Sam
“I’m fine. Gimme just a sec. Everybody squish together.”
Luckily the kids were all on the small side. He quickly adjusted seat belts so they would all be buckled. They had to share which was far from ideal, but at least they’d be a little safer than they would without. He squished into the middle and hooked an arm around Emily and Ollie. “Ready.”
Vaughn met his gaze in the rearview mirror then got the vehicle backed up, turned around, and on the road back to the house. No one in the car spoke as they sped back through town.
Ben nodded and took off running.
The hellhound guard climbed out as well and stood next to Sam. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not unless you can magically repair ruptured discs.”
“I wish I could,” he said.
“Then just keep us safe like you’re doing. We appreciate it even if… God, I don’t even know your name. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m Teague,” the hellhound said. “And you’ve had a lot going on. Solomon was here last night. He’ll be back later to relieve me.”
Vaughn came back out of the clinic pushing a wheelchair, and William grunted at the sight.
“I can walk,” William griped.
“Sure you can,” Vaughn said. “And it’ll be excruciatingly painful and will aggravate the nerves even more than they are already. But if you want to be a tough guy, feel free to walk.”
William scowled. “You taking sassing lessons from my Sam?”
Sam snickered. “No, Dad, he gets it honest. Didn’t you say you knew Nana Jean?”
“Right,” William grumbled. “Well, don’t just stand there, son. Help me into that contraption before I start collecting dust.”
Vaughn helped him maneuver his dad into the wheelchair just as Ben returned with Nana.
“What on earth is going on?” Nana huffed.
“I’m taking him inside,” Vaughn said as he pushed William toward the clinic.
“My dad’s back is out. Vaughn’s going to take a look at it. I hoped you would take the kids—”
“That’s not how it works, sweetie. Come on, everybody.”
Sam blinked, stunned that she’d actually ignored him, but the rest of the kids climbed out of the truck and they surrounded Sam, leaning against him from every angle.
“Nana?” Sam asked, needing an explanation on the situation because he had no idea what he’d missed.
“Packs stay together when one of them is hurting. That’s why we have all those guest rooms in the house.
They’ll rotate out to sleep, but someone always stays with the injured pack member.
And that’s only once they know they’ll be okay.
If it’s acute like your dad’s situation is, then we stick together until the situation is under control. ”
They walked as they talked, entering the clinic and going straight to the waiting area off to the side.
Sam hadn’t been inside the clinic yet, but it looked like any other doctor’s office really.
The only difference he could see was that instead of one big waiting room, Vaughn’s was divided into three separate sections.
“You guys get settled in here. Sam, stay with them, okay?”
Sam nodded, even though he wanted to go back and sit with his dad. Nana’s significant look told him it would be a bad idea so he sat down on the loveseat and the kids crowded in around him.
A few minutes later, Vaughn’s mother, Joanne, came in and immediately began petting the kids.
She leaned down and pecked Sam’s cheek then rubbed his hair.
“Stuart’s back there with Vaughn looking your dad over.
He’ll be fine. They’re going to give him something for the pain and to help him relax a little, but for now, we just have to wait for the spasm to end.
Then we’ll let Nana fuss at him for climbing that ladder. ”
“How’d you know that?” Sam asked.
“Vaughn told us. Nana’s going to get us all a snack, and once the meds have kicked in and William’s pain has eased a little, we’ll all go back and see him. Sound good?”
The kids nodded, obviously understanding the nuances that Sam missed. He trusted Vaughn to take care of his dad, though, and found that he was actually a lot calmer waiting with the kids snuggled around him.
There really was something to this pack business. Sam leaned down and brushed his cheek against Natasha’s hair then let out a small sigh.
“It’ll be okay, Sam,” Natasha whispered. She patted his leg gently.
“I know. I’m glad you guys are here.”
“Course we are,” Ben grumbled. “We’re not leaving you.”
Sam grinned and reached out to squeeze Ben’s arm. Man, these kids got him right in the feels already. He’d handed over his heart to them the moment he met them. “I don’t know what I did without you guys.”
Jack huffed. “Didn’t have a pack, that’s what. Who wants to not have a pack?”
Who indeed.
It took about ten minutes for Nana to make it back with a bag of fruit and some crackers with hummus dip. Ben got a protein shake and the other kids got bottles of water. “You’re kinda magical,” Sam said once she’d pulled up a chair and settled in beside them.
“Pfft,” Nana said. “I’ve been dreaming of this since Vaughn hit his teenage years. Being a grandmother is the best job on the planet. I take that back. Being a great-grandmother is the best.”
She grinned at him as the kids tore into the snacks, and Sam waited for Vaughn to make an appearance.
When he finally did, it was with a big smile at the sight of them all sitting there in the waiting room.
He greeted them all then leaned down and kissed Sam gently on the lips.
It was over fast. He straightened again.
“Okay, we can go back and see him now. But you have to be really gentle. Only touch arms and legs. No pulling, and Ollie, no trying to climb on the bed with him. Understand?”
Ollie nodded and reached up his hands for Vaughn, who scooped him up and tucked him against his chest. Vaughn led them back to the exam room where William was lying with his legs propped up on pillows. His face was no longer pinched with pain and his color was back to normal. “How you doing, Dad?”
“Better. For a vet, he’s a good doctor,” William said. But he had that snarky tease to his voice that Sam knew meant he really was feeling better.
“Well, I seem to remember Mom calling you a filthy animal every time you made a mess in the kitchen so you can understand why I thought a vet might be the best bet for you.”
William chuckled and reached out to pat Sam’s arm. “She’d be royally pissed at me right now.”
“She would. You know better.”
William sighed and gave his arm a squeeze, the only apology Sam would get but he’d take it.
“Now why don’t you introduce me to all these kids hovering around? Then I think we need to talk.”
Sam made the introductions and the kids all brushed up against William, softly checking on him and leaving him with their scent. Ollie turned shy on them, but did shake William’s hand when he offered it.
“Okay, guys,” Joanne said. “Nana and I are going to take you back up to the house. We need to get dinner started and we’ve got some other fun stuff to do, too. Sam and Vaughn will be up soon.”
Ollie looked ready to revolt but Nana saved the day once more. “Ollie, I really need a big boy’s help with dessert. You think you’re a big enough boy to do some stirring for me?”
He scowled, obviously smart enough to know she was up to something, but not quite willing to resist the urge to help make dessert. “But I don’t know the big hands yet and I want to know when Sam will be back.”
Sam made a mental note to move telling time up on his homeschooling list as he took out his phone and opened the timer app. “Okay, buddy, I’m setting this for one hour. Alpha and I will be there by the time it goes off, okay?”
Ollie looked doubtful so Sam stuck out his pinky finger. Ollie eyed it suspiciously.
“Pinky promise, Ollie. Sams can’t break pinky promises.”
Vaughn helped Ollie hook his little finger around Sam’s, giggling when Sam shook their fingers and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, Sam. Pinky promise.”
Vaughn sat Ollie down, and then pulled out his phone to set a timer five minutes shorter than the one on Sam’s phone.
“Good thinking,” Sam said.
The kids trailed out after Joanne and Nana Jean, and Vaughn moved a chair over next to William’s bed for Sam to sit in.
“Mated to an alpha werewolf. Your mama would be flipping her lid about now.”
Sam leaned forward and took his dad’s hand again. “How do you know about this stuff, Dad? I just found out and had to basically swear on my life I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Not really my story to tell, Sammy, but I’ll say that your mom and I saw something a long time ago we weren’t supposed to see and got a visit from…
well, let’s just say we promised we wouldn’t say a word.
And we haven’t. But your mom, she was sharp as a tack and figured out pretty quick that the Jerricks were something else, something like what we’d seen. We never said a word, though.”
It made sense. After taking one look at Meshaq, Sam would never have broken his promise either. He wondered if the alpha himself had extracted the promise from his parents.
“I’m glad you know. I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep all this from you, so I’m really glad I don’t have to.”
“Now tell me about those kids.”
So Sam did. When he got through, his dad tried to push himself up, and only Vaughn’s quick reflexes kept his patient lying in bed. “If I get my hands on that woman…”
Vaughn laughed even as he encouraged William to settle back against the mattress. “That’s exactly what your son said.”
“Course he did. You know my boy’s the best thing that’ll ever happen to you, right?”
“I do,” Vaughn said.
“Good. Treat him right. And treat those kids like the precious gifts they are, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
“Yessir.”
“Now go on and let me close my eyes. That shot you gave me really did the trick. I need a nap.”
Sam chuckled and pulled the blanket up farther over his dad. “Don’t be so bossy.”
William arched a brow.
“Someone will be here all the time,” Vaughn said. “My dad’s on shift now, and he won’t leave you alone. Okay?”
“Son, I’ve managed on my own for years.”
“That was before you had a pack. You and Sam will never be on your own again.”
Neither of the Baker men knew what to say to that. Sam reached for Vaughn’s hand and threaded their fingers together.
“Lord, your mama would be tickled to death to see a guy so far gone on you, Sammy. Now get out of here before I get misty-eyed.”
“We’re going. I’ll be back later to check on you.”
William huffed and closed his eyes.
Vaughn stopped to chat with his dad who was behind the desk in the main room, so Sam went outside to wait. He took a deep breath and let it out, the anxiety of his dad’s injury easing a bit.
He’d have to figure something out officially now, especially since with the kids and his commitment to trying to build something more with Vaughn, he’d have less time than normal to spend helping his dad keep the house up.
His quiet thoughts were interrupted by the roar of a motorcycle heading their way.
Teague appeared out of thin air at the end of the driveway. The motorcycle stopped within inches of his toes. Sam almost swallowed his tongue at the close call. Vaughn came out of the clinic seconds later and stood beside Sam.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked. “Who is that?”
“I do believe that is the ward builder Meshaq promised us.”
“Do you know him?” Sam asked as the black-leather clad figure climbed off the bike and unstrapped their helmet.
“I know her.”
When the helmet came off, a riot of dark curls appeared that hit the woman in the middle of her back. She unzipped her leather jacket, revealing a skintight tank top that showed a whole lot of cleavage. Sam nearly swallowed his tongue again.
“Meshaq wasn’t kidding when he said he was bringing out the big guns,” Vaughn added. “Come on.”