He sighs. “You know I have to report this, don’t you?”
“I know,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
Timothy takes a moment to scan my face and his lips turn down into a frown. “I can see that, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I have to say something. If it didn’t go against everything I believe, I would keep it to myself.” He lays Arnie’s journal on his clipboard. “I’m going to go explain everything to Dr. Shepherd. He’ll take over from here.”
I nod. “Okay.”
While I’m in my cabin packing, a knock on my door causes my heart to sink. I’m sure this is Wayne coming to fire me.
I open the door and surprise washes over me when I discover Tyke standing before me, looking absolutely edible in his jeans and T-shirt.
“Tyke? What are you doing here?” I question.
He pushes his blond hair back from his face and then shoves his hands deep in his front pockets. “Dr. Shepherd and I just had a talk in his office.”
I bite my bottom lip. “What did he say to you?”
“He knows everything about us, and he mainly questioned how I felt about the situation. He wanted—” A grin crosses his face as he pauses for a brief second. “He wanted to know if you had taken advantage of me in my vulnerable state, because you crossed the line with me since I was your client.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “And?”
Tyke laughs. “I told him you raped me.”
I smack his arm. “That’s not funny. This shit is serious.”
He grips my hips and tugs me closer to him. “I know. That was a poor choice of joke. I told him that I’m in love with you, and that I pursued you until you finally gave in. I explained how you fought against the inevitable really hard, telling me how wrong it was, but I made it impossible for you to not fall in love with me.”
I put my arms around his neck. “You did make it tough on me to hold out.”
“I’m glad you find me irresistible.” He kisses my lips. “I love you, Frannie. No matter what happens. I want you and me and this baby to be a family. I want the real deal with you.”
“I love you, too.” The tears burn as they pool in my eyes. To hear him say he wants that with me stirs something deep within me—a longing for someone else in my life to love wholeheartedly and completely. It never occurred to me, until this beautiful man walked into my life, just how much I want a family of my own. Now, I can’t see myself being without him.
He wipes the tears from my cheeks as they stream down my face. “I hope these are happy tears?”
I nod and sniff. “They are. I can’t see myself without you now. You mean more to me than you’ll ever know.”
“I think I have a pretty good idea how you feel,” he whispers before crushing his lips to mine.
He pulls away. “Come on. Dr. Shepherd sent me to get you. He wants to talk with us together.”
Tyke leads us back to the main house, hand in hand. I guess there’s no point in hiding what’s going on between us now that the secret’s out. The moment we enter the main house through the back door, we come face to face with Sue, who is busy at the island in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
“Frannie.” Sue arches an eyebrow at me.
I know she probably didn’t expect this from me after I was so adamant that this very thing would never happen, but what can I say—I’m in love. So I simply shrug as I pass her by, and she shakes her head and smiles.
We get the same reaction from the rest of the clients. They all seem to be shocked that we’re together, which at least means we hid our affair well.
Josie crosses her arms as we pass by her, her eyes examining me from head to toe while she wears a nasty scowl on her face. Obviously, she thinks the better woman has not won in this situation, but to hell with her—to hell with all of them who are judging me right now. I love this man.
When we make it to Wayne’s office, Tyke and I continue to hold hands as we take the seats facing the desk.
Wayne steeples his fingers and touches them to his lips as he takes in our show of solidarity. “So I see everything that Timothy and Tyke have filled me in on is true, Frannie?”
I sit a little straighter in my seat. “Yes. We are together.”
Wayne nods. “Clearly. And the Arnold situation . . . well, I would like you to know that he has been dealt with. Arnold was transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility where he will be examined and held there until the physician on staff feels that he is no longer a threat to you or anyone else in society. We also confiscated his phone and deleted all 1,457 pictures and videos he had stored—most of them of you, by the way, so he should no longer be a problem.”
I relax a little in my chair, glad not to have to worry about a video of me having sex with Tyke being leaked all over the internet. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“While I can’t promise you that he won’t be released at some point in the future, knowing to be on the lookout can at least be of some comfort. But I wouldn’t fret too much if I were you. Arnold has lost touch with reality, and I think he’ll be locked up for quite a while.”
“Again, thank you, Wayne. That makes me feel a lot safer,” I tell him.
“Good, good. Well, the next order of business is the two of you,” Wayne says. “Since Mr. Douglas was a willing participant in the affair, I see no reason to involve the authorities, or anyone else for that matter. Because this occurred here, at my facility, typically I would be forced to let you go, but since Timothy has informed me that you had actually already prepared your letter of resignation, I will accept that and consider the matter at hand closed. This is a little unorthodox, but if you need a letter of recommendation, I would be happy to do that for you.”