“Okay, sir, let me get a file started for you and then I’ll go over a few other things with you.” Hannah told the man, as she opened the computer program to log new arrivals.
“May I get your name and how long you’d like to stay?” She asked moving her hands to the keyboard.
The man hesitated and look around again before replying. “Jed. Jed Black. And I’m not sure yet, maybe a week or two.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Black.”
Hannah asked him a few basic questions, starting an intake file for him. She wasn’t sure what to make of him, but he seemed fidgety and nervous, as though he was worried about something—or someone. But she was used to this, given the people she’d dealt with over the years. She knew better than to judge. He could have been through anything before he arrived here, and this might be his last resort. The last thing he needed was her judgment.
“Okay, so here’s a key to cabin G3,” she explained, pushing it over the counter toward him. “You can get settled and stay there tonight, and then you’ll have a meeting with our resident psychiatrist, Dr. Sarah Peterson, at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. She has an office just down that corridor, you can’t miss it. Just take a left, and you’ll see her name on the door. All our guests see her first for an assessment, then we’ll make a treatment schedule for you to follow while you stay with us.”
Jed paused for a moment, as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to agree to the appointment.
“I know it seems intimidating,” Hannah assured him. “But this is the best way we can evaluate your needs while you’re staying with us. There’s nothing to be worried about, she’s a total professional, and she’s not going to force you to talk about anything you don’t want to in any great detail.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay,” he muttered, and he grabbed the key from the counter and tucked it into his pocketquickly. His eyes darted left and right, like he was waiting for someone to jump out at him at any moment. “I’ll be there,” he replied. “Wherever there is.”
“I’ll walk you to your cabin,” Hannah offered. “And then I could come by first thing in the morning and walk you to Dr. Peterson’s office, if you’d like.”
“Sure. I really would,” he agreed, and suddenly, he flashed her a smile.
She wasn’t sure what it was about that smile, but it caught her off guard. He had been so reserved and so nervous up until now, and yet all of that seemed to fall away for a moment. Like it had just been an act he was putting on.
“Would you like to grab some coffee or a bite to eat from the cafeteria before we head out to your cabin?” Hannah offered.
Jed shook his head. “No, thanks. I’d like to get settled in and cleaned up first, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay, let me grab my coat,” she told him, and she made her way around the counter to get her jacket. It was still bitingly cold out there, and she could have sworn that the shower didn’t feel as hot as it normally did when she had used in that morning. Might have just been her imagination, given that the generators had been out, but she was still chilly.
“I heard really good things about this place,” Jed remarked.
She smiled and nodded. “Well deserved, trust me,” she replied, zipping up her jacket and stuffing her hands into the pockets. “Do you need a hand with your bag?”
“I’m fine,” he promised her. “Thanks for all your help, by the way. You’re the best. Miss…?”
“Just call me Hannah,” she replied.
“Hannah,” he repeated, nodding. There was that smile again, broad, handsome, slightly disarming. She would bet he’d used that smile to get anything he wanted in the past, though clearly it hadn’t worked out for him if he had wound up at the sanctuary.
“Well, let’s get you settled. Shall we?” Hannah opened the door and motioned for Jed to precede her. He fell into step beside her as they walked down the path to his cabin.
Chapter Seven
As the sound of chatter and plates clattering filled the communal dining hall, Xavier couldn’t let himself relax. He knew this should be a chance for him to switch off after everything that had happened. After the stress of the generators going out last night, and then his encounter with the Haynes brothers and Dave mentioning Max, Xavier had ended up having nightmares when he finally made it to bed. He’d been up all night tossing and turning, trying to clear his mind so he could get a few hours of sleep.
He would much rather go to his room and eat there to avoid the noise and chaos, but he was sure his absence would be noted. He also didn’t want to give whomever had sneaked into his room the heads-up that he was on to them.
Lawson was next to him, chatting away to Sarah, and Xavier knew his best friend would notice if he tried to slip away. He didn’t want to deal with another interrogation about his well-being, but he was sure it was only a matter of time before Lawson brought up how Xavier should talk with Sarah to get passed the nightmares. He knew it was just Lawson trying to help, but the thought of dredging up his past like that seemed counterintuitive to him. He had always dealt with things on his own.
And this was no different.
Nor was the mission he was currently dedicated to—finding out who had broken into his room the other night while he had been down in the shower. He scanned the tables, trying to catchsomeone watching him. Something, anything he could draw from to figure out who it had been.
But everyone seemed caught up in their own conversation, not paying any attention to him.
Which was a good sign, really. Sarah had recently put forth the idea of bringing more of the guests into the day-to-day cooking and food preparation at the lodge. She thought it would be a good way to coax some of the more isolated members into a better, healthier headspace and more ordinary routine. So many of their guests had a habit of hiding out in their rooms and cutting themselves off from everyone else, but it wasn’t going to do them any good in the long-term. Convincing them to help out with the cooking and cleaning might lead them to socialize more, giving them a sense of purpose that really helped with their recovery.
At least, that was what Sarah had said.
