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“Okay, you have to stop casting me as a serial killer in your head.” I laughed, the sound quickly turning into a cough, my lungs obviously still recovering.

“Huh. You sound like you smoke twenty packs a day and I’m going to need a pair of crutches just to get out of bed in the morning.” Parker laughed now, too. “God. We’re a match made in heaven.”

“Absolutely.” I grinned down at him again before pressing a soft kiss against his lips.

“All right, all right,” Jacob said, stepping into the room. “It’s time for you to get back to your own bed, Nicholas. You’ve still got some resting up to do.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, sweetheart,” I whispered close to Parker’s ear.

“I can’t wait,” Parker whispered back, his own hand squeezing my palm tight before reluctantly letting go.

“Nicholas?” George sounded surprised to see me as he came down the steps of his home.

I’d arrived only a few minutes ago, cheerily greeted by George’s wife and overexcited Labrador. I hadn’t told him that I was coming to see him or what I was coming to see him for, only gathering the nerve on the drive over here from my place. I’d been released from the hospital a day ago, now settling in with Parker at my home, choosing to make the trip while Parker was taking a nap on the living room couch.

“You’re looking good, kid,” he added with a grin once he reached where I was sitting. “Much better than I thought you were going to look. God, when I saw them pull you onto that stretcher, I thought it might be the last time I ever got to see you alive?—”

“I can’t accept the promotion.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” I turned to look up at him, trying my best to keep my voice steady. “I know how much you wanted it to be me. Hell, I wanted it to be me, too. But I’ve just realized that I… there’s something bigger.”

“Something bigger than the thing you’ve been destined for ever since you stepped inside my station?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. In that case, I think I’m going to need you to tell me about it,” George said, as he sank into the seat next to me. “What’s going on with you, kid?”

“Almost dying did something to me. Shook something loose that I think was already inside of me, I just hadn’t really acknowledged it yet.”

“And what would that be?”

“That I’m deeply in love with someone. And that I don’t want to leave this earth without spending as much time as I can with them.” I answered. “And even if he decides to stay here with me, I don’t think I can take your old job, George. I know how much you had to sacrifice to always be there whenever the guys at the station needed you.”

“Sacrifice?” George shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Nicholas. I was happy to do it. I couldn’t imagine a life for myself where the station wasn’t a part of it.”

George patted me on the shoulder, a smile spreading across his face. “And it sounds like you can’t imagine a life for yourself where this person isn’t part of it, either. I think that’s really beautiful, kid.”

“So… you’re not mad at me? About turning down the promotion?”

“Mad at you? Never.” George lightly chuckled. “Besides, give it a year or two and Tyler will probably be ready to take over, anyway.”’

“Tyler running that place? Might turn it into a madhouse.”

“Maybe so.” George chuckled again. “Either way, it won’t be my problem anymore. The wife and I will probably be on a year-long cruise around the world.”

“Holy shit, George.” My eyes went wide. “Don’t those things cost like $50,000?”

“Yep.” George smirked as he rose up from his seat beside me. “Turns out, you can save a pretty penny when you spend all your time down at the station. All those missed celebration meals, the special birthdays, the fancy parties? The wife and I will be getting it all back real soon.”

“I couldn’t be happier for you, George.” I smirked at him in return. “And I’m definitely going to need you to teach me your financial wizardry before you head off on your cruise.”

“Eh. Maybe I’ll write a book about it.”

19

PARKER

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