Page 29 of Empty Heat
Grabbing myself an iced tea, I headed to the porch to wait for Rhodes. Stepping out, I saw Rhodes was already seated on the wide porch swing. The omega owner who’d greeted me as I came off the plane, Senta, sat on a lounge chair facing him.
“Hey, hi. Join us,” Rhodes said.
“The storm woke me.”
“It was a gusher. Sun’s out again, though.” Senta smiled.
I perched on the second lounge and looked from one to the other.
Senta started right in. “Callum, I’m here to make a formal apology to you. When trust issues are at hand, the last thing I should ever have done is approve a treatment where you weren’t told the full truth.”
It was odd to hear him admit fault. In fact, all of them did. It wasn’t the way most businesses were run, including where I worked. One of the first rules I’d learned in corporate was to never admit fault. Yet here they were. Being real.
I had no intention of suing over this very private matter, and it seemed they hadn’t given it much thought, either, which was kind of nice.
Senta continued. “I want you to know that this set-back will in no way compromise you. You may take treatment as long as you need. If it goes beyond the week prescribed, it will be free of charge.”
“Um, thank you?”
“How are you doing?” Senta asked. “Are you all right? Do you need anything?”
Lev,I thought.I need Lev.But of course, my thoughts lied. I’d sent Lev away. I didn’t really need him. They had lots of surrogates on this island.
“I don’t need anything. Working with Rhodes is good. He knows my case well. I’m not angry.”
Senta’s eyebrows narrowed. “No, no. I understand. But your trust in us must be re-earned. I want to give you my private number. If you have questions about anything—anything at all—you can call me night or day.”
“You don’t have to. I have Rhodes.”
“I want you to know you have my ear. We have your back and hear you. We’ll do all we can to fully explain whatever you need to know.”
I nodded. I still felt a weird pain about it all. I couldn’t describe it. Not fully. The unusual loss I felt, the conflicting disappointment I had now that Lev would not be around upset me. He’d grounded me. He had made everything around me, which was about therapy and healing, more human.
But I’d sent him away.Ihad done that.
I looked at Senta, wanting to talk, to try to explain. I opened my mouth and said, “I am meeting Soren, right? And I might want to meet other surrogates, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. That is perfectly fine.” Senta nodded at Rhodes.
“I don’t feel my heat yet, but tomorrow for sure. I haven’t decided yet if I want to do anything during that time.”
“Yes, I understand. You must be feeling very vulnerable right now. I know I would. We, Rhodes and I, can give advice on what may be best for you, but you can take all the time you need. As I said, this treatment you seek can go at your pace. Rhodes will make sure of it.”
I nodded and turned away from them, looking out over the porch wall and to the landscape of lawns and flower patches and blue paths that led up and over soft grassy hills almost as far as I could see. Beyond that, a green mantel pushed up like a wall. The jungle. Everything sparkled like stardust. The rain had covered the world in a silvery sheen.
To my left, I saw the rows of fenced areas which were the private pools. To my right I saw ponds and, beyond some long-haired willows, the lagoon and the main building.
I breathed deep of the fresh rain-scented air. I was safe. People cared.
It was two omegas I sat with. They were easy. I could trust them. I knew that.
“I don’t want either of you to think I’m a mess or anything. I can continue my treatment. You don’t have to walk around me on eggshells.”
Senta smiled. He was a handsome omega, taller than average. He held himself with an elegant bearing yet had an air of ease. “The goal is to make patients content and secure. The healing we do here is about trust and safety. It is not a battle. We truly want you to get the best out of this experience.”
“I want that, too. Thank you.”
A silence fell over the porch. I kept thinking I needed to be angry. But I wasn’t. The worst thing I felt was an empty disappointment about losing Lev. But I wasn’t ready to admit that. If they offered to bring him back to me, I didn’t think I could say yes. Yet.
