Page 10 of Hold Me Instead (Elmwood Falls #1)

Zachary

Zachary punched in the code for his buddy’s garage door and ducked inside when it opened halfway. He paused for quad stretches, rolled his neck, then stepped through the interior door into the mudroom, where he was greeted immediately by a wet nose to his thigh.

“How’s my girl?” Zachary squatted, grateful for Maple’s greeting as the old dog swathed his face with kisses. “Did you just wake up?”

“Her hearing may be going, but her sense of smell is not,” Jordan called out.

Zachary grinned and nuzzled Maple’s soft ears, the floppy one getting an extra squeeze, before he took off his shoes and met his friend in the kitchen.

Jordan stood at the stove in a black T-shirt and sweats, pans sizzling, the gray quartz countertop featuring potato peels and mushroom scraps.

“I only did a twenty-minute run. Did you get up right after I left?” Zachary’s mouth watered as he scanned the scrambled eggs and sausage. A ding drew his eyes to the air fryer, tucked below cherry wood mid-century modern cabinets.

“Mind getting the potatoes?” Jordan asked.

“What’s the occasion?” Zachary removed the crisp, diced potatoes and set them on the counter .

“Was hungry,” Jordan said with a grin. “There’s enough for you, don’t worry.”

“I should be the one making breakfast,” Zachary muttered.

“Nah, maybe another day. Help yourself.” Jordan loaded up his plate, then propped his hip against the counter as he ate.

Zachary draped his running jacket over a blue sloped chair and sat at the round wooden table, while Maple settled beside him on stiff hindquarters. “Thanks for feeding her last night. I didn’t expect to be gone so long.”

“No problem. Senior dinner hour, I get it. Besides, we got some good bonding in, didn’t we, Maple?” Jordan said.

Maple looked between them, then slowly laid down.

Zachary petted her silky head. “You’re up next.”

Jordan chuckled. He rubbed a hand over his curly high-top fade, his short-sleeve shirt exposing a MADRID tattoo in a typewriter font on his dark brown skin. “How was trick-or-treating?”

“The kids’ll be running on sugar for weeks,” Zachary said.

“Where’s your candy?” Jordan pointed to Alex’s toy sword by the mudroom.

“Yeah, completely forgot. Wore it to the hospital and back here,” Zachary said.

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

Zachary rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Mm. How was your shift? Did you close?”

“Yep. The bar was the busiest it’s been. People spilled onto the patio even though it was forty degrees and they were half dressed. Halloween itself will be crazy, though.”

“You working that too? ”

“Not at the bar, no. Thankfully. Mel has backup costumes planned if employees don’t wear their own.”

“You lucked out.”

“I know better than to work for her on Halloween. She dressed me like her personal doll when we were growing up as it was. Damn older sisters,” he said with a grin.

Zachary smiled. “Remember how she designed T-shirts for our moms to wear to football playoffs?”

“Remember? Pretty sure my mom still has hers!”

“Yeah, yeah, mine probably does too.”

Their laughter faded. Jordan crossed his arms and ankles as he leaned against the counter, his bartending ear in full swing. “So. How’s he doing?”

Zachary shrugged. “He was awake this time. The kids got him to smile a bit.”

His friend nodded, then studied him for an extra moment, holding the silence. “Well, my shift starts soon, but we should go out tomorrow, grab a drink.”

“You work at the hospital today?”

“Yeah, at noon.”

Jordan was a full-time nurse at the children’s hospital but pulled a shift or two each week at his sister’s bar. He’d heard general stories about the kids Jordan treated, and honestly, it would weigh on Zachary to witness that constantly and then watch a bunch of adults piss life away.

“I don’t know how you do it, all the varied hours. It’s like a switch flipped when I hit my thirties—if I’m out til bar close, I’m hungover for two days. Just from being out late. ”

“Mm, yeah. You prefer the five-days-a-week, morning-til-night routine.”

“Well.” Zachary scrubbed a hand through his hair.

Jordan shrugged. “Gives me a different sort of energy, I guess. Helps to be around adults and their messy shit for a change. Seriously though, it’d be good for you to get out a bit, not just with your niece and nephew.”

“Hey, they share candy with me.”

Jordan chuckled, and Zachary stood to get food for Maple. Sensing his intention, she wobbled into a sitting position, her face somehow innocent and youthful despite the spray of white around her eyes and nose.

“I uh…I’m gonna fill in for my dad,” Zachary said from the counter.

When he glanced over, Jordan was staring at him, eyebrows raised.

“I learned they’re pretty swamped and haven’t found someone to step in. Can’t have them cancel all those appointments.”

Jordan nodded slowly. “Do they know you were let go?”

Zachary cleared his throat. “No, not worth mentioning yet.”

“Sure.” He paused. “This is a temporary thing?”

Zachary set down Maple’s food, then shoved his hands into his pockets. “Of course it is.”

Jordan just nodded again.

“What?”

“Nothing. I think that’s great.”

Zachary shrugged. “Seemed like the right thing to do.” He shifted his feet, uneasy under his friend’s scrutiny.

“Well, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.” Jordan held up his hand before Zachary could argue. “You know that. You and the old girl.” He nodded toward Maple .

She stared between them, panting happily, then returned to her food.

Zachary smiled and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “Thanks. Does it come with breakfast like this regularly?”

“In your dreams, man,” Jordan said as he slapped Zachary on the shoulder.

“Thanks for…all of this.”

“Anytime.” Jordan nodded. “Alright, I have shit to do before I clock in. Drinks tomorrow. You can fill me in.”

“I pretty much did.”

Jordan gave him one more look.

“Yeah, alright. Where, Mel’s place?”

“Not this week. But we should at some point. She’ll want to see you while you’re in town!” Jordan called as he headed toward his room.

While you’re in town .

As though Zachary were here for a casual visit.

A friendly passing through of his hometown to catch up with old friends.

Not because his father had undergone a serious heart attack.

Staying with his best friend eased some strain of being back.

He wasn’t a burden to Sandra, and while his mom would love to have him, he didn’t need to be in the same house as his father.

Thank God his father would get to go home.

His phone buzzed. He pulled it from the pocket of his joggers and went to the guest room, Maple at his heels. Furrowing his brow, he saw a text from Bella Mazzolari, the one mutual friend he still shared with his ex-wife.

Bella: So you know how I said I’d only share if it’s something important ?

She followed it up with a screenshot from Anna’s social media account that showed his ex-wife, smiling brightly for the camera, nestled against a man gazing at her with adoration.

In Anna’s arms were two small puppies with matching red bow collars around their short sandy fur.

They sat on a bright white couch, in a bright white room, perfectly staged decor around them.

If a picture could encapsulate Anna’s dream life, both social media and reality, it was this one.

But the caption sealed the deal.

“ Everyone , meet the love of my life, Xander . He swept me off my feet this summer ! We ’ ve been enjoying a private start to our relationship , taking time away from the spotlight to form a solid base to our relationship , and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m so excited to announce that this handsome face will be joining my father ’ s clinic as their new veterinarian !

And I’m sure you’re all dying to know—we were fostering these two little bundles of joy and are thrilled to say that we FAILED !

We’ve officially adopted Percy and Gus, four-month-old Labrador Retriever siblings.

The four of us can’t wait to share our new adventures with you ! ”

Zachary stared hard at the words, hashtags blurring, as fragments of the post processed one at a time. Another buzz pulled him from his daze.

Bella: You probably met him already? I wanted you to have a warning in case their relationship hadn’t been exposed at the clinic. Am I too late?

Bella: Also, hi! Should’ve started with that…

Zachary: Hey, Bella. Haven’t met him. They actually let me go.

His phone rang.

“What the hell? When?” Bella’s voice was groggy.

“About a week ago.”

“That timing can’t be legal! ”

“It’s not worth it. ‘At-will’ and all that. Got my severance, and I needed to get out of there anyway.”

Bella released an exasperated, growling huff. “I don’t like it.”

He checked his phone. “It’s so early by you.”

“I know,” she whined. “I’ve got a photo shoot with some of the girls for this fancy liquor. Have to leave soon and get across town before the stupid LA traffic gets terrible. Wait, it’s almost six? I’m already screwed.”

“Sounds great.”

“Yeah. I really love it here,” she said earnestly.

He chuckled.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Bella had spent the last few years living in Los Angeles after appearing on a reality show called Is This Love?

, competing for the love of that season’s bachelor.

She’d made it to the final five and became a social media darling.

At a Chicago skincare company’s grand opening event, she and Anna had connected and bonded over their Midwestern roots in the influencer world.

“Hey, I’m sorry it all went down like that,” Bella said.

“It’s fine. It’s better this way. Things were too…”

“Toxic?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Besides, I’ve got other shit to worry about.” He gave her a quick update about his dad and being home.

“God, what a shitty couple of weeks.” A beat. “Does Anna know about your dad?”

“No. No reason to tell her.”

“Hm.” She brightened. “Hey, I’m coming home over the holidays. If you’re still in town, we should meet up.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. ”