Chandler: Bishop’s Snowy Leap – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance (Bishop's Snowy Leap Book 2)

by Kathi S. Barton

  Before he could ask what was going on, the women, Hailey, shifted from a very beautiful woman to one that looked as if she’d spent a fair amount of time underwater—like days. Standing up, slightly freaked out, he thought about all the things that his mind had blanked out when he’d broken into Sasha’s place. He looked at Sasha when Hailey went back to her pretty self.

  “The man that was beating you up, he had three bullet holes in his back. They weren’t bleeding that way, so he must have been shot in the front. He also had one in his forehead that took out the back of his head.” Chandler sat down again, his head spinning. “He was dead. She’s dead.”

  “I tried to tell you that. So now that you’ve figured it out, it must be true, correct?” He asked her who had hurt her in the past. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Sure, you do. Someone out there—a male, I’m thinking—belittled you a great deal, thinking that you, as a woman, didn’t have the smarts to work at whatever he was doing. I’m not him.” She said that she knew that. “Do you? I don’t think you do. I think—and this is probably just me—but I think you lump all men in the same category, and that is the end of it. As I said, I’m not him.”

  He stood up, and she looked panicky. His cat wanted to leap out and take care of whatever was going on. Then when she spoke, he looked around too. “Do you see them here? All of the people here in his part of the room with us?”

  “Yes. So?” She told him that they were all dead. “No. That doesn’t seem right. First of all, I’ve never seen the dead before. I’m not saying that you don’t. My brother, he said you can talk to them as well. But I don’t.”

  “You do now. I have a feeling that I know why, but you have to tell me for sure. Am I your mate, Chandler? I mean, I haven’t any idea why I think that other than you’ve picked up the same traits that I have. So can you please tell me if I’m right?” He leaned into her neck and smelled the fresh blood. Licking the wound there so that he could get rid of the smells, the wound sealed. That alone should have confirmed what she was asking him, but he took a deep breath of her and staggered back from the scent. “I am, aren’t I? I’m your mate, and now we can both see the dead.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on here.” She assured him that she didn’t either. “I didn’t smell you before. I mean, at your house. You smelled of blood. I’m sorry. Just give me a minute to make this right. Not that I’m not happy—I’m just dealing with the whole dead thing right now.”

  “Go ahead and take your time. There are only about twenty ghosts here that need help.” Snarky again, but he understood it now. “Do you need a nap too? Perhaps I can have them bring you in a bed to lie on. Also, I’m sure that with a hospital this large, they’d have you a binky should you need it.”

  “Look, you’ve had your entire life to deal with this. I’ve had ten minutes or less. Seeing the dead isn’t something that I ever thought about before.” When she started crying, he sat down on the bed with her. Pulling her into his arms, he finally pulled her onto his lap so that he could hold her better. “I’m so very sorry. I’m not mad at you—I’m not mad at anyone. But I am trying very hard to figure this out. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you while I was doing so. I’m very sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I hurt really badly, and I think I might have taken that out on you as well.” He said it was understandable. “The nurse over there said that you’re going to be asked to leave. Did you hear her?”

  “No. I was groveling to you.” He smiled, and the nurse was suddenly in front of him. She’d been hurt; it looked to him like she’d fallen down a flight or two of stairs. “I’m so sorry about your accident. I hope you didn’t suffer badly.”

  “I didn’t, young man. I tripped up on my own and would have lived except for the fact that I don’t usually take the stairs, so they didn’t know to look for me there. Trying to be healthy got me dead. But here is my advice to you both. Tell them that the two of you are married, or they’ll kick you out of here. You look as if you need each other.” Chandler said that he didn’t want to leave Sasha like this, then asked the nurse what she needed from him. “Nothing. I like being here. I help the younger nurses out when they seem like they’re struggling. Sometimes I even get the doctors to listen up. I’m all right here.”

  Nodding, Chandler wasn’t sure what he would have done to help her anyway. But he did keep holding onto Sasha. When a nurse came in, the dead nurse told him that she was real. He’d have to figure that out soon enough, he supposed. They were taking Sasha to get x-rays.

  “I’ll be here when you get back.” Just as he’d been told, they asked him what his relationship with Sasha was. “She’s my wife. Someone broke into our home while I was out and beat her up. I’ve called the cops. My brother, Sawyer, is going to make sure that they find the bastard. My name is Chandler Bishop. My brother is married to Raven.”

  “I know her and your brother. I’m sorry, Mr. Bishop. You can never be too sure about people nowadays. You can wait right here. I will tell you that they’ll more than likely admit her, just to make sure that her head wounds aren’t that bad. But I’ll fix it up so that you can stay with her.” Chandler thanked the nurse. “I’ll be right back with something for you to drink.”

  When he was alone, Chandler paced the small space. Not only did he have a mate now, but they shared the fact that they could see ghosts, something that he’d never thought he’d have to say. Chandler thought about letting his family know what was going on and that he had a mate, but decided that he needed more time to get used to the idea. A mate. Who helped ghosts. What is going to happen next? his mind screamed at him. The dead would rise up from the ground and kill them both.

  ~*~

  Katie didn’t know what to think about her daughter. It was bad enough that Sasha was a pain in the ass, but when Pearl started acting up too, she wanted to get up and knock some sense into their hard heads. Not that she could do any of that. Katie was stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life—or so everyone thought. Her kids were just stupid enough to believe everything she said. Or at least, the other two besides Sasha. Katie was sure that she knew something was up.

  “Mom, have you seen my car keys? I left them by the front door.” Katie told him that the last time she drove his car, she laid them right back so he’d not notice that she’d gone out. “Ha. That’s funny. Because you can’t drive. Much less walk. You’re a riot, Mom. A real funny person.”

  She knew that he believed she was funny when all along, she was being sarcastic. And truthful too. Katie had borrowed his car and had put the keys back where she’d gotten them. She’d gone to see if her daughter was home, and why she wasn’t picking up her phone when she called her. The keys were right there by the front door in the bowl that had been put there for that purpose. Her children were all morons.

  “I found them.” She didn’t even bother telling him good job since he’d found them where he knew they were supposed to be. “I’ll be late coming home tonight, Mom. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

  When she heard the front door not just click closed, but also the lock engage, she stood up from her confinement, then stretched. Sometimes the kids would hang around for days before she’d be able to do this. Katie wondered what they’d say if they could see her right now. Probably get mad at her. They were ungrateful shits.

  Dragging the chair with her, she walked to the bar in the living room. She wasn’t going to be caught unawares again. Once when she’d been up and around, one of them came home and nearly caught her with the chair across the room from her. She’d had to tell them that she had fallen, then gotten pissy with them when they asked her about the chair. The only one that didn’t believe her, and doubted the story of why she was where she had been, was Sasha. If she had been there when she’d been caught, Katie wouldn’t have been able to milk the system anymore, nor would she have been able to get the special
treatment that she had learned to love. Special parking for the car that was carting her around. Even the movie theaters gave special seating to people that had a wheelchair. There were all kinds of perks she’d gotten since she had had her accident.

  Not all the doctors believed her when she told them that she couldn’t walk. Those that didn’t had called it psychosomatic, or something like that. They thought there wasn’t anything wrong with her, and that she should easily be able to get up and walk around. She could, but not where anyone would see her.

  The doctors that did believe that she was hurt and unable to do for herself made sure that she had the nicest wheelchair, as well as all kinds of medications that she’d been selling on the Internet since she no longer needed them for herself. It was a very profitable side business for her.

  Katie looked at the envelope that she’d gotten today in the mail. She had been going out to get the mail since she’d taken to the chair, weeding out things that the kids didn’t need to know about. Like her money, for one thing. The other was insurance shit, like the one she’d gotten today.

  She had to go before a panel of doctors to determine if her doctor was doing enough for her. He was doing just fine, but they said in the letter that if she didn’t comply they’d cut her off and make her return all the money that they’d shelled out for things like the drugs, her chair, as well as the nurse that came in once a week to get her legs into shape. Katie was nervous about this.

  Sasha could call them. She’d done it before when Katie had told her that she’d been in too much pain to be traveling in a car. But since the time she’d nearly gotten caught walking, Sasha hadn’t done anything for her. She wouldn’t even allow her to bum a ride from her to the mall. Nothing.

  Katie didn’t know what was wrong with her daughter, but right now, she didn’t have time to deal with her. The insurance company was saying that she had two days to prepare herself for the visit. They weren’t going to allow her to even get out of the house for this—they were coming here to make sure their money was going to good use, she supposed. It was, Katie thought with a laugh, just not what they wanted it to go to.

  Hearing the lock in the front door had her sitting down and covering her legs up again. Pretending to be reaching for something had Pearl scrambling to get to her before she tipped over. She shouted and pushed her away from the cabinet.

  “Are you even supposed to be drinking while on some of those medications you’re on?” Katie, acting as pitiful as she could, asked her why it mattered anymore. “Because I want you around, Mom. Not attached to a breathing machine, that is the only thing keeping you alive. You can have a little but not a full glass of it. Okay?”

  “I am a grown woman, Pearl. I know my limits.” Pearl changed the subject, which Katie only just realized she was very good at and told her about the dress she’d gotten on sale today. “A dress? Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been in a dress and heels?”

  Last night, she told herself, and she had looked damned good in them too. But Pearl was going on about a wedding that she’d been invited to, and how she wanted to show off all the weight she’d lost. Katie never saw evidence of this supposed weight that she’d shed, but she kept insisting that it was falling off her in buckets.

  Looking at the tags that claimed the size of the dress, Katie wondered how on earth her heavy daughter was going to squeeze her body into a size four. Twenty-four, maybe, but a four? There wasn’t any way that she’d be able to get the sucker up over one leg. Opening her mouth to tell her that she noticed that Pearl was reading the letter from the insurance company.

  “When did this arrive? What do they mean that there is some suspicion about your claims? Mom, what’s going on?” Katie told her that the neighbor boy had brought the letter to her, as it had been put in the wrong box. “Okay, that makes sense. But why are they saying these things about you? About how they want a panel of their doctors to see you? Did you call them to ask what’s going on?”

  “I’ve not had an opportunity to yet. He only just brought it over a little while ago. You might have even passed him on his way back home.” She said that she hadn’t seen anyone. “I don’t know what to think about all this. That’s why I wanted a drink before I give them a call. Give it back to me, Pearl, and I’ll call them in the morning.”

  “I’ll do it.” Well, hell, that wouldn’t work, now would it? She told Pearl that she wanted to do it. “I’ll call them. And I’ll give them a piece of my mind while I’m at it, too. To send you something like this, accusing you of faking shit when you’re stuck here all day. I’ll call them and—”

  “Damn it, Pearl, give me the fucking letter.” She snatched it out of her hand when she was close enough to do so. Calming herself now that she had the numbers back so that Pearl wouldn’t be able to call, she looked at her. “I don’t get to do a great deal around here anymore. I mean, you guys get to go to work and out to weddings while I’m stuck here. The least I can do, that I want to do, is to call about my own health. I’m sorry that I yelled at you. But as you can imagine, I get all worked up and worry that they’ll tell someone that I’m fine, and then where will I be without all the meds and this chair?”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” She took the hug when it was offered to her. When Pearl stood up, she said she’d order them some dinner. “That way we’ll have more time to watch that show we’ve been watching together. All right?”

  “Yes, that would be wonderful. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Sasha, have you? I mean, she used to send me money all the time, remember? That sure was helpful in purchasing my meds, you know. But it seems like here lately, there hasn’t been anything in the mail from her.” Pearl asked if she could call her for her. “I’d like that. She and you, you used to be close, didn’t you?”

  “Not for a very long time. Sasha doesn’t have a great deal to do with many people, I guess. And I haven’t seen her name in the paper since she was accused of being a fraud. I knew that was going to catch up with her someday. Claiming to see the dead. Can you believe that?” Katie did believe it because that was one of the reasons that Sasha had moved out. Because someone dead had ratted Katie out about the drugs and shit that she was selling. That was another thing that had pissed Katie off. That people could tell on her about shit she’d sold to them that wasn’t up to par. “I’ll call her right after I make the call to get some pizza. Remind me to only have a couple of slices, Mom. I need to keep this weight from coming back.”

  Katie nearly laughed when she heard Pearl order three extra-large pizzas with extra meat and cheese. Pearl knew that her brother had gone out. So who did she think was going to be eating all that pizza? She would, Katie knew it. Pearl could devour a large pizza in ten minutes.

  She was still on the phone with her sister, or someone, when the delivery guy came. Handing him the money, she noticed that Pearl was giving him a twenty dollar tip. Before she could change that out for something smaller, like a buck, the kid had snatched it from Pearl and took off running. Fucker. That money would have gotten her some nice drugs for herself. The ones that she sold were no longer working to give her the high that she wanted. And Katie did like a little buzz for herself once in a while.

  While they ate their meal, Katie only having about half of one of the pizzas and Pearl working on the third one, they watched their show. Something was forever hunting someone or killing them. Katie only half paid attention to the shit going on. She mostly watched it for ideas. Like how to scam people.

  Of course, tonight, there was nothing about how to get out of a panel of doctors coming to see you. She needed to get this shit figured out before they arrived, or she really was going to be in a wheelchair. Her kids would make sure of it after all they’d done for her.

  “I left three messages with Sasha, Mom. She’s not called me back yet. I’ll make sure that my phone is close by me when I go up to bed. That way, if she does get around to calling
, I can hear it.” Katie asked her where she was. “She’s not at her apartment? Gee, Mom, I don’t know if she’s not there. How did you know about her not being home?”

  “I think your brother told me. Zack went to see her and said the place was empty.” She’d have to remember to tell Zach that Pearl told her that Sasha wasn’t home. That way, she’d not get her story too messed up. “When you talk to her, ask her please to come and talk to me. I miss her. Even though she is a crackpot, I miss her.”

  Yeah, Katie thought, like she missed having her ex-husband around. He was as dull as her daughter was, forever going on about ghosts and the dead. Shivering when it felt like something touched her, Katie looked around. Getting spooked about supposed ghosts did that to her sometimes.

  Chapter 3

  Chandler could feel her anxiety now. He thought about finding out what was going on but remembered that he’d taken her blood so he should be able to contact her that way. Gently touching her mind with his, he was glad that she didn’t yell at him when he asked her if she was all right.

  They tell you to relax and not to move while you’re in one of these things. Then the noise is so loud that it hurts my ears. Also, the moment someone tells you not to move, your nose itches or your fingers want to twitch. There is also a ghost in here that is making weird faces at me. He told her that they could talk about something if that would help. Like what? You telling me that you can’t see ghosts? Or would you like to go down the route of you seeing them as well as I do?

  How about just a tit for tat about each other? I’m going to college to become a veterinarian. That’s been my dream since I was a child. She said that she’d wanted to take pictures—of wildlife. That sounds wonderful. To be out in the wild and being able to bring back memories as well as making them for others.