The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 42

Petra was pleased that she never went through with asking Janice to remove Daniel's endorsement.

It amazed her how quickly her priorities changed in a matter of two days. The Equanimity Dilemma had been her life's blood before she came to Osiris, and at that time, her book had been her biggest concern. At Osiris, the biggest worry was the Collective Consciousness Experiment, studying with Dharma, and preparing for the next step.

But now everything changed.

She simply could not go back to Osiris and wait around for somebody else to help Dharma. It was not in her nature to stand still and do nothing. And for Daniel to suggest such a thing wasn't fair. She had been at Osiris longer than he, and she was just as close to Dharma.

Petra almost felt as if Daniel was angry or upset with her. He seemed to be making excuses in order to get her to leave. Up until that moment, she believed that they could be close friends. He seemed to take a sincere interest in her beliefs, and she found him to be one of the most interesting, passionate and self-confident men she had ever met. She couldn't help but be hurt by his insistence that she leave.

She looked at him from the back seat. He appeared to be praying. His head leaned back and his eyes were closed, but he tapped his fingers together in such a way that she knew he was actively thinking.

Vincent glanced back at her, "We're here."

She noticed that he had pulled up to the valet in front of the hotel.

"Daniel, can you and Petra park the car? I need to be the one to check in. The reservation is in my name."

Daniel looked at him as if that suggestion bothered him.

"I'll park the car," Daniel said. "Petra can get out here with you. No need for all of us to walk in the rain."

There it was again. That left very little doubt—she was sure he didn't want to be around her.

"Fine," she said, grabbing her bags.

She got out of the car with Vincent, and they walked into the lobby together.

"It is not even raining that hard," she noted.

Vincent looked at her in confusion.

"Daniel doesn't want me here," she said. "And now he is avoiding me."

Vincent's expression softened, "Petra." He stopped walking toward the concierge and guided her off toward the side of the lobby.

"What?" she asked, setting down her bags.

"Go easy on him," he said with a fatherly expression. "Daniel is going through something rough right now."

"I understand. It was a difficult day for all of us, and he was very brave."

"No," he shook his head. "It's more than that. He has—another kind of trouble."

Petra folded her arms and looked at Vincent.

Vincent sighed, as if wondering what to say. He rubbed his short beard thoughtfully.

"What sort of trouble?" she asked.

"Daniel is a priest, and a damn good one, by my estimation," he said. "As you know, I never was a churchgoing man, but I am a man, and I know what I see."

"What do you see?" she asked, with a frown.

"I see a man struggling between his loyalty to his church, and his attraction to a woman."