Midnight Son, page 8
“No, I like the quiet. Plus, my research is in polar bears and it’s a little easier to get close when there aren’t many people around.”
“I read a lot of polar bears lived around here. Are they dangerous?” She winced as the question left her mouth. “I mean, I know they are dangerous creatures. I guess, what I want to know is, should I be worried? About Jasper?”
“Jasper isn’t in any danger from a polar bear.”
He said the words with such confidence and power she had the strange sensation he had some inside knowledge. Maybe he is like that aquatic superhero who can talk to the sea creatures. Would a polar bear count as a sea creature? They spent most of their time on land and ice but...
She shook her head to clear the thoughts.
Low green bushes with the occasional splash of red thrown in covered the ground on the sides of the narrow road.
“In a couple of weeks, it turns to autumn up here,” he said.
“But the summer solstice is tomorrow. Fall is months away.”
He chuckled. “On the calendar, yes. Up here? Summer doesn’t last. The cool thing is the vegetation you see out here is made up of dwarf shrubs. When they turn color, it’s those same autumn colors but they are low to the ground. Pretty amazing.
Love rolled through his voice as he talked about the land.
“What kind of research do you do?” she asked. “You said you research polar bears?”
“Looking at impacts of global warming on the polar bear habitat mainly. How the loss of sea ice is affecting them, what the lack of ice does to their primary food sources and hunting grounds, changes in mating. Those are my main focus.”
“Wow. Is that what you went to school for?”
“Yeah, undergraduate in biology. Did my thesis on the feeding patterns of the polar bear in a changing climate.”
“Should I be calling you Dr. Hawthorne?”
He glanced across the tiny cab, the blatantly seductive look in his eyes. “Sure, I’ll play doctor with you.”
Raina laughed because she was pretty sure he meant it as a joke, but damn, playing doctor with Braxton sounded like lots of fun.
They approached the outskirts of the little town. Raina had seen part of the community during the drive from the airport. The houses were fairly close together and, like Braxton’s, most were on pilings. He drove slowly by one house.
“This is my mom’s place when she’s in town.”
“Does she spend a lot of time in...trying to sound like a local here? The Lower 48?”
“Very good. But no, she just, uh, likes to camp so spends most her days outdoors, on the beach.”
“You grew up here?” She needed to take this opportunity to get to know Braxton a little more. If she was leaving Jasper with his dad, she wanted to make sure the man was stable.
“Born and raised. Did my undergrad in Fairbanks then went to the Netherlands to finish.”
“Wow.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” Right. It was only fair he got to ask questions in return. “I did my undergrad at the University of Nevada Reno.”
“Good basketball team.”
“Yes. Then did my—” Her brain waved flags, warning her mouth to stop talking. Helena. He thinks you’re Helena. “Right. Reno. Great basketball.”
Oops. She hadn’t covered her own flub very well. Braxton gave her a side-eye glance but didn’t say anything.
“So your mom lives here.” She forced some extra sunshine into her voice. “What about your dad?”
“Not in the picture.”
“Oh, sorry. I—I didn’t mean to intrude.”
He glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “Not intruding. He left before I ever met him.”
“That’s rough.”
“It was okay.” He hesitated and Raina wondered if maybe it wasn’t okay. Growing up without a father had to be tough. Braxton pursed his lips together but kept his gaze drilled forward. Finally, Raina turned to look as well.
On the side of the road, in front of one of the houses, stood two women. Arms crossed, heads tilted. The expressions on their faces reflected supreme displeasure...all directed toward the inside of the truck cab.
Braxton sighed and pulled the vehicle to the open space next to those angry looking women.
“You know the saying, ‘it takes a village’?” Braxton asked. Raina nodded. “Well, it looks like the village wants a word with me.”
He put the truck in park and slipped out the driver’s side. Raina didn’t know if she should climb out and join him. He stalked the few steps to the women.
They both had long black hair. One woman’s hair shone in the light, generously sprinkled with streaks of white. Despite the gray, the woman held the timeless quality of Beatrix, not making her look any older than Raina.
She couldn’t hear what they said. The women’s bodies retained their tension. Braxton opened his hands but didn’t appear to be bowing in supplication. He kept talking. The first woman, the one with the white spread through her hair, straightened her spine and continued to glare at Braxton with the occasional flick of those piercing eyes toward Raina.
Ex-girlfriend? Current girlfriend? Hell, she hadn’t considered Braxton might be in a relationship. He didn’t appear to be married but it was very possible he had a girlfriend. He and Helena had been a one-night stand. Who knows who he’s sleeping with now?
Raina took a shallow breath and tried to look harmless as the other woman peered around Braxton’s shoulder and stared at Raina. Braxton moved to block their line of sight. After long moments, Braxton nodded and backed away, finally turning when he got to the front of the truck. He walked around to the passenger side.
Raina fumbled with her seatbelt, freeing herself after a few tries. As she reached for the handle, the door opened and Braxton filled the space.
“I’d like you to meet some friends of mine,” he said. He offered a hand to help her climb down. As she spun her legs toward the open door the skirt once again inched up her thighs. A low growl rumbled from his chest. Without warning, he plucked her off the seat and placed her feet on the ground. “Safer that way.”
Strangely nervous—though she didn’t have to be, she reminded herself—Raina smoothed her hands down her hips and followed Braxton. She had the weirdest urge to take his hand, to lean on his emotional strength, to show there was a connection between them. Which clearly there wasn’t.
Damn. I’ve been here for one day and already I’m thinking like he’s my boyfriend? It’s crazy.
Crazy or not, the feeling remained.
She shivered from the cool air brushing across her bare legs and used the micro-shudders to straighten her spine. Just the action of pushing her shoulders back gave her that extra boost of confidence she needed.
“Jess and Bix, this is Helena.” He turned to Raina. She ground her teeth together to crush the correction. I’m not Helena. I’m Raina.
Thank goodness we’re—or at least I am—leaving in two days. She didn’t know how she would explain to everyone she met that she wasn’t Helena. Not that they will ever find out. You’re out of here in two days. On the plane. Leaving Jasper and Braxton.
Strange how her heart ached worse than the idea of only leaving Jasper used to cause. Twenty-four hours, she reminded herself. You can’t develop a deep attachment to someone in twenty-four hours. Or maybe you can, but you probably shouldn’t.
“Helena, this is my cousin Jessie and my twin sister Bixby.” He indicated the woman with the partially white hair second.
“Oh, that makes sense,” she said aloud, wondering where her filter disappeared to. “Your hair, I mean. It looks like your mother’s.”
“She’s met Mom?” Bixby snapped her gaze to Braxton. “Good. Because if Mom had to find out you had a ma—”
“Mom’s at the house with Jasper right now.”
“Jasper?” Bixby asked.
“Family name,” Raina interjected before anyone else made a snarky comment about her nephew’s name.
“I like it.” She glared at her brother. “Not an X anywhere.”
Braxton rolled his eyes and shook his head before looking at Raina.
“She complains to me because she doesn’t like her name.”
“It’s not even a real name. It’s made up.”
“I think it’s pretty,” Raina said.
“Well, thank you.” This time Bixby turned her intense focus on Raina, sending her gaze in a full body scan up Raina’s body. “You’re not what I expected.”
“What—?”
Braxton sighed and did half an eye-roll. “Small town. Word has spread rather quickly that you’re here and staying at my house with a baby.”
“Oh. Yes.”
“When can I meet my nephew?” Bixby clapped her hands together. “You’ll bring him for Solstice tomorrow?”
Braxton tensed beside her. “We’ll see.”
“But—”
“We’ll talk about it, Bix.” The firm answer shut down Bixby’s protests but Raina could tell by the intensity behind the woman’s stare she would be having words with her brother. “What’s Walter up to?” Braxton directed the question to Jessie.
“Oh, he’s in the house, complaining about the pain in his stomach again.” The woman grimaced. Up close, Jessie appeared older, more lines around her face. “I keep telling him it’s appendicitis but he won’t listen to me. Won’t fly to town. Says he wants to die in his own bed. Maybe you should talk to him, Braxton. He might listen to you.”
“What’s going on with him?” Raina asked, her training taking over.
“He gets these terrible pains in his stomach but won’t go see a doctor about it.”
“We don’t have a clinic in town,” Braxton explained. “We can take care of minor stuff but if it needs actual medical, it means a trip to Anchorage.”
“He’s just stubborn.”
“Would you let me talk to him?” Raina stepped forward. “Maybe I can help.”
“Well, you can’t hurt. Come on in.”
Chapter Nine
Braxton stared at his mate’s retreating figure, curious to know what she thought she could do.
“Is she a doctor?” Bix asked.
Braxton shook his head. “Wedding planner.”
“How will the ability to calm Bridezilla help with Walter?”
“No idea.”
Bixby crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her head to the side, resuming the disapproving pose she’d been holding when they arrived.
“How well do you know this woman you claim is your mate?”
“She is my mate. Trust me on that one. And I know very little. We—we slept together one night. She was gone the next morning. A little more than a year later she shows up on my doorstep with a baby in hand.”
“Maybe it’s not your kid.”
“He’s mine. No mistaking that.” He smiled, thinking about the little chunk of a child with his same blue eyes.
“Have you run a check on her?”
Braxton schooled his face to remain passive.
“You haven’t? Dude, you’re the king of background checks.”
So true. They’d gotten high speed internet about five years ago and he’d set up several computers in his office. Another polar bear shifter ran a security firm out of Kaktovik. Though Gideon maintained a distance from the Anchorage clan, he hired Braxton on a regular basis to do background checks and security appraisals.
He used the ability to check out potential mates for his family and friends. Even when they didn’t ask for the service.
“I don’t know.” He offered a weak shrug. “Feels intrusive,” he said.
Bixby smacked him on the shoulder. “Now you know what it’s like. You wouldn’t want to have to explain to her that you’d done a background check on her and she has some overdue parking tickets.”
Braxton sighed. “Bix, that dude was an asshole and a bad driver.” He refused to apologize for protecting his family in any way he thought reasonable. “Do you really want someone like that driving around our little town?”
“Brax, it was a vacation fling! I wasn’t planning on marrying the man.”
Unfortunately—or so she would tell it—she’d made a miscalculation and mentioned the guy’s name in a phone conversation. Braxton had done a search. Even more unfortunate was the fact the guy had an alert system established to warn him if anyone was doing a background check on him. That in itself set off alarms for Braxton. The gentleman hadn’t been pleased about Braxton’s inquiries.
“Well, you can’t be too careful.”
“Says the man who got a strange woman pregnant.”
This time Braxton’s cheeks burned. “I—”
Bixby raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, challenging him, daring him to contradict her.
“You really want the details?” he growled back.
“Ew, gross. No.” She relaxed a bit and rocked her head toward Jessie and Walter’s house. “But you like her? Think she’ll stick around?” She waved her hand to the side. “This isn’t exactly the life for everyone.”
“I hope she stays. She’s my True Mate.”
“What did Mom say when you told her that?”
Their mother didn’t believe in fated mates, at least not for polar bears. She didn’t have a good opinion of male polar bears in general and never wanted to tie herself to one. She was perfectly fine with mating simply to have her kids then kicking the sperm donor out. Braxton had looked up the man who’d fathered him and discovered he’d been shot, while in his bear form, and died.
Shifters had amazing healing abilities but couldn’t survive a bullet to the brain.
“So far, she’s not thrilled but after spending a few hours with her grandson, I think she’ll come around.”
Bixby smiled as they walked into the house. “For such a cranky woman, she does love babies.”
“It’s only when they start talking back that she loses her fascination.”
They stepped inside. Like most houses in their little town, the windows all faced south to gather as much daylight as possible. They wandered through the kitchen. Braxton followed the sound of voices, stopping at the edge of the living room.
“I think you need to get it checked out,” Raina said. She crouched beside Walter reclined back in his easy chair. Her voice and attitude hummed with confidence and knowledge.
“I’ll make the appointment now,” Jessie said with a smug tone as she pulled out her cell. Walter crossed his arms over his chest, pouting but he didn’t protest.
“Is it appendicitis?” Braxton asked.
Raina stood and brushed her hands on her skirt, but didn’t say anything.
“She thinks it’s his gallbladder.” Jessie put the phone to her ear and turned away, talking quietly to whoever was on the other end. “Hold on.” She turned back. “Is it an emergency? Do we need to do this tomorrow?”
“Not an emergency but I’d do it sooner rather than later,” Raina said.
“I’m not missing Solstice.” Walter pounded his fist on the arm of his chair.
Jessie sent a questioning look to Raina, as if she had the final say.
“Solstice is...?”
“Tomorrow.”
“That should be fine. Maybe sometime next week?”
“Braxton, help me.” Walter sat more upright. “She’s not even sure it is my gallbladder.”
“No, because you need an ultrasound to confirm it,” Raina said. Walter glanced at her and sunk deeper into his chair. “They don’t hurt and one simple test could figure out what’s going on.”
“There.” Jessie placed her phone on the table. “We have an appointment for Monday morning at nine o’clock. We’ll fly out Sunday afternoon.” She reached over and squeezed Raina’s hand. “Thank you so much. We don’t have a doctor here so I appreciate you checking him.” She threw her arms around Braxton and gave him a hug. “Your mate is wonderful. Thank you.”
Raina’s head snapped up and that now familiar quizzical look flared in her green eyes.
“I’ll go fix us some treats.” Jessie smiled as she walked away, looking lighter than Braxton has seen her in awhile. “It’s Solstice after all!”
“What did she mean I’m your mate?” Raina asked in a soft voice. “Your mom said the same thing.” Tension rippled through the room, bouncing from person to person. One by one, they all looked to him.
“Oh, mate. You know, like friend? You’re my friend. My mate.” He willed himself to stop talking because random speaking rarely improved an explanation.
“Like a British kind of friend?”
“Yes,” he said, relieved she picked up the reference. Others were going to refer to her the same way and he couldn’t think of a way to alert the whole community that Helena didn’t know about bears and shifters. Yet. “I’m going to go help Jessie with snacks.”
He stalked out of the room like his tail was on fire. Coming to town might have been a mistake. Raina was going to become curious by the way people treated her.
He stepped into the small kitchen. “Hey, can I help?”
They tended to live a more traditional lifestyle up here, where women worked in the kitchen and men did the hunting. Though, truthfully, when they were in bear form, they all hunted.
“She’s lovely,” Jessie said, dropping her voice into a conspirator’s tone. She handed him a plate of smoked salmon and halibut ceviche. They had to bring the halibut in from the southern coast of Alaska but as polar bears, they pretty much loved anything from the sea. “And it will be so good to have a medical professional in the village again. I know shifters heal from almost anything but sometimes, we need a doctor.”
“She’s a doctor?” Braxton realized he said the question out loud when Jessie tipped her head to the side. “I mean, she’s not a doctor. I know that.”
“No. She’s a nurse practitioner and that’s almost as good, right?”
“Right.” Nurse practitioner? What happened to being a wedding planner? How did someone turn from a wedding planner to a nurse practitioner in a year? When you’re pregnant and having a baby?
