“You’re something else,” Cole said when Bull came to a panting stop in front of him. Bull licked Cole’s hand, getting a “Yuck” in reply, then Cole attached the leash to his collar before heading back to Domicile.
After a fast shower, Cole fell into bed, happier than he’d been in a long while. I have a place of my own, a job, maybe some new friends in time, and Bull. Yeah, things a finally looking up.
Chapter 6
Before Cole left for work Thursday morning, he took Bull downstairs. Several of the guys who lived a Domicile were still there and Bull quickly made friends with them. Then, Cole took him to Larry’s office, letting Larry know that he’d be back by eight-thirty that evening.
Bull remained in the office, with the door closed, until he was certain Cole was well on his way to work. Then he shifted.
“Glad to be back in human form?” Larry asked with a laugh.
“Let’s just say I’m not big on the whole collar and leash thing,” Ky grumbled, resting one hip on the corner of Larry’s desk.
Like Ky and Adam, Larry was a shifter—a wolf to be exact—and had been friends with Ky for years, so Ky wasn’t surprised when Larry asked, “When are you going to explain to Cole that there’s more to him than he knows?”
“Soon. I have to. He almost shifted when he was attacked the last time. Luckily, he thinks that the pain he’d felt was the result of one of the men shooting him with a Taser. Next time, however…”
“You think there will be a next time?”
“Unfortunately, it’s possible. Marsham seems to be desperate to get his hands on him. Rumor has it that, for whatever reason, he thinks Cole is his son.”
“Is he?” Larry asked.
Ky waggled one hand. “It’s possible. Cole was left at the sanctuary when he was less than a week old. The man who ran it quickly determined what he was, and found a couple in their mid-thirties who wanted to adopt him.”
“Did they know what he was?”
“No. Of course not. They’re humans. Things would have been fine if, at some point, they’d told Cole he was adopted, but they didn’t. He grew up believing he was their real son, and thought they’d accept that he was gay, however reluctantly, and still love him. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. They kicked him out of the house when he turned eighteen.”
“Just the wrong age to be forced to fend for himself,” Larry said, shaking his head.
“No kidding. I was on another job and didn’t find out about it until it was too late. It was pure luck that he ended up at The Haven. Adam got in touch with me that evening. I spent the next couple of nights following him. The third night, he couldn’t get a bed at a shelter. I was there when two punks decided to have some fun—” Ky made air quotes, “—with him. That gave me the in I needed to gain his trust, as Bull.”
“I’d ask why you didn’t do it as Kyland, but I know the answer,” Larry said dryly. “It would have taken too long. Kids, especially ones who’ve gone through what he did, are leery of the majority of adults. As you said, it’s lucky he ended up at The Haven. Adam’s one of those people everyone knows will help them without asking anything in return. It’s what makes him good at what he does. At least you, the man, got to meet Cole through him, which helps.”
“Actually, I met him, as a human, when Marsham’s men tried to grab him the first time.” Ky barely smiled. “That was tricky, explaining why I was there and Bull wasn’t, since I’d dealt with them in my human form, just like the second time they showed up. I’m presuming they were in their human forms because it would have been hard for them to transport him back to Marsham as dogs. No hands to hold on to him.”
Larry snorted. “They were too stupid to realize they could have used their jaws?”
“Who knows? Maybe they were afraid they’d damage him if they did. That might not have gone down too well with Marsham.”
“True, I suppose,” Larry replied. “Back to whether Marsham might be his father. If he is, then who dropped Cole at the sanctuary?”
“Cole’s mother, perhaps. Marsham has a reputation for forcing himself on any female Bullmastiff he wants, when she’s in her bitch form. If he impregnated one of them, and she was pissed off enough at his raping her, she might have taken off, had Cole, then left him at the sanctuary to keep him safe from Marsham. That’s what it’s for, to protect shifters who can’t take care of themselves. At least that could be what Marsham thinks happened, if he found out that she was pregnant.”
“Then why wait eighteen years to go after him? Why not step forward right away, say he was Cole’s father, and get him back?”
“You’re asking me?”
“No, the wall,” Larry said, grinning.
Ky flipped him off before replying, “Perhaps, he didn’t know Cole existed until just recently. Cole’s mother…Yeah, that works. She kept it a secret from Marsham, but eventually told someone else. Someone she trusted but shouldn’t have. That would be my guess, anyway. Of course Marsham may be way off base to start with. There’s no proof that Cole is his son. He could have been any female shifter’s unwanted baby. God only knows it happens with humans often enough. There’s no reason it can’t happen with us, as well.”
“True. But as long as Marsham thinks Cole is his, Cole won’t be safe.”
“Nope. And on top of that, Cole’s going to feel the need to shift, now that he’s of age.” Ky grimaced. “So I have my work cut out for me.”
“Especially since he came close to it when he was attacked.”
“Exactly.”
Larry tapped a finger on the desk. “Use that as a starting point.”
“I probably will,” Ky replied. “Still, it’s not going to be a walk in the park.”
“Says the dog that gets lots of those.”
“Wiseass,” Ky muttered, but he did laugh. “Speaking of which, I’d better shift and wander around before the guys wonder where Bull disappeared to.”
He did, then Larry opened the door to let him out of the office. He was immediately greeted by one of the boys who asked Larry if it was okay for him to take Bull to the courtyard. Larry said it was, so Bull spent most of the rest of the day out there, which was fine with him.
* * * *
Cole got back to Domicile just after eight-thirty that evening. The first thing he did was go in search of Bull. He found him in the rec room, playing with a couple of the guys. The second Bull saw him, he dashed over, acting as if Cole had been gone for weeks, not just part of the day.
As he had the previous evening, Cole got his dinner, plus extra for Bull, and took it up to his room with him, rather than eating in the almost empty dining room.
“Do you like stew?” he asked Bull, while filling his bowl with dry dog food. He laughed when Bull gave him a look that could be interpreted as “No duh,” and set the second bowl he’d gotten on the floor. Bull scarfed it up before Cole had even settled at the table to eat his own meal.
With dinner taken care of, Cole decided he should go food shopping at a grocery store he’d seen on his way home. It was only a couple of blocks away. He made a list of what he needed—the essentials to make breakfasts, and lunches on his days off—then debated taking Bull with him. Bull made the decision for him by going to get his leash off the doorknob.
When they got to the store, with a couple of stops for Bull to take care of business, Cole tied the free end of Bull’s leash to a bike stand, which reminded him he wanted to get his own bike, if he could find a decent used one that he could afford.
Given his limited budget, it only took ten minutes for him to get what he needed, including a keyring from a display of them by the checkout counter. He left the store to find a couple of kids and their parents watching Bull from a safe distance. Setting down his bags, Cole asked the kids if they wanted to pet Bull. “He perfectly safe,” he told the adults. “Slobbery, but safe.” With their parents’ permission, the kids inched close enough to pat Bull’s head. When he licked their hands, they giggled and “Yucked,�
� trying to shake off his slobber, much to the adults’ amusement.
As he and Bull walked away, Cole heard one of the kids ask, “Can we get a dog, Dad?” He didn’t hear the man’s reply but he suspected it was probably much the same as his father’s had been when he’d asked the same question, more than once. “Maybe when you get older and can take care of one.”
Thinking of that brought a wave of sadness. Although his last two months at home had been horrible, before then Cole had gotten nothing but love from his parents. “If I’d only kept my mouth shut,” he said morosely to Bull. “But then, if I had, I’d never have met you, so I guess things sort of worked out for the best.” That earned him what he thought was a compassionate nudge from Bull.
When they got back to Domicile, Cole put away his purchases, which consisted of bread, butter, lunch meat, and milk, as well as two relatively healthy pre-sweetened dry cereals. He slid his keys onto the keyring, put it and his wallet on the dresser, then went to take a shower. When he got back, Bull was curled up on the floor by the bed. Impulsively, Cole knelt to hug him before getting into bed.
“Tomorrow morning, I’m going to use one of the computers to go online and look for a used bike,” he told Bull. He chuckled. “Then you can really get some exercise, trying to keep up with me.”
Bull woofed softly, almost sounding as if he were laughing, which Cole took as a sign he liked the idea.
* * * *
Cole went down to use the computer as soon as he finished breakfast Friday morning. He found several people who had bikes for sale. Unfortunately, most of them wanted more than he could afford, or they lived halfway across the city from Domicile. He was about to give it up as a lost cause when Larry came into the rec room. He stopped by Cole, asking what he was doing.
“Trying to find a bike. That way I won’t have to bus to work and back.”
“Any luck?”
Cole shrugged. “Two, but one’s in Aurora and the other’s in Northglenn.”
Larry glanced at the clock above the desk then said, “Call them. If they’re home now, I’ll drive you out there to look at them before you have to leave for work.”
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.”
“Can I use your phone?” Cole asked as he wrote down the addresses and phone numbers. “Mine died soon after I left home and, stupid me, I forgot to pack my charger.”
“You can, and get your phone, if you still have it. You can use my charger,” Larry replied. He laughed when Cole immediately dashed off, returning moments later, phone in hand.
Luck was with Cole. Someone was home at both addresses and both bikes were still available. Unfortunately, the bike in Northglenn turned out to be too large for Cole, which he knew it would be as soon as he saw the guy who owned it. He was a good five inches taller than Cole’s five-ten.
As they drove to Aurora, Larry said, “Don’t give up. If the one they have for sale doesn’t work out, we’ll keep trying.”
“You don’t mind driving me around?”
Larry grinned. “It gets me away from Domicile for a while. Sometimes it seems as if I live and breathe the place twenty-four-seven.”
“You aren’t married?”
“Nope. Not that I haven’t been looking. I just haven’t found the right lady. And before you ask, I am looking for a lady.”
Cole laughed. “Unlike me, if I had the time and the inclination.”
“Bingo.”
“I think I want to buy this,” Cole said ten minutes later as he examined the bike the woman was selling. “Do you mind if I ride it around the block, to be sure?”
“Not at all. It belonged to my son, before he went off to college and decided he needed a car, instead. It’s been gathering dust ever since. He finally gave me the okay to get rid of it.”
When Cole returned, he proclaimed it perfect, “Other than needing some oil, which is no problem.”
“I happen to have some,” the woman replied, getting a can of bike oil from one of the shelves in the garage, as well as an unopened spare tire.
Cole paid her for the bike and thanked her when she said she was throwing in the oil and the tire for free. It took a bit of wrestling, but he and Larry managed to get the bike into the trunk of the car, using a bungee cord to keep the lid from flying open as they drove back to Domicile. On the way, they stopped so Cole could buy a lock for it, which almost depleted his finances until he got paid again. Not that Cole really minded. He had nothing to spend his money on, other than food and rent, which wasn’t due for another three weeks.
They got to Domicile with just enough time left to unload the bike before Cole had to leave for work. He decided not to use the bike until the next morning. He wanted to oil it and double-check that all the parts were in good working condition—especially the brake pads. At Larry’s suggestion, Cole put the bike in the basement, locked to one of the pipes in the laundry area.
“I’ll see you when I get home,” Cole told Bull, while changing into his work clothes. “Then, maybe tomorrow, after I’m done working on the bike, I’ll see if you can keep up with me when we go for your walk.” He could have sworn Bull rolled his eyes at that, and laughed. Then he hugged Bull before making a mad dash to catch his bus to the restaurant.
* * * *
“He’s going to be the death of me yet,” Ky grumbled an hour later when Adam stopped by Domicile to see how things were going with Cole.
“More problems with Marsham’s men?” Adam asked with concern.
“No.” Ky sighed. “Living with him, in the same room. Watching him change clothes, or wander around it in just his briefs, because he doesn’t mind a dog seeing him like that. It’s playing hell with my libido.”
Larry, who was in the office, too, cocked his head. “You’re interested in him? Not good.”
“Tell me about it, but there’s nothing to be done about it if I’m going to keep him safe, until I can explain to him what he is and how to deal with it.”
“Which will happen when?” Adam asked.
“Monday, come hell or high water,” Ky told him. “Not sure how I’m going to arrange it, but I’ll figure it out.” He smiled dryly. “Say a prayer for me that it works.”
“Will do,” Adam replied, patting his back. “I have faith in you.”
“I’m glad you do. Me? I’m not so sure,” Ky retorted before shifting so he could wander the ground floor, as he usually did during the day.
Chapter 7
“You ready?” Cole asked Bull, late Monday morning. When Bull cocked his head, Cole told him, “We’re going for a long walk, since I’m off today. Or rather, you’re walking, I’m biking.”
It was obvious Bull was all for that, since he went to the door, looking back at Cole as if to say, “What’s taking you so long?”
Cole laughed and a few minutes later they were outside Domicile, him on his bike, with Bull’s leash gripped tightly in one hand. For a short while they went at a slow pace, since Cole wanted Bull to get used to walking beside the bike before speeding up. It seemed that Bull wasn’t buying that. They’d only gone two blocks when he began to pick up the pace.
“You want to run?” Cole called out as he pedaled faster to keep up. Soon they were racing down the street, Cole doing his best to follow where Bull led. They came to a street he recognized and realized Bull was heading, Cole thought, toward The Haven.
“Making me keep my promise to Adam, huh?” Cole smiled, figuring why not. They turned the corner so fast Cole had to put one foot down to keep from falling. “Of course, now you stop,” he muttered when Bull came to a halt in front of him, barely panting. They made it the rest of the way to The Haven at a more sedate pace. A couple of guys were on the porch. They saw Bull and dashed over to greet him—and then Cole.
Getting off the bike, Cole took it onto the porch, locking it to one of the railings before going inside with Bull right at his heels.
“The prodigal son returns,” Adam said
with a grin, coming over to Cole. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“I’m off today, we went for a ride slash run, and I guess Bull wanted to see you. Not that I don’t,” he hastened to add.
“Great.” Adam patted Bull’s head. “Sit and tell me how things are going, now that you’re at Domicile.”
Cole plopped down on the sofa before filling Adam in on everything, and telling him how much he liked having a safe place to live now. “Not that it wasn’t safe here, but…”
“I understand,” Adam said quietly. “If things were different, but they aren’t.”
Cole smiled. “If they were, you’d be a second Domicile?”
“For damned sure, I’d try. Or at least another overnight shelter.”
“How’s Paula?”
Adam beamed. “Pregnant.”
“Told you so,” Cole said to Bull. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Adam replied. He glanced at Bull, chuckling. “He tells you, but not me? Should I be jealous?”
Bull shook his head, as if, Cole thought, he understood. Suddenly Bull dashed toward the back of the house. “Where’s he going?” Cole asked, getting up to follow. Adam was right behind him when they found Bull standing at the basement door. He began pawing at it, looking back at Adam.
“What the hell?” Cole muttered. “Maybe he remembers you keep bones for him in the fridge down there?”
“Could be. Why don’t you go down with him and see?” Adam replied, opening the door and flicking on the switch for the basement lights.
“Is that what you want?” Cole asked Bull when they reached the bottom of the steps. “Can’t say that I blame you. All you’ve had is dry food and whatever they’ve served for dinner at Domicile. Not really what a dog wants. Right?” Cole went to the fridge to get one of the bones. When he turned around to give it to Bull, he gasped. “What are you doing here?”
Cole and His Dog Page 6
