Page 3 of Baby and the Beast

“My name’s Seth McNally,” he added. “And it’s really cold out here.” He added the last comment as an attempt at a joke. “I can show you my license?”

He tried the door handle, but it was locked. Seth blew out another frustrated breath. It was cold and getting colder. It was snowing, and he was hungry. He was also fed up and just about ready to take his shovel to the door. At least if he were arrested, the jail would be warm.

Seth shivered and made a decision. He was going to break in. Surely this was enough of an emergency to warrant such a desperate measure. He tried the handle again, then picked up the shovel and forced the steel edge in between the door and the frame. The door creaked alarmingly, then as Seth put all his weight against the door and twisted the shovel, the door flew open and Seth staggered in after it, going to his knees.

Another moment later and Seth knew he didn’t have to worry about being arrested because he was going to die. A huge black bear raised itself on its haunches and opened its terrifying jaws to roar its rage. For an incredibly long second, Seth stared at the animal that was about to maul him to death, and just as heseemed to get his frozen muscles working and he scrambled up, reaching for the shovel as some sort of weapon, the bear seemed to double up, and its cry of anger sounded like it changed to a cry of pain.

Not that Seth was hanging around to find out. He bolted to the door, glancing back as he wrenched it open wider, and nearly passed out on the spot. The bear wasn’t a bear anymore, or not completely. Or he’d lost his mind. Because as Seth watched in complete bewilderment, fur disappeared, and the bearshrank,for want of a better word, until a man stood in its place.

Maybe when the car had gone off the road he’d hit his head. Maybe he’d been taken to the emergency room and been given really good drugs. Maybe he really was in Cancún and drinking strong cocktails.

But then instead of making the wisest decision and getting the hell out of there, he took in the state of the man in front of him. To say he looked sick was an understatement. His eyes were lined with huge purple shadows, and his face had a gaunt quality to it. “Are you okay?” Seth asked gently, his protective instinct overcoming his terror.

The man’s eyes widened, clearly shocked at Seth’s concern, but before he could answer, the man’s face screwed up in obvious pain and he stumbled away. Seth didn’t wait for an invitation then, simply pushed the broken door closed behind him.

Three things warred within Seth, equal parts shock, astonishment, and a general sense ofwhat the hell.

Firstly, the man who was clearly in pain was completely naked.

Secondly, unless his own eyes and the huge, taut belly on the man were deceiving him, he looked exactly the same as his sister Rachel when she had gone into labor.

Baby and the Bear

Chapter Two

Jesse watched as the man froze for approximately five seconds until Jesse couldn’t seem to stop the agonized sound from his throat.

“Do you have a phone? I can call 911?” Jesse shook his head more in bewilderment than in denial. Why wasn’t he running? Why wasn’t he at least brandishing the shovel? A goddamn black bear had just tried to attack—

“Aghh.” Jesse’s legs wobbled. He needed to sit, but then miraculously, strong hands were holding him, supporting him, and gently walking him to the mound of blankets.

“Look.” The man faltered, obviously not having the first clue what to say. “Maybe there’s a neighbor? I can go for some help.”

“No,” Jesse bit out, trying for defiance, but all he heard in his voice was terror.

“You need an ER,” the man said bluntly, looking at Jesse’s swollen abdomen.

“Just leave me,” Jesse whispered, now putting all his weight onto the man as he lowered him gently down to the floor.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said with a firmness that Jesse didn’t have the strength to argue with. “Unless it’s for help,” he suggested hopefully. “I was heading for a cabin about three miles away, but my car broke down.”

“If you try and get help I’ll be forced to go back into the woods, and it’s dangerous right now.” Which was the understatement of the century, and an idle threat. Jesse couldn’t shift anymore since he was too close to the birth, and it was too risky. He could survive the cold, but his baby wouldn’t. He wasn’t going through all he had to save its life just to let it die now.

“Look, you need a doctor—”

“No, I don’t,” Jesse said stubbornly and gasped as another pain hit him.

“Steady breaths. Pant away the pain, that’s it.” The man held his hand. “Squeeze as hard as you like.” Jesse did as he was told. Following instructions calmed him, and the contraction eased.

“What’s your name?” the man asked, not letting go of his hand.

“Jesse,” he whispered.

“Seth,” the man replied in turn. “Do you know what’s wrong?” Seth seemed to be hesitant and not to want to jump to conclusions.

“Exactly what you’re assuming,” Jesse mumbled and shivered. “And no, you’re not going crazy.”

Seth nodded and tucked the blankets around him. What Seth had obviously seen hung in the room like a dead weight. Wasn’t he going to ask?

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