Page 30 of The Devil on my Chest

“But Sheriff Rocky, we’re sorry. That means we can go home now, right?”

“No. Go to sleep.”

“But the bed’s hard, there’s no pillows, and I haven’t got my special blankie.”

Rocky closed his eyes and rubbed the spot between his eyes. Jumping out of his chair, he went through to the cell area. He’d put both boys in the same twin cell and yes, they made a pitiful picture, huddled together on one of the mattresses.

“Look boys. If I was you, I’d get used to these beds, the lack of pillows and not having your blankie. You’re only what? Ten and twelve years old?”

Two blond heads nodded.

“This is what happens to people who do bad things.” Rocky waved a hand indicating the cell. “You two seem determined to do bad things, so this is what you need to get used to. Think of this as a glimpse into your future as an adult. It’s not fun, is it?”

The two heads were shaking this time. “I miss my mom,” Toby said.

“That’s what life is like behind bars.” Rocky leaned against the wall opposite the bars. “No mom hugs in jail. No bedtime stories. No special hugs. No getting an extra cup of chocolate made just because your mom loves you.”

“I don’t like it.” Sheridan started to cry again. “I want to go home.”

“Yeah, well I want to go home to, and thanks to you two, I can’t.” Rocky peeled himself off the wall. “I suggest you settle down and sleep. Morning comes quicker that way. I’ll leave the light on, but that’s all you’re getting until morning.”

“It was only flowers, Sheriff Rocky. This is…this is…the punishment doesn’t fit the crime,” Toby said jutting out his chin.

“Oh, really? And what punishment would fit the crime do you think?” Rocky held up his hand, ticking items off his fingers. “You were trespassing, which is illegal. You broke into someone’s barn, also illegal. You destroyed property worth a lot of money, that wasn’t yours, so that is a crime as well. What punishment do you think would be more suitable?”

Toby and Sheridan exchanged glances, and then Toby said, “We should probably write a letter to Molly and say sorry andthat we won’t do it again. It should be written in our neatest handwriting, and we should both sign it.”

“Nice to know you’re learning something at school. That probably would’ve worked the first time you committed the offenses, especially if you never stepped foot on Molly’s property again afterward.”

Rocky yawned. “But you didn’t do it then, or the next five times you broke the law. If you’d been a few years older you’d be in paranormal jail right now, and they don’t even give you a mattress. Think about that if you can’t sleep. Night, boys.”

Pulling the door between the cells and the office almost closed, but not fully, Rocky’s eyes widened when he saw Doc standing by the reception desk. “Doc, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” He felt a shaft of fear in his gut. “Is Mal all right?”

“He will be,” Doc said, his expression grim. “Can we go into your office a moment? You and I need to have a talk.”

Chapter Twenty

“What do you mean Mal will be all right?” Rocky took Doc into his office, but left the door open. He needed to keep an ear on the kids. “That tells me there’s something wrong with him now.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the babies. Mal has got high blood pressure, but from what he’s been telling me, that’s not unusual with what’s going on.” Doc settled himself in a chair. “Rocky, I’m going to be blunt. Do you love your mate?”

Rocky clutched his chest. “Does he think that I don’t? I love him with everything I am. My life would be nothing without him. Why would you ask that?”

Doc held up a finger. “Do you respect your mate?”

“Totally.” Rocky was offended by the question. “Mal is the smartest, kindest, and most organized person I know. He’s amazing.”

“Then why,” Doc said, “are you treating your amazing, wonderful mate as if he was a walking baby incubator without two brain cells to rub together.”

“I don’t.” Rocky was stung. But then he thought about how Mal had blocked their mind link and the yelling in the office that afternoon. “I’m trying to look after him,” he said quietly. “He’s always looking out for me, but now with the babies coming I need to be the one who looks after him.”

“By smothering him, not respecting him, and by neglecting his sexual needs?”

Rocky reared back in his seat. “Doc, Mal’s pregnant. He can’t…you know…” He waved his hand. “He shouldn’t be doing that stuff. What if it hurts the babies?”

Doc leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “I see,” he said, nodding. “It’s true then. In all the history of shifters, you apparently have a dick so big that you’re worried if you penetrate your mate’s ass, that what…your dick is going to be patting the babies on the head?”

Rocky tried to imagine what that would look like. “Well, I suppose, if they were pointing down, and then I…”

---