Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 103008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
His gaze flicks behind me to Harley.
“Hey, Dad, this is Harley. He’s my, uh …” Assignment. Charge. I’m his bodyguard. “Friend.”
Now, that feels like a lie. Any of my other options still would have been the truth, but I hate putting that professional barrier between Harley and me when we’re so much more.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Harley says.
Dad’s fingers flex, indicating he wants to tell me something.
I take my seat next to his bed and grab hold of his hand.
He squeezes a sequence of dashes and dots, and immediately I’m pissed off, but I can’t help laughing anyway.
“What?” Harley asks.
“I am never going to hear the end of this.”
“What did he say?”
“He did two ones. Eleven.”
Harley’s smile is so fucking beautiful.
I hate him right now.
I hate even more I can’t do anything about it.
“Your dad knows who I am? Your dad, Brix? Come on.”
“Shut up,” I mumble and turn to Dad. “First day I met this guy, I didn’t know who he was, so I may have tackled him. Just a little. I thought he was a bad guy.”
“A little. How can you tackle someone a little?” Harley exaggeratedly rolls his eyes.
Dad’s lips twitch again.
“Thanks, Dad. No, really. Thanks. If I thought I got it bad enough already, it’s nothing compared to what I’ll get now.”
His hand starts squeezing again.
Y-O-U-R-E W-E-L
Because it takes so much energy to get the letters out, I try to guess what he’s going to say before he’s finished. This one is fairly straightforward.
“Wow,” I say dryly. “Really lovely.”
“What did he say?” Harley asks.
“He said You’re welcome.”
Harley rubs his chin. “Who would’ve thought you could be sarcastic in Morse code?”
“Dad is an expert.”
I know it’s medically impossible, but I swear Dad is the brightest he’s ever been since his stroke.
He grips my hand tight and squeezes a sequence into my hand that makes me stiffen. I know what he’s trying to say long before he gets to the end, but I’m in too much shock to stop him. It’s a long series of dashes and dots, but without a doubt, he knows.
B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D?
My throat dries, and I stare at my dad with pleading eyes. I wish I could know exactly what he’s thinking right now.
Y-E-S? Dad asks.
“What’s he saying?” Harley asks.
“He, uh, he …” I glance between Dad and Harley. I swallow hard. “He asked if you were my boyfriend.”
“Oh. I thought—”
“Have you always known?” I ask Dad.
D-U-H
I burst out laughing.
Harley looks at me expectantly.
“He said Duh.” I turn to Dad. “Since when?”
B-A-S-I-C
“Since I was eighteen?” I exclaim.
I can tell he wants to say more. He wants to explain but can’t. Frustration mars the corner of his eye as he scrunches the few muscles in his face that work.
This is what I hate. He can only get single words or basic phrases out.
“Dad, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”
W-A-N-T T-O
“Are you okay with it?” I hold my breath. “I tried to tell you, but I didn’t know how, and you’ve always been so … military, I thought—”
Y-O-U H-A-P-P-Y?
“Very happy.”
L-O-V-E Y-O-U
“I love you too.”
There’s a lot of reading between the lines with Dad. All he wants is for me to be happy. I’d be happier if I could do more for him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Harley
The last seed of doubt disappears as I watch Brix with his father. I’ve always known my badass with his hard body and soldier haircut was a big softy on the inside, but I might’ve underestimated how caring and amazing he is.
He sits by his dad’s bed until my stomach grumbles for the breakfast we never ate, and now it’s coming up on lunchtime. If I wasn’t so hungry, I’d stay here all day and admire their father-son relationship.
I never had that growing up, but I also never thought I’d missed out on anything until I saw these two together.
Communication between them is really slow, but Brix never shows his frustration. He’s patient and kind, and he never stops smiling at his dad.
I don’t completely understand why he doesn’t talk about his dad to any of the other guys on his team, but I do understand being trapped in a position or in a situation you feel you can’t get out of. Asking for help isn’t an option because pride, fear, and insecurity get in the way.
I want to take that all away for Brix. Just like he does for me.
He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel wanted. And not in the way my fans do.
He knows I’m a workaholic mess and doesn’t care.
He gets it.
He gets me.
“We should go,” Brix says to his dad. “I have to make sure my boyfriend gets fed and all.” He stands. “I’ll come back and visit again soon, okay?”
It breaks my heart the man in the bed can’t respond.
We’re still a good two hours away from the ranch, but with some drive-thru burgers we pick up from a place right near the care facility, we’re silent for a good half hour of it.