Page 58 of Truly, Madly Viking

"Is he all right?" was Harry first question. His second was, "Are you all right?"

God bless Harry's good heart. No recriminations, no ranting or raving about unwise psychologists or ungrateful patients. Just a genuine concern for the well-being of all concerned. "We're fine," she assured him.

"You know he can't return to the clinic."

"I know. And he does, too. Harry, this is going to sound crazy, but—-"

He laughed softly. "Odd word to come from a psychologist."

She laughed, too, but there was a hysterical tone to her laughter.

Harry must have noticed, because his voice was serious when he prompted, "You were saying?"

"I was about to say that, despite all the appearances to the contrary, I don't think Joe is mentally ill."

"Are you sure that isn't just wishful thinking?"

Maggie sighed. So her feelings toward Joe were apparent to others. "That may play some part, but my gut instinct is that there is some other reason for all these things he claims. To tell you the truth, I've felt that way from the beginning, and I just can't get rid of this sense I have that there's something more to Joe's story... something beyond the explanations of science and logic."

"Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. The man says he's a tenth-century Viking who was delivered to this land by a killer whale."

"I know."

"And you believe that?"

"I'm not sure what I believe. I just know that he's not insane, or deranged, or mentally ill."

There was a long pause while Harry digested all that she'd said. They both knew there were cases that defied all the textbooks, that sometimes instinct was the best measure... but would he accept what she said now?

"Okay," he agreed finally. "What happens next?"

"I just want to go on record as stating that Joe Rand is no longer my patient."

"Uh-oh."

Uh-oh is right. Major uh-oh. "You've already said he's not a patient at the clinic anymore. I want to establish a paper record that he's not my patient, either."

"For the lawyers?"

"If need be."

"Maggie, be careful. You've got children to consider."

"I'm doing this for my children... as well as myself. He wouldn't hurt them any more than he would hurt his own children." No matter what Joe said, she couldn't lay the blame for his daughters' deaths on his shoulders.

"Are you sure about this, Maggie?"

"As sure as I've ever been about anything in my life." And she was, she recognized with a freeing. sort of ebullience.

"I wish you luck then... or a miracle."

Maggie suspected she'd already been handed a bit of both.

"You can stay...."

Jorund glanced up an hour later to see Mag-he standing in the doorway of the den chamber. He lifted one eyebrow in question. He hadn't realized that his staying or not staying had ever been an issue. He'd just assumed... well, he supposed that had been presumptuous of him.

"For a while. Till... till we figure things out."