Chapter Two

Doc scowled as he pushed his way through the crowd hanging around Hooper’s store door. He wasn’t in the best of moods, and he refused to consider it had anything to do with not seeing any sign of Deputy Joe around town in the past three days. And no, he wasn’t going to ask after him. He had important mail to post and Mrs. Hooper’s store was the only place in town he could do it. But it didn’t stop him asking the woman in question why so many people were gossiping around her front door.

“Guess you don’t hear much, holed up in that office of yours.” Mrs. Hooper took the envelopes Doc handed over, pulling out her large book of stamps. “Word around town is our young deputy has finally found his fighting spirit. Took out his uncle on old man Forest’s farm not three nights ago. Killed him in his shifted form.”

“Young Liam has an uncle? What was he doing at Forest’s place?” Doc felt a pang of concern. Liam was a new father and although he had two mates to help him through, Liam’s temperament didn’t lend itself to killing anybody.

“Not Liam, you silly old codger. Deputy Joe.” Doc felt the blood fall from his face and he clutched the edge of the counter. Mrs. Hooper went on regardless. “Huge clash of the titans, if you hear Forest tell it, and he was there. Blood everywhere, young Joe injured. Forest felt for sure he was losing but then that piece of shit Quincy tried to gore Rocky, who was in wolf form at the time, and Joe pulled on some strength from somewhere. Ripped a hole in the old man’s chest he’d never recover from. Amazing work, if you ask me, but then I’ve always had a soft spot for Deputy Joe. Didn’t think he had it in him.”

He doesn’t. Doc wanted to scream. Joe was everything that was good in the world. He didn’t drink, Doc had never heard him cuss although he was sure he did. Joe followed the rules and did his job with a quiet strength a lot of shifters in town appreciated. He was fair and yet he was always ready to hear both sides of a story. In the years while his uncle was sheriff, deputy Joe was the one ray of decency in the police department.

“I’m surprised I didn’t see the young deputy in my surgery, if he was as injured as Forest says,” Doc said carefully, making sure not a shred of emotion showed on his face. He pulled his wallet out of his jacket to pay for the stamps. “Most people don’t think anything of knocking my door down in the middle of the night for a scratch.”

“It wasn’t a scratch, he was gored.” Mrs. Hooper looked around, but no one was paying them any attention. Leaning over the counter, she said in a low voice. “You didn’t hear me say this because that young buck has got more pride than sense. Word has it, that young wolf, Mal, went round to see Joe at home the next day because he still had the cruiser. I mean, we all know shifters heal pretty much anything when we shift but Mal caught him stitching himself up. Said he looked as white as a sheet but when Mal ordered him to come and see you, Joe refused. Said he’d quit his job if Mal tried to force him. Mal made him take a week off instead and told him to make sure he had someone with him at all times. That sad-sack Quincy was looking to kill him specifically and you can bet your bottom dollar, there’ll be more of that poisonous herd gunning for him now the old man is dead.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Doc regretted his outburst the moment it left his mouth, but fortunately Mrs. Hooper misunderstood.

“I know, right. I was just as shocked as you are. But those bloody buffaloes have got rocks for brains. I mean, even if they kill poor young Joe, it’s not as though anyone’s going to let them back into town anytime soon. Arrowtown is well rid of them all, in my opinion.”

Doc was sure he muttered some sort of agreement, but frankly he couldn’t get out of the store fast enough. The only thing in his mind was the picture of the young, beautiful deputy, sewing up wounds in his own tanned skin. Moving away from the store, Doc looked up and down the street, his fists clenched. The need to see Joe with his own eyes wasn’t something he could ignore. There was just one problem. He didn’t have the man’s address. Joe never visited him as a patient, and Doc never asked around for it, because he knew if he did know where his mate slept, he’d be haunting the house like a pathetic ghost. His mind wasn’t helping matters.

Leave it alone. Go back to work. There’ll be patients waiting.

He stitched himself up. I bet he didn’t even wash the wound or use a sterile needle.

He’s a shifter. He won’t die from a cut in the gut.

He’s on his own. There’re killers after him. He’s injured, and he won’t ask for help.

He won’t ask for help because of what I said to him. That thought alone was enough to bring the Doc to his knees and before he knew where he was going, he was on his way to the police station. Mrs. Hooper would know where Joe lived – she knew everything about everybody. But Doc was too afraid he’d break down and tell her the truth if she asked why he wanted the boy’s address. Nope, he’d get it from Mal. He had every right to ask for it. He was the only medical professional in Arrowtown and it was his job to watch out for the welfare of every person in town.

Unfortunately, his professional resolve crumbled as soon as he strode through the front door of the station and saw Mal laughing at his desk, Rocky and Liam perched on the corners. If they were all together, then who was looking after Joe? And what the hell did they have to be happy about?

“Doc,” Rocky grinned. “What’s brought you in here today? Is one of your patients causing you problems?”

“My problem is with you.” Doc felt his animal move restlessly under his skin and knew his eyes had changed. “How come I have to hear that one of your own is badly wounded in a fight to the death and he wasn’t brought to my office? At the very least, he should’ve been checked out.”

The smile fell off Rocky’s face in a blink. “He refused medical treatment. I don’t know why but considering how grumpy you are anytime he’s gone to your office to interview someone, I can’t blame him. Everyone knows you think he’s a piece of shit and no good at his job. I guess he didn’t want to swallow a lecture on buffalo stupidity along with his treatment.”

Doc blinked rapidly and mentally counted to five. “Deputy Joe is a duly sworn officer who works for this town. Under town laws, after sustaining an injury, he has to be cleared for duty by a medical professional. The only shifter medical professional around here is me.”

Rocky and Mal exchanged worried looks. Surprisingly, it was Liam who spoke up. “Joe might have refused to go and see the Doc, but there’s nothing to stop Doc from visiting him, is there?”

Doc’s eyes narrowed as he studied the young lion. He knows. I’m damn sure he knows which means Joe’s told him…but…but…. Mal and Rocky were apparently clueless, and Doc relaxed fractionally. To be honest he was surprised it’d taken Joe this long to crack before telling somebody. Mate rejection wasn’t easy to handle alone.

And fuck he is alone and now he’s injured and it’s all my fault. Doc had never considered a situation where his mate might get hurt doing his job. “I haven’t got a problem making a house call, if the deputy doesn’t want his image tarnished by visiting my office. Word around town is he’s a hero.”

“He’s more than that.” Rocky hopped off the desk and stalked towards him. Doc’s animal surged, and it took all his effort not to shift. “Deputy Joe is an integral part of our team. You’re right. He’s one of ours and in my head, that makes him family. My family. I agree, all of us here would feel a damn sight better if Joe got checked out by you, but if I hear you’ve said one thing to make him feel bad about what he did, I’ll gut you myself.”

“What Rocky means, Doc,” Mal added, “is Joe’s feeling pretty terrible right now as it is. He’s killed someone, and worse, that someone was a family member. No matter how horrible old Quincy might have been, family still counts to Joe and he’s not taking this death lightly.”

“He killed to save me.” Rocky was standing chest to chest with Doc now. Doc wouldn’t back down, nor would he snap his fangs even though he really wanted to. “He killed one of his family members who was trying to wear my fur as a horn ornament. As far as I’m concerned, he’s my brother from another mother. You upset that sweet man any more than he already is, and I’ll be wearing your balls on a necklace.”

“I hope you’ve got a bloody strong neck.” Doc smirked to ease the tension. “Give me the deputy’s address and I’ll visit after afternoon surgery. And I promise, not one harsh word will cross my lips.”

Rooting around on the desk, Mal pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled on it. “You can let us know in the morning when he will be fit for work, in your professional opinion.”

Taking, rather than snatching the precious piece of paper, Doc nodded and walked out. As he made his way back to his office, his mind was running nineteen to the dozen. Dinner, he decided. I’ll take him dinner. Fuck. Do buffaloes even eat meat? Deciding to research buffalo eating habits in between patients, Doc mentally prepared himself for his afternoon work. Six o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.