Free Roommating (Preston's Mill #1) by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams Page B

began to well with tears.
    With a muttered curse, he immediately pulled her into his
arms and held her as she cried.
    ***
    It was after midnight when they
finally arrived home. Both were exhausted and quiet as they walked in. Lucy was
near frantic and Heather immediately scooped her up and apologized profusely
for being home so late.
    “I’m so sorry, sweet girl,” she cooed. “Let’s get your
leash.”
    “I’ll take her,” Chris said and walked over to the hook near
the door and got the dog’s leash.
    “What? Why?”
    “You’re tired. It’s been a long day. Why don’t you go and
get ready for bed, and I’ll take care of Lucy. She’ll need to eat too, and I’m
not sure I’m ready to go to sleep yet so I’ll stay up with her.”
    “Chris.”
    At the sound of his name on her lips like that, without
thinking, he walked over to kiss her, catching himself at the last minute and
pressing a light kiss on her head before getting the dog hooked up and walking out
the door. Thankfully, Lucy was quick to do her business and they were back
inside in less than five minutes. He unhooked her and then went over to the
kitchen to put food and fresh water in her bowls before opening the
refrigerator and pulling out a beer. He held it in his hands and decided it
wasn’t what he wanted and put it back before grabbing a bottle of water.
    Behind him, he heard Heather moving around in the bathroom—no
doubt washing her face and brushing her teeth. All the things that went into
her nightly routine.
    She’d been quiet on the ride home. They both were. It took a
little over two hours after they’d first talked to Dr. Mallins before they were
able to go up and see Tom. He was sedated and barely knew they were there, but
Heather had sat at his side and talked to him for hours, while Chris had gone
out and talked with the doctor.
    “As far as we can see, this isn’t a cardiac event. We’ve
done all the tests, and his heart is fine. His blood work is good.”
    “Then what’s the problem?” Chris asked, raking a hand
through his hair in frustration. “A healthy man doesn’t collapse like that!”
    “We saw gallstones in the ultrasound. They’re fairly common
but when they go on the move, they’re quite painful. We’ll be removing his
gallbladder in the morning. He’s scheduled for tomorrow at eleven in the
morning.”
    Chris had sagged with relief and, when he’d told Heather,
she had been equally relieved. When he finally convinced her to leave, she had
only agreed because Tom was sound asleep. She’d vowed to be back here first
thing in the morning. There was no way Chris was going to argue with that or
remind her that her car was still at the office and she’d have to rely on him
to get there.
    Lucy’s bark brought him back to the present.
    “You ready to go out again?” he asked with a chuckle, and
the dog pranced back over to the door. Putting her leash back on, they repeated
their path down the stairs and outside where Lucy was a little slower to do her
business. Chris wanted to be annoyed, but he figured the poor dog had suffered
enough with them coming home so late and being locked inside all day. And as
much as he hated to admit it, she was a good dog.
    Not that he was going to admit that to anyone anytime soon.
    Or ever.
    Looking down, he saw that she was finally taking care of
business. Kicking her back paws behind her as she finished, she gave a little
hop and turned back toward the building. “Good girl,” he said and then wanted
to roll his eyes.
    Damn dog.
    They were back in the apartment, and Chris hung her leash
back up and locked the door. He was finally starting to relax. Maybe a little
late night TV would help, but he knew if he got comfortable on Flo that he
wouldn’t make it to bed. He had a television in his room, but it wasn’t quite
the same as sitting on Flo.
    Mentally, he began a running list of all the things that
would need to be addressed in the morning with all the crews. There