AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When he was settled, I walked around to the other side as Michael put our stuff in the back. Climbing in, I slid across the seat next to him and reached for the seatbelt. Patrick looked annoyed with me, but he’d have to get over it.
“I could have done that. I’m not a child.”
I glared at him. “You have a broken arm. Stop fighting me when I’m trying to help you.”
He scoffed. “I’m not fighting you. I just said I could do it.”
I bit my tongue because I didn’t want to argue with him over a fucking seatbelt. I wanted to bring up that he probably wouldn’t have suffered so much trauma had he been wearing one. But he hadn’t worn it because he was upset by what I’d done. Or, more accurately, what I didn’t do.
Looking away, I nodded and busied myself with buckling my own.
Michael got into the front seat and buckled up. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror, then turned the car on. When he pulled out of the parking lot, I looked out the dark-tinted windows, thinking about how the hell this was going to work without talking about everything. I needed to talk to Cooper.
When we were on our way, Patrick reached over and put his hand on my thigh. I looked down and covered it with my own before looking at him. Every time I thought about how easily I could have lost him…
“I’m sorry I’m being such an ass. I don’t know how to control it.”
I leaned over and kissed him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
He kissed my cheek, and the feel of his rough beard along mine stirred my cock. My sex drive had gone into hibernation in the hospital, but now that we were going home, it was waking up.
Patrick rested his head on my shoulder as we rode the rest of the way home. Michael caught my eye in the mirror. His eyes gave away his smile.
When he pulled up to the gate of the neighborhood, he stopped and rolled down the window. Patrick sat up, but didn’t take his hand off me.
“Hey, Warren.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Phantom.”
Michael chuckled. “I’ve got Mr. Griffin, newly released from the hospital. Can you do me a favor and keep an eye out for the media? They don’t need to be hassled.”
Warren, the gate attendant, stepped out of his little security booth and looked in the window toward the back. “Welcome home, Mr. Griffin. It’s so good to have you back. We were all worried about you.”
Patrick smiled. “Thank you, Warren. It’s good to be home.”
Warren grinned and patted Phantom. “Okay, Mr. Phantom, you’re ready to go with our precious cargo.”
Michael chuckled and pulled through the gate. “Guess we’ll start calling you precious, Griff.”
Patrick rolled his eyes. “I don’t think so, He-man.”
When we pulled into the driveway, the front of the house had been decorated with balloons and signs. It looked like some of the kids had written messages to him on the concrete with sidewalk chalk.
Along the side of the driveway, several familiar cars gave away the identity of the culprits. It wasn’t hard to figure out what they’d done. And when Patrick saw it, his smile took over his face.
“What the hell?” He laughed, then groaned. “Who did all this?”
Michael pulled to a stop and turned off the car. “Looks like your neighbors missed you.”
Patrick turned to me. “Did you know they were doing this?”
“No. Not a clue.”
Michael walked around as Patrick reached for the door handle. The door opened and Michael stood waiting for him. “Come on, old man. We need to get you inside where you can go back to becoming a vampire.”
Patrick flipped him the bird, but smiled wider than I’d seen in a long time. When he rounded the front of the car, he held out his hand to me. I slipped mine in his like we’d done for so many years now. “Will you take some pictures of the driveway so I can read the messages later?”
“Sure.” I smiled as we walked toward the front door.
