Page 18 of Hooked on the Otter Doctor
“You could quit being that?”
“No, I… I think I might like to quit being a doctor.”
He nodded encouragingly. “Be an administrator for the delegation only.”
“Yes,” I barely whispered, the possibilities coursing through my mind.
“From Earth?”
I shivered as everything started to take shape and shared my thoughts aloud. “I do think that would be possible. It might even be preferable. Of all of us, I could see a permanent position for amedical lead to remain on Earth, overseeing the centers. As we learn more in every country, we’ve had to adjust the message and practices, adapting to what the humans need. Doing so remotely has been fine, but I could see traveling to the centers and speaking in person as well.”
“So you could do the job from here?”
“I could.”
Tobias smiled brightly. “Then you should do that.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, and I hugged him close. There would be much to do before such things could happen, but just thinking about it was easing something inside me. I loved being a doctor, but stepping away from the day-to-day of working with patients appealed to me. I also loved being an educator, which the delegation work provided me an opportunity to be. Every time I’d stepped back from one side or the other, it had been the doctoring that I’d put aside. Partly because I was confident that there were several others perfectly capable of taking over in my absence and partly because it was too easily breaking my heart.
Tobias rested his head on my shoulder and sighed. “I’m going to have to introduce you to my family.”
“Will they object to our mating?”
“Oh, no,” he said as he sat up. “It’s all of this.” He waved an arm around the room.
“Because of what happened to your sister? I will apologize profusely for my part in causing her to fall. I understand your parents may not forgive me as readily as she has.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Believe me, my father forgot all about that once he heard about the fish. I mean, not like it didn’t matter, but like the fish mattered more since she was fine.” He slumped on my lap, and I hated how defeated he looked. “Last year, I went in as a partner with a couple other families running an aquaculture farm. They started it when the queen first announced the coming legal changes, and we’re about a yearaway from taking the fish to market. And then we’ll have a huge crop every year.”
“Then why are you on this boat?”
“Because my father refuses to change! He’s going to meet you and immediately ask you to fill the net again. He won’t care that it’s probably illegal or?—”
“Oh, no! Was it?” That had never occurred to me. One of my first acts on the planet, and I had broken the law.
Tobias shrugged. “I really don’t know, but the point is that Pabbi wouldn’t care. He wants the fish in his nets like the last six generations of Ahlbergs have had and that’s the end of the conversation.”
“My mother is the one who struggles with change,” I said to let him know I could relate, “but we can get her there eventually. Will seeing the profits from the aquaculture endeavor help move your father?”
“That’s been my hope. Helli and Mamma have been working on him, too, but he still won’t budge.” He backed off my lap and wandered over to straighten a magnet attached to a small refrigerator. “I just don’t want to put you in the middle of things.”
I got up and went over to hug him from behind, pressing my cheek against his. “Being mates means helping each other through our problems, too. I want to do whatever I can to get your father on the right path for the future of your family. If that means telling him I didn’t realize I was breaking the law and will not do so again, so be it.”
He hugged my arms to his chest before turning around and reaching for my face. We kissed, and I tried to convey reassurance that everything would be alright. At first, anyway. Kissing Tobias fired my blood every time, and soon I was pressing him against the wall and tugging on his hair. He let out a deep moan that had me trying to find a way into his entirely too-thick pants again.
“Oh, come on!” Helli hollered from above before stomping onthe deck three times. “Nothing about this boat is soundproofed, you know!”
Tobias and I stared at each other for a moment before stepping apart. He cleared his throat and gestured toward the stairs. “Maybe we should?—”
“Yes, of course.” I held my hand out so he would precede me up the stairs.
“So,” Helli said when we appeared, her arms crossed. “I guess youdoknow his name, huh?”
Beside me, Tobias was turning bright red. “Um, Helli, Halaby’s my…mate.”
She screamed with an incredible volume, and I cringed back as Tobias jumped. But then she was smiling and fumbling for her phone. “Oh, mygod, I have to tell everyone! Squish together. I want a photo.”
“Helli,” Tobias said with a groan, “I haven’t even told our parents yet. You can’t?—”
