well…”
Kidneys? He blanched. He figured this would be a girl/boy, five fingers/five toes kind of thing, not an anatomy lesson.
“This is quite a big baby for thirty weeks,” the doc went on. “Big hands, too.”
Soren looked at his own hand, scowling. His mom had always said that about him. It seemed like her favorite thing, sharing too much information about him as a baby. She’d laugh and smile and go all misty-eyed and babble on about embarrassing baby things.
My big baby bear with his big bear hands,
his mom used to say.
Yeah,
he used to grumble. She said that about Simon, too.
And wait a minute. Hadn’t his aunt said the same thing about his cousins?
He sat a little straighter, trying to remember the last baby to be born to the clan. It had been a good long time ago. He’d been about twelve and couldn’t have cared less. All he vaguely remembered was a group of excited women gathered around a cradle.
That’s a good bear baby,
one of the older women had said.
You can always tell a bear. Big body, big hands.
“Oh, what’s this?” the doctor said, sounding concerned.
Sarah looked up in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing,” the doctor said quickly. “It’s just that I caught a glimpse of something…”
Soren glanced at the monitor. The doctor turned the probe around Sarah’s private parts, panning the view. “Hmmm. Let me get my glasses…”
He clenched and unclenched his hands. Big baby, big hands…
Fuck. What if the father wasn’t human? What is the father was a bear?
He looked at Sarah, who was studying the screen in concern. The image didn’t resemble a human or a bear so much as an alien of some kind.
His mind spun. Surely Sarah hadn’t slept with one of the guys from his clan? His cousin Todd had promised to keep Sarah safe while Soren was gone, and Todd had never said anything about Sarah showing any interest in another bear shifter. Not that Sarah would know the difference between a shifter and human, but still.
The doctor stuck a pair of glasses on her nose and turned to the screen.
Soren had no clue if the baby was a shifter or not, and he had no clue if shifter babies were recognizable in ultrasounds. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to find out the hard way. He wrapped a foot around the power cord to the monitor and yanked it out of the socket.
“Oh!” the doctor cried, watching the screen go black.
“Oh?” Sarah looked at the doctor, more anxious than ever.
Soren kicked the cord out of sight as the doctor went around the room, flicking the lights on and off.
“We didn’t seem to lose power,” she murmured.
God, Soren hoped she was better with babies than she was with circuitry.
Two more women hustled in and started rooting around. And Jesus, there was poor Sarah, high and dry on that damn examining chair, worried and helpless and alone. He grabbed her hand and shoved her clothes at her.
“We’re out of here.”
“Soren!” she protested.
“We’re out of here.”
“But…”
“We have to go.”
“But why?” Sarah pulled back.
He ground his teeth. “We have to talk.”
“Talk?” she gaped at him. “You want to talk now?”
* * *
He drove clear out of town and up into the hills, wondering desperately how he’d start the talk neither of them wanted to have. His inner autopilot led him to the state park he usually headed to when he needed to let his bear out, where he parked and led Sarah — tight-lipped, angry Sarah — out to the first of two lakes. The water was blue and calm, reflecting a gorgeous Arizona sky, the red rock outcrops, and the green of the pines on the surrounding hills. It was one of this favorite places — so calm and serene. Which didn’t seem to help, though, because after pacing for a few minutes, he ended up blurting it out.
“Who’s the father?”
Sarah closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sarah, I need to know.”
Her eyes flew open, and boy did she look mad. “Why would
Kidneys? He blanched. He figured this would be a girl/boy, five fingers/five toes kind of thing, not an anatomy lesson.
“This is quite a big baby for thirty weeks,” the doc went on. “Big hands, too.”
Soren looked at his own hand, scowling. His mom had always said that about him. It seemed like her favorite thing, sharing too much information about him as a baby. She’d laugh and smile and go all misty-eyed and babble on about embarrassing baby things.
My big baby bear with his big bear hands,
his mom used to say.
Yeah,
he used to grumble. She said that about Simon, too.
And wait a minute. Hadn’t his aunt said the same thing about his cousins?
He sat a little straighter, trying to remember the last baby to be born to the clan. It had been a good long time ago. He’d been about twelve and couldn’t have cared less. All he vaguely remembered was a group of excited women gathered around a cradle.
That’s a good bear baby,
one of the older women had said.
You can always tell a bear. Big body, big hands.
“Oh, what’s this?” the doctor said, sounding concerned.
Sarah looked up in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing,” the doctor said quickly. “It’s just that I caught a glimpse of something…”
Soren glanced at the monitor. The doctor turned the probe around Sarah’s private parts, panning the view. “Hmmm. Let me get my glasses…”
He clenched and unclenched his hands. Big baby, big hands…
Fuck. What if the father wasn’t human? What is the father was a bear?
He looked at Sarah, who was studying the screen in concern. The image didn’t resemble a human or a bear so much as an alien of some kind.
His mind spun. Surely Sarah hadn’t slept with one of the guys from his clan? His cousin Todd had promised to keep Sarah safe while Soren was gone, and Todd had never said anything about Sarah showing any interest in another bear shifter. Not that Sarah would know the difference between a shifter and human, but still.
The doctor stuck a pair of glasses on her nose and turned to the screen.
Soren had no clue if the baby was a shifter or not, and he had no clue if shifter babies were recognizable in ultrasounds. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to find out the hard way. He wrapped a foot around the power cord to the monitor and yanked it out of the socket.
“Oh!” the doctor cried, watching the screen go black.
“Oh?” Sarah looked at the doctor, more anxious than ever.
Soren kicked the cord out of sight as the doctor went around the room, flicking the lights on and off.
“We didn’t seem to lose power,” she murmured.
God, Soren hoped she was better with babies than she was with circuitry.
Two more women hustled in and started rooting around. And Jesus, there was poor Sarah, high and dry on that damn examining chair, worried and helpless and alone. He grabbed her hand and shoved her clothes at her.
“We’re out of here.”
“Soren!” she protested.
“We’re out of here.”
“But…”
“We have to go.”
“But why?” Sarah pulled back.
He ground his teeth. “We have to talk.”
“Talk?” she gaped at him. “You want to talk now?”
* * *
He drove clear out of town and up into the hills, wondering desperately how he’d start the talk neither of them wanted to have. His inner autopilot led him to the state park he usually headed to when he needed to let his bear out, where he parked and led Sarah — tight-lipped, angry Sarah — out to the first of two lakes. The water was blue and calm, reflecting a gorgeous Arizona sky, the red rock outcrops, and the green of the pines on the surrounding hills. It was one of this favorite places — so calm and serene. Which didn’t seem to help, though, because after pacing for a few minutes, he ended up blurting it out.
“Who’s the father?”
Sarah closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sarah, I need to know.”
Her eyes flew open, and boy did she look mad. “Why would
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