A truck pulled into the driveway and Dad got out. He held an umbrella over both of us as he stood beside my chair.
“Dray, is this wise?” He glanced up at the turret.
“Perhaps not, but I have to show Pax I’m committed to working this out.” Or he told me to get lost.
Dad crouched at my side. “And what if he doesn’t come out?”
“I’ll wait.”
“For how long?”
“However long it takes.”
He sighed. “Pops is worried and so is the rest of the family.”
“Tell them I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
I glanced at him. “What am I supposed to do? He’s my mate.”
He nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. “But you can’t force this.”
“I’m just here. He can ignore me, but I’m not leaving him. If he wants me to go, he can say it and I’ll be outta here.”
Dad got a thermos out of his truck. “Soup.” He left me the umbrella and a raincoat, not that they were of any use now. My dragon sent a wave of heat through me which helped a little, but what I needed wasn’t dry clothes or a soft mattress. I needed Pax.
“We love you.” He waved. “June would be proud of you.”
I choked up and blinked hard against the water running into my eyes.
The rain finally stopped around dinnertime, but I was too cold and wet to care. I peeled off my jacket and wrung it out and did the same with my shirt. My jeans were plastered to my legs, and my boots squished as I plodded over the saturated grass. I should have gone home and changed, but I'd promised myself I wouldn't.
This second night was worse than last night because I was so wet. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Pax’s face when mydragon took his scales. He might never forgive me, and if he didn’t, I’d lose him.
My dragon curled up in my chest. My melancholy had gotten to him too.
Dawn on the third day was cold, but the rain had gone. I’d hardly slept, and my clothes smelled of damp.
The sign was still there, and though the ink had run in places, the words were still readable. Once I was back in the chair, my head nodded, and I kept jerking back when I opened my eyes.
But I must have dozed off because a voice beside me was saying something.
“Dray.”
I almost fell out of the chair as I flung myself forward.
“You’re going to catch a cold.”
Pax was standing three feet away holding a blanket and a mug of something steamy. He put the mug down and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. His eyes were red as if he’d been crying, and I cursed that I had probably been the reason he was sad.
“This is the third day you’ve been here.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I told him I would have stayed longer.
“That’s what I suspected, and it’s the reason I came out.”
“I’m sorry my dragon scared you. I should have explained better.”
