Cade Creek 12 - Heart of a Mountain by Stormy Glenn Page B

practically felt like a new man. He knew he needed to go to his follow up appointment with the doctor just to make sure he had healed properly, but what he really wanted to do was go into town and have dinner at the diner with Jonah.
    “If you’re sure…”
    “I’m sure, Jonah.”
    When Jonah started to close the door, Aldrin cleared his throat. When the man paused, Aldrin tilted his face and pursed his lips expectantly. He smiled when Jonah chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. One way or the other, he would get this man used to being affectionate. Jonah had it in him. Aldrin had seen it in the little things Jonah did to make sure he was okay.
    Aldrin waited patiently as Jonah closed the door and walked around to the other side of the truck. As soon as the man climbed in, Aldrin scooted as close as his seat belt would allow. He felt Jonah jump when he set his hand on the man’s thigh, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be. Jonah was getting used to him.
    Aldrin was bound and determined to drag Jonah into the living world. He adored Jonah, but he also knew the man needed more than him and his mountaintop. He needed friends. He needed to go hang with buddies. He needed to go into town for more than the Sunday Special.
    “So, I was thinking,” Aldrin said once they got on the road.
    “Uh-huh.”
    Aldrin narrowed his eyes. “Funny man.”
    Jonah chuckled, a sound Aldrin had come to crave.
    “I was thinking…” Aldrin smirked when Jonah gave him an innocent eyed look. “I was thinking that we could go to the diner after my appointment and have dinner.”
    “The diner?” Jonah got a sick grimace on his face. “But it’s not Sunday.”
    “It doesn’t have to be.” Aldrin’s heart ached for the panic he could see rising in Jonah’s eyes. Maybe this was a bad idea. Jonah had to do these things on his own timetable, not Aldrin’s. “Never mind,” he said. “We can wait until Sunday.”
    “No.” Jonah’s hands tightened on the steering wheel and Aldrin knew the man was fighting his panic. “We can stop for dinner at the diner after your appointment.”
    Guilt swamped Aldrin. He couldn’t do this to Jonah, not even if he was trying to help the man out. “Jonah, maybe—”
    “No.” There was a tight smile on Jonah’s face when he turned to look at Aldrin. “No, you’re right. I need to do this. If I don’t start facing some of my demons, I never will.”
    Aldrin smiled back but it wobbled. “I’ll be right there with you and we can leave whenever you want. I promise.”
    Despite the wariness in Jonah’s eyes, his smile became happier. “I’ll be okay, baby.”
    Aldrin prayed that was true. If Jonah went off the deep end because Aldrin had fucked this up, Aldrin would never forgive himself.
    “We’ll need to pick up groceries while we’re in town,” Jonah said. “We should also stop by the sheriff station and see if Sheriff Riley has learned anything about whoever attacked you.”
    “I need to stop at my place and grab some clothes.”
    There was a glimmer of hesitation in Jonah’s eyes. “We could just pack up your stuff and move you up the hill. It’ll take awhile for the house to be built once the architect gets done with the designs, but there’s no reason you can’t live in the cabin with me now. I mean, if you want to…”
    Aldrin beamed. “We can pick up boxes at the grocery store. Whatever we can’t get today, we can grab on Sunday.”
    Jonah’s eyes brightened and some of the guardedness began to fade from their smoky gray depths. “Yeah?”
    “I still have to finish out my lease, but that’s only a couple of more months.”
    “I’ll take care of your lease, baby.”
    Aldrin’s eyebrows shot up. “Jonah, I can’t expect you to pay for my—”
    “Are you mine?” Jonah asked with all seriousness.
    “Yes,” Aldrin answered without hesitation.
    “Am I yours?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then do you agree that what is mine is yours and what is yours is