Page 41 of Heal
"How can you be bored when it's only eight in the morning?" Beau laughed.
"Xander's gone and Dad woke me when he got called into work. Said he'd be gone most of the day and offered to let me go with him, but I didn't want to sit at the house all day alone. I've been texting Lisa. Maybe we could go see her and Jeff?"
Beau smiled. "I was planning on seeing them anyway. I can drop by and pick you up on my way to the hospital. Get yourself breakfast and be ready in an hour."
"Yay, thanks. I'll be ready. You're the best."
"I know, but keep telling me. I like hearing it." Beau laughed.
"Right," Faith groaned.
"Any idea why your dad got called in?" Beau was curious what the team had found. With Bryon, Xander, Dyson, and Kasey out of town, there weren't any stings. It was just the computer guys.
"Nope, you know he doesn't tell me anything."
"Yeah. I guess they'll call me if it's anything big. Okay, go get ready. I'll be there shortly," he told her. "And make sure to call your dad and let him know you're with me."
"I will. See you in a bit." Faith hung up.
Needing to be sure Matt knew Faith was going with him, he sent off a quick text, making sure it was okay. While he waited, he finished gathering everything he needed, as he tried not to think about Parson and wonder what his decision would be.
He hoped that Parson would at least decide to allow him to take the kids in. Continuing to date was another issue in itself. He could understand why Parson might not want to date now. Beau had broken the law, and that was something unforgivable to a lot of people. Still, he couldn't stop remembering the kiss, and that had all happened after he'd admitted what he'd done to Parson. That gave him hope that Parson could look past things and maybe move on, but that still didn't ease his mind about dating in general.
In the past, he'd been careful not to let anything get serious with anyone. There were numerous reasons, the biggest being the media attention, but there was also the fact that Beau worried letting someone close would mean risking the STK team. The team called him at all hours of the day and night, and explaining to someone why he had to rush away wouldn't be easy. He could use the hospital as an excuse to an extent, but it would only be a matter of time before he was caught in a lie.
He couldn't imagine being close enough to someone to ever tell them the truth. The risk was too high. He'd seen what Kasey had gone through when Noam had found out, and Beau wasn't sure he could live with that stress, even if it all did end up okay when it was over.
Still, no matter how many reasons he gave himself that he shouldn't push for more with Parson, he still wanted to. He hadn't desired someone this strongly in a long time. Not that it mattered. Parson might make the decision easy. If he didn't want to continue dating, then there was nothing that Beau could do but let him go.
Frustrated and overthinking everything, Beau headed out the door. Faith would be a good distraction for the day. Matt had sent a text back, glad that Faith was going with him, so that was covered. Now, he just needed to pick her up and head to the hospital. They'd visit for a while, then he'd take Faith to dinner before dropping her back off at home later. It wouldn't keep his mind off Parson, but it would help.
As he pulled into Faith's driveway, the door opened and her dog, Zeus came running out to greet him. Beau braced himself as the dog jumped up, excited to see him. "Hey, Zeus, good to see you too." He pushed the dog down so he could meet Faith at the door. "You ready?"
"Yeah. I just need to lock Zeus up." She called to the dog and took him inside.
Beau followed her inside. "Did you tell Lisa we were going to drop by?"
"No, because I wasn't sure when we were going in. I didn't want to let her down if you had other plans first."
"I figured we'd go visit with them, then you could go grocery shopping with me. Once you help me put groceries away, I might treat you to dinner before bringing you back home."
Faith frowned. "I went grocery shopping with Dad last night."
"Well, you should have called for my list then." Beau laughed.
"I guess shopping with you is still better than sitting home." She pulled out her keys and locked the door. As she got in the car, she looked over at him. "I saw pictures of you online this morning."
"What are you doing looking at pictures of me online?" He readied himself for the third degree from her about who Parson was.
"I was just checking out stuff about a band that's coming in concert and saw you on the Hollywood News site. You were kissing some guy." She eyed him suspiciously.
He nodded. "I was."
She blew out a frustrated breath. "Are you going to tell me who he is?"
"Maybe."
She glared at him as he pulled out of the driveway.
