Page 17 of Shielding Aubree

Finn took out an English muffin and set it on his plate with no condiments along with it.

The basket came to Ruben next, and he picked up one of the muffins and held it in his hands, warming himself with the delicate bread and sighing as the steam curled up into the air near his face. "You spoil us, Robert."

The chef shrugged, but didn't hide his own pride at his accomplishments.

He wasn't full of himself, but it was good that he didn't try to hide his skills. Or shy away from acknowledging them.

Ruben looked at the Chef. "Have you seen Aubree in this morning?"

Robert shook his head. "No, but I've been mostly in the kitchen since before we opened for service today. I'd like to meet her and offer my condolences for her brothers."

"Her brothers?" Ruben hadn't looked at the family section of the file. Medical, sure, but he hadn't meant to pry into the more personal aspects of her life. If it became a part of their sessions or other conversations, he wanted to learn about it from her.

He saw Robert share a look with Finn. And Finn shrugged.

Robert looked back at Ruben and let out a breath. “I’ve met her father a few times over the years. Good man. Great officer with the local PD. So when the name Cueva popped up in the newspaper I had to read about it.”

Finn nodded at Robert. “It’s in her file, you can tell him.”

“Her two older brothers were killed while on duty for the Los Alamos Police. Diego, the eldest of all the Cueva kids was shot on duty. Jacinto was killed in a car accident.”

Ruben felt his breath catch in his chest. “All three of them?”

Finn’s frown caught his attention. “What do you mean?”

“All three kids were involved hurt and killed?”

Finn shook his head. “There are four kids in her family. She’s got a younger brother.”

Relief flooded Ruben’s chest. “Good. I’m glad she isn’t the last one left.”

Robert nodded. “Antonio, her father, is all about his family. I sent food over to the house after both funerals.”

Ruben didn’t want her to have to dredge up the deaths of her brothers, but if she wanted to he’d be there. He didn’t have siblings, but he’d wanted one when he was growing up so he wouldn’t be so lonely. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose two siblings so close to each other and on the job that she was trying to go back to.

He wouldn’t bring it up in their conversations. Whether or not she felt comfortable in a pool didn’t have a thing to do with her past. He had a responsibility and a deep need to help her move forward. If she opened up with him about her family and her past, he would be happy to hear it.

It meant that she trusted him enough to open up. That she wanted to share her feelings with him.

He might be helping with her physical recovery, but he also liked her. And that meant that he'd be careful of how much they got to know each other.

The conversation had ebbed and flowed from there until Henley got up to check on a client and Robert went back to the kitchen to start breaking down from breakfast and get ready for lunch. "So what are your plans for Aubree at the pool?"

"Building her strength and improving her stamina. I know she's here to recuperate and get back on the force, but I'm concerned that she needs to up her core strength before she tries to punish herself too much with workouts to build strength."

"What do you think about her medical records?"

Ruben looked across the table at Finn. "Did you hear that from Brick?"

Finn swallowed the bite he had in his mouth and leaned in closer to the table. "He's not the only one who gets security alert when codes are used to access the records room. I think he's happy that you're taking an interest in this case."

Ruben knew he could hide his connection to Aubree, but he didn't want to. He wouldn't try to ask her out on the clock or even when she was a client at The Refuge, but he didn't want to hide his feelings from Finn or Brick.

They'd probably already picked up on it since there really wasn't much that escaped their notice.

"She's strong, but I don't think she gives herself credit for that strength. I don't even think she allows herself to be weak when those moments happen." Ruben moved then, stretching his back. "I know how it feels."

Finn nodded. "It's different, you know."

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