Page 16 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“I won’t tell her unless I have to. I’m not sure it’s really sunk in for me,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. “You might have to be a little patient with me.”

“I’ve been waiting six years to find you again,” he said, smiling down at her. “I can wait as long as it takes. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. I promise to answer them the best I can.”

“That’s a deal,” she said, stretching up to give him a kiss. “Will you wait for me?”

“Forever if I have to,” he said, kissing her back, then letting her go. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

Susan was asleep when she slipped through the door, butwhen she sat down in the chair next to the bed, her friend opened her eyes. “That was a close one,” she said, managing a smile. “I feel like such an idiot for falling in. I knew better than to get so close to the edge.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about; we all make mistakes,” she said, taking Susan’s hand, relieved she hadn’t said anything about Blake shifting. “You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”

“How did you get me out?” Susan asked. “It’s all a little fuzzy right now. I remember the wave pushing me up against the rocks, I hit my head, that’s still there, but after that, well, I guess I must have passed out and started dreaming or something. Maybe I’m losing my mind, I don’t know.”

“I’m sure that you’re not losing your mind, that’s a big bump you’ve got on your head,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “It’s not surprising that you wouldn’t remember everything that happened.”

Susan studied her for a second. “It’s not what I don’t remember that’s bothering me,” she finally said. “It’s what I do remember that has me concerned. I saw something strange, Wren, well maybe not strange…I don’t know how to say it. You’re going to think I’m crazy, that I was dreaming, but I wasn’t, I know I wasn’t.”

“Hey, calm down and take a deep breath,” she said, putting her hand on Susan’s arm. “You aren’t crazy. You did see something, but I’m not going to talk about it until you calm down.”

Susan collapsed onto the pillows, closed her eyes, let out a sigh of relief, and lay catching her breath for a few seconds before opening them again and looking over at Wren. “Okay, so I haven’t lost my mind, I’m as sane as you are,” she said. “Tell me what I saw then. It sure as hell looked like a dragon to me, but then again, I’ve never seen one before, so who am I to judge.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling like a traitor. “It was a dragon,” she said. It was Blake; he can turn into a dragon when he wants to.”

Mouth hanging open, Susan stared at her for a long time, and the silence slowly became uncomfortable. “Oh my God,” her friend finally managed to croak out. “All this time I was sure I’d imagined the whole thing, that it was some kind of a hallucination because of the bump on my head. I never imagined it could be true. Wait, how can it be true? How is it possible?”

“I’m as new to this as you are,” she said, with a shrug, relieved that Susan was taking it so well. “You’re not freaked out? You don’t think he’s a monster?”

“Are you kidding? I was saved from drowning by a dragon,” Susan said. “That’s about the coolest thing ever.”

“You can’t tell anyone,” she said. “It has to stay a secret.”

Susan gave her a dirty look. “You know me better than that, even if it would make a cool story,” she said. “Besides, no one would believe me anyway.”

“Thank you. I never doubted you for a second,” she said, sliding over to the bed and giving Susan a hug. The doctor wants to keep you here overnight, but I could stay here with you if you want.”

“No, I’ll be fine. Dr. Slater is great, and I’m just going to sleep the time away. Besides, you and Blake probably have a lot to talk about,” Susan said. “Including the fact that he’s a father.”

She groaned, “Don’t remind me,” she said. “I’ve put it off so long, I’m afraid he’s going to be mad. I should have told him sooner.”

“There’s no time like the present,” Susan said, giving her another hug. “I’ll see you in the morning. I know that you’ll do the right thing.”

CHAPTER 10

***BLAKE***

Blake found a comfortable place to sit while he waited for Wren. It had been a long day, and he was beginning to feel the effects of shifting after not making the transition for so long. Closing his eyes, he let himself float in that state between awake and asleep, sure that the day wasn’t over and preparing himself for the questions Wren was bound to ask. He got sleepily to his feet when she came out of Susan’s room and walked over to her, trying to judge what she was feeling by the look on her face, but all he saw was the same exhaustion he was experiencing.

“How is she?” he asked, pulling her in for a hug, relieved when she didn’t resist. “Do you want to stay here with her tonight?”

“She’s fine. She told me to go back to the cabin and get some rest,” Wren said, then looked up at him, her face full of regret. “I had to tell her, Blake, I’m sorry. She knew just enough to ask questions, so I couldn’t let her think she was going crazy.”

“It’s okay. I had a feeling that she saw me,” he said. “She didn’t freak out?”

“No, in fact, she thought it was amazing that she was saved from drowning by a dragon,” she said, shaking her head. “I have a feeling she’s going to want to talk about it, so you’d better prepare yourself.”

“I’ll talk to her until I’m blue in the face as long as she doesn’t tell anyone else,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Honestly, it might be good for you to have someone to talk to who knows the truth. Secrets can carry a lot of weight, especially when you have to keep them from the people you love the most.”

“Susan won’t tell anyone. She knows what could happen if she did,” she said. “I’m not sure anyone would believe her anyway, but she won’t tell.”

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