Six #2
“How do you know Diane?”
“I got her to come take care of people at my shelter.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re Merritt Baker?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“Oh, she speaks so highly of you, Mr. Baker. Diane and I have been friends for many years. She’s the absolute best.”
“She certainly is.”
“Well then.” She turned to Cole. “Your brother may go home later today, Mr. Swann. I’m going to keep him for a few more hours, but with Diane popping by to check in on him, I won’t worry about any ongoing issues. I do want you to follow up with your regular doctor next week, however.”
“Yes, I certainly will,” Cole said, still hugging his little brother. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re so welcome.” She sighed. “He’s very fortunate.”
“I know,” Cole rumbled in return, his eyes locked with mine. “Believe me, I know.”
I called Diane, and after she told me how naughty I was to lie to her friend, I said I would bring Evan by the shelter the following day. I also promised her a massive pumpkin cheesecake pie for her family.
“Fine,” she muttered, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “I forgive you.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s lucky I adore you, Merritt Baker.”
And it was. Very.
Once I was off the phone, I realized everyone was looking at me. “What?”
It turned out that Evan wanted a really big, utterly massive cheeseburger, a vanilla shake, and onion rings. Everyone wanted him to have that, no question, but no one wanted to go get it.
“I can go,” I offered.
“No,” Reggie snapped at me. “You’re the reason no one wants to leave.”
“If you go, I promise not to explain anything until you get back,” I told him.
“You swear?”
I arched an eyebrow.
“Yeah, all right,” he muttered as he turned for the door.
“Hey, wait,” I ordered, as was my way. “Grab six regular cheeseburgers and fries for the nurses—they’ll appreciate it. And I need a vegetarian burger.”
“A veggie burger?” Reggie sounded like I’d asked for a helping of the plague.
“Yeah. Please.”
“Gross, man,” he said, but he left with Fletcher, because Evan, it turned out, wasn’t the only one who was hungry. They had all skipped several meals while keeping vigil.
I took a seat in the chair closest to the bed, and when Evan rolled over to face me and held out his hand, I quickly took hold.
“You know, I should’ve figured that a guy with an elf for a friend was probably magic.”
I shook my head. “Not magic, just old. You pick up some things.”
“How old can you be?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Your eyes were glowing green, Merritt,” Narah said softly from the other side of the bed. I noticed that Evan had his back to her, his alpha, and Justin. That was probably a breach of some protocol. Wolves did love their rules and customs.
I nodded. “They do that, on occasion.”
Evan squeezed my hand to get my attention again.
“Yes?”
“At one point, on the way here, I felt like I was drowning in mud.”
“I’m sure you did, and I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
His eyelids were drooping; he was fighting sleep so hard.
“Listen, I promise that the second Reggie and Fletcher get back, I’ll wake you up, all right? But in the meantime, why don’t you close your eyes?”
“Yeah, but Merritt, you won’t leave, right?”
“No, I won’t. Reggie brought me, so I’m gonna have to catch a ride home with—”
“Ev, we’ll take Mere home, okay? And maybe he’ll let us sleep over in that beautiful house of his.”
Evan turned big, hopeful eyes on me. “I’ve never seen your house, Merritt, but I’d really like to. And I know it’s stupid to be scared, but if me and Cole could stay with you, just for tonight, I would really like that.”
I glanced up at Cole.
“Please, Mere,” he husked, and after our words on Saturday, he had no right to sound so sincere and stare at me so earnestly.
“Evan,” Narah began gently, “we were thinking that you and your brother should come back to the house with us and spend the night.”
He looked over at his aunt. “I would like to stay at Merritt’s house instead if that’s okay. I didn’t…” He took a breath, but it hitched like he was scared. “I just want to be safe and—”
“Young man, I’m your alpha,” Abel reminded him. “And more importantly, your uncle. No one can keep you safer than me.”
“No, yeah, I know.” Evan bit his bottom lip, and I saw his eyes suddenly well with tears. “But I just want—”
“We’ll stay with Merritt,” Cole stated, his voice firm and eyes glowing gold for a moment, power rippling off of him.
“And it’s not that we doubt you, Alpha, but Evan has had a scare, and Merritt stopped the nightmare, no one else.
He needs to rest and would do that best at Merritt’s home.
I think all of us should let him be where he wants to be. ”
Abel stared at Cole, who held his gaze steadily, without blinking. The contest might have gone on, but thankfully Narah put her hand on her mate’s arm and squeezed gently.
“Of course you should stay where you want tonight, Evan, we have no issue with that, do we, my alpha?”
After a moment, Abel exhaled quickly. “Of course not.”
I nearly rolled my eyes, but turned away instead. So very nice that he deferred to the boy who’d been having seizures and was in the hospital, and not his pride.
Evan nodded off holding my hand, and I would have let go, but his grip, even in sleep, was tight. Cole picked up a chair and brought it over next to me as his uncle, aunt, and cousin left the room. When he sat down, his knee was wedged next to mine.
“Could you move over a bit,” I said curtly. “You’re crowding me.”
“Good. I wanna crowd you.”
My gaze met his. “You’re giving me whiplash.”
“Fuck, I know,” he muttered, sounding miserable. “And I’m sorry, all right?”
I just stared at him.
“Shit.”
“That was terrible. You wanna try again?”
“Fine. I should’ve stayed and fought with you, not run away at the first sign of trouble.”
“I get you being mad, but you can’t blow hot and cold on me. Pick one and do that.”
“I pick hot, then. I have no interest in running cold on you in any way.”
“You say that now, but I feel a very particular way about your future.”
“I know that, but please, Mere,” he murmured, taking hold of my free hand in both of his, “gimme another chance.”
“You need a mate, a wolf mate, who can be what you need when it’s time for you to take your rightful place in the pack.”
He was smiling as he gazed at me. “Man, have you got some gorgeous eyes on you.”
“You’re not listening to me.” I tried to pull my hand away, but he tightened his hold fast, making sure I couldn’t move.
And I could pull my hand free if I wanted.
I was innately stronger than he was. But I didn’t want to.
I did, however, need to make my stand clear.
“I will not be a diversion that you cast aside when the time comes for you to take a mate.”
“I have no interest in doing anything with you that involves us being apart.”
“You’re not––”
“I think a man who comes to take care of my brother as soon as he knows he’s sick, protects the children of my pack, and built a women’s shelter and one for animals in the town I now live in, might be just the mate I need, Merritt Baker.”
“I—”
“Thank you for letting us stay with you tonight.” He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear, his warm breath on my skin as he spoke. “I know you’re doin’ it for Ev because you would never think of letting him down, but it means a lot to me as well.”
“Of course.” I eased my hand free of his before leaning forward on the chair so I was farther away from him and closer to Evan.
Immediately, he slipped his hand up under the hem of my sweater to the small of my back, the rough calluses sliding over my bare skin.
I turned to look at him. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Nope. My brain’s workin’ just fine.”
“Move your hand.”
“Up or down?”
I had an answer, but it got tangled up somewhere between my head and my mouth.
“Listen,” he said, and his voice had gone all gravelly and low, “I was a jackass the other day, and I’m woefully sorry.”
“Woefully?”
“Do not make fun of a heartfelt apology.” He eased me back so I was resting against his chest before he pressed his nose to the side of my neck and inhaled deeply. “I’m all tangled up over you, Mere, and until I sort this, I can’t do anything else.”
“And when were you planning to tell me all this?”
“I was on my way back to see you, but then Ev threw up black goop all over the grass.”
“You didn’t think I’d buried whatever bones were out there on your uncle’s property?”
“Of course not.” He huffed, side-eyeing me. “I know your heart.”
“Oh?”
“Don’t oh me,” he snapped, and then he suddenly licked a spot on the side of my neck before he gently nibbled.
I turned to stare at him.
“Yeah, well, I have no idea why you would be even remotely surprised that I want to take a bite out of you.”
“You’re not thinking about what’s best for you, you just wanna get laid.”
“I do, very much, wanna get laid,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “But I promise you, I see you clearly, and you are a good man, Mere. I think being the guy who belongs to you would be great for me.”
I shook my head at him.
“You can think I’m nuts, I don’t mind.”
“I just want you to think about what’s best for your future.”
“I am, I swear,” he whispered, leaning close again and making it impossible for me to smell anything but him. “I think you should kiss me now so I know you’re not mad at me anymore.”
“I was never mad at you, I was just sad that you didn’t listen to me.”
“Well, I’m done not listening to you,” he promised. “Now will you kiss me?”
“I’ll think about it.”
He groaned, loudly. “Killing me.”
Reggie and Fletcher returned then with all the food, which made Cole groan again and me laugh.
Once everything had been passed out, Cole gently woke up his brother, who was thrilled to find the cheeseburger of his dreams in front of him on the table that rolled up to the bed.
His shake, onion rings, and fries looked amazing as well.
He thanked Reggie and Fletcher profusely, and I could tell they were touched.