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“Language please, Boone. We’re not in prison, for goodness sake,” Althea said.
“Sorry, Nan,” Boone said.
Wes stood and hugged Cooper before adding the blanket to the large bag that held the bottle of whiskey that Grayson and Ryan had given him, the personalized whiskey glasses from Boone, and the gift card to his favourite restaurant from Lusa and Chase.
“Speech, birthday boy!” Chase hollered.
Wes tried not to grimace. Since Derek died, his birthday was no longer something to celebrate. Derek’s birthday was the same day as Wes’s, and for years they’d celebrated their birthdays together. Derek should have been here, and even now, it was still a knife to the guts that he wasn’t. Cooper and the others had honoured Wes’s refusal to acknowledge his birthday for the past four years, and he wished like hell they would have kept doing it.
His lion was sinking into that familiar grip of depression. Desperate to keep him from spiraling, Wes glanced around the room, looking for Eleanor.
She stood near the doorway to the kitchen in that fantastic dress. His lion calmed and then purred happily when Eleanor smiled at him. Relief washed over him. Eleanor had no idea how easily she could soothe his lion, but holy fuck, did he appreciate it. His lion hadn’t been this happy in years.
The others stared expectantly at him. He took a deep breath, his gaze lingering on Eleanor. “Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. It means a lot, and I want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship and your… love.”
It was a lame speech but the best he could do. Public speaking gave him hives. He could feel his face starting to burn, and Grayson, who always seemed to know when Wes was at his limit, swooped in and saved him.
“We love you too, Wes.” Grayson raised his glass. “Happy Birthday to the best man we know.”
The others raised their glasses, and cheers of ‘Happy Birthday’ echoed through the room. Keeping the smile plastered on his face, Wes took a drink. The fiery liquid burned his throat and immediately threatened to come back up when it hit his churning guts. He swallowed hard, sweat breaking out on his back. He wasn’t the best man they knew. Hell, he wasn’t even a good guy. Would a good guy have gotten one of their best friends killed?
He swallowed again and cleared his throat as the others quieted. “I also want to acknowledge and remember the actual best man that we all know. For years, Derek and I celebrated our birthdays together, and I hate that he isn’t here with us now.”
Boone’s face had gone stark, and his hand clenched around the glass he held. Wes wanted to look him in the eye, but the pain and the sorrow on Boone’s face were too heartbreaking. He looked away, studying the wall behind Boone as he raised his glass and said, “To Derek. Happy Birthday, man.”
“To Derek,” the others echoed.
CHAPTER 14
Boone caught her scent as the front door closed behind her. He stayed perfectly still, hoping she wouldn’t notice him in the far shadows of the porch. When her footsteps started toward him, he swiped at the tears on his face and cleared his throat.
“I’m getting some fresh air. I’ll be inside in a minute.” Fuck, he hoped she took the hint. Crying in front of his nan’s new nurse would be the perfect conclusion to an already difficult fucking day.
He clenched his jaw when his tiger made a low and mournful cry. It wasn’t that Derek hadn’t been on his mind all day anyway, but the toast to him, the pain in Wes’s voice, had flooded Boone with memories that he’d rather forget.
He closed his eyes as more tears leaked down his face. Just fucking once, he wished that the memories could be of the good times instead of the day Derek died.
Hedra stood directly behind him. “Are you all right, Mr. Jameson?”
“I’m fine. Just, uh, needed some fresh air,” he said hoarsely.
There was a moment of silence, and then Hedra said, “Daisy told me who Derek is. I’m sorry for your loss.”
If she didn’t leave in the next thirty seconds, he was going to burst into tears and really fucking embarrass himself. “Thanks.”
His tiger made another low cry of pain and sorrow as Hedra touched his back. “Mr. Jameson, I’m a good listener if -”
The loss, the raw and unbearable pain that flooded through him as if Derek had died only yesterday instead of four years ago, suffocated him. He turned around to stumble past Hedra, but she took one look at his face and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into her.
He slid his arms around her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck. His tears wetted her skin, but she didn’t seem to care as she rubbed his back. He let himself sink into her softness, his body shaking and his hands digging hard into her hips.
His tiger calmed before Boone did, which was strange, but Hedra’s soft purring soothed the beast faster than Boone had ever been able to comfort him. His tiger trilled to Hedra, and she trilled back before purring again.
It was nice, Boone thought absently. Typically, his tiger didn’t respond to another’s purrs or trills. Not since Derek died anyway. But Hedra’s purring was… wait, what the fuck?
He leaned back, studying Hedra. “You’re purring.”
Her purring cut out abruptly, and he caught the faint scent of her embarrassment. “Sorry. My sister is… well, she needs a lot of comforting sometimes, so I learned to imitate purring and trilling. I usually only do it for her, though. I hope it didn’t upset your tiger.”
