Chapter 5 #3
Hurrying to his room before he embarrassed himself again, he got in the door and closed it quietly behind him.
Leaning against the door, he closed his eyes.
It was that or sob. He wanted his mate with all that he was, and the sooner she was ready, the better off he’d be.
But he’d never rush her. It was her body and her time to choose when they made love.
Going to his bed, he decided that he would be all right tonight without taking a cold shower and laid down.
He was nearly asleep when Conri contacted him.
“I’m assuming that you know he’s in jail.
” He said that he’d been informed as soon as he’d been arrested.
“He’s not going to be easy to convince that he isn’t going to get your money.
I’d look for him to do something desperate when the time comes.
He might even try to take Sharon away from you in order to make you pay. ”
“I’ve already told her that he’d be a dead man if he tried that.
She doesn’t want me to go to jail. I don’t think anyone in town would care enough to put up a fuss, but then I’ve never killed anyone before.
Do you suppose he’ll go away nicely if I continue to tell him no?
” Conri just laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t think that would work either.
But I’m going to try to convince him that I’m not going to give in to blackmail or anything else he has in his mind right now.
Brew told me that he was going to try to pretend to be nice for a while to lure us in.
I wouldn’t have thought that would have worked in the first place. ”
“No, he’s a man who is used to getting things done the way that he wants.
” He said that he figured as much. “I don’t want you hurt either.
I know you can’t die, but the thought of either one of you, you or Sharon, getting hurt makes me scared for the two of you.
I’m going to have extra pack around both your places until this is taken care of.
Also, I’ll have one on him at all times.
He won’t be able to take a shit without us knowing everything there is to know about it. ”
“Thanks for that. I know that the pack is willing to do what you want, but I’m going to have to think of a way to thank them for their extra work.
It’s not every day that I have to have help, and you’ve no idea how much I appreciate it.
” He told him that would be nice of him.
“It’s the least I can do. They’re helping me out a great deal by doing this.
And protecting Sharon is the best part. I’ve explained to her about going out and how she needed to be careful. ”
“Good. I hate to say this to you, but you know she’d be stronger if you were to bond with her.
” He told him what she’d said tonight. “I can understand that, too. Stress is a mood killer of all kinds of things. But the sooner the better. Especially since it doesn’t look as if he’s going away anytime too soon. ”
That worried him too. That Dick was here to stay until he got himself killed or he ended up back in prison.
It would suit him just fine either way, but for now, he was going to try his best to reason with the idiot.
There was no way that he was going to give in to his demands for money.
If he did, he’d be paying the man for the rest of his life, and that was going to be a long time.
Rolling to his side, he thought about how he had to work in the morning.
It was only a few short hours before he should be getting up, but he did try to sleep some.
But his mind couldn’t shut down on the fact that he’d actually made it to town and that he had already caused trouble.
If Dick kept this up, he might not have to lift a finger to get him out of their lives; he might well do that all on his own.
Getting up just as the alarm sounded, he was out of the shower and dressed quickly.
He knew that Sharon would be up soon, so he hurried by her door so that he’d not be tempted to go in and wake her up.
He really did need to get to work today, and watching her sleep wouldn’t get him anywhere close to getting his day over with.
By the time he’d seen his first three patients, he was feeling the effects of not getting enough sleep.
However, around noon, he started to get his second wind and was feeling better.
Eating his lunch helped, as he’d not had any breakfast, but he was glad for the one that he’d gotten.
A nice sub with chips was his favorite, and he enjoyed every last bite of it.
After lunch, he was sailing through his day on nothing.
He yawned a few times when talking to patients, and he apologized several times for that.
Kendrick was glad that they didn’t have any plans for tonight, as he wasn’t going to make it on how he was feeling.
Dragging himself home, he sat down on the couch, sort of glad that he had the house to himself, and took a nap.
He didn’t think he’d move for a week the way he was feeling.
Waking up to the sound of the front door opening, he was shocked to see that it was just after seven.
He’d slept for nearly three hours, and he felt better for it.
He knew that he’d go to sleep as soon as he got into bed tonight and wasn’t the least bit sorry that he’d taken such a long nap.
He was glad to see that Sharon seemed to be in a great mood, too.
“I’ve spent the day with your mother. She and I got a lot done.” He asked her what she’d been up to. “We’ve figured out the charity foundation money. She thought there was a bit of it missing, and all it was that someone had added the column up incorrectly. I was glad to be able to help with that.”
“I’m sure Mom was glad for your help, too. Missing money is always something that would bother her. I’m glad the two of you are getting along so well.” Sharon said that she was wonderful and easy to get along with. “I’m happy for the two of you. What did Cass have to say about today?”
“She had her own things going on today and couldn’t meet with us.
It was fun spending time with your mother all on our own like today, but I did miss Cass.
She’s fun to be around, and I learn so much from her when she’s talking about the pack.
I had no idea that dues were to be paid each year and that they go to the pantry for those who need it.
I’m to understand that Conri has a very good pack of about four hundred wolves.
That’s a lot of people to be in charge of. ”
“He’s been doing it since our father was killed by the pack.
He’s made it a very profitable pack, and people are staying.
Which isn’t always true of a larger pack.
They get bored, or there aren’t any jobs around, so they move on.
Some families have been with this pack since it was formed.
Generations after generations have stayed because Conri runs a good pack. ”
“I think that’s wonderful.” He said that he’d been a good man and that was why people stayed. “I think it’s all the family that makes them stay. As I’ve been told numerous times, this family is good to the community, and it shows in everything that goes on around here.”
After dinner, he kept napping. He wasn’t ashamed of being so tired that he couldn’t stay awake, but missed some of the conversation that Sharon was having with him.
Finally, at nine-thirty, he made his way up to bed.
Just as he was getting ready for sleep, he realized that he’d not heard from anyone about Dick.
Good. The less he heard, the better. Rolling over to his side to sleep, he was closing his eyes when something else occurred to him. He’d not set an alarm. Fuck it, he thought, he didn’t have anything to get up for in the morning, and he was going to sleep until he was ready to wake up.