Chapter Twenty-Three
Avery
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I opened my eyes to see my favorite nurse, Jack Barnes, coming into my room to open the curtain so I could see the sunrise.
All of the hospital staff were great, but Jack and I had a special bond. He had some amazing stories when he sat with me after his shifts ended. I loved hearing about Jack and his husband, Paul.
It was sad that Paul died from cancer, but with Jack’s storytelling, I felt as though I was with the two of them on their many road trips. It was easy to tell Paul was very much alive in Jack’s heart.
“Good morning, Jack. Why are you here so early? What’s for breakfast?” The hospital had incredible food. Now that I was able to eat food instead of just relying on the damn IV, I was fucking starved.
The bald man with the beautiful smile laughed. “I traded shifts with Esther so she could take her granddaughter to breakfast for the girl’s tenth birthday. See, regardless of what other people say, I’m nice that way.
“For your last breakfast here at Casa Hopkins, I took the liberty of ordering you an egg white omelet, a blueberry pancake, and turkey bacon. For your young man, I ordered the same, though I’m sure that’s just a drop in the bucket of what keeps that muscular body in motion.
When will he be arriving, do you think?”
I exhaled before I picked up my phone to see that Holden had responded to my desperate text from the previous night.
I basically begged to stay with him. It was humiliating, but I had no desire to stay with my parents, and I had to get the hell out of my apartment while Brooke and Kyle continued to celebrate their engagement by fucking like rabbits.
When I opened the message Holden had sent after I fell asleep, my heart skipped a beat.
I’m sure you’re asleep but I’ll be there to pick you up in the morning and bring you here to stay with me. No couch camping. You’re mine, Avery Langhorn, and I intend to treat you like a king. Love you, Holy
He signed his message that he still loved me, and I smiled at Jack. “He’ll be here this morning. I’m gonna stay with him.”
Jack chuckled. “I expected no less. I’ll be back in a minute, dear.”
It was sweet the way Jack called everyone dear. He was full of love, I could tell, and I was sorry his husband had died. In a perfect world, they’d have gone together at the end of a very long, well-lived life.
The catheter had been removed the previous day, and I was finally able to piss like a grown man. I’d even been able to have a shower and wear scrubs instead of having my ass hang out in a hospital gown.
I wanted only Holden to pay attention to my ass, and I hoped he would very soon. Dr. Latham had mentioned that I needed to wait a few more weeks before athletic sex was on the table, but I had the feeling the doctor was underestimating my recovery time.
Jack returned to the hospital room with a smile, and I wasn’t surprised to see Holden come in behind him. “Hey, sweetheart.” Those words were beautiful from his mouth.
“Hi, Holy.” I stood from the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck.
He pulled me closer and grinned. “You ready to go home?”
Home. The word had never sounded so damn good. “Yes, I am. You okay?”
Holden chuckled. “I can’t figure out if I had a strange dream or if I saw a ghost.”
“Oh! Happy? Did you see her? I’m so glad.”
When Holden’s arms wrapped around my waist, I closed my eyes and soaked in the feel of his strong body next to mine. I tipped up on my toes. “You still love me, Holden?”
Holden laughed. “Are you kidding me? I don’t say anything about love to anyone. I said I loved you, and I damn well meant it, Avery.”
Being held by Holden was amazing. I felt safe and secure. It hadn’t been often in my life that I’d felt that way. “Thank you, Holden. I love you too.”
“Well, well. Aren’t the two of you so stinkin’ cute!”
I turned to see Brooke pulling a suitcase in behind her. “How’s my bestie?”
I hugged her tightly. Brooke was the straight woman I’d have married if I were straight, too. She was a one-of-a-kind, and Kyle was fucking lucky to get her.
“So, did you set a wedding date yet?” For some reason, they seemed to be dragging their feet.
“We’ll get around to it.” She patted the top of the suitcase, offering no additional information. “I’ve brought your clothes, and I gave you choices. Since you’re not coming back to the apartment right away, I put a few extra things inside for you.”
I had called Brooke the previous afternoon and asked her to bring me some clothes so I had something to wear when I got out of the hospital.
I told her I wanted to stay with Holden but I wasn’t sure if he’d want me in his home.
Apparently, with him holding me in his arms, she’d deduced I was going with him.
I was sort of inviting myself to live with Holden, but I’d look for a place in case that didn’t work out. I was tired of being a third wheel to my best friends’ relationship, but I didn’t want to force Holden to do something he wasn’t ready to do.
I also wasn’t one to let a chance to stir shit get away. “So, this is it? Are you kicking me out of Paper & Pixel too?” I feigned exasperation, but I could see Brooke knew me too well.
My friend giggled. “Sweetie, we’re not kicking you out and you know it. You’ll always have a place with Kyle and me. You’re the one who said you didn’t want to listen to us have sexy times when you weren’t getting any.”
Holden gave a hearty laugh. “Yeah, two weeks.”
I glanced at him and he smirked. I hoped he could see the doctor’s timeline wasn’t going to fly with me.
“Besides, sweetie, you started our business, and we’d be pretty useless without you.
I’m sure where you’re going will be exactly where you’re meant to be.
You’ll heal and when you’re ready to get back to work, we can pursue the leads we’ve got.
” Brooke hugged me and then Holden, before she said goodbye.
As she was leaving, Jack brought in our breakfast and put the large tray of food on the rolling table over the bed. “Eat, gents.”
Holden slid off his coat and we sat on the bed facing each other. “Smells good. Any dietary issues I should know about when I go to the store?” His blue eyes sparkled as he grinned at me. He seemed almost as excited to have me at his place as I was to be there.
“Uh, I try to eat healthily but sometimes I cheat. My anti-rejection meds can make me gain weight, so I like to work out about four days a week. You look like you work out a lot.” I hoped he heard it as the compliment I meant it to be.
The man was built like a brick house, and my dick got hard if I stared at or thought about him too much.
The one time we had sex was a fantasy I had to block from my mind until that damn catheter came out.
A hard-on with that thing was painful, as I’d learned the previous afternoon before it was removed.
Holden smiled as he ate his omelet in three bites. “I get a pretty good workout on the job, but I like to take Ossie for a walk in the morning and the evening—unless it rains or snows. He refuses to go out without his boots.”
I cut into my blueberry pancake as I imagined seeing the pooch in little doggie boots. “Will it be okay if I take care of him for you? I’ll walk him in the morning before I go to work, and I’ll come home in the early afternoon so he doesn’t have to wait until dark when it’s colder. He’s so sweet.”
“I promise you I have no problem with that. Do you eat like this all the time?” He took a bite of the turkey bacon before he dropped the rest onto his plate and held a paper napkin to his mouth to expel the offensive faker.
“No. This is the diet my cardiologist ordered for me. I hate meat substitutes.” I pushed my turkey bacon away from my pancake. Not a fan at all, especially with the gag-worthy maple flavoring.
“Good. We can figure out healthy choices, but I won’t eat shit like this.
We can learn to make vegetarian dishes if that’s better for you.
I wouldn’t mind eating healthier.” Holden put his pancake on my plate and put the dome on his plate.
I was actually full, so I picked up the second dome and covered mine too, returning the plates to the tray. I was ready to go.
After I put the tray on the counter by the window, I reached for my suitcase to put it on the bed, only to have Holden give me a quick swat on my right ass cheek and pick it up instead.
He opened it for me to get clothes so I could change.
I grabbed a pair of briefs, socks, a sweater, and a pair of jeans. “I’ll be right back.”
I hurried to the bathroom and quickly stripped off the scrubs. I sniffed my pits, which were still fine considering I’d showered the previous night.
Once I was dressed, I dampened and finger-combed my hair.
I gathered my few toiletries that Holden had picked up for me during my week in the hospital, noticing I might need to go by the apartment to get some other stuff—like a pair of shoes and a coat.
It was still January in the Mid-Atlantic and how Brooke had forgotten two key winter essentials was a mystery.
I returned to the room to find Holden with a few pairs of my lacy boy shorts in his left hand that my former bestie had included in the suitcase. He was holding one pair between his index fingers and thumbs as he studied them.
“Oh, god!” Damn you, Brooke!
Holden glanced at me with a smirk. “Do you wear these, sweetheart?”
Thinking for a moment, I decided to man-up and be honest. I’d hunted a crazy serial killer with a demon and two hell hounds in the afterlife, so I knew I could answer Holden’s question about my sexy underwear like an adult.
“Yes. M-Mostly on d-d-dates.” I sounded a little less than confident, but I got the words out.
Holden shoved the black pair in the pocket of his jeans and held up the teal pair. “And these? You wear these on dates too?”
“Depends on whether I think the guy is worth it.”
He shoved those into his pocket as well. He then held up the red pair of lace panties with the satin ties at the hips. “Please tell me you wore these on our date.”
“I-I... No, because I wasn’t sure it was even a date.”
Holden shoved those into his pocket as well. “We’ll see if we can fix that. You ready to bust out of here?”
I laughed as I lifted my foot. “She didn’t bring me shoes or a coat.”
Without another word, Holden picked up his thick winter coat and held it out to me. “Put this on.” I didn’t hesitate to slide my arms in, zipping it up and smelling his intoxicating scent surrounding me.
Holden closed my suitcase and put it on the floor, lifting the pull bar. He picked me up and swung me around onto his back. “I have a pair of your shoes at my house. We’ll stop by your apartment and get more of your things...though, I don’t mind you wearing my stuff. Ready to go?”
Just then, Jack came in with paperwork and a wheelchair.
He laughed at me on Holden’s back. “I like this. Then I don’t have to wheel you out into the cold.
Don’t go by the nurses’ station so I don’t get in trouble for ignoring the hospital policy of all patients leaving in a wheelchair.
Here are your discharge papers, your prescriptions, and your follow-up orders.
You’ll need to call Dr. Latham’s office and make an appointment for a follow-up visit. ”
I took the envelope and smiled. “Thank you, Jack. I loved having you take care of me.”
He nodded. “I put my cell number on back of the discharge papers. If you ever want to talk or get a coffee, reach out. You’re a joy to know...both of you.” He turned and walked out of the room with the wheelchair.
I shoved up the sleeves of Holden’s coat before hugging my arms around his neck and kissing him behind his ear. His contented sigh made my heart stutter, reminding me that Holly “Happy” Rose had been right. Her brother, Holden, was exactly right for me.