Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Colt
After Angus went to help with the baby, I retreated for a while into the bedroom I now shared with my mates.
Angus and Ben were worried about Ollie. I was worried too, now that it appeared we were stuck here and couldn’t reach a hospital if we needed to.
Could I possibly pull the truck close to the front door so Maddox could climb in without exposing Ollie to the driving rain?
Maybe. But the roads around here tended to wash out, and we could find ourselves stuck or washed away by the flood. I couldn’t risk it.
Was there anything else I could do? I couldn’t think of anything, other than trying to keep my mates’ minds occupied. I felt useless, and I hated that. Grabbing a book off the nightstand, I tried to distract myself for a while.
The title of the book was The Omega Dilemma. On the back cover, the blurb said that the author, Doctor Stephen Mandrake, had been studying biological character classification for twenty-five years. Angus must have bought it.
I was on page five when Angus walked in.
“I thought maybe Ben was in here. I wanted to talk to him,” Angus said.
“I think he’s in the sewing room with Jackson,” I said.
Angus sat on the edge of the bed and gestured to the book. “That’s Ben’s book. It’s pretty interesting, though I haven’t gotten very far into it. Ben told me Jackson’s mother said that the author is a member of the SOS.”
“I’ve only read the first chapter explaining the biological components of alphas, betas, and omegas. It’s way more in-depth than what I learned in school,” I said, resting the book on my chest. “How is Ollie?”
Angus looked away, studying the wall. “Not good.” He took a breath. “Colt, do you believe you can communicate with people who have already passed on?”
I was surprised by the strange question, coming as it did out of left field; however, Angus wouldn’t have asked it if he didn’t have a good reason to, so I gave it some thought.
“I’ve never tried it, but I wouldn’t discount it if someone said it worked for them,” I said slowly.
Angus met my gaze. “Sometimes, I talk to Lucy in my head.”
“I would imagine that’s normal.”
“Lately, she’s been answering me. She says things I don’t think up myself. Do you think I’m nuts?”
“Angus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you aren’t nuts. What is it that Lucy’s telling you?”
Angus looked so relieved by my reply, I was glad I hadn’t teased him about it. What he was saying was pretty out there, but part of what I’ve always admired about Angus was his sensible thinking. He wasn’t the kind of person who would have fanciful, imaginary conversations with the deceased.
“Usually, she just advises me about stuff. Kind of like she’s my conscience, but it’s always her voice I hear in my head. But just now…”
“Go on,” I prompted him.
“Just now, when I was with Ollie, and he looked so sick and pitiful and I felt so helpless, I heard her say plain as day, ‘Get Ben.’ Then, I heard her again later say, ‘Get Ben, Angus.’”
“And that’s why you were looking for him,” I concluded.
He nodded. “Yes. But I don’t know what to say to him.”
“Just tell him you want him to see Ollie,” I said. When Angus didn’t get up right away, I said, “Do you want me to come with you?”
Angus let out a puff of air and stood up. “Of course not. That would be silly. I’m a grown man. I don’t need you holding my hand.” He hesitated.
“I’m going with you,” I said, swinging my legs off the bed and getting to my feet.
Gently, I took his hand in mine, and we headed through the hall and living room toward the sewing room on the other side of the house.
The door was ajar, so I tapped on it with a knuckle and peered in.
Ben and Jackson were seated on the blue bean bag in the corner of the small room.
Outside the window behind them, rain continued to come down in driving sheets.
“Is something wrong?” Ben asked, scrambling to his feet when we entered. “Is it the baby?”
“He’s pretty sick,” Angus said. “I just want you to visit him with me.”
Ben’s face turned stark white, and he took a step back. “Do you mean…”
“He’s okay for now, Ben. Will you come?” Angus asked.
“O-of course.”
I held out my free hand to him, and we walked together to Maddox and David’s bedroom.
“David?” Angus said when we entered the room. “Is it okay if Ben visits Ollie for a few minutes?”
David’s eyes were rimmed in red, and my heart went out to him. In his arms, Ollie was mewling pitifully. He nodded.
With a glance at me and Angus, Ben went to sit beside him on the bed, and David passed Ollie to his friend, who cradled him carefully in his arms.
Knowing Angus, he was probably feeling the fool. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to tell me about hearing Lucy speak to him, and then to get Ben to come see him with no explanation. Resting my hand on one of his broad shoulders, I squeezed it. It was all the reassurance I could give him.
“Where’s Maddox?” I asked David.
“He went to make a phone call. I think he’s calling the hospital again. Earlier, they said they couldn’t send an ambulance out here because the bridge on the main road is flooded, but I think he’s asking for medical advice.”
“You look so tired,” Ben said softly.
In answer, David’s eyes welled with tears again and he rested his head on his friend’s shoulder.
“Sleep if you can, David. I’ll wake you if I need to,” Ben said.
David blinked heavily and then his eyes slid shut.
Beside me, Angus quietly cleared his throat, visibly upset. I was having trouble keeping it together myself. I was worried about the baby, too, and the sweetness of David and Ben’s bond tugged at my heart.
In Ben’s arms, Ollie had quieted, and my eyes went to his chest to make sure he was still breathing. When I saw the regular movements, I swallowed a sigh of relief. If the baby passed, we would all be crushed with grief. But it would kill David and Maddox.
David’s head still resting on his shoulder, Ben cooed and sang to the baby, holding him close to his chest.
If I were to believe in voices from the afterlife—and I wasn’t sure that I did—I had to wonder why Angus’ late wife would tell him to call Ben to see the sick baby. Ben wasn’t a doctor, or even a spiritual healer, so what could he do?
A thought immediately formed in my head: Angus was a wilting cripple before Ben came to the ranch, and he’s transformed. He doesn’t use the wheelchair or even the cane anymore. He looks ten years younger.
We’d all seen it, although the change in his appearance was more obvious to people who weren’t around him every day. Angus said his friends joked that having an omega had made him young again.
But was that a joke?
What are you talking about? I chided myself. David didn’t make Maddox look younger. Trey didn’t make Bertram look younger, either. And the same for Jackson and Carter.
But maybe there was something about Ben?
The notion was crazy, but it had taken hold in my mind.
We sat there for twenty minutes or more. Maddox poked his head in during that time, and seeing David sleeping quietly beside Ben, left the room again.
Another ten minutes went by, and then something happened.
Oliver began to squirm in Ben’s arms. Ben stroked the baby’s downy blond hair, talking quietly to him, but Ollie began to cry, louder and louder until David jerked awake.
Ben passed Ollie to him. When the baby began rooting at David’s shirt, David lifted it so he could latch on to his nipple.
Ollie was obviously weak and only nursed for a few moments before falling asleep, but it was something.
David looked at us with hope.
“That’s good, right? It’s got to be a good sign that he’s eaten a little.”
Angus smiled. “I’m sure it is.”
Maddox walked back in. “Did I hear Oliver crying?”
“He ate a little and he’s fallen asleep,” David said. “That has to be good.”
Sitting beside David on the bed, Maddox looked down at his son.
“Is it my imagination, or does he have a little more color?” He touched Ollie’s cheek. “He feels cooler.”
David nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure he does.”
“Why don’t you lie down on the bed with him?” Maddox suggested. He helped David get situated and covered them with a blanket. David was asleep before he finished.
Stepping out of the room, Maddox led us into the living room, where Jackson and Carter were playing with the girls.
Maddox ran his hand through his hair. “I spoke to Dr. Humbard at the hospital. He’s overrun with sick kids.
It’s some kind of virus. He told me he lost two this morning.
” Maddox held up his hand when Ben opened his mouth to ask a question.
“Not Jeremiah, thank the gods, but siblings from a ranch one county over whose hospital is maxed out on beds.”
“That’s awful,” Angus said gruffly.
“I don’t know how much hope there is,” Maddox said, voice breaking. He turned toward the window.
I met Angus’s gaze.
“Maddox, I know this sounds nuts, but I heard your grandmother’s voice earlier,” Angus said. “Not exactly in the room. In my head, I guess. She told me to get Ben. She said it twice.”
Wiping at his eyes, Maddox turned back to us. “What are you talking about, Gramps?” he asked quietly.
“Just what I said. I figured what the heck, and with Colt here agreeing, I took Ben to see the baby. Ben was holding Ollie when he rallied.”
Looking confused and miserable, Maddox remained quiet.
“What are you thinking, Angus?” Carter asked, leaning forward on the couch.
Angus looked at me again, and I continued for him.
“You’ve never met Angus before, Carter, but he’s absolutely transformed in the time Ben’s been here. He couldn’t walk and could barely stand. Not only that, but he’s sixty-one years old. Does he look that old to you?”
Jackson shook his head. “I told David yesterday that Angus didn’t look old enough to be Maddox’s grandfather. He just said he’d had Maddox’s dad young, and Maddox’s dad had had Maddox young.”
“True, but that doesn’t really account for the fact that…” I hesitated to say it but pushed through. “That Angus, for all intents and purposes, seems to have de-aged in the time he’s known Ben.”
Frowning, Carter said, “That’s pretty far-fetched, Colt.”
“I know it is. Believe me, I can hear how ridiculous it sounds. And I don’t necessarily think that Angus de-aged.
The Angels have good genes. I’m just saying that, since Ben’s arrival, Angus lost the years that illness had put on his face and stature.
And I don’t think that Ben just gave Angus the will to try to walk.
I’ve been helping Angus with physical therapy almost since the accident occurred.
Even if Angus had been more receptive, there’s no way he could have gotten the results he’s gotten now.
He’s not even using his cane, and his stamina—well, let’s just say there’s no complaints about that. ” I felt myself blushing.
Out of sight of the others, Angus’ moved his hand to my ass and squeezed it. When I looked at him, he appeared highly amused, as well as something else that made me swallow hard.
“You’re wrong,” Ben said loudly, having come in behind us after having used the bathroom. “There’s nothing special about me. I told you how I was found. In the trash! I’m not some kind of magical, healing omega!” Turning, he ran out of the room toward our wing of the house.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Angus said, and followed him.
“I don’t know if what I’m saying has any merit,” I told the others. “But the change in Angus is fact. And, Maddox, David wasn’t exaggerating. Ollie started crying vigorously and he nursed for a few minutes. That’s something. You said yourself he looked better and felt cooler.”
Sighing, Maddox nodded. “I don’t see how it can be, but I’ll take any scrap of hope I can right now.”