Free Found at the Library by Christi Snow Page B

lifted it to the sky in a mock salute. “To true love and the misery it brings to the poor bastards who think there’s a chance. I will never make that mistake again.”
    Mac had learned that lesson early in life when he’d watched his mother shattered by his father’s inability to love anyone more than himself. The depression she sank into that first Christmas after his father left almost killed her. Mac had vowed no one would get that much of his heart and soul. And he’d managed it...until this year. Goddammit, he was just a sucker for someone hurting during the holidays. That’s all it was. That’s all it could be.
    He took another large swig of the smooth liquor. “Not that I fell in love with him, but I could have. The possibility was there, and I know better.” He shut his eyes against the pain thrumming through him and murmured, “I could have.”
    ***
    It took five days for Tommy to read through the journal Mac had left in the shop. It was filled with anecdotes about his customers and surprising insights about his merchandising as well as ideas for future product lines and marketing. In the middle of all the facts were little snippets of humor that were purely Mac.
    With every line he read, Tommy wanted to know more about the enigmatic man. He even broke down and visited his author website, but that had been a mistake. There were pages and pages of text that were simply too much for Tommy to get through. Instead, he focused on the publicity pages that were filled with photos of Mac at different events. A lot of the time, Mac was alone or with an attractive, blonde woman. It didn’t look like the man dated much.
    The book series page overwhelmed Tommy. Counting the covers on the page, Mac had written over twenty books. That right there told him all he needed to know. Someone that prolific and into writing could never be happy with someone who could barely read a menu. But that didn’t stop him from doing a search of the titles on his audiobook account where he then downloaded eight more of Robert McIntyre’s novels.
    Tommy closed the browser and rubbed at his eyes. He’d become obsessed with Mac and didn’t know what to do with that. The guy was so far out of his league he was in another country, but at the very least, Tommy owed him a thank you for helping out. He also did want to discuss a few of the ideas that Mac had written in the journal for clarification.
    He’d picked up the phone to call Mac to see if he would be willing to meet for coffee or dinner or something, but the phone rang before he had a chance. He didn’t recognize the number that came across the caller ID.
    “You’ve reached Typecast. This is Tommy.”
    “Hello, is this Mr. Garrett?”
    “Yes, this is he.”
    “This is Dr. Ernest Phillips from Cornerstone Hospital. Your brother, Ryder Garrett, is in our facility, and there’s been an incident.”
    The rest of the conversation came across as white noise as Tommy’s stomach clenched and heaved in panic and grief.
    Twenty minutes later, Tommy stood in the reception area of the hospital, his heart still racing.
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Garrett,” the reception nurse said, “but our rules are clear. You’re not allowed to see your brother until the doctor gives clearance for that. He hasn’t done it, yet.”
    “I don’t care what your rules state,” he glanced down at her name tag, “Darcy. Dr. Phillips called me, and my brother is hurt. I am not leaving here until I see how bad it is. If I have to, I will call the police. The next call right after that will be to my lawyers, so I can start the lawsuit on my brother’s behalf. So I suggest you get someone down here with more authority than you before I make sure you and every staff member in this place no longer has a job.”
    The young nurse glanced at him warily like she thought he should be the one checked in here instead of his brother.
    Christ. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to find some inner calm. She’d