Page 18 of The Dragons' Healing Mate

“Hello, beautiful, mystical Rowan,” she said after the first ring.

I couldn’t fight my snort of laughter. “Well, that’s a greeting if I ever heard one.”

“It felt great in the moment, so I just went with it.” I could practically hear her shrug. “What can I do for you?”

“Do I have any patients coming in for the next few hours?”

“Let me check.” She rustled papers down the line. She was in the main house with Ma instead of in the clinic with me. “Not many. Looks like it’s a pretty easy morning that I could easily rearrange.”

“Would you do that for me?” I smiled across at Nix. “I think I’m going into town.”

From the doorway, Nix’s grin brightened to an almost blinding level.

“I’ll have that done in the next half hour,” Nina assured me. “Go have a little bit of fun.”

“Apparently, there’s going to be an ice cream parlor involved, so Idefinitelywill.” I laughed.

“Oh, that place isamazing! You’re going to love it.” Nina giggled.

As a rule of thumb, dragons didn’t leave the horde lands often, but the occasional trip into town was okay, even if it was a bit of a drive. There were no real laws against it, but most dragons tended to prefer staying with their own, where they didn’t have to hide.

After putting the phone down, I turned to Nix, whose smile had stretched to dazzling proportions.

“Let’s go on a date, princess,” he said.

“Who said this is a date?” I furrowed my brow at him, slowly getting up from my desk, fighting my own smile.

“There’s just the two of us, and we’re getting ice cream. I think that constitutes a date.” He beamed.

Well, shit. He had a point. I guess it did.

Despite it being a sort-of-date, I didn’t have much time to prepare. Nix practically dragged me out of the clinic, so my messy bun and T-shirt-and-jeans combo would have to do.

Part of me had considered wearing something a little more professional when I’d officially started as the horde’s healer, but I had so much work to do that comfort was more important than professionalism. If I had scrubs, I’d be wearing them. Given the situation, however, I didn’t think anyone doubted my abilities.

“This better be good ice cream,” I warned as I climbed into the cab of Nix’s truck.

“It isgloriousice cream,” he confirmed with a serious nod. “In fact, it’s so good, there’s a cooler in the back of the truck so we can bring some back.”

“Smart man.” I smiled.

He preened at my praise, turning his attention to the road. “I think we’re going to have to get you a private freezer for the clinic, though. If we put this in the main kitchen, someone’s going to pilfer it.”

“That someone being you?” I teased, raising my brows at him.

He pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side playfully. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility. But I’d find some way to repay you.”

A snort escaped me.

As we drove down the winding roads out of the forest and toward the town, I kept checking my phone, responding to messages about my patients. Several of them had questions, and Nina was trying her best to assist them.

Nix leaned over, taking one of my hands. The contact felt nice.

“Put your phone down. You can go a few hours without working. The horde will be fine,” he assured me.

“Nina’s doing what she can, but it’s a lot without me there.” I reflexively looked at the screen again.

“I know it is. You’re taking onsomuch. That’s why you need a few hours off. If you don’t get some rest soon, you’re going to go crazy. Burnout is a real thing, you know.”