Stay (11 page)

He finished putting things away, made some notes, told her to have a good day, and then left the room. Each footstep he took was heavy, knowing the older woman’s breathing wasn’t getting better. It was getting worse.

Wes clocked out, washed up, and then changed, putting the paper booties back on until he left the hospital. It hadn’t been something he worried about before. Hell, he used to go home in his scrubs. But just recently he started thinking about the fact that there were too many fucking germs to take home to Jessie. It was one of the downfalls of his job.

After tossing the covers for his shoes in an outside trashcan, he went straight for his vehicle. Being Wednesday, that meant Braden would have picked Jessie up from school and taken her home, so he didn’t have to grab her up at Lydia’s.

Just as his stomach growled, his phone rang. Braden lit up the screen. He hit talk. “Hey. Everything okay?”

“The Squirt is apparently dying of hunger. It just might kill her if she has to wait for you. She told me. And according to her, you’ll be pissed at me if I let her starve.”

“You said a bad word, Braden!” Jessie screeched in the background.

“Pissed is a bad word?” Braden asked.

“You said it again!”

“I was confirming!”

Wes’s car swerved a little he was laughing so hard. “Okay, kids, time to stop fighting,” Wes told them. Sometimes he wondered how the man could be almost thirty years old and still act like a kid. But then he went and said things like what he had the other night, for Wes to remember that Chelle wanted him to have Jessie, and he thought Braden had his shit together more than Wes did.

“Can I feed her? It will save you some time so you don’t have to stop and she’s right, I really don’t want to risk pissing you off.”

“Braden!” Jessie screamed.

Before they could get into it again, Wes interrupted, “If you want to, feel free. It’s not a big deal for me to stop though.” It’s not like the man didn’t do way more for Wes than he should.

“Nah, I got it. I’ll make you guys something. Be careful. The weather’s shitty out there.”

Wes wasn’t sure why that made him pause a second. “Yeah...yeah, I will. Thanks.” It was cool of Braden to say that.

He hung up the phone, grateful that Braden decided to cook because he did pick something up most Wednesdays. It was much easier than cooking so late, and he wasn’t the best cook, anyway.

The rest of the drive home went fairly quickly. When he walked in, Jock came running at him, his nose landing right in Wes’s crotch. “Good to see you, too.” He playfully pushed the dog’s head away before Jock ran back over and laid on the floor under the table, probably waiting for Jessie to drop food for him.

The scent of bacon hit him, both Braden and Jessie turning to look at him. “Hey.” He gave Braden a quick glance and the bastard winked at him. Wes rolled his eyes before planting a kiss on Jessie’s forehead. “What ya eating?”

“BTL’s.”

“BLT’s?” Wes confirmed.

“That’s what I said, silly.”

“Of course you did.”

“There’s food in the kitchen for you. All the stuffs there, you just gotta make your plate,” Braden told him before taking another bite of his food.

“Thanks.” Wes went into the kitchen and made his food. A few times, he glanced over his shoulder, to watch Braden and Jessie interact. She always laughed when Braden was around, laughed or scolded him for cursing, which was pretty hilarious when he thought about it.

Conflicting emotions tried to jerk him in too many different directions. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t cut off thoughts of the other night. Like Braden and he talked about. It was just sex. He could handle sex. But what would he do if they somehow caused problems for Jess? If he screwed it up like he often did, and Jessie lost someone who’d quickly become important to her? He wasn’t sure he could risk that.

Wes gave them another quick glance as he finished making his sandwich. Jessie threw a Cheetos at Braden, and damned if the man didn’t open his mouth and catch it.

“That’s not fair!” Jessie crossed her arms before Braden ruffled her curls.

“Want me to teach you how to do it?”

Of course she said yes, and of course Braden tossed Cheetos at her, trying to land them in her mouth. When Jessie missed, Jock didn’t.

Wes turned, leaning against the counter, and ate as he watched them play. No, he wouldn’t let something screw this up. Like Braden said, they were both adults. Braden knew Wes couldn’t deal with a relationship, and he doubted Braden would want one anyway. Why would he? He’d known from the first night he went home with Braden that what they did was a regular occurrence for him.

He turned to the sink to rinse his plate.

“You’re thinking too damn hard over here. Stop it before I spank you,” Braden whispered in his ear before moving away.

Wes’s skin warmed, remembering just how good the man was with his mouth. “Good luck trying that.”

Jessie asked if Braden could stay awhile, so he did. They played a couple games of Go Fish before Wes got Jessie ready for bed. She went easily, like she always did, and when he came out, Braden was finishing up the dishes.

Jesus, who the hell was this guy? He’d never known anyone like him before. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Braden shrugged. “Wasn’t a big deal. Wanna sit outside a bit before I go?”

It didn’t come as a surprise to Wes that he did.

“You’re frowning,” Braden said.

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“Do you enjoy arguing with people?” Wes asked. When he realized he now smiled, he tried to cover it.

Braden just nodded toward the door. “Have a drink with me, Wes.”

So he did. They were quiet as they each nursed a beer on the covered front porch.

Finally, when Wes’s was almost finished, he spoke. “Thanks for staying to play with her. I’m sure you had something else you could have been doing tonight.” Or someone.

“Nah. I think you’re rubbing off on me. I’m becoming a homebody. It’s pretty scary. I think Jock is getting depressed about it.”

Wes wondered how long it had been since Braden had gone out but didn’t ask. He had no business wanting to know.

“Is your real name Wesley?” Braden asked out of the blue.

“Yeah.”

“I like it. Can I call you Wesley?” he winked.

“Not if you expect me to answer.”  And then, because he realized what Braden was doing, he said, “What do you want to talk to me about? You’re trying to tease me into a good mood. I...” His stomach dropped out when he realized what it must be. “She’s not your responsibility. If you can’t watch her anymore, we’ll figure something out.”

“What? Are you kidding? She keeps me in line. My mouth is a million times better since she started busting my balls. I want to talk to you about Christmas. I know you’ve been worried, and I know Thanksgiving didn’t go well. I thought maybe...fuck, this sounds like more than I mean it to, but it’s nothing, okay? I just wanted to tell you, you guys are welcome to go home with me. I spend a few days with my family every year. We have a small football team, so there will be plenty of kids for Jess to play with. I thought...hell, I don’t know. I thought maybe a change of scenery might help.”

Wes concentrated on the feel of the cold bottle of beer in his hand. He let Braden’s words work through his head, making its way through
you’re fucking crazy
to
maybe it would be good for Jess...

“I think Jessie would have fun. They have a lot of property, and my mom is like Santa on crack. It might be a good distraction. That’s all this is,” Braden said.

Wes turned his way, saw the sincerity there, and it made some of the doubt start to drift away. “I’m not sure. Don’t know if that’s a good idea for her.” And he didn’t. Maybe taking her away from Lydia and the kids would make things worse.

“Okay.” Braden stood, hesitancy on his face. “Just wanted to put that out there. I better get going.” Jock scrambled to his feet, too.

Braden got all the way to the porch door before Wes said, “Thanks. I appreciate that, man.”

Braden stopped, turned, and smiled. “You can make it up to me sometime.” He winked, and then he was gone.

––––––––

A
few days later, Braden sat in his living room with Jock, flipping through the TV channels. There were plenty of sports on, so he went back and forth between games, trying to get into any of them.

He got up, grabbed some chips, ate a handful, but then put the bag up. Afterward, he put his jacket on to take Jock out, but the damn dog just went pee and then ran back for the house. It wasn’t
that
cold out.

Braden tossed a load of laundry in the washing machine and decided right then and there that he needed to get out of the house. If he washed clothes when he still had a week’s worth left, he definitely had a problem.

He went to his room and flopped onto his bed before dialing up Wes. If Braden needed to get out, Wes definitely did. He doubted that man had done much of anything since the night they’d met and gone home together months ago.

Wes answered with a, “Hello.”

“I was sitting here thinking.”

“Dangerous of you.”

He almost mentioned the fact that Wes joked around with him without being prompted but didn’t want to ruin it. “Ha ha, smart guy.” Braden chuckled. “But I was thinking you’ve never experienced the good time that is going out with Braden Roth. I mean, the night we met there was too much drama between you, Noah and Cooper for you to get the full experience. I’m a good time. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you.” He petted Jock’s head when the dog laid it on his stomach.

“Oh wow. A night out with Braden Roth? I’ve heard they’re considering making those a national event. It’s heartbreaking that I have to miss it,” Wes teased.

Why didn’t that answer surprise him? He scratched behind Jock’s ear, feeling bummed all of a sudden. “Go out with me, Wes. We’ll call Noah and Coop and have them go, too. I’ll kick your ass in a few games of pool. We can check out the bar that used to be Rowdies. I can’t remember what it’s called now. The new owner just opened her back up. It’s opening weekend, actually. I heard they have dollar beers.”

“Braden—”

“I’m driving Jock crazy. He’s practically shoving my ass out the door. I’m bored. I haven’t gone out in too long.”

There was a pause, and then Wes said, “No one’s keeping you from going out. I told you if watching Jessie interferes then you didn’t have to do it.”

Braden groaned. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun once in a while. It’s okay to go out. You know Lydia wouldn’t mind watching her.”

“Not your call, man. Lydia already helps me watch her during the week. She has her own kids. It’s not right to push Jessie off on her on the weekends, too.”

He closed his eyes, trying not to get too annoyed. He just wanted Wes to have a good time. What was so wrong with that? “That’s not what it is and you know it. I’m not asking you on a date. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and get past your defenses, Wes. Christ, I want to go have a fucking beer and hang out with a friend. Stop using Jessie as an excuse.”

“Fuck you, Braden. Did you ever think maybe today was a bad day for her? Not everything is about you.”

The line went dead. Braden struggled not to throw his phone across the room. He hadn’t even thought of that.

Open mouth, insert foot.

***

“W
hat do you guys think of the place?” The bartender crossed his arms, his eyes going from Coop, to Noah, then Braden. He waited for Braden to reply.

Braden looked around the building. They’d obviously done a lot of remodeling. Everything was brand new, modern, and the place was packed as hell. A band played up front, the dance floor busy. They’d doubled the amount of pool tables, and he didn’t get a splinter when he sat down like he used to. That was a plus. “Looks good. The place needed a revamp.” Braden took a drink of his beer and the bartender grabbed him another one.

“I’m Mason.”

“Braden.” He pointed next to him. “This is Noah, and that guy at the end is Cooper. He likes running into burning buildings without any gear or backup. That explains the sling.”

Noah laughed loudly and Coop shook his head. “Fucker. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

Coop had him there. “Except the getting hurt part. I would have avoided that.”

Both Mason and Noah laughed this time.

“I’m glad you like it,” Mason told Braden. “Let me know if you have any suggestions. Figured the locals would know more about what you guys are looking for than me.”

He’d heard about Mason moving to town a few months ago, when he bought the bar. He hadn’t seen him before tonight, though. “Sure thing.”

Mason stalled a minute before walking away. Both Noah and Cooper started laughing again as soon as he did.

“What?” Braden asked.

“Tell me you’re kidding,” Coop said. It was obvious he didn’t plan to elaborate, so Braden turned to Noah.

“Your boyfriend is pissing me off.”

“Mason has had his eyes on you all night. He’s definitely interested. You didn’t notice?”

No. “Yeah. Just not in the mood.” He leaned back in the chair. “I was an asshole to Wes. I didn’t mean to be, but fuck, I just wanted the guy to have a good time. You can’t blame me for that.” But as usual, he didn’t think before he spoke. Didn’t think about the fact that because Braden had always just got up and gone when he wanted, others didn’t have it so easy.

“All he does is work and take care of Jess. I mean, I respect him for it. Jesus, he’s a good guy. I don’t know if I could handle that shit. But hell, he needs to get out of the house a little, too. What the fuck are you guys looking at?” Both Noah and Cooper had their eyes trained on him.

Neither of them spoke for a minute before Cooper pushed to his feet. “Come on, buddy, go play a game of pool with me.”

“You’re wearing a sling.” He drank more of his beer.

“I started rehab and I’m allowed to take it off and work it a little. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s your arm.” Braden shrugged and stood. He could use a game or two. “You coming?” he asked Noah.