Hide Out (32 page)

“Not in bed,” she ordered, pointing at the chair. “There. Once he’s sleeping, you’re out in the hallway.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You two are just lucky you’re cute,” she said sternly, moving to Trevor’s side.

“How’s the pain?”

“Seven,” he told her and saw Pete wince.

“Trev,” he rebuked. “You should’ve told me.”

He shrugged as much as he could without feeling as if he were ripping in half. “We were talking.”

“You were hurting,” Pete told him with a frown.

“I’m always hurting.” Trevor flipped a dismissive hand. That just made Pete’s scowl worse.

Melia snorted. “You’re not really helping, Trevor.”

Maybe not, but the painkillers Melia had given him were definitely starting to help.

“Thank you, Melia.” His voice was already beginning to slur.

“You’re welcome, Trevor.” She eyed Pete. “In the hall when he falls asleep.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Trevor smiled, his eyelids drifting to half-mast. Pete’s innocent expression was always entertaining. “Kiss me g’night?” he murmured.

Pete darted a look at Melia.

“Gently,” she told him, heading toward the door. “And stay off the bed.” She left the room, closing the door with a definite click of the latch. The pain was still there but it felt distanced, as if there were a fluffy layer of foam between it and him. Pete’s mouth touched his in a soft press and withdrew too soon. Trevor was going to protest but floated on a narcotic cloud instead.
Later
, he thought hazily.
I’ll make him kiss me right later.
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Chapter Seventeen

“Quit looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Pete frowned.

“Like I’m your hundred-year-old grandpa who just broke his hip,” Trevor bitched, knowing he was whining and not really caring.

Pete rolled his eyes. “Then quit acting like a crotchety old guy.”

Swallowing a laugh, Trevor clung to his scowl. “First day home, I’m not even in the house yet and you’re out of sympathy. Nice.”

“I ran out of sympathy two days ago,” Pete told him, grinning. “Sorry.”

Trevor shook his head. “Where are Wash and Rhodes? They’d be sweet to me.”

Reaching for his elbow, Pete tried to help him climb the porch steps but Trevor shook him off. “I don’t know which Wash and Rhodes you’re talking about, since the couple staying here would never have been sweet.”

“Yeah.” Trevor tried to hide how breathless he was after climbing the steps. “Hey, you got a porch swing!” He paused, holding onto a post, using the break to both admire the swing and catch his breath.

“Yep,” Pete said proudly. “And?”

Trevor looked around. “You painted the floor.”

“Before they left, Rhodes and Wash helped me finish up a few things around here.”

“It looks great.” Trevor told him. “When’d they leave?”

“Sunday. They’re going to be back this weekend though. I think they kind of consider this their vacation home.” Pete unlocked the door and pushed it open, then moved back so he could follow Trevor inside.

Stepping into the house, Trevor laughed. “Great. Now we’ll never…” His words dried up as he looked around. “Holy fuck! Finished a few things up, my ass.”

Pete grinned. “You like it?”

“It’s great!” Trevor couldn’t stop staring. “You even got a rug.”

“And a couch.”

He couldn’t believe the change. “You bought a T.V.!” Trevor stared at the flat screen mounted next to the fireplace.

“Figured we’d want to stare at something while we sat on the couch,” Pete told him. He looked as if he was trying to restrain himself but his grin kept popping out. “I got us some chairs too.”

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“What?” Trevor laughed, easing himself into one of the armchairs. “In case we have a fight?”

“You have to see upstairs,” Pete told him. “Besides, you should probably take a nap.”

Trevor groaned. “We’re back to treating me like Grandpa, are we?” Pushing to his feet, he headed toward the stairs.

“Don’t start,” Pete warned, although he couldn’t hold his stern expression. “Hurry up or I’ll get you one of those Mr. Burns stair chairs.”

“The kind that goes up the banister?” Trevor asked, stopping to rest halfway up.

“I’d love one.”

“Want me to sweep you off your feet and carry you?” Pete teased. Trevor glowered at him. “Don’t even fucking try.” He started climbing the stairs again. He managed to make it to the top, although his head was spinning by the time he made it to the hallway.

The door to their room was open and he walked in. When he saw the huge, beautiful, wonderful bed, Trevor almost burst into tears. “It’s gorgeous,” he breathed. Pete wrapped his arms around him, pulling Trevor back against him in a gentle hug. “Isn’t it?”

* * * * *

That Saturday, they brought Rhodes and Wash to Mallory’s to meet Cindy and experience Tina’s cooking. Although Trevor was still moving slowly, he stated he would go totally fucking bat-shit nuts if he didn’t get out of the house, big T.V. or no big T.V.

“Hey superstars!” Cindy called across the diner when they walked in. Tina popped her head out of the kitchen and gave a bashful wave. The elderly couple by the window stared at them. Cindy hurried over to hug Pete and give Trevor a gentle squeeze. “How are you two? It’s been all over the news.”

“We know,” Pete sighed. The week after the fire, reporters had camped out on their lawn but it hadn’t really bothered them. He’d been at the hospital with Trevor or working inside the house. Marty and Iris were probably going nuts because the lawn was so shaggy though.

“And these are your friends?” she asked pointedly. Pete grinned and made the introductions. “Well, come sit down, sit down.” Cindy ushered them over to a table.

“I’m so happy to see you. I was so worried when I heard what’d happened. I mean really, Joey—”

“Actually, it’s Trevor,” he interjected with a smile.

“That’s right—you were hiding out here, weren’t you? So exciting. But really, Trevor, getting shot and almost burned to death in the same day? Do you think you’re James Bond or something?” she scolded.

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“Not anymore,” he told her straight-faced and she laughed.

“Are you having the chicken or do you want menus?”

“Chicken,” Trevor and Pete chorused.

Wash looked back and forth between the two. “And you call
us
the old married couple,” he scoffed. Turning to Cindy, he smiled. “Chicken for me too.”

She blushed and waved a hand at her face, giggling. “You are too cute for your own good.”

“That’s what I keep telling him,” Rhodes said crankily, before turning toward Cindy. “Chicken please.”

“Good enough,” she said cheerily and headed back toward the kitchen.

“Everyone loves Wash.” Trevor smirked at him.

“Hey,” Wash protested, “
I
wasn’t the one getting a big hug.”

“That didn’t squeeze anything loose, did it?” Pete asked, his eyebrows drawing together. “I knew it was too early for you to go out.”

“Quit fussing, momma bear,” Trevor told him. “I’m fine. Cindy was gentle.”

Wash found that hysterical. Rhodes just rolled his eyes.

“So,” Rhodes asked, “how
are
you doing?”

“What Rhodie really wants to know,” Wash translated, finally over his laughing fit,

“is when you’re getting your ass back to work.”

Pete’s stomach twisted. “Work? He’s just been shot,” he growled. He’d been hoping for at least another few weeks of living with Trevor.

“Not to disappoint you guys,” Trevor chimed in, “but the thought of work right now just makes me tired. Give me a couple more days on the couch, okay?”

“Take your time,” Rhodes told him. “Wash just misses you.”

Wash bumped his shoulder. “And you don’t?”

“Sure,” Rhodes agreed easily enough. “How about you, Pete? Is your lieutenant pushing you to come back?”

“Not really,” Pete lied. Lee had called him but he’d put her off, exaggerating his injuries a little.

Trevor straightened and grinned. “That reminds me. Guess who got a job offer?”

“You’re not leaving us, are you, Trev?” Wash asked.

Shaking his head, Trevor told him, “No, not me. Pete. And guess who made that offer?”

“The sheriff,” Rhodes stated.

Trevor stared at Rhodes. “How do you know these things?”

He shrugged. “Osgood would be stupid not to grab Pete. He’s a good cop.”

Pete flushed. The compliment from another cop—even ex-cop—warmed his gut.

“Thanks, Rhodes.”

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“What’d you tell him?” Wash asked, leaning forward.

“No, of course,” Trevor answered before Pete could. “He’s selling the house and going back to the city. His lieutenant pretty much promised he’d be made detective after this.”

“Selling the house, huh?” Rhodes raised an eyebrow.

Shifting his shoulders in an uncomfortable shrug, Pete played with his napkinwrapped silverware.

“Can’t you keep the house?” Wash asked, frowning. “After all that work…”

Trevor scowled. “Don’t make him feel guilty about it,” he told him. “He just bought the house so he’d have something to do while babysitting me.”

Wash snorted. “He found something to do all right.”

Pete smiled at that, staying quiet and hoping the subject would slide away from the sheriff’s job offer and selling the house. He didn’t want Trevor to know how tempted he’d been when Osgood made that offer. The only reason Pete was going back to his job in the city was to be close to Trevor, who didn’t need to know that pathetically needy fact.

To his relief, Cindy chose that moment to bring their food over. “Here they come again,” she sighed as she put their plates in front of them. “Brace yourselves.”

Pete glanced behind him and saw the diner had filled up while they’d been talking. The crowd, like last time, seemed to be predominantly young and female.

“Mmphf,” Wash groaned around his first bite as his eyes rolled back in his head. Swallowing, he said, “This is amazing. Your daughter made this? That little girl in the kitchen?”

Cindy beamed. “She did. I’ll tell her you like it.”

“It’s great,” Rhodes agreed and took another bite.

After Cindy hurried off to serve the other customers, the four men were quiet as they ate.

“I’d live in Honeysuckle just so I could eat here every day,” Wash told them. Rhodes nodded. “Sure beats IHOP.”

“You should try their brisket,” Trevor said, his voice amused. Cindy stopped by their table again. “The girls are driving me nuts,” she told them, sounding harassed. “Are the two of you gay?” she asked Rhodes and Wash. Rhodes choked a little. “Yes.”

“That’s what I tried to tell them,” she said, exasperated. As she hurried away, she called out in a voice loud enough to reach all corners of the diner, “No need to suck it in anymore, girls—they’re gay too.”

“Seriously?” Wash asked, staring after Cindy.

Trevor laughed and took a bite. “Gotta love Honeysuckle.”

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* * * * *

Pete nudged the porch swing into a gentle sway, enjoying the peace. Rhodes and Wash had headed home three days ago and Trevor was napping. For the past week, he’d been working on the house while trying to care for a stubbornly independent Trevor, so it was nice to have a moment to sit and do absolutely nothing.

“Hi.” Marsha stood on their property line, holding a plate covered in foil.

“Hi Marsha.” Pete smiled at her. “C’mon over.”

She crossed the lawn and climbed the porch steps. “How’s Joey?”

“Trevor,” Pete corrected. “Getting better.”

Flushing, she hovered by the arm of the swing. “That’s right. He never was really Joey, was he?”

Pete shook his head.

“Here.” Marsha shoved the plate toward him. “Jo— I mean,
Trevor
liked these cookies so I made some more. I probably should’ve made something nutritious, like a hot dish or something.”

“These are great,” Pete reassured her, taking the cookies. “He’ll love these. Besides, Iris and Morty brought over a bunch of nutritious meals earlier. We were just missing dessert. Want to sit?”

“Oh, no thank you,” she said, taking a step back. “I didn’t want to bother you. I just wanted to drop off the cookies.”

“You’re not bothering me,” he told her but she gave him a quick, nervous smile and hurried back down the steps.

“Marsha,” he called after her. When she stopped and looked at him curiously, Pete got up and leaned on the porch railing. He didn’t know how to word the question tactfully, so he just asked straight out. “What was the deal with you stalking someone?”

“Oh!” Her hands flew up to cover her flushed cheeks. “You know about that?”

He nodded. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m just curious, since you don’t really seem like the stalking type.”

“It’s so embarrassing,” she sighed. “I had such a crush on my college botany professor. I didn’t mean for it to go so far. I mean,
stalking
…” Marsha shook her head.

“It sounds like I boiled bunnies or something, doesn’t it?”

Pete laughed. “A little, yeah.”

A reluctant smile touched her mouth. “Well, I certainly didn’t harm any animals—

or people, for that matter. I was silly, that’s all.”

“Good to know,” Pete told her. “About the bunnies, I mean. Since we’re neighbors.”

“Oh, I’d never—!” She broke off when he grinned. “Tease. I see I’m going to have to watch you. Goodnight, Pete.”

“’Night, Marsha.”

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Pete had just settled back in the swing when Danny showed up.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Danny.” Pete gestured toward the empty half of the swing. “Have a seat.”

The boy sat. “You actually got some furniture.”

“Inside too.”

“Huh.”

They swung in silence for a few minutes.

“How’s Joey—I mean, Trevor?” Danny asked.

Pete smiled a little. It was like a reflex—Trevor’s name was mentioned and the corners of his mouth went up. “He’s better, thanks. Sleeping now.”

“But it’s not even nine yet,” Danny said.

“He takes a lot of naps.” Giving a little shove of his foot, he set the porch swing rocking gently. “Helps the healing.” He laughed. “Drives him nuts though.”