Pins and Needles by A.J. Thomas

Author:A.J. Thomas [Thomas, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63533-687-0
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

PRETENDING TO sleep was probably the lamest way imaginable to avoid dealing with Nate, but Sean had chosen his path and he was sticking to it. His commitment was so firm that he might have actually fallen asleep. Since the constant hushed chaos in the hospital hallway never actually changed, it was hard to tell. Every time he cracked his eyes open, Nate was still there beside him. Sometimes he could hear Nate’s voice, sometimes Nate humming quietly while he clacked away on a laptop keyboard.

“How long has he been asleep?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Barely two hours,” Nate almost whispered.

“I got an extra coffee for him, just in case he was awake.”

“Thank you. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. He wanted to stay until Tonya’s parents got here, but I figured there was no harm in letting him sleep.”

“What about you?” the voice asked.

“What about me?”

“Sleep. That magical thing regular human beings need. You two were stuck at the police station until almost one o’clock, and you’ve been here since then. The sun’s coming up already. Are you planning on getting any sleep?”

“No,” Nate said. “I’ve got a hearing at ten this morning.”

“The day before Thanksgiving? And you think you’ll convince a judge or jury of anything with the state you’re in?”

“It’s an adoption, and all the parties have already consented. I think I’ve got it under control. And I moved the hearing up for the holiday, to make it special. But I need to drop you off back at the house, don’t I?”

“No. Mom and Cheryl are waiting outside.”

Beside him, Nate shifted. “Is Cheryl mad?”

“Furious, why?”

“I’m sorry. Apologize to her for me?” Nate asked. “With Matt showing up today, I doubt I’ll get the chance.”

“Nate, do you really think I’d marry a woman who’d be angry about me spending the night playing chauffer when my little brother needs me?”

Nate didn’t answer. Sean was damn tempted to open his eyes so he could see Nate’s expression.

“No, she’s offended on your behalf. Mom offered to show her all those embarrassing pictures of me as a kid, and while they were going through the old albums, they started talking about why there weren’t any pictures of you.”

“It’s not like she threw them all out. They’re all in a shoe box somewhere.”

“You don’t have to defend her. I warned Cheryl about our folks, but she thought I was exaggerating.”

“Mom and Dad are just trying to balance everything,” Nate insisted. “They don’t want Matt’s kids to ask a lot of questions that’ll just make everybody upset. They still fed me, housed me, and paid for college. If I got hurt, they’d still be here for me. And you know as well as I do that Mom’s going to show up at my door with eight bags of leftovers when she pretends to go shopping on Black Friday, so the only thing I’m really deprived of is listening to Matt spend an entire hour saying grace.”

Sean couldn’t help chuckling.

“You’re awake again?”

A warm hand settled on his forearm and rubbed back and forth.

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