If Only for Today by Gabbi Grey

Author:Gabbi Grey [Grey, Gabbi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Deerbourne Inn; sweet; m/m romance; gay romance; small town; animals; damaged hero; contemporary romance; romantic
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2021-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Xander

Deerbourne Inn didn’t have internet in the guest rooms, so Xander used his unlimited data and pulled up Jared’s website. Well, first he did a quick view of the inn’s website. Excellent quality—not that he’d expected anything less. But Jared’s personal page of his photographs? The tiny phone screen didn’t do the pictures justice, but he could still admire them. Shot after shot. Nature in all her beauty. He’d have a tough time picking a favorite. That being said, the vista of Sugar Bush Mountain with her snowcapped peak was spectacular. And the sunset photo called to his innate love of beauty. Damn, he hadn’t spent enough time enjoying nature.

And now it was too late.

Well, he could at least enjoy Jared’s work. The man had talent. Wasted, really, working as a clerk at the inn. Yet Jared belonged here. He was part of the fabric of the place—part of the charm.

Today had been a revelation. Jared had a wicked sense of humor but also a deep well of emotion. When he showed such empathy at that clinic, Xander had nearly broken. And the tenderness after his crying session? Most men would’ve ignored the tears. Or maybe even ridiculed him. Not Jared. He’d understood. Maybe not the real reason for the pain, but he’d recognized it and acted instinctively. That urge to soothe and comfort. A few times Xander’d witnessed people in such distress that he had to fight the urge to help. The children still haunted him. Those times, he’d witnessed pain but had to shelve the empathy to do his job. The job that’d meant everything. The job that now brought him no solace.

He frowned. Huh, no option to buy any of Jared’s prints. No buy now button anywhere. Obviously, he wouldn’t buy them for himself but for a couple of people in his life back home to whom he could gift them. Something to remember him by.

You’re getting maudlin.

I have the right.

Perhaps he did, but that didn’t make the emotion productive. He glanced at his watch. The witching hour had come and gone. Sleep beckoned, but the computer summoned louder. A siren’s song, begging him to tap out another chapter or two.

In truth, he was a weak man. Closing his browser, he then attached his cell phone to its charger and rose to sit in the uncomfortable chair. One chapter, he promised himself, just one.

He put his ass in the chair, but the words didn’t come. Should he struggle and push through or take a break? What time was it? Ugh, ten minutes later than the last time he’d checked.

After pushing up from his seat, he hesitated, then grabbed his coat and phone, pocketed the key, and headed out the door. As silently as possible, he descended the stairs and exited the inn, mindful of those sound asleep. Granted it was only ten o’clock on a Saturday night, but Willow Springs was no New York. Music came from the tavern Jared had pointed to, and although Xander longed for a beer, that wasn’t going to happen.

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