Page 25 of Gideon’s Gratitude (Love in Mission City #5)

Chapter Ten

Archer

T he drive from the counseling center back to Gideon’s home was made in silence. I focused on the road, while I suspected my companion was focused inward. He’d been wan when returning with Kennedy, but his color had improved when Rainbow handed him the dinner rolls.

I’d tasted one of the sugar cookies. To die for. Dinner would be a treat tonight. As long as I’d followed the instructions correctly on the crock pot. I’d never operated one in my life. Yet I was proud of the effort I was putting forth. New adventures. New people. New spaces.

My phone burned a hole in my pocket. Another flurry of missed messages and texts with a few emails thrown in. I hadn’t retrieved the third message my doctor had left for me, either. I had time. Or at least I hoped I did .

I hit a puddle of standing water and the spray from the tires shot as high as the grill.

Slow down.

Except I wanted to hurry and get where we were going to so we’d be safe.

I wasn’t as much concerned about myself as I was about my companion.

Gideon had kids. I had my family, and they’d miss me, but it wouldn’t be the same thing.

No one relied on me. And between my bank account, my investments, and my life insurance policies, my siblings would do just fine, were something to happen to me.

Upon being served divorce papers, I’d consulted with my accountant and my attorney. I didn’t wish Thea ill, but I wanted to ensure she wouldn’t be the beneficiary on any of my policies.

We needed to get home.

Home?

Not my home. Gideon’s home. A place that, despite its age and general state of disrepair, was welcoming. The man made it so.

As I made the turn onto our street, the anti-skid system kicked in. I hadn’t appreciated things were getting so treacherous. We were several klicks in from the main road, but our road was decently paved. Just a few potholes that, frankly, annoyed me a little.

I pulled into Gideon’s driveway, and as I crested the bump, the house came into view. I put the SUV in Park but didn’t cut the engine. “I believe I should take my leave.”

Gideon met my gaze. “You said you’d stay for dinner. Hell, you prepared dinner.”

“I put meat in the crockpot and turned it on. I’m glad to see your house hasn’t burned down.”

My companion snorted.

“Look, the roads are getting treacherous. ”

“The roads are already treacherous,” he corrected. “You’d be crazy to head back into town at this point.”

“Are there any roads that might get washed away?”

Gideon scrunched his nose. “I don’t think so, but what’s that worth on a night like this? A landslide can take out a road so easily.”

“Whether I go now or go tomorrow —”

“I don’t want you to go.”

My jaw snapped shut, the argument left unsaid. “Are you saying…?”

“That I want you to come inside. That I want you to spend the night. That I don’t want to worry about you and be overcome with grief and guilt if something happened to you. It’d be my fault.”

“How do you figure that?”

“You would’ve left hours ago. Like when Riley and her crew packed up.

But you stayed. You stayed to help me with my kids, and then you drove me to counseling.

” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “Which reminds me that I told Kennedy I’d return the same time next week.

I’ll have to see if she can fit me in during the day. ”

“I’ll take you next week.”

Gideon shot me an indecipherable look. “You’re saying you’ll be here next week? You know that for sure?”

Well…point made. “I can arrange for someone to take you. I’m certain someone on the crew will want to earn a few extra bucks. And if they enjoy Rainbow’s company, they’ll be well-compensated.”

“There you go with the money thing again. I can get the appointment moved. I might have to wait a few weeks, but it can be done. Or I can ask her if we can do the call over the phone.”

“Or you can ask if she’d make a house call. But those options allow you to hole yourself away. You got out today. You met people and, shock, you survived. ”

A biting look. But, after a moment, a small smile. “Yeah, I did that.” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “I’ll call Monday and see if they can move my appointment. I’m sure something will work out.”

“I’m certain it will as well. Now, I must go—”

Gideon seized my arm. The grip was vise-tight. “No. Just, no, okay? Come inside, and have some dinner, and stay where it’s dry and safe.”

I wanted to ask about sleeping arrangements, but they didn’t matter. I’d sleep on the floor, if it alleviated Gideon’s stress. I’d do anything to wipe the look of worry from the man’s brow. “I accept your offer.”

“Thank you.” Relief, pure and simple, spread across his face. The furrow in his brow disappeared, and a small smile crossed his lips. A smile I didn’t see nearly often enough.

Lucky stuck his nose over the console, straining his harness.

I cut the engine. I silently offered to carry the cookies and rolls.

Gideon handed them over, seemingly surprised to have them.

We yanked our hoods up and exited the SUV into the downpour. I sprinted to house while Gideon unhooked Lucky from the tether and then gestured.

Lucky detoured to the woods.

By the time we were inside, the dog flew in behind us.

Gideon shut the door. “I hope the wind doesn’t pick up.”

What did the meteorologist say? “The winds are supposed to increase, and the storm will reach its peak in the middle of the night.”

“I hope the power doesn’t go off.”

“We’ve survived it before.”

“Yes, but I haven’t filled the generator back up.”

“Ah, well then we shall hope for no outages.” I sniffed. “I hope the ribs aren’t burning.”

My companion moved swiftly to the kitchen with me hard on his heels .

A delicious aroma filled the air. The barbeque sauce was unmistakable and, to my infinite relief, no smell of burning lingered.

As Gideon raised the lid, the strength of the smell intensified.

“Perfect.” I grabbed some plates while Gideon washed a tomato and sliced it. I put the rolls on a plate, snagged the container of butter, and moved them to the table. We worked together in silence, anticipating each other’s movements and never touching, even in the small galley kitchen.

Comfortable. We were comfortable.

After settling at the table, we dug into our food.

I licked my fingers. “Okay, not going to lie, these are amazing.”

“You seem surprised.” Gideon wiped his fingers on a napkin.

“Well, considering how often I cook? Yes, I am surprised. Like I said, though, the instructions were perfect.”

We consumed more food, and as the rain hit the roof, an odd sense of calm settled over me. I didn’t want to spend too much time analyzing it. I just wanted to bask in it a little bit longer.

“Did you want to watch a movie? Or television? I don’t get many stations…”

“I think we should call it a night.” I wasn’t overly tired, but Gideon appeared completely worn down. The sallowness in his skin was back, and his eyelids were puffy.

“Yeah, probably. We need to discuss sleeping arrangements.”

“The couch is perfectly fine.”

He snorted. “Uh, that couch is five inches too short.”

“I’ll bend my legs.”

An arched brow. “You take the bed.”

“I’m curious about one thing.”

“That is?”

“What about the other two rooms upstairs? ”

His face fell. “I decorated them for the kids. Silly, I know, but I wanted this place to be ready if I ever got the chance. I would probably fit on Melodie’s single bed, but—”

“It’d feel wrong.”

Relief washed over his features as his brow unknit.

I understood. Perhaps a day or two ago I wouldn’t have, but I did now. “Look, there is another solution.”

“I’m all ears.”

“It’s an enormous bed.”

“Enormous…oh.” His eyes widened. “Yeah, but…wouldn’t that be awkward? For you? For me?”

Be honest.

“The thought of sharing a bed with a man isn’t repulsive to me.”

Another rub to the temple. “Platonically?”

“Or otherwise.”

His gaze shot to mine, and I shrugged.

“You’re gay?” Disbelief laced his tone.

“I’ll admit to being bi. I had a boyfriend in university.

Then I met Thea, and everything clicked into place.

I’d located the most-suitable partner who eventually became my spouse.

” I ate the last piece of my roll and savored the fluffy texture.

We hadn’t created a honey butter, but we could do that in the morning.

Gideon’s gaze hadn’t wavered.

“Have I surprised you?” I probably should’ve mentioned this before, but it hadn’t seemed relevant. Gideon knew I wasn’t judging him for being gay, so that was all that’d mattered. Now, though, honesty was critical. “Look, I’m not going to jump your bones if we share—”

“What if I want you to?”

Wait…what? I couldn’t have heard that correctly.

“I, uh, mean.” He took a deep breath. “I mean, like not in that way, you know?”

I didn’t. But I was perversely curious.

“I just, after the day I’ve had, don’t want to be alone.” He let out an exhalation. Then promptly rubbed his temple.

Be honest. “I can do that. Hold you, I mean. I enjoy holding you.” What would this entail? I’d never done anything remotely like this.

“It feels right, you know?”

I did know. “Why don’t I clean up while you head upstairs?”

He held my gaze.

“This is on your terms. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

“What about you?”

I laughed softly. “Oh, I promise you that I’ll speak up if something doesn’t feel comfortable. I mean, I haven’t been with many people more than you, but I’m not feeling uncomfortable about this.”

“I’ve only ever been with Leo.”

Not a surprise. “And you might discover I’m too hot, or I snore, or I kick out in my sleep.”

“Do you do any of those things?”

“Well, my wife never complained.” And wasn’t that just the wrong thing to say? “We didn’t always share a bed. She was the restless one.”

Gideon slowly rose. “Yeah, I’ll go upstairs. I hope you’ll follow.” He ducked his head, turned, and left.

What have you done?

Nothing bad.

Offering comfort to someone in need didn’t always come easy to me. I could empathize with my clients, but often it went no further than that.

I rose slowly, cleaned the bones off Gideon’s plate to my own, and made my way to the kitchen .

Lucky watched me closely.

“You, dog, are not getting any.” I scraped everything into the compost, loaded the dishwasher and used dish soap to finally clean my hands. Messy, but delicious.

The dog rubbed against me.

“You need to go out?” This appeared logical since he’d eaten his kibble while we’d enjoyed our ribs. He hadn’t even begged.

A cocked head. Was that a yes, no, or you’re nuts? Better to be safe than sorry. I walked into the laundry room with the dog hard on my heels. In the end, being safe proved the prudent course. Upon his return, I toweled him off and he gave me a thorough tongue bath.

As I headed upstairs, he made to follow.

I shook my head and pointed to the dog bed in front of the fireplace.

He cocked his head.

Don’t back down.

Of course, Gideon might want the dog in his room. Who was I to decide?

Still, the dog wandered over to his bed, sniffed, and plopped down. Within moments, his eyes drooped.

You and me both, pal.

I hadn’t done anything particularly impressive today. Avoiding people didn’t count, and offering a shoulder was hardly noteworthy. Yet, I’m drained . Was looking forward to a good night’s rest.

After making my way to the bathroom, I did everything I needed to do, including locating the toothbrush I used the night before, grateful Gideon kept a spare around.

Do you know what you’re doing?

Frankly, no.

I played things off like this was no big deal.

But, truthfully, this was a big fucking deal.

For both of us. Uncharted territory. Something neither of us had done before.

This felt perilous, though. Like one wrong move and the relationship would be irrevocably changed—and not for the better.

In some ways, Gideon was stunningly fragile.

Yet, at other moments, he showed great strength.

Admitting he was an addict took guts. Facing his children on a video chat took guts. Going to see a counselor took guts.

Wind slammed the rain against the tiny pane of glass.

Yeah, trying to make it back to my hotel wouldn’t have been a great idea.

Yet I didn’t regret taking Gideon to his appointment.

And I’d enjoyed my time with Rainbow. Truly delightful woman.

And Tiffany the yellow lab had been pretty cute as well.

Not as charming as Lucky, though. That little guy was slowly worming his way into my heart.

Enough procrastinating.

I knocked lightly on the bedroom door.

No answer.

The door was cracked, so I pushed it open and poked my nose into the space.

Gideon lay on his side, curled into a ball, and fast asleep.

Well, that was one solution to a whole pile of problems.

I eyed my shirt and jeans. Yeah, not the most comfortable.

Do I have the right to scoot in half-dressed? Or naked?

Get over yourself.

I wasn’t going to act on the attraction.

Gideon made it clear he sought friendship and companionship.

So I’d be the best friend and companion a man could ask for. I stripped down to my underwear and laid the clothes on a chair. I scooted under the covers, turned off the light, and slowly maneuvered myself behind Gideon.

Said man pushed back against me .

I wrapped my arms around the slumberer.

He sagged into the embrace. Awake or asleep, his body knew what he needed. To be held. To be protected.

Well, I can do that much.