“Good deal. Then we’ll make it so.” He was going to give Mark something back, something important. Not because of some debt, but because that was what family did.
Period.
They stuck together. And Mitch was all over that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Hey. You’re awake. How you feeling?”
Cam had expected Mitch when he heard the knock at the bedroom door, but it was Mark. He was carrying a tray of something that smelled like heaven.
“Okay.” He croaked the word out, then winced as he tried to reach for the drink sitting on his nightstand. He just needed to remember not to make any sudden moves that would jostle his collarbone.
“Here, let me help you.” Mark set the tray down across his lap and then grabbed the drink, letting him suck some cool liquid out of the straw.
It was perfect, too. It was Sprite, and it tasted so good going down. The bubbles burning out some of the goo in the back of his throat.
“Better?” Mark asked, setting the drink aside.
“Yeah, much better thank you.” Cam could actually talk now. “Where’s Mitch?”
“He had to go take the girls to some Girl Scout thing. He said it would be cool if I hung out and helped you out if you neededit. Do you need to hit the head first?” Mark waved a hand at the tray on his lap as if to say, before you eat.
“Yeah, no, I don’t think I’ve got enough to drink for me to have to go pee yet. I’ll let you know.” Cam grinned, because what else was he supposed to do?
“Here, let me get you all set up.” Mark got the spoon where he could reach it and made sure he could get to the buttered bread. “I just kind of gave you a little bit of all the casseroles that were in the fridge. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect, man. I really appreciate it. You don’t have to hang out if you don’t want to.” Cam wasn’t sure he wanted Mark watching him try to struggle to eat.
“Mitch has threatened me with death if I let you hurt yourself. So you’re just gonna have to suck it up.”
Cam laughed even harder. “Ow, don’t do that. Don’t make me do that.”
“Hey, no worries.” Mark grinned back at him. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things without risking the kids listening in.”
Cam raised an eyebrow, half intrigued and half concerned. “What’s that?”
“Well, first of all, Mitch says you’re okay with it if I stay on past just the holidays. Is that true?”
Mitch had told him last night at bedtime about how bad Mark had had it in Denver. Nothing super personal, but he had hinted at some awful shit. “It’s totally true. This is your place, man, if you want to be here. However long you want to be here.” He met Mark’s gaze head-on and let him know he was serious. He meant it.
“Wow, okay.” Mark took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. “That’s super cool. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, man. I know what it’s like not to have some place to go and people to be with. I’ve always had my family, but Mitch is different, you know?”
“I do. Okay, cool. So, the other thing I wanted to talk to you about is your damn horse trailer.”
Cam frowned. “What’s wrong with the horse trailer?”
“Everything, man. It’s like a giant boat with no rudder. You attach it to the truck, and it’s just like pulling along a dead weight.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“Not only that, have you watched Mitch try to unload horses from that damn thing? Or load them, for that matter? This is ridiculous. Honestly. There are some hardcore improvements that could be made.”
Cam sort of stared at him. “Do you have any idea how much those sort of types of fancy-ass trailers cost? They cost a fortune. I don’t have a fortune, and if I did have a fortune, I would want to spend it on something that’s not a horse trailer.”
Mark shook his head. “But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. I could make some improvements. I know a machinist.”
