Promises Part 1 (Bounty Hunters #1)(33)
“Get some rest, buddy. I see Vaughan has called about ten times. Let me give him an update and I’ll come back tonight for a bit. I think Judge said he’d be in tomorrow, he’s busy as shit in the office trying to keep up with the new contracts.”
Duke liked the sound of that. His businesses was still thriving. Thank the lord he wouldn’t be in the poor house after all was said and done. “No problem,” Duke forced through gritted teeth. He thought about Vaughan, liking that he’d been calling and checking on him. He wanted to send a message but didn’t want to make Quick uncomfortable. So he used a generic, “Tell him I look forward to talking to him soon.”
“I will, man. Get some rest,” Quick said, and left him alone. Although it was only a little after five, Duke knew he was ready to go to sleep—probably for the night.
“Dad, how is he? Is he in a lot of pain? Did he ask about me?” Vaughan fired off the questions as soon as his father entered his room. Dr. Chauncey had already told him how everything went and that Duke was doing well after post-op. That was after Vaughan got his own glowing report. He had tenderness in his abdomen but nothing too terrible. He had hurt worse when he was bumped by a drunk cab driver in Paris. The driver hadn’t been going that fast, but Vaughan still was hit hard enough to roll up on the hood before crashing back down onto the asphalt, breaking his clavicle.
Quick put up his hands, stopping Vaughan’s string of questions. His father leaned down and pecked him on the forehead before asking, “How are you doing, son?”
“I’m fine. I just walked down the waiting room and back a little while ago. Dr. Chauncey said Duke was up too. How’d he do with his walk? I know his ribs had to be screaming.”
His father sighed and sat down in the one chair in the room. “Yeah, he was hurting, but you know Duke. He’s built Ford tough. He kept going until he looked pale as a ghost and about to pass out before I demanded that it was enough. He’s a stubborn jackass is what he is. He’d probably have walked home if it meant getting closer to you.”
Vaughan’s eyes widened. It was the first time his dad had referenced Duke’s feelings for him and he jumped on it. Sitting up a little too quickly had him wincing, but he wanted to know. “Did you and he talk about me? What did he say?”
Quick rolled his eyes, pulling out a folded newspaper from in his jacket, an amusing glint in his eye as he unfolded and started to read it, completely ignoring his son. Quick crossed his booted foot over his knee and whistled tunelessly, like he hadn’t a care.
“Dad, come on,” Vaughan practically whined. He knew he sounded like a moody child but he didn’t care. Duke had talked to his father about him and he wanted… no he needed to know… what he’d said.
“What?” Quick feigned ignorance.
“Oh, forget it. I’ll find out myself.” Vaughan eased back down to a comfortable position and picked up his cell phone, but a big hand stopped him from dialing.
“Okay, okay. Just hang up. Duke is asleep anyway.” Quick rubbed his temples and dropped his paper on the small table next to his chair. “He’s head over heels, son.”
Vaughan’s smile was bright enough to keep his room lit if the power went out. “Seriously,” he whispered.
“He’s been my friend for a long time. I know him. He’s in love, or maybe smitten to death.”
“Smitten?” Vaughan frowned.
Quick waved his hand. “You know what I mean. I don’t know what the term is these days when you’re hot for someone, okay.” He sighed, looking up at his son. “Duke had it bad for Judge, but the way he looks when he’s talking about you… I never saw it when he talked about Judge. I think he was looking for companionship with Judge, knowing he wouldn’t get the flower, dinners, and love thing from him. He was willing to accept that because he didn’t want to live a lonely life, ya know. Judge was there and was comfortable, but long-term he wasn’t able to give Duke what he wanted.”
“No. He could give it to some hot, young, Atlanta detective, though.” Vaughan seethed. He’d never understand how anyone could turn Duke away. Judge would always be on his shit list for that, no matter how stand up the guy’s friends believed him to be.
“Judge is a damn good man. He was always up front and honest with Duke. Judge found what he wanted in life and now, so has Duke. So fate worked its magic like always and you’ll all be with who you’re supposed to be with.”
“I guess,” Vaughan said tiredly, yawning widely. His earlier exercise was starting to catch up with him and he felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion right before he closed his eyes, still staring at his father. He later remembered thinking before he drifted to sleep, Who are you fated to be with, Dad?
Vaughan eased up the couple steps in front of his dad’s house and Quick carefully propped him against the wrought iron rail while he fumbled with his keys. Vaughan breathed a sigh of fresh air right before he went inside. It was great to be home. He’d been holed up in that hospital for three very long days. It would’ve only been two but he hadn’t been able to produce a bowel movement by the second day, so Dr. Chauncey, being the overly cautious doctor he was, insisted that Vaughan stay one more day, and made sure that he was at least passing gas. It was all so personal and nasty, but that was the medical profession. A little embarrassment was a small price to pay to have Duke in his arms for the rest of their lives.