Doc Featherstone's Return by Stephani Hecht Read Free Book Online Page A

to Joshua’s gut. Ash pulled his hand away with a hard jerk. “So, I’m not good enough for you, is that it?”
    “No, I never meant that.”
    “You said just as much a second ago. If you really did care for me, you wouldn’t give a damn what your parents thought.”
    Joshua could feel his frustration begin to build.
    Why couldn’t Ash see things from his point of
view? Why did everything always have to be so black and white in his world? He knew nothing of making sacrifices. Of having to put aside ones needs to meet the demands of their family.
    “That’s not fair, Ash. You can’t ask me to pick between them or you.”
    Ash stared at him for the longest moment before he said, “You’re right. I can’t, and I won’t.
    You go ahead and find that Bobcat female of yours. I wish you the best of luck.”
    “Ash…”
    “No, we’re done here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.”
    Ash was obviously more upset than he let on because he tried to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. The moment his feet touched the ground, he fell down hard. When Joshua moved to help him, Ash held up a hand, his face red and tears in his eyes.
    “Just go away, you’ve done enough already!”
    Ash yelled
    The curtain parted, and Kallen came rushing in.
    He helped Ash up into his chair. Shooting Joshua a look of pure fury, the Hyena said, “You heard Ash, he doesn’t need your help anymore. I can take things from here.”
    Left with no other option Joshua turned and walked away. Behind him, he could hear Kallen murmuring words of comfort to Ash. Never
before in his life had Joshua felt lower.
    As he left the infirmary, he planned on going straight to bed and forgetting that the night had even happened. So when he ran into Shane, he was less than pleased.
    “Let me guess, you just fucked things up big time with Ash,” Shane said.
    “How did you know?”
    “Because I’ve seen that look before. Come on, let’s go.” Shane jerked his head.
    “Where to?”
    “The one shifter bar that hasn’t banned me.
    Nothing says I-fucked-up like going to get drunk.”
    “I really don’t drink that much,” Joshua said.
    “That one night you came to my house was a fluke.”
    Shane put an arm around the doctor’s shoulders. “Well, that’s okay. We’ll just get into a good fight instead.”
    Joshua shook his head. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
    “Trust me, Joshua, you really need to get out more.”
    Somehow it didn’t shock Joshua that Shane knew his first name when few others did. Shane, the little bugger, probably also knew his social security number and the PIN to all his debit cards.
    “But what if I’m needed when I’m out?” Joshua continued to argue.
At the same time, Shane continued to drag him to the door. “They’ll be fine without you. Now, let’s go.”
    Knowing it was useless to argue, Joshua went along. They got into Shane’s car, and before Joshua knew it, they were at some bar that was so filthy and disgusting, calling it a dive would have been a compliment.
    Shane ordered a couple of drinks from a crusty-looking Snake shifter, then sat back in his seat.
    “So, just how badly did you fuck up?”
    “Just about as bad as I could get without physically ripping out his heart and stomping on it,” Joshua admitted.
    “You told him the whole thing about only being able to mate a female Bobcat, didn’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Shit, Doc. You really do know how to put the knife in and twist it.”
    Joshua winced. “I fucked up. I know. I just thought I owed it to him to tell him the truth.”
    “Did it ever occur to you to tell your parents no ?”
    “Things don’t work like that in our family. I already disappointed them once by working for the coalition instead of going into private practice.
    I can’t let them down again. To do so will devastate them.”
    As Joshua repeated the same old argument, it
sounded weak and tired, even to his own ears. He wondered