“Can we see him?” I ask.
“Yeah, I fixed it with a nurse friend.” I see in his eyes that she may be more than a friend but that is for a later date.
Low chatter can be heard as we get closer to the door, and Miss Patty sounds distraught.
“You could have died. My goodness, what were you thinking walking home at the time of night?” Before he can answer, I step into the room, River’s hand secured in mine.
“That is what I want to know.” My voice is low, deep, and Theo flinches at my tone.
“Miss Patty, why don’t we go on a hot chocolate date, huh? My treat,” Cormac says, stepping into the room.
Miss Patty looks at Theo, and he gives her a subtle nod. She kisses his cheek and steps to me and River.
“You take care of my grandson, Colt Woods.”
Dipping my chin, I give her a promise. “With my life, Miss Patty.”
Once she is gone, River pounces on Theo. Their voices fade as I take him in, sitting up in the hospital bed, looking pale and cold. His eyes meet mine for a brief moment, searching for reassurance, and I notice the tremor in his hands as he clutches River’s hand. I see the exhaustion and worry etched into his features.
“What were you thinking? Damn, you are going to give me a heart attack, I swear,” River scolds him.
Theo looks to the man sitting next to him on the bed, his eyes softening when he sees the worry in River’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, honey.” River hugs him, making Theo wince.
“Easy, baby.” It comes out harsher than I was expecting, and both men look to me.
Then Theo drops his gaze to the bedding, and River frowns at me. Again, I am torn with my feelings over what Theo did. There is also a part of me that wants to tell him that he is not ready for us, so that it would be safer for mine and River’s hearts to leave it as it is and walk away.
I hate that I feel like this, but I have had feelings for River a lot longer than I have for Theo, yet I cannot bring myself to saythose words out loud. It would destroy anything that River and I have, and leave a pit in my soul if I ended this now before we began to see where it could go.
“Why, Theo?” My hands grip the end of the bed waiting for him to tell me why the fuck he left in the early hours of the morning.
“Can’t we leave this talk for when he is feeling better?” River asks, still frowning at me.
“No.” I shake my head. “Why?”
“Colt.”
“Enough, boy.” I snap, my anger boiling over.
River’s mouth shuts, but I see anger lasering back at me. I choose to focus on Theo, who has tears rolling down his cheeks, and I fucking hate it. I hate that being here with us is making him feel this shitty.
Maybe I did read him all wrong.
“I got scared,” he starts, his voice small. “What we did last night was nothing I ever expected. Coming to Silverpine, I never expected to find you both, yet I find myself being this person I never would have been without you. The way I was last night with you both is not me, it is not Theo Moran, the co-owner of one of the world’s biggest gaming software companies.
“I am the shy one, the one who would get lost in a game for hours, if not days, at a time. I code for a fucking living. I do not go around fucking men for the fun of it like most gay men. My life gets plastered all over the gaming world if I even so much as answer a question in a sarcastic tone. So I hide myself. No one outside of my family, my partners, and now everyone in Silverpine, knows I am gay.” He takes a breath, looking between us.
River has his mouth open in shock, and I frown at him.
“So I have a Daddy Dom and a Sugar Daddy?” River speaks up, making Theo smile the first genuine smile since we got here.
“Oh, River, never change, babe,” Theo tells him, his voice full of love and wonder.
“Why didn’t you tell us? We could have waited, Theo. Last night was a lot for a virgin, let alone a man who has hidden his sexuality.” My Daddy side is seeping through, and I try to push it back, but we need to talk this through and to understand a few things.
