By Any Other Name by Tia Fielding Read Free Book Online Page A

Dru asked over his shoulder as he carried the plates away.
     
    “Sure. Come on, then.” Thom smiled and wondered if Dru was doing this on purpose, including him in taking care of Skye.
     
    Skye yawned again and made Thom yawn too. “Damn reflexes,” he muttered and made his way upstairs. “Though I might just be tired. I worked all day, and then, as it came closer to the time to pick you up, I had to try to calm Dru down.”
     
    Skye smiled a bit. “Oh, shit. Hey, I’ll go take my meds before I forget, and take them downstairs while I’m at it. Can you set up the computer on my desk?” It seemed like the man was weirded out by having to ask Thom for anything, even a small favor like this.
     
    “Sure, go ahead. I’ll check the computer and make sure it has a full battery.” Thom waved a hand absently as he took the Mac and tried to see where in all of Dru’s mess the charger might be.
     
    He heard Skye moving around to his room and then back past him and down the stairs. There were muffled sounds from the discussion the others were having and some laughter too before Skye trotted up the stairs. “Still no charger?” he asked and looked around.
     
    “This is like trying to find Waldo,” Thom said and made Skye laugh again.
     
    “Hey, if we find it, we should dress it in red and white,” Skye said, and they began to rummage through the mess until Thom exclaimed joyously and held up the item.
     
    “Finally,” he said and then walked after Skye to the end of the hall into the guestroom that was now Skye’s.
     
    “How do you like the room?”
     
    “It’s great, very comfy, and I like the colors.” Skye smiled and went to his bag, which was still on top of the bed. “Hey, can I borrow shampoo and stuff? I didn’t take any liquids with me so that I got through the security checks at the airports easier.”
     
    “Absolutely, let’s go see what we have in the master. I’ll leave this to boot,” Thom said and plugged in the Mac before walking to the master bedroom, which was the only way to the biggest bathroom in the house.
     
    “Okay, let’s see,” he mumbled and went to the basket of extra stuff near a Jacuzzi big enough for two people to fit in. “Try this and… this too. And here’s some shower gel.” He picked up the bottles and handed them over to Skye, who was looking a bit wide-eyed.
     
    “Dru loves his products and buys all the new ones and then dislikes most of them.” Thom chuckled and went to the sink on the other side of the bathroom to find an unopened tube of toothpaste. “And here’s this. You got a toothbrush?” he asked.
     
    “Yeah, but no towel,” Skye said with a sigh, and Thom walked closer.
     
    He wanted to touch Skye, put a hand on the man’s shoulder, but he didn’t know if he could.
     
    “You’re safe here. We understand that you literally have nothing. We’ll change that, and you have a home now, Skye. Okay?” he said and saw Skye blink rapidly a few times before he cleared his throat.
     
    “Okay. Thank you. I know… it can’t be easy to have your partner’s friend just drop on your lap like this… especially when he’s a nutjob like me,” Skye said and tried to smile, but Thom could tell he believed the self-assessment of being crazy.
     
    “Hey, none of that in my house. We’ll figure this out. Frankly I’m surprised you’re in this good of a condition,” Thom said honestly and made Skye snort.
     
    “Well yeah, but you haven’t seen me freak out yet. That’s bound to happen, and it isn’t pretty. Trust me.”
     
    They turned to walk back to Skye’s room, and Dru got there right after them.
     
    “So, anything we should know in case you do freak out or have a nightmare or something?” Dru asked as he went on to look at the laptop himself.
     
    “If I scream in my sleep, if it lasts more than a minute, come wake me up, but don’t touch me. I might try to punch you or just fall out of bed or something,” Skye said