I considered glaring, but he looked so bleak with sad eyes and a downturned mouth under that extravagant mustache, I didn’t have the heart.
Overhead one of his dogs whined, loud enough to hear through the closed door. Down the aisle below, one of the shelter dogs barked in response. I couldn’t leave him in a dangerous situation where he’d almost certainly hurt himself. I’d left behind one person in my life that way already. Not this time. But the problem felt almost insurmountable until the obvious answer hit me.
“You’re coming home with me.”
“What?” That frown was back. “What are you talking about? My home is here.”
“Well, until your head and your leg are healed, your home is with me. I mean, I suppose I could move in here?—”
“I have a one-bedroom apartment.”
“With a couch that won’t fit me. I noticed.” Because I’d scoped the place out this morning while I fed his dogs—even as I warned myself I was snooping. So sue me. “I have a three-bedroom rancher. No stairs. You can have an entire bedroom to yourself. We can bring all your dogs and even Xandra would be welcome. I’ll admit I’ve never had a cat live with me before. Is she a Siamese?”
“Blue-point Himalayan.” He eyed me.
I gestured for him to back down the stairs one step at a time. Best I go first—in case he lost his balance. I’d be better able to break our fall. No way was I leaving him here to go back up and down multiple times a day. And there was nowhere for him to sleep on the main floor of the shelter, so that was out. “The shelter animals did just fine overnight. But I suspect you’ll want your four with you. I have room.”
“You honestly think I’m just going to…” He gestured his hand in some weird way I didn’t understand.
“Move in with me?” I grinned. “Well, I have Colin’s number. I’m certain he and James will come back. You can stay with them. And the three foster kids. And Widget.” Colin had waxed poetic about both the foster kids and his French bulldog. “Plus, I think Danny, Rob, Hallie, and Thomas are there as well. Apparently they brought Trouble as well.” Trouble was their husky who had a penchant for taking off when she could. “Shouting and barking and crying.”
The furrow between his brows deepened. His eyes looked bloodshot and glazed. Yeah, a busy household was no place for a man with a concussion.
From what Colin had said, Arthur knew everyone—but shied away from events with lots of people. He’d stood up for James when he’d gotten married and that had, at least to Colin’s telling, been a big deal. “Plus, Danny and Rob are getting married next month. Your attendance is apparently mandatory, so you need to heal up.”
“Oh my God.” Slowly, Arthur made his way back down the stairs—with me guiding him. “How long have you been here, to know all this?”
“Since Colin unlocked the door at nine. He’s…a chatty guy.” Apparently he hadn’t always been—by his own admission. Meeting James and the six other Reynolds siblings—along with Mama and Daddy—had taught him to be more assertive in large gatherings. To not be bowled over by massive amounts of love directed at him. By marriage, he now had five sisters-in-law, five brothers-in-law, and apparently—by last count—fourteen nibblets. His word for nieces and nephews. His own family, back in Long Island, had abandoned him when he’d become ill. He’d come west, met James through Arthur, and the rest was, according to him, Reynolds family history. “He got me up to speed.”
Arthur groaned.
I smiled. “Why don’t you sit in the staff lounge and figure out how we’re going to move three dogs and a cat as well as your stuff to my place?”
“I can call my shelter manager, Shane, for a place to stay. He and his boyfriend are out of town, and their house is empty.”
“I guess.” I wasn’t sure why that disappointed me. “Although I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be driving back and forth tomorrow.” I could give him a lift easier if he stayed with me.
Arthur pulled out his phone, then stared blankly at it. “Except. Damn.” He squeezed his eyes shut.
“What?”
“I can’t.”
When he just stood frozen, squinting down at his phone, I prompted, “Why not?”
“Because if I tell Shane why I need their place, they’ll cut short their trip, no matter how much I say not to. They’ll worry. It’s the first time Shane’s ever travelled anywhere for fun. He’s really into it, and they’re leaving for Africa any time now. Oh hell.” Arthur tipped his head to look at the ceiling, and I saw moisture at the corner of his eyes. “I don’t want to spoil things for them, just ’cause I messed up and got shot.”
I didn’t think this situation was in any way his fault, but there was an easy answer. “Then come home with me.”
He blinked. “You’re serious?”
“Or I’ll call Colin. I don’t really care which option you choose.”
Totally lying to yourself. You really want him to come home with you because, as grumpy as he is, you like him. You want to take care of him. And if we’re going for honesty here, you’re also attracted to him.
When I’d mentioned to Colin how much I loved Gaynor Beach’s LGBTQ-friendly vibe, he’d shared that he’d heard the town was friendly before he moved here and, after his real estate agent, Arthur had been the first person he’d met and wasn’t it great that his first friend was gay? He said the words casually, assuring me Arthur was out.
Just as casually, I might’ve mentioned to Colin that I was bisexual. I certainly hadn’t been in the closet since making my pronouncement at eighteen. Like I’d expected, coming out had been an unmitigated disaster.
