Almost as soon as the engine cut, a bald Black man with a bushy beard leapt from the driver’s side and hustled around to the passenger rear door. He had that door open and was pulling out a crutch when the front passenger door opened. “I asked you to wait,” the tall man holding the crutch scolded.
“That’s James.” Colin beamed with clear admiration for his husband in his gaze.
The passenger grumbled, “I told you, I don’t need you hovering.” And that would be Arthur whose frown really marred his handsome face as he emerged. He accepted the crutch, then looked up and caught my eye.
Our gazes held.
After a moment, he broke away to glare at James.
“Cranky.” Colin grinned as he headed toward the SUV.
After a moment, I followed.
“You’re looking…” Colin cocked his head at Arthur. “Rough.”
“Thank you.” Arthur’s frown didn’t lessen. “You have three kids you should be with.”
James rolled his eyes. “A few hours with Danny and Rob, as well as Hallie and Thomas, will be good for them.”
I wracked my mind. Colin had told me a bunch of proud foster-dad and close family stories as we worked. Danny was James’s brother. Rob was Danny’s fiancé. Hallie and Thomas were their kids.
See? I could do this.
“May I help?” I gestured to the bag James carried.
“That would be lovely.” The big man handed it over. He topped me by a couple of inches, and I was six-two. A bit of a height difference between the husbands.
I grinned at Colin. “All good.”
Arthur nodded to me. “Thanks.” He pivoted back to James. “So you can stop hovering. See? I’ve got a minder.”
Okay, yeah, a little cranky. I didn’t blame him. Gunshot wound? Knock to the head? Guy was probably in pain—even if they were giving him the good stuff, which I had a vague impression they couldn’t with a head injury. Poor guy. “I’m happy to be a minder. Nothing else to do.” And since Arthur intrigued me in a way few men had recently, I was determined to prove myself useful.
Arthur hobbled toward the shelter, and I hustled ahead with his bag to get the door for him.
I tossed a nice to meet you at James before following Arthur into the grand lobby space. Colin had explained how this used to be a wine tasting room. That made all the majestic marble tiles and mirrors and chandeliers understandable.
“Do you want to go straight upstairs to rest?” I held up the duffel bag. “I need to run this upstairs, right? And do you want to see your dogs? Or do you want me to bring them down here? Because those stairs are steep but, I have to say, your dogs are super adorable.”
“Is Vicky here?” He glanced around. “She usually works Sundays.”
“She had to take off early. She apologized and was relieved when Colin said you were being discharged from the hospital.”
“Not a moment too soon.” He winced as he rubbed his forehead. “Hospitals are expensive.”
No shit. Expensive, stressful, scary. But I pushed those memories aside. “I think resting is a good idea?—”
“I’m fine. Really.” He tried to grab his bag from my hand. “I can take care of things from here on.”
I cocked my head. “We haven’t done evening feeding yet. Your dogs need walks. How are you going to manage all that?” I held the bag away from him. Clearly he thought he’d just nab it and, what? Head upstairs on his crutch, then hobble back down and feed a shelter full of pets? Stubborn man. “Let’s get you up to your apartment.”
“Fine.” He said the word with annoyance. “We’ll make it fast.”
Apparently my hovering wasn’t any less annoying to him than James’s. Is he always this…cranky? I could completely see where he was coming from, but he wouldn’t be able to do everything himself. “I bet these marble tiles are a little slippery, but then you’re familiar with them, I guess. I thought the upscale look was weird, but Colin explained about the winery. Looking fancy probably helps adopters believe you take great care of the pets, right?”
“Yup.” He managed to crutch through the hallway to the stairs halfway back.
I shuffled behind him. Trying not to rush him, and yet trying not to seem like I was holding back and babying him. I’m so confused. Which was weird. I was a pretty confident guy who could tackle just about anything. This guy had me word-vomiting and unsure of myself.
