Bear With Me

Evernight
Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2015 Vanessa
Devereaux

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-266-7

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Melissa
Hosack

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All
names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To all the readers of my
Kalispell Shifter series.
Thank you. You make it all worthwhile.

BEAR WITH ME

Kalispell
Shifters, 7

Vanessa
Devereaux

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

“There’s
really no need to take your clothes off.”

Bear
hoped Alice Davidson had detected the tinge of sarcasm in his last comment, but
alas she hadn’t because she was still stripping. He’d hazard a guess she hadn’t
even been listening to what he’d said. The saddest thing was she’d only come
into the clinic to get her finger checked out.

“Stop
right there,” he said. Bear guessed Alice, just like some of his other patients,
was about to take off her panties and flash him her pussy.

In
the last month, and since beginning work at the new hospital, he’d seen more of
those than he cared to remember. None of the patients had come to see him
regarding any gynecological problems which almost made him laugh…almost.

“Let’s
take a look at your finger,” said Bear, leading Alice over to the lighted
magnifying glass before she could remove yet another item of clothing.

“It
hurts like hell when I put my finger on the keyboards,” said Alice.

“I
can see what the problem is. You have a sliver. Hold still and I’ll have it out
in no time.”
 
Bear reached for the
tweezers and pulled it from her finger, lifting it up so she could see it.

“Must
have happened while I was chopping wood,” she said.

“Always a good idea to wear gloves.”

“Don’t
suppose you have time to give me a complete physical?”

Bear
hoped she didn’t see the grin on his face. Every female asked him that same
question at the end of their appointment.

“Sorry,
I don’t. I’m busy all day, but you could make an appointment.”

Bear
knew he was safe to say that because his schedule was booked solid for the next
two weeks. Hopefully by then Alice’s and all the other shifter’s libidos would
have finally calmed down.

“I
guess I’ll have to wait then.” She put her bra and blouse back on and quickly
buttoned it up.

“Nice
meeting you, Alice,” said Bear, extending his hand. She shook it but now
wouldn’t let it go.

“I’ll
make that appointment on the way out,” she said, finally releasing him from her
grip.

Bear
sat down and once she was out of earshot he burst out laughing. So many women
giving themselves freely to him, and not one he’d want to date, or even fuck
for that matter. Not that it would be appropriate to do that sort of thing with
a patient. The next woman that played hard to get, well he was going to ask her
out because she’d be a breath of fresh air.

A
knock on the door took his thoughts away from his current dilemma. He looked up
to see Charlotte Renner standing in the doorway. He’d almost forgotten she was
his next patient.

“Am
I too early, too late maybe?” she asked him.

“Just
in time,” said Bear. “Come on in.”

“Looks like we might have to recruit
another doctor for this department.
The waiting room’s full.” Charlotte
winked at him. “I think the next one shouldn’t be so gorgeous though.”

“Flattery
will get you everywhere. Okay, let’s help you up on the table and take a look
at how things are going.”

Charlotte
was by no means his first human patient. However, she’d heard about him through
the shifter grapevine and that he’d once been a Kalispell group member, but was
now one of the best OB/GYN doctors in Vancouver, Canada. She’d flown there last
year after she’d discovered she was pregnant and begged him to
come
work at their newly opened hospital where shifters
could be patients without raising suspicions. A place where he now worked alongside
her, two other doctors in training, four nurses, and a nurse in training, Mia,
who also doubled as his assistant and secretary.
 
Charlotte’s other reason for twisting his arm
to come join them was she needed someone to deliver her baby. The first human/shifter
hybrid as far as anyone knew.

He
held her hand as she struggled up on the examining table and laid flat on her
back.

“How
are you feeling?” he asked.

“I
pee every ten minutes now, especially at night which means I don’t get much
sleep. Neither does Aiden. I’m feeling like a beached whale, so I guess it
means I’m ready to give birth.”

“I
don’t think it will be too long now. You want to lift up your blouse for me?”

Charlotte
pulled it up as Bear eased her maternity pants downward. She’d been wise in
making sure a shifter took care of her and would deliver the baby, because
she’d developed some markings that were normal on shifters but not humans. A
dark ring, similar to a shifter’s mating circle, had appeared around her navel
during her second trimester. It was now almost completely joined which meant
she was very close to giving birth or at least a shifter would be. It was a
mark that would have definitely raised alarms had she been visiting a regular
MD.

 
Bear placed the stethoscope on her belly and
listened. He knew the sex of the baby but Charlotte and her husband, Aiden, a
fellow bear shifter, didn’t, so he always referred to it as Little One in their
presence. He also knew the name didn’t suit its size. Little One was going to
weigh at least nine pounds.

“Little
One’s heartbeat sounds great. By the feel of things, Little One has dropped
down into the birth channel. Although your due date isn’t for another ten days,
I’m guessing you won’t go that long.”

“Sort
of scary and exciting at the same time,” said Charlotte, sitting up.

“You
have everything ready?”

“Yep,
nursery’s finally finished, and my bag’s packed for my trip here. Aiden’s a
wreck, so be gentle with him on the big day.”

“I’ll
give him plenty to do during your labor.”

“Great
because I know he’ll be more nervous than me.”

He
held Charlotte’s arm while she swung her legs around and sat on the edge of the
table.

“Have
you found someone to date yet?” she asked him.

“Been
too busy, and to be honest I never thought I’d say this, but I don’t think I
could spend any more time in the presence of a female…present company
excepted.”

Charlotte
burst out laughing. “Maybe we need to match you up with a human. I’d like to
say we’re a lot less pushy, but alas that’s not true. For some of us when we
see a man we want we just go for it.”

He
helped her to her feet. Bear was so sick of females he didn’t even want to talk
about dating, so he politely changed the topic.
 
“I have everything covered here so as far as I’m concerned. Beginning today,
you’re now on maternity leave.”

“I
won’t know what to do with myself until the baby arrives.”

“You’re
going to be plenty busy when that happens so enjoy your free time now. Put your
feet up, watch TV, and relax.”

They
walked to the door and then outside where three women immediately looked up
from the magazines they’d been reading. They smiled at him. He didn’t want to
seem rude so he smiled back, but hoped they didn’t think it was him giving them
permission to strip as soon as they got into his office.

“If
you need me or think you’re in labor, even if you have a twinge, I’m here
twenty-four hours a day for you,” Bear told Charlotte. “I’m still grateful to
you for giving me the chance to work here among my own kind.”

“We’re
lucky to have you and I promise first signs of labor, you’ll be the first call
I make.”

Charlotte
headed out of the clinic so Bear turned back to his three upcoming patients. He
walked over to Mia who was working the reception desk today.

“
Who’s
next?” he asked her.

“I
am,” said a woman, jumping up before Mia could even get a word out.

“I
think you’ll find that I have the ten p.m. appointment,” said another.

“I
have the 9.45 one, so I beat both of you,” said the third one, getting up and
throwing her magazine down on the chair as if she was offering a challenge.

Mia
raised her eyebrows. So did
Bear
as the woman marched
straight into the office.

“Duty
calls,” he said under his breath while walking in behind her. He shut the door.

“So
what brings you here…”

Just
like Alice, she was half way undressed, her panties already sitting on the tops
of her feet. Bear raised his nose in the air. She was near the start of her
mating cycle, which meant she’d be extra playful and do anything to get him
interested in fucking her. He took a deep breath. Maybe he should think about
having a tranquilizer gun and net standing by.

“I
need you to check out my pussy,” she announced, getting up on the table and
putting her feet in the stir-ups without him even asking her to. “Something
doesn’t fit right and I need you to feel it and figure out why it aches so much.”
She ran her finger around its opening. “Hurry, doctor, because it needs
attention ASAP.”

 
Oh boy, this was going to be a hell of a long
day. After his clinic hours were done he’d go somewhere to get a cold beer and
relax for the evening. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a woman in sight.

****

Hannah
lit the candles on each of the tables. Heavy rain had set in early in that day
causing business at the Starlight Café to become slow. She didn’t expect many
dinner customers, but she still loved seeing all the lights flicker as she
dimmed the café’s main overhead lighting.

She
turned suddenly when she heard the keys of the piano all being pressed at what
sounded like the very same time. Sam was sitting on the stool striking them
with his fists.

“Honey, you going to play us something
tonight?”

He
didn’t respond but instead looked at her with the vacant glare she’d come to
expect. At least he was out of his room. That was a good thing, right? Maybe
the new place and scenery was a turning point for him.

Autism
the doctor had diagnosed. She’d read other parents’ stories of dealing with it,
the constant struggle to communicate, and for the child, difficulty
communicating his needs to others. Worse still, she was also a single parent
and sometimes wanted to scream when the weight of his condition bore down on
her shoulders. Many nights she’d cried herself to sleep thinking if she was
ever granted one wish it would be that for one day someone would come along and
lift this weight off her shoulders so she could breathe again, if only for
twenty-four hours.

She
jumped again upon hearing the bell over the door ring. Just thinking about the
situation with Sam made her edgy and nervous which she knew was stupid. She
turned toward the door where a very handsome guy stood on this chilly for April
evening. His hair looked damp from no doubt being out in the rain, which gave
it a slight wave that complimented his strong jawline and the high cheekbones.
He smiled at her, forcing her to do little else but return the gesture. The muscles
in her face had almost forgotten how to do that. It felt good. She walked over
to him, hoping he was actually a customer and not someone who’d gotten lost and
was asking for directions to Glacier National Park. Being on the north-west
side of Kalispell meant she often got people doing just that.

He
rubbed his hands together. “Thought I’d have someone else cook for me tonight,”
he said.

Hannah
grabbed a menu off the rack on the wall. “You feel like sitting near the window
or would you rather not be reminded of the weather outside?”

“I
love rain, love watching the water cascade down the panes,” he said.

She
loved that too. She’d often thought herself strange for sitting and observing
each trickle of rain. Sometimes as a child she’d counted how long it took for
one to travel from the top to the bottom of a window.

“How’s
this one,” she asked, pointing to the table by the large seamless window.

“Couldn’t have picked a better one
myself.
I’m Bear McWilliams.” He held out his hand to her and she slipped hers inside.
He had a firm handshake just as she’d expected of a man his size. Her hands
weren’t small, but they looked so tiny nestled in his.

“Hannah
Morrison, owner of the Starlight.”

Just
as she’d finished speaking, Sam chose that second to hit all the keys on the
piano again, causing Bear to turn around.

“That’s
my son, Sam.”

“Hi,
Sam, nice to meet you,” Bear called over to him.

“Sam, would you come here and introduce
yourself to Bear?”