Kyle stopped his pacing long enough to look down at his phone. No new messages from Wes, which meant he was still doing rounds or dealing with an emergent case. He paced again, stopping just long enough to take a chug from his third Red Bull of the day as he tried to decide if he should go looking for the man. Six o’clock was nearing, and they were going to lose the chance to talk to Sloane soon.

The door to the break room swung open and a thrill shot through Kyle, adrenaline spiking his blood stream. It dropped instantly when he realized it was just Beth, though.

“Oh hey, sugar. Crazy out there today, huh? It’s like the world’s punishing me for taking a little vacation.” She let out a dramatic sigh before her features turned serious, “I still can’t believe what happened to Bottom’s Up. And I can’t believe Viv didn’t call me and tell me when it happened!”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine,” Kyle said, mustering up the appropriate amount of sympathy.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care—he absolutely did. He might not have lived in Hidden Creek long, but Bottom’s Up was a fixture in the town. More than a local watering hole, it was a public, safe space for people from every walk of life to come together and unwind after a long day.

But the bar could be rebuilt. If the hospital closed, there wasn’t any re-opening it. Not without an absurd amount of money, and not with the same staff.

He started pacing again, not even realizing he was doing it until Beth said something.

“Are you… okay?” She came closer and lowered her voice. “I know it’s none of my business,” the exact phrase someone said right before making it their business, “but is something going on between you and Dr. Monroe?”

Kyle couldn’t help but gape at her, unsure how to answer or if he even should. He knew Beth was a gossip, but just barging in on his personal life under the guise of concern?

“It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other, but some of us have noticed he doesn’t give you the same kinda shit he gives us. Maybe it’s just ’cause you’re new.” She waved it off with a laugh. “It’s probably that. You know what, forget I said anything.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Kyle said, planning to do just that.

Beth opened her locker, and for a second he thought he was in the clear. But of course, her head poked back out and she wore a pinched expression that conflicted with her smile.

“It’s just, if you are—and it doesn’t bother me one bit, like I said—but if you are, honey, you gotta know Wesley Monroe is kind of a player.” She leaned in again, her tone turning conspiratorial. “My friend Janine said he seduced one of her nephews, and then slept with the other one the next night.”

Kyle’s mild annoyance started to turn to anger. He couldn’t help it. He liked Beth, but this was none of her business. And what did it matter if Wes had apparently fucked some random guy and that guy’s brother?

It wasn’t like Kyle was looking for a commitment. They’d spent the night together. And it’d been… a more intimate experience than he’d ever had with anyone else in his life. But so what? He didn’t have any claims on Wes.

Not unless he wanted to, and Kyle wasn’t even sure where to begin with that. He’d just gotten out of a long-term relationship. Going home with Wes that first night had been a direct result of his heartache and a desire for something different. Was he really ready to demand more than sex? Was he in any position to do so?

And why the hell was he even thinking about this when he and Wes had approximately ten minutes to talk to Sloane?

“I appreciate the concern,” Kyle lied, “but—”

Before he could finish, the door swung open again. This time it was Wes, his white coat abandoned somewhere, the dress shirt he’d picked out in the morning hugging his chest and shoulders in just the right way, and that smile… good lord. He’d never seen Wes smile like that, and it was absolutely captivating. Magnetic, even. So much so that he completely forgot about Beth.

Until she reminded them both she was still there.

“Oops, that’s my cue. See you tomorrow, Kyle. Doctor.”

There was a snideness to her tone Kyle didn’t care for, but Wes completely ignored it, crossing the room to reach him. Once Beth was gone, his hands settled at either side of Kyle’s face and he kissed him. Out of nowhere. And not just a peck, either. A full-on kiss that left Kyle as breathless as he was startled.

“We did it,” Wes said, his voice almost giddy. “Sloane wants to see the proposal. He’s on board with doing what needs to be done to keep the doors open, he just needs to see the details.”

Kyle’s heart leapt. It was a massive victory, and Wes’ happiness was so contagious that it took him a few moments to process exactly what he’d said.

Sloane wanted to see the proposal. The one he and Wes were supposed to present. Together.

“You… already talked to Sloane?”

“He was trying to slip out early,” Wes explained. “I caught him in the stairwell. I would’ve come to get you, but there wasn’t any time. He already released a statement to the paper about the hospital’s closure.”

Kyle’s head spun as he tried to process everything. Sloane wasn’t going to close the hospital. Maybe. But he’d already announced it. And Wes managed to somehow secure the man’s vote without presenting the data, or anything he and Kyle had planned together.

“How do you know he’s not blowing smoke up your ass?” Kyle asked. “He could’ve said he’d take a look at it just to get you to go away.”

“No.” Wes shook his head in sharp defiance. “Tom can be… selfish sometimes, but he wouldn’t do that.”

That, too, must have been insider knowledge shared between him and Wes. In Kyle’s mind, a man who told the local paper about a closure—and the layoffs that would surely follow—before telling the people who were going to lose their jobs was more than just selfish “sometimes.” The man had obviously wanted to avoid conflict. He’d even tried to duck out before the shit hit the fan.

“I don’t know what to say…” Kyle wished it was happy astonishment that made him speechless, but something else brewed beneath the surface.

Wes didn’t trust him.

He’d known the man has issues with nurses. He just thought he’d been exempt from that list. Apparently not, because when it came down to it, Wes handled everything on his own and didn’t spare a second thought about it.

He did, however, notice Kyle wasn’t as overjoyed as he should be. “What’s wrong? We should be celebrating. As soon as we drop off those reports, we should go somewhere. Fuck, not the bar, I guess. But somewhere.”

Wes was a whirlwind of activity, and Kyle almost wanted to step out of the way and let him have it. But this was one of those moments where he had to speak up if he wanted anything more from this man than sex.

He’d avoided conflict with Rebecca, and look where that got him. He couldn’t do it again.

“If you wanted to present it on your own, you could have told me,” he started.

Wes’ brow furrowed and he seemed genuinely confused. He was still close enough that Kyle could smell the slight scent of his soap. “Like I said, there wasn’t much of a choice. Why is this an issue? We got what we wanted.”

“Maybe,” Kyle shot back. “If he follows through. I have no idea if he will. I don’t know him like you do.”

The older man finally stepped back, his expression hardening. “Why don’t you say what you actually want to say here, Kyle.”

What did he want to say? He searched his mind and found it full of conflicting ideas. Rationally, he knew he was overreacting, but the exclusion still hurt. When he probed deeper, he came up with an answer.

“I get why you don’t trust anyone. I do. But if we’re going to do this, we have to do it together.”

Frustration etched its way onto Wes’ face, and he opened his mouth to make what Kyle assumed was an automatic—and angry—reply. But then he stopped, searching Kyle’s eyes. The scrutiny was so intense that he almost looked away, but Kyle forced himself to stay strong, even if it meant giving away things he hadn’t acknowledged yet.

Letting out a breath, Wes approached again, tentatively resting his hands-on Kyle’s arms. “We will. I promise. There’s… no way I’d be able to do it without you.”

There was a catch in the man’s voice that might have annoyed him if he didn’t know just who he was talking to. Trusting anyone, relying on anyone, was a monumental task for Wes. If he was saying this now, maybe it really had been a need to coordinate things quickly.

Maybe he was overthinking all of this, and letting his heart get involved before it should.

“Thank you,” Kyle said with a small smile. “You said he’s waiting on the reports?”

That spark returned to Wes’ eyes, and the relief Kyle felt couldn’t be understated. He hadn’t managed to ruin things, then.

“In his office. Come on. We’ll present them together.”

Heart thudding in his chest, Kyle opened his locker and pulled out the folder the two of them had carefully pieced together that morning.

This was going to work. They were going to save Hidden Creek Memorial. And—despite Kyle’s fears—they were going to do it together.