything seemed to be falling
into place. He knew that some people may comment on Kathleen living in town while her sons lived in a big house a few miles away, but he didn’t care. They had all been through so much. If living above her shop gave Kathleen some respite from her fears, then he was all for it. Murphy had said that she was suffering the effects of PTSD, and probably living in town would give her a sense of security, surrounded by people and noise. The cabin had been isolated, and he could only wonder at the horrors she had endured, where no one could hear her screams. The boys seemed happy enough to be living as a unit. “David has a special facility out at the ranch, for the little ones.”

  “I heard about that,” she said smiling, stroking Moe’s hair as he settled down, his eyes drooping. “It sounds as though he’s doing a fantastic job with them.”

  “He is,” Chaz admitted. He and Jamie gathered empty plates together, then waved good-bye as they headed for the last ward, where the sickest patients resided, leaving the children to play with their new friends.

  It was quiet in this room, as the fifteen patients lay resting. Most were hooked up to tubes, and Leo was there, taking notes about each of their readings. He looked up when he saw them, and smiled.

  “I heard the commotion,” he said. “I guessed that it must be dinner time.”

  Jamie grinned. “Yes, as Mick said, meals on wheels is right here,” he retorted.

  “Well, then let’s see who’s hungry,” Leo laughed.

  A hand came up from one of the beds. “I’ll take some of whatever smells so good,” a deep voice said.

  “We’ll try him on soup, to start with,” Leo said quietly. “Then maybe some mashed potato if there’s any left, and beans. The stew may be a bit much for him to manage right now, but we’ll see. Their stomachs are a little tender from being starved for so long. Mash and beans are easier to digest.”

  Chaz nodded, and ladled up the chicken noodle soup. The man sat up carefully, his big frame similar in size to Sherman’s but he was thin, far too thin. His face looked gaunt, his eyes sunken in their sockets. Chaz remembered when Ethan and the wolverines had been rescued from beneath the town—they had been in a similar condition. It wasn’t right.

  “Hey, here’s some chicken noodle soup,” Chaz said.

  “Noah,” the man said. “Name’s Noah.”

  Chaz nodded, holding the bowl up so Noah could eat. “I’m Chaz,” he murmured.

  “This is good,” Noah said, his hand shaky on the spoon.

  “I’ll take a bowl, too,” the man in the bed next to him said.

  “Of course,” Jamie replied, filling a bowl, and helping the patient sit up, then spooned soup into his mouth, since he appeared to be weaker than Noah.

  “Are you guys the bear shifters?” Chaz asked hesitantly.

  Noah smiled, nodding. “You sound a little surprised,” he said.

  “I’ve never heard of bear shifters,” Chaz admitted. “Or at least I have, but I thought they were extinct.”

  “We don’t tend to advertise what we are,” Noah said as he finished the last spoonful of soup, sighing as he rested back against the pillows. “Our kind haven’t had the best history.

  “You nearly didn’t have the best future, either,” Leo said tartly.

  Noah gave a huge belly laugh at that. “No, we certainly didn’t.” He jerked his thumb at the nurse. “This guy is a pistol,” he said. “Keeps us from getting too depressed.”

  “Yeah, he’s great. He was badly treated, as you were. You’ll be well, soon,” Chaz said gently. “You have plenty of time.”

  “It’ll take months to get back to full health,” Noah said. “I weigh in at over three hundred pounds, usually. Now, I’m as puny as Leo.” He grinned when Leo flipped him off. “Now, now, nurse, no need for that.”

  “Eat your potatoes,” Leo ordered, smirking.

  “Yes, sir,” Noah shot back, saluting smartly.

  Chaz exchanged a grin with Jamie. These two were fun to watch. Leo was a bit of a grumpy cat usually, but he seemed to have a gift for nursing. He had a unique bedside manner that was a mixture of compassion, sarcasm, and earthy humor. Nobody seemed to complain.

  “Do you want to try the stew, as well?”

  “A little,” Noah said. “Not sure how much my stomach can handle.”

  “Cut it up,” Leo advised, indicating the chunks of meat. “Noah’s been without solids for a while, and his stomach is a little tender. Just a spoonful of mash and a few beans. We’ll take it easy for now.”

  “Yes, sir,” Chaz retorted, mimicking Noah, which had Leo snorting and Noah bellowing again.

  “Some of us are trying to sleep, here, you know,” came a snippy voice from the end bed nearest the window.

  Noah rolled his eyes. “That’s one of the cheetahs,” he said. “Fly, he’s called. Always complaining about something.”

  “I complain because you’re always doing something to annoy me,” was the reply.

  “The cheetahs all have prissy names, too,” Noah drawled provocatively. “Fleet, Fly, Rush, Speed, and Lightning.”

  “At least my name isn’t as old as the ark,” Fly retorted sarcastically, raising his hand in a one fingered salute.

  “Would you like some soup?” Jamie asked, biting his lip to keep from smiling.

  “I would love some soup, darling,” Fly replied, sighing heavily. “It’s been a while since we had anything even resembling meat. Soup sounds heavenly.”

  Chaz finished plating up Noah’s second course, handed it over, and then ladled some more soup for Fly.

  “Here you go,” he said, having to feed the emaciated shifter, since he was still fairly weak.

  “Thanks,” Fly whispered, taking the first sip slowly. “That’s delicious.”

  “Yeah, a bit of meat can go a long way,” Noah drawled, winking as he ate some beans.

  “Oh, please, bear, could be any more crass?” Fly responded, rolling his eyes. “Were you born in a barn? You have absolutely no class.”

  Noah grunted, swallowing. “Yes, to the first question, yes, to the second, and absolutely not to the last,” he retorted. He laughed again, then began coughing. The coughs continued for too long as Noah struggled to contain them, and Leo rushed to his side, grabbed a pan beside the bed as Noah heaved into it, panting heavily. “Sorry,” he whispered, closing his eyes as he finished, flopping back onto the pillows. “I guess that means I’m back to just the IV,” he said wearily.

  “It means you need to take baby steps,” Leo said gently, wiping his mouth with a damp cloth, then removing the soiled pan. “You were nearly dead when they found you, and it’s only been two weeks. You’re lucky to still be alive.”

  “Lucky?” Noah said bitterly, his lip curling mockingly. “They should have left me there. I’m not worth the effort.”

  “Don’t be stupid, bear,” Fly said angrily. “You had no choice. They hurt you and they hurt your family. What else could you have done?”

  “Rest, Noah,” Leo said, pulling the covers up and adjusting the IV. “No use worrying about what you can’t change…We talked about that.”

  Noah sighed, his eyes closing, the energy seeming to drain out of him. “They should have left me there.”

  Chaz looked at the man worriedly, wondering what he meant.

  “He worked as a guard for Steadman,” Fly explained quietly. “We were all under his and the other bears’ control. They were at the cabin first. Steadman and the elder wolverines threatened members of their families if they didn’t make sure we did what they wanted. We all have certain skills at mining or chemistry or construction. We were taken to the cabin under false pretenses, and the bears were there to make sure we didn’t escape again, once we knew what the game was. Steadman had his wife and sons taken there, a couple of years ago. He seemed to want to keep them hidden from everyone. If the boys defied him, he did mean stuff to them. He seemed to enjoy hurting them, though they never did anything to deserve it.”

  The other bear shifter spoke up. “We have no idea wher
e our families are,” he said, finishing his soup but refusing any more food. “They may be dead for all we know. Steadman and his cronies were evil. We saw that when they brought their own sons to the cabin, not even giving them proper names, but numbers, as though they were not worthy.”

  “That’s Axel,” Fly piped up again. “The others are Louis, Doyle, Clifton, and Nate. We were never harmed by them, or the young wolverines, or the wolf shifters, either. Their refusal to hurt us or those boys in the next room made Steadman angry, and then he sent us into the mine.”

  “We had some of the townsfolk come and see us,” Axel said. “Ethan and Douglas, and four wolverines, Slug, Rage, Charm, and Lash. They told us what happened to them, for the same reasons, over eighteen months ago.”

  “Sheriff Pace is trying to locate your families, too,” Leo said. “Ryder has some connections, as well. The guys we captured at the cabin have been singing, so we should have some locations, soon.”

  “What about Steadman?” Chaz asked, hoping the bastard rotted in jail.

  “He’s getting special treatment,” Leo replied grimly.

  “I do hope so,” Fly retorted with a snarl. “The bastard had zero class and even less personality.”

  Chaz laughed, startled. “Didn’t you just say that about Noah?”

  Fly flushed, and shrugged, waving his hand airily. “I didn’t mean that,” he retorted, sending a wistful look to the bear shifter. “For a bear, he’s really not that bad.”

  “Right here, Fly,” Noah drawled sleepily, smiling a little. “I can hear you, loud and clear.”

  Fly grinned suddenly, his amber eyes sparkling with glee. “I know, pumpkin,” he said, and giggled infectiously.

  Fly finished off his soup and sighed, replete. The other patients looked to be sleeping, so Chaz and Jamie packed up the trolley, waving good-bye. “We’ll be back tomorrow, guys,” Jamie said.

  Fly lay back, nodding as his energy left him. “I’d like that. Bring more soup.” Then he fell asleep.

  Laughing, Chaz helped Jamie wheel the trolley out into the main hallway, so as not to disturb anyone. They met Mick at the front of the clinic, along with the rest of the crew and John and Murphy’s kids, who were getting their coats on, preparing to leave. The two shifters exited the building with the trolley. Sherman was outside with Kaden and Zack, talking up a storm.