“Talk to you tomorrow?”
“Maybe,” he says with a shrug.
I head for the front door, where Ian stands with his arms crossed, leaning against the wood, watching me like he’s been waiting.
“Will you take care of him?”he asks, point-blank.
“Oh, I…”
“He’s letting you in, you know.He doesn’t let anyone in.Not even Riley, sometimes.”
“I don’t think you…”
“You’re not one to throw in the towel, are you?”
“No.I’m not.”
“Don’t give up, Doctor.I don’t think he’ll let anyone get that close again.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“He’s a brother to me, you know.And not just because he’s actually my wife’s brother.”
“I know.”
“I really love him.I just wish he’d love himself a little more.”
“I would like that too.”
Ian gives me a sad, crooked smile.“Then you’re really in it.”
“More than I could have imagined.”
“I know you’ll do your best; otherwise, he wouldn’t have trusted you.He feels people; he feels everything.And if you managed to get close, it means you’re the one he was waiting for.”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, Doctor.”
I smile back at Ian, open the front door, hurry to my car, and slide into the driver’s seat.
“Sorry, I got held up.”
“It’s okay.”
“Shall we go?”
“I’m ready to go home,” he says.
The word home fills me with a sudden, overwhelming sense of belonging.
“Good.”
I start the car, back out of Chris’s driveway, and drive home slowly.
“Doctor?”
“Mmm?”
