Page 37 of Hidden Plays (Desert Football #1)

“Alcohol, marijuana and meth.” He swallowed hard. “We didn’t know about the meth use, but at least it wasn’t heroin.” He sighed, his shoulders sagging. “But then, who knows? Maybe he just didn’t take it today.”

“I’m sorry, babe.” After giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, we ambled down the hallway again.

Dad needed to know I was here. He wouldn’t look at his phone or know he was treating Leah’s son and Holden’s brother until after the surgery, but at least he’d want to find us and could provide more answers.

“I’m texting my dad.” I slipped my phone out of my pocket and tapped the screen as we walked.

JJ

I’m here at the hospital. If you’re in surgery with Noel Cox, he’s Holden’s brother and Leah’s son. Leah is the bartender who makes great Manhattans for you at Eddy V’s. I’ll be waiting with the family.

There. Even if Dad weren’t working on Noel, he’d come find me. I looked up as we entered a waiting area with sterile blue vinyl couches and chairs.

A man sat on a couch with a Styrofoam coffee cup in his hand, his brown hair cut short and a frown on his face, staring straight ahead.

“Honey, I found Holden. He has a, um, a friend with him.” Furrowing her brows, Leah peeked at us.

“Huh?” Mr. Cox’s attention shifted to her. “What friend?” His gaze snapped to me. “Oh.”

Holden released my hand as we approached him, rubbing his palms together. “Hey, Dad.”

How would this go down? “Hello, Mr. Cox. I’m JJ and I’m a wide receiver for ASU’s football team. Holden’s been working as my trainer.” My pulse thundered in my ears.

“His father’s an anesthesiologist, so he’s in surgery with Noel.” Holden sank in next to his father. “Dad?”

“Yes, I heard you.” He twisted his coffee cup in his hands. “It’s nice your friend could come. ”

I touched Holden’s shoulder. What if we were all wrong and Dad was working on someone else? Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. “I should correct what Holden said. We think my dad’s working on your son.”

Flashing his eyes at me, Holden parted his lips. “Oh yeah, I guess we don’t know for sure yet.”

Leah crossed her arms and flicked her gaze between Holden and his father. “Keith, Holden has something to tell you.”

With a sharp inhale, Holden stared at his mother.

“He does? What?” Keith focused on Holden.

Holy fuck, what a time to bring this up. What was she doing? The man was clearly shaken enough. I shifted my weight.

“Uh…” Holden’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he swung his gaze to me. “JJ is…JJ is?—”

“I’m here to support Holden.” Fuck, I couldn’t let him do this. Pursing my lips, I snuck a glance at Leah.

She eyed me. “JJ, we need to tell Keith the truth. I prefer Holden tell Keith now rather than surprise him later if something bad happens to Noel and you two…“ With a huff, she looked away and came back. “And if things don’t turn out well for Noel, it’s better he knows now.”

With a nod, I said, “Okay, sorry.” I should keep my mouth shut. I was new to their family dynamic.

“It’s okay, honey.” She stepped toward me and rubbed my arm. “It’s a terrible situation, but Holden needs you, and Keith won’t have a problem with it.”

“I won’t have a problem with what?” Keith rose from the couch, creasing his brows. “What the hell is going on here?” He glared at Holden.

Smacking his hands on his thighs, Holden stood. “Dad, JJ is my boyfriend. I’m bisexual.”

“For the love of God.” With a scoff, Keith tapped his hand on his forehead and twisted, then walked to the window.

“Dad?” Throwing a look at his mother, Holden rushed to his dad’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay? Talk to me.”

Holding his hand up, Keith said, “Give me a minute.” His hardened gaze shifted to Leah. “How long have you known about this?”

She stepped to her husband. “I just found out tonight.” She grabbed his hand. “Keith, the timing is terrible, but your son needs his boyfriend with him right now.”

“Boyfriend?” His forehead wrinkled, and he scowled, turning his back on Holden.

Fuck, this wasn’t good. Maybe Leah was wrong. Holden didn’t need to see his dad’s nonacceptance of us. I strode to Holden and grabbed his hand. “Come on, babe. Let them work it out.”

“But I need to know if he’s okay with this.” He pushed on his dad’s shoulder. “Dad, talk to me, please.”

With his gaze creeping toward Holden, he said, “I sure as hell didn’t expect this out of you.” He stole a quick peek at me. “But I love you, and I’ll come around. I need some time. This is all too much.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, JJ. It’s not about you.”

“I know.” I pulled on Holden’s arm. “My dad had a hard time with my being gay too.” How could I get Holden out of here to give his dad some space?

“He did? This is the man who’s in surgery with Noel?” Keith peered at me.

“It is. Well, we think it is.” With a soft huff, I released Holden’s arm. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“JJ’s father and mother come into the bar. They’re lovely people and some of my favorite clients.” Leah squeezed Keith’s forearm.

Shit, now I better text Dad about this, so he’d know what he’d be walking into. “Excuse me.” I stepped away from them while they continued to talk and slipped my phone from my pocket.

JJ

So you know before you get here, Holden came out to his parents about us just now, and his father is struggling with it. Sort of like you.

I reread the text with my pulse rising. Should I leave the last line? Fuck it. I sent the text. Might as well state the truth. Fucking Noel would wake from surgery to a shitshow.

As I looked up from my phone, Dad strode toward me in his blue scrubs, his lips pressed into a grim line. Under my breath, I said, “Fuck me.” Here we go. He'd better have some good news.

“Uh, Holden? My dad’s here.” Keeping my gaze fixed on Dad, I turned to Holden and tagged his shoulder.

Everyone stopped talking and shifted their attention to Dad.

Lifting his chin, Dad shot me a glance and said, “Hello, Leah. I’m sorry to see you under these circumstances.” His gaze softened as it panned across them. “Noel’s in stable condition and recovering. I’ll let the surgeon tell you the specifics of his injuries.”

“Thank you so much, Dr. Matthews.” Leah stepped to him and grabbed his hands. “I’m so grateful they called you to handle the anesthesia.”

“Of course. I’m glad I could be here for your family.” He gave a nod to Holden. “Holden, I heard you just came out to your parents.”

“I did.” He stepped toward me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “I needed JJ here with me, and it was the only way.”

Dad’s lips curled at the corners. “I understand. We want the support of our loved ones when tough times in life happen, don’t we?” He focused on Keith. “Mr. Cox, when JJ came out to me, it was difficult for me to understand. I know what you’re going through.”

“Yes, it’s…it came out of nowhere.” Keith pursed his lips and peeked at Holden. “I want to be a supportive father, but I don’t know.” He hung his head. “I have one son who’s demanded all my attention, and I don’t want it to overshadow what’s going on with Holden.” He sent Holden a forgiving look.

Dad cleared his throat. “Well, the best advice I can give you is, don’t do what I did. I let my discomfort with the situation put distance between me and my son.” He glanced at me, his eyes glossy. “And now I’m unsure how to repair our relationship.”

My mouth dropped open as my vision grew hazy. Holy fuck, had Dad really said that? “Dad.” With my heart wrenching, I stepped to him. “We just need to talk again, like we used to. Maybe watch a football game together?” I swallowed so hard, my throat clicked.

“I’d like that, son.” Dad swung an arm around me and pulled me into his side.

“I have to tell you, when I found out who Noel was, I realized. What if it had been you? I mean, I see accident victims all the time, so I’m mostly numb to it.

But knowing it was your boyfriend’s brother, Leah’s son, I thought, what if it were you lying there and I never told you how sorry I was for not being able to fully accept who you are? ”

I sniffled and swiped wetness from my eyes. “Now you’ve told me.” I leaned against his solid body. “Let’s work on it, okay?”

“Yes, let’s.” He hugged me and released me.

“Holden, I won’t let this come between us, okay? I’ll do whatever it takes.” Keith walked to Holden and threw his arms around him. “I love you, son, I really do.” With a peek at me, he said, “And JJ? Welcome to our family.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Holden’s voice cracked against his father’s shoulder.

Dad patted Keith on the shoulder. “Welcome, all of you, to my family.” He gave Leah a warm grin. “I’m expecting the family discount next time we’re at Eddy V’s.”

With a mock scoff, Leah clapped her hands once and said, “You know I can’t do that.”

Another man in scrubs walked toward us. “The Cox family?” He stepped next to Dad and up-nodded at him. “Dr. Matthews. ”

“Dr. Peterson.” Dad gave him a smirk. “I’ll leave the family in your capable hands. With a wink, he gave my forearm a quick squeeze and strode away. "I’ll talk to you later.”

“Sure.” I breathed in deeply. I would remember this Thanksgiving for the rest of my life. Holy shit.

“How’s Noel?” Leah clenched her jaw.

“He’s stable and resting in a regular room.

His spleen had ruptured and was bleeding into his abdomen, but I was able to save it for now.

With the drugs he’s been on, he’ll be at high risk for infection, so we’ll need to monitor him closely for the next few days.

If it gets infected, we may need to go back in and remove it.

” Dr. Peterson’s lips tensed. “We’ve got him on some drugs to reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms. We don’t want him vomiting with the surgery he’s had. ”

Mom’s eyes teared as she pressed her tented hands to her mouth. “Oh, my God.” She breathed in deeply and dropped her hands. “What about the broken bones?”

“They’ll heal on their own. The kneecap fracture is minor, so it won’t require surgery. It’ll be painful for him, but he’ll need a leg brace and physical therapy. I’ll give you a recommendation for that.”

“Okay.” Keith grabbed Leah’s hand. “When can we see him?”

Holden leaned against my side, and I hooked an arm around his waist, whispering in his ear, “I’ve got you, babe.”

He slipped a glance at me. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You can see him now. He’s in room three-twenty-three.” He lifted his chin. “You might get him into a rehab facility.”

“I know.” Keith’s jaw bulged. “We’ll be staging an intervention.”