Dwayne: Bishop’s Snowy Leap – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Read online

  “Then act like it.” Dwayne sat down across from him again. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful to you, Dad, but you scared me to death with this. Get yourself something to do. If you want, I’m sure you can get a job just about anywhere. As you said, you’re a grown man.”

  Their waitress came and took their order. Since his dad was in a snit now, Dwayne ordered them both steak subs and fries. Dwayne looked at his dad. He wondered if his dad knew that he looked older when he was pissed. His hair was messy and looked like he’d put his hand through it several times a minute. Dwayne thought of something he’d been meaning to talk to his dad about.

  “Are you going to sit there not speaking to me, or do you want to listen to the problem I have? I don’t like that you’re mad at me when everyone you’ve spoken to, I’m betting including Mom, has told you the same thing.” Dad looked at him. There was still a bit of anger there. “I would like to have a larger deck put on my house. I have one now, but it’s oddly shaped. Not to mention, it seems to be too narrow to put much on it other than just a chair. Also, since there is one on the upper floor, out of the master bedroom, I’d like to see if I could get the two of them connected somehow. That way, if I’m out, I don’t have to come through the house to go to my room.”

  “You thinking of hiring someone out for it?” Chandler had said he could do it, but Dwayne really wanted it done sooner rather than when he had the time to work on it. “I could do it. Not by my lonesome, but I could head it up. That deck being put on the back of me and your mom’s new home is something I come up with. Remember working on houses when we needed some money? We all did a fine enough job that we were hired all summer for it.”

  “I remember that. Mrs. Miller reminded me the other day how we’d put her deck on her house in less time than she expected. She said it looks as good all these years later as it did back then. That’s the kind of deck I was thinking about. Something large enough for a couple of tables spread around. Some benches. I’d like to do something like she did, too, with it butting up against the pool. The way it is now, I have to walk in the wet grass to go into the house after a good swim. Not that I’m lazy, but it would be really nice to be able to have a swim without tracking cut grass into the house.”

  They were still going over what he wanted in the way of a deck when their food arrived. Dad was enjoying himself. That was the point, he supposed, in him bringing it up. He could have had the deck in by now had he hired someone when he’d thought about it. But this was better. His dad was going to do it, and it would mean all that much more to them both.

  “It’s getting kinda cold out now. I’d be able to get the foundation down now and the rest of it in when we have a good warm day. Then in the spring, when it’s warmer, I can have it stained for you. Should be able to get it in and ready before the snow hits us.” He told him that would be wonderful. “This ain’t no busywork, is it, son?”

  “Busywork? I have no idea what that would even mean. Dad, I’m so busy all the time now that I barely have time to wash my laundry. I don’t know what I’d have done if Mom hadn’t sent Mrs. Crowe over to cook and clean up after me.” Dwayne laughed. “The other day, she saved me by having my laundry coming out of the dryer just as I was running down the stairs to go to work. She’s a marvel.”

  “I sure do like having people cleaning up after me too. I know the house we’re gonna be moving into is bigger and new, but still, knowing that when you put something in the laundry basket, it’s going to be washed up right away is really wonderful.” Dad laughed a little nervously as he looked around the restaurant. “Don’t be telling your mom what I said. She’ll have my hide on that.”

  His dad left him in a much better mood. Dwayne did reach out to his brothers and told them what Dad was up to. They all agreed he did need a job—at least something to do that would keep him busy. Dad tended to get into all kinds of hot water when he was bored. Dwayne personally thought he got himself into trouble because he got the attention he wanted. Good or bad, someone was talking to him.

  The little boy was coming around the corner at a quick pace and knocked into Dwayne. As soon as he put this hands on the kid to keep him from falling, he looked up at him. His lip was bloody, his nose was bleeding, and it looked as if he was going to have a shiner in a few hours. Shoving him behind him when the Sharon boys came around the same building, Dwayne asked them what they were up to.

  “Nothing, Mr. Bishop.” One of the kids looked around him. “We was playing with Jamie there, and he pussyed out on us. That’s not the way to play football. We were thinking on showing him some more moves.”

  The kid behind him, Jamie, he assumed, put his hand into his. Dwayne could feel the scrapes there as well. Holland Sharon, he thought the oldest boy was, reached for Jamie and pulled him out from behind him.

  “Stop.” No one moved. Not only that, but Holland released Jamie too. “Now, why don’t you tell me what really happened? That way, I don’t have to call my mom here to ask you. She’s right across the street in her shop if you guys wouldn’t mind going—”

  “They were not showing me how to play. The oldest one there, Holland, came at me when I was just walking down the street. My mom is going to be so mad when she sees what I look like.” It was then Dwayne noticed that all three of the Sharon boys were sporting bumps and bruises as well. “I was winning that fight, too, when they hit me in the face with a ball bat.”

  “You took all three of them on? And only have a black eye to show for it? Good for you.” He turned to the Sharon boys again. “It’s bad enough that you beat each other up, but you also take on one kid that is new to town. Then if that’s not enough, when he’s winning the fight, you play dirty. Christ, your mom is going to have a cow when I tell her.”

  “You’re going to tell on us? We was just having a bit of fun.” Looking at Jamie, then back at Holland, Dwayne shrugged. It was then that Holland’s voice turned hard and mean. “Well, I didn’t say he was having any fun. I guess we’re going to be in trouble again, and it’ll be all his fault. I’m going to get you, kid.”

  Running them off, he could see that Holland was going to get Jamie the next time he saw him. And he’d bet anything it would be nothing but vicious for what he thought was retaliation. He turned to look at Jamie.

  “I don’t know you, do I?” He said he was there with his mom to settle up things with his aunt and uncle. “The Lane family, I take it.”

  “Yes. She was just going to be here a couple of days, but then they figured out that they’d been murdered by Mr. Lane. Uncle Howard’s dad. Can I come in there with you? I need to call my mom. She’s going to have a fit. Not that I was defending myself, she’d be all right with that, but because I bothered you. And my clothes. Sheesh, she just got me this shirt, too.”

  Careful not to laugh at Jamie, he took him inside the Addington building with him. Jamie had his picture taken for his badge, as well as his thumbprint, so he’d have access to any part of the building from now on. The latter wasn’t necessary, but Jamie was having such a good time that no one could turn him down. As soon as they were in Dwayne’s office, he asked if Jamie wanted to call his mom.

  “Yes, sir. Just so you know, my mom is a ball buster. I don’t call her that to her face, but that’s what everyone calls her.” Dwayne asked him who told him that. “She did. Mom thinks it’s funny. I had to ask her what it meant. That’s not a nice thing, do you think, Mr. Bishop?”

  “I don’t know that it’s a bad thing either. I mean, I have four sisters-in-law that are the same way. They think someone is complimenting them when they get called that. I just try and stay out of their way.” Jamie said he did as well when his mom was in one of her moods. “Yes, that’s a good idea. Perhaps you’re a good deal smarter than I first thought.”

  When Jamie asked to use the bathroom, Dwayne told him he could use his. When he came out, his face and hands washed, he didn’t look any better. Also, he
thought a few of the places he’d been hit were making themselves known to him.

  “Mr. Bishop, I don’t feel so good.” Dwayne was halfway out of his chair when Jamie fell backward. There was blood on his hand when he picked him up from the floor, and he turned the little guy over.

  “Christ.” Calling out to his secretary, he told her to call an ambulance. “Call my mom too. Have her get in touch with Jamie’s mother. I don’t know her, but Mom does.” He looked back at Jamie. “Come on, kid. You’re going to be all right. Come on now. Open your eyes for me.”

  He didn’t. By the time the medics were in his office, Dwayne had called his brother Quincey and told him what he’d found. Dwayne had never been so afraid in his life as he was just then. It had never occurred to him to have a look at him when they’d been together. Now the kid was going to be scarred for life.

  Jamie finally opened his eyes to look at him, but only long enough to empty his belly all over the team with him. This was bad, he told himself. Really bad.

  ~*~

  Brit was both glad and pissed off that no one would let her drive. Sawyer was going fast, she’d give him that, but he wasn’t going fast enough for her heart. Her little boy was hurting, and she wasn’t there for him.

  “I’ve spoken to my brother. Dwayne said it looked to him like he’d hit his head hard on something.” He then told her about the Sharon boys. “I’m going to drop you off at the hospital, then I’m going to go and have a talk with them. More than likely, bring them in. Not that we’ve had this sort of serious trouble from them before, but they’re not good kids. Will you press charges?”

  “I can’t think beyond wanting them to be dead right now. I know that’s harsh, but Jamie has had all kinds of self-defense classes, and if these kids got the better of him, then it must be bad.” Sawyer explained again what he knew about his head injury. “I know. It looks bad. I’m to understand he’s said that to you a couple of hundred times. Please don’t say it to me again. My mind is all over the place with what bad looks like to your brother. I’m hoping he’s just a little freaked out, and it won’t be that bad.”

  “All right.” He was nearly to the hospital when he turned to her again. “My brother Quincey is there now. He said that Jamie will be having a CAT scan when you arrive. He couldn’t wait, as he wanted to be sure there is nothing permanently wrong with him.”

  “He thinks it’s bad too.” Sawyer didn’t say anything as he was driving into the emergency lane that would put her in front of the department. “How is my son, Sawyer? Honestly.”

  “Quincey said he’ll be fine if there is nothing more pressing with his head. There will be a great many stitches. He’ll have to rest for a while and more than likely have to spend a couple of days in the hospital. I want you to also know that my brother Dwayne, who was with Jamie when he passed out, is beyond stressed. So if you could, would you please cut him some slack? He might explode on you. Not talk to you badly, but have a breakdown. He’s that close, Quincey said.” She told him she would try very hard not to say anything stressful to him. “Thank you. Dwayne is a good man, but he doesn’t like it when children suffer. It hurts him deep in his heart, he told me once.”

  Getting out of the car then, she made her way into the emergency department. In a passing sort of way, she noticed that everything was nice in the department. Planters full of flowers. There were pictures around the room that she’d bet were taken around the area. When she saw Mrs. Bishop, she grabbed onto her like a lifeline.

  “They’ve taken him up to get some pictures of his head. Poor little lamb. All he talked about was you coming here and that I was to stick with you.” She asked if he was talking a lot. “To me, it seemed like a great deal what with his injuries. You’ll be happy to know that Quincey was pleased that he not only knew his name but his birthday and what year it is. Also that you two were only here for a few more days, coming from New York. All good signs.”

  Glancing up from her chair, Brit saw the young man coming toward them. He had blood on his shirt as well as his pants. Brit knew right away that it was Dwayne. When he asked her if she was Jamie’s mom, she told him she was. Then, before he could tell her anything more, she put up her hand and spoke first.

  “Thank you for saving him. I’ve no doubt at all that Jamie was trying his best to be brave around you, and that is what made him faint. Also, thank you so much for protecting him from those boys. Your brother, Sawyer, told me he was headed there to talk to them now.” He asked her if she was going to press charges. “I might not have if Sawyer hadn’t told me they weren’t good kids in the first place. They could have killed anyone with their meanness. Thank you for that.”

  “He didn’t run to me so much as he ran into me.” Dwayne sat down. “I didn’t see anything beyond he had a busted lip and a blackening eye. The other three looked a great deal more beat up. I shouldn’t have done it, but I praised Jamie for taking on three and coming out ahead until the ball-bat was brought into play.”

  “I would have too had he come to me.” Dwayne looked at her. “What? I can’t be proud of him for coming out almost on top in a very uneven fight? What else did he tell you?”

  “Why the two of you were here. Also that you were going to be mad because you’d only just gotten him the shirt he had on. They cut it off him before we got here.” Brit thanked him again for taking care of her son. “There are a couple of things he had in his pocket when they brought him in. Since the entire town knows us, they turned it over to me. I hope that is all right with you.”

  He stood for a few seconds as he dug for whatever it was he had in his pocket. When he put it into her hand, the jolt to her system nearly knocked her off the chair she was sitting on. Brit knew what it meant just a few seconds before Dwayne did.

  “No. I mean, hell no.” Dwayne didn’t say anything, but he did look at his mother when she asked him what had happened. “He’s going to try and be my mate. I don’t think so. I have my life just where I want it after one failed marriage. I’m not going to go through that shit again just because someone’s DNA has figured that I need to be someone to pamper him.”

  “Are you finished?” She turned and looked at Dwayne. “I mean, if you have more to say on the subject, then go on and get it out of your system. I understand you’re stressed, and I am as well. However, I want you to remember this. I’m not whoever that was before. Not even close. I’m just as surprised by it as you are. But you’ll notice I didn’t fly off the handle and start accusing you of anything.” He stood up. “Mom, I’m going back to my office. I have a great deal of paperwork I have to finish up for tomorrow. If you’d not mind, Mom, could you let me know about Jamie? I’d really appreciate it.”

  He left. Just left them there after kissing his mom on her cheek. Brit turned to Sippy and told her she was sorry. Instead of telling her, it was all right, she just turned back in her seat.

  “One of the other girls did that to one of my sons. I vowed then that I’d not get into it with them if one of you women were to do that again. So I won’t tell you how you’re barking up the wrong tree with my son. Nor will I point out that he’d not said a single word to you before you blasted him.” She finally looked at her. “I’ve just heard from my other son, the one that has been caring for your son since he arrived, and he said Jamie is being put into a room to spend a couple of nights here until they get tests back. I’d really appreciate it if you were to cool your jets.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  They went to the fifth floor without saying a word. Sippy was greeted happily by the women at the desk. Brit felt like all kinds of a fool when she was introduced to the women as Dwayne’s mate. Asking what room her boy was in, she was told, and Brit made her way there. Barely making it before she started crying, she found the room empty except for the two chairs in the room. Taking one, she sat down and cried harder than she had in some time.

  Not wanting Jamie to find her
upset, she went to the bathroom and freshened herself up. Her eyes were red, but she could blame that on stress. When she came out of the bathroom, Sippy was sitting in one of the chairs, so she took the other. The silence was very heavy in the room.

  Looking out the window, down at the snow just coming down and covering the cars in the parking lot, Brit was crying again when Jamie was brought into the room, and he reached for her.

  “I’m so sorry, Mom. I know you’re stressed out enough.” He looked around. “Hello, Mrs. Sippy. I thought Dwayne would be here. He’s been really nice since they brought me in here.”

  “He’s gone back to work. Something about a big project he’s working on. But he did want me to leave his cell phone number for you to call him when you have the time.”

  Who Brit thought was Quincey came into the room then. He kissed his mother and then looked at Brit.

  “We’ve looked at the CAT scan, and it doesn’t look as if he has any breaks or cracks in his skull. But we’ll have a radiologist have a look at them soon. I have put seventy-five stitches in his head that will have to be watched carefully. Also, he does have a couple of busted ribs that I believe will heal on their own. The black eye is fine as well. No damage to his eye or his eyeball that causes me any concern. There are also five stitches in his lower lip that he’ll be able to tell women about when he’s older. Do you have any questions?” She asked when they could go back home. “I’d not make any plans for a few days at least. Also, Sawyer said you were pressing charges against the Sharon boys. That’s a good idea. Jamie will need quiet while he’s recuperating. And I’d not recommend him flying. The compression in a plane at this point would give him a headache beyond anything he’s ever had before.”

  “I had one now. Doctor Quincey gave me some happy juice, he called it. I don’t hurt one bit.” He giggled, and she laughed too. “I think that whatever it is, Mom, you should get some when you’re upset. It takes all the stress away too.”