Page 13 of Chasing You

Adele flushed again, and Kash couldn’t help but wonder if he was a little more prudish over the years, having not dated—and for staying in the closet for so long. But that wasn’t really possible. Not working at a firestation. It was second to a tattoo shop and third to a restaurant when it came to being crude on the job, but it was still pretty high up there.

“I’ll let you handle your own butt, babe,” Adele said. He leaned in and dropped a kiss to Kash’s forehead. It wasn’t meant to be patronizing, but he hated that his brain was making it feel that way. “Come to the kitchen when you’re done.”

Kash took that as a reprieve, and it was only after remembering he might have a nasty fall that he didn’t lock the door. Jesus, he hated everything about this. But it was his life now, and he had to figure out how to live it for as long as he had.

four

ADELE

Kash wasin the shower when Ridge and his daughter showed up. She was all sleepy-eyed, with her cheek smashed against his shoulder and her thumb in his mouth. She was barely two and starting to learn how to hear with her cochlear implants. He could see them blinking on the side of her head. Ridge had rigged them to a headband since her little ears were too small to support the earpieces.

“Hi,” he said and signed at the same time. “Sleepy?”

She sucked her thumb harder, and he smiled, looking up at Ridge. “Rough day?”

Ridge shrugged. “She hasn’t been sleeping all that great. She’s asking to wear her CIs again, but she’s overwhelmed by all the sounds. But when I try to take them off, she has an even bigger tantrum, so you know. It’s been a circus.” He half signed while he spoke—not quite matching ASL grammar, but he knew Ridge was still new at the language, and most of his lessons were taken through online video, so he didn’t have anyone to correct him when he got it wrong.

But he was trying, that much was obvious, and Adeleknew through Frey that most hearing parents of Deaf kids didn’t bother learning even the alphabet, let alone the entire language. So while Ina shouldn’t have been so lucky, that it should be every parent going that mile for their kid, he knew Ridge was something special.

“We can set her up in the living room. Gage is in there playing some game on the Xbox, and the little ones always love watching it. It’s some RPG thing where these little kids in Halloween costumes fight bad guys for trick-or-treat candy.”

Ridge raised his brow. “Uh. Weird.”

Adele laughed. “So weird, but it’s strangely hypnotic.” He held his hands out, and Ina allowed herself to be taken. She was small and light and warm and smelled like dirt and cookies. God, he missed that. He didn’t want more kids. Gage was enough to turn his hair prematurely grey, but he’d been so caught up in his divorce and all the pain that had come with it, he’d forgotten to enjoy the early years.

‘Come on,’ he signed to her as he walked her toward his son. ‘You can sit with G.’

Gage looked up, and his face broke out into a smile. ‘Hey!’ he signed quickly. He was a lot more fluent than Adele. “Come here,” he said aloud as he took Ina into his lap. ‘Do you want to play with me?’

She watched his hands with big eyes, then signed, ‘Play,’ back at him.

He nodded, then turned her around and put the controller in her hands. ‘Come on. Just like this.’

When Adele was satisfied that Ina was comfortable, he peered down the hall, but Kash’s door was still shut. He promised he’d shower and come out when he was ready, but Adele was worried he was going to have to drag him out.

Something was going on with him—more than the muscle issues he was having with his arms and legs. Something had changed over the last couple of weeks, but Kash was refusing to talk about it, and Adele was starting to properly worry.

“You okay?” Adele jumped and turned to find Ridge leaning his shoulder against the wall. Ridge chuckled. “Sorry, man. I called your name.”

Adele slapped his hand over his face and dragged it down with a groan. “I’m fine. Just…distracted.”

Ridge sighed and reached out, grabbing Adele around the back of his neck. “Come on, boss. You can be my sous chef while I get dinner put together.”

Adele followed his friend, taking comfort in his warm touch, and they made their way into the kitchen. Ridge had laid out two large pans of what looked like pre-rolled enchiladas, one plastic container full of red sauce and one full of beans.

“I thought you were making some kind of pie.”

Ridge pulled a face. “It didn’t work out. Long story and super boring. But I figured enchiladas would be a good second.”

Adele laughed. “Food is food in this house. Three grown men and several others who stop by unannounced. Trust there won’t be leftovers.”

“Dude, I’m here for that,” Ridge said. He walked over and frowned at Adele’s stove before pushing a couple of buttons to get the preheat going. Turning back, he grabbed one tray of enchiladas and then began to gently ladle the sauce over the top. “And while I do this, you can tell me why it looks like your goldfish died.”

Adele sank into a kitchen chair and folded his arms. “I’m notthat bad.”

Ridge scoffed. “I might not know you as well as everyone else around here, but I can definitely tell you’re going through it. I’m not judging you. I’m asking because maybe…I can help?”

Adele bit his lip. Everyone wanted to help, but no one could actually fix his problems. He didn’t know if there was a cure for whatever was going on with Kash, and even if there was, no one could make Kash love him the way he wanted to be loved.

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