by Sasha Goldie
"Not like you haven't seen me naked before."
"It's different now, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable," I said, holding out the small towel. "I'll turn my back. You don’t have your shower chair or the rails to help you sit yourself down into the tub. Cover yourself with this and I'll help you lower into the tub."
He didn't argue, thankfully. Harry watched us with interest from the doorway. Tyler’s towel fell halfway down as I held his arm and helped him lower himself. I kept my eyes on the side of the tub and never even acknowledged how much the idea of him being naked made my heart race.
Pulling the curtain, I left him to his own devices. I couldn't handle washing him. "Stay," I ordered Harry.
Meandering around the apartment, I was pleased to see it was clean and tidy. Most of the things weren't Tyler's, but leftovers of Ian and Nate, and maybe even Max. He'd moved in with Carson about the time Tyler had his auction for Harry.
What a great community this was. I wished my parents had let me go to the public school. I would've known most of these people much earlier in life. They were a tight-knit community. A family.
Moving to the kitchen, I found a bottle of water and sipped it as I looked out the kitchen window into the back yard. I needed to walk Harry.
Speak of the doggie, a crash followed by his bark startled me, and it didn't stop. Dropping the bottle of water into the sink, I ran full tilt to the bathroom to find Tyler lying on the floor, twitching, while Harry barked and tried to turn in circles in the small bathroom.
"Shit," I hissed, rolling Tyler over. "Harry," I commanded. "Out." He listened, exiting the room, but continuing his seizure warning in the hall. He must not have been able to smell the coming seizure with Tyler in the shower.
Counting in my head, I monitored how much time passed as I covered Tyler with a towel. Two solid minutes ticked by before Tyler's eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at me. "I haven't had one in so long."
"Probably the exhaustion." I snatched another towel out of the cabinet beside us and blotted his face and hair. "It was too much."
He nodded and closed his eyes, breathing deep.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I just got off a roller coaster and my body didn't like the ride." He lifted his head and looked around. "Help me up, please. I want to go to bed."
I would've rather he stayed there a while then went to the hospital, but I knew it was a futile argument. "For the record, I think you should go see a doctor."
"I'll call and make an appointment," he said as I steadied him on his feet. "But for now, bed."
That was probably a good call. He needed rest more than anything. I held his arm at his pulse point, silently counting and calculating in my head. If he'd let me take his blood pressure, it would make me very happy. "Did you happen to bring your blood pressure cuff with you from the other apartment?" I asked.
"Nope. And I'm fine. I'm tired and weak, but otherwise I feel good."
"Okay. I'll stop worrying."
"Thanks," he said.
I put a little pressure on his shoulder so he'd sit on the bed, then I turned toward the dresser. "Where's your underwear?"
"Far left."
I knew he preferred to sleep in just his undies, so I handed them to him and turned around. "Let me know if you want help standing up."
He didn't reply for a good minute. "Done." He stood and walked to the side of the bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in. Harry jumped up and twirled around three times, settling in against Tyler's butt.
"That's new," I commented, smiling at Harry.
"Yeah, I'm a bad dog-dad. I let him do pretty much whatever he wants."
"Harry, need to go out?" Harry perked back up and jumped off the bed. "Be right back."
"Patrick," Tyler called as I turned to leave the room. "Stay with me?"
"Sure. I'll let him out then come sit beside you."
He was already falling asleep. His eyes closed and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips.
"Come on, boy."
I jogged down the stairs, then out the front of the shop. The way the building was laid out, there was no back door.
We walked around the building, and Harry ran through the back yard, letting of some of the steam he'd built up sitting around the diner.
Standing there as long as I could stand it, I finally called him back in. "Sorry, dude, I'm tired. You ready?"
He chuffed and we went back up. I fed and watered him, then checked on Tyler. He was conked, rolled onto his back with his mouth hanging open.
He was absolutely gorgeous, even with a goofy sleep expression on his face.
I couldn't stay. He needed time, and space, to come to terms with our new relationship. He wasn't likely to have another seizure soon on top of the last, it wasn't his typical pattern. I was fairly safe to leave him and go home to sleep.
"Come on, Harry," I whispered at the door. The dog ran into the bedroom and lay down with Tyler again. "Good boy." I pulled the door shut then went to the kitchen to call the hospital and get an update on Duke.
Luckily, he'd been moved to my floor and Jeremy was on. He gave me all the details and told me I'd likely be assigned to Duke tonight. After a heartfelt thanks, he transferred me to Duke’s room. Daisy answered.
“Daisy, it’s Patrick.”
“Hello, darling,” she said in a hushed tone. Duke must’ve been sleeping. “Thank you for helping at the diner this morning.”
“It was really no problem. I have a favor to ask.”
“Name it.”
“Can you try to get someone to run the kitchen in the morning? It’s still too much for Tyler. I’ll come run the front again, and he can go between the two, helping.”
“Of course. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I can get my high school helper to come work. He wants all the hours I’ll give him.”
It took several minutes to get off the phone with her. She wouldn’t stop thanking me.
I wrote Tyler a long, sincere note, and left. Time to give him the space he needed. It felt good to leave, knowing it wasn't forever. Hell, it wasn't even for a solid day. I'd see him after my shift, at the diner. I smiled all the way home.
19
Tyler
Tyler,
I'm totally in awe of you. You are the strongest person I've ever known. That's why I didn't stay. I'm so grateful you've forgiven me, and I don't want to push things too fast or overwhelm you. Rest, relax, and I'll see you in the morning to work the breakfast shift again.
I called the hospital and talked to a friend. Your uncle is doing well. I thought you'd like to hear it from a friend that he should be okay. He's a stubborn, strong man. Now I know where you get it from.
Yours,
Patrick
My heart melted into a bubbling mess when I read the note. He made a horrible decision before, but he'd obviously learned. He was giving me space to think and breathe and not crowding me.
And he'd called to check on Duke for me. It was nice having an insider's word that Duke would be okay.
After checking the time, I called Corey and Brady's house to see if they were there. I wanted an update on my stalker, and to see what Corey thought about Patrick.
Corey answered. "Hey, no update," he said immediately. He must've looked at the caller ID and recognized Ian's apartment number.
"I was afraid of that. They don't know enough to search for this guy," I lamented. "He's too slippery. I bet he's using different cars every time."
"And we get so many tourists here, we're used to seeing strangers and strange cars driving up and down Main."
"That's true. Maybe I should go stay in a neighborhood. At least there, we'd know if a car belonged in the area or not."
Corey hummed. "I'm going to run that by Brady. No reason you and Harry couldn't come stay in his cottage, where I stayed when I first got to Three Lakes."
"Patrick invited me to stay with him, too."
"That might be better. If the stalker figures out that you're
staying with a cop, he might slow his roll. While we don't want you hurt, we do want to catch him. I'll talk to Brady about it. He should be home from work any minute."
"Thanks. Let me tell you what Patrick did," I said. After reading him the note and telling him about my seizure and how he handled himself with my nude body, Corey was nearly squeaking.
"I've thought for weeks that you should've forgiven him sooner, you know that. Life is short. Why wait?"
"Well, I do have a psycho stalker, and that's a problem."
"Eh, we've all got baggage."
Laughing at his definition of baggage, I shook my head and talked with my hands, waving them around the apartment as if he could see me. "Corey, I wish I'd been awake to see the progression of you and Brady. I'd bet my next paycheck it wasn't as easy as you want to make me and Patrick."
"Exactly. I learned from my mistakes and I'm trying to keep you from making similar ones."
"Well, I think you've convinced me. I want him. I care about him."
"Then have him."
With a chuckle, I told him goodbye and immediately dialed Patrick's number. He didn't answer, but hopefully he was sound asleep, resting for his night shift.
"Patrick, it's Tyler. I don't think I want space. I want you. Will you come over? Before your shift tonight if you have time and don't sleep too late. I'd like to see you."
After I hung up, I realized poor Harry was dancing around. He needed to go. Remembering Patrick's advice about cardio, I decided to walk Harry instead of letting him run around the back yard. I felt pretty good after a long nap, and with any luck, Patrick would be over soon. A walk would do me good.
We went slowly down the stairs, then I started down Main Street with Harry--after giving him a chance to relieve himself in the side yard and putting it in a doggie bag. Ew. We passed several people we knew, and all of them asked about Duke. I had to stop so many times, I wasn't sure the walk was doing any good.
Carson walked out of the grocery store as Harry and I passed the front door. I planned to turn back there and head home. It wasn't a very long walk, but it was enough considering the morning I'd had. I was still fairly worn out.
"Hey, Tyler," he said excitedly. "It's so good to see you and Harry out and about."
"I ate dinner at your place less than a week ago," I said with a fond smile. He'd been on Corey's list of people to make sure I stayed busy after Patrick left.
"Still, you look..." He paused and studied me. "Actually, you look exhausted."
"After sitting half the night at the hospital, I ran the kitchen for the morning shift. Just wore myself out. I'm okay, though."
"If you say so. Can I give you a lift home?"
"No, thanks. Patrick says I need the cardio."
His face lit up. "Did you finally forgive him?"
Nodding, I smiled. "I'm pretty happy about it."
"When?" he asked pointedly.
"What do you mean?"
"When did you forgive him?"
"Well, this morning, but it's been coming for a while." I narrowed my eyes on him. "Why?"
"No reason. I'll see you later."
"Carson." I used my bossiest voice. "Stop."
Harry and Carson both froze. "Turn."
Harry looked up at me, confused. That wasn't one of his commands. I scratched his head.
"Yeah?" Carson asked nervously.
"Why did you ask me that?"
His shoulders slumped. "We had a bet."
"We?"
"Me and Corey."
"And?"
Furrowing his brow, he stared at me. "How do you know?"
I wasn't born yesterday. "I always know. Who else?"
"Ian and Nate."
"And Brady and Max?"
"No, they told us we were jerks for doing it."
"How much was the pool?"
With another exaggerated sigh, he crossed his arms. "Does it matter?"
I arched an eyebrow.
"Fifty each."
Quick math in my head... "So the winner gets two hundred?"
"Well, one-fifty if you don't count their own buy-in as part of the winnings."
"Who won?" I tapped my foot for emphasis.
"I did." A small smile tipped the corner of his lips up. He was proud of himself. I wasn't actually mad at him, I would've done the same thing. A betting pool sounded just like me.
"I'll expect a nice gift out of that prize money." I smiled and relaxed my posture to show him I wasn't actually mad, and he burst out laughing.
"I thought I was going to have to grovel and beg your forgiveness," he chortled. "You're mean."
"I'll show you mean, at least I'm not making you give me all the prize money."
He waved at me and walked to his car, and Harry and I continued on our way.
As we passed the front of the diner, I looked in to see the place packed, but I knew Daisy had arranged workers, so I refused to worry about it.
Harry surprised me, stiffening and growling. I'd never heard him growl before, not even once. A man walked toward us on the sidewalk, away from Ian's shop--the direction we were going. I had to pull Harry's leash close, and hold him next to my body as the man passed. On the short side, he was stocky but looked muscular. His dark brown hair needed a good washing, as did his clothes.
He stared at me as he walked by. I stood still and kept Harry close. His growl turned into a snarl.
"Better control that dog," the man said in a gruff voice. I stood frozen until he turned into the grocery store parking lot, then I hightailed it for the diner. Snatching the phone from behind the counter, I waved Max over. He must've been working the front for Daisy. "See if you see a car pull out of the grocery store lot," I said as I dialed Brady's cell phone number. It went to voice mail. Damn it. Of course he didn't have service.
Hanging up, I then dialed the police station number. I had it memorized at this point. Martha answered. "Martha, I need a cop to the diner. Is Brady around?"
"He's about to walk out the door, hang on."
After a second, Brady's voice came over the line. "Tyler?"
"I think my stalker just passed me on the street. He walked into the grocery store parking lot and Max says he hasn't seen a car come out. He's probably still there. I don't think he had time to leave in the few seconds it took me to run inside and get Max to watch, but maybe."
"I'm coming."
I sat in a booth that gave me a good angle to see the grocery store lot's exit and waited. I saw Brady drive in, then I saw him drive out. Harry and I sat and waited another half hour before he came back. We went out to meet him. "He's gone," Brady said. "This sucker is slick. What did he look like?"
I described the man, and Brady kicked a rock in the lot, cussing. "It's John. I knew it."
"John is the man that ran over me?" I asked. I'd thought it might be possible, but hearing it said out loud was shocking. "Why?"
"I don't know, but I'd guess it was an accident."
"It happened before Corey came to Three Lakes, though."
"John was doing drug runs before he brought Corey through and left him at the gas station. I think he'd been cutting through town for months."
I shook my head. "I'm going to go lock myself up in my apartment and try not to worry."
"I'll walk you over."
He stayed with me until I disappeared up the shop stairs. "Call me if you need me. I'm headed home."
"Thanks, Brady," I said before shutting and locking the door.
What in the hell was I going to do? I sat on the couch and pulled the pepper spray out of the drawer, setting it on the table beside me. I'd better try to be prepared.
20
Patrick
Tyler's voicemail gave me freaking wings. I showered, but I only vaguely remember it. My teeth had been brushed, but I couldn't pinpoint when I'd actually done it. I was riding high. Tyler wanted me to come over before work, and he legitimately sounded happy to see me.
Stopping long enough to take in a deep brea
th and double check myself in the mirror, I smoothed my hair, straightened my scrub top, then ran out the door.
Hell, I didn't even make myself a lunch for work. I'd get something in the cafeteria. It was a little after five, and I had to be at work for the eleven-to-seven shift. I had almost five hours I could spend with Tyler.
The shop was already closed, so I had to knock on the outer door and hope he heard it. It took a few minutes to get his attention, but he finally opened his bedroom window and looked down. "Be right there," he called.
"Hurry," Tyler whispered when he opened the shop door. "Get in here." He locked the door behind me, pulling the shade down.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Why are you hiding?"
"My stalker walked past me on the street today." He headed up the stairs, where Harry stood waiting at the top. "Scared the shit out of me."
"How do you know?"
He explained Brady recognizing John's description. "The thing is, the more I think about it, the more I think he's staying nearby. He disappeared, Patrick, I mean, freaking poof. I don't see how he could've gotten a car out of that parking lot in the time I didn't have eyes on it."
"Where could he be staying? The woods behind Main Street go for miles without any houses. It eventually runs into that protected land, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, the conservation." He walked into the kitchen and checked the timer on the stove. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."
"I'm starving. I was going to offer to go get something."
"It's frozen lasagna, nothing special."
It was damn special to me. Being there with Tyler made it one of the most special meals of my life. "What are the police doing?"
"They're in an unmarked in the gas station parking lot, where they can see both the diner and shop. I'm supposed to turn my bedroom light on when it gets dark, and only turn it off if something happens." He sat at the kitchen table and ran his fingers through his hair.
"And if you can't get to the light?"
"I don't know what else they could do."
"They could come stay in here with you." Why would that be a bad thing? "There's a spare bedroom. They wouldn't even have to be up all night. Having someone here would be enough."