Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Her and Mom both. I was a squirmy kid who needed distracting. And I can tell from how full this waiting room is that we’re going to be here awhile. I’m not a fan of magazines or daytime TV, so I’m happy to work on these socks for Grandma’s birthday.”
“You’re going to hand-knit something and then just give it away?” Garrick wasn’t a stranger to crafting of various kinds as his dad worked with different artisans at his Western-themed store, but generally he associated it with money-making efforts. And in Rain’s case, he would have figured he’d knit as a personal expression sort of thing, more color to add to his wardrobe.
“That’s how it works. If you stop looking at me like I’m a space alien, I might knit you something next.”
“I’m not staring! I’m impressed, that’s all.” He wasn’t lying—the stitches flying off Rain’s needles into something that actually resembled a sock for a human foot was pretty nifty. “And you don’t have to make me something—”
“Right now I’m picturing a muzzle in a nice cable pattern. Of course, I don’t have to. I want to. Maybe a hat so you can remember me.”
Garrick opened his mouth to say that he didn’t need to remember Rain, that he was right here, but then he remembered that Rain wasn’t meant for this place on a permanent basis, that winter would inevitably come and he’d be on to his next big thing. He’d scored the job with Tucker Ryland on Monday, but like Garrick’s position, it was seasonal part-time, and there was no guarantee Rain would even finish the season. The thought made his neck ache enough that he had to rub it.
“Nervous? Don’t be.” Rain lowered his voice. “Like I said in the car, I’m sure this doctor has heard it all before. And that’s a good thing.”
“Jesus. You’re so...”
“Normal? Because this is.” Rain continued calmly making tiny stitches on his project, a counterpoint to everything churning through Garrick.
“Maybe I should be the one knitting.”
“Maybe so.” Rain thrust his spiky circle into Garrick’s hands. The yarn was slippery but softer than it looked, and it felt surprisingly nice on his skin. Maybe Rain was turning him into a hedonist along with everything else. “No time like the present to learn.”
“Pretty sure my hands are too big,” Garrick grumbled as he tried to make sense of which way the needles were pointing.
“Yes, Hercules. You’re big.” Rain gave him a pointed look that had Garrick’s skin heating. He had a way of making Garrick feel like they were the only two people in the room, like nothing else mattered other than this happy little bubble where Rain was moving his fingers this way and that and couldn’t care less for who might be watching. It was...refreshing. Nice. Needed. It reminded him of all the hours spent repairing smoke jumper gear, the little tiny details that had to be exactly perfect. Like now, his hands had always felt too oversized for the work, but there had been something soothing about that work, weirdly relaxing. And it worked here too, Rain’s bossiness and his own hopelessness at juggling needles and yarn distracting him until his name was called.
“You want me to come back with you?” Rain asked in a whisper. “Would that help?”
“It’s entirely possible you might talk more than me.” Garrick drew a deep breath. Inviting Rain along to the exam room seemed...significant somehow. But it wasn’t like Rain didn’t already know all of what Garrick needed to explain to the doctor. And for all Rain said this appointment was about Garrick and his sex life in general, there was only one person Garrick wanted to get horizontal with presently, and making sure Rain was satisfied was important to him in ways he couldn’t really explain. “Sure. Come on. Bring the knitting.”
Rain gave him that small, pleased smile that never failed to make Garrick’s stomach flip. Everyone else got Rain’s devil-may-care grin, the wide, welcoming one, but Garrick alone earned that private one, got to see that vulnerability from Rain. As they followed the nurse, Garrick had a brief moment of second-guessing when he had to navigate balancing on the scale, but it wasn’t like Rain hadn’t seen him wobbly before. And if the nurse, a pretty young thing with red hair, wanted to have an opinion on Garrick’s choice of companion, that was on her.
She’d probably briefed the doctor—a slim younger guy with dark hair and Doctor Hu embroidered on his white coat—on Rain’s presence, because he didn’t seem at all surprised to find Rain in the exam room with Garrick. And honestly, Rain did make it easier, prodding Garrick to explain more than he might have if alone, and joking enough to keep the energy in the room from getting too heavy.