“We know,” I said. “You did what you thought was best to keep your daughter safe.”
He nodded, seemingly relieved that we believed him.
Mia was still crying, so Jerry said, “She’s probably hungry. Would you like to feed her?”
“C-Can I? I tried before, but she couldn’t drink, and I didn’t know what to do.”
I grabbed the diaper bag and set it on the end of the bed. “She has a cleft palate, which means she needs a special bottle to drink from. We’ll show you how.” Together, the three of us got her bottle ready, then August held her close and fed her, looking up at us with doe eyes as though to confirm he was doing it properly.
His doctor, a friend of mine at the hospital, came in to check on August, and while he seemed quite pleased with his progress, he gave me a brief look on his way out. “I’ll be right back,” I said, before following him out.
Cedric stopped in the hall and turned to face me, his face stern. “I don’t mind doing you a favor, Lazlo, but I can only hide your patient for so long. You know we keep track of all stock, and if painkillers go unaccounted for, someone will come looking. We can register him as John Doe, but I assume he doesn’t have insurance.”
I held my hands up in defense. “Whatever the cost, I’ll cover it.”
Cedric hesitated for a minute, likely trying to work out who he was to me when he knew I’d never dated anyone seriously. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. I’d like to keep him here for another day or two and—”
“No, I’ll be taking him home tomorrow.”
Again, he paused, but in the end, as long as the infection was under control and there was no further risk to August’s life, he would give me what I wanted. “Okay… I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Always,” I assured him. If I were being honest, though, I would admit that the ground beneath my feet felt like quicksand. I’d always been so measured, so sure about the direction my life was headed, and not once had I seen anything like this coming.Because while I felt a growing connection to Jerry, the alpha with a heart of gold, there was no denying the pull I felt to take care of August too.
And binding all three of us together… Mia, the sweet angel that pulled all our heartstrings.
August drifted off to sleep again, and I watched Mia while Jerry went in search of food, coming back with foot-long hotdogs from the cart out front of the hospital. Hardly fine dining, but I wouldn’t have chosen to be anywhere else.
When visiting hours ended, I sent Jerry home with Mia for the night. It was obvious he was going to argue, but Mia was fussing, and I knew he would need to be home for Sam soon too. So instead, he drew in a deep breath, brow furrowed, and nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll call later,” I told him softly, reaching out to brush my fingertips over the back of his hand.
He went to say good night to August, and I stepped back, trying to give them a moment of privacy. There was something intimate about the look that came over August’s face when he looked up at Jerry; it was borderline awestruck, and I couldn’t even blame him because it was how Jerry made me feel too. Like he would move heaven and earth to give you anything you needed, and you were powerless to do anything but accept.
When it was just me and August, I almost expected him to withdraw, but he beckoned me closer. “Lazlo, I-I can’t pay for this.” His voice was ragged, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. We hadn’t talked about where he’d come from yet, but I wasn’t about to press. He would tell me when he was ready.
“Nobody asked you to,” I said, leaving no room for argument.
“I’ll pay you back,” he said immediately. “I’ll… get a job, and I will pay back every penny.”
Money was the furthest thing from my mind right now.
11
Jeremiah
Lastnight,afterI’dgotten home from the hospital, I’d had a tough conversation with Sammy. He’d immediately broken into tears, devastated not just about the fact that August was so sick, but burdened with crushing guilt over having hidden it from me.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into my chest, his tears soaking through the fabric of my t-shirt. “I’m so sorry, Jerry. I didn’t know it was so bad. Please don’t give me back!”
Oh, my heart. I’d hugged him back just as tightly. “Never,” I told him. “You’re here for good, buddy. This is your home.” It hurt that he hadn’t trusted me with the truth, but I knew that he would never make that mistake again. He was only human, after all, and we all made mistakes. If we weren’t forgiven for being human, then what chance did any of us have?
This morning, as soon as Sammy was on the school bus, I packed Mia up in the SUV and headed for the hospital. Lazlo had texted to say it was time to check August out.
I stalked into his room and took immediate control of the situation. I’d bought clothes in August’s size, and Lazlo had already filled his prescription at the hospital pharmacy. The two of us worked in tandem to care for August, as if we’d coordinated it. We made a good team.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked when he came out of the bathroom in the gray sweatpants and blue hoodie I’d bought him, the color perfectly matching his eyes. I scanned him from head to toe, taking in the rumpled blond hair, the bags still clinging stubbornly beneath his eyes, and the way he shuffled his feet as though it hurt to walk. I would carry him if he let me.
“Go where?” he asked, looking thoroughly confused.
