Page 14 of Finding Her Panthers

Instead of answering, I stand up and start to clear the table. They both join me, and we make short work of cleaning up.

It feels nice listening to them joke with each other and just talking as if we have done this a million times. They probably have, but they don’t make it weird that I am here or the third wheel. They include me in the conversation as they pass back and forth, giving me light touches and smiles. Pretty soon, Jax moves to the little screen on the wall by the front door.

“The doctor is here.” Hitting some buttons, he moves to the front door.

“I’ll be outside. I need to feed the animals,” James says suddenly.

“You have animals?” I ask, confused by his change in demeanor.

“We have several. Being an animal ourselves, they tend to gravitate to us. I’ll show you later if you want,” he explains, then kisses me on the cheek and leaves out the side door.

I look at Jax, not sure what just happened.

“He’s afraid of losing control with the doctor here,” he says, opening the front door.

“Why would he lose control?”

He pauses as he contemplates me. “The doctor will probably have to touch you in the examination. We are very protective of you. We share with each other, but if anyone else tries to touch you, we will gladly rip their arm off.”

Wow, what do I say to that? “What about you?’

“I can be the worst of us all.” The crazy glean in his eyes proves that.

“Not with the doctor, though?”

“I have more control of my animal. I know what is a real threat and what is not. Not that I will enjoy it at all,” he grumbles.

“Believe me. He will not,” a voice says from the door. The man that steps through is ageless. You get the idea that he is ancient, but he looks in his sixties or seventies. The wisdom he expresses through his expression says he is much older than that. “My boy, how are you? From the looks of it, very well.” He looks me over, making my face heat.

As they shake hands, you can see the affection easily that exists between them. “Good, old man. Even better now.” Glancing over at me, making my face flare hotter. I have never blushed so much in my life.

“I see this clearly, boy.” This man is probably the only person in the world that could call Jax a boy.

“Baby girl, this is Estes. He is our loving, cranky doctor. He’s been around forever. He took care of all of us since we were little.”

“Little shits they all were.” Glowering over at Jax before coming to me, he takes my hand, kissing the back of it. He chooses to ignore the soft growl coming from Jax. “It’s so nice to meet you, dear. If I were introduced properly, I would call you by your name,” he admonishes, raising his eyebrow at Jax.

“This is my beautiful mate, Harmony. Our mate,” he says, stepping up beside me and retrieving my hand that the good doctor hadn’t let go of yet.

“Harmony, a beautiful name. It’s a pleasure. Should we go upstairs for the examination?”

“Could I have Jax with me?” I ask nervously, moving closer to Jax. The doctor seems nice, but I would feel better having my mate with me.

“Of course, dear. It might be best if he came along anyway,” he says, giving me a kind, understanding smile. We all make our way to my room.

I stand at the bed awkwardly, twisting my hands together nervously. Jax reaches for my hands, taking one in his.

“Now, first things first. When was the last time you saw a doctor?” he asks as he sits his little bag on the bed.

I try to think back to when I was young. Most of my foster parents didn’t care If I was hurting or sick. I’m embarrassed to tell him. “I was very young, probably six or seven.” The doctor looks up from his bag, sharing an intense look with Jax. The tension in the room escalates.

“Well then, I’m just going to give you a basic look. Then we can get to the other stuff.” I appreciate him not commenting on what I said.

He has me sit back on the bed with Jax right beside me, still holding my hand. For the next half-hour, he listens to my heart with a freezing thing, takes my temperature, and checks my ears silently, only giving me directions. I ignore him. I just concentrate on the hand in mine, the warmth and comfort pressed against my side.

I startle when the doctor speaks into the silent room. “Everything looks good. Now, I need to know about your pain from the heat,” Estes asks.

“A year ago, I caught the scent of Blue, it started then, not bad, but it has gotten worse since.”

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