“If he can’t deal with that kind of adversity, how could he deal with something greater, like protecting us little humans?” Deidre asked.
Katie glanced towards her, surprised by the question from someone who barely seemed able to cope with the fact she was probably dead.
“He never had a reason to try,” she replied.
“And he does now?”
“Yes,” Katie said. “He does.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“Sometimes all we have are bad choices, and we still have to choose,” Katie whispered. “Sorry for going off. I’m frustrated.”
“I got that from the rant,” Deidre said with a tinkling chuckle.
“Enough about me,” Katie said. She sat heavily, inching towards the other woman for warmth. “We’ve got some time before morning. What’s your story?”
“There’s not much to me,” Deidre said. “I was born and raised in the same place. I lived a sheltered life. Never left. That’s about it.”
“There’s more to you than that. There’s more to everyone than where they grew up,” Katie urged.
Deidre hesitated. “I don’t remember my parents. Sometimes I don’t think I ever had any. No siblings, no friends. I was … different. Always different. Scared most people away. Probably a good thing, because I’ve always had a rather ornery streak.”
“You sound like Rhyn.”
“Your mate?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmmm. Anyway, I took over the this huge corporation at a young age. I kept too busy to get out much. Not that I had much of a role. I just did the crappy job while watching everyone else make mistakes. When you inherit a job like that, you don’t have as much say in the way things go as you’d like,” Deidre said with some distaste. “You see, I’m a dull person.”
“You don’t sound dull,” Katie replied, suspecting Deidre was the daughter of some billionaire with a corporation spanning the world. “You sound … wanting. You never wondered what other people did, since you were always working?”
“Sometimes.”
“Never wanted to try to make friends or anything?”
“Never cared for people too much. I was happy alone,” Deidre said.