Page 27 of Empty Heat
“And that probably means Rhodes is still with him. Good. Rhodes is exceptional. He can handle the most difficult of situations and not get too flustered.”
“Agreed.”
“All right, then.” Senta sat back in his chair. “While we’re waiting for Rhodes to get back to me, tell me about Callum.”
Where did I start? I had been posing as a gardener. I hadn’t spent actual time therapeutically with him.
“He’s smart, intuitive, and interested in things around him. He’s wary of alphas but works with them. I met with Rhodes late last night and we talked about the case. Callum’s problem is not just physical. He had a very traumatic first time sexual experience when the alpha would not stop when he asked. It’s a complex combination of events that have brought him here.”
Senta glanced at his computer. “I didn’t see a reference to rape in his medical records.”
“Maybe in Rhodes’ notes? And possibly he did not use the term rape. Callum emphatically denies rape. But he did pull away, injuring them both.”
“Hmm. And the alpha was knotted at the time?”
“Yes.”
He sighed again. “You two are a good team. Together, you probably could have helped him. Soren is good, but he may be too much for Callum.”
“It was part of the plan. For him to reject Soren and choose me.”
“Yes. And I admit I did sign off on it. When the treatment was presented to me it sounded like it would work based on Callum’s psych records, which stated a fear of alphas, along with his internal physical structure. But of course, no one could know his true personality until being around him.” He sat forward. “I’m going to meet with Callum later and let him know how sorry we all are. I’ll do my best to steady the ship, so to speak. If his stay needs to be extended, we will do so at no extra charge.”
Senta was an omega with charisma, and he owned the whole island. If he couldn’t fix this—and I had my doubts—no one could.
* * *
I foundmyself between cases again.
I went to the lagoon to look for the dolphin pod, but there was no sign of them.
Grabbing a sandwich from the lagoon bar, I watched other therapists and patients stand around laughing, enjoying the sun and eating good food.
When I went back to my room and sat at my desk, I thought about what I would say if I were compiling a report of all I had observed regarding Callum.
If I said it too many times, it would not be enough to tell them the plan had been unwise. Our bosses who worked mostly out of their offices, like Kestor, had therapy experience but most had not worked one on one with actual patients in years. I felt I should have been included earlier in the plan, and not had Kestor spring it on me at the last minute.
My thoughts of Callum distracted me. I was disturbedforhim and felt highly protective.
As I sat thinking, I realized I still wanted to help him. He should be erased from my mind. I should be looking toward my next case, not lingering on this one. Yet the job was still undone. A wrong needed to be made right. It mattered greatly to me how Callum’s healing went forward from here.
My heart skipped once. I saw again the shine in his eyes from this morning as he’d reacted to my truth. The tears.
Something tugged below my ribs.
The second he’d asked me to talk about the Caribbean whistle again, I’d regained a pinpoint light of hope. He wanted the story, and he wanted to hear it from me.
Was I wrong to think he found comfort in me telling it? He could have looked it up himself online. He could have found the sound, altered by scientists for human ears, on any number of websites.
I would have secretly enjoyed helping this omega. Perhaps more than any patients in my five years as a surrogate. He was just my type, as well.
But that wasn’t half of what drew me. Plenty of omegas were beautiful in all different ways.
Callum had other qualities, like curiosity, that made me smile. He had a lovely laugh and a way of looking about him, eyes wide open, that told me he was awake inside.
He didn’t simply look forward to the next scheduled activity but took in every moment in the now. He was like that when he ate and when he had conversed with me. He wanted to know what made things tick. He would have been a wonderful person to be a sexual surrogate for.
Would I have put those things into my report if I made one?
