Page 15 of Night By Night
Maddox took a chance, knowing he was setting himself up for secret disappointment but doing it all the same. “I missed you. I’m so glad you’re back. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. Let me do this for you tonight, okay?Please?”
“Okay, yeah. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Soon as we hang up, text me your address.”
“I will.” Maddox was about to hang up when Hank spoke again. “Dox…Thankyou.” Hank’s voice sounded heavy, full of emotion, almost enough to make Maddox start crying right there in a fucking busy-ass gym.
“You don’t have to thank me, H. I’ll see you around six.”
“Six.” Hank sniffled. “Thanks.”
Maddox ended the call and stood there dumbly staring at his phone, trying to convince himselfthatjust happened.
He was also trying to process the vast amount of information dumped on him, leaving him feeling damned guilty he hadn’t been at his friend’s side to help him through everything.
And feeling like a royal shit, because—
He’s single.
Of course, there was still the whole problem of Hank being straight, but…
Maybe he could rebuild their friendship and somethingcouldhappen.
Well, stranger thingshadhappened in the world. Working on a slow-roll, low-key plan to seduce his straight best friend over time wasn’t exactly theworstplan in the world. Not like putting-men-on-the-moon difficult.
And maybe not even feasible in the slightest, depending on what fourteen years apart had done to both of them.
But one thing was for certain—he couldn’t stand the pain he’d heard in Hank’s voice. From this point on, he was going to be there for Hank, every day, in any and every way Hank would let him be there for him. He’d show him he wasn’t alone anymore.
Whatever Hank needed, he’d do his best to make it happen.
Because when he took an honest look back on his life since they’d last hugged outside Hank’s parents’ house…
There’d been a gaping void there the whole time. One shaped like his best friend.
It’s time I do something different in my life, and rebuilding my friendship with Hank is that first step.
* * * *
Relieved and nearly in tears, Hank sniffled them back and tried to discreetly wipe his eyes as he added Dox’s information to his phone and then texted him their address. After looking at the form for a moment, he swapped the numbers on the form, scratching out the number1next to Bryce’s name and changing it to2, and vice versa for Dox.
He wanted Dox to be the first call, if it ever came to that. He hadn’t seen the guy in fourteen years, but he still trusted him. The guy had saved his ass before. Hank felt reasonably certain the man would be equally protective of JJ.
I need to change my will.
At his last job, he’d had a cousin over in Daytona listed as his next of kin. She and her husband had only met JJ once, and that’d been before Lois died.
But if he was rebuilding his life here…
I need to talk to Dox about that.
Maybe Dox wouldn’t want the responsibility of potentially being the guardian of a little girl he never knew and wasn’t related to, but deep within Hank, something gnawed on his soul. He’d seen first-hand how quickly fortunes and futures could irrevocably change in tragic ways.
Heneededto know JJ would never be raised by those fucks in Pennsylvania. He wanted her to never have contact with any of them ever again.
After returning the forms to the woman in the office and making sure everything was squared away, he started to leave, then hesitated. “Do you have a list of daycares or after-school programs?” he asked.
He was out of there five minutes later. The school couldn’t recommend any daycare facilities specifically, but she did give him a list of after-school camp providers who were approved to pick up kids.
