CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Amber~
“Laura had her twins this afternoon,” Amber said.
“I know. Girl and a boy.” Heather laughed. “Calvin just got off the phone with Patrick, and Uncle Freddie called hours ago. They’re all relieved and excited.”
“Yeah. The babies coming early threw everyone for a loop. When he told me Laura was in labor, Calvin sure sounded worried.”
“He told you?”
“Sure. He’s helping out at the stables while Laura is taking her maternity leave. We delivered Sissy’s foals this morning.” Amber chuckled. “Or at least Calvin delivered, I mostly watched.”
“Twins? Really?”
“Really. A boy and a girl – just like Laura. It was a blast! A bit worrying a first, but really exciting too.”
“I thought that was kind of a messy job,” Heather said.
“You bet. But Calvin didn’t seem to mind. Of course he had left his three-piece suit at home. And Laura is his sister. At a time like this, it’s his duty to give her a hand.”
“Hmm. Well, I think better of him for doing it.”
“Me too,” admitted Amber.
“How did last night’s shift with Lance Prescott go?”
“It was lovely. Even though we only watched the mares and none of them went into labor. We talked quite a bit. He’s from Tennessee and he was career military before his medical discharge.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Marines. Anyway, you might as well hear it from me, Heather. Lance has some pretty extensive injuries. He wears a patch over his left eye – but I’ve seen the eye and he’s badly scarred as well as legally blind.”
“If his scars don’t bother you, they won’t bother me,” Heather said firmly.
“I wish he hadn’t been hurt, of course. But he’s still very much a man. He acts like our cousins and that makes me feel right at home.”
“Don’t let your heart run away with your head,” Heather advised.
“I only said he put me in mind of Joey and Lenny,” Amber protested.
“Just keep in mind that he’s not a bear.” Heather warned. “How do you go about telling someone who is not a shifter that you are? Tell me that.”
“I purely do not know,” Amber sighed. “But it’s putting the cart before the horse to worry about that. We’re just starting to get to know one another.”
Was Heather correct? Was the fact that she was a bear shifter going to be a deal-breaker for Lance? Should she cut her losses before she got her heart broken again? It seemed foolhardy to risk the pain of falling in love with the wrong person. But equally cowardly not to give whatever was blossoming between her and Lance a chance.
“You take your time.” Heather broke into Amber’s ruminations. “Get to know him.”
“Lance walked me home last night when our shift was over. He looked all around. On guard. He was probably expecting that snake’s friend Dog will come looking for the gal who got his buddy imprisoned.”
Heather snorted. “That’s the least I would expect of any man if he’s interested in a woman. But you be careful, sis. That snake will for sure be looking for revenge. That’s what snakes do. You better keep a sharp eye out. And maybe you should think about telling Laura or Steve that Blondie is a rattlesnake. If he means you harm, cell bars won’t keep you safe.”
“I don’t know he’s a rattlesnake for sure,” Amber objected. “I just knew when I smelled Blondie he was a snake shifter. And that’s all I know. Anyway, if he does break out of jail, he’ll have a hard time sneaking up on me in the snow. Either in human or as a serpent. There are still mountains of snow here. Even the paths are just packed snow. He’d leave tracks for sure.”
“Snakes are sneaky. You make sure he can’t just slither along the electric wires and come down your chimney.”
“Heather, it’s twelve below this evening. My stove is blazing away, and I have to keep it going all night. Any snake that tried to slither down my stove pipe would come to the same end as the Big Bad Wolf.”
As she had intended, Heather laughed. “I guess so. I’ll try not to worry. But it’s hard when you’re so far away. I really miss you.”
“I miss you too, twin. But I’ll bet you don’t have a lot of time to miss me, not with three babies to feed and a commute to the hospital.”
“It’s not much of a commute from the hotel to the hospital, but I’ll admit I’m tired. Although Patrick does his part too. I can only nurse two and the third has to be formula fed.” Heather sighed. “We’re both at the hospital day and night – we take turns feeding them and sleeping on the cot beside the incubators.”
“It’s only right that Patrick should suffer too, Heather. They’re his responsibility.”
“He’s taken to being a daddy like a duck to water. Turned into a proper bear,” Heather said proudly. “He insists that we go to the hotel for a real meal twice a day, and that I nap whenever I can.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Privately, Amber doubted that Patrick Bascom had really changed. But she didn’t want an open breach with her only sister and her twin, so she kept her suspicions to herself.
“You need a bear, Amber Dupré. I don’t care how much of a man you think Lance Prescott is. He’s likely to take to his heels the second he finds out you’re a black bear.”
Amber sighed. Part of her felt that Heather was correct. The other part was hopeful that a sincere affection would make it possible for Lance to accept her for who she was. But all she said was, “Chance would be a fine thing. But aside from Steve Holden – and he’s taken – there aren’t any bears to speak of around here.”
“There’s Calvin.”
“Calvin has a way of making me feel about a smart as a day-old chick. Besides, he lives in Denver. We don’t see him except once in a while here in Success.”
“Didn’t you just tell me you spent the day helping him with a mare in labor?”
“That’s hardly permanent.”
“It’s a chance to get to know him a bit better. Patrick thinks the world of his cousin. Under all that gloss, Calvin is a good man. He’s a captain in the reserves like Patrick – like Gideon.” Their cousin Gideon Bascom* was in the Air Guard.
“I admit Calvin showed a different side today. But he’s usually so stiff and disapproving that I just want to creep into a hole.”
“Patrick was like that at first. But the love of a good woman has made a new bear of him.” Heather was smug.
“And you think I could work a similar miracle on Mr. Calvin Bascom? I don’t think I’m cut out to be a miracle worker, Heather. I’m not much for trying to change people. I just want to take them as they come. And Lance doesn’t seem to need much in the way of changing.”
“You’re infatuated,” Heather accused.
“I’d say, interested. I enjoy Lance’s company, and I look forward to more of it. He’s easy to talk to.” And he smelled right.
“Is he a good lover?”
“Heather Dupré Bascom! You’re asking for a little too much information, sis. We haven’t gotten anywhere near that far.”
“Is he at least a good kisser? Kissing is important. If a man’s no good at kissing, he is not going to be any good at the rest of it. It’s been a long time since Willie was killed.” Heather’s voice was warmly sympathetic.
“This has nothing to do with Willie,” Amber snapped.
“Sure it does. You’ve lived like a nun since he died.”
“Maybe,” Amber conceded. “I’ll tell you this for nothing, I don’t feel like a nun around Lance. Not the least littlest bit.”
*Bearly Ever