“Yes, she was. And the rest…as they say…is history. She arranged for me to go to the university and then medical school. After I finished my residency, I signed on with Frontline Doctors and never looked back. My parents moved out of the mountains and were given jobs in one of the companies Dire Enterprises owns.”
“Do you see your parents?”
“Oh yes. I go home between assignments and stay with them. Boy, are they going to be surprised to meet you,” Ian said, chuckling as he imagined the look on his parents’ faces.
“Why is that?”
Ian ducked his head and mumbled, “Because I told them I refused to take a mate since he would interfere with my career.”
When Ian’s words registered with Colton, he burst out laughing. “Oh, my gods, really?”
“Stop it. Don’t laugh at me.”
“Oh darling, I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at myself. Did any of my brothers ever tell you I said the same thing?”
Ian smiled as he looked up at Colton. “No. Did you really say that?”
“Hell, yeah, many times. Listen, when we found out Jackson could have a baby and was already pregnant, well, after everybody got over the initial shock, most of my brothers were envious of him and hoped they’d find their fated mates quickly. But not me…I was just like you. Medicine came first and if there was going to be a mate it was sometime in the distant future.”
Ian looked at Colton, studying the strong planes of his face and finally said, “So, you’re a natural healer, huh?”
“It would seem. I never knew it until someone made a comment after I’d recovered in Mexico. I found out from Jackson that my parents knew it when I was young and my father’s orders forbade anyone to mention it. After my parents died in the massacre, Jackson still kept it a secret, though I have no idea why. That’s the reason I was kidnapped and why Pablo was trying to sell me into slavery.”
Ian couldn’t suppress a shiver surging through his body. His wolf was standing at attention, snarling at the thought of that happening to their mate and Ian’s fear threatened his sanity at the thought of how close he came to losing Colton.
Then he felt his mate’s strong, gentle hands lifting him onto his lap. Resting his head on his Colton’s chest, he listened to the steady beat of his heart and felt his back being caressed. Ian’s body slowly relaxed.
“You okay, darling?” Colton asked.
“Humm mmm,” Ian slurred, his eyes closed, his body in a state of serenity.
They sat there quietly, letting the rest of the world move on, while they remained in their own private one.
~/~/~/~/~
Steel found Jackson sleeping on their bed and, not wanting to disturb him, he left to find Cody. The more he thought about it, the surer he became about the importance of the green light. Walking into the library, he found Logan at a table with his design books spread out.
Glancing up, Logan said, “Hi Steel, have a minute?”
“Sure, I’m looking for Cody. Do you know where he is?”
“Probably outside, meditating.”
“Meditating?”
“Well, I don’t know if that’s what it really is, but it’s what I call it.”
“O-o-okay. When did this start?”
“He’s always done it, ever since he was a toddler. My mom would find him sitting in his bed in the middle of the night in a trance-like state. Boy did she freak out but after talking to the Shaman she calmed down. After that, my mom told us to leave him alone whenever he was meditating.”
Steel was flummoxed. Deciding to ignore this new piece of information for now, he asked, “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes, the furniture for the nursery will be arriving later today. Will you be able to assemble it?”
“Sure, I’ll get my dad to help. Have you finished painting in there?”
“Yes, I finished it this morning. I wanted to show Jackson but he’s napping so I decided to start on the design for the great room. Is there anything in there you want to keep?”
