Page 46 of The Doctor

I didn’t stop working all together, but since the shooting, I had started working from home. In the few days following the event, I had found a sort of routine.

Jared stopped by each morning to pick Landon up for pre-school and drop off Dom's homework that his younger brother would collect. Dom and I would work in silence for most of the morning until he got bored and started complaining.

Vicky had a tooth coming out and was more fussy than usual. She’d also been more clingy and both Logan and I suspected it was because it had been a while since she’d slept in a room by herself. I could handle the clinginess. Maybe it was selfish of me but I relished the idea of her wanting to be close to me all the time.

Even though Landon spoke more, he never really spoke to Logan or I. It had been a month, and even though he’d been home alone with us, he still managed to let us know what he wanted, without uttering a word. There were times when I thought he was just being stubborn.

Brie had said it was because he couldn’t express what he was feeling. I wasn’t so sure. Anyone who saw the tantrums he could throw would doubt my sister in law’s words. The kid hadno problem expressing his displeasure. He just didn’t feel like talking. He wasn’t talking to anyone at school either.

And if that was the case, then I wasn’t going to force him. Maybe it wasn’t healthy, but who said that talking was healthy? Both Dom and Logan erred on the side of quiet. My family? Not so much. There was no right way to be. I may need to teach him to be polite in a different way, but that was something I could work with.

When he finished kindergarten, things might be different. Mostly because his classmates would ostracize him if he continued to not speak. But that was not the bridge I needed to cross at this moment in time.

I looked over at Dom and rolled my eyes in a way that would have made him proud. “You’ve been staring at the same page for over an hour. Is there something you want to talk about?”

“Want to? No. But…”

“Dom, I know I’m not Logan. But you can talk to me. I love you and never want you to feel like we can’t have a conversation.”

He frowned, but his brow lifted at the same time. It was a truly comical sight. “You love me?”

“Of course, I do.” I pulled my chair closer to his. “I’ve loved you from the day you were born. That didn’t stop when you were adopted.”

He nodded. “Is it too soon for us to love you?”

I smiled and took his hand in mine. “Love doesn’t know things like time and space. I loved you for fifteen years even though I knew you didn’t know me. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Vicky loves you. She thinks you’re the best thing ever. So does Landy, but I think he’s scared. I don’t know why he won’t talk to you.”

“If he doesn’t want to talk, let him be.” Vicky made a sound from her spot on the blanket pallet close by. I picked her up andfaced Dom once more. “Dom, all I want is for the three of you to be happy. I know Logan and I can help with that.”

He looked away and focused once more on the book in front of him. “We are happy. I mean, obviously I’m worried. I don’t want the fact that people are after me to hurt the two of them. Or you or Logan. I want you all to be safe, too.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?”

With a quick shake and a little color to his cheeks he looked away again. “No.”

I took a guess. “Is this about a girl?”

“Tiffany Snow asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance. None of the girls in our group like her. Apparently, she wasn’t nice last year when she was still in middle school either.”

I knew that last name. They were one of the richest families in Marina De Ferrier, owning one of the hotels and a few of the tourist traps. They weren’t very nice people and flaunted their wealth. They hated the fact that my family had as much money and power as them around town. They called us mercenaries and threw out terms likenouveau riche. It didn’t bother me. But I also didn’t want it to hurt Dom.

It was my guess the reason why the girls didn’t like the daughter was because she displayed many of the same qualities. “Do you like her?”

Dom smiled, that goofy one when boys were trying not to think about girls. “She’s pretty and she asked.”

“If you want to go with her, your friends will understand.” He didn’t look convinced.

“Shy said she would ask Holden to go with her if I didn’t want to go alone. Kat is going with that asshole Charles Ripper. No one likes him either.”

I let out a deep breath as it occurred to me what he was actually doing. “Dom, you can go to the Sadie Hawkins dance. Logan will drive you to fetch her, and he will pick you both upafter. That way we get to meet her and her parents can meet you, too.”

His shoulders sagged from relief. “It's not that I like her.”

I pinched my lip and frowned. “Of course not.”

A beep on my phone told me someone was in the driveway. Logan was still on shift. Nick, Oliver, and Jake were on a mission in Florida. All the women were working.

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