Page 43 of The Goalie in Room 1

Two other questions burned to be asked. Tears I didn’t realize were pooling in my eyes followed the ones that came before. “And you won’t decide it’s not worth continuing? That I’m not worth paying to fix?”

“Cash, no. Never. Halo House won’t kick you out. This house is your home until you decide to live your life elsewhere, and even then, they will always welcome you back with open arms.”

Silence settled over us, then Thad said softly, “There might be medical consequences for ignoring your treatment plan. But…and please hear me when I say this…there will never be financial consequences or housing issues because you disagreed with me.”

“What if I decide I want you more than I want you as my doctor?”

“You asked me that already.”

“Not really. I asked what would happen if I didn’t choose you as my doctor. I want to know what you would do if I decided I wanted you as a doctor, but I wanted you as a man in my bed—in my life—more?”

He swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly before he cleared his throat. “Then you choose another surgeon, and I stand proudly beside you as the man you chose, while helping you navigate the weeks and months of recovery.”

“Yeah, I want you, Doc. But I spent a shitload of money trekking around this fucking country, going from doctor to doctor, trying to get one of the idiots to make the introduction. I’m not giving up this chance because you make my dick hard.”

He laughed, boisterous and so fucking beautiful my dick twitched.

“Then I’m your doctor.”

“Yeah, Doc. You are.”

Another pause in the conversation, but this one felt less…weighty. Things were…settled.

“Good. I want you in my bed, Cash, just so we’re clear, but you believed I was the best person to give you a chance. And you deserve that chance. You deserve the best medical care I can give you, Cash. I won’t shortchange you because I can’t keep my hands to myself.”

“How long?”

“How long what?”

I smirked, letting my eyes rake down his big body. “I need a date, Doc.”

A furrowed brow asked what his mouth didn’t.

“For the countdown clock. When will you release me?”

He laughed. “I don’t know, Cash.”

“That’s a shitty answer, Doc.”

Laughter rang through the air around us, his and mine. All this scared the shit out of me. But so did standing in a net while a skater smacked pucks at you as hard as they could.

“What about the other question?” Thad asked, several moments later.

I looked at him, really looked at him. “I want you in my corner,” I whispered around the frog that took up residence in my throat. “It scares the shit out of me, but yeah. I want you however I can get you, Thad.”

He said, “You know you can change your mind, right?”

“About you being my patron?”

“About any of it. Patron or doctor, you can change your mind.”

“But not about wanting you?” I asked with a smirk so he’d know I was joking.

“If and when⁠—”

“When, Doc. When. There is no if.”

“Then yes, that too.”