Page 59 of That’s My Orc, Tusk Off

“I know you were struggling with it,” I said. “I can see that. But you didn’t trust me enough to struggle with it together.”

He dragged both hands through his hair, dislodging the tie at his nape. “You’re right. I should’ve told you immediately.”

“Yes, you should have.”

“I couldn’t make a decision,” he said, his voice hoarse. “That’s why I’m telling you now. Not because it’s the meeting day and I had to, but because I genuinely can’t do this without you. I don’t want to.”

I wrapped both hands around my mug, the warmth seeping into my palms.

“I’ve been reviewing the information,” he said. “Even last night until past midnight. Checking Fern’s behavior and Rue’s, trying to find something that would tell me you were wrong.”

I let out a long breath.

“But I couldn’t find it,” he added. “Every pattern pointed to what you said. Fern’s appetite drops when Rue’s gone. Her flowers dim. She watches the gate.” He pulled the tablet closer, scrolled through pages of notes. “And if I was wrong about them…”

The implication hung between us.

“Greth found me in the supply room last night,” he said. “I was relabeling things that didn’t need labels.”

Despite everything, my mouth twitched. “What did the supply room do to deserve that?”

His gaze lifted to mine. “Existed while I was avoiding the fact that I trust your judgment more than my own.”

The air went out of my lungs.

I set my mug down before I could drop it.

His fingers curled around the edge of the tablet. He didn’t look at me.

“Traig,” I said softly. I reached across the table and covered his hand with mine.

“I can’t make this decision without you.” His voice dropped. “I don’t want to. And they’ll be here at one this afternoon to meet her.”

He pulled up another document, his working notes from the last three days.

My original observation sat at the top, highlighted in yellow.

Questions followed. What does need mean in behavioral terms? Can distress be measured if the creature doesn’t vocalize?

A 2:14am note said, Talk with Willa before proceeding.

I stared at that note. Two in the morning. He’d known then.

“You wrote that a few nights ago,” I said.

“Yes.”

“And we had our planning meeting each afternoon in between.”

His jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“We sat in the conference room for an hour each day. We ate cookies. We finalized the various things related to the school visit.” I could barely push the words out. “And you didn’t mention this.”

“I was going to⁠—”

“But you didn’t.”

He closed his eyes. “No. I didn’t.”