Page 79 of Pure Silence

Day hugged Goldie’s neck. “Thank you.”

Goldie choked a little, and he patted Day’s arms to get him to ease up. “You’re welcome. Mph. I just wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“I do have a home,” Day said with a hint of stubbornness. “But… but it’s not like your home.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not very nice.” Day pulled his arms away. “It was Father’s home. And then mine. And… well, it’s very cold.”

Goldie couldn’t turn his head to look at Day without catching that sore spot in his neck, but he was able to reach back with his hand and hold Day’s leg. “Hey, cold as in just a drafty house or something? Or cold as in there’s no power?”

“No power.” Day fidgeted. “I have a stove! A kerosene one. I always make sure a window is open, don’t worry.”

Goldie’s stomach twisted, and his mind was made up. “Is there anything there you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is there anything there you actually want or could you just walk away from it all and come stay with me?”

Day audibly gasped. “Angel, I…”

“Look, I know it’s fast, but you need a place to stay. A real place that’s warm and not gonna kill you with some carbon monoxide fumes, okay? We’ll figure it out. Even ifwedon’t work out, I’m not gonna kick you out until I know I’ve got a safe spot for you to go.”

“Even if we…?” Day clung to Goldie’s back. “Why would you say that, angel?”

“Hey, I didn’t say it to hurt you,” Goldie soothed. “I just don’t want to worry about you ending up back in your kerosene heater hell if you decide you don’t want to be with me.”

“I always want to be with you,” Day retorted stubbornly. “You’re mine.”

“Baby, you’ve known me for like three days. Give it time.”

Day hugged him harder. “You shouldn’t think so little of yourself. You’re a gift, my angel.”

“I…” Goldie was going to correct him, but he realized Day was right. He reached up to squeeze Day’s forearm, saying instead, “Do anything long enough and it becomes a habit. I’ll work on it, all right?”

“Yes. We will.” Day kissed his cheek.

Goldie finished his coffee, took a shower, and got dressed. Although he’d bathed alone, Day was waiting for him to help dry him off and put on new lidocaine patches. Goldie enjoyed the attention, and he smiled when Day insisted on holding his hand to walk into the kitchen. Since Purrcy had already been fed, Goldie could focus on making breakfast for himself and Day.

He showed Day how to cook the bacon and use a little bit of the leftover grease for the eggs, which may or may not have ended up with a few pieces of shell in them from Day’s enthusiastic cracking. He let Day add the milk and season them, and then Day mixed them all up to pour into the pan.

Day was nervous about actually cooking, but Goldie guided his hand with the spatula around the pan and encouraged him to keep going. It was sweet, intimate in a way, and Goldie loved how proud Day was of himself when he got the hang of it and wanted to finish cooking the eggs on his own.

When the eggs were done, they were absolutely delicious.

Goldie didn’t even mind when he bit into a piece of eggshell.

They got bundled up to brave the cold outside, and Goldie smiled seeing Day in his trench coat. He knew he should get Day something that fit him a little better, but he still liked how Day looked wearing something of his. His smile faded when he saw the envelope of money, however.

“I decided that I want to divide the money between the youth shelter, the soup kitchen, and the animal rescue.” Day must have noticed Goldie staring at it as he tucked it into his backpack. “The shelter and the kitchen are on the way to my house. We can stop at the animal rescue on our way back.”

“All right. Yeah, we can do that.” Goldie didn’t want to argue.

Yes, there was a bratty part of him that did want to if only for another intensely sensual punishment, but ultimately he wanted this whole mess over and done with so they could move on.

The sooner they got rid of the money, the better.

Once Day got his headphones and Goldie had thrown on an extra scarf to top off his winter armor, they went downstairs to the car. Goldie made a face at all the snow, but at least the plows had already been through and cleared the roads. He cranked the car, urged Day to go ahead and get in, and then he cleared the snow off from the roof and windshield.