Colton was softly laughing to himself after they left the room—the joys of being the supporting father. But he had to admit, Steel was great. No matter what Jackson needed, Steel was right there providing it. Yup, his brother had hit the mate jackpot with Steel; they complemented each other’s strengths perfectly. He certainly had a model to use when looking for a mate.Huh, well, make that sometime in the far future.
After his brother returned, Colton conducted the rest of the examination, taking more blood. Now, it was time to see the baby. He measured Jackson’s belly then prepped it for the ultrasound. Jackson and Steel loved listening to their pup’s heartbeat, and today it was echoing through the room loudly. “See, bro, your pup is doing well…good strong heartbeat. Boy, look at the little guy kick. Does he do it often?”
“Yes, I think I’m his punching bag or kicking bag as the case may be.”
“Is he more active at certain times during the day?”
“No, not particularly. But when he gets too active, Steel can calm him down by singing to junior and rubbing where he’s kicking.”
“Is that his name? Steel junior?”
“No, we just call him that for now. We’re still in the discussion stage about names.”
“Any hints?”
“What? No way, you’ll just tell your brothers and then we’ll have a new pool for names. As it is, you guys have betting pools for weight, day of birth, color of eyes, time of birth, and everything else imaginable. You’re not going to have one for the name,” huffed Jackson.
Laughing, Colton said, “We already have one for the name. I was just looking for an advantage.”
“Fuck off!”
“Tsk tsk…language, brother. You have to set the example for the rest of us…and the pup, remember?”
And yup, there it was…Jackson’s middle finger.
~/~/~/~/~
Dr. Luna looked up as Pablo came through the door to the clinic. “Why are you late, Pablo?” he asked the nurse.
“Sorry, Dr. Luna. I had some personal business to take care of this morning and it took longer than I thought. What’s the plan for today?”
“Don’t let it happen again. If you need time off, let me know and I’ll make sure your shift is covered. Now, today, I need you to take the vitals of the three patients I admitted last night. All were attacked, but didn’t seek medical treatment promptly so I have to keep them hereuntil the silver leaves their system. As soon as you are finished, please bring the results to me.”
“Absolutely! Right away, doc.”
Dr. Luna watched Pablo walk toward the patient’s rooms, shaking his head at Pablo’s behavior. What he wouldn’t give to have a Colton instead. He’d bet anything that young man would never jeopardize the care of any person.
Heading for his office, his thoughts were on having the new hospital and clinic up and running. It wouldn’t be long now. What an amazing gift Dire Medical was giving to these shifters. And it was all due to the attacks occurring in the last three months. If there was a good side to the attacks, it was the new medical facility. Not that he would ever condone the attacks, but truth be told, they had benefited his people by bringing attention to the lack of medical care for the Mexican Wolf shifters.What a twisted situation!Sitting at his desk, Luna’s thoughts led him to call Slate.
“Hello, Juan, what’s up?”
“Well, I have been thinking about Colton.”
“What about him?”
“I want to offer him a position on staff once the hospital and clinic are finished. I really could use someone of his abilities here. How do you think I should proceed?”
Hesitating, Slate thought of Colton’s situation. “You know he isn’t a licensed nurse, right?”
“Yes, I know that, but maybe his time here can count towards his degree. That way, we both would benefit. Look, Slate, I think it is worth making the push to get him here. His work on the floorplan and equipment list was flawless. I don’t even think I could do as well and I’vebeen a doctor more years than I can count. I’m telling you, that man is special. I just feel it in my soul. What do I need to do to get him down here?”
“I understand, but his situation is complicated. Let me think about it and talk to Steel first. I’ll get back to you in a couple of days. Okay?”
“Sí, I’ll wait for your call. Adios.”
Chapter 6
He yanked open his refrigerator and grabbed three beers. He was dirty and stank of blood, gore and piss. Soon, he had to head out to find more shifters to attack.Fuck, no!He wasn’t going to do it until they met his demand for more money.
