Bear With Me (5 page)

She
smiled remembering that Sam had also been around the same length and weight.
He’d been beautiful too, still was in fact.

“You
like your job?” Hannah asked him.

He
held her hand, looking straight into her eyes. “I love it.
Bringing
new life into the world.
Seeing joy in people’s faces
when they see their babies for the first time.”

Yeah,
she remembered when she’d first set eyes on Sam. She couldn’t believe she’d
created this little person that would rely on her for everything.
 
She’d been frightened and excited at the same
time.

“You
ever think about having any of your own?” she asked him.

“I
never used to but now I’m getting older it’s entering my mind more with each
baby I deliver. Guess I don’t want to leave it too late. You had to be young
when you had Sam.”

Too young.

“Twenty-one.”

He
turned her hand over and felt along the palm and then down the thumb and back.
“Anything hurt?” he asked.

She
shook her head.

“I’m
going to bind it up. Keep it like that overnight. It will give it time to rest
and do some healing.” He pulled out a bandage and began wrapping it around her
hand.

“So
Sam’s dad and you are divorced?”

She
shook her head.
“Never married him.
In fact, he
doesn’t even know about him.”

She
was embarrassed to tell him more but guessed she’d come this far.

“We
were only together one night and…”

“
It’s
okay, happens to a lot of people.”

He
held her hand and suddenly she didn’t feel shame about what had happened to
her. She’d told him that much but didn’t want to go into detail about the guy
she’d had the one night stand with. He’d been like Bear, a sexy hunk of a guy
and she’d not been able to resist his charm or say no when he suggested they
get a room at a nearby motel. She’s always loved sex and he’d known how to
seduce and thrill a female.

Bear
rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and leaned over toward her almost as
if he was going to kiss her. She was going to tell him she wasn’t that one
night stand girl any more. In fact, she didn’t do sex any more but there had
been no mention of that, not even the slightest hint on his part, so he’d
probably be insulted to think she assumed he was really here for sex and
nothing more.

Bear
leaned in some more, so close she could feel his breath on her lips.

“Momma.”

It
was Sam standing in the kitchen.

“Hi,
Sam,” said Bear, looking like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sam
walked toward Bear and for a minute Hannah thought he was going to say hi back
but instead he zeroed in on her hand. He touched the bandage.

“Sorry,
sorry.” Sam leaned over and kissed her hand.

She
looked at Bear. Had he realized she’d lied to him about how she’d hurt her
hand? Had he caught on that
her own
child was
responsible for the injury?

“Did
we wake you?” Hannah asked Sam.

He
nodded.

“We’re
sorry about that, Sam,” said Bear.

“You
want Momma to read you a story to help you back to sleep again?”

“Why
don’t I read you a story?” asked Bear. “That’s if it’s okay with your mom?” He
looked at Hannah.

“If you’re sure?
I mean you must
be eager to get home and relax,” she said.

“I’ve
got plenty of time to do that.”

Sam
turned and left, but then turned around looked back, not saying anything but
starting at Bear and blinking rapidly.

“Okay,
I’m coming,” said Bear.

Bear
stood and followed Sam. Hannah was going to leave them to do their own thing,
but she walked behind Bear and then peeked in to see Sam lying in bed with Bear
sitting on the end of it with a book balanced on his lap.

Sam’s
eyelids gradually fluttered and then he was fast asleep again. Bear continued
reading to the end of the chapter and then got up put the book back on the
shelf and tiptoed out of the room.

“Let’s
go downstairs so we don’t wake him,” he whispered.

Bear
held her arm and the two of them made their way down to the café.

“Sam
did that to your hand didn’t he?” asked Bear.

“Yes,
but he didn’t mean it. He never does.”

Shit
that came out before she could censor herself. She didn’t want anyone to know
this happened at least a couple of times a month.

“When
he gets older and bigger, he could inflict serious injury on you. I’d like to look
into some treatment centers for him.”

“I’m
not having him locked away.”

“I’m
not suggesting that, but there are doctors and places that can help.”

“I’ve
tried that, but it costs money and all they tell me is they can’t do anything.”

He
put his hand on her arm. ‘Trust me will you, because I’m going to help both of
you.”

Chapter Seven

Bear
couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned for thirty minutes, finally settling on
his left side with both his hands perched under the side of his head.
 
It had to be as hard as hell for Hannah and
his heart had gone out to her tonight. She was trying to run a business, make a
living, and look after a special needs child without the help of a husband or
even a boyfriend for that matter.

She
was a strong woman. He could tell that, and a good mother. She hadn’t wanted to
admit that her son had hurt her hand.
 
She had to let someone help her and he wanted to be that person and not
just because he found her attractive and wanted to ask her out on a date.
 
The doctor in him had taken an oath to help
and heal.

Flipping
over onto his back again, he looked up at the ceiling. Due to tonight’s full
moon shining through the window where the drapes were on the thin side, he was
able to see the scalloped pattern.

Sam
needed help and it wasn’t Hannah’s fault that he wasn’t getting the sort of
treatment he needed. Bear had seen it happen to parents too many times. This
one was almost personal because he’d taken a liking to Sam the first time he’d
seen him. Something about that kid, something in his eyes drew Bear into the
boy’s soul, but he couldn’t explain why.

Knowing
it would be impossible to get any sleep now he threw back the covers and got
out of bed. He strolled to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, and took out a
carton of milk. He poured himself a glassful of the white liquid that he hoped
would make him sleepy very soon. He downed about a quarter of the glass before
heading into his home office to turn on his laptop. He sat in the chair,
drawing up one leg while going to the site of a clinic he knew in Vancouver.
Dr. Whitehall headed it and he and Bear had met a few years ago.

Bear
jotted down his e-mail and hit the icon button at the top of the screen.

Dear Dr.
Whitehall,

Not sure if you
remember me, but we met at a medical conference in Surrey in 2013. I’m hoping
you can help me as I’ve recently become acquainted with a seven year old boy
(not a patient) who’s been diagnosed with autism but instinct tells me it’s
something else. I’m wondering if we can talk and then perhaps I can bring the
boy to meet with you for a proper diagnosis.

Look forward to
hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bear
McWilliams.

Bear
hit the send button, picked up his glass, and downed the rest of the milk
before leaning back on the chair. Hopefully Whitehall would respond to it
tomorrow, and they could get the ball rolling to helping out Sam and Hannah. It
was a first step and sometimes that’s all it needed.

****

Bear
held Ross as Tina and Mickey got her bag packed and ready to head home. Now
that the shifters had a place of their own mothers and babies could spend the
night in the hospital as precautionary measure. However, Tina and Ross were
doing okay and Bear had given them the go ahead to go home.

“You
mind if I take Ross to show Emily
Burgrees
? She’s
pregnant and having a hard time with morning sickness. I thought seeing this
cute little baby might cheer her up,” said Bear.

“Emily’s
pregnant, really? I’m so excited for her and Trent. And sure go ahead. We’ll be
waiting by the exit door,” said Tina.

Bear
headed out of the room, cradling Ross and feeling his warm body snuggle next to
his chest. He walked across the hallway and tapped on Emily’s door. She’d had
another bad bout of sickness this morning. Bear had upped her meds and told her
to stay in hospital another few days so he could monitor her. Trent had to head
to work so he knew a visitor would cheer her up.

“Hi,
Emily, you want to meet someone?”

She
smiled when she saw the baby. “Absolutely, and who do we have here?”

“This
is Ross and he’s almost a day old.”

Bear
laid him in Emily’s arms.

“Hi,
Ross, welcome to the world,” she said. “He’s beautiful.”

“The
sickness might seem terrible, but look what you get for it,” said Bear.

“That
is very true.”

Ross
made a gurgling sound that made Emily laugh.

“We
can’t stay too long because Tina and Mickey are waiting to take him home.”

Emily
handed him the baby. “That’s so exciting for them.”

“Anything
you need?” asked Bear, cradling Ross in his arms again.

“Nope,
I’m feeling better already, and my dad said he’d stop by and visit with me this
afternoon. He’s very excited about being a granddad.”

“Dr.
McWilliams, there’s a call for you from a Dr. Whitehall. Shall I tell him
you’ll call him back?” asked Mia, peeking in the room.

“Nope,
I’ll be right with him and could you take the baby to Tina for me?”

****

Hannah’s
hand didn’t throb anymore. She wasn’t sure if it was the impact of hitting the
wall finally wearing off or Bear’s expert care. She ran her hand over the
bandage he’d put on it. So
gentle,
and his touch was so
soft. Not like some doctors she’d known in the past that gave you a shot like
they were throwing a dart, and didn’t have time to hear about your ailments.

Bear
had phoned to say he’d be by around noon to pick her and Sam up to go fishing.
She’d debated about letting him take Sam by himself but wasn’t sure how her son
would act alone with someone he’d only met a few times. The two college
students she’d hired had arrived so everything at the café was under control,
which meant one less thing to worry about.

“Sam,
you want to get ready because Bear will be here very soon?”

“Fish,”
said Sam who still had his PJs on and had been watching cartoons all morning.
Well at least she thought that’s what he did. Sometimes he just sat looking at
the screen, blinking rapidly for what seemed like hours on end.

“Can
you go and put on the shorts and t-shirt I’ve left on your bed for you?”

He
walked by her. He was actually getting better at dressing himself.

Now
what would she wear? Probably jeans and a t-shirt would be a good pick for her
too.

She
headed to her room and pulled out the navy blue shorts and the white t-shirt
with the blue trim. She stripped off her jeans and blouse and replaced them
with the shorts combo.

Hearing
someone pulling up at the back of the building, she glanced outside and saw
Bear getting out of a truck. He too wore shorts and a t-shirt today. Both
pulled across this body, showing off his muscles…the bulge in the front of the
shorts.

Maybe
she
should
let Sam go
on his own
. Bear was far too tempting. She could let her
guard down and the next thing she’d know they be doing the wild thing. She’d
promised never to be that girl again, but this guy was like the most luscious
bar of chocolate or the decadent cake with whipped cream. She could only be
good for so long and that’s what scared her.

Bear
had disappeared out of sight and soon she heard someone knocking on the
apartment door and guessed it was him. She hurried along to Sam’s room where he
was sitting just looking at his shoes in front of his feet.

“Stay
there while I go see Bear and I’ll be back to help you, okay?”

She
raced down the stairs, opening the door and almost ran straight into Bear’s
chest. She put her hands up to stop herself. Muscles pushed back against her
palm. She envisioned herself running her hands over his bare skin, making her
way down over his navel and under the belt on his pants.
Stop it.

“You
guys ready?”

His
question stopped her mind from continuing on and just in time before she got
completely lost in her fantasy.

“I’m
just going to help Sam put on his shoes and we’re all set.”

“Great.
I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

“You
need us to bring anything, food, drink, anything?”

“Got
everything we need.”

She
turned and went back up the stairs to find Sam had one sneaker already on.

“Fish
with Bear,” he said.

“Yep,
that’s what we’re doing. Are you excited about it?” she asked him. She knelt in
front of him and pushed his right foot down into the sneaker.

“I
go fishing with Bear,” he said again.

“Okay,
you’re all set so let’s hurry because Bear’s waiting for us.”

She
grabbed their jackets off the peg by the door just in case the sun went in and
it got cold by the water. She locked the door and before she could say
anything, Sam was running toward Bear’s truck.

“Hi,
buddy. Wow, you look like you’re dressed to fish.”

“Let’s
go, hurry,” said Sam, pulling on Bear’s arm.

Hannah
smiled as she approached Bear. She’d never seen her son so animated before.
This was a good thing.
A very good thing.

“Okay,
in you get,” said Bear, opening the back of the truck for Sam. “Can you find
the seatbelt?”

Bear
reached in and secured in over Sam’s lap and then held the passenger door open
for Hannah, who climbed up and put her seat belt on.

Bear
walked to the driver’s side of the truck, jumped up, and soon they were heading
out on the road.

“Just to explain the rules.
The person who
catches the fish doesn’t have to clean or cook it. And I should warn both of
you that I’m very good at fishing,” he said.

“Oh
no, that’s doesn’t sound too promising for us. What do you think, Sam? You
think we’d know how to clean a fish?” Hannah turned around to look at Sam.

“Fishing
with Bear, Fishing with Bear, Fishing with Bear…”

Hannah
closed her eyes, after the twentieth time her son had said those three words
she was pretty sure Bear would start thinking he was crazy for getting himself
involved.

“Sam,
that’s enough of that sentence,” said Hannah.

 
Bear’s hand quickly went on top of hers. “
It’s
okay, Hannah, no problem at all.
 
It probably makes him feel safe,” he
whispered.

After
another five of the fishing with Bear mantras, Sam finally stopped and when
Hannah looked around again he seemed fixated on the view outside the window.
Flathead Lake.
He did his rapid blinking thing again.

“Home,”
he said.
“Water.”
He pointed out of the window.

“Yep,
lots of water and we’ll be arriving at our fishing spot any minute,” said Bear.

Bear
turned the truck to the right and they traveled down a dirt track until they
came to a parking area and a spot close to the lake.

“I
happen to think this is the perfect place for some fishing,” said Bear. “You
guys
what to help me get the stuff out of the back? Sam
maybe you can carry our picnic lunch.”

“Food
and fishing with Bear,” said Sam.

Both
she and Sam stood by the truck as Bear handed Sam an insulated tote, and her, a
tackle box while he grabbed three fishing rods. He obviously intended for her
to fish too.

“Let’s
head over that way, because there’s a nice little cove-like area should the
wind start to pick up off the lake,” said Bear, pointing to the left.

Just
as a precaution, Hannah took hold of Sam’s hand as they neared the edge of the
lake.

She
knew he liked water. She’d never taught him how to swim or taken him for lessons
so she wasn’t sure if he’d try to get into the water or be too scared of it.

Bear
set everything down and opened up the tote to reveal a huge blanket. He put it
on the ground.

“Let’s
eat first shall we?” he asked.

“Sounds
good to me,” said Hannah.

Sam
sat in between the two of them as Bear pulled out boxes of sandwiches.

“These
are tuna salad, these are ham, and the ones in this container are cheese.”

“Did
you make
these
yourself?” Hannah asked him. They all
looked so delicious.

“Well,
I had some help from Mia, my assistant. Sandwiches are her specialty. And she
also threw in some bags of chips and soda.”

He
set the rest of the items in front of them.

Hannah
reached for the lemon lime soda and a tuna salad sandwich. Sam’s hand hovered
over all three containers, passing back and forth.

“How about a cheese sandwich?
You like cheese
a lot,” said Hannah. She knew he’d spend more time choosing than he would
eating
if she didn’t make a quick decision for him.

He
nodded and took it from her.