It was a cub!
Rachel squealed when she saw him: a little bear cub, the size of a puppy, with silky brown fur and giant blue eyes.
The police officer carrying the cub had on rubber gloves and seemed to be trying to remain professional and unattached, but she was stroking him as if she couldn't resist. The little baby was crying like an infant and trembling from head to claw. He was cowering in the crook of the officer's arm. Poor little thing must be terrified.
"We found him hiding under a car," the officer said. Her name badge said Officer Julia Lee, and she was petite with sparkling dark eyes and black hair cut pixie-style.
"Where?" Lea asked.
"Hardware store in Queen Anne," Officer Julia said, referring to one of Seattle's cozy neighborhoods.
"That's my neighborhood!" Rachel said, her moss-green eyes sparkling.
Rachel joined the little crowd around the cub—Lea and the Sanctuary's grant writer, Kirk, who was busy taking photos with his phone.
She longed to reach out and comfort the little one, but she knew that they weren't allowed to touch bears at the Sanctuary. That might inhibit their ability to live in the wild, and the goal of the place was to get as many bears as possible rehabilitated and released. The only exceptions were those bears who would never survive in the wild because they had been domesticated or otherwise relied on humans for food. Those bears tended to end up in zoos.
Still, how would they be able to resist this tiny creature, who clearly still needed his mother?
"How old is he?" Rachel asked, clasping her hands tightly behind her back.
"Probably only a few months," Lea said. "Maybe more if he's malnourished."
"Are we neighbors?" she cooed at the tiny cub. Her hand itched to hold and comfort him, and to make his sad crying stop. "Hello, little sweetie," Rachel said in her best baby voice. She edged closer.
The bear looked up at her and stopped whimpering.
"Aww!" Rachel looked in surprise at the others. "Hello, honey pie."
The cub reached his little paws toward Rachel.
"Oh!" Rachel could hardly stand it. She reached a finger forward, but Lea stepped between her and the cub before she could touch him.
"We should get him in a cage," Lea said sternly. "Remember, we can't hold him—only touch him to feed him."
"I know, but...oh my god." Rachel's heart was pinging in her chest with adoration. "How can we resist?"
Rachel saw Officer Julia stop caressing the cub. She smiled over at her and they shared a guilty look. "Where's the cage?" Julia asked Lea.
"Rach, would you grab that small crate?" Lea pointed to a shelf behind Rachel. She was so happy to be called Rach. Maybe she was part of the Sanctuary family now. She spun and picked up the crate, which was a plastic cage about the right size for a medium dog.
Rachel placed the crate on the desk and opened the wire door. As Julia walked toward her, the little cub lifted his arms to Rachel again. "It's okay, little one," she cooed at him. She clearly felt how much he wanted and needed comforting, and how much she wanted to give it to him.
Julia leaned down with the cub to put him in the crate, and the baby leapt into Rachel's arms, startling everyone, most of all Rachel. She wrapped her arms around him as he clung to her chest.
And that was it.
Rachel loved him.
She looked up at Lea, who probably saw all this emotion on Rachel's face: the love, the dedication, the complete devotion. "Maybe he's hungry," Lea said with a sigh. "Do you want to feed him?"
Rachel just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"If you're all set then, I'll go," Officer Julia said. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Thank you, officer." Lea shook her hand warmly. "We'll be in touch."
Kirk stopped snapping photos and returned to his desk. He seemed all business, not at all affected by the cub's charm.
"We're posting this right away," he said, sitting at his computer and pushing his heavy-framed glasses up his nose. "What are we gonna call the little dude? Wait. Is it a boy or a girl?"
Lea took a peek. "Boy."
"Boy!" Rachel always wanted to have a baby boy. She shook her head. This is not a baby boy, she told herself, trying to come back to her senses. But it didn't help. "What should we name him? I know! How about Barry?"
"Just call him Boy Cub for now, okay?" Lea said with a grimace.
"We're gonna get so many donations for this little dude, no matter what his name is." Kirk smiled and shook his head. His hands flew over the keyboard as he posted the picture on Facebook.
"Good, we need it." Lea turned to Rachel. "Our budget was cut again and we're asking for donations for the fifth time this year. I spend more time asking people for money than I do running the actual sanctuary." Lea shook her head as though she was exhausted. "Let's get you some bear formula, okay, Rach?"
She nodded, mesmerized by the cub. He had stopped crying and was staring up at her face as if he were memorizing it. "Hello, little sweetheart. It's okay now, I've got you. Are you hungry, honey bun?"
She didn't know where these terms of endearment were coming from. She'd never called anyone "honey bun" before in her entire life. It must be some primal urge, an instinct to mother that the cub had tapped into. "You're making me say all kind of silly things, aren't you pumpkin?"
The cub clung to her, and she couldn't help moving her hips back and forth to comfort him. He stared up into her eyes.
Lea returned with a bottle of formula.
"He seems to like you, Rach. Why don't you feed him? You know how to feed a baby, right?"
Rachel nodded, even though she had never fed a baby in her life. She'd seen it done on TV. Did that count?
She propped up the bottle for the cub while he held it in his paws like a real baby. His little claws clicked on the plastic bottle as he grasped on. Rachel held the top of the bottle to keep it steady, and gently swung her hips from side to side, since he seemed to like that. She watched his face calm as he ate, glancing up to see her every few minutes. "Is that good?" she cooed. "You eat that all up, okay, munchkin?"
"Our vet is on her way over to have a look at him. It's possible he's already too used to people to be able to survive in the wild, but we'll let the vet decide. Rach, try not to make him fall in love with you, okay?"
"It's too late for me. I'm a goner," she said, beaming. "He's had me since the very first cry."
Lea smiled down at the cub as he fell asleep. "Poor little fellow. I wonder where his mom went?"
"He's so tiny. And precious."
"His picture on Facebook already got a hundred-and-fifty-nine likes," Kirk said. "And three adoption requests."
"Let me see the picture. Oh, good one, Kirk." Lea nodded. "This little fellow will be six-hundred pounds someday. Not exactly a good house pet. Tell them to go to the animal shelter to find a Labrador. But first, ask for donations to pay for his formula. He needs to eat every five hours, around the clock."
"Aren't you gonna be away this weekend?" Kirk asked Lea.
"Yes. And thanks to budget cuts, we'll be tight for personnel. Honestly, I don't even know if I can afford the vet bill for him."
The cub was asleep in Rachel's arms. She longed to give him a kiss on his little head, but knew she shouldn't. The best place for a bear was in the wild, with other bears. Rachel didn't want to limit his potential well-being.
"Should I put him in the crate?" she asked Lea.
"Please."
Rachel carried him to the crate. As she bent over to put him into it, he woke up suddenly and grabbed on to her, scrambling up her arm.
"I'll take him," Lea said. "Let me do it."
She reached over to take the cub, and he grasped on tighter to Rachel.
"Ouch!"
His claws dug into Rachel's skin. He whimpered loudly, his little mews filling the room.
From the bear enclosure outside, sounds of bear concern filtered in. Marcia, Jan, and Cindy must have heard his cries of d
istress. They rattled their fence.
"Oh, god." Lea let go of the cub and walked to the window. "They're worried about him."
"I can hold him until the vet gets here," Rachel volunteered.
"That's a good idea," Lea said. "Why don't you sit in the nursery."
Rachel walked into the back room they called the nursery. It held a row of bear cages and a rocking chair. She sat on the chair with the cub on her lap. As he settled back to sleep, she rocked, and patted his back.
Kirk brought in her handbag and drawing supplies. "Lea thought you might want this stuff. I fell over trying to lift your bag. What's in this thing? Your life's work?"
"Lunch, first aid kit, art supplies, change of clothes. You know, the usual. Always be prepared; that's my motto. The Boy Scouts said it first. I do realize that." Everyone teased Rachel about her giant handbag, but they stopped laughing the first time they needed something and she had it.
"Looks like you and the cub have hit it off."
"Oh, my god, I'm so in love. I never want to stop holding him. When is the vet getting here?"
"Actually, it turns out the vet isn't available, so our volunteer doctor, Rex Harris, is gonna come over. Have you met him? He's inspiring. A medical doctor, right? But he has a special interest in bears and helps us keep them healthy."
"I haven't met him." Rachel shook her head. When the doctor got here, she'd have to let the cub go. She had a conference call scheduled with her editor. "I need to take off in a few minutes."
"I'll send the doctor in when he arrives. Lea had a budget meeting at the mayor's office. She told me to remind you to burp Boy Cub or he'll get gas."
"Umm...okay. How do you burp a bear cub?"
"Heck if I know. Pretty sure I don't wanna watch though." Kirk shrugged and went back to the office.
Rachel lifted the cub up to her shoulder.
"Burp you, huh? I've seen this done in movies, little one, but I'm no expert." The bear cooed at her as she patted his back. "How's this?"
He glanced up at her as if to say, What are you doing, lady? Then his face erupted in surprise as a loud burp came out. A tiny bit of formula flew onto Rachel's sweater.
"Well done!" she said, wiping away the mess.
His expression was priceless, a mix of surprise and curiosity, like if he could to burp then anything was possible.
"Boy Cub? We can't let that be your name, can we, little guy? Do you like Barry?" He opened his eyes wide to stare into her very soul. "How about Bobby? Or Cubby? No, I know... Martin?"
The door opened and a tall man walked in. He caught her tickling Martin's feet. She tried to look nonchalant.
"Hello, you must Rachel," he said. "I understand he won't let go of you, and you want to leave?"
The doctor had thick dark hair and one- or two-day stubble that accentuated his strong jawline. His eyes were a chocolate brown that twinkled with warmth as he looked down at the cub and smiled. He even had dimples, for god's sake.
No wedding ring.
When Rachel was growing up, her mother always told her she would marry a doctor, and in her heart of hearts she believed that to be true. Every male doctor she met, even if he was geriatric, gave her a little thrill. She felt a big thrill looking at Dr. Rex.
Tall, dark, and handsome Dr. Rex.
"I don't want to go," Rachel said, "but I have a conference call scheduled."
"He looks pretty attached to you. Although if you tickled me like that, I'd be attached to you too." He smiled at her.
"Busted." She grinned back. "He just seemed so sad. I wanted to cheer him up."
"Let me see if I can coax him out of your arms."
He sat on the floor, close to Rachel, and put his arms on her lap next to the cub. "Hello, little fella."
"His name is Martin," Rachel decided.
"Hello, Martin. How's it going?" He reached a finger out to touch Martin's paw. The cub edged back.
He opened his hands. They were big hands, which made sense, because he was a large man, but they were also long-fingered and elegant. Even sitting on the floor, with his head nearly level to hers, he seemed refined. Rachel took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Be very still," he told Rachel. "Let him focus completely on me."
Dr. Rex stared at Martin while Rachel stared at Dr. Rex. She found herself wanting to kiss him.
She tried not to stare, but he was an amazing-looking man, and his hands and arms were on her lap. He even smelled good. Despite their bear nursery surroundings, he was giving off a subtle scent of warm spice and musk that went straight to her head.
Dr. Rex started a game with Martin, moving his fingers as though he were playing the piano and Rachel's lap was the keyboard. Martin stared at his fingers until he couldn't take it anymore and reached out to grab his hands.
Rachel giggled. She tried not to laugh, but Martin wasn't the only one affected by the handsome doctor. She felt little trills of pleasure rippling across her legs.
The doctor tickled his way down Rachel's legs with Martin in pursuit, until Martin was in the doctor's arms and Rachel had a major crush.
"What do you call that game, doctor?"
"The finger-thumping game? I don't know. I just made it up. And I certainly don't think it makes me a doctor although we can check with the AMA to be sure." He laughed.
Hot and humble.
Anyway, he was holding Martin now and Rachel was free to leave. But she didn't want to go anywhere. Screw the conference call.
Her editor would kill her.
Rachel sighed. She'd worked too hard for this book deal to lose it now. "I guess I should go, but I don't want to leave Martin." Or the handsome doctor.
"You just fed him, right? So he should be good for four hours."
"Will he eat anything besides formula?"
"I don't think so. Not for a while, anyway."
Rachel gathered her belongings together. "This is crazy, I know. But would you like to grab a coffee later? After my call? I'm a children's book illustrator, and I want to make a book about Martin. Could I talk to you about it? Bounce a few ideas off you?"
She shoved her sketchbook back into her handbag. God, what was she doing? Had she just asked him out? And now she was babbling? She tried to play it cool, but still couldn't bring herself to look at him. Not until he answered.
"Me? I guess so. But wouldn't you rather talk to Lea?"
He said yes!
Sort of.
She smiled up at him. "I think you'd have an interesting perspective. And look how he loves you already." The cub was resting comfortably in his arms and watching Rachel with an inquisitive expression.
"I guess so, sure."
"Great! Let's meet at the Monarch Cafe at three?"
"Sounds good." He nodded and gave her that charming smile, his eyes shining.
"See you later, Doctor Rex." As Rachel left, thinking about the doctor she'd just met, she had a feeling that perhaps her mother had been right after all.
2
Doctor Rex?
Thomas looked down at Martin, who looked up at him. "A simple case of mistaken identity," he told the cub, who mewled at him. "I'll straighten it out at our date. Is it a date, I wonder? I'm sure she won't mind when she finds out I'm not a doctor, just an unemployed bear whisperer. Why would that bother any woman?"
You're kidding, right? his bear intruded. Thomas's inner bear was more of an inner critic than the helpful pal so many of his other bear shifter friends had described as their bears. He usually tried to ignore the unsupportive beast.
"I never pretended to be a doctor," he told Martin. "You're my witness." What made her think he was Rex?
You might have introduced yourself, his bear said.
Hadn't he done that?
Maybe the confusion had been obvious and he should have said something to her, but Rachel was so gorgeous that he hadn't been able to think straight. Her killer curves and shiny hair. Her brilliant smile. Her clear-as-a-bell voice. Even her scent. He
'd actually felt pangs of jealousy when she was tickling the cub. And when his bear insisted Rachel was their mate, Thomas didn't even grumble.
He sighed. Maybe she'd thought he was the doctor because that's who she wanted him to be.
Women like Rachel always preferred to be with doctors and lawyers, instead of unemployed bear shifters like Thomas. Not that he'd ever minded before. Something told him he would mind now. A lot.
Time to grow up, his bear said.
Why couldn't he have a helpful inner bear?
Why couldn't you get a job? You're the only one of your friends without a profession, his bear reminded him. Still living off family money, aren't you?
Thomas patted the cub's back.
"Let's see if we can soothe you to sleep, okay, little guy?" he said to Martin.
When the actual Dr. Rex Harris showed up ten minutes later, Martin was slumbering peacefully in his crate and Thomas was reading an article about surf fishing in an old newspaper he'd found in a pile under the crates.
"Rex! Man, good to see you." He stood and gave his old friend a hug.
"Hello, bear whisperer," Rex said with a glance at the cub. "Nice work."
"You have no idea. This one is a handful. Knows what he wants and knows how to get it. He's already got the women around here eating out of his paws."
Rex bent down to look in the crate. "Is the cub a shifter?"
Thomas shrugged. "Can't tell yet. Look at him, he's just a baby, not even three months old. I don't recognize him, do you?"
Rex shook his head. "He's handsome. Look at that face, so sweet."
"He attached himself to a woman who was here. He seems used to people, too much to be a wild bear. I hope he's a shifter, otherwise he'll probably end up in a zoo."
"I'll start putting out feelers to see if any shifters know who he might be. Maybe we can find his mother."
"Who is doing his care? He shouldn't be left alone," Thomas said.
"Lea, I assume. I can stay for an hour or so, and do a medical exam, but then she'll need to have her staff take over."
"Tell them not to be strict with keeping human touch away from the little guy. He seems very stressed, possibly traumatized. The cub needs to be held. He needs contact."
Shifters in Seattle: Box Set Books 1 - 5 Page 29
