Page 76 of Shades of Henry
Jade came bustling back out from the offices with Ellery in tow. He looked a little more composed than Lance remembered, but the worry in his eyes hadn’t changed.
“Here,” he said, handing Jackson a tablet. “Was that so hard to ask?”
“It was sudden,” Jackson told him, shoving the tablet under his tongue. He let it dissolve a moment before swallowing, his cheeks already getting ruddy again. “All better now. Go talk to your client.”
“Go home and rest,” Ellery said, no compromise in his voice. “You did a solid morning’s work on the computer, now go sleep.”
“We can take him home,” Henry offered, but only because he opened his mouth before Lance did. “It’s no problem.”
Ellery gave him a grateful smile. “You guys can hang out—swim, raid the refrigerator, whatever. I would….” He bit his lip. “I would just really like to know he wasn’t alone all day.”
“I’m fine, Counselor,” Jackson murmured but without heat.
“I’m not.”
Jackson closed his eyes for a moment. “I can take myself.”
Lance stood up and said, “Get used to losing that fight for a while. I’m going to go get the car.”
He didn’t meet Henry’s eyes on his way out, because in that moment, watching the fiercely independent Jackson fight over comfort or help or self-care, he’d seen his life with Henry, as Henry did the same.
He hurried back the two blocks they’d come, wondering if he’d have to call in reserves if Henry got hurt, wondering if Henry would have as many people gathering around him as Jackson Rivers seemed to.
But then he remembered the day Henry had found Martin Sampson’s body, and the way the apartment had rallied around him. He remembered the day before, when Henry had gotten home from a funeral and launched into papa bear mode, taking care of one of the kids.
Henry might not have learned good parenting from his own parents, but he’d definitely picked up on responsibility from the military and kindness from, where? Maybe his brother. But somewhere.
Yeah, Henry would be a handful if he got hurt, but Lance would have help taking care of him, just like Ellery Cramer had help taking care of Jackson.
Ellery had been right, that one day in the hospital. They had a lot in common. At least Lance would apparently be able to learn from a master.
Obvious Solutions
HENRY HADto admit that Jackson was an appreciative audience. They sat in Ellery Cramer’s spacious American River home, a movie paused on the big-screen TV, while Henry regaled his new mentor with the story of the poor porn kid and the really effective exfoliant depilatory.
“Oh no!” Jackson sympathized. “Poor kid! I mean, thatsoundshilarious, but… oh, man. Ouch. How’s he doing?”
And that was Jackson. In the closet, listening to Summer Frasier come unglued, Henry had wondered what Jackson would do. He’d remembered the memorial service for Martin Sampson, and the way Jackson had found the one human kernel in a man who had hurt so very many, and he’d had his answer. Seeing the gun hadn’t scared him—he’d recognized an amateur gun handler from the get-go—but the thought of Lance in the closethad.If Lance had jumped out in some misguided attempt to save Henry’s life, his chances of getting shot would have gone up exponentially. It had been absolutely imperative that Henry control the situation.
And in order to do that, he had to see Summer Frasier as a human being.
It hadn’t been hard. He’d apparently had a lot of experience being human himself.
“He’s been taking a lot of oatmeal baths,” Henry admitted. “And we asked John’s permission and got him some edibles to chill him out while the hair is growing back. It’s weird—he’s always been sort of hyperactive anyway, but now, suddenly, he can sit still long enough to think things through.”
“I wonder if he’s got some other issue,” Lance said thoughtfully. “You’re right. Those edibles are really helping him think. Ugh. We’ve got a mental health caveat on our insurance. We should probably take him in.”
Henry grunted. “I can do it tomorrow. He’ll still be eating pot gummies and the idea won’t freak him out quite so much.”
“You guys are a good team,” Jackson said drowsily. He’d played the charming host for the first hour, asking them if they wanted to swim, locking his psychotic cat in his bedroom. But after Henry had paused the movie to talk, he’d looked more and more exhausted. “You going to play mom and dad to all John’s lost porn stars for a while?” Jackson asked Henry.
Henry grimaced. “Well, it’s good when couples have things they can do together,” he admitted. “But it would also be really awesome if we had time to do each other together.”
“Oh God!” Jackson groaned, covering his eyes with his hand.
“Henry!” Lance complained in embarrassment.
“Sorry!” Henry nonapologized. “It’s… God, I’d really like to sleep in a real bed that’s actually meant for two grown men.”
