A strong arm slid around his shoulder. “I’ll take care of him. Don’t you worry ’bout it.”
He allowed Shea to steer him out the door and down the hall to his suite. “C’mon. Let’s get you into bed.” Without asking, Shea took the card key from his wallet and pushed him gently inside. The door clicked shut, and Jake roused himself enough to about-face and hold on to Shea’s shoulders.
“Stay with me?”
Shea’s eyes glimmered. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to be alone and think.”
He stripped off his clothes to his briefs, shuffled to the bed, and fell in. “I’ve spent the past two years doing nothing but, and it hasn’t turned out too well for me. I want to not have to think about anything except holding you.”
“Then you got me.”
After shucking off his clothes, Shea slid in next to him. Like Stacey did with him earlier, Jake curled into Shea’s chest, his only desire to feel a human touch. To be held. Without speaking, he closed his eyes.
* * *
When Jake awoke, he was alone. His heart sank, but he scolded himself, figuring Shea would have work to do on the ranch and couldn’t spend his morning lolling around in bed. A quick glance at the clock showed the time to be a little after six, and knowing there was no sleep left for him in his bed, especially since it smelled like Shea and sex, Jake rose to take a shower, deciding that afterward, he’d wander around and enjoy the fresh morning air.
Ten invigorating minutes later he left his bathroom, and came face-to-face with Shea walking into the room, holding a tray of coffee and muffins.
“Oh, you’re awake. I wanted to bring you this for when you got up. I figured you’d need it after last night.”
Touched by his thoughtfulness, Jake took the mug handed to him and drank. The whiskey spread its warmth through him, and he hummed his pleasure.
“This is perfect. Thank you.”
Shea smiled and waved. “C’mon and take a load off.”
He chuckled and swiped a lemon-poppy-seed muffin before taking a seat on the sofa. Shea sat next to him, and they sipped their Irish coffees in quiet contentment.
“How’re you feeling this morning?” Shea hoisted Jake’s feet up and proceeded to give him a foot massage. “You didn’t even move when I left the bed. I figured you were totally worn out.”
“Oh God, that feels amazing.” Jake rested his head on the sofa cushion, his thoughts swirling around like dry leaves in the wind. “I guess I’m just processing everything. Looking at the positives and the negatives. What will Stacey be like this morning? Will she continue to talk, or will she retreat?” The muffin crumbled under his fingers. “If that happens…I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“Wanna know how I see it?”
“Sure.”
“You’ve been on autopilot for so long, you don’t know what normal even looks like anymore. You put Stacey’s needs ahead of your own because you tried to be a superdad. But that little princess don’t care about nothin’ ’cept havin’ her daddy with her. And I bet when you were married, you were the one always goin’ along with whatever your ex wanted.”
Heat flooded his face, and he winced. “Guilty as charged. It was all part of wanting to be that perfect family you saw on television. Eating dinner together, going to movies, and having family board-game nights were all things I wanted but Brian laughed at.” He studied the inside of his cup. “Guess I was stupid.”
“Ain’t nothin’ stupid about wantin’ a family. Only, everyone has a different definition of it. My mother died, so my aunt raised me. That wasn’t part of the plan, but we made it work. You just didn’t find the right person to make it happen with.”
“Yet.”
He darted a glance at Shea, whose lips tilted up at the corner, ever so slightly. “Are you lookin’?”
He had to be honest. “I’m not sure what I’m up against. I have to get Stacey squared away. Once we’re home, the first thing I need to do is get to the doctor. I’ll call her this morning when her office opens.”
“You can call from one of the house phones, then go into town and get a new cell phone.”
Jake made a face. “Damn. Yeah. With everything else that happened, I forgot. It’s been such a pleasure not being tied to it. I’d almost forgotten about work.”
“That’s the biggest compliment we get here at the ranch. People come here and forget their problems.”
“I told you it’s magical. I felt it from the first. Forget Me Not. Aptly named. I know I’ll never forget it.”
“Yeah.” Shea gazed out the window, his strong profile half-shadowed. “You don’t forget it once you’ve been. Gets in your blood.”
