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“Simpleton.” He bent down and kissed me as if his life depended on it. I grabbed hold of his coat sleeve to keep his mouth to mine. The door opened and someone who sounded like my brother said “Oops” but walked in anyway. Asshole. Shep straightened, gave Will and Nate a nod, and left before they made any comments. Nate was cradling his hat and a huge dish of purple, yellow, and white flowers.
“You look better,” Will said, flopping into Shep’s recently vacated seat. Nate came over to shake my hand and study me intently. “Trust me, he looks good. Should have seen him when they brought him out of surgery.”
“You scared the shit out of us, Kyle. Heroic moron,” Nate mumbled as he handed a huge floral display to me. “This is from Landon and Montrell. They said they’d drop by tomorrow since it’s supposed to only be family and your partner.”
I tossed a look at Will. He shrugged. “I had to tell them something. McCrary was not leaving and looked like he was going to fucking expire if he didn’t get to see you, so I told them he was your longtime partner.”
“Ah,” I said as I mouthed the term “partner.” Sure, that worked. I liked boyfriend better but then again, this thing did have an expiration date. “Thanks. So what are you?” I enquired of Nate.
“Your cousin.”
That made me snort in amusement. “Ouch. Shit. Hey, coz. You do look like my father’s sister’s uncle’s boyfriend on his aunt’s side.”
“Seems they could have adjusted your asshole levels when they were stitching you up,” Nate grumbled, but his gaze was warm. “I’m glad you’re okay. Good irrigators are hard to find.”
“Charming irrigators, you mean.” I squirmed to sit up as I nursed my coffee. “So tell me what you know about shit. Mark was just here.”
“We passed him in the hall,” Will said as he picked at the cord of the blind. “We don’t know much other than Roxie is in custody as are the Great Bear twins and Milt’s girlfriend, though she was let go but hasn’t talked to anyone.”
“Perry’s grandfather is visiting with Donald Great Bear’s girl now. I expect him to have the full story within an hour,” Nate stated, and I had to agree. If anyone could talk the truth out of someone, it was Aaron Yellow Horse. “So, how serious is this thing with Shepherd? He never left your side the first two days you were here.”
“Meh, not serious,” I lied. Neither man believed me. I could tell by their rolling eyes, but that was the story I was sticking with. It was the story that I had to stick with, as it was the only way I’d be able to struggle along after Shep left for Cheyenne.
