Page 10 of Finders Keepers
Wesley’s head dropped back against the gurney, his eyes closed. “Thankth for your help, but you can go now.”
Nate looked Wesley over once more, hesitant to leave. Much as he itched to wash his hands of a beat-up stranger and go home, this wasn’t exactly a stranger. For some reason, he felt compelled to stay. It was the least he could do. Wesley, as Ashton, had been nothing but kind to him, had gone the extra mile. Nate could do the same.
“It’s fine. You, ah…” Nate scratched his head. “You did me a solid, so let me return the favor and hang out a little longer.”
Asht— Wesley gave him a hard stare. Well. Maybe it was a hard stare through a face puffed up like a tie-dyed marshmallow—or maybe the guy was having a stroke. It was hard to tell. A long moment passed before he spoke. “You thure?”
Nate had shared some of his secrets, and he appreciated Wesley giving him an out—which was precisely why he decided to stay.
A medical professional finally showed the hell back up and cleaned the split skin on his face and the asphalt debris from his abraded palms.
While the doctor worked, Nate’s gaze strayed to the rest of Wesley. The golden hue of his arms sent a flutter of appreciationthrough him, just as it had in the club. The nicely rounded shoulders, the well-formed muscles.
Jesus, Nate—the guy was beaten to a pulp.
His perusal continued nonetheless, and he swallowed a grimace at the reds and purples blossoming down Wesley’s otherwise tanned chest and abdomen.
Of course, Nate had been more focused on what Wesley was doingtohim andforhim than on Wesley himself, that he hadn’t given Wesley’s physique much attention other than a cursory once over and determining that he liked it. The man was attractive, no doubt about it. Combined with his empathetic and caring manner, he seemed like the complete package.
Nate shook his head to clear his wayward thoughts and focused on Wesley the wounded man, not Ashton the cute Dom.
The doctor performed an eye exam on Wesley’s functioning eye and asked him a litany of questions. Wesley denied dizziness or nausea although he admitted that he hadn’t been on his feet since he’d crawled into Nate’s car. He’d never lost consciousness, breathing through every throb of pain while in the backseat of the car, and since he’d answered all the fact-based questions correctly, the doctor decided a CT scan was unnecessary.
“But I would like to keep you for observation,” the doctor said as she applied some ointment to his hands.
Internally, Nate fist pumped. Not because he wanted Wesley to be in the hospital, but because it meant his part in this whole thing was coming to an end. It was one thing to hang out here for a while and provide moral support while the guy was being treated, it was quite another to take on responsibility for a guy he barely knew, much as he liked Wesley or Ashton. In his lifetime, he’d had enough duties thrust upon him that had never been his to bear. He didn’t want or need anymore.
“I can’t really afford a hothpital thtay,” Wesley said. “Can’t you releathe me?”
The lisp was a concern and his breathing was a bit labored, but then again, the man’s jaw and ribs had both taken a beating.
“Do you have someone at home—” The doctor glanced at Nate. “—to stay with you? Check on you every few hours for the next twenty-four?”
Wesley shook his head and winced. “No, he’th not— We’re not— I live alone. No family in town. No friends good enough to call at four in the morning.” At the admission, color licked up what flesh on his face wasn’t bruised.
“Then, I’m sorry, Mr. Byerly. I don’t recommend you be discharged.”
Wesley sat up and winced. “But you can’t keep me, right? If I leave under my own power, you can’t hold me, can you?”
“No, Mr. Byerly, we can’t force you to stay. But I really thi—”
“Okay, good. I need to go.”
The doctor’s lips pursed but she nodded. “I’ll have a patient care specialist return with your release paperwork and then you’re free to go.”
“Thank you.” Wesley sighed, slumped back against the bedding, his jaw clenching when he landed, and closed his eyes.
The doctor left, and Nate and Wesley were alone again.
“I really apprethiate everything you’ve done for me, Nate. But you can head out now.”
Nate had just received permission to jet from Wesley yet again. He should be halfway to his car by now. But something wasn’t sitting right. His stomach churned at the thought of walking out and never looking back. “What are you gonna do?”
Wesley’s good eye slit open. “I’m gonna call a ride share.”
“Ah.” If it wasn’t too far, maybe he could give the guy a ride. One last good deed. “Well, where do you live?”
“Plattthmouth.”
