Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Tanner had settled into a nice routine, now that he was hanging out with Lance every day. After work, usually around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m., Tanner drove to Lance’s house for dinner. Both had simple tastes, so they managed to cook basic, hearty meals. Plus, Lance really knew his way around a grill, so it was no hardship for Tanner to pick up steaks and potatoes routinely on the way home from work. After dinner, they’d play some video games, watch movies, or just sit around and talk until it was time for bed. Then Tanner would make up the couch and slip into blissful sleep. He’d wake at dawn and head back to his apartment to get ready for work, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. He felt so much better about—well, everything.
It wasn’t just that though—their routine felt more like a relationship than a casual arrangement, and sometimes, Tanner had to remind himself they weren’t actually together together. It was the fucking oddest thing. He’d come home to Lance cooking something on the stove or on the grill and feel an almost irresistible urge to wrap his arms around him. Or sometimes, when they watched TV together, Lance would move closer to him, and point out a detail in the movie, and Tanner could swear Lance was deliberately touching him as much as possible. Brushing elbows, leaning shoulder-to-shoulder, or sometimes he’d even pet the back of Tanner’s head distractedly, as if unaware of his actions. And every night, without fail, it was becoming increasingly difficult to bid each other a simple goodnight. Even Lance, a self-professed old man who loved his early nights, kept delaying their goodnights until later and later.
“So, Tanner, I have this niece named Evelyn. Lovely girl. She’s a nurse at the hospital. I could give you her phone number, if you wanted,” said Melissa, one of the secretaries at the office.
She was a lovely woman in her 60s. She dyed her curly hair bright red and loved wearing purple. Tanner had never bothered talking to her before, but now that he felt much more human and had begun enjoying mindless chatter in the morning, he found Melissa’s morning debriefing entertaining. Now every day when Tanner dropped by her desk for his stack of client files, she was only too happy to share her evening plans and tell him all about her single and very available nieces.
“You’re too kind, Melissa, but I’m already seeing someone,” he reminded her.
It was a boldfaced lie. He was definitely not back in the dating game, but she didn’t need to know that. But of course, there is no rest for the wicked and, as luck would have it—Mark walked in the door just then.
“That’s really too bad,” Melissa replied. She pointed her purple daisy pen at him. “If you change your mind, I’ve got her number right here in my phone,” she said with a wink. She dropped several files on the reception counter—the real reason he had stopped by her desk—and Tanner picked them up with a smile and a quick thanks.
“You heading out?” Mark asked, as Tanner turned around. Mark always wore the same style of clothing every day. Dark slacks and pastel-colored shirts. He even got the same haircut once a month at the barber shop. Respectable, drab, and the very image of the stereotypical office drone. Tanner couldn’t help but wonder if that would be his fashion destiny as well if he stayed in this job.
“Yeah, I have three contracts to get signed today,” Tanner said, shuffling the files with his right hand while keeping them tucked in the crook of his left arm. His doctor had finally given him medical clearance to remove the sling and start some light exercises.
“So, you’re dating someone now?” Mark asked with raised brows.
Shit. Tanner looked back at Melissa who was sitting right there listening to every word.
“Uh, yeah,” he replied, hoping Mark would read the lie in his eyes but not call him out on it.
“That explains it then,” he said, and it was so far from the response Tanner had expected that he startled and almost dropped his files. “Cameron went by your place yesterday to give you some muffins, and you weren’t there. She went a little crazy trying to figure out why you weren’t home and where you might be,” he said, chuckling in amusement at Cameron’s stalking habit. Tanner found that trait to be thoroughly irritating, but he kept that to himself. “Don’t worry, I convinced her not to abuse her power and track you.”
“Thanks,” Tanner said with a pained smile, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.
“I’m happy for you!” Mark said, giving him a congratulatory pat on his back. “You look much better. Clearly, whoever she is, she’s good for you!”
Tanner wanted to laugh at that. Ha! If they only knew it wasn’t a she—but dating or not, Lance was doing him a world of good. There was no denying that he felt like a new man.
Tanner couldn’t see any way out of his web of lies, so he resigned himself to just playing along.
“Right, yeah—thanks!” he replied, mustering up as much enthusiasm as possible.
Mark waved him out the door and wished him luck with his meetings.
After work, Tanner headed towards Lance’s place with two foil-wrapped subs on his back seat. They had no formal plans for the evening, although Tanner had thought about working on a home repair project when a call came in from Lance.
“Billy Bob's Barbecue and Crematorium, you kill 'em, we grill 'em,” Tanner said cheerfully, as he picked up. He expected Lance to quickly respond with something equally ludicrous, like he always did these days. Instead, there was a long pause before Lance spoke.
“Hey, Tanner. I wanted to let you know that my brother was in a car accident this afternoon. He’ll be fine, but I have to go see him. Couch is yours. The front door is unlocked. I don’t know when I’ll be—”
Tanner cut him off and said, “I’ll be in your driveway in about 30 seconds. Lock up. I’ll drive.” He hoped his no-nonsense tone would make his wishes perfectly clear.
“Not necessary. Really. It’ll take—”
“I’ll drive,” he repeated, cutting him off again.
Lance sighed loudly, making Tanner briefly regret putting up a fight. Maybe Lance really didn’t want him around. Maybe Lance liked being alone when confronted with difficult situations. Just as Tanner was about to apologize and rescind his offer, Lance suddenly reversed his position.
“Okay, T. Thanks.”
Lance was standing on his porch as Tanner pulled up, his face pale and serious, eyebrows pinched together, as he clutched the porch rail. By the time the truck came to a halt, Lance was grabbing the handle to the passenger door and jumping in, tossing his duffle bag in the back seat.
“Hey, man. Thanks for driving.”
Tanner shot him a warm smile as he backed out to the edge of the driveway, then asked for their destination to put into his GPS.
“He’s at St. Mary’s near the university campus,” Lance said. Tanner entered the location and headed for the interstate.
Tanner didn’t press him for information about what happened. Instead, he searched for a soft rock station and set the volume on low, trying to soothe Lance’s nerves while also allowing for conversation.
About 20 minutes into the trip, Lance finally began talking about Parker’s accident as he gazed out his window.
“They were driving back from football practice. It was the last one of the semester. His buddy who was driving turned left at a light, but he didn’t have right-of-way, and they got hit head on by a big SUV. Apparently, Parker was unconscious at the scene. He’s in stable condition now but still unconscious. He’s scheduled for a CT scan and an MRI. There could be internal bleeding, but it’s too soon to tell. Hopefully we’ll know more by the time we get there.” Lance shared what he’d been told over the phone by hospital personnel. He was unnaturally calm as he spoke, still shell-shocked from the news.
“He’s in the best hands, then,” Tanner said, reassuringly.
“Right,” Lance replied, with a slight nod. But he looked unconvinced.
Tanner reached over to place his right hand on Lance’s thigh and squeezing gently.
“It’ll be okay, Lance. Kid’s as strong as an ox.”
Lance nodded once more, but turned back to the window quickly, trying to hide the tears of anxiety sliding down his cheeks. Tanner pretended not to see them, and silence fell once again.
Tanner dropped Lance off at the main entrance of the hospital and headed for the visitor parking lot. When he returned, he searched for the waiting area, where he found Lance slumped sideways in a chair in the back corner.
“Any news yet?”
Lance looked up in surprise as if not realizing he was standing there.
“None, unfortunately.” Lance sighed and leaned his head back, sounding discouraged. “I’m such a mess. He’s just—I kind of raised him, you know, so it’s—” he shook his head and wiped the pooling tears from his eyes, avoiding Tanner’s gaze.
“Lance, it’s me you’re talking to. You watched me have a meltdown over a stack of pancakes at the diner. You’re definitely not a mess. Besides, he’s your brother. I get it,” he assured him, with a nod. He squeezed Lance’s shoulder, unsure why he needed to touch him, but he couldn’t help it. If he’d followed his instincts, he’d have wrapped his arms around the man and held on tightly. He wanted Lance to let him help shoulder this burden. He owed Lance that much, and lots more too.
“I’m sorry I brought you here. You must be fucking sick of hospitals,” Lance said with a choked laugh.
“Technically, I’m the one who forced you to let me come here with you. Besides, as long as I’m not the one in the assless gown stuck living on orange Jell-O and tapioca pudding, I’m just fine,” he assured Lance with a wink and a smile. Lance snorted and wiped his nose with his shirtsleeve. His gaze was filled with affection as he looked directly into Tanner’s eyes. It often was, but there was definitely something more to it now—a certain—depth of meaning and intensity that Tanner had never seen before. That meaningful look tugged at something tightly wound in his gut and made his heart pound, causing an echoing and increasingly familiar feeling that Tanner had yet to name.
“In any case, thank you for being here.” Lance smiled with affection and gratitude.
Tanner gave him a quick nod, his throat so tight with suppressed emotions that he couldn’t speak.
“Mr. Kingsley?” A nurse in pink scrubs called out from the doorway.
“Yes?” he replied, turning to face her. She was smiling, so that was a huge relief. She wouldn’t be smiling if she had bad news to deliver.
“Your brother is fully stabilized and is resting comfortably. If you’ll follow me, I can show you to his room. He’s been drifting in and out of consciousness, but the doctor would like to meet with you,” she said, holding the door open for him. He was halfway across the room before glancing back to find that Tanner had remained seated.
“You coming?” Lance looked at him expectantly.
“I can wait here—” Tanner offered, not wanting to intrude on their reunion.
Lance shook his head.
“Please come,” he said, and Tanner couldn’t refuse, not after seeing that expression of raw need on Lance’s face.
Parker’s resemblance to Lance was startling: the same classic jaw line, aquiline nose, and brilliant blue eyes. His hair was a shade darker than Lance’s, but it had the same curly texture. He was sleeping peacefully, and the only thing attached to him was an IV for fluids.
“The doctor will come by in a minute,” the nurse said and closed the door behind her.
“You guys could be twins,” Tanner observed as he compared their features.
“Mom used to say that Parker was mini-me,” Lance agreed, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.
The door opened and an older, distinguished man stepped into the room with a stethoscope dangling from his coat pocket and a medical clipboard in his hands.
“Good evening, gentlemen! I’m Dr. Aldous Richards. And you must be Parker’s older brother.”
“Lance Kingsley,” he confirmed with a brief smile. “Pleasure.”
“I’m the lead physician of the team caring for your brother, and I was on duty this afternoon when your brother was admitted.” He looked down at the chart in his hands. “Let me cut right to the chase. He gave us a good scare when he arrived in the ER. I suspect that his state of unconsciousness was primarily due to shock and the intense pain caused by several broken ribs. His CT scan and MRI results confirmed the exact location of the broken ribs, and that surgery will not be necessary. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, those results also confirmed there are no signs of internal bleeding, organ damage, or intracranial bleeding. It will take about six weeks for his ribs to fully heal. He will need to come back then to get medical clearance to resume normal activities. However, with youth and good health on his side, I expect he should be as good as new in no time. He was extraordinarily lucky today, that’s for sure!”
Lance heaved a huge sigh of relief, dropping his head back on the chair’s headrest. He closed his eyes briefly and said, “Thank God!” Realizing what he’d just said, he quickly backpedaled, blushing furiously. “I mean, thank you so much, Dr. Richards, for all that you’ve done for Parker.”
The doctor shook his head and chuckled.
“Just happy to deliver good news for a change. Your brother’s going to be just fine. We’ll keep him overnight for observation, but he should be ready for discharge tomorrow before lunch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must visit with several other patients and their families this evening.”
“Thank you again, Dr. Richards,” Lance said.
As soon as the doctor left, Lance huffed a laugh born of sheer amazement and disbelief. He smiled and looked up at Tanner, saying, “Holy shit! He’s gonna be just fine!”
Tanner smiled as he reached over to playfully tousle Lance’s hair.
Tanner ducked out of the room and pulled out his phone to search for a nearby hotel. Holiday Inn was only a few blocks away, so he booked their room there to save time. Since Parker would be discharged the next morning, they could pick him up right after checking out.
Lance was just leaving Parker’s room when Tanner returned, wearing a big smile.
“He woke up for a few minutes. He was really groggy and mostly out of it, but I told him I’d be back tomorrow, and he fell right back to sleep. Shit—I’m just so fucking relieved! I’m about ready to pass out myself.”
“Hold off on the fainting act a bit longer, okay? I just booked the last room available at the Holiday Inn right down the street, whenever you’re ready to cut out. Then tomorrow after he’s discharged, we can move all of his stuff out of his dorm room and drop him off at your parent’s place along with his school stuff. Everything should fit with no problem in Big Blue.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. It’s Saturday tomorrow, you should be off—clubbing, or—doing whatever it is you need to be doing. You’ve already done more than enough!” Lance argued, shaking his head.
“Clubbing,” Tanner said with a scoff and an eyeroll. “That’ll be the day! My Saturday plans consisted of chasing dust bunnies rolling around my condo and counting down the hours ‘til you and I could grab a beer, so—I’d much rather hang with you guys. Besides, you didn’t ask me. I volunteered.” Before Lance could launch a protest, he kept going. “Come on. We have to swing by the pizza place to grab an extra-large meal deal on the way to the hotel. I’ll bet your ass is starved by now. I know mine is! A carb coma sounds like the perfect way to round out the day.”
“I’m not really—” Lance protested but Tanner cut him off again.
“Unless you want to end up underweight and puny like me, you’d better plan on helping me with that meal deal. I’m not letting that ,” he said, motioning towards Lance’s well-developed chest, “waste away on my watch!” Although he’d meant it as a joke, it ended up sounding mostly serious. Yikes. Lance jumped all over it.
“ That ?” Lance repeated questioningly. “So, I’m just a piece of meat to you?”
Tanner studiously ignored his question. “Car. Pizza. Hotel. Come on, Rain Man, let’s hit the road!”
“Rain Man?” He wasn’t too thrilled with this new nickname.
“Meh—I’m trying it out.” Tanner’s self-satisfied smirk told him he’d be hearing it again. He laughed and shook his head as Tanner grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down the hall to the elevator.
Since there was a big hockey tournament in town, Tanner was lucky to even find a hotel room for the night. But what he’d failed to notice in his haste to reserve their room was that it had one king size bed, not the two regular beds he’d expected. He’d fucked up big time.
Lance dropped his overnight bag next to the bed and looked over at Tanner with raised brows.
“Fuck—and that’s what you get for trusting an Army man to read.” He laughed at himself and shrugged. “I’ll sleep in the truck.”
“Like hell you will!”
“Nah, seriously. It’ll be better. I have nightmares and shit—” he said, rubbing the back of his head in disappointment and frustration.
“Tanner, I’m too tired to argue about this. I’m warning you now, if you leave this room to go sleep in the truck, I’ll be right behind you, and then we’ll both be sleeping in your truck. I’m petty like that.” Lance scowled with an angry glint in his eyes that said he wasn’t fucking around. With a sigh, he flopped onto the bed, making the mattress bounce beneath him. After a moment of watching Tanner standing there, still hesitating, Lance jumped off the bed and said, “I’ve got first dibs on the shower!”
At the door to the bathroom, he looked back at Tanner, one eyebrow raised in clear challenge.
“Please don’t make me sleep in a truck. I’m old.” Lance took one last stab at convincing Tanner to stay in the room.
But Tanner knew when to surrender. He dropped the takeout bag from the Pizza Palace onto the small table in front of the window and started to pull out their food containers.
“You’re pretty fucking annoying sometimes, do you know that? And damned bossy!” he replied without any real heat.
“Amen!” was Lance’s only response as he disappeared into the bathroom.