Page 22 of Something Unforgettable

Xavier chuckled. “Don’t ask me how things work in small towns. All I know is she sent me a text to ask for our breakfast orders and said she would keep everything warm until we were ready for it. I responded a few minutes ago when you seemed like you were waking up.”

Finn huffed and tilted his head back so he could meet Xavier’s eyes. “The rumor mill is fast and powerful. Her name is Jean and she volunteers with the Split Rock Garden Club in the summer and in the hospital gift shop in the winter. She’s eighty-five years old, four-foot-eleven, and she spreads the news faster than theSplit Rock Times.”

Xavier’s laughter made Finn’s whole body vibrate, and he felt giddy for having caused it.

“What? It’s true. She knew Nick had been hired as the new town manager before Nick even knew. She sent him a card and everything.” Finn eyed Xavier’s stubbly throat and kind of wanted to feel it against his lips. He shifted up and tucked his face there, inhaling the musky scent ofman.

Xavier’s laugher died away, and the hand stroking Finn’s back paused, then slid lower, stopping just before things might have gotten interesting. Finn caught his lower lip between his teeth, his breath hot in the space he’d created. He wiggled a little, wondering what Xavier was going to do.

Then there was a knock on the door. Xavier let out a harsh breath and rolled out from under Finn, replacing his body with a pillow for Finn to rest the braced arm on. Well, that was disappointing. Before that thought could sink in, Xavier’s large hand slid over his ass and gave a quick squeeze. Finn gasped and turned wide eyes to Xavier, who was grinning as he went to answer the door and retrieve their breakfast.

Finn debated hiding under the covers until he didn’t feel like his entire body was on fire from Xavier’s touch, but the scent of coffee and fresh bread was too tempting. He hauled himself off the thick mattress, wincing as stiff muscles protested, and tugged the hem of Xavier’s shirt down as far as he could. It didn’t even reach mid-thigh. Of all the days for Finn to wear briefs.

A low, appreciative whistle came from the small eating area where Xavier was arranging their breakfast. When he looked over to see what Xavier was whistling about, he caught the man checking out his legs. Finn’s face heated and he pressed his lips together to hide a smile. Xavier’s appreciation felt good, even if he was just teasing.

Finn ducked into the bathroom and when he returned Xavier had a small bag for him, care of Miss Crystal, with a toothbrush and other toiletries. Finn didn’t bother to wonder who knew what based on that bag. He was way too glad to get the chance to brush his teeth. If only he had clean clothes, too.

While he was in the bathroom, he heard another knock and Xavier speaking to someone. A moment later, Xavier called through the bathroom door, “Delivery for a Mr. Finnegan.”

Finn laughed and poked his head out of the bathroom. “What?”

Xavier handed him a bag from one of the local shops. “I may have placed an online order while you were asleep.”

Finn blinked. “You can do that?” In the bag was a pair of sweats and a tee.

“It’s nothing fancy. I just thought you might want to be comfortable today.”

Warmth filled Finn—in the good way, not the embarrassing way. “Thank you,” he said as he stretched up on his toes. Xavier was kind enough to meet him halfway so Finn could give him a kiss.

It was brief, but it still made champagne bubbles burst to life in Finn’s chest. What did he need to do to get more kisses from Xavier? And what about more—just, more?

Once they had both cleaned up and eaten, Xavier took him back to the hospital. The trip was short, but Finn wouldn’t have noticed if it was an hour. His entire existence had narrowed to Xavier’s hand resting on his knee. He wasn’t even doing anything, but all of Split Rock could have stopped to say hello and Finn wouldn’t have been able to identify a single one of them. Xavier’s hands were so big, and strong, and big. They spanned half the length of his thigh. Finn wanted a closer look at those hands, wanted to know how they would look against his skin in other places. Maybe he was grateful he’d worn briefs after all, because they were the only thing keeping the loose sweats from showing how much he was enjoying Xavier’s touch.

However, once they reached the hospital, his enjoyment drained away. The dull throb of his arm was easy to ignore with Xavier distracting him, but walking into the hospital opened the hollow pit of worry back up inside him. He picked up the pace, needing to see Pops with his own eyes. He was in such a hurry he almost missed the nurse redirecting them to a different, more private room.

The door was open, and the lights on, so Finn knocked briefly before stepping inside. Then he stopped in shock.

Every available surface was obscured by bouquets of flowers. They came in a variety of color combinations, and a dozen different styles, too. Some were in vases, some in baskets, others in what looked like water glasses from the cafeteria.

“What the fu—” he managed, before snapping his mouth shut. ThiswasPops’s room, right? The ridiculous old man who spent half his time teasing Finn and the other half grumbling about the latest thing the town council wanted to change? But yes. That was Pops, propped up in bed with the same bandage on his head as the night before, covering the six stitches he’d needed to close the gash.

“Pops?” he managed to get out, voice thick with disbelief.

“That,” Pops said, pointing at Finn. “That look on your face is exactly the one I had when they started showing up. Has the whole town lost their damn minds?”

That made Finn’s lips twitch into a smile, then his eyes welled up with tears of relief. He’d been so fucking scared, but Pops sounded like he was back to his old self, despite the doctor’s careful words of warning about head injuries. Finn walked to the bed as Pops’s expression softened. Pops lifted the arm that wasn’t hooked to an IV and pulled Finn into a firm hug. Finn pressed his cheek to his grandfather’s bony shoulder and hugged him back as well as he could with his splinted arm trapped between them.

It took a few minutes to get his emotions back under control, but Pops let him stay where he was until he did. Eventually, Finn stood and wiped at his eyes then turned to look for Xavier.

He’d waited near the door while Finn had his breakdown. When their eyes met, he smiled and stepped closer. “This is quite the collection, Mr. Finnegan. You could almost host a garden show in here.”

Finn surveyed the room. Xavier was right. Pops had been in the hospital less than twelve hours. This was nuts. “Where did they all come from?”

Pops humphed, caught somewhere between bemused and disgruntled. “First of all, it’s Mac. If you’re here with my grandson I won’t have any of this Mr. Finnegan nonsense. And Pam said the calls started coming in as soon as they opened this morning. I guess Jean found out what happened and got the rumor mill rolling.”

Pam was Mrs. Ellis who worked at the grocery store next door to them. And Jean was the town gossip he’d told Xavier about just this morning. The one who’d told Miss Crystal that Finn was staying with Xavier. He swore she had the town wired with cameras. There was no other way she could know what she knew so quickly.

“It’s not exactly a rumor that you’re in the hospital, Pops,” Finn pointed out as he tugged a card from the nearest arrangement. It was from Mrs. King, who was nicer than her husband.

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