It didn’t feel right leaving her on her own.
His mountain lion certainly didn’t want to leave her. It hunkered in its corner, its beady gaze pinned on Josh’s grizzly bear. Connor knew for a fact the doc wasn’t the sort of man to put the moves on a patient, but for some reason, his mountain lion hadn’t gotten that memo. Josh was a good-looking man, and Elaine was vulnerable. They were both bears shifters. What if…?
“Connor?” The doctor nodded at the door.
“Right.” Connor attempted to collect his thoughts.
Elaine stretched out on the exam table, and her shirt rode up her belly, exposing a creamy swath of skin.
The mountain lion growled. Connor’s lips went dry.
Damn. He didn’t know she was hiding such pretty skin under her shirt.
What else was she hiding?
None of your goddamn business, asshole. Leave!
“Sorry,” he said, backing away. He gripped the door. “I was miles away. I’ll give you some privacy.”
He exited the exam room, shut the door, and leaned back against it. Josh’s and Elaine’s murmured voices inside the room did nothing to calm his erratic heartbeat. What were they talking about? Was he touching her soft belly or offering her a “tickle”?
What if he found something wrong? He should be in there, just in case she got some bad news. She would need him.
He tried to swallow some air but couldn’t seem to fill his lungs.
“Uncle Connor.” Layla tugged on his jeans. She held up two lollipops. “I can’t decide. Should I take red or purple? Sharon said I could have two, but I don’t want to be greedy.”
He rubbed her head. Most kids her age would have taken the two suckers and run for the hills. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”
Her smile helped him forget his momentary insanity.
She looked at the purple one and wrinkled her nose.
“Personally,” he said, “I always go for red.”
Layla considered the two candies. She ripped the wrapper off the purple one and stuck it in her mouth.
“What about the red one?”
She put it in his hand. “You keep it.”
“Why are you giving it to me, honey?”
“Because you’re a good kid, too. You make my mommy smile.” She blinked, her long lashes sweeping over big, brown eyes, and then tripped away to join her brother at the small puzzle table in reception.
His heart pounding, Connor stared at the lollipop. He had the sudden urge to collect Elaine, run over to Layla and Andy, pick them all up and hug them until they complained, and tell the rest of the world to fuck off.
Lloyd’s family washisfamily. He needed to sort out his life so he did right by them.
His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered. “Connor Church.”
“Hello, Connor. It’s Lydia from the Applicant Testing Services with Toronto Police, returning your call.”
“Oh, hello, Lydia.”
“You had left a couple of messages regarding rescheduling your testing date. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to respond before today. Our website has been experiencing some glitches. Were you still interested in rescheduling?”
“Right. Rescheduling.”
