Since Cole was the last client of the night, he didn’t have to wait long for Trent to do his final rounds, check in with the night nurse coming on shift, and lock up.

Then he got in his own car and followed the other man down the highway as he led him to his house. On the way, Cole tried not to think about the dark, suspicious looks Trent had thrown at him when he had first taken Lady in the back for her x-ray. But could he blame him?

Lady. Pretty Lady had been used as a fighting dragon.

Cole should have asked Raul more questions—like the exact address where he had found her, and when and how he had first come across the abandoned house.

His hand strayed to his cell phone before he pulled it back again. He’d call later. Lady was safe right now—she couldn’t be in better hands. Raul might have answers for Cole, but he was more likely to just piss him off, and Cole wanted to be in a good mood for this… date?

Trent hadn’t meant it as an actual date, Cole silently admonished himself. Did he?

Trent lived both very close to the clinic and the coast. Within five minutes, his car had led Cole through a neighborhood close to one of the popular beachheads.

The house Trent parked in front of was brick, professionally landscaped, and surely too massive even for a doctor’s salary. Trent’s mid-level sedan looked out of place in front of a three car garage.

Cole coasted his own car to a stop, wincing at the way his brakes squeaked.

What am I doing? he thought with an accompaniment of sudden nerves. Yes, it was true he did insist on the inspection of homes before adopting out any from his flock. But there was no doubt Trent had the knowledge to care for Lady just fine. And judging by Lady’s body language in the clinic, she trusted him too.

Dithering, he watched Trent carefully remove Lady from his car. The dragon scrambled up to his shoulder without hesitation. Her nails were a touch long, in need of being clipped. Trent winced good-naturedly as they pricked his skin.

Letting out a breath, Cole opened his own car door and stepped out.

“Home sweet home,” Trent said, though there was an edge to his voice that Cole couldn’t identify. He walked to his front stoop, not bothering with a key, and punched in a code into an electronic lock.

Meanwhile, Cole tried not to stare openly at the doorway which stretched above his head between matching stone columns.

“You live here?” he asked and instantly regretted his own inane question.

Trent shrugged. “Most of my day is spent at the clinic. This is just where I sleep. Feel free to hang your jacket on the coat rack. I’ll show you around, and you can make sure it’s safe enough for…” He paused and blinked. “Do you know if she has a name? I didn’t catch it from the chart.”

“Lady.”

Trent snorted and reached up to rub a finger under the dragon’s chin. “Yes, she is, isn’t she?”

Cole wasn’t sure who was more charmed at that moment: Him or Lady.

His first impression when he stepped inside Trent’s home was that there was going to be plenty of room for Lady to fly around. His second was that it was not well lived in. Yes, there was some tasteful furniture in neutral colors of cream and beige, but none of it looked personalized. Cole had seen Trent’s clinic office during a consultation for a separate, difficult case. His work office had shown a stamp of his taste… this looked like someone else had picked a few decorations and Trent had never bothered to add on.

You’re supposed to be professional, Cole reminded himself. He forced himself to look at the home, not from a personal point of view, but from Lady’s.

On that, he didn’t have to worry. There were no sharp corners. Every window had a blind so that Lady would not mistake it for open sky and crash into the glass. There was a fireplace set in the corner of the cavernous living room, but it was blocked by a grate. Even the electrical outlets had caps which were standard in all new constructions. Sometimes dragons like to dig around in hidey-holes out of instinct to dig out grubs, and could get a nasty shock in return. This home was better prepared than most he walked into.

He turned around in place and found Trent watching him, arms crossed and a smile on his face.

“You could use some dragon furniture,” Cole said. “A few padded perches and a tree-stand for her to climb on.”

“Yes, I suspect that will be one of my first purchases,” Trent said. “But for now does everything look okay?”

“Yes,” Cole admitted.

Trent smiled. “Then how about you look over the kitchen while I make us dinner?”

“Dinner?” Cole asked surprised. His stomach gave an audible growl and he blushed.

“I suspected you hadn’t eaten yet,” Trent said, matter-of-fact. “And there’s a new recipe I’ve been wanting to try out. Please?” he added, perhaps sensing Cole’s reluctance. “I haven’t had much chance to feed other people.”

Cole thought of his own cupboards—empty except for the bit of ramen he had managed to save from “breakfast”.

“All right,” he said.

Trent’s “new recipe” turned out to be one of those pre-prepared meals from a delivery box. It came with all the ingredients and a cardboard instruction sheet on how to prepare it.

Trent’s kitchen was set to the side of the living room and, to Cole’s eye, looked about the size of Cole’s own bedroom. It was also sparkling clean with disuse.

Cole took all the helpfully labeled ingredients out of the box while Trent browned the chicken — cutting off a cooked piece to offer to Lady who was still sitting on his shoulder and watching the whole project dubiously.

To Cole’s delight, Lady took the chicken, chewed and swallowed.

“That’s good,” Cole said. “More than she ate at my house. She’s starting to settle in.”

“No doubt being away from other dragons she sees as threats is good for her mood,” Trent said and offered another piece which was quickly gobbled down.

Taking this as a good sign, Trent coaxed her from his shoulder to a rack up above where people normally hung pots and pans. Lady flicked her wings and settled down to peer at the cooking process with more interest.

Using the instruction card as a guide, they washed the vegetables and set about peeling and chopping.

Their hands brushed, sending a tingle up Cole’s arm. He hoped he wasn’t blushing but suspected he was.

Clearing his throat, Cole almost desperately looked around for a subject. “I think she likes you.” He jerked his chin to Lady who hadn’t taken her eyes off Trent. “Maybe she’ll even bond with you.”

Trent snorted. “My family’s dragon, Abraxas, would have something to say about that.”

It took a few seconds for Cole to wrap his mind around what Trent just casually threw out there. The extremely large house he stood in helped click the last puzzle piece into place. He glanced sharply at Trent. “You mean, your family has a Generational dragon? Really?” He had never met a Generational before though of course he’d heard of them.

Trent grinned his reply as he spooned the last of the cooked food onto the plates and gestured to a breakfast counter to eat. Of course, the man didn’t own a dining table of his own.

“Really?” Cole pressed. “How big? How old?” He sat down, rapt.

Trent’s eyes flicked upward as he visibly counted back. “Two hundred sixty or so, and he’s probably the size of an RV.”

“And… you can actually hear him talk?”

Trent made a humming sound of affirmation as he cut into his chicken breast. Cole quickly followed. His fork sank into the meat like it was made of butter and he made a low sound of approval when it hit his tongue. This was restaurant quality, and he had to force himself to slow down before he gulped the next bite. His stomach almost hurt from being filled for the first time in too long.

“His voice,” Trent said after they’d taken time to appreciate the meal, “sounds like a thought in your head. I grew up with it and it still takes some getting used to.”

“What’s he like?”

“Abraxas?” Trent set down his fork as he thought. “Arrogant and classist. He grew up in quite literally a different time. He’s glad I’ve pursued dragon medicine as a career, but he doesn’t like the fact that my sister is an electrician.”

“Why?”

“He sees it as a job for servants and would rather see her married off to a good family producing the next line of children for him to boss around. Never mind she makes more than I do, and trade jobs aren’t what they were two-hundred and fifty odd years ago. He lives on my family’s old farm under the care of my father, and he’ll most likely be passed to me because I’m the eldest male.” Trent rolled his eyes.

Cole made a show of looking around. “The house is nice, but I don’t think your yard is big enough for a dragon that size… unless he likes to stay inside?” He added with a grin.

“Oh no,” Trent agreed. “I’ll have to buy some other piece of property when the time comes. Hopefully, it won’t be for awhile.”

I have the space, if Abraxas doesn’t mind the sound of trains… and tiny houses, Cole thought, but then shoved that thought waaaay down before it could come out.

This was a date. Maybe. Possibly. He was not going to let himself get bogged down in future what if’s. No matter how pleasant they may be.

Perhaps the future was not only on his mind. Trent cocked his head and set his fork and knife down across his now empty plate in a fussy, regal sort of way. “Tell me about your shelter.”

“My future shelter,” Cole let out a long sigh. “I’m still waiting for the final approval. Hopefully, it’ll come any day now. Once it does, I’ll be finally eligible for a few state grants I’ve put in for. And here,” he pulled out his ancient flip phone and flipped to the gallery which was filled with pictures of an empty building. “Once I get the license I can open a business account and negotiate a lease to expand. This is the building I plan to rent.”

“That’s the one on Main Street, right?” Trent half-closed his eyes in thought. “That place has been empty for years.”

“Yup. I’ve been in contact with the landlord and he’s willing to give me a good price on it seeing as he’s taken a loss every year. It will require some fixing up, but that’s definitely something I’m willing to do.:

“You’re a handyman?” Trent asked.

“Necessity is a mother,” Cole replied, intentionally butchering the quote.

Trent’s chuckle sent a spike of warmth down his spine.

However, Cole’s answering smile faded as he glanced out the window and saw that the sun had set far below the horizon. He had been so worried about Lady not eating that he had brought her straight to the clinic. But there was a lot of work he still had to do at home. Bubba needed to be shut up for the night in the shed that served as his bed stable, and the others needed to be bedded down as well—their scales treated for mites and different medications administered.

“Trent, this has been great, but I do have to go. My flock…” He trailed off miserably, hoping that Trent didn’t think he was putting him off.

The smile slipped from Trent’s face. “Of course,” he said and stood to take Cole’s plate.

“No, let me wash up. It’s the least I could do.” Cole grabbed the plate at the same time and their fingers brushed. They stood like that for a moment that seemed to stretch on and on, gazing at one another.

Cole cleared his throat and looked down. “Thank you for taking Lady in. I know she’s in good hands.” He wanted to be in good hands, too. “And if you need help trying out any more recipes…”

Trent opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a squawk from above and a flutter of wings. Lady dropped down from the pan rack straight onto Trent’s shoulder.

The man yelped, flinching back in surprise as her needle-like claws dug in.

Slightly annoyed at being interrupted and trying not to laugh, Cole reached out to steady the dragon before she could slip off Trent’s shoulder.

“I think you’re going to need to invest in shoulder pads.”

“No doubt,” Trent said wryly. Cole thought the moment between them had passed, then Trent said, “I have another box coming this Friday, if you would like to stop by then…”

“Friday?” Now Cole found himself smiling again. “Yes,” he said. “It’s a date.”

And this time, he was sure of it.