“Hand those over and I’ll put them in the sink before showin’ yer where the bathroom is for yer shower.” He wiggled his fingers. This wasn’t a fight I was going to win, so I reluctantly handed them over and waited while he took them to the sink. He briefly ran water over them and grabbed a dishtowel before coming back to join me. “Ready for that shower?”
“Definitely but let me get some clean clothes.” I moved over to one of my boxes and squatted to search for a clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Patsy patiently waited for me, then led me down the hallway to the bedroom where he showed me to the bathroom, switching on the light. The room was small but clean with a bathtub which Patsy plugged and began to fill with water. He walked over, stopped in front of me, and craned his neck to look up at my face.
“I’ve run yer a bath because it’ll be easier to manage than a shower with the bandage. Ya won’t be wantin’ to get it wet.” He waved at my arm and I remembered the ACE bandage the ER nurse had wrapped around the gauze underneath.
“That’s thoughtful. Thank you, Patsy.”
“All part of the service here at the House of Good,” he said with a smirk before opening a cabinet and pulling out a fluffy, white towel. He handed it to me. “There’s shampoo and conditioner on the lip of the tub and I’ll be right outside the door in case ya need me for anythin’.” He chewed his lower lip,looking suddenly nervous. “I’m more than happy to help ya out of yer shirt, Wes.”
I sighed with relief. “That’s really helpful. I was worried about getting it over my head since it hurts to lift my left arm.”
“No doubt,” he agreed. “Here…let me help.”
I nodded, then shrugged out of my jacket and allowed him to pull the shirt gently over my head, bending at the waist to make it easier on both of us. I couldn’t help but notice the way his gaze raked over my hairy chest, making my nipples hard from the scrutiny he was covertly giving them as he tried not to be obvious. I didn’t smile outwardly, but inside, I was giving myself a slap on the back. I felt myself blushing as he looked at me but realized that perhaps having Patsy Good look at my body with appreciation, was the best thing that had happened to me in days.
Chapter Six
PATSY
After Wes closed the door to my bathroom, I walked back to the lounge, determined to tidy up a bit as he got cleaned up. The last thing on my mind when I’d left the house last night had been the chance of bringing a man home for a sleepover. As I picked up the empty pizza box and coke can, I realized just how exhausted I was. I did the dishes and straightened up, giving my lounge the once over as I thought about what a shambles my place was.
My mam wouldn’t’ve been happy about my messiness and would’ve given me a right bollocking had she laid eyes on the place in its current pitiful state. She’d have been mortified if she’d known I’d invited a guest to stay in anything other than pristine surroundings.
Even with ten kids, my mam had somehow miraculously made sure our hands were clean and our hair brushed before any of us sat down at the table for tea. She cooked, baked, and made sure her babies were as squeaky clean as the house.
I couldn’t remember the house being anything other than presentable when my da brought Father Michael home for tea without telling her, which he often did. It always earned him a swift talking to once the priest had eaten his fill of her cooking and departed for the rectory. But my da seemed to like her lectures since he got ‘em often enough.
I was changing the sheets on my bed when I heard the bathtub draining through the door. I rushed through the job of putting clean sheets on and was pulling a fresh pillowcase ontoa pillow when I heard the bathroom door open. I looked up just in time to see Wes coming out of the steamy room wearing only a towel slung low around his hips. My mouth went dry as he came into the bedroom, stopping in his tracks when he saw me. I tried not to drool when I caught sight of his narrow hips and broad chest covered with silky, brown hair trailing down and disappearing beneath the towel. I had the overwhelming urge to remove the offending object and ogle the most delectable man I’d ever seen in all his naked glory.
I’d always had a thing for big men and Weston Chaudry filled the bill to perfection. The scent of the spicy, cinnamon apple bodywash I bought at my favorite crafter’s booth in the Farmer’s market wafted across the room as soon as he stepped into it. My mouth began to water as I got a good look at him. Wes might not have been every gay man’s fantasy. He had a slightly softer tummy, missing the abs that looked cut like all those gym bunnies in porno films, but to me, he was perfection. The hair on his body, the full beard which he’d neatly trimmed, and his height and breadth of shoulder, made him look like a living, breathing bear of a man. And…he was standing in my bedroom with an unspoken promise to give me wanking material for weeks. I swallowed hard as our eyes met.
“Oh, shit,” he said. “I’m so sorry I took so long, Patsy. You probably think I have no manners at all but between the food and the pain pills, once I got in the tub, it was hard to drag my tired butt out.”
I watched raptly as he rubbed his palm up and over his belly slowly. I followed the action with my gaze then suddenly realized I was making a humming sound. I stopped, snapping my gaze up to meet his eyes. He wore the tiniest of smirks.FECK!I’d been caught staring…and probably slobbering as well.
I cleared my throat, broke eye contact, and tossed the pillow into its place before making my way around the footboard to him. “Nonsense.” I offered him my best smile as I struggled desperately to keep my eyes off his pebbled nipples and on his face. “I’m glad ya took yer time. It gave me a chance to clean up a wee bit and change the sheets, so you’ll have a nice clean place to lay yer head tonight.”
He frowned. “Patsy, you don’t have to sleep on the couch. I swear the last thing I want is to kick you out of your own bed. Please, let me crash on the sofa. It’s just nice to have a safe place to lay my head for the night. Honestly, I shouldn’t have even taken you up on your offer. The only reason I did was because you insisted. I’ll be out of your hair first thing in the morning.”
It was my turn to frown as I reached out and put two fingers over his lips. “I won’t be hearing of it, Wes. I want ya to stay as long as ya want. My house is yer house. I’d be some kind of a bastard if I made ya go back to the streets.”
“Oh, no, Patsy. I can’t stay indefinitely. I promise to be out tomorrow.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m guessin’ ya haven’t met many Irishmen, have ya?”
“Irishmen?” He looked confused.
“It’s said we can be more stubborn than a Scots lad. Ask anyone on my team.”
“Your Tac Team,” he stated.
I nodded, grinning. “Yeah, my Tac Team. There are seven other men out there who’d swear I’m the most stubborn creature. You’ll see.” When he opened his mouth to say something, I held up both hands in a placating manner. “At thevery least, stay until you’ve started yer new job and saved up enough money to rent a place of yer own.”
“Oh no, Patsy, I—”
“I won’t be takin’ no for an answer, Wes. It’ll be nice havin’ someone other than my brothers to give me grief. Besides, where else would ya stay? Sorry to say, ya can’t go back to that car of yers. ‘Tis a crime scene even if ya didn’t let me report it, and if that wasn’t bad enough, yer license is missin’.”
He looked pained at the reminder of everything he’d lost. “Patsy, do you think there’s a significance in my missing license? It had the address of my old apartment on it, but it’s been more than a year since I gave it up to move home to help with my mom’s care.”
