Chapter 2

Reed

Iwas an absolute idiot. If I were smart, I would have gone home, contacted my insurance company, and called it a day. Instead, I came to the hospital to see the man who drove into the back of my truck, and now I was eavesdropping as he was harangued by people who had yet to even ask if he was okay.

He sounded so sad that it physically hurt me. The guy just wanted a damn Christmas tree, and somehow, he was too smart for it? What the hell did one have to do with the other? They kept saying motel, but he drove a decent car with on-call emergency services, which weren’t cheap. How down on his luck could he be? Listening to the couple—who I presumed to be his parents—bitch, I didn’t blame him for moving out. They reminded me of an aunt and uncle of mine with their kid. He wasn’t a kid anymore, but they sure as hell hadn’t stopped bitching at him.

When I peeked around the curtain, Jakob was zoned out, facing the wall. A little smile curved his lips. His pretty, pouty lips were the perfect shade of pink. His blond hair was a mess, but with the riot of curls, it was probably always that way. His eyes were closed, but I distinctly remembered their dark blue from the side of the road. Most of all, I remembered the cute reindeer lounging onesie he wore and the heartbreak in his voice at the state of his Christmas tree. He’d been on a mission that was thwarted two steps from the finish line.

The staff started giving me odd looks, and I couldn’t blame them. Lurking outside a treatment cubicle wasn’t a good look for anyone, let alone a doctor who worked in the damn department. Jakob’s doctor was great, but since I was there and had been in the accident too, I might as well check on him. I gently swept the curtain aside, stepped into the room, and hoped he’d be all right with me being there. Strictly professional, of course.

“Hey, Jakob.”

“Oh, hi…Reed,”

Jakob answered with a beaming smile.

He hadn’t been smiling on the side of the road, but I’d suspected he was a sunny one. Who wouldn’t be while wearing a reindeer onesie? He still wore it, and in the harsh lights, I could see it was wrinkled and dirty, likely from his Christmas tree adventure. More than anything, he looked absolutely exhausted. This boy needed a bath and some cuddle time to soothe away his shitty day.

“I was in the neighborhood and decided to pop by to check on you.”

“How do you know my son?”

his dad asked with a suspicious glare. “He doesn’t have any friends.”

Jakob’s cheeks heated to bright red. “Dad!”

“Honey, it’s true. It’s not your fault the other children would rather not spend time with someone so much more advanced than them. Goodness, even your brothers couldn’t handle your brain, and they were related to you,”

his mom added while she flitted around the room, straightening everything and nothing.

I could see the humiliation in his expression and wished I knew how to help him, but I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t worsen things.

“I was the one who got in Jakob’s way today. If I hadn’t been there, it would have been fine.”

Jakob giggled from the bed, lightening the mood a bit. “So I guess I’m here to apologize.”

“I don’t think that’s how accidents work,”

Jakob suggested.

He still looked tired, but his eyes twinkled just a tiny bit, so good job, me. Pride swelled in my chest that I’d made him feel a bit better. That was until his family intruded again.

“Oh, so you don’t know each other. That makes more sense,”

his mom murmured as she stared into her phone. “We don’t want to keep you from whatever you’re doing,”

She dismissed me entirely. “Jakob, what’s your room number? I’ll call to check you out.”

She looked up expectantly, her fingers poised over a phone number on the screen.

“Actually, we do know each other. I was there because…”

Shit. “Because we were getting his stuff. Jakob’s my new roommate.”

Jakob’s eyes darted to my own, and the message was unmistakable. “Yeah, he’d gotten the Christmas tree, and we were meeting to get the rest of his stuff from the—”

“Hotel,”

Jakob interrupted to add.

“And how do you two know each other?”

his dad asked with obvious suspicion.

“I work in the ER here at the hospital,”

I said with a bright smile to Jakob, which he returned. His parents’ glares were no match for his cheer. “I advertised for a roommate, and Jakob needed a room. It worked out great.”

“Then why did you move into a motel, Jakob?”

His mother’s arched brow spoke volumes.

“Because the room wasn’t ready, but now it is. Problem solved.”

My smile was just this side of predatory.

“Oh! There’s a crowd in here, and I need a little room.”

Jakob’s doctor swept back into the room with a flourish. “Oh hey, Dr. Matthews, I wondered when you’d show up since Jakob’s your new roomie.”

The beatific smile Dr. Sullivan gave Jakob’s folks could have melted butter. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you two”—he nodded to Jakob’s parents—“to wait out in the lobby.”

Without giving them a chance to argue, he ushered them out of the treatment area and directed them down the hall.

When he returned, the doctor was finally able to give his update. “The x-ray results show nothing is broken. Your fingers are jammed, but only time and a wrap can fix that.”

“Uh, Doctor, how did you know about the roommate thing?”

Jakob asked, and honestly, I was a little curious myself.

“I was double-checking the notes outside. Dr. Matthews here is a terrible liar, which is why we all like playing poker with him. It sounded like you two were floundering in here trying to get them out.”

The doctor signed off on the chart, said the nurse would be in to review the instructions, and left almost as quickly as he’d come in.

Now that we were alone, I wasn’t sure what to say, but an apology seemed a good place to start. It hadn’t been my place to interfere, and I shouldn’t have overstepped that boundary. “Jakob, I apologize for interfering. I should have stayed out of it.”

“Oh, it’s all right,”

he answered brightly. “It works out well that you’re looking for a roommate. The hotel is fine, and I like pancakes for breakfast every day, but I’m very tired of takeout and microwave meals. Does your room have furniture, or will I need to get some?”

Jakob looked at me with wide, innocent eyes and waited for my answer.

If I had any sense, I would quickly and firmly tell him I’d only been trying to help him out of an awkward position with his parents and there wasn’t a room waiting for him at my house. My little house wasn’t set up for guests, and I hadn’t lived with anyone since I graduated from college and moved out of the dorms. Even with people I’d dated over the years, I’d never taken the step to share my home. It was my sanctuary. I was a Daddy, but I preferred my caretaking to be part-time and at a club. I’d never met anyone I wanted to take into my life as my very own little. Everything about Jakob screamed he was a boy, and not the kind who would be fine with a simple hookup.

“There’s some furniture in there, but if it’s not your style, we can move it out.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I have nothing besides my clothes and, uh, a couple of other things, but no furniture, so whatever is there will be great.”

Jakob plucked at the sheet covering the hospital bed. “Are you sure? I’m not great at reading the room, and if I’ve misunderstood, please tell me.”

There it was. The perfect opportunity to correct the misunderstanding and walk away. No one was more surprised than me when I said, “You’re a silly one, Jakob. Of course you read the room correctly.”

His smile was back and quickly becoming a beacon for me. His smiles were sweet and flirty, and damned if I wasn’t willing to do just about anything for them. “How do you want to handle your parents? They’re probably still in the waiting room.”

“I just want to skip out and not deal with them.”

He sighed. “Is that an option?”

“Well, I’m parked in the physician’s lot. We could use the employee exit, and you can text that we’re gone. Are you sure you don’t want to see them though?”

The last thing I wanted was to contribute to a rift between them, although, at this point, it seemed more like a gulf.