Page 74 of Chasing You

“Good thing we all got naked to raise money, right?” Ridge said.

Adele pulled back, and his urge to cry turned into a laugh. Covering his face, he shook his head as tears welled in his eyes. “That is so fucked-up.”

“Sorry—”

“No, it’s…it’s good. It’s fine.” He took a trembling breath, then glanced over his shoulder as Bowen appeared. “Text the guys and tell them I’m taking time off the club for a while.”

Bowen rolled his eyes. “Stop giving a shit about anything except your boyfriend and your son right now.”

“He’s not—” Adele stopped himself. Kash wasn’t technically his boyfriend, but fuck that. He was done in limbo. He was done toeing a line but never stepping over to take what he wanted. Kash was his, and they were a family.

And he was going to make goddamn sure all of that became a reality tonight.

twenty

KASH

The feelingof being in a hospital like this was all too familiar, only he wasn’t dealing with the aftereffects of a blow to the head or second-degree burns from where the beam had him pinned. Instead, he was in a chair beside Gage, who was having a few first-degree burns dressed and taking a bit more oxygen, though his levels had been good since the EMTs had shown up on scene.

But Adele was adamant they both get checked out, and frankly, Kash wanted off that street. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the charred remains of the only place he’d ever really considered a home in the decades he’d been an adult. He knew it wasn’t his fault, of course.

Even if he could have run faster, he wouldn’t have been able to get a call out in time to save anything. The fire had spread too far too quickly with the oil as an accelerant, and the only thing that had mattered at the time was saving Gage.

That, he had done. Even with his weak legs and uncooperative hands, he’d managed to get Gage off the groundand out of the house before he could suffer any real damage.

Gage had woken up on the lawn, burst into tears, and apologized like the whole thing had been his fault. It wasn’t until the truck arrived with oxygen that Kash managed to get him calm and breathing steadily.

And minutes later, Adele had arrived like an avenging god with his paint-splattered bare chest and wild eyes. Kash had forgotten all of the pain until they were being taken in the ambulance, and then it all settled back down around his shoulders.

Renato showed up as the attending was letting them both know that Gage didn’t have a concussion, and the X-rays showed no smoke damage to his lungs. “You got very lucky, son.”

Gage bowed his head. “Not sure I deserved it for being so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Renato said firmly, breezing past the curtain. He walked up, pushing the attending out of the way with his elbow, and he took Gage by the shoulders. “I’ve had worse accidents than this. I’ve had the most terrible circumstances occur all in a row to cost my patient their life. You had your parent in the house who was trained to take care of you, and he did.”

“I’m not—” Kash began as Gage said, “Yeah. He saved my life.”

Kash’s jaw clicked shut, and he met Renato’s eyes. He realized then Renato got it. He wasn’t Rex’s dad, but also, he was. The relationship would always be complicated and maybe even a little bit terrifying, but that didn’t matter. Only love did.

“You know I’d do anything to keep you safe,” Kash said.

Gage reached for him, and Kash managed to get thechair moved closer to the bed. He took Gage’s hand and let him hold on tight the way he’d done when he was very, very small. “Is Dad coming?”

“He’ll be here as soon as he can,” Renato said. “I’ve spoken to Frey—he’s out in the hall, trying to find good snacks for everyone.”

Gage laughed. “Oh God, I’m so not hungry.”

Renato shrugged. “He stress eats. We’ll let him have this one, yes?”

“Yeah,” Gage said with a grin.

“Frey spoke to Bowen about tonight,” Renato went on. “You three will come stay with us.”

Kash’s eyes widened. “Oh, um…”

“No. I’m not allowing arguments. Frey and I work a lot, and we have the room. If you don’t mind Rex, then you can make yourselves at home.”

“I love Rex. He’s the best kid ever,” Gage said, now sounding tired.

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