Nolan (4 page)
He kept forgetting what he was saying in
mid-sentence. Nolan had to look down at the chart he was using with his patient
and she suddenly laughed at him. Mrs. Jacobs was an old and dear friend of his mom’s,
and she was also a cat.
“Got you tied up in knots, I’m guessing. This
girl of yours, you got yourself a good one?” He nodded and sat on the bed with
her. She was dying, and soon too. Her age was undetermined, as she had made it
perfectly clear she didn’t want anyone to ever know that, so the chart had no
year of birth but was a thick file on what she’d gone through as a panther.
“She’s human, of course, and she’s full of
spit and fire. And I find myself pissing her off just to see her get that
befuddled look in her eyes just before she tries to tear me a new ass.” Mrs.
Jacobs nodded and laid her head back on the pillows. “And she has a fourteen-year-old
nephew that she’s raising.”
“No worries on that score, is there? I mean,
you’ll take him as your own.” He told her he would. “Good. So much like your
father. More than the rest of them boys. He was a good man, your dad. Always
knew what to say and how to say it. Could be meaner than a snake when the mood
took him, but kind as that wife of his when he needed that too. He did right by
you boys and Gracie.”
“Mom loved him with all her heart.” She
nodded and said that he would his mate as well. “I think I might have made her
mad earlier. I marked her, as you know, but she’s mad at me. And her nephew has
had some run-ins with a bully.”
“You’ll get him straightened out. My boy, you
remember Donnie? He had him some problems with one of them mean boys. When
Donnie would try to ignore him, it only got him in more trouble. Teach this boy
how to fight dirty. You should remember how to do that from your younger days.”
He tried to look shocked, but she snorted at him. “Seen you boys scraped up so
bad when you were just cubs that it nearly tore into my heart. And that Howie
would be egging you on like he was a ref in a big game. Never saw a man take on
like he did when you…I don’t think he’s changed a bit either, has he?”
“No. He’s still as ornery as ever. He usually
started the fights by saying this or that about us. Working up things when they
were not suiting him.” Nolan laughed, and she touched her fingers to his cheek.
“This girl, she’s not had an easy time with it. They don’t have any money from
what Shane said, and they’re struggling every week, he said, to have—”
“Shane Cole? And his aunt is Rylee McClure? They
live down on Jefferson?” Nolan nodded, his cat ready to pounce should he need
it. “Why, my goodness, you sure do know how to pick them. That girl has been
working at my house now about…I guess it’s been about six months. She’s been
helping me out around the house with some of the cleaning. They needed…boy, you
know it when you say she’s having some money problems. They got them a powerful
bunch of them. And a neighbor that might need some dealing with. You should go
on down there and take care of him soon.”
“I’ll do that today. I’ll explain a few
things to him. How bad is it, Mrs. Jacobs? I mean, I need to help her out. I
have to help them.” He made a mental note to go and talk to the neighbor today,
before he went home. Looking back at Mrs. Jacobs, he could see that she looked
so sad in the moment, and he took her hand into his. “Tell me.”
“Shelby, her sister, had been married to
this…I’m only calling him a man because he had the equipment to be one, not
that I thought he was one. No man should…well, that’s for later. Or for her to
tell you. Anyway, about the time Shelby found out she was carrying that boy, he
came along and tells her right out that he don’t love her anymore. Never had,
he said to her.” Nolan asked her how she knew that. “Her mother was in my
sewing circle. Nicest woman to come along. Anyway, she tells me about this man
and his demands. Shelby was to never bother him for support or he’d take everything
that she had, which at the time was a little bit. She was not to try and claim
that boy of hers was his, either, or he’d make her life a living hell. And to
say that he did would be a gross misunderstanding of the word hell. That man
did things to them that made me so mad, I wanted to go and find that man and
tear into him. But Cindy, Rylee’s mom, just told me to wait, he’d get his.”
“So that explains why there is no father’s
name on Shane’s birth certificate. And did he get his? I certainly hope so.”
She shook her head. “Do you know him? Because I’m betting I can get him to get
his.”
“You do that. His name is David Cole. And
when that boy was born, no more than a minute old, he came charging into the
hospital and made her sign off on all forms of support from him. Even wanted
her to sign off on the fact that she’d had an affair and that it was someone
else’s kid. But she wouldn’t, and that’s what they had to endure his whole
life. David took things…well, I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later, but
they didn’t have a pot to piss in and no insurance. Not even sure they could
have afforded it should they have had the inkling to have it. The lawyer fees
just about took them under. Every time he had it in his head that something
wasn’t to his liking, he’d take her to court. Not about the boy, no sir, but
about everything else. Took them everything to stay out of jail a couple of
times.”
“He tried to ruin her and that boy.” It
wasn’t a question, but she nodded her answer anyway. “And for what reason? That
he could? It was fun for him? What a bastard. I’ll have Joey look into it, I
think. And then she got sick. What did he do then?”
“There wasn’t any money for doctors, so
she…they didn’t catch it until it was too late. When Cindy died a few months
before Shelby got sick, her body just rotting away from the same thing, I guess
it was hardest on Shelby because she’d cared for her momma while she’d been
ill. Right up until she died too.” Nolan nodded. “Rylee was sending home what
she could. She didn’t make a lot either, being in the service, and even
reenlisted so that she could have the bonus money to give to her sister. But David,
he took what he could of that too. Even had the house he’d said she could have
taken out from under her by selling it off while they still lived in it. Never
said a word until they were served the papers that it was done gone.”
“Joey will love looking into this. He likes
helping the underdog, even horses. He and Chris are already working with them
on this bullying case.” She nodded at him, and he watched her. As he started to
get up to let her rest, she tightened her grip on his hand and started talking
again.
“They don’t have any money, Nolan. I don’t
mean they can’t buy a movie ticket and popcorn kind of no money, but they
more’n likely don’t have the money for food or rent. And I know that what
they’re paying there is a good deal more than they should be. I’m thinking that
bastard has something to do with that too.” He asked her why she thought that.
“I know what kind of man he is, and they’re paying about a grand for that
little bitty place that shouldn’t be no more than two hundred if that. And
since she can’t come to my house and help me anymore…well, that wasn’t much,
but it helped keep the light on, she told me. Promise this old woman that
you’ll take care of them now. Not tomorrow, but now.”
“I will. But convincing her, that might be an
issue.” She smiled a ghost of a smile as she drifted off. But he thought of
something else and said her name softly. “Does she know what you are?”
“She does. More’n likely has an idea what you
are too. She said that there are all kinds of animals in the world, and she
knows on account of her job, but there were none that were nicer to her than I’d
been. She’s a good girl. And Shane is a fine boy. Your grandda, he’ll just love
him to death.”
He left her then and started down the hall
towards the next patient. He had three to visit today and wasn’t looking
forward to the next man. He was a cranky man that seemed to think that his
impending death should be heralded as a national holiday that gave him the
best. He was getting the best as far as Nolan was concerned, but the man
demanded so much more.
But he didn’t make it to his room because he
heard his name called out over the PA to come to a room. He was running down
the hall when he heard the voices coming from Shane’s room. Christ, what had
happened now?
Two officers were holding Rylee down. He
really wasn’t sure they were so much holding her as they were trying to hold
her. She was going to break free from them soon, and Nolan could see hell was
going to be paid when she was free. His mother and brother were there, of
course, as well as Micah and Shane. He looked to be about as happy to see him
as his cat was pissed off that someone was hurting his mate. Putting his
fingers into his mouth, he whistled. The room seemed to freeze in motion.
“Now. I’m not sure what is going on here, but
I would appreciate it if you unhanded her. Unless, of course, you want me to
kill you both for manhandling my mate.” The police jumped back from her like
he’d hit them. Both the men were wolf and understood the meaning of mates. “Joey,
want to tell me what the hell is—?”
“I’m standing right here.” Nolan felt his cat
snarl along his skin when she snapped at him. And when she came toward him, her
temper blazing over her body, he wanted to pull her to him again and finish
what they’d started earlier. “When you have a question that concerns me, ask
me.”
“All right. Rylee, my love, what the hell is
going on here?” She snarled at him, and he nearly laughed, but he was pretty
sure she would hurt him if he did. “I’m sorry. You don’t like small
endearments? I will have to remember that in the future.”
Micah laughed. It was loud and without boundaries,
and he smiled at his older brother. That was when he noticed that his grandda
was seemingly tucked in the corner and having just as much fun as Micah was.
“That man…that thing over there wanted to
know why Shane had hurt the little shit that cut him up so badly that he needed
thirty-seven stitches. And when I asked him where this…this other man was hurt,
he said that it was none of my business. None of my business. Like it’s all
right for him to accuse my nephew of this heinous crime, but I can’t know what
it is he supposedly did to him?” She looked as if she might go after the
officer again when Nolan stepped in front of him. “So help me, if you tell me
to calm down I’m going to tear you up. I don’t care what you are.”
“I wasn’t going to. I, like you, have a
reason to live for a bit longer. I was actually saving the man behind me. You
look like you could take him on without any trouble, but then we’d have to
explain to his alpha why he was killed—and that’s a lot of paperwork.” She
backed up but looked no less pissed. Nolan turned to Joey. “What does this
other person say happened?”
“As I was getting ready to tell these two
when the shit hit the fan, we have several witnesses that state that Mr.
Simpson had been harassing Shane, as well as quite a few other boys, for months
now. And my client didn’t do anything more than defend himself.” Joey tried to
hide a grin but wasn’t very successful at it. “Mr. Simpson’s father is saying
that young Shane here is the cause of all of this. And that, and I quote here, ‘He
should be stoned, then put to death.’ I’m thinking that if we were in the dark
ages, a stoning would kill him anyway. What do you think?”
“I am not the cause of anything. He tried to
take my money. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.” Nolan looked at Shane and he
flushed, his voice lower as he continued. “I was going to get Aunt Rylee a cake
at the bakery on my way home. She’s been so stressed out, and I wanted to get
her one. But he took my money and then beat me up too. But I hit him this time.
I was mad. But the knife, he never had one of those before, and he cut me with
it.”
“Of course you were mad.” Grandda moved to
the bed and patted Shane on the shoulder as he nodded, his voice full of
compassion and love for the boy already. “I’d have beaten him to a pulp too had
he tried that crap with me when treats were involved. What did you do to him,
son? How is he thinking you hurt him as badly as he did you?”
“I hit him like Aunt Rylee did the man next
door to us. It worked too.” Shane grinned, then looked at his aunt and frowned.
“I know you said that violence doesn’t get you nothing but violence, but he was
hurting me.”
“What did she do?” Everyone turned to Micah
when he asked, his voice harsh from trying not to laugh. “I heard this boy is
about six-two and a good two fifty in weight. What did you do to make him run
back to his daddy and tell on you?”
“I first popped him in the head with my
forehead. That really hurt by the way, and I don’t know how you did it to Mr.
Packer without needing to lay down afterwards. Then I gave him the knee.” Shane
laughed. “Never seen a man go down so slow in my life. I had to…I might should
have backed off a little when I did it, but I was so mad at him that I gave it
all I had.”
Joey turned to Nolan, his face bright with humor,
and Nolan was having a hard time containing himself. When Joey turned to the
cops, both of them standing there with their arms over their chests, Nolan
thought he was going to tell them something funny. But in a heartbeat Joey’s face
changed to his game face, and Nolan felt sorry for the cops.