Chapter 2
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“How have you been?” Dr. Braun asked.
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I like my new job. Beau and Lewis are great bosses.”
“I’ve had some of the delicious things from the bakery. Do you have anything that is your specialty?”
“I make cinnamon rolls, but I’m not sure too many people like them.
Beau says I can offer them once a month, which means that they don’t sell well.
” I sighed. They’d not sold well at all since the hellhounds had been gone.
I think they just liked anything, but Dante had said they were his favorite, and that had stuck with me for some reason.
“You’re not thinking about cinnamon rolls. At least not completely.”
I shook my head. “I enjoy baking, and cinnamon rolls aren’t the only thing I make,” I told him.
“I was thinking about a moment with a customer a few weeks ago.” I shrugged again.
“He said he liked my cinnamon rolls, but he’s not been back in since.
I don’t know, maybe he was just being nice or something.
” Dr. Braun stared at me, and he just seemed to have a way of knowing.
I didn’t know if it was because he was a dragon or what, but that man knew it wasn’t just any customer.
I admitted defeat and sighed while my shoulders slumped.
“Fine. It was Dante. He and I talked for a bit, but he wasn’t overly chatty. ”
Dr. Braun’s eyebrows rose. “What did he have to say?”
“Not much. He said he liked the cinnamon rolls. They were his favorites. He talked a bit about his name and how he felt it fit him. He mentioned there were a lot of dark things about him, and then he basically just left. I’ve not seen him since.”
“When was that?” Dr. Braun asked. “The hellhounds have been on assignment for some time.”
That was news to me, but everything was. I didn’t really have access to information like that. “I don’t know. Maybe three weeks ago?” I knew it was actually exactly twenty-five days ago, but I wasn’t going to admit that I was counting.
For so long, I’d been mad at Dante, and I’d taken my anger out on him. It hadn’t been fair that I had, and I needed to apologize for it. Dr. Braun had been the one to help me realize everything that had actually been the situation in Colombia.
“That sounds about right. They’ve been gone since and haven’t returned yet,” Dr. Braun said. “I’m afraid that’s all I really know, though, and can’t share more.”
“I didn’t think assignments lasted that long?”
Dr. Braun nodded. “They do at times. Special cases, such as the one they’re currently dealing with, will take longer.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Did you not talk to your mate before he left?”
I slowly shook my head. “He told me he liked my cinnamon rolls. That was the last time I saw him.”
“Dante didn’t tell you about their assignment?”
“No. He never has. I mean, I get it. I haven’t been the nicest to him. And when he checked in on me right after we were rescued, I growled at him and told him to leave me alone.”
Dr. Braun offered a sad-looking smile. “You were hurting. You’d been through a lot and were just starting your recovery.”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “I know. And he was there,” I said.
“I’ve told you before. At night, we would sometimes see glowing eyes.
And the guys that were guarding us would sometimes go missing if they wandered off too far away from us.
They’d find them mauled to death the next morning, or sometimes they wouldn’t ever find them.
I don’t know if that was Dante’s doing or not, but I have to believe it was. ”
Dr. Braun looked as if he knew something, but I wasn’t going to ask. “He should have mentioned the assignment to you.”
I shrugged. “I can ask someone at the council. Maybe they’ll tell me, but most likely not.
My bear recognizes that Dante is my mate, and I think he does as well, but he’s not claimed me.
I’m not sure he will. He doesn’t seem as if he wants a mate.
” Or maybe it was just that he didn’t want me.
He knew what had happened to me. He’d seen it firsthand in that jungle because he’d been there on more than one occasion when I’d been caught by whoever had decided they were going to “play” with me that day.
He’d stopped it once, and I thought maybe he’d been there to rescue me, but he’d just sniffed me and then left.
Even in that state, my bear had recognized our mate, and it had broken something inside me that day.
“What are you thinking right now? Are you back in the jungle again?”
“A little. I was remembering when Dante rescued me when I was being…you know.”
Dr. Braun nodded. “I’ll talk to Castiel. It’s possible that you and Dante could benefit from having sessions together. When he returns, that is.”
I shook my head. “Why? He’s made it clear that he’s not interested.”
Dr. Braun’s brow furrowed. “You cannot know that. Have you asked him?”
“I talked to him. I went out of my way to make sure I was the one helping him. Sure, we were busy, and I now know he was going on assignment. But only because you mentioned it. He had a chance to say something.” I shrugged.
“He chose not to. Instead, he just said something about there being dark aspects to him. Like he was warning me away.” I thought about my own demons I’d been dealing with.
“I think we all have a dark side.” I focused on Dr. Braun.
“Well, those of us that were held against our will.” I was sure that Dr. Braun didn’t have any.
He’d been born and raised in a loving family with both parents, and he’d not ever been sold by them.
The timer went off, signaling the end of our session, and it had been some time since I’d been so relieved to hear it. I’d often looked forward to my discussions with Dr. Braun, but today’s had been difficult for me.
“I’d like to see you again next week,” Dr. Braun said. “I know we are on a schedule to meet monthly, but I feel like there are things from today we need to discuss further. I would ask you to stay, except I do have another appointment directly after this one.”
“I can do that,” I said as I stood. “I’ll have Henry work me in sometime next week.”
Dr. Braun stood and walked me out but stopped halfway down the hallway.
That wasn’t unusual. I waved over my shoulder and found Henry in the front room.
I grinned because he was busy decorating.
I had only been back in the room with Dr. Braun for fifty-five minutes, yet the amount of fall decorations in the front room had more than doubled.
“Been busy, Henry?” I asked as I stood next to the reception counter.
“When I first started this job, Dr. Bennett absolutely did not care for all of the decorations,” Henry said.
“But I love all things fall, and to be honest, I believe it helps the patients when they come in.” Henry placed another tiny haybale on the floor beside a group of pumpkins.
“Do you need to schedule for next month?”
I nodded. “Yes, and next week. We ran out of time, and Dr. Braun said he has another appointment and couldn’t stay over.” I glanced around and didn’t see anyone waiting.
“Yes. He has an appointment up at the medical wing at the council building,” Henry said.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to know that or not, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
It wasn’t as if Henry was sharing specifics with me.
“Does he have anything next week? Later in the week? It’s just easier for me to ask for a morning or afternoon off if I can give more notice.
” Mornings absolutely weren’t good, but I’d figure it out.
“He has Thursday at eight,” Henry said. “Or at three. And then on Friday he has an eleven.”
“Three. That one is by far the best for me.”
Henry typed on the keyboard and then smiled up at me. “It’s now yours. Do you still need one for a month from now?”
“I think so. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be on a weekly schedule, but let’s go ahead and book for a month out as well.”
Henry went back to typing. “October eighteenth? It’s a Friday. He is fairly open. Do you want another two o’clock? Or three?”
“Later in the day is better. It just works better for my schedule with the bakery. We’re super busy in the morning, but we get busy again at the end of the day.”
Henry shook his head. “I can’t believe you boys work for so long up there. Twelve-hour days?”
I snorted. “We don’t work all day. If I open, I’m done around two or three. Six to three is only nine hours. Whoever closes at six won’t come in until nine.”
“Oh. I’m not sure why I thought you all were there from six to six.”
“We’re really lucky that Beau and Lewis are fae, and they do a lot of the baking and all of the cleanup with their magic. We get to make a few things ourselves, but they make the basic things all the time.”
Henry tilted his head as he handed me a pair of appointment cards. “I’m not sure about having everything done with magic.” Henry shook his head. “I know it’s quite common with the council with all of their warlocks and fae, but I guess I’m just old-fashioned.”
I grinned at Henry. “I’m all for magic being used,” I told him. “It truly makes life easier.”
“I guess,” Henry said. “But I would think it could lead to some simply not knowing how to do basic things.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t have magic of that sort, like you, but it definitely helps when it comes to certain things at work. Mainly when it comes to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen that would take us an hour or more if we didn’t have them to help.”
Henry looked around the waiting room. “I mean…I guess it could be useful. But I like the sense of accomplishment when I finish a project.”
I nodded, because what else could I really say? “I should get going,” I said, holding up the appointment cards. “I’ll see you next Thursday,” I added.
“You absolutely will,” Henry said. He was walking back to his decorations that were in an organized pile as I walked out of the clinic.