June clicks her tongue to her teeth, her hand on her hip as she directs her attention to Remi. “We certainly could’ve lived without knowing that, Remington, but thank you.”
That makes Hollis giggle some more. And I meanactuallygiggling.He must be pretty damn high right now.
“Anyway, as I was saying,” I go on. “We’ve been seein’ each other, and we’ve kept it pretty casual, but it’s not casual anymore. At least, not for me.”
“You hear that, guys?” Hollis’s eyes are squinted from how hard he’s smiling, and he’s cupping his face with his hands. What I would give to take a picture of him. “Fire Daddy is in love withmeee!”
“Alright, then.” June claps her hands together, brows clear up to her forehead, while Kelly Ann chuckles behind her.
“Clearly, I could’ve picked a better time and place to say all this,” I murmur, bringing my gaze back to his parents.
“No, I think this is great,” Remi says. “Top-tier entertainment.”
“Knock it off, Remi,” Gentry growls, turning every head in his direction.
The room falls silent before Hollis says, “Oh my, grumpy Gentry.”
Some of the tension dissipates as we laugh—well, everyone except Gentry, but I swear, I see the faintest of smiles tug on the corner of his mouth. The door opens a moment later, in walking Finn…and Ash, and Tucker. Finn waves, scanning the faces in the room before walking over and giving his mom a hug.
“Tucker wouldn’t go to bed until he saw you were okay,” he drawls to Hollis. “How ya feelin’, brother?”
“High as a kite.”
He snorts. “Well, that’s good.
“Also, Ford’s in love with me.”
Finn’s gaze drags over to me, a crooked grin spreading on his face. “Is that right?”
I run my fingers through my hair, wondering how many times tonight he’s going to say that, while also wondering if him repeating it to everybody who walks is a good thing.
“He probably won’t remember this entire conversation tomorrow, but yes.”
“Well, would ya look at that.” Slapping me on the arm, Finn says, “’Bout time you two called this for what it was.”
“Who all knew about this?” Gentry asks, his brows furrowed.
“Everybody,” Ash says before gesturing between me and Hollis. “Well, except these two. They’re more oblivious than Finn was when I came around.”
And just like that, the mood lightens, and everybody rests alittle easier knowing Hollis is going to be okay. Relief floods my system. I have no clue what the future holds, or if Hollis even feels the same way about me, but even if he doesn’t, I’m just glad he’s alive and that I got it all off my chest.
Though, it would be a bonus if he was in love with me too.
Twenty-Seven
Hollis
“I’m plenty capable of walkin’ on my own,” I mutter as my dad wheels me out of the hospital.
“Quit your bitchin’,” he says, his tone gruff and leaving no room for argument.
He hasn’t left my side since he got here, and he insisted on being the one to take me home when I found out I was being discharged today. Ford and Remi have been with me too, but they both left this morning to go into the station. My mom and Kelly Ann are at my dad’s house right now, and I already know without having to ask that she’s busy in the kitchen, making all kinds of ready-to-bake meals for me for the week. My mother has always been a stress chef.
You’d think I was coming home after having brain surgery or something, with how everyone’s acting. I can’t say I don’t appreciate it, though, and I do feel bad for worrying everyone. I still can’t believe I wrecked my bike. All these years I’ve had it, never once have I even come close to getting into an accident. Granted, I typically make it a point tonotride in bad weather,but I wasn’t exactly expecting a torrential downpour to hit while on my way home. I don’t know yet if the bike is totaled, but I have a feeling it is, which sucks. Honestly, it could’ve been a lot worse than it was, and I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened had I not been wearing a helmet, or had I been going any faster.
After my dad insists on helping me into the truckandbuckling my seatbelt for me, he climbs in behind the wheel and sets off toward home. It’s late morning on a weekday; he probably has a hundred different things he needs to tend to on the ranch. It’s not like him to take time off like this. Sure, I can’t drive for the next six weeks, but I could’ve called a cab or something.
Are cabs even still a thing?Fuck if I know.
