You Had Me at Cougar

by Terry Spear

  He might have, but she had worried that he would have stayed below to fight the bear. She would never have left him to do that on his own.

  She closed her eyes and all she could see in her mind's eye was one hunky cougar with chiseled abs and muscular biceps, with muscled legs and the rest of him was just as hot. She sighed. She needed to sleep but then she envisioned the wounded bear looking all ferocious and she groaned.

  When she had a premonition, she wished knew that it wasn’t just a dream.

  Chapter 6

  Because of the wound infection, Chet felt horrible. He'd taken his antibiotic and even some fever-reducer medicine, but he was hot and sweaty, then cold and shivering. No way was he going to tell Ava that though. Hopefully, by morning, he would be fine. He didn't want to end up in the hospital for any reason. He did feel like his injury was healing and with the antibiotics, that should help speed things up.

  Then his mother called.

  He sighed. He had wanted to just go to sleep. "Hey, Mom."

  "Hi, honey, did you have a good time at the celebration?"

  "The best.”

  "You know I keep telling you I'm going to be old and gray-haired by the time you ever have kids. I’ve given up on your twin brother. Kenneth is so busy working as a park ranger at Fort Collins, he has no time for girlfriends. Have you met anyone yet?"

  Chet smiled and changed the subject like he always did when it came to girlfriends. His mother always asked whenever he went to Yuma Town. "How's everything going up there?"

  "Good. You said you were having trouble finding a place to stay. But you must be staying with someone."

  "Uh, I am."

  "One of your agent friends? Leyton? Travis and Bridget? Jack, the new guy?"

  "No one you know." That was the thing he loved with working with the CSF. Family was important and his mother had had all of them at one time or another over for dinners and special occasions when they had been in the area. She had been hopeful he might have ended up with Bridget. His mother really loved her, though she had worried Bridget would get herself into trouble being a special agent and dealing with rogue cougars. But it would never have worked out between Chet and her. The guys all treated his mother like she was their mother too.

  "A woman. A she-cat. I knew it."

  "Now how do you figure?" His mother had an uncanny way of knowing about things even when he hadn't told her enough to give her any clues. She had taken over as the director of CSF some years earlier and finally retired, but she was just as sharp as when she had been in charge of the agency.

  "Because you didn't just come out and say who you were with. Some new agent, or some family. No name at all."

  "She's—"

  "I knew it." His mother sounded positively excited.

  He smiled. "She's Ava Lamar and she's the head baker at Fitz’s Bakery and Coffee Shop."

  "Oh, not a special agent then with CSF."

  "No, and they just asked if she could put me up because no one had any room. There's nothing more to it than that." He didn't want to worry his mother that he would move to Yuma Town and leave her all alone in Cheyenne, if there was no chance of that.

  "Well, it's good she's not a special agent. That can be such a deadly business."

  They all knew that only too well when four rogue cougars ganged up on his dad and had killed him while he was on a mission, trying to take down one that he had thought was a lone cougar involved in the murders. Chet and his brother had lost his dad when he was ten, and his mother had continued to work to earn their keep. Ultimately, she'd ended up finding the rogues and contacting other CSF agents to help her terminate them. Eventually, she'd even been in charge of the CSF for several years before she retired, and Chuck Warner took over after she’d mentored him for some years. She had loved her job, but she had also been so lost when Chet's dad had died. Well, Chet and his brother had too. His dad had been such a great role model for them. But his mother's work had convinced him he wanted to take down rogue cougars for a living also and for a time, they had even done that together. Whereas his brother hadn’t wanted that life. Not that Kenneth hadn’t had some harrowing times as a park ranger.

  "Well, you'll have to bring her here to Cheyenne sometime so I can meet her."

  Yeah, if he was seeing her because they were going to be a couple, sure, but if not? He didn't want his mother seeing anything more to it than there was.

  "We aren't seeing each other as a couple," he clarified, thinking his mother might believe he'd been seeing Ava every chance he had when he had visited Yuma Town before and kept it a secret.

  "What did you do with her today?"

  He smiled. As soon as he mentioned all the things he'd done with her, his mother would assume otherwise. "A few things."

  "Well, that's a start and since you're being so secretive about it, there's hope for you and the she-cat yet. As to another matter, how are your wounds after that cougar encounter you had?" His mother was still always checking up on him as if he were a kid and living at home, but he loved her for it. If she didn't care, she wouldn’t have been his mom.

  "They're healing like I told you they would."

  "Okay, well, if they don't, you get in right away to see the doctor down there. Leyton did all right by marrying Kate."

  "Right."

  "Or William Rugel. Or even his mate, the veterinarian, Vanessa. At least in Yuma Town, you have lots of options. You know your father—"

  "Yes, he was too stubborn, and it killed him." At least that's what his mother had always said. In truth, no one could have come out of the fight he'd had with a group of four cougars and lived.

  "So what are you doing with Ava tomorrow? Or are you returning to Cheyenne?"

  "I'm not sure what the plans are for tomorrow. I'll let you know if I'm heading home right away. I might have a mission that takes me a while."

  "Down there?"

  "Yeah, one that involves a bear shifter though."

  "Oh, my. In my day, we didn't have anything like that to deal with. It was strictly cougar shifters. I don't know what this world is coming to. So what's the case?"

  "A bear is trying to rescue his sister."

  "Okay, well, it's a worthy cause. Don't you get yourself killed over it though."

  "I won't, Mom. I'm about to go to sleep now. I'll call you sometime tomorrow to let you know if I'm returning tomorrow or might be busy with this mission."

  "All right, son. Talk to you tomorrow."

  He knew she was just concerned about his welfare, plus she planned to have him over for dinner tomorrow night if he'd been home. "Night, Mom, love you."

  "Love you too."

  Leyton and several of the special agents of the Yuma Town branch of the CSF had wanted Chet to join them down here. He would love to partner up with them and to live among a community of cougars, but he still had his mother to think about. He wanted to ensure she was happy with him doing so, though she said often enough he needed to do it so he had others to watch his back. But they'd really never talked about what she would do then. Move to be close to him? He would want that. They'd always been close. But he wasn't sure she would want to give up her home and move to a different state, a different town. Though she did know several people in Yuma Town already, all of whom had wanted her to move there too.

  He closed his eyes and saw the cougar fight in his mind again, wishing he'd gotten the best of the cougar who had bitten him before the deed had been done. He supposed he shouldn't be swimming until it was healing up and he had no infection any longer. And he figured he shouldn't be running as a cougar, unless he could have someone bandage him up again after he shifted back. He suspected, if the other guys knew he was sick, they would take him off the team. But he didn't want that. He was running a fever, sure, but he could still complete a mission. Especially if they really needed him to back them up.

  Then he was thinking about Ava and the kisses they'd shared and how much he had liked that. She was funny and fun to be with. A
spitfire too.

  Sometime between thinking of holding her close to his body during the dancing, and becoming aroused then, and kissing her the other times, and becoming aroused again, he was even aroused now. So he couldn't be all that sick, right?

  She had mentioned gardening, weeding tomorrow and he was bound and determined to help her with her garden chores while it was still cooler in the morning, to pay for room and board. Even though she wouldn't accept any money for it.

  He drifted off to sleep then.

  He felt submersed in water, first warm, then cold and he shivered. Alaska. He must be in Alaska, surrounded by cold wetness and he had to find warm, dry clothes or he'd freeze to death. Yet he was hot, burning up again and that didn't make any sense. Had he gotten some warm clothes on after all? Too hot though. He felt he was sitting in a sauna, the steam surrounding him, and he was soaking wet. He pushed something aside and felt the cold return as if he'd found his way into a warming hut and then he was back out in the cold again. He shivered incessantly. Where were his warm, dry things? Everything was pitch black out and he didn't know if it was day or night, only that he couldn't get warm. He had to find his way back to the warming hut, to dry, warm clothes. To a fireplace and a hot fire roaring. Then it was hot again, and he realized he'd accomplished his mission, found warm clothes and the heat of the room again. Before he was ready for it, he was cast out into the wet cold like a never-ending nightmare.

  Then, sometime later, he heard someone moving in the room and he was immediately sitting up, gun in hand, the hazard of being an agent, but also, the concern the threat was real.

  Ava moved toward him in the dark room, her cougar eyes seeing all. "You are perspiring. Nina dropped off one of their thermometers for us so I could make sure you're okay." She took his temperature. "You're running a fever. It's time for you to take some more fever-reducing medicine, though a fever can help to kill off the bug. Come on, climb out of bed. I'm changing your damp sheets. You're shivering. You must be having chills."

  He realized that was why he had been dreaming about being in Alaska in winter, about not having warm, dry clothes, because he was shivering in sweat-covered sheets. He was grateful to see Ava and he was glad to get something dry to sleep on.

  "I'll help you," he said, not used to having anyone do things for him when he was sick.

  She looked like she was going to tell him no, but then she seemed to think better of it. She went into a hall linen closet and brought out sheets and a blanket. She handed him the blanket. "Wrap this around yourself. I'll pull off the sheets."

  Then he did and she started to pull of his pillowcase and sheets.

  He started to help her as she removed the sheets, but she gave him a stern look to stay put. "Keep the blanket around you and once I've remade your bed, you get into it and let me know if you need me to change out the sheets again later in the night."

  "What if I use a couple of towels?"

  "Sure, I can get you a couple of bath towels."

  No way did he want to keep disturbing her sleep so that he would stay dry and warm. He did want to help her make the bed, but he didn't have a stitch of clothes on underneath the blanket and maybe she wanted to do this herself because of it. Once she had remade the bed, she hauled off all the damp linens and left the room. He heard her slam the door on the wash machine and start the wash. Then she returned with two oversized towels. She laid one on the bed and once he set the blanket on the bed and climbed onto the mattress, she put the other towel over him, then covered him like he was a small, sick child. He wished he wasn't sick like this, or that she had to cater to his needs. She was probably right in saying that he shouldn't have run with her as a cougar, but he had been feeling just fine at the time.

  She smiled and kissed him on the forehead, as if letting him know that she didn't mind helping him out in the least.

  "Thanks, Ava."

  "No problem, and Florence said she would bring us over something for breakfast, so we can just chill—well not literally, hopefully in your case—and watch TV or something."

  "You were going to do your gardening in the morning."

  "Uh, yes, I was. But you are not coming out there with me."

  "Unless I'm perfectly fine."

  She gave him a long, stern look. "All right. But you'd better not be fibbing about it."

  He smiled. "I don't fib."

  "I'll check your temperature," she said, as if she still didn't believe he would be honest with her.

  He figured with Ava, he wouldn't be able to get away with anything. "What made you come and check on me?"

  "I had a premonition you were in the Arctic and freezing cold, and then in the desert, dying of thirst. I had to check on you and make sure you weren't getting sicker. And of course, you were experiencing fever and chills."

  "Did your premonition tell you I was staying for longer—so you could take care of me?" He was only half joking.

  "I’m sure they would tell me I had to sign you into the hospital."

  He smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, Ava."

  "You're welcome. Sleep in."

  "Will do." If he could.

  Chapter 7

  Ava returned to bed, glad her premonition, which she had thought was just a nightmare, had stirred her from sleep so she could check on poor Chet. She'd been through the same thing when she'd been shot while running as a cougar. Once she'd been patched up—as a human—she had thought she would be fine. But wouldn't you know, she ended up with an infection and she'd experienced the same symptoms as Chet. She didn't want him to have to feel as bad as she had felt that time.

  She wanted to keep him here, truth be told, as long as he was feeling unwell, and not have to send him to the clinic. She guessed his job with the other CSF agents to help them with the bear situation—if they needed his assistance with that—was out.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let it out. She'd really had fun with him, yet hadn't expected this at all, but at least everything else had been great.

  The next morning, she woke and hurried to get dressed and check on her guest. He was still sound asleep, but when she checked his temperature, loving how she could do that without touching the patient, she found his fever must have broken during the night. She left the room and made herself some hot lavender tea in the kitchen, threw the sheets from the washing machine into the dryer, and got a call from Florence.

  "Are you up?"

  "Yes. Chet's still asleep. He had a rough night with fever and chills, but the fever broke, thankfully."

  "Do you want me to wait to bring over the breakfast?"

  "No, you can bring it. Then when he gets up, we can eat. I'm going to work in the garden for a while until then."

  "All right. I'm on my way over."

  It didn't take Florence long to get there and she handed Ava a box of baked goods. Ava knew she was giving them to her for free, but she was going to offer to pay for them anyway.

  "No, it's one of the perks for working at the bakery. If I get sick, you can make a special delivery for me."

  "You know I will," Ava said.

  "Enjoy your day off."

  "Thanks, I sure will."

  Then Florence left, and Ava set the box of fresh baked kolaches in the fridge, grabbed her garden gloves out of a drawer, and headed outside to work before it got hot. Right now was the perfect time to pull weeds and maybe even dig up some plants that weren't getting enough sun or water and move them. That was the thing about a garden. When she planted everything, the plants were tiny. Then other plants volunteered, appearing out of nowhere—bird dropped, or wind driven. And then plants that needed sun, suddenly weren't getting enough of it.

  She puttered around in the garden for a good hour, then noticed movement in the kitchen window and saw Chet looking out at her. He smiled. He looked well-rested. She hoped that he was all right. She pulled off her gloves and went inside. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

  She went straight to her drawer that had the
thermometer in it and whipped it out.

  "I was going to say fine, no fever, but it looks like you're not going to take my word for it."

  "You're right. I'm not." She checked his temperature, and it was normal. "Okay, you're fine. How do you feel hungry-wise? Could you eat something?"

  "Yeah. The baked goods smell great."

  "Kolaches. And I suspect you want some coffee?"

  "Yeah, that would be great."

  "Did you sweat anymore in the night?"

  "I might have, but if I did, the towels helped to absorb it. I stripped the bed and threw them and the towels in the wash. I hope you don't mind, but when I saw you outside, I went ahead and started the wash."

  She shook her head. "I would have done that. Can I check out your wound?"

  "This is getting to be a regular thing between us."

  She smiled. "Only as it pertains to me either keeping you here with me or taking you to the clinic and seeing the doc again."

  He pulled down his pants so she could check out his wound.

  "I don't know. I'm calling Doc anyway. I don't want to have to worry about you if it's not any better."

  "All right." He sighed. "But I'm hungry and can't wait any longer to eat." With coffee in hand, he sat down at the breakfast table, and she warmed up the kolaches and set them on plates for them.

  After she made more tea for herself, she called Dr. Kate. "Hey, I'm calling about a patient of yours."

  "Chet? Is he worse?"

  "He was running a fever last night and had chills. His fever is gone this morning, but I checked his wound and I'm not sure about it. Maybe you should check it again?"

  "I would be happy to. Just bring him over."

  Chet was going to drive himself over to the doctor's office, but Ava wanted to go with him, he figured so she knew that he truly was okay, not trusting him.

  She was going to sit out in the lobby of the clinic though, but he told her to come back with him. He figured she'd seen enough of his butt not to be shocked and if she was going to watch out for him, what the heck.