“I swear he loves me,” William said with a huge smile. Clark rested his forehead against William’s shoulder and they both started laughing. It lightened the mood and Wright relaxed a little more. He liked them. “But seriously, if those sweats areokay, then I’m sure my other clothes will be a better match than Xander or anyone else. We can run and get them from the house today while you’re getting checked out.”
“Is there anything at your house that you would need?” Patrick asked. Wright thought about it. Other than the usual hygiene stuff, which he could get new ones at the store, he wasn’t sure. He had a stuffed animal that he kept on his dresser. It had been a gift from his mom when he was younger and it was one thing he had to remember her by.
“What is it?” Xander asked softly.
“Nothing,” Wright said. “It’s fine. I really don’t need anything from there. I can just get new stuff.”
“We can go out after your appointment to get some basic things for you,” Tracy said. “I think Patrick has that money your dad left. It’s rightfully yours.”
“I’ll grab it from the safe in a bit,” Patrick said. “You two finish eating and then we’ll get ready to leave. I’m going to go out and check on a few things around the ranch. We’ll leave in about an hour.”
“Xander, do you mind if I steal Wright for just a bit?” William cleared his plate and Clark took them to the sink to help Tracy clean up. They all looked like a family. Wright felt a pang in his chest at that. He hadn’t had that in a long time. “Don’t worry, we’ll just sit out on the porch. Nothing strenuous or moving too much.”
“I’ll be fine,” Wright said before Xander could say anything. He wasn’t his keeper either way. Although, he liked the attention that Xander gave him. The way he’d cared for him last night, let him use him as a pillow and made sure he took the medicine. Offering to help him wash his hair and the gentle way he cleaned his injuries and bandaged them. “I’m sure you can talk to your horsey friends for a while.”
“You have so much to learn if you’re going to be living on the ranch for a while,” Xander said. He finished off his plate of food and stood up. “Did you need help with that?”
It took Wright a second to realize he was offering to feed him. “Oh, no, I’m good. Thank you for cutting it up though. I truly do suck with my right hand.”
“Left-handed and refuses to sleep on his back. You’re high maintenance, you know that right?”
“But yet, you’re still offering to feed me,” Wright said with a smile. He leaned his head back and saw the way Xander rolled his eyes at the comment.
“I’ll come get you in a bit.”
Wright focused back on his plate. The food was cooled off now, but still tasted better than anything he could cook himself. He finished off the biscuit and the eggs quickly and washed it down with a glass of water. He listened to William and Clark bickering as they washed the dishes, kicking Tracy out of the kitchen to go relax since she did all the cooking. He liked them. They were funny, but he could see how much they loved each other. When he finished, he picked his plate up with his good hand and walked across the space.
“Room for one more?” Wright asked. Clark looked over and smiled as he took the plate.
“Food’s amazing here, isn’t it?” William asked, leaning around Clark to see him. “It was one of the selling points when this whole idea first came about.”
“You know that famous saying, Wright? The one about the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. William was the muse behind that. Even when we were in school, I won him over by bringing him lunch every Friday our first semester.”
“All lies,” William said. He rocked up on his tip toes to kiss Clark’s cheek. “We’re going to go sit outside for a bit. Love you.”
“Love you too, husband.”
“I hope I never get used to that,” William said with a dopey smile. It was the only way Wright knew to explain the look. “Let’s go sit outside. Do you want a jacket or anything?”
“I’m good,” Wright said. “It was pretty warm out when we walked over.”
William led him back toward the table. To the right of the table was a set of French doors. They opened inward to a grand living room. “The fireplace is real, not gas. It’s nice during the colder months. One of the houses also has a real one. I think it makes it homier.”
The fireplace was on the left wall, a large flat screen mounted above it. A sectional sofa sat facing it. It was all cloth and looked exceptionally comfortable. Xander’s couch in the guest house was nice too. He would talk to him about giving him his own bed back tonight. There were photographs of Patrick and his wife, some with kids and some with others. There was a wedding photo, also on the ranch. In the far corner to the right, there was a desk with shelves, but it was covered with trophies and ribbons instead of a computer or paper. The whole room was lit with natural light from the three large windows that spanned the wall opposite where they came in.
The door leading to the side porch was on the other side of the fireplace. It was a covered brick porch. A half wall came up to block some of the view once they sat down in the chairs. Wright moved slowly, not wanting to bump his side or anything.
“Okay, so.” William turned in his chair to look at Wright. He had a feeling he was about to be grilled, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He didn’t know William, barely even knew Xander. But he felt safe. He was safe. Their discussion about getting him clothes and if he should even risk going home made that clear. “How are you doing? Really?”
Wright took a deep breath. “Hurting,” he settled on after a few moments. “If it wasn’t for the meds, I feel like I would still be in the fetal position on the gravel.”
“And emotionally?”
Wright thought about it. He was truly grateful for where he ended up yesterday. He knew that he’d been simply surviving for years. It was a blessing and a curse to understand that he was being abused but having no way of getting out of it. He didn’t have a job or a car and now he didn’t have a phone. “I thought I was going to die yesterday. My dad’s been angry before, but I’ve kept that side of me hidden from him for years. I knew I was gay since my freshman year of high school. I wasn’t popular at all in school, spent most lunch periods in the library reading. Then, when my dad finally agreed to get me a phone, I would use it to research. To read stories about people like me, gay men. I was always careful to cover my tracks. I used Private browsing, cleared my history, never kept anything in the house. I don’t know why I didn’t this time.”
“Are you scared that he might show back up? Or you might run into him when you go into the city today?” William picked his feet up and wrapped his arms around his shins. He was watching Wright closely, but the conversation was easy. The topic was hard, but it was easy to talk to William.
“Only if I’m alone,” Wright said. “Xander has made it clear I’m not allowed to be alone until I’m fully healed which will take a couple weeks at best.”
