Page 85 of Sloane

I nodded toward his backpack.

“So, what’s that?”

“I brought care packages from home.”

I looked back at the bag with dismay, knowing damn well there was something in there from Ashley.

Still, I said, “That was nice of everyone.”

He reached for the backpack, asking, “Do you want them now?”

“Nah, catch me up on what’s going on with you. How’s my dog? You get Grace to go on a date with you yet? What about Craig and Maddie—did they run off and get married?”

“Oh, buddy. I definitely need to bring you up to speed.”

~~~~

After Ryan filled me in with Tank’s latest antics, what was happening with him and Grace, and that Craig and Maddie had gotten engaged over Thanksgiving weekend, he softly said, “And Ashley—”

I cut him off. “I should have ended things before I left, but I was too selfish.”

“She loves you, buddy.”

“I’m not the man she fell in love with, Ryan. That man is gone. Fucking look at me.”

“Do you really think she’s so shallow that it would matter?”

“She deserves a man who can take care of her; make her feel safe in his arms. Someone she can have children with.”

His eyes got big, and he blatantly stared at my crotch. “Did you lose your…?”

“No! But I’m not going to put a kid through having a freak show for a dad. Or a wife, for that matter.”

“So, you’re just going to be alone for the rest of your life?”

“Yep,” I said mulishly.

“I think you’re a fool. But you’ve been through a lot, so I’m going to give you a pass. For now.”

Ryan unzipped his backpack, pulled out a six-pack of boxer-briefs and laid it on the table in front of me.

“These are from Craig. He said he wanted to make sure your balls didn’t freeze in Germany.”

I snorted a laugh, and he reached inside the bag again. This time he produced a tablet-looking thing.

“This is from Grace.”

I narrowed my eyes as he set it next to the underwear.

“What is that?”

“It’s a Kindle. She loaded a bunch of books for you to read. She said it helped her to escape to other worlds when she was recovering from her accident, so she hoped it will help you.”

“Thank God! I have been so bored. Tell her she’s a lifesaver.”

“Well, you know Maddie,” he said as he reached in the backpack again and this time, produced an obvious tablet. “Not to be outdone. She got you this tablet. It’s got like hundreds of games, movies, and TV shows preloaded on it.” He set it next to the other gifts then rifled through the bag again until he found what he was looking for. Holding up a small black case he said, “She sent earbuds, too, but,” he made a point of looking at the left side of my head that was bandaged, “it looks like you’ll only need one.”

“You are a fucking comedian.”

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