Bear With Me (6 page)

“So
how many fish you think we’ll catch for supper?” asked Bear.

Sam
held up four fingers.

“Four,
wow, your mom will be able to serve them in the café.”

“Fishing
with Bear,” said Sam.

Hannah
hoped he wasn’t going to start that again.

“So
you fish here often?” Hannah asked Bear.

“Only done it a couple of times since I
moved here.”

“It’s
really beautiful.”

“Sure
is. How are the sandwiches?”’

“They’re
great. Please thank Mia.”

“I’ll
do that. So Sam do you think you’re ready to do some fishing?”

****

“Fish, fish, fish.”

Bear
smiled as he sat beside Sam. They hadn’t caught one yet, but with Sam’s
chanting he knew the fish would be biting soon.

He
glanced at Hannah; she’d fished for about thirty minutes and then given up. She
was now sunning herself farther up on the bank of the lake. She looked so glorious
and invited lying there with the rays beaming down on her perfect skin. Since
he’d picked her and Sam up at the café this afternoon, he’d been tempted to
kiss her, feel those plump ruby red lips on his own.

Something
began pulling on Bear’s line, jarring him from his train of thought.

“Hey,
Sam, I think we got one.”

He’d
never seen a kid sit up and take notice as much as Sam did when he saw the line
waving about in the water.

“You
want to give me a hand?” asked Bear.

“Fish,
fish caught by a Bear.”

He
didn’t know how true that last statement was. However, fishing as a bear was so
much easier than using a line. Sam tugged with Bear and together they pulled
the line out of the water to find a good size fish on the hook.

“Momma,”
said Sam.

Bear
glanced over at Hannah as she sat up and shielded her eyes with her hand.

“Wow,
did you catch that or did Bear?”

“We
caught it together,” said Bear.

“Shall
we take it home to eat or you want to throw it back?” asked Bear.

“Sam
eat
it.”

“Okay
then, let’s get it off the hook and I’ll put it in the container.”

Bear
stood up and walked back to the truck with the fish.

“Sam, no!”
Hannah shouted.

Bear
looked up to see Sam heading into the water. He ran toward it, but Hannah
already had the matter under control and was in the water lifting Sam up before
he could venture out any farther.

“You
are not to do that,” she said.

“Can
he swim?” asked Bear as she lifted Sam up and walked out of the lake.

“No.”

“Then
I think he should learn. What you think, buddy, you want me to teach you how to
swim?”

Sam
shrugged his shoulders.

“Are
you sure you want to take on such a task?” asked Hannah.

Bear
looked at her t-shirt. It was wet from where she’d held her son against it.
White, white bra underneath, both transparent, and her nipples pushed against
the material giving him a clear view of her areoles.
Dusky
pink and gorgeous.

Bear
couldn’t help but lick his lips. What he wouldn’t give to have his lips around
those babies. His cock twitched then turned hard, making his shorts
seem
suddenly way too tight for comfort.

“No
problem at all. In fact, Downward Facing Wolf the yoga studio has just added a
swimming pool, so I think that’s the perfect place to start. Then we’ll venture
out into the lakes.”

“That
would be great for him.”

Bear
had heard of special needs children doing especially well in swim programs so
he thought it would be good therapy for Sam.

“Fishing,”
said Sam.

“You
want to try and catch another one?” asked Bear.

Sam
nodded his head.

“Okay,
let’s see what we can do.” Bear picked up Sam, winked at Hannah, and headed
down to the edge of the lake again.

****

It
would be all too easy to get used to having a man around, someone to help her
with Sam. She knew Bear was a sweet guy and was doing some of this out of the
goodness of his heart, but she also sensed there was an attraction on his part
like there was on hers. Sooner or later he’d want more than them being buddies
who went on fishing trips. He’d want sex and she couldn’t blame him. She wanted
that too, but if she gave in, then she’d let herself down. She would once again
be the person she’d worked so hard not to be, and the whole cycle would be set
in motion once more.

She
watched as he stood at the stove and turned the fish in the cast iron skillet.
Thank goodness he’d only been joking when he said the person who caught it got
out of cleaning it. She didn’t know the first thing about outdoorsy stuff. He
clearly did.

Sam
stood by his side.
In fact, Sam had stood by his side and not
left it since they’d arrived back home.

“You
think that’s done enough?” Bear asked him.

Sam
nodded and grabbed a plate. She could tell her son loved being with Bear. He
wasn’t so guarded like he was around other people.

“Okay
let’s sit and eat this before it gets cold.”

Hannah
pulled out the tossed salad she’d made and grabbed some of the nine grain rolls
she’d ordered for the restaurant. They sat at the table, Sam watching as Bear
cut off a piece of the fish and set it on his plate.

“Did
you always want to be a doctor?” she asked him, putting some salad onto Sam’s plate.

“No,
I wanted to be a pilot first, then a fireman, and only after that did I want to
be a doctor.”

“Wow,
quite a choice there.”

“Glad
I settled on being a doctor, helping people makes you feel good in here,” he
said, tapping his chest.

She
guessed it did. “So Sam what do you think of the fish?”

“Good,”
he said, nodding.

“This
salad dressing’s great. The one the other night was too. Another one of your
creations?” asked Bear.

“Sure
is.”

“You
ever thought of selling them in the stores?”

Hannah
shrugged. “I’m guessing it would take a lot of money to get a venture like that
launched.”

“You
could start with the farmer’s market. That’s opening up for the season next
month.”

She
smiled. He was so positive. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

“TV,”
said Sam.

Hannah
looked at her watch and Sam looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Okay,
but take your supper with you. I want to see a clean plate.”

Sam
got up and carried the plate with him into the other room. Soon the sound of
the TV filled the air.

“He
likes routine and he watches the same show without fail every Saturday at six.”

“I’ve
been known not to miss my favorite show either, and this is perfect because we
can finally spend some time alone.”

Hannah
swallowed as his hand went on top of hers.

“I
spoke to a doctor I know. He’s up in Vancouver and specializes in autism. I’ve
asked if he can take a look at Sam and what he recommends.”

“Vancouver,
BC?”

Bear
nodded. “He’s coming to the US to Seattle in June, and I thought if we can
manage it maybe we can take Sam there.”

Her and Bear and Sam going to Seattle.
She bit her
lip. It might be the best thing to happen to her son.
A
doctor who would recommend the best course of treatment for him.

“That
would be great, Bear. However, not that I’m not appreciative of all you’re
doing for him, but do you really want to spend this much time? I mean the
fishing, swimming…surely you have a social life, women who you want to date.”

“There
is one I have my eye on.”

Hannah
was relieved to hear that. It took the pressure off her. Yet a little part of
her was disappointed.

He
reached his hand up and held it under her chin. “If you haven’t guessed, it’s
you. And don’t think I’m doing all this for Sam just to get in your panties
because I’m not that sort of guy.”

In her panties.
They grew damp just thinking about him
touching her in places she hadn’t been caressed in years.

He
leaned over and put his lips on hers. She closed her eyes. Holy shit, this felt
so good.

They
both stood, bodies pressing into one another. He had an erection and it stabbed
her belly, giving her pussy that familiar ache that
said I want you, take me and take me quick.

He
opened his mouth. She foolishly opened
hers,
letting
his tongue snake it’s way over her lips. Sex, the thing she’d loved so much.
The warmth of someone’s body, a cock deep within her making her feel good and
forgetting what else was going on in her life.

But
no, she couldn’t go there ever again.

She
pulled away.

“Guess
I shouldn’t have tried the tongue thing just yet,” said Bear.

She
wanted to laugh at his joke, but this was serous.

“Bear,
I like you a lot. I find you a very attractive man, but I’m celibate and intend
to stay that way. If you’re thinking this is going to lead to us sleeping
together, well, I don’t want to get your hopes up or lead you on. You deserve a
woman who can take care of your physical needs.”

He
opened his mouth to say something when his cellphone rang. He looked at the
caller’s ID.

“I
have to take this, okay?”

He
walked away, spoke to someone, and then turned back.

“I
have to go because Charlotte Renner’s in labor, but I’d like to sit down and
talk about this. I think I can change your mind about the whole celibate
thing.”

Chapter Eight

Bear
headed to the vending machine, placed coins into the slot, and selected 1A, the
orange soda. He hadn’t had a chance to finish his meal or drink at Hannah’s.
Definitely hadn’t finished their conversation. He pulled the tab back on the
can and took two chugs. He touched his lips. Hannah’s had felt pretty good on
them. His tongue had felt right at home passing over hers and into her mouth.

Maybe
he should have held back with the tongue bit. Yeah, he hadn’t been joking with
her about that. But he was turned on, anticipating the prospect of touching
her, maybe even making love to her after Sam went to bed. Two things had thrown
a cold bucket of water on that, the phone call from Aiden, and Hannah’s announcement
about being celibate.
 
At first he
thought she was joking, but he’d seen the seriousness on her face when she’d
broken the news to him.

He’d
never come across anyone who didn’t have sex. It was the natural order of things.
He grinned. She was definitely the opposite of all the women around here who
wanted him to get into their panties. Oh yeah, Hannah was becoming more
attractive to him every time he saw her.

Bears
loved a challenge with him being no exception. He’d make her change her mind
and when she did, boy oh boy was he going to fuck her so good she’d never even
think about the word celibate again. She’d beg for more and more. And he’d give
it to her.

First
things first, he had a patient in labor.
And not just any patient.
This one was his co-worker who was about to bring forth into this world the first,
as far as they knew, hybrid. He hated to think of it under those terms, but he
couldn’t think of any other description.

Charlotte
was proving to be the cliché that doctors made for some of the worst patients.
Upon examining her to see where things were at, she’d been shaking, pale, and
finally admitted she’d never been so scared in all her life. Judging by how far
dilated she was, it was going to be a long night. Her water hadn’t even broken,
but her contractions were strong. He suggested she get up and walk around,
hoping that might help things along.

He
finished the drink, threw it into the bin, and knew the vending machine would
be his best buddy for the next few hours or so. Coffee would probably be the
next pick. He’d pulled all-
nighters
like this before,
but he, like Charlotte, was scared too. What if something went wrong because of
the cross species element?
 
Something out of his control.
Nope, he had to think
positive.

Bear
walked along to Charlotte’s room. They’d designed the birthing rooms to be
large enough to accommodate lots of friends and family when the baby arrived.
He glanced through the window to see her walking around holding Aiden’s arm.
They’d brought along clothes for the baby and the baby carrier which sat by the
wall. They’d be great parents and he hoped everything went smoothly.

He
opened the door and smiled. “How are you doing?”

“I’m
still trying to get my water to break,” said Charlotte, turning in the other
direction.

“It
will but just try and relax,” said Bear. “How about walking up and down the
corridor?”

“Sure,
I’ll try that and hopefully no one will look at my bare ass,” she said, trying
to pull the sides of her gown together.

“Why
don’t I keep you and Aiden
company
? We can take a
stroll,” said Bear.

Bear
opened the door as the two of them headed out past him. Aiden held her hand as
she began walking.

“Hope
you weren’t in the middle of anything special,” said Aiden.

“I
went fishing with Hannah from Starlight Café and her son.”

“Sam,”
said Charlotte.

“Yeah,
you’ve met him?”

“Once.
He has autism,
right?”

“That’s
what the doctor’s told Hannah,” said Bear.

“So
are you and she dating?” asked Charlotte.

“I’d
like to, but I don’t think she’s interested in me, well, men in general. No I
don’t mean that’s she’s…”

He
shouldn’t be saying anything. All this was Hannah’s business and not his to be
discussing, but Aiden and Charlotte were almost like family. He’d stayed at their
place when he’d first come to town and was looking for an apartment.

“She’s
celibate,” said Bear.

Aiden
burst out laughing.

“And
what’s so funny about that?” asked Charlotte.

“She’s
probably messing with you, Bear. Probably wants you to try a little harder,”
said Aiden.

Bear
was about to comment when there was a swishing noise and Charlotte stopped abruptly
as her water broke.

“What
a relief. I thought that wasn’t going to happen,” she said. “Oh contraction and
a really bad one,” she said, burying her face into Aiden’s chest.

“It’s
okay, honey, deep breaths like you’ve been shown,” said Aiden, patting her
back.

“You
want to go back and lie down?” asked Bear.

“Yeah,
I think I might like to put my feet up for a bit,” said Charlotte.

Bear
watched as Aiden wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and walked her slowly
back down the corridor.

For
the first time in his life he was envious of a married man.
A
man who had a woman to love.
A woman who was going to
present him with a child.
 
He’d
found a woman who he’d like to pursue. Such irony that she didn’t do sex.

****

The
afternoon in the great outdoors had obviously tired out Sam. He’d fallen asleep
on the couch and Hannah had carried him to bed. Now he was safely tucked in and
even snoring just a tad.
 
She flicked
through the channels on the TV. The phone call Bear had taken had been a
lifesaver. Hannah knew she might have weakened into them going further than the
kiss.

She
wondered how Charlotte was doing. She was a regular customer at the café and
loved the Black Forest cake so much. Maybe Hannah would take her some and
something for the baby.

Not
much going on this Saturday evening so she settled on watching a movie. She
pulled up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. The couple was in bed
having sex, not much left to the imagination. The man drove hard into her with
the woman groaning.

In
all honesty, Hannah missed sex. She wanted it again.
Wanted
it with Bear.
She bit her lip. That was okay, right? She
wasn’t just wanting
it in general with any guy who came
along. She had a specific man in mind. That had never happened before. In her
old life she’d given in easily to any guy who smiled at her.

Sam’s
dad had done just that when she’d seen him in the bar that night.

“
There’s a motel down the road. How about we
get a room?”
he’d whispered in her ear, pushed his body up against hers,
his cock straining against her crack. She’d felt his dick pulsate a steady beat
against her bottom and was at that point she’d become putty in his hands.

When
they’d arrived at the room, they were like two wild animals.
Ripping
off each other’s clothes, him taking her quickly up against the wall and
pushing himself roughly inside.
He’d smelled of beer and the lingering
smell of leather from the jacket he’d worn. She smelled it on her own body days
and five showers later. She’d even smelled it when she’d given birth to Sam.

All
she’d known was his first name and that he’d worn a condom the first three
times they’d fucked that night, but then as the final act he’d fucked her while
she’d been on her stomach. He’d taken her by surprise and it wasn’t until she
felt the spreading warmth throughout her pussy after she’d come that she
realized what had happened.

A
tear ran down her cheek. He hadn’t been a bad guy. In fact, he’d been sweet in
his own way. He’d even told her they should get together again.

“Momma.”

Sam
stood in the doorway.

She
quickly turned off the movie. “You couldn’t sleep?”

“Bear,
he’ll be back?”

“Sure,
honey, he’ll be back.”

****

Bear
looked in on Charlotte. It was past midnight. He’d managed to get an hour’s
shut eye after she’d finally given in and asked for an epidural when the pain
had gotten too much for her. She was dozing off, so he tiptoed in, waking Aiden
who was sitting by the bed.

“Has
she been asleep long?” whispered Bear.

“Yeah,
once that epidural kicked in she was a lot more comfortable and fell asleep
about fifteen minutes later,” Aiden whispered back.

“I
hate to wake her, but I need to check how she’s doing and if she’s ready to start
pushing yet.”

“Charlotte,
honey,” said Aiden. “Wake up. Bear needs to check you.”

Charlotte’s
eyelids fluttered and then she focused on Bear who was standing over her.

“Hi, Charlotte.
I hear your dad
came by to see you and I saw him out in the lounge. He’s pretty excited about
the impending arrival of his first grandchild,” said Bear.
“How
you feeling?”

“Better
than I did a few hours ago. I feel like I’ve let myself down.”

“You
did the right thing because my goal is to make you comfortable. I’m just going
to check to see how you’re doing, okay?”

Bear
put on his mask, pulled on his latex gloves, and examined Charlotte. There’d been
hardly any change and things weren’t progressing as well as he’d thought. He
knew it was time to make a decision that Charlotte probably wasn’t going to
like. He pulled up the blanket and her gown and listened to the baby’s heartbeat.
Just as he suspected with this long of a labor, it was getting weaker.

“Charlotte,
your labor’s not progressing as well as I’d like, so I think we need to think
about a C-section,” said Bear, pulling up a stool and sitting down beside
Charlotte. He took her hand.

“No,
I want a regular birth,” said Charlotte. “I’ve already let the natural no
painkillers
thing go
out the window.”

“Honey,
listen to
Bear
,” said Aiden.

“I
think it’s best for both you and the baby. You’re getting tired and the baby’s
going to struggle too.”

Charlotte
burst into tears.

“Oh,
honey, don’t cry, please don’t cry,” said Aiden, leaning over to kiss her.

“Really,
Charlotte, it’s no failure on your part,” said Bear. “And your next baby will
probably pop right out. These things happen all the time. I did at least one
C-section a week at the hospital in Vancouver.”

A
tear slid down Charlotte’s face. She nodded. “Okay, I guess I have to listen to
my doctor, right?”

“You
better do that or there are consequences.” Bear smiled at her just as Aiden’s
phone rang.

“Hi,
Lilly,” said Aiden.
“No, no baby yet.
Charlotte’s
going for a C-section.”

Bear
could hear Lilly’s voice on the other end of the line.

“No,
no, you and Christopher don’t need to come here. Charlotte’s dad is here and
you have Kaitlin to think about at this time of the night. Sure I’ll do that
and I’ll call you as soon as the baby arrives.”

Bear
stood. “I’ll send someone in here to get Charlotte ready and I’ll scrub up.”

“I
can be with her, right?” asked Aiden.

“Absolutely,
you can be right by her side.”

****

Bear
looked at the clock on the wall as he went into the OR. It was almost 4 a.m. He
walked over to Charlotte.

“You
okay?”

She
nodded.
“Just really scared.”

Aiden
squeezed her hand as the nurse put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

“Be
over before you realize it,” said Bear.

Bear
had chosen Mia to be one of his assistants. She was going to be a nurse, and he
thought this would be ideal for her to learn about handling instruments and
assisting the doctor.

“Scalpel,”
Bear told Mia. She passed it to him.

“Okay,
Charlotte, you might feel me pulling at you a little, but it’s perfectly
normal.”

Bear
had always been good with surgery and in no time he had Charlotte opened up and
could see that the baby’s arm was close to the surface.

“Baby’s
coming out any minute and you’ll feel a big tug but nothing to worry about,”
said Bear.

He
knew from the ultrasounds that this was going to be a big baby. He pushed his
hands down and gently eased Little One outside of Charlotte’s body.

Bear
lifted it out and held the baby up to check it out.