The Bear's Mate by Vanessa Devereaux Read Free Book Online

light.
    “Like
what?”
    “Maybe
I was just tired, but yesterday it looked thicker than normal and had a blue
hue to it.”
    Maggie
turned on one of the lighted magnifying glasses sitting on her lab countertop
and held the vial up to it.
    “Looks
perfectly okay to me but you want me to run more tests than the usual panel?”
    “Yeah,
let’s do that.”
    “Okay,
give me a day and I’ll give you a call tomorrow with the results and then I can
e-mail or fax them to you. Oh, by the way, I hear there’s a job opening in the
cardiac department here…if you’re interested in coming back to work at a
hospital.”
    “I’m
not sure about cardiology. I’m hoping to get back into genetic research, but I
guess until there’s more grant money it’s either cardiology or I stay at the
clinic.”
    Maggie
nodded. “I’ll keep my ears about any other openings for you. How’s your father
doing?”
    “He
seems to be doing okay. Still has his sense of humor, which is a good sign.”
    Maggie
nodded and lifted up her crossed fingers. “I’m rooting for him. I was going to
ask if you’d like me to stop and visit with him. I know he’s never met me, but
I think you need a break and some social time off.”
    “Funny
you should say that, my dad was saying I should take a night off. Do I really
look that bad?”
    “Just
the opposite, but I think we have to find you a great date.”
    An
image of Aiden Renner sprung to mind. She smiled which Maggie must have seen
and interrupted as I’ve already got someone in mind.
    “You’ve
already met someone haven’t you?”
    “Well,
not really, but…” said Charlotte. She knew she should be heading to work, but
after the night she’d had she deserved time to talk with a friend. “There was
this guy who brought his brother in…that’s who the blood sample belongs to.
He’d been stabbed, and a woman had bitten his dick.”
    “ Shit, that sounds like more interesting stuff than goes on
around here. So tell me more about the hunky guy.”
    “He
works with wildlife management, great looking guy and tall, but I don’t know
there was something strange about him.”
    “Strange
is sometimes good especially when you get them into bed,” said Maggie.
    Charlotte
smacked her on the arm. “You are so bad at times.”
    “So
is he single, have a girlfriend, or what?”
    Charlotte
shook her head. “According to him he’s all by his lonesome.”
    “He
told you that?”
    “Yeah,
I asked him after he questioned me about my relationship status.”
    “Charlotte,
that’s such a good sign. You should give him a call and ask him out.”
    “If
he’s interested he’ll have to do the asking out bit.”
    “You
are so twentieth century.”
    “I
don’t even know if I’d want to go out with him. Like I said, there was
something weird about him.”
    “Weird
isn’t always a bad thing. Although I do remember one guy who I thought was a
keeper, and the first time he slept over at my place he brought his own sheets
and pillowcase.”
    “Yeah,
like I always say, when they seem too good to be true, they usually are.” Charlotte
looked at her watch. She could stand here talking about guys all day, but she
had a clinic to open and Maggie had work to do so she
could get to the blood sample.
    “I
gotta go, but call me as soon as you’ve run that blood.”
    * * * *
    At least make it
look like you’re working.
    Aiden
had some notes to type up about a recent call he’d gone out on regarding a lady
who thought she’d seen an alligator in her backyard pond. He’d chosen the job
specifically so he could keep tabs on any unusual sightings in the area that
might be shifters who were out on their own and needed sanctuary. Also, it came
in handy when one got trapped or darted and had to be sent free. He loved the
job, but today he just couldn’t concentrate on his work. He sorted through some
files on his desk, unable to take his mind off Dr. Delaney and, yes, the blood
sample too. He had to find out