Page 13 of Finding You

“Who’s Howard?” he asked.

Gran looked up at him with a small smile. “The man I’m going to marry.”

She’d married Bruno, a car salesman. He didn’t remember his granddad much. He died when Kylen was six. He had one odd memory of him though—in suspenders smoking a cigar, looking terrifying to a small child. He didn’t think he would have been close to the man had he lived longer.

“Hello, hello, gorgeous. It’s—oh. You have visitors!”

Kylen looked up at a very attractive man with windswept, dark blond hair and scrubs covered in flowers. He looked like he’d stepped right off the pages of GQ. He gave Kylen a long once-over, then a passing glance at Grace before setting the tray he was holding down on the little side table.

“I’m Kylen. Her grandson.”

“I see your granny passed on all the good genes to you,” the nurse said with a wink. He extended his hand, and Kylen immediately took note of the ring on his left hand. His heart sank, but only a little. He wasn’t actually interested, but it would have been nice to flirt and have it reciprocated. “My name’s Frey.” He tapped his badge after letting Kylen’s hand go.

“This is my boyfriend,” Gran said, smiling at Frey.

Frey smiled and lifted her hand, kissing her knuckles. “We’re going to run away together. She says Prague is nice this time of year.”

Kylen couldn’t help a grin, but behind them, Grace scoffed. “She’s never been to Prague.”

“Well, I hear it’s a lovely time of year to go,” Frey said without missing a beat. “I am glad you’re here though. I was just assigned this lovely woman this morning. It’s my second day.”

“They’re letting you care for her on your second day of work?” Grace demanded.

“Shut up, Please just…shut up,” Kylen snapped at her. He looked at Frey. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Trust me, I’ve heard worse. And,” he added without bothering to look back at Grace, “it’s my second day here. I’ve been a nurse for over a decade. I just got a transfer. Better hours so my husband doesn’t want to divorce me. Though,” Frey said with a small sigh, “it looks like I have to leave him.”

“My grandson is a homo,” Gran said.

Kylen’s face burst into a white-hot blush. “Oh my God.”

Frey doubled over with laughter. “Is he now? Well, we love a good homo around here, honey, so he’s in good company.” She smiled, then closed her eyes, and Frey leaned toward him. “Is she being homophobic, or is she serious?”

“Well. Both,” Kylen admitted. “But she’s one of the few people in my family who actually acknowledged my sexuality when I came out, so I guess that’s something?”

“You have a child,” Grace snapped. “You can’t still think that about yourself.”

Frey turned his head, and Kylen noticed his very sharp smile. “I have a child too. And I’m as homo as they come, honey. I mean, considering I get butt-fucked by my husband at least four times a week. Five if he’s had a good day at work.”

Grace glared at him, then turned on her heel and stormed out.

“She might report you,” Kylen said in a small voice.

Frey seemed entirely unbothered. “She can do whatever she wants. They fucking love me here at this hospital.” He began to check Gran’s IV, then a few other wires, before tucking her back under her blankets. “And again, I’ve heard worse. I used to work in orthopedic surgery, and most of my patients there were old and crotchety and usually pretty fucking homophobic. And racist.”

Kylen grimaced. “That sounds rough.”

“Oh, it does,” Frey said with a laugh, leaning against the table. “But I met my husband that way, so I can’t really complain.”

Kylen’s shoulders sagged. “She’s normally sweet, so at the very least, she probably won’t yell at you.”

“I can handle it. Don’t you stress about me.” Frey winked at him, then hesitated before saying, “Are you local?”

“Yeah. We’ve lived here a while now. My daughter just started kindergarten at Stone Elementary.”

“Oh! One of my best friends is a kinder teacher there. Mr. Reed?”

Kylen smiled. “Yeah, that’s hers.” He hadn’t met the guy, but he’d gotten the welcome letter, and he sounded nice. He’d been a little uncertain about a man teaching kindergarten, but Flora had been thrilled since the first day. “My kiddo adores him. I’m meeting him tonight at the open house thingie.”

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