was affecting Daralyn’s present.
“Congratulations on your award,” Dr. Taylor continued. “Daralyn told me.”
“Thanks.” He managed to keep the impatience from his tone. “How can I help her?”
Dr. Taylor paused, then spoke slowly. “By doing something extremely difficult, Rory. That’s why I’m calling.”
“Okay.” He held the phone tighter. There must have been something in his tone, because he was aware of Thomas, coming to stand in the doorway of the living room, which meant Marcus wasn’t far away. They were giving him space, but staying close.
“Daralyn has asked to be checked into my treatment facility in Raleigh. She’d like to stay there for a few weeks to undergo some concentrated therapy, particularly regarding the issues that came up tonight. After hearing the details, from her and from my call with Sheriff Wright, I have agreed.”
“Is there something I should have done? Could have done differently? Can I fix this?”
“No,” Dr. Taylor said, not unkindly. “I told you recently that, the better things were going, the more likely it was that Daralyn would run up against some of her deeper issues. Do you remember?”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“She’s still on your mother’s health insurance as her dependent, so it will be covered,” Dr. Taylor continued, as if that was a sufficient answer to what was burning a hole through Rory’s gut. “While she’s there, we recommend that she not communicate directly with any of her family or friends. It’s part of the program, reducing any outside distractions. She’s certainly allowed to reach out if she wishes to do so, but we ask relatives and friends not to initiate contact, to avoid influencing or putting any pressures on the patient while they’re undergoing the therapy.”
“Okay.” It wasn’t okay. Not at all. But he didn’t know what else to say. Daralyn had gone into the bedroom while he and Dr. Taylor were talking. Now she’d come back into the kitchen. She’d changed out of her dress and into jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail. While she was on the phone, she’d still had his coat around her shoulders. It was gone now, probably lying neatly on the bed. She looked tired, sad. Beaten.
She was carrying a suitcase.
Alarm stabbed his gut. “She’s going tonight?”
“Yes. I’ve called her a cab. She’ll stay in my guest room and I’ll take her to the treatment center in the morning. Normally I’d tell her to wait until daylight and pick her up then, but in her current frame of mind, I feel better taking action now, having her under my direct supervision. She’s in a very precarious place in her head, Rory.”
He swallowed. “I can help.”
“Yes.” Dr. Taylor’s voice firmed. “By stepping out of the way and letting this happen. I know it’s very, very hard to hear that. You’re going to have to trust me on this. Let her go.”
“For a few weeks.”
“For as long as she needs.”
That sounded as ominous as it felt. And it felt like being rammed in the gut with a bowling ball.
“Rory, you and your family already knew Daralyn lacks some key skills for operating independently in the world. Tonight highlighted a very important one. We’ve all been able to work around it as she’s undergone sessions with me for resolving that and her other issues. But being an equal partner in a long term, healthy relationship requires the ability to express her desires, doesn’t it? Until she has that skill, won’t some part of you wonder if she’s with you primarily because she doesn’t have to do that?”
His temper flared. “It’s not like that with us, and you know it, Doc.”
Just like his upper body being much more sensitive after his accident, falling in love with her had enhanced his awareness of her in every nerve ending, with every brain cell. All of them attuned to her, and the way she responded to him. He knew she wanted to be with him.
Dr. Taylor’s voice softened. “You’re right. I can’t speak to what’s true between the two of you. But Daralyn is my patient and my priority. She is very lost right now, and it’s a hazardous labyrinth. Let me do my job, Rory.”
Thomas had closed the distance between them, was standing within arm’s reach. Maybe he could feel the volatility emanating from Rory as he stared through one pane of glass at the slim woman standing behind another. Her face was blank, but he could feel her pain.
“If you tell her not to go, she won’t, Rory,” Dr.