“It is.” The doctor smiled. “Let’s check that knee.” She looked at Bowen. “Would you mind waiting outside?”
“Not at all.”
He cast Margaret a reassuring smile as he pushed to his feet. “I’m going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. Do you want anything?”
The doctor shook her head. “Breakfast will be delivered shortly.”
He nodded, but he was going to get Margaret something from the cafeteria nonetheless. The woman needed to put some meat on her bones, and now that he’d assigned himself to her care, he was going to feed her and make sure that she gained some weight.
Out in the hallway, Bowen leaned against the wall and pulled his phone out to call Onegus.
The call went to voicemail, which made it easier. He could just leave a message.
“Good morning, Chief. I need to take a week off to take care of Anastasia’s friend. Anastasia insisted that I bring Margaret to the cabin so she could look after her, but we both know that’s not a good idea. She and Leon have more important things to do than play nursemaid. Let me know if that’s a problem.”
It shouldn’t be. Bowen had accumulated plenty of vacation days, and it was about time that he used some of them. Unless Onegus was planning a major mission, the Guardian force could do without him for a week.
His phone rang when he was standing in line in the cafeteria.
Pulling it out of his pocket, Bowen looked at the screen and stepped out of line to find a quiet spot to speak with Onegus.
“Thanks for returning my call, Chief.”
“Right now, I have no problem approving your vacation, but Kian is considering beefing up security, so things might change.”
“Because of Emmett?”
“Yeah. I just walked out of a meeting with him.”
“Is Kian taking him seriously?”
“At the moment, we are still not sure. William is taking a crack at deciphering the email to see if it’s a real language. Personally, I don’t think we need to be overly concerned. But I just want you to know that there is a small chance you’ll need to cut your vacation short.”
“It’s not exactly a vacation.”
Onegus chuckled. “If you are not working, you are on vacation. I don’t care what you do with your free time.”
“Right. Thanks for approving it. I’ll talk to you later.”
“No problem.” The chief ended the call.
The first step was done, but there were more things Bowen needed to arrange. He could rent a car and drive Margaret all the way to the cabin, but that would take twelve hours, and she was in no shape to sit in a car for so long. He could book them a flight, but it would be best if Kian sent Charlie with the jet to pick them up.
Could he ask for that, though?
Margaret wasn’t the clan’s responsibility, and Kian had no reason to use clan resources for her, but he might do that as a personal favor to Bowen.
After getting in line again and paying for his order, he put his tray on one of the tables, pulled out his phone, and called the big boss.
“Bowen.” Kian’s gruff voice sounded concerned. “What’s going on?”
He wasn’t sure how much Kian knew. “I’m in a hospital in Eugene with Anastasia’s friend.”
“I know. The one who broke her leg and needed an operation. Is she okay?”
“The surgery went well, and she’s getting discharged later today. I don’t know if anyone told you, but Anastasia demanded to go back to Safe Haven to take care of her friend. Leon managed to convince her that it would be better if I bring Margaret to the cabin so she could take care of her there.”
“How is that going to work? They need to concentrate on bonding, not taking care of this woman.”
“My thoughts exactly. Leon couldn’t let Anastasia leave, and that was the only compromise he could think of. I thought of a solution, though. I can stay with Margaret at the cabin and take care of her, so they won’t have to.”
“That’s good. It's still not as good as them having the place to themselves, but it’s better than forcing Anastasia to stay or letting her go when she could start transitioning at any moment.”
“I’m glad that you see it that way because I need a favor.”
“What is it?”
“Can Charlie pick up Margaret and me from the Eugene airport? I can book us a commercial flight to L.A., but given that she’s fresh out of surgery, I thought that she would be more comfortable in the jet. Also, the clan’s airstrip is closer to the cabin than LAX, and that means a shorter drive. I don’t know how much she can handle.”
“What time do you need Charlie to be there?”
“Around four o’clock.”
“No problem. You’ll also need a car.”
“Yeah, but I can ask my friends to deliver it to the airstrip. I don’t need to bother you with that.”
“Anything else that you need help with?”
“I do, but I can handle it myself. I feel bad enough about asking you for the jet.”
“Don’t. You are being a good friend to Leon, and transitioning Dormants take priority over almost everything. I’m more than happy to make the jet available to you.”
“Thank you.”
Helping Leon or even Anastasia’s impending transition were not Bowen’s main motives, but he kept that to himself.
“Take care.” Kian ended the call
Bowen let out a breath. That had been easier than he’d expected.
Next, he was going to call Theo and arrange for his car to be delivered along with several changes of clothing and other personal items. Come to think of it, Margaret would need new clothes to leave the hospital in. Her old ones were dirty, and even if they weren’t, she couldn’t wear pants over the cast. In fact, if he didn’t want to drive to Safe Haven for her things, he needed to buy everything she would need for a couple of weeks.
He’d never shopped for a female before, but for some inexplicable reason, Bowen felt good about shopping for Margaret. Taking care of her meant providing for all her needs, and it filled him with an unexpected sense of satisfaction to be able to do that. The problem was that he didn’t know what to get her. Perhaps he would just buy a few items and then take her shopping, and if she wasn’t up to it, he would ask her to make him a list.
3
Anastasia
“Why are you changing the bedding?” Leon bent down to pick up the pillowcases Ana had thrown on the floor. “It's clean. Okidu changed it before we got here.”
She tossed the duvet cover to him. “This bed needs to be free of germs for Margaret. I’m going to sanitize the bedding.”
“Are you sure it won’t shrink?” He turned one of the pillowcases inside out and checked the label. “It says here to launder them in warm water, not hot.”
“It’s fine.” She pulled the sheet off the bed. “Did you forget what my last job was? I was a maid, and I’m an expert on bedding.”
“It wasn’t a job because you weren’t paid.” He caught the sheet that she tossed to him. “It was an exercise in humility.”