It had been the longest, most stressful, most emotionally draining four days of Jonah’s life. Everything since he’d arrived on Monday morning had been a blur, with all of his energy and all of his thoughts focused on Pop’s recovery.

Which, thank goodness, was progressing better than anyone could have anticipated.

If it hadn’t been for his age and an abundance of caution, they probably would have let Pop go home a day earlier. As it was, he was already able to get up and walk for a short time with minimal assistance and the nurses all said he’d be back to normal in no time.

Of course, Pop took that to mean days rather than the weeks of recovery he still had ahead of him, but Jonah wasn’t about to rain on his parade.

“I’m ready to get out of here,” Pop said, huffing out an impatient breath as he glanced over to the clock on the wall. “When did they say we could leave?”

“Soon,” Jonah said, doing his best to stifle a smile. “I promise you that we’re not going to stay here for even one minute longer than we have to. I’ll be happy for all of us to see some sunshine and get some fresh air again.”

Jonah hadn’t left the hospital at all, instead letting Mitch bring back food and clean clothes every day that they stayed there. Mitch had been a God-send, as usual—never complaining, always knowing exactly what Jonah needed, usually before Jonah knew himself.

Once they were finally out of here and things were back to normal, Jonah would have to make sure Mitch knew just how much he meant to both Jonah and Pop.

He hoped Mitch already knew, but Jonah wanted to make sure never to take him for granted.

“I’m sure you’ll want to get back to New York soon,” Pop said, pulling Jonah from his thoughts. “Your boss is probably fit to be tied that you’ve stayed here as long as you have already.”

Jonah exchanged a look with Mitch. This was a topic none of them had really discussed, although Jonah had made up his mind some days ago.

He took a deep breath and turned to face Pop again. Now was probably as good a time as any. “I’m not going back, Pop.”

For a few seconds, there was no sound. It was as if all the air had been completely sucked out of the room.

Then Pop sucked in a sharp breath. “What do you mean? You’re not going back… today? Tomorrow?”

Jonah shook his head. “I’m not going back at all. Well, I mean I’ll have to go back to pack my things and clean out my office and tie up loose ends, but… I’m not going to live in New York anymore. I’ve already spoken to my boss and my landlord. This is where I need to be. Here with you in Hidden Creek.”

Pop’s eyes went wide, and Jonah started to reconsider if this had really been the best time to break the news. The man was still in the hospital recovering from a heart attack, for God’s sake.

But Jonah didn’t want to lie. And he didn’t want Pop to be upset.

It looked like that ship might have already sailed, though.

“Pop, listen—” Jonah began, but Pop shook his head.

“No, you listen. Have you thought this through at all? You’re going to give up your dream job—your career—your apartment, your life… for what? To come here and take care of me? That’s not the kind of life you want, Jonah. It can’t be. I won’t allow it. You need to get back on the phone with your boss right now and tell her you’ve made a terrible mistake. Go ahead.” He flapped a hand in Jonah’s direction. “Call her now.”

Jonah didn’t want this to turn into an argument. He knew if he could make Pop see his side of things, it could actually be a happy conversation—something they could both look forward to.

The problem was that he wasn’t sure how to get to that point from where they were now.

He was going to have to say something, though, and fast.

“I’m not talking about coming here to take care of you, Pop,” Jonah said, struggling to keep his voice quiet and even. Making sure Pop’s blood pressure stayed within a normal range also had to be a priority. “I’m talking about moving back to be close to you again. To spend time with you. I didn’t realize how much I’ve been missing until these past couple of weeks, but… since I’ve been back I’ve just been happy. I’ve felt fulfilled, like this is where I”m supposed to be.”

In the chair next to him, Mitch shifted closer, taking Jonah’s hand in silent support.

Thank God for him, truly.

“Okay,” Pop said, though his expression was still the opposite of okay. “Let’s say for a moment that I go along with what you’ve just told me. It sounds nice, Jonah, but what will you do for work? Where will you live? Because I’ll just tell you right now—I don’t mind you staying with me for a little while, but you can’t live with me. I have a love life now.”

The last statement caught Jonah off guard, but he tried to recover quickly. He really wasn’t prepared to talk about Pop’s love life.

Not now, anyway.

“I’ve got money saved up, Pop. Do you know how long I can get by in Hidden Creek with the money I’ve set aside for my New York expenses? And there are design firms in Houston… or I might try to do something on my own. I haven’t decided that part yet, but I have decided this is what I want to do. I had hoped you’d be happy about it.”

“Oh, Jonah…” Pop sighed. “You know I’ll always be on your side, no matter what. I just don’t want you to make some kind of rash decision that you’ll regret in a few weeks once you start to remember all the things you didn’t like about living here before. Do you understand what I’m saying? I think your heart is in the right place, but I just don’t think coming down here and being unemployed and homeless is a recipe for happiness.”

“Jonah will never be homeless,” Mitch said. “Not as long as I have a say. That’s not something you’ll ever have to worry about. Either of you.”

Pop and Jonah both turned to look at Mitch.

“You’re saying you want Jonah to come live in your house?” Pop asked. “Is this something the two of you have been planning?”

Jonah shook his head to answer, but couldn’t take his eyes off Mitch. This definitely hadn’t been part of the plan. But now that it was out there, Jonah wanted to hear more.

“Well,” Mitch gave them both a sheepish look. “I may not stay in my current house for much longer—my dad will probably see to that. But if…” He turned his gaze to Jonah. “If you’d be okay with it, I’d like to maybe get a place together? Or at least talk about it?”

“You’re asking me to move in with you?” Jonah asked, a smile spreading across his face at the idea. “Am I… are you… is that what you’re asking me?”

Mitch nodded. “It’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to ask. And I mean… I hadn’t really planned on asking you here, not like this. But I love you, Jonah. I’ve always loved you. If you’re moving back to Hidden Creek, I hope you’ll give me the chance to prove it—to have a shot at a real relationship with you.”

Jonah blinked hard. His smile had gotten so big now that his cheeks were starting to hurt, but he didn’t care. He glanced over at Pop to see that in spite of everything he’d said just moments before, he was smiling, too.

“I do want that,” Jonah said, his heart doing a slow roll in his chest. “I’ve always wanted that. Always.”

“Well…” Pop cleared his throat and Jonah couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were suspiciously bright with emotion as he and Mitch both looked over at the older man. “I guess I can’t really argue with all of that, can I?”

“I hope not,” Mitch said, grinning. “Because I want this more than anything in the world, sir. You and Jonah mean everything to me.”

“And I do suppose that seeing more of the two of you will be a good thing,” Pop said. Jonah could see his lips twitching and could tell that he was trying to school his features back into the stern expression he had before, but it wasn’t happening. “Okay. You both have my blessing.” He shot Jonah a sideways glance. “Not that you were waiting around on it.”

Jonah laughed. “I am grateful for it, though. Thank you, Pop.” He turned to Mitch and squeezed his hand, then leaned in for a quick kiss. “And thank you. For everything. I don’t ever want you out of my life again.”

“I won’t ever be,” Mitch answered. “I love you, Jonah.”

“I love you, too,” Jonah smiled, happy to say those words out loud at last.

He still didn’t know exactly how the next few days and weeks would turn out, but he wasn’t worried.

This was where Jonah belonged, and he could see that now more than ever.