Page 7

Kendrick had one more patient to go, and he was done for the week. And he was ready for it, too. This weekend, he was going to clean out his garage and get rid of some of the things he’d been harboring since he’d moved in. He hated to think about the dozen or so boxes that were still out there that he’d not unpacked since he’d moved in about ten to fifteen years ago. He figured that if whatever was in them he’d not been missing, then they were to be tossed out. He wanted to clear out the old in order to make room for the new. And by now, it might only be stuff that he had stored in a storage lot some time ago.

Moving every ten to fifteen years was something that he thought all of them did, with the exception of Conri. He had lived in the pack house now for about fifty years. For at least as long as it had been built anyway. It really did give them a fresh outlook and had them seem less stationary about their lives. He enjoyed it as a way to get everything fresh. He’d buy not just furniture to go with his new house but new everything, including towels and sheets. They probably needed to be changed out more often than that, but he never deviated from his plan, and that had been working out well for him. His brothers, too, he thought.

“Doctor Valley, a child is being brought in that has a rash on their arm. The mother is frantic about it. She just wants you to look at it to see if she needs to take him to the emergency department. I guess the wait there today is about six hours to be seen. She’s trying to cut out the middle man, I think, in being there.” He asked her if she was serious about the wait at the ER. “I am. Once in a while, I’ll call over there and get an update in the event someone needs to be seen by you. Since I know they can get reports back quicker than you can, I’ll sometimes send them directly to them. Not for just small boo-boos but larger things like cuts and such.”

“I’ll see them. You keep an eye on the ER for me, and we’ll see if they could use some help. I’m off this weekend, and I had plans, but if they need help, I can certainly go there and see if I can help.” She told him that she’d keep that in mind. Sally was a good receptionist, and he enjoyed working with her. “Let me know when they get here. Mr. Johnson is getting dressed and will be ready to go soon.”

“I’ll take care of him.” She’d make him feel like his appointment was one that he’d been looking forward to all week, and he’d go out with a puffed-out chest. That was another thing he liked about her. She was very good with patients. “Oh, their names are Pirate. Jane and Willy Pirate. She’s asked for an appointment to see you when you have time as a new patient. I guess they just moved here. Father is out of the picture, so you know.”

He didn’t need to know that, but it was he supposed good to know in case it came up for some reason. Sally wasn’t a gossip, but she knew a great deal about people around town. Some of it was good, but most of it wasn’t for the casual listener. When he said she knew a lot, she really knew the skeletons in everyone’s closet, including his own. But as he thought to himself, she wasn’t one to gossip about anyone.

Willy came in with his mom, Jane, about five minutes after five. He took the little boy back to the rooms while his mom filled out paperwork for insurance and such. He didn’t bother with that part but was glad that Sally had a handle on all the companies and their insurance so that he would get paid when it was time. Setting Willy up on the table, he had a look at his arm.

“This is poison ivy. Do you have it anywhere else on your body?” Checking him out, he found that it wasn’t just on his right arm but his left and on both his calves, too. There were small spots of it started on his back, and he found it on his cheek. It was time for the big guns and a shot. But he had to wait on his mom to see what she wanted him to do. When she entered the office, he thought she was far too young to have a little boy of Willy’s age but didn’t say anything to her. It wasn’t any of his business, first of all, and secondly, Sally would more than likely know before anyone else what the family dynamics were.

He ended up giving the boy a shot and recommending some ointment for his more raw skin. Scratching it could cause an infection, and he didn’t want that to happen to the little man. He certainly had been brave while giving him a shot of steroids and antibiotics and giving him a prescription for it for home.

It was nearing six when he finally got out of the office. Sally had left at five-thirty, telling him that she was going to the bank and post office. Good, one less thing that he had to do on his way home. Going to the Dari Q for dinner, he was surprised to find Howard there talking to a bunch of the ball players from some of the local teams. Getting his food, being invited to sit with the older-looking man, he asked him how he was feeling.

“I’m doing all right. Wearing out a little faster than I used to, but I suppose that is to be expected. Having this thing in my head, it’s certainly messed up my plans for the future.” He was sure it had and told him so. “I’m taking your advice, young man, and going to go to another doctor for a second opinion. Thank you for that. You said that you might well have someone in mind who could do it for me, right?”

“I do. Two doctors that I can recommend are only in Columbus at Ohio State Hospital, you could easily see. I’ll call them and get you in earlier than I think they’re seeing new patients.” Howard said that he’d like that. “I’ll call them tonight. They practice together, so it might be one or both of them that you get to see. They’re the best in their fields of brain surgery.”

“You have any opinions on how I look now as opposed to when I started coming around? I don’t see you as much as I do your brothers, so I thought that I’d ask.” Taking a bite of his sandwich, he looked at the man. “All you Valley men, you’re good men and take questions seriously, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know that we all do. Our dad would never answer questions when asked of him. It was like the old saying goes that it was like pulling teeth. In the end, we figured out that he couldn’t lie to us, so in not answering, he got away with a lot of things that he shouldn’t have.” Howard said he’d heard that he wasn’t a good man. “No, he wasn’t. He was a terrible man, leader, and father. We’re all glad that he’s gone. I’m sure that makes us sound cold and heartless, but that’s what we all feel towards him. My mom is only still alive because she pulled her claiming of him when she found out that he’d been stealing from the pack and even her. My mom is a full-blooded wolf, but my dad was human. Him being made alpha was only because she was such a good person.”

“I didn’t know that. You all are half-bloods, then?” He said that they had very few traits that made them look like half-blooded wolves and were, for the most part, full-blooded. “Good to know. Yes, sir, it’s good to know about that. Not that it changes how I feel about you. You six are about the best thing that has happened to us and my little family.”

“Thank you. We feel the same about you and your family, too. It’s been great getting to know you all.” Kendrick finished his dinner and watched Howard as he interacted with the boys and girls coming up to get some dinner as well. The games this time of year would be well past nine o’clock because the sun was still out and shining then. One of the boys asked him if he was going to be at their next game. “Yes. It’s my turn tomorrow to be the doctor on site. I’m glad you mentioned it. I had completely forgotten about it. Thanks, Harley.”

Now, he’d have to change his plans around. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to get anything done. It just meant that he was going to have to readjust his thinking on how much he was planning on getting done. He might well get the garage cleaned out, but nothing tossed out until he had more time. But it mattered little. He loved being the doctor on duty when they played games. It would mean that he would be there about twelve to fourteen hours, but he also got anything he wanted to eat and drink, as well as getting to see some really good games while he was at it.

“I might come down and keep you company. Elizabeth and Cass are going to go over plans for the houses we’re going to be looking at. Conri said he owns a lot of the houses around where the pack house is, and so does his friend Brewster Smith. He is a nice man, and I just think the world of his wife. They’re vampires, correct?” Kendrick said that they were but that Brew was about as old as they all were. “Yes, when I saw him talking to one of your brothers, he explained to me that he was an ancient. I did wonder how old he was.”

“He’s a good man. The land that the pack house and the pack land is all his. He kindly doesn’t charge us anything to use the land, and we return the favor by keeping him and his family safe from people out looking to kill an ancient vampire and his mate.” Howard, for some reason, thought that was funny being as powerful as the man seemed to be, but he told them that he had to sleep sometime during the day, and that was when he was vulnerable. “Yes, I guess I should have thought of that too. My pardon. I didn’t mean to make fun of him. It just seemed funny for such a man.”

Howard decided that he needed to get home but asked if he could join him at the fields tomorrow. Telling him it would be good to have someone around, they were going to meet up at eight at the field to start their day. He was actually looking forward to it more than he had been when he remembered he was going to be stuck all day at the ball fields.

Making his way home, Kendrick decided to get himself a case of water from the store and then pick up some lunch meat to make him a couple of sandwiches. He could only eat so many hot dogs before he’d be sick. This way, he wouldn’t be drinking a great deal of their waters, too, they made the best money on. The pack, as a whole, donated several hundred cases of water to the park to be sold throughout the summer so that they could afford to pay for umpires as well as ball uniforms for the kids and coaches.

Since he had a landline like the others did, he checked his machine to see that he had three messages. One of them was from Doctor Chris Baldwin, one of the very doctors that he had been going to call on behalf of Howard. He was told to call him back so long as it was before ten and he did so after getting his waters put away and his other groceries.

He told Chris about Howard. He’d left a message earlier this week in saying that he might call him for a second opinion. After sending him the records that he’d gotten from the other man’s doctor, he told him what he knew. Which to be honest with his friend, he didn’t know a great deal.

“I do know that he was given a year or less to live. But to be honest with you, Chris, I can’t believe how good the man looks for being close to death’s bed. It’s been a couple of months since he got his diagnosis, and he looks more fit now than he did when I first met him.” He asked him what he was doing to look so good. “I know that he’s eating better simply because his wife wants him to be around longer. And since they’ve been staying with my brother and his new mate, he’s been walking around the town more. I just saw him this evening when he asked me if he looked any different. I had to admit that he did look trimmer than he did before. And certainly has a healthy glow to his skin.”

“I’ve cleared my morning for him on Wednesday. Tell him to be there at eight in the morning, and I’ll do a thorough workup on him and his wife while she’s there. I tend to find that when this sort of thing happens, the other partner gets poorly because they’re stressing over every little thing.” He told him how they’d both been under a great deal of stress of late, and nothing to do with the tumor. “I’ll work them both up and feel better about it. Yes, tell him that we’ll see what we can find about his tumor and go from there.”

“I’ll bring them there myself if that helps them get there on time. Not that I’d think they would be late, but I’ll make sure they get there.” Chris asked him how his practice was going and mentioned how he was going to be at the ball field tomorrow. “I miss those days when I could do something like that. I’m so busy with my practice nowadays—demand is taking its toll on me as well. But I did love being around the kids when it was my turn to be at the ball fields. You mostly sit around, but it’s fun nonetheless.”

“I’ll be on for about fourteen hours and get all the food and drink I want. On the way home tonight, I picked up some lunch meat so I’d not have to eat my weight in hot dogs tomorrow and be sick for a week.” They both laughed. “Thank you for seeing my friend, Chris. He’s my brother Conri’s father-in-law, so you’re doing a favor for a lot of people.”

“It’s my pleasure. Anything for an old friend.” Thinking how long it had been since he’d seen Chris, he was sort of ashamed to be asking for a favor for so long an absence from each other’s life. He’d have to make up for that in the future.

After getting a shower and setting his alarm, he was ready for bed. He did call Howard and let him know about the appointment and told him that he would clear his day on Wednesday to go with him and his wife if he wanted. Of course, he wanted him there as support, and he was glad that he had suggested it. It was going to be a long day, but at least he’d be able to answer questions if they had any on the way home. Not that they’d have all that much information on the way back, but he’d be there for them if there was anything that came up.

~*~

Conri was ready to call it a day today, and it was only eight-thirty in the morning. It had been a long night before, and now it was running into his morning issues that had been going on at the pack land. All he’d wanted to do was to have some of the men and women who were a part of the pack go out to the ceremony area and mow and do some trimming, and they were making it sound like he was asking them to cut off their left nuts to do it for them all.

“I have to pay for gas, too?” Conri told the man once again that whatever he spent would be taken off his dues for the month. “But that’s a month away, and I’m going to be putting out the money now. That’s not fair at all.”

“I’ll give you twenty bucks to mow the lawn and not take anything off your dues.” That wasn’t want he wanted either. “Look, I could just order you to do it, Carl, but I’m willing to pay you to do something for the pack. It’s up to you. Either do it and get paid now or have it taken from your dues.”

“I guess I’ll take the money now. But I don’t think it’s fair that I have to use my own mower. Why don’t the pack just buy a mower? That would be even better.” He told him how they’d done that once before and how it had been used by some of the pack so much for their own yards, it wasn’t worth doing it again. Not and have a mower for everyone to use. “I remember that. It was sure nice having that rider when I had to mow my own lawn. You should really think about buying another one. I’d surely like that.”

“I’m sure that you would. But I’m not, so mow the lawn out at the ceremony field and think of it as paying for the other mower that you and the others wore out when you didn’t want to buy your own mower.” He, of course, thought that was a bad idea and said as much. “Look, Carl, I’m having five of you mow the lawn on the same day. I could just have you do it and take it all afternoon. Do it, and stop bitching about having the pack paying to have a new mower.”

“I still think it would be great to have one around all the time. Mine isn’t going to last forever having to mow the—All right, I’m going.” The low growl had him leaving the pack meeting hall faster than he’d come into the hall.

He was making a list of people who would be responsible for the lawn when the phone at his desk rang. He was in no mood to take any calls, so when he answered it, he knew he was a bit short with the person on the other end of the line.

“What a way to answer the phone. I raised you better than that.” Of course, it would be his mom. And she’d not understand what was going on at the office today. “What is going on there? Has someone dirtied up your day already?”

“You have no idea.” He told her about his day so far. “Then the phone rang, and I insulted you. I’m sorry, Mom. I hadn’t any intentions of taking anything out on anyone else today, but you can understand this.”

“Your father would have bought the mower and still not had the field mowed. Then wonder why. You’re a good leader, son.” He thanked her. “The reason that I called was I’ve been trying to get in touch with your wife. She’s been putting me off. I don’t know that she likes me all that much.”

“Her dad is ill, Mom. You know that. And they’re in Columbus today, getting a second opinion on his brain tumor. I hope it goes well. They’re going to be there just about all day.” Mom said she’d forgotten about him being ill. “Yes, sometimes I do as well. He looks so good otherwise.”

“He does. Oh my, I feel so bad now. I’d forgotten about him dealing with all that. I should have been there for her. You tell her when you talk to her if she needs me, all she needs to do is to call me, and I’ll be there for her.” He told his mom that she could contact her. “I will when she returns. Poor thing. I just love her family to pieces, Conri. You got yourself a good mate in her.”

“I agree. She’s been helping me with the pack stuff lately, too. She’s the one who suggested that I get some of the members to mow the lawn out there. Except for the bitching today, I think it’s going to work out well.” She asked about other projects. “She’s hired a firm to go over the books. She told me that she didn’t think everyone was paying their dues on time, and most of them weren’t paying them at all. We do have a few, very few, who pay by the year. I mean, it’s not all that much to pay. But I believe she’s right. Dues aren’t being paid. And the ones that aren’t are the first ones in line when we have something to give away to the groups.”

“I don’t believe I’ve paid mine now that I think about it.” Conri told her that she didn’t have to because she was the mother of the alpha. “Well, that’s nice. Thank you for that. Do your brothers pay theirs?”

“No, they work for the pack in different ways, and that’s why. When I need them, they’ll run around gathering things up or checking things out for me. Also, Kendrick is my second, though he doesn’t care for the job. With him being a doctor, it’s hard on him to go with me and knock a few heads around. He told me that he ends up having to take care of them once he’s knocked them around.” Mom laughed just as he had hoped that she would. “I’m thinking that I need to get one of the others signed up on it. Rette said he’d do it. I guess he’s got all his things ready for his art show now, and he has some free time. But once he gets started again, it’ll be difficult to pull him away.”

“I have a hard enough time getting them to pay me any mind when they’re in the fight or flight mode. I didn’t realize that they had another show coming up. I need to get with them on a calendar so that I can keep up.” He didn’t know what to say about that, so he didn’t. But his mom wasn’t finished talking yet. “I called you to get in touch with Cass. I’ve done that already. I guess I should let you get back to work. I do miss having you boys around more often. I don’t suppose you’d like to have lunch with your poor old mother today, would you?”

“I’d love that. I was going to get with Yanick, but he can join you and me if he behaves himself. When he’s bored, he tends to get a little out of hand.” She said that she would love that. “Well, it’s about noon now. Do you want me to pick you up and bring you into town, or you drive yourself?”

“Pick me up. Oh, this is wonderful. I get to have a nice lunch with two of my boys.” He was going to have to make more time with his mom if she was this excited about having lunch with him. All of them needed to do it more often. “I’ll meet you in front of the house. I’ve got myself a grocery list too going on, and I’ll just walk home with those little bits of things.”

“I’ll bring you back home. There is nothing on my desk that has to be done right away.” There were actually ten things on his desk that needed his attention today, but his mom was very important to him. Getting his suit jacket—wearing a suit to work at the pack meeting house was something that he’d been doing since taking over—he made his way to the door while reaching for his brother.

“We have to make more time for her.” Yanick beat him to saying it. “Yesterday, when I was in town, I saw her talking to herself. Wondering where her boys were when she needed them. I was going to suggest we meet with her all together at least once a week and then by ourselves on another day. It’ll be good for her. And us.”

“Maybe we can convince her to do Sunday dinners again. Those were so nice when we had them. We could all get together and talk.” Yanick agreed with him. “Also, you might not have thought of this, but we really need to get together for Christmas this year. Find out what we’re going to be doing. In the last few years, we’ve done nothing but pack stuff, and I miss having a tree up.”

“You’re only saying that because you have a mate. And possibly children soon. So when are you going to make me an uncle? Soon, I hope. I’d love to see a little version of Cass running around.” He thought that he would as well. “I’m hoping you’re going to be making an announcement soon. Or even at Christmas. That would be epic, big brother.”

“I don’t have any announcements as yet, but I won’t let you know when I do.” They both laughed. “I’m about to pick up Mom. I hope you’re at least almost to the restaurant.”

“I’m there now making reservations for the four of us. Rette was in town, so I invited him too. You think Mom will care?” Conri told his brother that she would love it. “All right. I’m getting her now. I’ll see you in a few minutes.

His mom was so excited that he felt twice as bad about not taking her out more often. Just because they all had jobs, they shouldn’t be neglecting their mother. He’d hate it if his own kids, whenever he had them, did the same to him.

Not only were Yanick and Rette at the restaurant but so were Lamar and Yuri. Kendrick sent his best wishes to their mom as he was still in Columbus with the Warmer family, but having the five of them together, his mom couldn’t have been happier. At one point, she did cry a little, her love for them shining through her tears, she told them. He was just glad that she’d called him today so that he could spend some time with her.

Lunch was a lot longer than he thought it would be. It was nearly three when they started off to the grocery store to pick up her few things. Never once did he allow himself to look at his watch, and he noticed that his brothers hadn’t either. When they were finished, he asked if they would meet with him and Mom once a week so that she’d not feel so bad about them not coming around. They all agreed that they’d love to have a nice meal with them once a week. Or more, as it turned out.

There were a few people in the grocery store that spoke to his mom. She always made sure to tell them that they’d all just had lunch together and that they were going to pick her up to join them once a week. He felt like a heel when a couple of the women told her that it was about time, but mom ignored them in favor of being proud about having him shopping with her. He even pushed the cart around for her while she gathered up things that he was sure were at home in the cabinets.

By the time he got her home and the things brought into the house, he was sure that he felt better than he had even a few days ago. Something about having someone proud of you made you feel like you could take on just about anything. He realized, too, that at some point, his headache from earlier was gone, and he wasn’t grinding his teeth so much. Yes, there was a lot to be said at having lunch with your mom, he thought.

Getting back to his office at five-thirty, he’d heard from Cass twice and Kendrick once. They’d have the test results in a few days, but things didn’t look as badly as they were told.

“The tumor hasn’t grown at all since the first cat scan. And not only that but in a few places, it looks as if it’s shrunk in size a little. Right now, I’ll take a quarter of an inch over it growing that much.” He said that he was glad for them all. “Dad is trying hard not to get his hopes up, but you can see it in his eyes that he’s excited about the extra people looking into it.”

“I bet that he is. I know that he sounded excited about it when I spoke to him last night.” She was telling him about the doctors being so nice when he was packing up to leave for the day. Everything on his desk would be there tomorrow, he thought. Today had been totally worth being behind another day. “I love you so much, Cass. I’ll see you when you get home.”