Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
“If you do manage to get out of the house and make it to the road in the hopes of finding a ride out of town, just remember that even though this is small-town America, you don’t know who’s behind that wheel up here any more than you would in a big city. No judgment, but you don’t seem to exactly be at your fighting weight.” I kept my tone light as I spoke those last words in hopes of easing some of the tension between me and the young man who’d once again shifted his gaze to the floor.
I swore I saw the corners of Theo’s mouth tug into what might have ended up in a smile if his inner cynicism hadn’t raised its ugly head.
I took a chance and reached up to gently capture his chin with my fingers so I could force him to look at me. “I know that you have no reason to believe me, Theo, but I’m not big on lying, and we all have secrets that are ours and ours alone.” I released my hold on him and felt something inside of me flip when he continued to look at me.
“Ford will know as soon as he sees me that I’m sick and he’ll want to know what’s going on—”
The mere fact that Theo was talking to me had me doing the interrupting.
“I’ll tell Ford the truth—”
Theo opened his mouth to respond but I quickly covered it with two of my fingers. The softness of his lips had me nearly forgetting what we were talking about.
“I’ll tell Ford the truth… that you have a fever and will need a couple days of rest. And while I’m not going to be happy about coloring that truth just a little bit when I tell him that your fever is likely contagious, that should keep him from doing nothing more than popping his head into your room to check on you. But I doubt he’ll do even that because none of the family will want to risk any chance of passing something on to Walter or Lenny,” I explained.
“But don’t you take care of Walter?” Theo asked.
“I do,” I said. “But I’ll wear a mask and gloves around both him and Lenny when I’m checking his vitals and helping him with his physical therapy. Since I know that I’m not actually a risk to either of them, I’ll just be going through the motions of wearing protective gear. The rest of the time I’ll be staying up here with you.”
“Wait, what?” Theo blurted. He jerked his head to look over his shoulder at the spot where he’d been lying on my bed. “I’m not staying in here with you!”
Although his words were emphatic, the stain of color on his cheeks had me wondering if maybe he wasn’t as outraged by the idea as he thought he should be. I sure as shit wasn’t having any problem with the idea of the young man spending more time in my bed, preferably with me in it as well.
“You’ll be in your room, and I’ll be in mine, Theo. I’d like to restart your IV and I’ll need to check your arm and probably clean it a few times, but that’s about it. My guess is you’re going to be feeling a whole lot better by this time tomorrow. When you are feeling better, you decide what happens next.” I paused before adding, “It’s safe here, Theo. And I don’t just mean physically. This place… it’s kind of a zoo but it’s quiet too if that makes sense.”
I shook my head because I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to do. “Sorry, I don’t even know what I’m trying to say,” I said as I began to rise. I was stunned when Theo grabbed my hand with the fingers on his good arm.
He didn’t say anything right away. Instead, he stared at my fingers for several long seconds. I doubted he was even aware that he was stroking his thumb over mine. I sure as shit was aware of it, though, and it was all I could do to calm the raging bout of desire that surged through me.
“Do you run from them too?” he finally asked, his voice laced with both sadness and confusion.
“From what?” I asked. I found myself returning the soft caress of his fingers over mine.
“The secrets?”
He sounded painfully young and lost, but instead of spouting off some bullshit about how life would get better, I responded with the truth.
“Every fucking day.”
CHAPTER FOUR
THEO
I knew what I needed to do. I knew what response the safer bet would be. I knew the churning in my belly would ease as soon as I released Lincoln’s fingers, stood, and collected my bag so I could walk out the door.