Officer Down by Dutton Erin

Author:Dutton, Erin [Dutton, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781626394490
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2015-09-13T22:00:00+00:00

Hillary flipped the page of a magazine whose breaking news had happened six months ago. She tried not to glance at the screen of her phone again. She guessed five minutes had elapsed since her last time check, but they’d been five very long ones. Now twenty minutes past her appointment time, she debated leaving. But she couldn’t go back to work without a signed mandate slip. After breakfast with Olivia, she’d called the agency-mandated counselor to set up an appointment. Luckily, they’d had a cancellation and could get her in that afternoon. She wasn’t in a hurry for this session, but the sooner she got it over with the sooner she could get back to work.

She’d just reached the end of the magazine and tossed it aside in frustration when the door to the inner office opened. The man who filled the doorway wasn’t at all what she’d expected. His broad shoulders seemed to nearly touch each side of the threshold, and his shaved head was only inches from contacting the top.

“Hello, Hillary. I’m Roderick Stein.”

“Doctor Stein—”

“Not a doctor. Mr. Stein or, preferably, Roderick.” He extended his hand and she let his engulf hers, surprised by the rasp of his callused palm. He stepped aside and held the door for her as she went inside.

“Come in. Make yourself comfortable.”

The small room felt homier than she’d expected. Instead of overhead lights, the only illumination came from floor lamps in opposite corners and one on an end table. Two leather chairs formed a triangle with a cream-colored sofa.

“On the sofa?” she asked.

“Wherever you’re comfortable.”

She sat in one of the chairs, wondering what meaning the therapist would glean from her choice.

“Before we start, I’ll tell you a bit about my background. I finished my degree in clinical psychology while serving in the army. I spent ten years at Fort Campbell counseling returning veterans before taking this job. I’ve worked with police and firefighters all across the state following stress incidents large and small.”

He glanced at her, seemingly waiting for a response, so she forced a tight smile. He flipped through the papers she’d filled out in his waiting room, then set them aside.

“Even though you’re a mandate, what you say to me stays between us. I report back only your attendance or lack thereof and whether you’re fit to return to duty. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Why don’t you tell me about why you’re here.”

“You said it, I’m a mandate.”

“Yes, but what led you to that point?”

She took a moment to let her urge to be difficult pass, reminding herself that she had to jump this hurdle. She grasped the arms of the chair, focusing on the cool leather under her palms, then swallowed her panic and began to talk about the day of the accident.

He interjected questions occasionally, and she soon realized he was pacing her through the event, assessing her reactions, and steering her toward the emotions beneath the story. He was uncomfortably good at maintaining eye contact. At certain points in her tale, she preferred to look at the lamp in the corner.

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