Page 15 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“Are you sure?” Max asked. “Where was Wren? What about Susan?”

“Susan was passed out from the bump on her head,” he said, then paused. “But Wren was right there. She saw me, so I guess someone did see me, but she’s not going to tell, at least I don’t think she will…”

Max groaned, “You’d better hope she doesn’t,” he said. “How did she take it?”

He looked over at the closed door, then back at Max. “Too well, I think,” he said, then sighed. “She didn’t freak out, well, not very much. I thought she was going to pass out for a second, then she seemed to…I don’t know…accept what she was seeing.”

A look of surprise appeared on Max’s face. “Well, that’s something I guess,” he said. “What are you going to tell her?”

“The truth, I mean, what else can I do,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ll explain it, but she’s seen me, Max; I can’t tell her that she imagined the whole thing.”

“No, I suppose not, I’m glad it’s you and not me. That is not going to be an easy conversation,” Max said, then hesitated. “Blake, you should…well, be prepared for the worst. I don’t mean to bring you down, but there’s always the possibility Wren isn’t going to think it’s a gift like we do. I just want to make sure you know that before you talk to her.”

“I’m not fooling myself. I know she may think that I’m a monster,” he said, sighing. “I’m just hoping that’s not the case.”

Just then, the door opened, and Wren came out into the hallway; she looked right at him, then over at Max, before taking a deep breath and walking over to them. “Susan is fine. She’s got a big bump on her head, a sprained ankle, and she’s still a bit shaken, but the doctor says she’s going to make a full recovery,” she said, then looked nervously over at Max. “Thank you for saving her, Blake. She would have drowned if you hadn’t…been there.”

“I’m just glad I was there to help,” he said, searching her face for some sign of what she was really feeling. “Are you okay? That was really scary.”

“Only at first,” she said, smiling up at him, then glanced over at Max. “I think we need to talk later.”

Just then, the doctor came out of the room. “I think I’ll go check in with Dr. Slater,” Max said. “I’ll be around if you need me.”

Max disappeared into another room with the doctor, leaving them alone, and he was suddenly more nervous than he’d ever been. Wren’s face gave nothing away, and he wondered if she was still in a bit of shock, if the truth hadn’tquite sunk in, but then she walked over to him, wrapped her arms around him before burying her face in his chest.

“I don’t know how what I saw is possible, and to be honest, I don’t care right now,” she said, her words muffled in his chest. “I just want you to hold me. I don’t want to think about anything else right now.”

Wrapping his arms around her, he gathered Wren closer to him, then closed his eyes and said a silent thank you to whatever power was guiding his life. They stood that way for a long time before Wren finally pulled back and looked up at him with a million questions in her eyes, but something else, something that made his heart pound a little faster.

When she stretched up on her toes and kissed him, he let out a long sigh of relief, sure that everything would be okay. As the warmth of their connection spread through him, for the first time, he could see a future for them.

***Wren***

“Wren, I’m sorry to interrupt,” the doctor said. “But I don’t want to keep you here any longer than necessary.”

She reluctantly pulled away from Blake. “That’s okay,” she said, turning to face the doctor. “How is Susan? Will she be able to go back to the cabin tonight?”

“I think she should spend the night here. She’s going to need to be watched carefully for the next few hours,” the doctor said. You should go home and get some rest yourself. I promise that she’ll be in good hands here.”

“Can I see her?” she asked. “I just want to make sure that she’s okay with me leaving.”

“Of course, she might be asleep, but it’s okay to wake her up,” the doctor said. “Don’t stay too long. She needs her rest; I’m sure she’ll be ready to leave in the morning.”

“Thank you, Dr. Slater,” she said. “We seem to be spending a lot of time together.”

The woman laughed, “Yes, we do,” she said. “But let’s not make a habit of it.”

“I’m going to go see Susan for a few minutes,” she said when the doctor was gone. “Do you want to come with me?”

“No, I’ll wait out here,” he said, then hesitated. “Wren, there’s a small chance that Susan saw me too. I don’t know for sure, but I think her eyes were open when I shifted back to my human form.”

“Oh, that might be complicated,” she said, looking over at the door. “I don’t want to lie to her, she’s my best friend, but I can understand why you might not want her to know the truth.”

“Do you trust her?” he asked. “You know her better than I do.”

“With my life,” she said. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. She’d never do anything to hurt me, she’s not that kind of person. Your secret will be safe with her.”

“You can tell her what you have to then,” he said. “I don’t want her to think she’s lost her mind or something. I just hope it doesn’t freak her out.”

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