Free Bear With Me by Vanessa Devereaux Page B

nursery where right now
Bridget was the only baby.
    Janey,
the day nurse, sat reading at the desk.
    “How’s
the baby’s breathing been?” he asked, stepping inside.
    “She
was fine, so I took her to Charlotte who fed her, but then she seemed to be
having trouble breathing again so I put her back in here and gave her more
oxygen.”
    Bear
walked over to the crib and lifted the top off that provided the oxygen.
Bridget had a short nose which was typical of a bear shifter and he suspected
that was causing the problem.
    “Hi,
sweetie,” he said, rubbing her leg.
    “She’s
beautiful, isn’t she,” said Janey. “Best of both worlds.”
    Bear
smiled when the baby kicked her legs and wiggled her feet.
    “Why
don’t I wheel her down to Charlotte’s room because I have to go check on her?”
    “Sure.”
    Bear
put his stethoscope over his shoulders and Janey opened the door so he could
wheel the crib down the hallway. He pushed back the door to Charlotte’s room to
see Aiden was still there along with his brother Christopher, sister-in-law,
Lilly, and their daughter Kaitlin.
    “Afternoon,
everyone,” said Bear.
    “Baby,”
said Kaitlin, running over to the crib.
    “So
what do you think of your new cousin?” Bear asked her.
    “She’s
pretty,” said Kaitlin.
    “I
told Christopher she looks a lot like our mother,” said Aiden.
    “How’s
her breathing?” asked Charlotte.
    “The
oxygen’s helping, but we’ll keep any eye on the situation. How about I let
everyone visit with Bridget while I take a look at Momma here?”
    Bear
pulled the curtain around Charlotte’s bed.
    “You
feeling okay?” he asked her.
    “Sore and tired.”
    “That’s
why you’re going to stay in here for three days.”
    He
pulled down the blanket and lifted up her gown.
    “Let’s
take a look here.” He lifted up the dressing on her incision. “Looks good to me.”
    “You
ever thought of dressmaking because those are some of the neatest stitches I’ve
seen. In case you’re wondering I used a mirror to check your work,” said
Charlotte. “I’m guessing in a few months it’s going to be hard to tell I had a
C-section and I’ll be back to wearing bikinis.”
    Bear
winked at her while he put the dressing back and pulled down her gown.
    “You’ll
have another visitor soon. Hannah from Starlight Café’s dropping by,” said
Bear.
    “Really,
now would that be to see me or you I wonder?” asked Charlotte.
    Bear
pulled back the curtain to see Lilly now holding Bridget with Kaitlin standing
on tip toe to peek at her.
    “So,
Lilly, are you next in the baby department?” asked Bear.
    Lilly
looked at Christopher.
    “I
guess we’ll be thinking about it very soon,” he said.
    At
least he was going to be kept busy. Melanie Reynolds was due in six weeks. And
now there was Emily too.
    “Hello,
is it okay to come in?”
    Bear
recognized Hannah’s voice immediately.
    “Sure
come in,” he said.
    Hannah
held a shopping bag in her arms with Sam tagging behind her.
    “Hi,
Sam,” said Bear.
    Sam
did something Bear wasn’t expecting. He ran to him and threw his arms around
Bear’s body, resting his face on his belly. He hadn’t realized just how strong
a kid he was. Almost like he was giving him a bear hug.
    “It’s
good to see you too, young man,” said Bear.
    “Women
can’t resist him and now it’s children too,” said
Christopher. “Hi, I’m Aiden’s brother,” he said to Hannah and extended his
hand.
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “And
my wife, Lilly and our daughter Kaitlin.”
    “Hi.
Charlotte, I have some of your favorite cake. I hope that’s okay with your
doctor?” asked Hannah.
    “Perfectly
okay with me,” said Bear as Sam continue to cling to his side.
    Hannah
pulled out a transparent box in which sat what looked to be the most delicious
chocolate cake.
    “The
infamous Black Forest cake,” said Aiden.
    “Thank
you,” said Charlotte.
    “You
are welcome and let me take a look at the