Page 32 of The Fault Next Door

“I’m not dating anyone. I don’t care who you have over or who you all entertain. I’m not ever going to date anyone you or Mom suggest.”

“Now you’re just being a little shit.”

"No, I'm deciding what I allow in my life. You and Mom need to stop setting me up with people."

His dad frowned, looking like he was trying to be intimidating. But Ryder was past the age of being intimidated by his father, or at least showing that he was intimidated. A part of him wanted to tell his dad that he was enjoying sucking cock too much to ever date a woman again, but he kept that to himself.

His father threw up his hands. “You never were worth a hill of beans. I knew you’d be a waste when you were a baby.” His father turned to leave, slamming the door as he walked out.

Ryder wanted to follow after his dad and yell at him, maybe fight him, but he let him leave. The words hurt, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. And what his dad said didn’t really matter. His father wasn’t his concern. All that mattered was his own needs and desires. If his dad wanted to be miserable, there was little Ryder could do.

His stomach grumbled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten. While he was in the middle of eating a sandwich, his phone rang. He was surprised the clinic was calling him. His heart sped up as he answered, hoping it was Nolan on the line.

“Hello.”

“Is this Mr. Jameson?" a female voice asked. For a moment, he worried that it was someone his mother had set him up with.

“Yes.”

“This is Lila, the nurse from the clinic. I was calling to see how you were doing.”

“I’m okay. Nolan is my neighbor, so he is checking on me.”

“Oh, that’s right. He does live in that odd little place next to your uncle’s house. Well, I guess it’s your house now. I’m glad to hear you’re doing okay. If you feel like you have a fever or that spot gets hot, you need more antibiotics. We gave you a shot, and that should kick anything hard, but we want to keep an eye on it.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Nolan will interrogate me this evening.”

Lila's laughter made him smile. "I'm sure he will. Have a good afternoon."

The conversation ended, and he smiled to himself, wondering how well Lila knew Nolan. Surely, she didn't know he was gay.

Sitting at home with nothing to do was boring. Tomorrow, he would go get his truck, talk to his boss, and see if there was anything he could do in the yard. He wouldn't last long sitting at home recovering. He needed action or at least something to keep his mind busy. Otherwise, he didn't know what would happen.

Chapter 23

The clinic closedfor the evening, and Nolan was looking forward to heading to Ryder’s place and helping him shower again. It felt good being up against a naked man, even if that man couldn’t jack him off very effectively.

He smiled to himself, his mind on Ryder and the shower, when someone came up behind him and stood close. He spun, finding Dr. Moore so close it freaked him out a little.

“Dr. Moore, I thought you’d left.” Nolan scooted to the side to get a little space between them.

Moore chuckled. "Not yet. But I figured out where I know you from, and I just hadn't had a chance to talk to you alone."

The look in the doctor’s eyes freaked him out a bit. “Oh,” was all Nolan could think to say.

“I went back to Boston and was at my cousin’s house. You were married to one of my other cousins. I saw your photo with Andrew.”

Heat washed over Nolan. He glanced behind Dr. Moore, hoping no one had heard. Panic filled him, and he reached out and grabbed onto Moore's arm.

“I don’t think it’s safe to be out here.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame because my husband is moving to town next week.”

“Oh.” Nolan blinked and shook his head. He closed his eyes as thoughts of Andrew hit him hard.

Dr. Moore squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Sorry. I didn’t expect to be talking about Andrew here. I didn’t know you were his cousin.”

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