Free Surviving Doctor Vincent: The Good Doctor Trilogy Book 2 by Renea Mason Page A

me.
    I smiled. “No thanks. I’m good. So, you’ve been here alone for a while.”
    He dropped the snack back into the bag and retrieved a water. He handed it to me and took a seat on the rock beside me. “Yeah, I guess it has been...what, a month? Maybe more. I stopped keeping track.”
    “Have you had company at all to occupy you?”
    He unscrewed the cap on the water and chuckled. “No. I came here to get away from people.” He stared straight ahead, with a distant look in his eye.
    “I’m sorry. I could have stayed someplace else.” I lowered my head. Had Xavier forced me on him? A tense anxiety filled my chest.
    He scooted over the rough edges of the rock and faced me. “No. Not you. I think here is the best place for you.”
    “Perhaps, but the last thing I want to do is bother you.”
    He grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips. “Impossible. Besides, I wanted to ask you a few questions.” He didn’t release my hand. “I was there when Miriam gave you the key, did she tell you anything else? Call you? Say anything that morning she visited you at Xavier’s?” He searched my eyes for answers I didn’t have.
    “No. You witnessed the exchange in the hall at the event. When she came to Xavier’s it was simply to meet me and give me her permission to...” I cleared my throat. “To sleep with you.” The pain I saw in his eyes the night before returned. I made an attempt to comfort him. “From what little I knew, she seemed like a wonderful woman.”
    “I thought so too, but there were things I didn’t know. Are you sure she didn’t say anything?” He squeezed my hand tighter.
    I tightened mine around his in reassurance. “I’m certain. What’s wrong?”
    “Her computer was filled with searches about you and your father.”
    “My father? Me?”
    “Probably curiosity, since he made headline news, but given the other secrets she kept from me, I wondered if there wasn’t something else to her exploration.” He let go of me and patted the top of my hand. He leaned on the rock as if he was going to stand.
    I gently gripped his wrist and said, “Not yet.”
    “Everything OK?” He looked around, assessing threat.
    “Yes.” I smiled, dismissing his worry. “I want you to tell me how you’re feeling.”
    He stared at me for a moment. “Did Xavier put you up to this?”
    “No. You lost your wife. The question is perfectly valid.”
    “Yes, and I came here to avoid talking about everything that happened. We have to get back. There isn’t much daylight left.”
    I wanted to kick myself for pressing instead of waiting for him to come to me.
    He said nothing but formalities on the trek back to the cabin.
    Once we arrived, Sebastian disappeared into his room. I didn’t think I had pressed that hard, but I could take a hint.
    I sat on the sofa, watching the raindrops slide down the windowpane. Thunder echoed over the mountaintops; the rumbles announcing the approaching storm. Xavier had called earlier to tell me about his day at Western Labs, my old employer. He complained about unnecessary meetings and the pressure for him to resume work. Tomorrow, he planned to meet with the Society counselor; the idea of him associating with them left a pit in my stomach.
    After a few more hours of waiting for Sebastian to emerge from hiding, I indulged in several magazines that sat on a shelf in the living room—everything from wilderness gear, to boating, to the top fifteen picks for gun enthusiasts. I had never longed for an issue of Cosmo more and decided to turn in for the night.
    The rhythmic patter of rain on the window soothed me to sleep.
    Some time later, the sound of breaking glass woke me. Startled, I jumped up from the bed and yanked the robe from the chair beside me. Wrapping the soft fleece around me, I ran to the stairs and looked over the balcony. “Sebastian, is that you?”
    No answer.
    “Sebastian?”
    Still nothing. A flash of lightning lit up the room, and I could see his silhouette