Page 42 of Hollis (The Moore Men #2)

Twenty-Seven

Hollis

“ I ’m plenty capable of walkin’ on my own,” I mutter as my dad wheels me out of the hospital.

“Quit your bitchin’,” he says, his tone gruff and leaving no room for argument.

He hasn’t left my side since he got here, and he insisted on being the one to take me home when I found out I was being discharged today.

Ford and Remi have been with me too, but they both left this morning to go into the station.

My mom and Kelly Ann are at my dad’s house right now, and I already know without having to ask that she’s busy in the kitchen, making all kinds of ready-to-bake meals for me for the week.

My mother has always been a stress chef.

You’d think I was coming home after having brain surgery or something, with how everyone’s acting.

I can’t say I don’t appreciate it, though, and I do feel bad for worrying everyone.

I still can’t believe I wrecked my bike.

All these years I’ve had it, never once have I even come close to getting into an accident.

Granted, I typically make it a point to not ride in bad weather, but I wasn’t exactly expecting a torrential downpour to hit while on my way home.

I don’t know yet if the bike is totaled, but I have a feeling it is, which sucks.

Honestly, it could’ve been a lot worse than it was, and I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened had I not been wearing a helmet, or had I been going any faster.

After my dad insists on helping me into the truck and buckling my seatbelt for me, he climbs in behind the wheel and sets off toward home.

It’s late morning on a weekday; he probably has a hundred different things he needs to tend to on the ranch.

It’s not like him to take time off like this.

Sure, I can’t drive for the next six weeks, but I could’ve called a cab or something.

Are cabs even still a thing? Fuck if I know.

“So, you and Ford, huh?” Dad says as he turns onto the main road.

The inside of the cab is silent, not even the radio on.

His question somehow brings me back to my teenage years, when he’d grill me about something he heard I’d done around town.

Like I’m in trouble… Even though I know I’m not.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never talked to either of my parents about people I’ve been with.

Sure, they knew about my high school girlfriend, and she came over for dinner sometimes, but I never discussed our relationship with either of them.

“Me and Ford,” I say. “Think it’s weird?”

He breathes out a small chuckle, grip tightening on the steering wheel. “No, not weird, but I can’t say I ain’t surprised.”

“Nobody’s more surprised than me.” I snort, glancing out the window.

“How’s Remi feel ’bout all this?”

“He’s…okay with it?” I don’t know why I phrase it like a qu estion, but it makes me laugh to myself, thinking about how long we kept it from him under the fear that he wouldn’t accept it.

Although, maybe deep down, I always knew that.

Maybe Remi was simply the excuse I gave myself to keep from falling for Ford, because even from the beginning, I could tell he was different.

“I think he just wants to see me happy.”

“And you are?” he asks, turning his head toward me for a moment. “Happy?”

I huff a breath through my nose. “I mean, I’m not happy about my bike, and that my arm and leg are out of commission for a while, but yeah… I think I am.”

“Never thought I’d see the day,” he says teasingly.

“Me neither.” Jabbing him in the arm with my elbow, I add, “Now, it’s your turn.”

“My turn?” His furrowed gaze finds me.

“You heard me.” I chuckle. “Find you a…person to spend your life with.”

“Oh, lord,” he grumbles. “Who are you, and what have you done with my son?”

I laugh, and he does too, but deep down, I do hope he finds that soon.

Gentry Moore has spent so much of his life caring for others, putting the needs of others before his own.

He spent most of his adult life in a marriage meant to appease other people.

It’s about damn time he does some things for himself.

As he pulls into my driveway, my gaze fixes on the truck parked next to mine. My head snaps toward my dad as he parks behind it. “What’s Ford doin’ here?” I ask, confusion furrowing my brows as I undo my seatbelt and reach for the door.

“Don’t you get out on your own, Hollis,” he growls as he climbs out, ignoring the question altogether. After he grabs my crutch out of the back, he comes around to my side and helps me out.

“I can do this myself,” I grumble.

Before we reach the stairs, the front door opens, out walking Ford. He’s wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans, but there’s a navy-blue baseball cap on his head flipped around, and it makes my stomach flutter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a hat before… And I’m digging it.

“Howdy, Cap,” I drawl as we reach the top step. “Ain’t you supposed to be at the station?”

Ford takes the crutch from my dad, as well as the duffle bag he brought to the hospital for me, before we step inside the house. The air conditioning is cool as it washes over me; it feels nice compared to the already blazing sun beating down on us outside.

“I was,” he offers, but gives me nothing else.

Alrighty then.

After my dad gets me settled on the couch, he strolls into the kitchen and comes back with a bottle of water for me, setting it on the coffee table. “Need anything else while I’m here?” he asks, flicking his gaze from me to Ford.

I shake my head. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, Dad.”

Giving me a terse nod, he says, “Your mom’s runnin’ up to the pharmacy to get your prescription soon, and then she’ll be by this afternoon to drop it off and bring you some food.”

Ha! I knew it.

“She didn’t need to do all that.”

He huffs a breath through his nose. “Try tellin’ her that.” Then he looks at Ford. “Give me a holler if you need anything, or you gotta go. Finn or I will run on down here.”

“Will do, sir. ”

My dad extends his hand for Ford to shake before patting me on the back, then he leaves. What the hell was that?

“Why aren’t you at work?” I ask Ford the moment the front door clicks shut.

He shrugs, sitting down beside me on the couch. “Took the week off.”

“You did?” My brows pinch, head rearing back. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” Leaning in, Ford presses his mouth gently to mine. My body immediately lights up, and I part my lips, allowing his tongue to sweep inside. He tastes like coffee, and his rich scent fills my nostrils as I kiss him back.

When he pulls back, a smile spreads across my lips as I look into his eyes. “Because you love me?” I ask, my voice raspy, remembering how it felt waking up in the hospital the other day and hearing him say that.

He chuckles, the deep sound settling over my tired, achy body. “Guess we’re talkin’ about this now, huh?”

“Yeah, think we probably should.” I chuckle as he gently lifts my injured leg, laying it across his lap as I relax into the back of the couch. “I, for one, would love to hear it again since I was a bit out of it the first time. You know…just to be sure I heard it right.”

“Right, of course.” Ford nods, and a smile curls his lips that leads to a deep, rumbly laugh that I know I could, without a doubt, listen to every day for the rest of my life and never tire of it. “Gotta make sure you heard it right,” he teases, squeezing either side of my knee playfully.

Then, in the blink of an eye, something shifts. The air in the room is suddenly thicker.

The humor in his gaze turns into something…

different. Something heady. My pulse spikes, the beating in my chest rapid and wild, knowing what’s to come.

Which is silly… He’s alre ady said it; it’s already out in the open.

But for whatever reason, this feels like the first time.

And well, I guess in a way, it kind of is.

It’ll be the first time he’ll say it directly to me.

I don’t feel ready, but at the same time, I do.

But that’s how it’s always been with Ford, right?

Nothing ever makes sense, while somehow also feeling completely right every single time.

It’s a paradox.

W e’re a paradox.

Clearing his throat, Ford rests a warm, steady hand on my thigh.

“Well, in case there’s any doubt about what was said in that hospital room, or about where I stand when it comes to you…

” He pauses, dragging in a deep breath. I watch his Adam’s apple roll as he swallows.

“You were… You were somethin’ I never saw comin’.

When I found your profile on that app, I didn’t understand this…

this urge I felt to match with you despite all signs pointin’ to it bein’ a terrible idea.

I was fresh out of a failed marriage, I felt broken, and very unsure of myself, and you…

Well, you’re twenty years younger than me, a well-known playboy, and the best friend of somebody I work very closely with.

On paper, you and I make no sense. On paper, we never should’ve happened—or, at the very least, been over long before now.

And yet, the more time I spent with you, the more I got to know you—the real you—and the more I let you see me too, the deeper I fell. ”

Ford’s stormy eyes soften while they hold mine, and the tiniest bit of color splashes across his cheeks.

Time stands still. All that remains in focus is him.

It’s a rush and a stillness all at once, the way my heart races, but my soul sinks into place.

A paradox. The hair on my arms stands up, and my skin tingles.

There’s this ache in my chest—not a painful one, but one that’s tender and tells me everything I need to know.

What Ford’s about to say, again… I feel it too .

And once that realization hits me, it’s damn near impossible to sit still, or keep quiet. Suddenly, I’m bursting at the seams, but somehow, I’m able to keep it inside long enough for him to finish.

“When I arrived on scene and saw you, my heart stopped.” The emotion weaved through his words makes my chest tight.

“I couldn’t breathe; it felt like a piece of me shattered.

Never in my life have I felt fear like I did in those first few moments, when I didn’t know the severity of your injuries, or even if you were goin’ to be okay.

Seein’ you like that, it was…gut wrenchin’, and all I kept thinkin’ was how I never got to tell you how I feel.

How I could lose you, and you’d never know what you mean to me. ”

His voice cracks, and a piece of me does too.

“This started as something casual, and I know it was meant to be fun and nothing more, but it’s more than that for me.

And honestly, it has been for a while. I love you, Hollis.

” My heart skips a beat, pressure building behind my eyes.

“I love the man, the brother, the friend, and the son you are. I love how much family means to you, and the capacity of love you hold for those closest to you. I love how hard you work, but I also love how you never take life too seriously; somethin’ I could learn from you. ”

I breathe out a laugh, smiling through misty eyes while he does the same.

“And I love the way you make me feel,” he goes on.

“I love the way you came into my life at a time I needed you the most. You were a bright sun shinin’ through years of dark clouds.

Hollis, you gave me warmth, and you reminded me what it’s like to be seen.

But more than that, you gave me hope, and I don’t think you’ll ever truly know what that means to me. ”

Swallowing thickly, I blink through the tears, feeling like my heart is about to explode in my chest. “Wow,” I rasp, wiping the moisture from under my eyes. “This was way better than the hospital room.”

Ford breathes out a laugh, tears spilling over and rushing down his cheeks, while I do the same. There’s a ringing in my ears, and every inch of my skin tingles. Everything is heightened, and there’s so much I want to say, but none of it feels like enough.

“I already know that nothin’ I’m about to say will come out nearly as put together as what you said,” I say with a small chuckle.

“But this ain’t casual for me either. I was really content with my life, never felt like I was missin’ out on anythin’ by being alone.

But now… I want more. I want you . And I don’t know when the hell it happened, but I’m in love with you, Ford. ”

The smile that curls his lips makes the wrinkles around his wet, bloodshot eyes deepen. “Called me by my actual name and everything,” he drawls before clearing his throat. “You must really mean it.”

I throw my head back as laughter bubbles out of me. “I guess I really do.”

We stare at each other for a beat longer, but before either of us can say anything, there’s a knock at the door. I glance at Ford, lifting my brow questioningly.

“Probably your mom,” he offers, reminding me about what my dad said before he left.

I nod and huff a small chuckle. “Leave it to her to pick right now to show up.”

Carefully moving my leg off his lap, Ford stands.

“I’ll let her in,” he says, but before he does, he meets my gaze.

Placing one hand on the back of the couch, his other comes to the arm behind me as he leans in and drops his forehead to mine.

For a moment, nothing is said as we lock eyes and breathe each other in.

It’s Ford that speaks first. “Say it again.”

Smirking, a bolt of electricity shoots through my veins as I tip my head back, bringing my lips right up against his as I whisper, “I love you.”

A groan sounds from deep in his chest as his eyelids flutter closed, and he exhales a sharp breath through his nose. “Fuck, that sounds good.” Pressing a kiss to my lips, he pulls back and says, “I love you.”

There’s another knock, this time harder. “Hollis, it’s Mom,” she shouts, her voice muffled through the door. “I know you’re in there. Open up!”

We both chuckle before Ford pads over to the front door and lets her in.

In typical mom fashion, she ends up staying, but I don’t mind.

Once she gives me my meds, things get a bit hazy, then they go black, and when I wake up, there’s a blanket covering me, the whole house is clean, whatever’s in the oven smells delicious, and Ford’s sitting beside me with my legs pulled over his lap again while my mom tells him all about the new property she bought.

I may not have a clue what I’m doing, or know what the future holds for me and Ford, but one thing I do know is, I could get used to this.

Who knew being in love could be so warm and fuzzy?