Page 69 of Misery and Ecstasy

In absolute disbelief—still not sure if it’s the good kind or the bad kind—I raise my eyebrows and shake my head at him. I take the call off speaker before holding the phone to my ear.

Draven gets off of the sofa, leaning in close so he can eavesdrop.

I give the receptionist my date of birth when she asks and tell her it feels like my migraines have returned. When she offers me an appointment later that day and I’m about to tell her I can’t make it, Draven cuts me off and takes the phone from me.

“She’ll be there. Thank you.”

Pulling the phone from his ear, he ends the call and shoves it back into his pocket. Walking to the calendar on my desk, he looks at my patient list for the rest of the day.

“You only have Mary Douglass that you’ll need to reschedule this afternoon. Is she one of your high-priority patients?”

“I need you to slow down.” I rub my head. “My head is spinning and it has nothing to do with my migraine. How do you know who my doctor is?”

He lifts the corner of his mouth, hitting me with a sly glance as he looks up from my desk.

“You’re not the only one who knows how to find information on people, Doc. Although the next time you need something, I’d leave the sheriff out of it. He gets pissy.”

Of course, the sheriff told on me, the weasel.

“Plus, he doesn’t have the skills my brother, Firewall, does. He can find any information about anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

Nodding, I keep that nugget of information tucked away in my mind for later.

“Am I in trouble? With Royce?”

He doesn’t answer me right away, causing my anxiety to spike and worsening the pain in my head.

“No. The only person in the world you need to worry about getting into trouble with is me.” He winks, and my stress level decreases exponentially. “And if you don’t call this Mary Douglass and tell her you have a personal emergency you need to deal with, youwillbe in trouble, Doc.Big trouble.So get a move on.”

Rolling my eyes, I wince in pain. Exiting my office, I feel Draven on my heels. He follows me into my kitchen as I retrieve my cell phone and pull up Mary’s number. I feel bad for having to reschedule her appointment. She may be the lowest priority patient on my roster, but that doesn’t invalidate her issues.

“Hi, Doctor Caraway!” The excitement in her voice is clear, making me feel even worse. I know she looks forward to seeing me every week.

I walk back into my office as I respond.

“Hi, Mary. Listen, I’m really sorry to do this to you, but I need to reschedule today’s appointment. Unfortunately, there is a personal emergency I have to attend to.”

“Oh. Is everything okay?” She can ask all she wants, but she knows she won’t get many personal details out of me.

“Yes, everything will be fine. Thank you.” I look at my schedule for the rest of the week, and a wry smile forms on my lips. “I can get you in this Thursday evening at six.”

My eyes fly to Draven’s just in time to watch the indignation spread over his face. He knows exactly what I’m doing.

“Okay, yes, I can make it then.” Erasing the club dinner I penciled in earlier this week, I replace it with Mary’s name before looking back at Draven.

“Thank you for your understanding and flexibility, Mary. I appreciate it.”

Pulling the phone from my ear, I end the call and place it onto my desktop.

“That was dirty…” Draven stalks me from the other side of my desk like he wants to leap over it and pounce.

“What?” I play with him using my best innocent tone of voice. “I said I wouldtryto make dinner as long as nothing else came up, but it looks like it has.”

When I shrug, it’s like his control snaps. In the next blink, he’s chasing me through my house and up into my bedroom.

When he pins me down to deliver my punishment, pain stronger than I’ve felt before erupts in my head, causing me to cry out. Instead of whatever he had planned to do to me initially, he laid down next to me and rubbed my neck and head until it was time to leave for my appointment.

I could barely concentrate during the examination, causing the doctor to believe I could be exhibiting early signs of perimenopause. He insisted I follow up with my gynecologist.

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