“Long meeting there,” Lucky prodded.
“It did go a little long.”
So not like Bo to withhold information. “And?”
“And what?” Bo scrunched his brow.
“What did Walter say?”
“Oh!” Tension drained out of Bo. “He offered me a chance to take time off for your surgery or work out of the Richmond office so I can be close.”
“What ya planning to do?” Lucky held his breath.
“Discuss it with you first. What would you like me to do?” Bo tilted his chair back, rubbing a bit of five o’clock shadow on his chin.
Come hold my hand?“What do you want to do?”
“I asked you first.”
“Yeah, but you’ll be the one hanging around a hospital all day.” Shit. Hospitals meant drugs. Drugs meant temptation. “Would that be a problem?”
“Not at all. If I take leave or vacation, I’ll be underfoot all the time. If I work, I might not be there when you need me.”
“Ah, you know me. I’m tougher than a pine knot. I’ll be fine.”Please, please come with me!Lucky’s fingernails dug into his palms from the tight fists he made.
Bo studied Lucky, from the top of this head to his feet, not even pausing at the good stuff. “You’re scared.”
“Am not.” Okay. Maybe a little. No need worrying Bo, though.
“Are too. And it’s okay to be scared.”
“I’m not scared of nothing.” The last time Lucky’d said those words they’d been true. Before Bo. Before Mexico. Before he’d had something to lose.
Bo slid his chair across the floor and stroked his fingers across Lucky’s cheek. Who gave a happy damn how anyone passing by might react? Those fingers needed to stay. They didn’t.
Bo stared into Lucky’s eyes. Lucky couldn’t have turned away if he’d tried. “Lucky, I’ve spent some time researching lately. The doctors in Richmond have stellar reputations. These are some of the best transplant surgeons alive. Nothing’s going wrong.”
“You forget. This is me we’re talking about. Life ain’t about to pass on a chance to hand me shit.” Payback. Karma. Whatever. If a remote chance existed of something going wrong, it would.
“You don’t have to do this. You can always say no.”
And let Charlotte and her boys down? Let down his parents, though they’d never know. “I can’t.”
A quick chin dip was all the nod Bo gave. “I know. But it’s killing me watching you worry so much. It’s going to be fine. Hey, I got you something.” He spun around and pulled an object out of his computer bag. “I meant this as your birthday present, but we got, um, distracted.”
Bo’s being there and baking a cake had been birthday present enough. Bright colors hung before Lucky’s eyes, taking a minute to come into focus—a miniature metal dragon on a keychain, scales changing from blue to green and back again in the light.
“My collection is too big for you to take on assignment, so I got you this little guy. He’ll watch over you when I’m not there. Sort of like the hummingbird totem you got me.” Which now hung from a chain around Bo’s neck. “You can take him with you to the hospital, for when I can’t be there.”
“Bo, I—”
Bo’s smile fell, and he dropped the hand holding the dragon into his lap. “I know. Sorry. I have my lame moments sometimes.”
Lucky plucked the dragon from Bo’s fingers. “Thanks. I’ll hang him from the bed rails.” He left his hand on Bo’s, and after a moment shifted the gift to his other hand and laced their fingers together.
Calm poured through the connection.
“Well, lookie—”
