Page 67 of I'm Your Guy
When I flip on the overhead light, I think of Carter. Life is more beautiful with good lighting, he insists. So it must be true.
Smiling, I take another step inside.
And there’s Carter, sprawled out on the floor, face down on the rug.
He’s collapsed? Oh, Jesus.
I’m on my knees a second later. “Carter?” I shake him gently. “Carter.”
His eyes fly open, and he sits up with a gasp. “Huh? What?”
“Are you okay?” I demand, sitting back on my heels. “Did you pass out? Are you sick?” My heart is still pounding from the sight of him lifeless on the floor. As if I’d stepped into an episode of Law & Order.
He scrubs his face. “No! I’m fine. I was just…exhausted. I meant to take a catnap and then finish the curtains. And I thought you were in Arizona?” He squints at me.
“I was. The flight is only an hour and a half, so we do it as an out-and-back.”
“Shit.” Carter buries his face in his hands. “So unprofessional. Again.” He staggers to his feet. “Sorry. I’m going.”
“Where?” I demand. He looks half asleep and dead tired. The rug has made a pattern on his face. But it doesn’t stop me from cataloguing all the things I’ve missed about him. The pouty lips are looking extra pouty tonight. And the freckles on his nose stand out against his pale skin.
He’s here in my living room, and I’m so happy to see him.
“Uh…I’ll go to a hotel. Or something,” he mumbles, lurching toward the dining table and grabbing his phone. Then he curses and picks up an empty paper coffee cup and a sandwich wrapper. “Sorry about the mess. That should be my tagline,” he mutters.
“Carter.” I rise to argue, but he scurries into the kitchen, and I hear the sound of the trash drawer opening. “Carter,” I repeat as he reappears. “Take a breath. Why would you go to a hotel?”
His eyes narrow at me. “It’s a thing people do when they need to sleep.”
“Sit down a second,” I order.
Miraculously, he does. He lands heavily in a dining chair and blinks up at me with tired eyes.
I can’t help myself. I put my hand on his messy head and smooth his hair back. It’s just as soft as I’ve always imagined. Then I give his shoulder a squeeze. “You look wrecked, Montana. When’s the last time you had a really good night’s sleep?”
He shrugs. “I’m getting by.”
“That’s not what I asked. Why aren’t you staying at Rigo’s?”
“Buck came home.” He sighs. “Just showed up, with his fatigues and his rucksack, like a returning hero. Rigo cried. I’ve never seen two happier people in my life. So I got the hell out of there. Spent last night in a really sleazy hotel. But I could go to a better one…”
For some reason, the words of that woman from Kathy’s Kitchens jump into my head. That boy could use a break. I hadn’t really understood how close to the brink Carter was. He hadn’t wanted me to know, and I totally understand why.
But now I’m onto him. And I care too much to let him piss away his salary on a pricey hotel where he won’t be afraid to go to sleep. “Look, it’s almost three in the morning. I think you should tuck yourself into the guestroom and regroup tomorrow.”
His eyes take a longing glance toward the back of the house. “I couldn’t do that. I’m not a charity case.”
“Nobody said you were.” I cross to the thermostat and crank it up. “But I also know you’ve been avoiding this place when I’m not on the road, and that’s an inconvenience. What if you just stayed here for a little while? It would make your job easier. Just a week or two.”
He looks up at me with an expression so raw that I can see all the way into his overwhelmed soul. “Tommaso, I’m pretty sure I’m the last person you want lurking around your house. I make you uncomfortable. And what would your mother think?”
I take a slow breath. Honestly, that question makes my heart race. It always has. “We’ll deal with that question later.”
He gapes at me. “Tommaso, I can’t—”
“Look,” I interrupt. “I know you’re hellbent on bringing your business back from the ashes. And it’s none of my business how you get there. But I consider you a friend, and friends don’t let friends drive off in a blizzard and blow their savings at the Best Western. That’s how it is.”
He stares at me for a long beat. “I really appreciate that. And I’ll stay here tonight. But if you change your mind tomorrow, I’ll figure something out. Seriously. I’ll be fine. I always am.”
