AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He seems to really care about me. How could a guy like him get so attached to a boy like me after only a day?
“I have a private jet, Mrs. Darling,” he interjects kindly. “I’ll get Kragen home in one piece when it’s safe for him to fly,” he adds, shooting a wink down in my direction.
Dr. Davis nods in agreement. “This plan seems most appropriate,” he says. “And I have no doubts that Mr. Fairchild is an exemplary candidate to care for your boy, Mrs. Darling,” he adds with a perked ear, listening to a page overhead asking for his assistance elsewhere.
The doctor smiles briefly. “Excuse me for a few minutes—yeah?” He mumbles, quickly shuffling out of the room.
Candace glowers over at Reid, as she escorts Tuti back to her chair. “None of that rich boy funny business,” she pipes up, seething through gritted teeth. “If you so much as lay a finger on our kid,” she adds, her chin meeting a shoulder. “You’ll have lawyers so far up your asshole that you won’t shit for a week.”
Jesus, Mimi. If you only knew about last night. Though come to think of it, why can’t I fly if Wednesday morning is more than two days away?
My eyes roll back with a scoff. “Hang on, Mimi,” I blurt, extending my arms to see there’s an IV in my arm much like in the dream. “Reid has been showing me around the islands, and I slept in his guest suite last night.”
Momma winces as if she can detect that was a bold-faced lie. “Sweetheart,” she says, grabbing Candace’s hand. “Why don’t we give them a moment,” she adds, turning back around to shoot me and Daddy Reid her seemingly tacit approval. “I’ll call Tessa to see if she and Craig would join us all for dinner tomorrow before they continue the next leg of their honeymoon.”
If loud bodily functions truly are the indicators of nervousness as people claim, then Reid’s gurgling stomach is about to turn upside down. His grip of my hand tightens yet again, all the while sighing softly.Poor guy. This isn’t at all how I wanted to introduce him to Candace. She can be a handful.
An involuntary grin plasters my face, covering up my true feelings. “Sounds great, if the doctor says I can get out of here by then,” I reply, tugging on Reid’s arm. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Reid lets out a grunt. “Surreeeee,” he says. “Why don’t we gather at The Palace?”
No sooner do I attempt another reply, when Candace prevents me from speaking entirely.
“We can’t affordthat place,” she hisses. “You might be lucky for us to pay for a Subway sandwich, maybe.”
Daddy Reid’s reply sends a silent but deadly pang into my belly. “Sweetheart, I’m Reid Fairchild,” he replies with a pert expression. “I canaffordthat place,” he adds, emphatically hoisting his free hand at waist level. “And I insist on paying for your meal.”
His air of dominance seems to have put Candace in her place. But she’s nothing if not persistent about having the last word in any debacle. “I know good and well who you are,” she says, raising a brow. “And for the record, Kragen has been able to vote for the last three years.”
Where’s she going with this? What does my voting age have to do with the price of tea in fucking China?Yet again, I try to settle the tension with a soothing reply. However, Dr. Davis totters back into the room, situating a brown stethoscope around his neck in the process.
“Good news Kragen,” he says. “I can clear you for discharge, but if you show signs of a worsening concussion like vomiting or slurred speech,” he draws a quick breath. “You will need to return pronto—yeah?”
Daddy Reid turns around to retrieve a bottle of Coke Zero from his bedside chair. “Here you are kiddo,” he says. “It’s lukewarm by now, but I’m sure you’re thirsty as all get out right now.”
I find his simple courtesies quite refreshing. My parents are great and all. But I’m usually only pampered by Tuti whenever I’m sick. Candace is far too busy at her legal aid clinic to extend much more than a kiss goodnight, or morning hug. Yet here I have an older man which I’ve always wanted, practically eager to serve me fresh grapes while fanning my sweaty flesh with a large banana leaf.
* * *
Daddy Reid and I have returned to The Tiki Tavern after being sprung loose from the private emergency room he took me to. Of course, not without an abundance of pain. That doctor assured me that they didn’t administer any opioid painkillers, almost as if they had some type of instant access to my medical records from Colorado. We’re almost a quarter of the way into the new Millenium, and our healthcare system might already have the ability of communicating at the speed of telepathy.
To be frank, we’re not staying here in the room Momma and Mimi have been paying for. My Island Daddy in his infinite charm feels a certain level of guilt for how I’ve injured myself. Even though he doesn’t know this isn’t a new injury. Nor is he aware that I’ve suffered chronic back pain ever since hurting my spine on a set of bleachers back in school.
All this to say, he’s adamant about setting Candace, Tuti, Tessa, and Craig up in their own private suites at his Kuhio Beach resort. The same one where Tessa’s wedding reception took place. And precisely where I timidly eye-fucked Reid Fairchild in the lobby. I’m sitting at the bed’s edge while he scours my luggage and bedstand, collecting each of my possessions for transporting to his hotel.
“Don’t forget my phone and iPad charger plugged in behind the stand there,” I mention, twisting around gently with a hand covering my pained back. “Can’t leave those behind can I?”
Reid grimaces. “I don’t think I’ve seen your phone,” he says, shrugging. “To be honest, I’ve wanted to upgrade it since you’ve been stuck with that model for at least four years.”
“Nah,” I reply, flailing a wrist. “You don’t have to worry about that,” I add, insistent that he has already spoiled me plenty yesterday and today.
He finishes stuffing my iPad and cord into the suitcase when my work badge falls from its lid. Now I’m reminded with the other reason I’m here with Reid in the first place. Well, if it weren’t for our Grindr interaction, I’d have been at his corporate headquarters tomorrow.Or today? God, that doctor was right. I have a serious lapse in memory.
But if I must be honest, I don’t feel easy about becoming his own personal Gorbachev. If I destruct the very framework his father and grandfather worked hard to build by writing my piece, I’d probably ruin the man’s life entirely. After these last couple of days or some shit, I’ve really seen a different side to Reid Fairchild. He’s sweet, passionate, and oh so tender.I’m just gonna quit my job. Fuck Allen Downing and The Patriot’s Examiner.
Reid shoots me a concerning look, scooping my press lanyard off the floor. Since I haven’t told him what I really am, I can only assume he finds this more than just a little suspicious. Especially because I’m quite sure he’s constantly walking on eggshells where the mass media is concerned. My temporary Daddy doesn’t say a word, as he stuffs it back inside the lid of my suitcase. A grunt follows the sound of him zipping it shut, quickly hoisting the luggage at waist level.
“Are you ready to get out of this shit box?” He jokes with a wink.
