Page 19 of Resisting You

Renato looked at the X-rays again before giving him an apologetic nod. “You know I wouldn’t suggest it for any other reason.”

For a moment, it looked like Frey wanted to argue, and then he deflated and nodded. “Yeah. No, I…yeah.” He turned his gaze to the guy in the corner and presumably repeated everything he and Renato had just talked about, but he signed a lot faster than Renato could keep up with.

‘I’m sorry,’ the guy signed. ‘My fault.’

Frey scoffed and shook his head. ‘Not.’ He carefully removed his son from the octopussed grip he had, then cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead. ‘Phone,’ he signed. ‘I’ll be right back.’

Rex looked terrified, but Renato quickly grabbed a rolling stool, pulled it close to the bed, and lifted it until he was at Rex’s eyeline. ‘Can I sit with you?’

Rex looked at his dad, who nodded, and then he smiled and shrugged, so Renato got comfortable while Frey walked past the curtains. The boy smiled shyly, then looked down at Renato’s hands and frowned. ‘Married?’

Renato absently touched the place where he’d once worn a wedding band, then shook his head. ‘Not now. I had a husband before.’

Rex looked like he was going to cry. ‘Why? Where-husband?’

Renato didn’t want to tell this poor child that his husband had died. He looked on edge already, and pretty soon, he was going to have to explain to him that he was going to need surgery, and that was really going to be unpleasant. And so would his recovery.

‘He had to go,’ Renato explained as carefully as he could.

Rex sighed, then looked at the curtain before turning his gaze back to Renato. ‘You can marry my dad.’

The man in the corner choked loudly, then slapped his hand over his mouth when he seemed to realize he’d made noise. Renato’s cheeks burned. He had no idea why that idea made his stomach twist.

‘I don’t know,’ he started.

Rex made an impatient noise and waved the one arm that had mobility. ‘Yes. My dad needs a husband.’

Renato bit the inside of his cheek. ‘We can think about it. Okay?’

Rex seemed satisfied with that. ‘I will plan your wedding.’

Renato blinked at him, not completely sure he understood what the boy was signing, but then the guy leaned closer and waved until he had Rex’s attention. ‘You can’t just plan weddings for strangers.’

Rex rolled his eyes. ‘I plan. Dad and doctor marry.’

The guy gave Renato a helpless look, but Renato had heard stranger things before. He just smiled and shrugged. ‘We’ll talk about it after.’ He picked up the tablet again and put in the order for the surgery. The boy was going to need an IV to start and to clear out any food from his system. It wasn’t an emergency, but the break was severe enough that Renato was concerned. He didn’t seem like the type of kid who liked to be held down, so the moment his pain medication started wearing off, it would get tricky.

‘When was the last time he ate?’ he asked the man.

The guy pulled a thinking face. ‘Four hours?’

He’d worked with worse in emergencies, but he preferred better. ‘Okay—’ His hands stilled when the curtain drew back, and a second later, two uniformed officers appeared. They zeroed in on Frey’s friend.

“Sir, we need you to come with us,” the cop with the darker hair said.

Renato immediately jumped to his feet. “What is this about?”

“We got a call about possible child abuse,” the officer said without looking over. “Sir, can you please give us your name?”

“He’s Deaf,” Renato cut in. The guy was staring at him, so Renato quickly interpreted.

‘Oz,’ he spelled. He looked petrified as Renato repeated it aloud.

The officers exchanged a look, and then one shrugged. “With us, sir.” He reached for Oz, who shrank back, but the officer wasn’t having any of it. In the blink of an eye, he had Oz in a grip, hauling him toward the curtain.

Rex screeched.

Renato panicked, and then he froze. He had no idea what the fuck to do.

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