Chapter 6
Chapter Six
His head was throbbing, and the sounds of nature that he normally enjoyed suddenly felt like they were going to kill him.
It had been two days since his rescue, and he hadn’t left his cabin.
Partly because he had a concussion and felt like shit, but partly because he was embarrassed.
Everyone heard about what happened.
Everyone.
Freaking Slater swore he wasn’t going to tell anyone about the hike, and it ended up being everyone except Slater to show up to rescue him.
And man, did he hate having to be rescued.
So many of the details were still a blur, but he got the gist of it; he hiked where he shouldn’t have, fell and hit his head, and Nora was the first to reach him.
That one stung more than the fact that he clearly couldn’t handle anything beyond a beginner’s hike.
He could only imagine what she must have been thinking, the thoughts racing around in her head about how lame he was or that everything she already thought about him was correct.
Groaning, he made himself a cup of coffee and resigned himself to another day in his cabin.
He could work right here with no problem. Since everything he did was remote, it didn’t matter if he was up in the lodge or in his cabin, although he did need to touch base with his assistant back in Seattle. They usually spoke every day, but with everything that happened, he never got the chance.
But it was weird that there were no calls, texts, or emails from her.
“First up, call Evie.” He could email her just as easily, but it would probably be easier for him to explain everything over the phone. But he’d check his email first just in case she had reached out since he last checked.
No sooner had he sat down with his laptop than someone was knocking on the door.
“Crap.” He hadn’t been alone much since the whole thing happened. Slater stayed with him that first night because of the concussion. The doctor said he needed to be woken up every two hours, and Slater had volunteered to be the one to stay and watch over him.
In the morning, Slater left, and Connor showed up with breakfast and then hung out until lunch.
That’s when Walker took over and hung out until dinner.
Then Connor was back with a ton of food for him because he saw how poorly stocked the cabin was.
Axel and Maisie ate dinner with him and stayed until he was ready to go to sleep.
So really, he was looking forward to having a few less visitors today, but clearly no one realized that.
Sighing, he got up and went to the door, and wasn’t the least bit surprised when he found Slater standing there. “Good morning.”
“Hey, how are you feeling? Any better?”
Milo stepped aside so he could come in and noticed he had a bakery box with him. “My head’s still pounding, but that’s to be expected.” Pausing, he motioned to the box. “What’s in there?”
“Cinnamon rolls. They were just coming out of the oven as I was walking through the kitchen and I snagged us a few.” Putting the box down on the kitchen table, he grinned. “Mind if I make myself some coffee?”
“Help yourself.” With his own mug in his hand, he sat down. “You didn’t need to come and check on me. The doctor said the first twenty-four hours would be the worst, and I survived. Besides, it was only a minor concussion.”
“He also said you should go for a CT scan to confirm, and you didn’t do that.” Slater joined him at the table and opened the box before helping himself to a cinnamon roll. “Any chance you’re doing that today?”
“I don’t really know any of the doctors around here and I honestly feel fine other than the headache, so…”
“Look, I’m not here to judge or tell you what to do. But if it were me, I’d want to make sure everything was okay. And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter.”
“Good.”
“Although…you freaked everyone out and they’re worried. It might put a lot of minds at ease if you maybe went to the hospital and got checked out. We should have done it yesterday, but…” He shrugged.
“I saw everyone yesterday and no one was freaked out,” he countered. “And I spent quality time with everyone.”
“Not Nora,” Slater said around a mouthful of cinnamon roll. “She was the one who found you, and she’s been asking me about when you’re going to get checked out.”
Nora was worried about him? Seriously?
“Tell her I’m not holding her responsible,” he said with a small laugh. “I know I was hurt before she found me.”
For a moment, Slater just stared at him.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
No response, just more chewing.
“Slater, come on.”
One thing about Slater was that he was rarely serious. He tended to be quick with a joke or a snarky comment.
But not this time.
Leaning forward, he almost looked menacing.
“You understand that she hiked the path to you at almost double the speed of the average hiker, right? She assessed the situation before she even took off after your dumb ass and made sure she would have everything you’d need when she found you.
And when she found you, she was smart enough to know exactly when and how to move you to minimize any further injuries. ”
“Slater…”
“No,” he quickly interrupted. “You need to hear this. She kept in contact with the team to get medical help to you as fast as possible, knew the information to get so the medic could treat you, and then made sure you got back down the mountain safely. A trek that could have and should have been avoided if you hadn’t decided to be a dick and go on a path you weren’t familiar with. ”
“Are you done?” he asked blandly.
“No. If I’m telling you that Nora’s worried, that should speak volumes to you.
She doesn’t trust easily and she doesn’t get attached.
Ever. If anyone’s ever gotten hurt on one of her tours, she gets them to a doctor and moves on.
Not because she’s cold, but because there have been far too many people who’ve done some really stupid stuff to her.
So when she takes an interest, you should pay attention and know it’s sincere. ”
Shit.
He was about to apologize when Slater pulled another cinnamon roll out of the box and plopped it down in front of Milo.
“Now eat so we can go to the hospital. The doc already called and told them you were coming.”
It was pointless to argue, and honestly, he knew he’d feel better after getting confirmation that nothing else was wrong.
“Fine. But I need to call my assistant and let her know what’s going on. We never go for this long without talking, and I’m sure she’s wondering what’s going on.”
Shrugging, Slater relaxed. “You can call her on the way to the hospital, but I’ve already talked to her a few times. She knows what’s going on and I told her you’d call her when you were feeling better. For now, eat and let’s get on the road. I took the morning off for this.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say something like, “No one asked you to,” but Milo wasn’t a mean-spirited person. It was actually a very nice thing his friend was doing.
Friend. Pfft. Slater was family, not by blood, but by choice, and that was priceless.
All the guys were, and he had no idea how he’d gotten lucky enough to get such a great group of people as his chosen family.
Taking a bite of the pastry, he moaned with appreciation, and Slater nodded with a grin.
“Right? Like…how does he do it? Everything Connor makes is freaking amazing.”
Milo had to agree. “I know. I’m getting spoiled. Back home, I get a lot of takeout and it’s all good, but Connor’s cooking is just so much…I don’t know…more? And that he bakes and cooks is truly impressive. It’s usually one or the other.”
“I never heard of that before,” Slater commented around a mouthful of food.
“It’s not like an all-or-nothing sort of thing.
But cooking tends to be more flexible and forgiving.
It often relies on estimation, tasting as you go, and adjusting ingredients and techniques on the fly.
Success is often a result of intuition, creativity, and an understanding of flavor profiles.
I’ve been in the kitchen when he’s cooking and he doesn’t measure anything.
It’s wild to watch him and then taste whatever it is he’s made and it’s delicious. ”
“I’ve yet to taste anything bad from him.”
“Whereas baking is more precise. It typically demands exact measurements, adherence to specific instructions, and careful control of variables like temperature and timing. Chemical reactions require a strict process to achieve the desired texture and structure.There’s a science to it, and one wrong move and the entire dish is ruined. ”
“He’s had a few baking mishaps,” Slater said. “Well, to him they were mishaps because they didn’t look perfect. I volunteered to eat them so he wouldn’t have to look at them.” He grinned. “Like a good friend.”
“Yeah, you’re a giver,” he teased, and they both laughed.
“Trust me, you weren’t here when he was spiraling about the menus.”
“No, but you all called me and I showed up for more than one intervention, so…”
“Does it feel weird?”
“Does what feel weird?”
“That we did this? Like…we were just little kids when we met here. It’s wild enough that we stayed friends for so long, especially considering the fact that we all lived so far apart.
But we did, and then we grew up to be such different people, and yet we’re all still friends.
And now we own the place that literally started it all. ”
“I don’t know if I’d call it weird, but it’s definitely a unique situation.
When Walker approached all of us about it, I just thought I’d write a check and that would be it.
” He shrugged. “Now I’m glad that I could really put something into it personally.
I know it’s not the same as all the hands-on stuff the rest of you did, but… ”