“Luke’s hurt.” The words came out in a rush. He probably shouldn’t be the one breaking this news to Luke’s sister, but it seemed they were starting a string of people who shouldn’t bedoing just that. “He’s on his way to County General. I need… Can you pick up Eli? I know it’s a lot to ask, but?—”
“Of course.” Megan’s voice was warm, steady. “Go. Eli can stay with us as long as needed. Just keep me posted on Luke? Do I need to call Mom and Dad?”
“I honestly don’t know.” He grabbed his wallet and phone, barely remembering to lock the door behind him. “I would assume Keaton called them before he called me. If he didn’t, then that means it really isn’t as bad as my imagination is making it out to be. I’ll text you as soon as I know more. Eli might need to spend the night there if that’s okay.”
Megan chuckled. Not at all the reaction he’d expected. “If this means at least one of you is ready to get your head out of your ass, I’ll keep him as long as you need.”
The drive to the hospital felt endless, each mile stretching out as his mind raced with possibilities. Luke was hurt. Luke needed him. And he’d wasted so much time letting fear keep them apart.
The emergency room parking lot was busy when Noah arrived. He spotted Luke’s crew’s trucks clustered in one corner, Drew’s familiar pickup among them.
Inside, Noah followed the sound of Luke’s voice protesting something about being fine and not needing to stay for observation. The familiar stubbornness made Noah’s heart clench.
“I’m telling you, I just need some Advil and—” Luke’s words cut off as he spotted Noah in the doorway.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. Luke sat on an exam bed, his left arm already in a temporary cast. His barechest was mottled with cuts and bruises, and a nasty bruise was forming along his jaw. But his eyes—those warm hazel eyes Noah had been dreaming about—held a mix of surprise and something that looked dangerously like hope.
“You’re here,” Luke said softly.
“Of course I’m here.” Noah moved closer, ignoring the knowing looks from the nurse and Keaton. “You’re hurt.”
Luke’s uninjured hand reached for him, then dropped. “Keaton shouldn’t have called you. I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are.” Noah closed the distance between them, catching Luke’s good hand in his. “You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t.” Luke’s fingers tightened around his. “Just a broken arm and some bruises. I’ve had worse.”
“That doesn’t make it better.” Noah’s voice cracked. “God, Luke. When Keaton called… I can’t lose you. I won’t.”
Luke’s breath caught. “Noah?—”
“No, let me finish.” Noah stepped closer, needing Luke to understand. “I’ve been so scared of something happening to Eli that I forgot what really matters. Having people who love us, who show up when we need them… That’s not weakness. That’s strength. And this is me showing up when you need me. Don’t be mad at Keaton. He did the right thing by calling to let me know.”
The nurse cleared her throat. “I’ll give you two a minute. Maybe you can convince him that whether he goes home tonight should be up to the doctor, not him.”
Noah barely noticed her and Keaton leaving. All he could focus on was Luke—alive, whole, looking at him like he held the answers to everything.
“I’m sorry,” Noah whispered. “I’ve been such an idiot. Pushing you away because I was scared only made things worse. For all of us.”
Noah was plagued by the thought he might have somehow caused this. If Luke had been distracted, he could have missed something that would have signaled it was a bad idea to stay in an unsafe building. But that was assuming Luke had been as torn up this past week as Noah had been.
“Hey.” Luke tugged him closer with his good hand. “I get it. Protecting Eli has to come first. But, Noah, don’t you see? I want to protect him too. Both of you.”
Noah’s eyes burned. “I know. God, I know. And I want that. Want you. Want us to be a family.”
Luke’s smile was soft, tender. “Pretty sure we have been for a while now. You were hurting and lashed out, and when that hurt me, I found excuses to avoid talking it out. I thought I was protecting myself, but I was really only hurting both of us.”
“We don’t need to rehash how we screwed up right now.” For the first time all week, Noah felt like things might be okay, like maybe he didn’t completely screw up the best thing that had come into his life since his son was born. And he wasn’t willing to spend another second away from Luke if he could help it. He pulled a chair next to the bed and rested his hand on top of Luke’s. “I won’t lie and say it won’t happen again, but we both need to learn how to face the scary things instead of shying awayfrom them. But first, you need to do whatever the doctor says is best for you. It sounds like you had one hell of a time today.”
Luke winced when he chuckled. “Fuck, that hurts. Can’t say I want a ceiling joist crashing down on me again anytime soon. But really, I’ll be fine. The doctors are just being overly cautious. I want them to come in here and see that so they’ll let me go home.”
Noah laughed wetly, finally letting the tears fall. “Come home with me if they let you out? Please? Eli’s been asking about you, and I need you there. Need to take care of you while you heal.”
“Yeah?” Luke’s eyes were suspiciously bright. “You sure about that? I’ll be pretty useless with this arm for a while.”
“I’m sure about us.” Noah pressed his forehead to Luke’s. “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything. And if I’m all-in with us, which includes nursing you back to health. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to have help while you only have one good arm?”
“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?” Luke’s smile was brighter than the hospital fluorescents. “But I’m not spending the night here. I won’t get any damned sleep with people coming in and out, waking me up just to make sure I’m okay.”
