Chapter Two – Kit

So far it had been quite a day. Being handed an abandoned baby was unexpected, but to find his mate too? Hell, this was going to be one day to remember. And one to tell his grandkids about. Grandkids that five minutes ago were a thing he could only dream of, but now were closer to reality. After he had kids with his mate, of course.

Wow, his world was turned upside down, and spinning around and around.

“Dr. Malvern?” his mate asked.

“Yes.” He stood up, thankful his knees didn’t give way. With his mate so close, it was hard to keep control of his senses. All he knew was she was here, and she was real. Her scent tickled his nose, he could hear the sweet sound of her voice, but he desperately wanted to reach out and touch her just to be sure.

“I’m Suzie McLeish.” His mate smiled brightly and held out her hand, trying to be professional, but the hand she offered him trembled.

“Good to finally meet you, Suzie.” Kit smiled, and took her hand, his thumb brushing the back of it, causing the trembling to pass through the rest of her body. “Sorry.”

Suzie looked down at their joined hands, and her cheeks flamed. “That’s OK.” She took a deep shuddering breath. “I do understand.”

“Understand?” Kit asked.

“How you feel. Well, sort of…” Suzie looked up at him, as if expecting him to say something.

“Oh, the bond.” Of course, the bond, what else could she mean? “You aren’t a shifter, though?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately not.” Suzie shrugged. “I always wondered what it would be like.”

“Incredible,” Kit replied, staring at Suzie. But the little child on the exam table before him started to whimper, and soon she would be crying. “You know you are the center of my world…” Kit gave Suzie his best, most winning smile; his bedside manner was famous throughout the hospital. And he would certainly like to give Suzie firsthand experience, but it would have to wait.

“But this young lady needs to our full attention,” Suzie finished.

“She does indeed.” He let go of Suzie’s hand and reluctantly let it drop. Then he picked up his stethoscope and put it back in his ears. Funny, he hadn’t even remembered taking it out. “I was just checking her over. Usually, I would insist she stay in the hospital, but since the weather has taken a turn for the worse, and I’m afraid the hospital will be short-staffed, I’ve decided to take her home with me tonight.”

Suzie cleared her throat. “Normally, I would insist an abandoned baby stayed here, but I agree since you are a doctor.”

“There, we are in agreement,” Kit said. “A good start to our relationship.”

“Our relationship…” Suzie set her briefcase down on the counter to her left. “Where this little beauty is concerned, our relationship must remain businesslike.” She paused as she moved to pull out a sheaf of papers. “In fact, I wonder if the bond…” Suzie hesitated and Kit got the feeling she was thinking that pinching herself might be a good idea.

“It’s OK, this is a shock.” He took his stethoscope from his ears and placed it down on the bed next to the baby. “But if you are going to say we should put our relationship on hold...” He shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Even if it’s best for the baby?” Suzie asked.

“Suzie, I’m a professional. And this is not my first baby,” Kit reassured her.

Suzie let out a tense breath. “It’s my first baby. My first shifter baby.”

“Ahh, you have taken over from the indomitable Fiona.” Kit nodded in understanding. “She is a hard act to follow. But I’m sure you will do just fine, in your own way.”

Suzie let her eyes flit to the baby and then to Kit. “I’m her supervisor at Social Services. I’ve known about shifter children for a while now… So when she went on maternity leave, everyone thought I would be a good fit to take over their placement in the system.”

“You don’t have to be a shifter to do your best for these children. They need love and security, just like any other.” Kit smiled at her kindly.

“I just worry I don’t understand anything at all, that I’m a fraud.”

Kit wrapped the small baby in a blanket and scooped her up in his arms. His protective instinct kicked in, as it always did around children, big or small, and he hugged her to him. Giving himself a moment to collect his senses, which were completely rocked by the nearness of his mate, he closed his eyes, centering himself.

When he was in control, he opened his eyes, and turned to Suzie, taking a step toward her. “Here. Hold her. She’s no different to any other baby. And since we don’t know who left her, she might not be a shifter. It can be difficult to tell at such a young age. But whether she is a shifter or not, she needs love and protection, just the same as any newborn.”

Suzie took the baby from Kit and cradled her gently in her arms, tears misting her eyes. “It’s been a long time since I held a newborn baby. A very long time.”

“Hey, are you OK?” Kit asked as a tear rolled down Suzie’s cheek.

“Yes, just a little overwhelmed.” She stroked the little girl's cheek. “You are right, she’s perfect. Just perfect.”

“And it’s our job to see that she has a happy life, with people who love her.” He allowed himself a moment to breathe, to take in the scene before him of his mate holding a child in her arms. Kit wished it was their child. But that would come in time. He was going to have to be patient a while longer. Because Suzie was right, they were going to have to take things slow: this small child truly was the most important thing in both of their worlds right now.

“How do you know she’s a shifter?” Suzie asked, looking up at Kit.

“We can’t be a hundred percent sure, but after she was found, we searched the grounds. One of the nurses said there were big cat paw prints in the snow. I think she thought this little one was in danger of being eaten.”

“So you assume the paw prints were from the mother?” Suzie asked, with a frown.

“Yes. Or father. We can’t say for sure, although I did go out and take a photograph of them before the snow covered them completely.” Kit took his cell phone from his pocket and showed the image to Suzie.

“Are we going to try to track the mother?” Suzie asked.

“I like it when you say we,” Kit said softly.

She blushed at his words and then corrected herself. “I meant the hospital and Social Services.”

“Oh, that we,” Kit replied with a grin. “The sheriff is swamped right now, with the storm coming in. But he’s made a statement to the local news. It may help us find the mother.” Kit stroked the little girl's cheek and shook his head. “Whoever she is, she might need medical treatment. We need to know she’s OK, and the circumstances of why she abandoned her baby.”

“Because this little one deserves a chance to be with her real mom,” Suzie said, her voice cracking.

“Yes. But not all moms make good mothers,” Kit told her. “And maybe this mom knew that.”

“But we at Social Services could help her.” Then Suzie turned away, brushing a tear from her eye. “You are right. We need to know the circumstances before we jump to any conclusions.”

“We do indeed. Open minds, and for now, we take care of what we can. Which means we take care of this little girl. Who is going to need a name.”

“What if the mother has already named her?” Suzie asked.

“We can give her a temporary name. I refuse to call her baby.”

“How about Storm?” Suzie suggested.

Kit looked out of the window, where the snow was falling fast, the wind buffeting it against the glass in hard gusts. “Storm is perfect.”

Suzie, baby still cradled in her arms, walked to the window and looked out. “I don’t think we are going anywhere in this.”

Kit picked up his stethoscope and hooked it around his neck. “I can get us home.”

“Home? I live thirty miles away.”

“My home.” His eyes darkened as he watched her face and saw the uncertainty there. “I promise to be chivalrous.”

“Chivalrous?” Suzie blushed beautifully.

“I have a guest room, you are welcome to make use of it.” He joined her in looking out of the window. “I live in Bear Creek, it’s a ten-minute drive. My SUV has snow chains already fitted, and I’ve driven in worse weather conditions. I’m part of the mountain rescue team.”

Suzie looked up at him. “I’m impressed.”

“The things a man does to fill his life while he’s waiting for the right woman to come along.” His longing filled his expression, but this time Suzie didn’t turn away, she allowed herself to bathe in the glow. “I won’t ever hurt you. I can’t. We share a bond, and I aim to make you happy.”

“I’m going to have to call my mom first,” Suzie replied. “I live with her. She’ll be worried.”

“Of course. Make sure you tell her you are safer coming home with me. This snowstorm is going to get treacherous really fast.”

Storm gurgled and wriggled in Suzie’s arms as she passed the baby back to Kit. “I’m going to go out in the corridor and call her.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Kit replied. Forever.

Forever turned out to be a five-minute conversation, which he tried not to listen to. His enhanced shifter hearing made it difficult, even when he walked to the far side of the room. Suzie’s mom sounded concerned, and Kit wanted to know why. Was there a problem with his mate he should know about?

“OK. Let’s go.” Suzie came back into the room, looking flustered.

“Everything OK?” Kit asked.

“Yes.” Suzie looked at her phone. “She was worried about the weather, and me staying with a strange man.”

He grinned. His mate was putting her trust in him. “I just have to grab some formula, and then I’ll be ready.”

“Do you have everything else we need?” Suzie asked as he headed for the door.

“Yes, I’m always prepared, including some formula, but if this snow gets worse, we might not get out for days,” Kit said.

“Days?” Suzie sounded less sure about her decision. “Are you are sure you want to risk going home? We could stay here.”

Kit bent down, gazing at Storm. “I don’t want her to feel abandoned.” He lifted his eyes to Suzie’s. “She’ll be warm and safe, and feel loved at home with us.”

“Us?” Suzie repeated. “I’m not sure Storm should get used to there being an us.”

“There is nothing like the comfort of safe arms,” Kit said. “And don’t worry, I know she’s not mine, or ours. I’ve done this enough times to know that this a fleeting moment in Storm’s life, and will soon be forgotten. But I won’t forget.”

“Dr. Malvern, I swear you are going to make me cry again,” Suzie confessed.

Kit laughed. “Some tears are good tears.”

“I hope those are the only kind of tears Storm cries.” Suzie shrugged. “At least for the first couple of years of her life.”

“True. We have to experience some of life’s lows, to truly appreciate the highs.” Kit opened the door and they walked together along the corridor.

Kit had known some lows. In his job, he’d seen the best and the worst in people. Kit had watched families make the best of truly terrible experiences. He’d seen them rise above the crap life aimed their way. This was the rule he tried to live by.

But today, today Kit Malvern was about as high as a man could get.