Bearly Healed: Pacific Northwest Bears: (Shifter Romance) (7 page)

T
he next day
Cassie woke up feeling much more human than she had in a long time. She made it into the bathroom to brush her teeth and took in her hair. It was a disaster. Deciding the least she could do right now was a shower, she opened the door to ask Connie for help but then closed it.

She needed to figure this stuff out on her own. She pulled back the lavender shower curtain and looked down to see a bath chair had been installed. Dax thought of everything.

Grabbing the handheld nozzle, she dropped it into the tub and turned on the water. Contemplating her next move, she sat down on the bend and left her crutches propped against the wall. She gently removed her braces then twisted and contorted to get her clothes off.

She took a moment to pull the curtain closed and looked at her ankle. It was almost normal. The bruising and swelling were gone. But her ankle which was normally thin was now skeletal. She gave her toes an experimental wiggle. Those worked fine. She then tried to move her foot out the flexed position it spent most of the day in.

It was stiff but only hurt a little. She bent her foot until it was on the floor of the tub, and then pulled it back up. That still hurt.

Her other leg was not skinny; her knee was swollen. The PT said it was normal for those types of injuries to spontaneously swell. She could bend her knee a little. The hard part was putting her weight on it and trusting it. The PT said he wanted to move her out of her straight brace to one that moved. It was still a scary idea.

Cassie leaned over and grabbed the sprayer. Covering herself with the hot water, she let her head fall forward. The heat poured over her loosening her muscles. She sat, thinking back over her conversation with Cash last night. It was nice to talk to someone where she wasn’t worried what they were thinking about how she looked.

His voice had been deep; it had a bass to it that made the hairs on her arms stand up. She knew he was tall and had the same coloring as the rest of the Rochon men. Based on Effie’s description that is. He didn’t sound like he thought she was silly. Most people did, or they thought she was a bitch. Cass always preferred them thinking she was a bitch. It was better armor.

But he seemed to find her amusing. That was okay; she’d take that. The thought of seeing him had her nerves jangling. She was excited to meet him but scared. It was very overwhelming for her. She’d been numb for so long, not really being happy or sad. Just nothing. Now she was…something.

Grabbing the shampoo bottle, she squeezed out some soap and worked it into a lather. She dragged her nails over her scalp enjoying the feeling. She continued washing up and rinsing off. Cassie took a few more minutes after she was done to soak again. When she figured she’d abused the Rochon’s water heater enough, she turned off the water. Reaching around the shower curtain, she pulled a towel off the rack.

She had just started to dry herself off when the fatigue hit.

“Fucking wimp,” she ground out. This was not acceptable. Being weak from a shower was not who Cassie Hackett was. Cassie was a kickass, ball busting, rocker chick.

Luckily, she was rescued by a tapping on the door. “Sweetie? Do you need any help?” It was Connie. She’d been waiting for the sound of the shower to turn off.

“Yeah, please,” Cass called out.

The door opened, and Connie slipped in. “I was waiting for you to call me, but then I heard the shower start. I hope you don’t mind, but I kind of hovered around the door in case you needed me. Or I heard some terrible crash or swearing,” she finished.

“Thank you. I got this far alone, but now I’m wiped,” she explained.

“Of course, but we’ll get you strong again. Now how can I help?” Connie said grabbing an extra towel to dab at her hair.

“Well, I need to dry off and get dressed before I can get my braces back on. I forgot clothes, though, so I’m not sure what I would have done on crutches trying to hold up a towel,” Cassie said ruefully.

“Probably given my poor husband a shock, that’s for sure,” Connie tittered.

Cassie laughed. She could imagine the look on Edward’s face if she flashed him a little ass.

Connie helped Cassie dry off. She ran into her room and got her some stretch pants and a faded Ramones t-shirt. It was one of Cassie’s small shirts, but she didn’t feel like fighting with one of the baggy ones she’d stolen from Dax.

Connie also brought in a chair for Cass to sit on. She let Connie dry her hair. As the brush pulled through her short hair, she let her eyes drift shut. Cass couldn’t remember the last time someone dried and combed her hair. There were no childhood memories of it. She did remember the school sending notes home about her hair being dirty and unkempt. Her mother’s way of fixing it was to cut all her hair off. She had shown up to school with uneven, ragged hair all over her head. Her teacher took pity on her and kept her after recess to even out the mess as best she could.

Cassie had never let her hair get long after that. She was afraid to. Even as an adult, she was very aware of how she looked. Better to be outlandish than for anyone to think that the way you look is because you can’t keep clean.

“How about some mousse?” Connie asked quietly.

Cass dragged her eyes open and saw her hair was shiny blonde and resting softly against her head. Without her normal crazy dye and hair pomade, her hair was almost cut in a boy style.

“No, not now. It feels good like this,” she said sleepily.

“Okay then, how about instead of breakfast in bed, we have breakfast on the couch?” Connie suggested.

“I think I can handle that today. Sorry I’ve been such a recluse,” she said, reaching for her crutches.

“You were just settling in, dear. But what was the big change from yesterday?”

“Cash,” Cassie said.

Connie looked at her in surprise, her eyes meeting hers in the mirror. “Cash?”

Cassie didn’t see any reason to not tell her, so she did. “Yeah, he snuck outside last night and brought me cookies to my window,” Cassie said this with a smile as she remembered touching his big warm hands when she took the preferred cookies.

“Why that naughty little…” Connie said with no anger in her voice.

“Yeah, he was nice. Talked to me. Promised to bring me fast food burritos if I reentered the world,” she said mockingly.

“Well, if that was all it was going to take, we would have had Taco Tuesday the first night you got here!” Connie exclaimed.

Cassie gave a small laugh. “Well, having someone knock at your window in the dark takes you off guard. I don’t know; he has a way of talking that made me forget for a while.”

“Forget what, dear?” Connie asked gently, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

Meeting her eyes in the mirror again, she answered, “Everything.”

Connie’s heart broke a little at that. “Well, I can’t lie, I’m seriously partial to my boys. Cash is just as good as one of my sons. That boy is as straight and true as they come. Even better, he never says anything he doesn’t mean. His heart is made of solid gold.”

“Hmm, he’s pricey then,” Cassie remarked.

“No…” Connie pondered. “He’s that kinda of valuable that only can be measured by those that have the privilege of knowing him. If he wanted to be friends with you, then honey you couldn’t get a better one. Effie is a great girlfriend, but it never hurts to have a big strong man on your side too.”

Cassie thought about that. She’d never had a guy friend before. Boyfriends sure. Lovers even. Oh who was she kidding, she’d never had a lover in her life. Fuck buddies yes, not lovers.

“I think I’m ready to hobble into the light,” Cassie declared.

Connie helped her up, and she made it to the couch. It was a huge oversized worn brown leather sofa. The cushions so wide, she could have easily used it as a bed. While she settled in, Edward came out of her bedroom with an armful of pillows.

“Gonna make sure you’re so comfy that you won’t want to abandon us today. After so many years, Connie and I don’t have one thing to talk about anymore,” he groused. Edward started arranging pillows around Cassie and under her legs.

“Hah, you just don’t like my topics of conversation. Usually, I’m bitching at him,” Connie said to Cass with a wink.

Edward gave a snort. “Fucking true.”

Cassie laughed at the two. She couldn’t imagine being together as long as they had and still getting along. She’d never had visits with her grandparents where she baked cookies and they read her stories and told her about the good old days. The Rochon babies were lucky.

Connie came over once Cassie was settled and handed her a plate full of fluffy pancakes and a big glass of orange juice. “You don’t have to eat it all, but I want to see that juice glass empty young lady. You need the vitamins.”

“Yes ma’am,” Cassie said, her eyes big on the plate of enormous pancakes. There were three, and they were golden fluffy and drenched in syrup. They were starting to get to know her, she mused.

Tucking into her food, she enjoyed watching them putter around the kitchen. Edward would give his wife’s butt a tap as he walked by, or Connie would just tip her head to the side to get a kiss on the cheek or better on her neck that made her squeal. When Edward’s back was turned, Connie would slide glances at him, a twinkle in her eye.

They were still in love, Cassie realized with astonishment. Like truly, madly, deeply, in love. Amazing.

Cass finished her breakfast, well not finished it exactly. She’d only made a dent about halfway into the plate. This would have been an impressive fete for even a sumo wrestler, there had been so much food piled on it. She was still sipping her juice when Edward retrieved her plate.

Leaning back against the pillows, she felt her eyes drift closed then it was quiet. A little while later she cracked an eye open and saw someone had put a blanket over her. Her meds were on the table by her orange juice. She took stock of her pain level and decided it was manageable. She fell back into a comfy slumber.

S
he slowly became
aware of quiet voices. Cassie peeled her eyes open and saw the back of someone’s head talking to Connie. She figured they were trying to be quiet since they thought she was asleep.

Tossing off the blanket, she drew their attention. “I’m up, I’m up,” she called out.

The pretty woman talking to Connie whipped around, and Cassie sucked in a breath at the amazing golden eyes the woman had. She’d been just as struck by Kenzi Rochon’s eyes the first time they met. They weren’t brown; they were almost a golden yellow. Shockingly beautiful.

“Sorry, did we wake you?” the beautiful woman asked. Cassie shook her head, but she was still a little tongue-tied. The woman was a golden tan with long blond hair, not typical in Washington unless you frequented a tanning salon.

“No, my cat naps are pretty short now,” Cassie replied. But she didn’t miss the lip smirk that Kenzi sent her way at the word cat nap. Cass realized what she said and remembered she was supposed to be secret squirrel about shifters. Huh, wonder if there are weresquirrels, she thought.

“Well, I’m glad you are up. I brought you a present,” Kenzi said clapping her hands. Cassie took in her tight patterned leggings that were tucked into ridiculously furry trimmed boots. She had on a long sleeve tunic that came down to her butt and a perfectly layered scarf around her neck. She looked like she’d just stepped out of an LL Bean catalog. It was exactly what someone from California would think Washingtonians would wear in the winter.

“Oh, I like presents,” Cassie said warmly. Maneuvering off the couch, she grabbed for her crutches. “Little girls room first, if you don’t mind.”

“We’ll be waiting for you,” Connie called. “You hungry?” She already had her head in the fridge.

“No thanks, still digesting fourteen pounds of pancakes,” Cassie called back before she shut the door. She freshened up a bit and looked at her complexion. Porcelain white skin, which sure some people thought was all the rage. But on her it made her look sick. She wasn’t sick. She was temporarily injured. She needed to start getting that into her head.

Nothing that was wrong with her that wouldn’t heal. This was not a permanent state of being for her. Not like a chronic illness that she had to battle to overcome. She just needed to get better from this. First things first, she reached for her bathroom bag and dug through it finding her make-up bag.

Dumping it out onto the counter, she made quick work of dusting on some mineral powder, giving herself a quick cat eye liner on both of her lids, (she’d become a ninja level expert at them) and swiped on some mascara.

Looking at herself again she didn’t look like the old Cassie, but she also didn’t look like she was on death’s door anymore.

Cleaning up her mess, she opened the door and made it back to the couch in one piece.

“My, don’t you look pretty, dear,” Connie said. Her eyes noting the change immediately.

“Yes, well my skin was getting too much fresh air. Didn’t want it to forget what a pound of make-up felt like. Might start getting all uppity and liking the natural look, which is so not me,” Cassie stated.

“Then I brought the perfect gift,” Kenzi said, sitting next to Cassie once she’d fallen back onto the couch. Kenzi dropped a cute shiny bag on her lap with a well-known cosmetics store name on the front.

Peering inside, Cassie saw about a half dozen bottles of dye along with a full kit of bleaching products.

Looking up from the bag, she saw Kenzi had a huge grin on her face. “You look beautiful with the blonde hair, but it’s just not Cassie. You know? So I brought you a number of options. There is fire engine red, indigo blue, purple haze, magenta, and green with envy. I thought if you weren’t ready for a full color, maybe you’ll let me play stylist and just do the tips? Cheer you up a bit?” Kenzi asked hopefully.

Yesterday, Cassie wouldn’t have cared if her hair turned gray and fell out. Today…today it seemed like a good idea to pull a little of the old Cassie back.

“I like that idea. I was orange last time, so I don’t think I want to do that again. How about we re-bleach my hair, then do pink tips?” Cassie said, starting to get excited.

“Yeah!” Kenzi said, clapping her hands. “Wanna get started?”

Cassie nodded, reaching for her crutches.

“I’ll get the chair,” Connie said, grabbing the chair she’d used to blow dry her hair earlier. Luckily, the bathroom was big enough that they could all comfortably squeeze in. Connie opened the window in preparation for the extreme odor of the hair dye.

The three woman chatted as Kenzi went to work on the dye. Within an hour, Cassie’s blonde hair was back to an almost white shade. They started with the magenta on the tips, checking the color frequently. They’d all agreed a lighter shade of pink was a good start; the fluorescent pink could come later.

Cassie found herself giggling and commenting on the stories Kenzi and Connie were telling about the boys and the crazy messes they would get into. Cassie couldn’t imagine being so close to every family member like the Rochons were.

Once they were done, Cassie took in her appearance. Her hair was spiky all over her head, kinda haphazard that can only come from a lot of work to look casual. The tips were a soft pink, and the light hair made her black kohl’d eyes pop. She almost looked pretty again. Minus the scar. She’d forgotten about it for a while as she was having fun. Now her eyes were drawn to it again.

Connie caught Cass’s gaze as her eyes hit it and immediately went into action. “All right, it’s way past lunch time. You girls start cleaning up, and I’ll get some food on,” she said handing Cassie her crutches.

The change in the room’s energy happened so fast that Cassie grabbed for the crutches that were almost thrown at her and just made it to her feet as the chair that she was sitting on was whisked away.

“Woman is a master,” Kenzi mumbled.

“Huh?” Cassie asked, still trying to keep up.

“Nothing, let’s get your pretty butt back somewhere comfy,” Kenzi declared.

Cassie made it to the couch and realized she wasn’t as tired as she’d been before. Granted she did take a nap after breakfast. Still her outlook was at least fifteen percent brighter today. Kenzi was fun and helping her get a little of herself back with the hair dye endeared her to Cass forever.

“Here you go, leftover chicken and macaroni and cheese. Is that okay?” Connie asked bringing her a bowl. Connie had put the noodles on the bottom and shredded the chicken over the top. Yum.

“Uh, could I bug you for some ketchup?” Cass asked.

“Ketchup?” Connie said looking seriously confused.

“Sure, don’t you eat your mac-n-cheese with ketchup?” Cassie asked. Seriously, were these people raised in a barn? Mac-n-cheese with ketchup was like crack. Once you go ketchup, you don’t go back.

“That’s disgusting, but I like you, so I’ll bring you some,” Connie said this with a sniff, which made Kenzi burst out laughing.

“No joke, that’s nasty,” Kenzi said as she watched Cassie squirt ketchup over her bowl after Connie passed her the bottle with a look of disgust.

“Try it. I dare you,” Cass said, giving her eyebrows a wiggle.

Kenzi gave a delicate noise in her throat that said haughtily, “I grew up with three brothers, I know better than to accept dares.”

“Smart girl,” Connie said, taking a seat on Edward’s recliner.

Noticing he was missing from their morning fun, Cassie asked, “Where is Edward? Did we scare him off?”

“Oh, he had to head out. Something up with the site they are working on. Tanner and Cash are already out there, and Edward picked up Conner on his way out. I don’t bother asking anymore about what goes on up there. It’s all wood this and timber that,” Connie said, waving an elegant hand in the air.

At the mention of Cash’s name, Cassie perked up. She wondered if he was going to show up today. She wanted to talk to him again but was scared at seeing him. Anticipation was outweighing the nervousness currently. But that could always change.

“Hope everything is okay,” Cass offered.

“It will be fine; it always is. They get so dramatic about things. It’s not like they haven’t been doing this stuff for years,” Connie said, continuing to eat her lunch.

The girls chatted and laughed until Cassie couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore and was fighting her yawns. “I’m sorry to be such a party pooper.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you into your room in case those noisy boys come back,” Connie suggested.

“Sounds like a plan, Stan,” Cassie said around a yawn.

The women helped Cass to her room and got her settled in. Before Kenzi could leave, Cass grabbed her hand.

Kenzi looked down at her. “Thanks for today, really,” Cassie said to her.

Kenzi gave her hand a squeeze then left the room. Cassie was asleep in minutes.